South Pole City, on the highway outside Pier No. 3.
A young man with rare silver pupils, dressed in a ckbat uniform, alighted from a taxi on the roadside.
"Young man, you seem to be a student from the academy outside. Be careful if you''re heading out to sea. Every year, there are still some Star Card Masters who meet with idents in the South Sea Inds."
The driver, a slightly chubby middle-aged man, couldn''t help but kindly remind the youth upon seeing his unique demeanor.
Su Yuan nodded with a smile, "Thank you for the reminder, sir."
The driver chuckled, "You''re wee. It''s young, outstanding Star Card Masters like you that make us feel at ease about the future of Great me."
After saying that, the driver waved his hand and drove off.
Su Yuan retracted his gaze, turned around, and walked to the roadside.
"The blue sea, it''s the first time I''ve seen it, it''s really beautiful..."
Su Yuan looked into the distance. The sea met the sky, and the scorching sunlight sprinkled on the sea surface, making it shimmer brilliantly.
At the edge of the coast, boats of various sizes floated on the sea. Some were departing, some docking, and some returning.
From time to time, people passed by Su Yuan, descending the hundred-meter long white stone steps toward the pier and boarding the boats.
These people almost always had some degree of Star Power fluctuation, and most of them were young, gathered in groups of three or five, clearly academy students.
Besides them, there were also several Star Card Masters from society.
Su Yuan nced at the time; it was already half past three in the afternoon. He then descended the hundred-meter steps, took out his ticket, and boarded one of the passenger ships numbered "NJ-014."
"Wee aboard our Nanjie Group''s passenger ship. Your room is on the first floor, No. 038. Take a left after you enter."
The attendant at the door, a round-faced girl with short brown hair, smiled and greeted him after taking his ticket.
"Thank you."
Su Yuan nodded, took back his ticket stub, and entered the ship.
"Silver pupils, really rare..." The round-faced girl couldn''t help but turn her head and take another look. "A pretty clear face, and traveling in second ss. I wonder if he''s a genius student from South Pole Academy, maybe even my brother''s ssmate."
...
Su Yuan returned to cabin No. 038, looking at the sea through the ss, his mind lost in thought.
"If I can find more than 70 units of Red Fire Stone at once, then I don''t have toe out again before breaking through to the Intermediate Stage..."
It had been almost a week since thest breathing lesson.
The reason Su Yuan was here was because he had taken on a collection task on Red Sand me Ind, one of the inds in the southern seas.
Red Sand me Ind, though just an ind, was filled with a substantial concentration of Fire Element.
Although it was only a Low Stage Dangerous Zone, the ind was fairly famous among the Southern Inds because of a popr fire element mineral found there called the Red Fire Stone.
The Red Fire Stone, like the me Crystal Stone that Zhuang Xun once sought in the Great Barbarian Mountain Area, was a second-stage spiritual material.
However, as a primary material for artifact refining, Red Fire Stone was much more in demand.@@novelbin@@
Due to the influence of the South Sea Ocean Current, the route to Red Sand me Ind was only open in September and October each year.
Therefore, every year at this time, many low-stage Star Card Masters from academies and society would go to Red Sand me Ind to find Red Fire Stones to craft green Star Artifacts.
Each academy had dedicated artifact refiners and students specializing in artifact refining.
Compared to directly purchasing Star Artifacts, gathering materials yourself andmissioning a refiner to create it could save a substantial amount of costs.
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"Collect Red Fire Stones from Red Sand me Ind, 1 cubic decimeter equals 1 unit, each unit earns 1 academic point, up to a maximum of 100 academic points."
This was a task that Su Yuan found after spending considerable time looking through numerous academy tasks, finding it was most suitable for himself.
Firstly, although it was a Level One Task, its upper limit was high. As long as he could find enough Red Fire Stones, he could earn up to 100 academic points!
Secondly, Red Sand me Ind, as a Low Stage Dangerous Zone, had a variety of Star Beasts. While searching for Red Fire Stones, he could also hunt Star Beasts to earn Star Dust.
Not to mention the Hellfire and Hellfire Summon that hadn''t yet reached the Transformation Realm, the breathing method was also eagerly awaiting!
...
Nanjie Group''s passenger ship itself was engraved with various barriers such as eleration, defense, toughness, and attack. Plus, a Shining Star-level expert from the group was on board.
Although the tickets weren''t cheap, the safety was well ensured.
The journey was smooth, and by around 8 o''clock the next morning, the passenger ship sessfully docked at a northern part of Red Sand me Ind.
"Such a rich Fire Element..."
Su Yuan looked up at the ind, observing the sunlight, the beach, the coastline... It seemed like a vacation spot, but, being a dangerous zone, it was obviously moreplicated.
The sunlight: nearly forty degrees,
The beach: Red Sand me Ind wasn''t called that for nothing. The sand here was all light red, the reason being it was soaked in a considerable concentration of Fire Element at all times.
Fortunately, those who came here were mostly Bronze-level Star Card Masters and a few at the Silver Stage, so the environment wasn''t too harsh for them.
Silver Stage Star Card Masters usually possessed one or two green Star Artifacts, so they rarely came, and those at the Gold Level typically wouldn''te at all...
"Yixuan, Little Ting, should we head straight to the center of the ind?"
"No hurry, the center of the ind isn''t the only ce with Red Fire Stone. Any location with a high concentration of Fire Element can potentially produce Red Fire Stone, like this valley surrounded by low hills..."
...
"Old He, do you think we can find Red Fire Essence Gold this time?"
"That depends on our luck. There''s been no Red Fire Essence Gold produced for five consecutive years, so it might show up this time. We just don''t know where it will be..."
"Then let''s head to the central Three Peaks area and see!"
...
Most teams of Star Card Masters were still discussing their ns of action, but Su Yuan, being alone, had it easy. He quickly nced at the map and headed deeper into Red Sand me Ind.
The ces where Red Fire Stones appeared each year on Red Sand me Ind were unpredictable; they could be anywhere or concentrated in certain areas.
But being Fire Element spiritual materials, they were more likely to appear in ces with a high concentration of Fire Element.
Of course, these ces often also nurtured more and stronger Star Beasts...
Su Yuan unfolded the Wind Walking technique, walking on sand and stones.
After a few hours, Su Yuan entered a gorge between two mountains where he encountered a small group of Red Cloud Leopards, their bodies entirely red as if cloaked in red embroidered clouds.
Seeing the sudden appearance of a human, the Red Cloud Leopards immediately became cautious and began growling to intimidate Su Yuan.
Su Yuan chuckled softly, continuing to approach the leopard group step by step while raising his hands, forming seal techniques one after another.
The Bronze High-stage Red Cloud Leopard leader seemed to sense something amiss and roared angrily, charging at the forefront with its group!
At this moment, Su Yuanpleted his magic technique, shing forward, and a pitch-ck Gate of Hell opened horizontally, with sixrge Bone Wolves enveloped in ck me leaping out one after another.
Having grown up on Red Sand me Ind, these Red Cloud Leopards had never seen such terrifying Bone Wolves before and were filled with fear and trepidation.
Feeling the powerful aura of the six Bone Wolves, the leading Red Cloud Leopard hastily led the group in stopping their charge, seemingly thinking about retreating.
But Su Yuan wouldn''t let them go.
"Kill them all and bring back the Star Cores."
Su Yuan ordered in a low voice, and the six Netherfire Steel Bone Wolves charged into the group of Red Cloud Leopards like tigers among sheep. The cold light of their Netherfire Steel ws shed as they ughtered savagely.
These Ordinary-grade Red Cloud Leopards, even the strongest only at the Bronze High-stage, were no match for the six Netherfire Steel Bone Wolves.
Without any suspense, after a while, all the Red Cloud Leopardsy dead. Su Yuan collected the Star Cores brought back by the Netherfire Steel Bone Wolves and extracted and dposed them into Star Dust.
"120 Star Dust acquired."
Su Yuan looked at the increased Star Dust on the system panel and nodded in satisfaction.
But that wasn''t the end.
The Hell Chanting Ring on his hand emitted a faint ck glow. Su Yuan closed his eyes slightly, focusing his spiritual power to scan the surroundings carefully.
Among the gradually flowing Fire Elements, one area seemed particrly dense...
Su Yuan''s eyes lit up. He turned and pointed to a certain spot on a cliff wall a dozen meters away.
The Netherfire Steel Bone Wolves beside him immediately opened their mouths, charging a Netherfire Cannon and firing it at the spot.
"Boom!"
With the explosion of the Netherfire Cannon, a crater was sted into the cliff wall in front.
Inside the crater, a football-sized red mineral embedded in the wall was revealed.
"Red Fire Stone!"
Su Yuan''s eyes shone brightly. He immediately stepped forward and took out the Dragon Armor Saber, cutting it down.
"About 1.5 units, not bad, pretty smooth!"
Storing the Red Fire Stone in his ring, Su Yuan continued toward the depths...