Kill the red dragons

Upon hearing the words of the leader of the red dragons, Xue Lian thought to herself: 

"Well, I didn't expect you to remain so calm and think this way. Not bad, but unfortunately, you're wrong. I may be just one person, but I can definitely wipe you all out."

She stepped out in front of them, not bothering to act stealthily because her current power level was incredibly high.

Moreover, she was certain there weren't many red dragons here, as she could tell from their conversation that they had split off to pursue greater endeavors.

As for their "great endeavors," nothing had yet materialized, but what was clear was that their small lives were about to end. They surely didn't believe that their lives would be over so soon.

Seeing a small figure appear in front of them, the red dragons immediately became alert. Though she wasn't actually short, the average height of the red dragons was towering.

"Big brother, is that a demon? Why does she look so different from us?" one of them accidentally asked.

It wasn't strange for him to ask, as this was the first time he had ever seen a human.

When you see something for the first time that you don't fully understand, it's only natural to be cautious.

"No, I can tell she's definitely one of the other nine races and a weakling at that."

"Heh heh heh, are you ready to face your death?" Xue Lian taunted.

Her voice caused the red dragons to swallow nervously, but the leader quickly shouted:

"There are six of us, and only one of her! Charge and kill her now!"

Just as they were about to charge...

Whoosh—Thunk!

The sound of something swiftly cutting through the air, followed by a sharp impact.

It was a spear, thrown by Xue Lian straight at the head of the leader. Although their bodies were usually tough, due to the debuff to maintain balance, they were now much weaker.

The spear instantly pierced through his skull, and his massive body collapsed to the ground.

The other minions hadn't yet comprehended what was happening when the sound of rapid footsteps approached them.

Xue Lian quickly dashed forward, pulling the spear out and beginning her assault. In the next second, another head was pierced through.

"Run... run away!"

The red dragons scattered in all directions, but running too fast in the dark made it easy to trip and fall. 

One by one, they stumbled over roots or rocks and fell to the ground. Behind them, Xue Lian swiftly pursued.

It didn't take long before they were completely wiped out—this was nothing more than a massacre. These weakling red dragons weren't even worth mentioning in front of her.

Six stars were now floating in front of her. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that one of them was stronger than the others. She thought to herself:

"Could it be that there's a difference between stars? I should ask Azeroth when I get back."

Before long, she returned to the same spot. Although it was dark, she still remembered the way back.

"Hey, Azeroth, take a look at this. Why does this one seem stronger than the other five?"

Azeroth was slightly surprised. At this time, very few beings had the ability to absorb stars. But his surprise didn't last long, and he explained:

"That means it had previously absorbed stars. The larger the energy emitted by a being's star, the more stars it has already absorbed."

Lei Feng seemed to catch onto a key point and asked:

"More energy means we can grow stronger, right? Like if an enemy has two stars, when we absorb them, we'll gain an additional two stars."

Azeroth wasn't surprised by Lei Feng's quick thinking. If Lei Feng ever became slow-witted, that would truly be strange.

"You're not wrong, but I know what you're thinking, and it won't work. The absorption time remains the same. Every half hour, you can absorb only one star."

"So that's how it works? I was hoping to exploit it a little, but I guess that's pointless. Never mind, let's drop the issue." Lei Feng nodded.

Meanwhile, Xue Lian couldn't shake a strange feeling—it was like seeing a huge feast while already feeling full. She asked:

"Hey, why do I get this weird feeling when I look at this star? It's like being stuffed and seeing way too much food."

Hearing this, Azeroth recalled something and said to her:

"Your current star count is already at nine. Ten is the limit for the first level. If you don't break that limit, no matter how many stars you absorb, the excess energy will escape and return to nature."

The three of them stood there, stunned. They had thought that if they just kept fighting and pouring all their resources into nurturing Xue Lian, it would work out, but the situation now seemed much more complicated.

"You mean after Xue Lian reaches 10 stars, she won't be able to get stronger?" Lei Feng asked.

"That's right. Unless she breaks through the limit, that's the reality," Azeroth replied.

Everyone pondered for a moment before Xue Lian asked:

"So, how do I break through the limit?"

Suddenly, Lei Feng remembered something and said:

"Oh man, I forgot because I was sleepy. Do you remember the voice from earlier? It said that to break the limit, you have to kill an equal-level opponent with your own strength."

"Oh right, that's true!" Long Wei nodded in agreement.

Azeroth laughed and said:

"Ha ha, I thought you all had forgotten this important detail. That's exactly how it works, but right now, it's incredibly difficult to find someone of Xue Lian's level. For now, we should focus on raising our own strength. I suggest we enhance your power, Your Majesty. Besides Xue Lian, you are the strongest in combat."

"That's right, Your Majesty, don't refuse this time." Long Wei added with a nod.

Seeing everyone so enthusiastic, Lei Feng didn't refuse. He hadn't been overly focused on increasing his strength as soon as possible. 

His main concern was building a united group, as only through unity could they progress far in the future.

"Alright, then Xue Lian, absorb one of the stars, and the rest will be mine."

Xue Lian nodded, handing over the remaining stars to him and absorbing one for herself.

"By the way, will absorbing a star wake me up?" she asked.

Azeroth immediately shook his head and said:

"No, it doesn't have that effect."

Hearing this, everyone nodded. Then, they each went about their business. 

Those with nothing to do went to sleep—after all, wandering through the forest at night wasn't exactly ideal.