In the depths of the Eye of Ice and Fire,
Silas felt the swirling energy of ice and fire within him and silently lamented. His own elemental affinity was wind, which made it difficult for him to absorb the energy of ice and fire effectively.
Moreover, as he ventured deeper into the Eye of Ice and Fire, the ice and fire energies became abundant, while other elemental energies grew scarce. This scarcity was also a hindrance to his strength improvement.
"Your Highness, we've already retreated a considerable distance. Should we take a break? There's a place up ahead that's a balance zone!" someone shouted from the surroundings.
Silas nodded in agreement. He turned around but saw no sign of anyone else.
To shake off the pursuing Genosha Beast Master, they had hardly taken any time to rest, constantly moving forward.
The group slowly made their way onward and soon spotted a special location where red and blue light intertwined continuously. The energy of ice and fire was in constant balance there, making it a rare spot to rest, much like the environment outside.
As soon as Silas stepped into the balance zone, he felt a wave of relaxation wash over him. His body, which had been thrown into chaos by the conflicting energies of ice and fire, began to recover at that moment.
He could sense that his body was healing continuously and even becoming slightly stronger than before.
"What a pity that I'm neither an ice nor a fire Beast Master, otherwise, my strength would increase even faster!" Silas said with a hint of regret.
He turned to Dante beside him and asked:
"How about you? You're a fire Beast Master, so your improvement should be pretty quick, right?"
Dante, feeling the changes in his body, nodded excitedly and replied, "Yes, Your Highness! Just staying here for a while is better than a week of hard training outside!"
"But we can't absorb ice and fire energy for too long, or I feel like my body will gradually break down!" Dante shared his feelings.
The others immediately nodded in agreement. The constant alternation of ice and fire energy was a torment for them, a dual torture both physically and mentally!
If it weren't for the existence of these balance zones, they would have long since collapsed!
However, as they ventured deeper, they noticed a concerning trend—the frequency of balance zones was decreasing!
"Sigh, it seems I have no choice but to use that thing. I really have no other options left!" Silas sighed, feeling quite reluctant.
He possessed a special miracle drug that allowed his body to absorb the surrounding elemental energy and rapidly enhance his strength!
However, using it came at a significant cost: his muscles would gradually atrophy, his physical condition would decline rapidly, and in the end, he would become a high-level Beast Master with a body akin to an ordinary person!
The reason for participating in the Eye of Ice and Fire and going to great lengths to achieve victory was to obtain the [Golden Devouring Enhancement Stone]!
Only that item could offset the cost of the special miracle drug. Silas originally planned to acquire the [Golden Devouring Enhancement Stone] first, then attempt to use the special miracle drug.
Unfortunately, Charles didn't give him that opportunity!
Moreover, dissatisfaction with him was growing within the Stellar Empire. His cultivation talent could only be considered slightly gifted, not the kind of true genius.
Among Silas's younger brothers, some had already begun to catch up to his Beast Master level.
If he delayed any longer, it wouldn't be long before they surpassed him.
Additionally, this strategic retreat would damage his reputation. If he couldn't turn the situation around later, his losses would be quite severe!
"I'll risk it all. As long as I drink that bottle of special miracle drug, with the ice and fire energy from the Eye of Ice and Fire, I might just break through to a Level Six Beast Master. At that point, I'll definitely obtain the [Golden Devouring Enhancement Stone]!" Silas thought to himself.
Aside from improving his strength, the thing he wanted most was to eliminate Charles!
If it weren't for Charles, he wouldn't be taking such a huge risk!
"If I become a Level Six Beast Master, no one will be able to stop me. At that time, not a single Genosha Beast Master will escape!" Silas gritted his teeth, no longer hesitating, and pulled out a bottle of miracle drug glowing with golden light from his pocket.
The appearance of that golden-quality special miracle drug instantly attracted the attention of everyone around.
The other Beast Masters from the Stellar Empire clearly hadn't expected such a thing. They instinctively looked at the shimmering golden miracle drug, their eyes filled with desire.
"Hmph! Stop staring! You all keep watch outside. Once I digest this golden-quality miracle drug, my strength will significantly increase. At that point, Charles won't stand a chance against me! Revenge will be mine soon!" Silas commanded.
The others lowered their heads reluctantly and moved to the edge of the balance zone to stand guard.
For an average Beast Master, an orange-quality item or miracle drug was quite rare, let alone a miracle drug radiating golden light.
Such items were extremely scarce for a nation, and it was surprising that the Your Highness carried a bottle with him!
Dante reluctantly averted his gaze and turned to Asher, whispering:
"The Your Highness has a golden-quality miracle drug. Once he absorbs it, he will definitely be stronger than Charles, and then I can take my revenge!"
Asher replied slowly, somewhat uncertain, "Do you know Charles's true strength?"
Dante shook his head, he had no idea if Charles had any special trump cards left.
The two exchanged glances, and their excitement faded considerably. Now, they could only wait to see what kind of improvement Silas would gain after he absorbed the miracle drug!
Time passed little by little.
The Genosha Beast Masters began to gather, and when everyone had arrived beside Charles, the atmosphere became lively.
"Charles, we haven't found anything along the way. Is Silas hiding with the Stellar Empire Beast Masters?" someone shouted.
Others chimed in, saying:
"I feel the same way, there haven't been any clues at all!"
"They must be afraid of Charles and chose to hide in a secluded place, otherwise, there wouldn't be a single clue left behind!"
"Exactly! We searched carefully, and there are no footprints at all!"
As the young men excitedly discussed, Charles's face showed no expression, it was utterly calm.
Seeing that Charles didn't respond, the atmosphere quickly cooled down.
Once everyone fell silent and stopped speaking, Charles said calmly:
"Are you sure there are no clues at all? Take a good look around."
Hearing Charles's words, the surrounding Genosha young Beast Masters widened their eyes in surprise.
Someone whispered, "Could it be that Charles called me over because he found some clue? I looked around, and there's nothing!"
"It must be that way, but I didn't find anything either!"
"There are no footprints, no signs of a battle, there's clearly nothing here!"
Even Zachary, the general's son, who had learned a bit about tracking, carefully observed the surroundings and found nothing as well!
Charles sighed, this group was too young and inexperienced. They couldn't even spot such obvious clues right in front of them.
Thinking of this, Charles directly squatted down, picked up a palm-sized stone, and raised it, signaling everyone to observe closely.
Soon, Zachary was the first to speak up:
"This stone has scratches on it, and they're very fresh!"
This discovery instantly shocked the Genosha Beast Masters, who hurried over to examine the stone closely.
Sure enough, at the edge of the stone, there was a subtle scratch that looked completely different from the rest of the stone's surface.
"Is this man-made? Could it have been caused by other factors?"
"It couldn't be caused by other factors, the pressure from an Eight-Level Beast Master in the air would deter any ferocious beast from appearing."
"Exactly! A stone this large couldn't have been moved by the wind."
"Could it have been caused by another ferocious beast passing through here earlier?"
In an instant, the young Genosha Beast Masters began to discuss amongst themselves. They were relatively confident in Charles's judgment, but such a fine scratch left them in shock!
How could someone have such extraordinary powers of observation?
To notice such a minor scratch on a stone that would hardly attract anyone's attention on the ground, except for Charles!
Charles didn't say much. He pointed at the ground beneath them and slowly spoke again:
"There's a footprint here, didn't you notice it?"
Hearing Charles's words, everyone instantly looked down at the ground. Some even lay flat on the ground to observe closely.
"There aren't any other footprints, Charles. Could it be one of our own?"
"I didn't see anything either, Charles. Are you sure you didn't make a mistake?" someone curiously asked.
Charles remained silent as the wind attribute energy within him surged, radiating outwards from his center and stirring up the dust on the ground beneath him.
Soon, a stunning sight shocked everyone present.
As the dust was blown away, a clear footprint suddenly appeared before their eyes!
"Oh wow! There really is a footprint!"
"Impressive as always, Charles! While all of us here found nothing, he spotted it in an instant!"
"How on earth did he do that?" The young Genosha Beast Masters stared wide-eyed, mouths agape, filled with disbelief.