Flint didn't say a word after Ricky rescued him, not even a short "thank you". He just activated the
blood essence and kept moving forward, for he was too ashamed to say anything. If it weren't for the
temptation of the emperor beast's ruins here, he would probably leave the Emperor Beast Swamp.
The four of them continued their journey in deep silence, like a fearful calm before the storm.
"Next, you should notice that there are many visible swamps on the periphery of each dark marsh.
There are marsh muds, and they are very important to us in these visible swamps. We need to get
them," Edie said after they were some distance away from the dark marsh.
Of course, it was mainly for Ricky to hear.
"Can you tell me more about these marsh muds?" Ricky requested.
"The visible swamps are the ones we can see and feel. The gravitational force they exude is not very
strong, so we can easily get out if we fall into them," explained Edie as he gestured to the marsh
around them.
"In the center of the visible swamps, there is the special mud which looks like a fetus.
That mud is condensed from the power in the surroundings. We usually call it marsh mud.
These marsh mud contain an incredibly pure power. If we refine it, we can replenish our energy.
Ricky, I believe you have noticed it as well. We are consuming a lot of power just to resist the
gravitational pull from the swamp. However, the speed at which we absorb the power in the air here is
much slower compared to the rate that is being used. It is because the gravitational pull of the
swampland is also stopping us.
In this case, even if we refine the Treasures from Heaven and Earth, our physical strength will be
consumed a lot. Once we meet a rival, it is not good for us to fight."
"You are right. Even though I have the devouring power, I am still consuming more power compared to
the amount of power I am absorbing. It is not good for us to keep refining Treasures from Heaven and
Earth." Ricky nodded with understanding.
"Therefore, we have to get a lot of marsh muds, so that we won't be at a disadvantage when fighting
with other opponents," Edie explained wisely.
But then Ricky cocked his head to one side, looking puzzled. He asked curiously,
"Then, how many marsh muds are enough for us to stay for a month?" "Each of us should have four
balls of marsh mud. I think that will be enough for the duration of our stay," answered Edie.
"Of course, it will be better if we can get more since we can use the excess to improve ourselves," he
added further.
After they moved forward for a while, they indeed saw a dozen visible swamps.
"It seems that lady luck is finally on our side today. I can see a dozen visible swamps at once, and I'm
sure they will be enough to sustain us for a while," Winifred blurted out excitedly when she saw the
swamps.
"Yes, we are lucky indeed. But here come our competitors," Ricky said with a smile.
As soon as Ricky finished speaking, another voice rang through the air. "Ha-ha, Edie and Winifred, I
didn't expect to meet you two here." In an instant, four figures appeared before them.
A closer look yielded two men and two women dressed in midnight colored robes, and they were
invisibly exuding deep darkness as if all four of them came from a dark, hellish place.
Their leader towered over them, wearing a creepy, serene smile on his face.
"Kirk, it has been a long time since we last met!" Edie replied in a low voice.
"These people are the disciples of the emperor beast—the Three-legged Nether Crow tribe. The taller
one, Kirk, is their leader. He is very powerful and as talented as Edie," Winifred said to Ricky using her
internal power.
"The tall woman is called Marvel, and I heard that she is as strong as Kirk.
I'm afraid that we won't be able to get the marsh mud here," she added regretfully.
"How can we know if we don't give it a try? I don't think our side is weak, so don't give up so easily,"
Ricky replied immediately.
"Well, let's see if you can beat Marvel then," said Winifred.
"Don't worry. We have Flint on our side. We can depend on him." Ricky wore a teasing smile as he
spoke.
"I never expected to depend on him. I don't think he is stronger than me, let alone you. In fact, if we
fight seriously, I think I could take him easily,"
said Winifred with a frown.
At this time, Ricky caught Kirk's attention, so he turned to him and greeted him. And so did the other
three disciples.
"Hi, buddy. Nice to meet you. You are that Kenney who is well known recently, right?"
"Yes, that is me. Nice to meet you, too," Ricky politely replied since Kirk was treating him with respect.
Then, Edie inserted himself between the two, hoping to take the attention away from Ricky.
"Kirk, we found this visible swamp first, so it should belong to us," he insisted stubbornly. "Ha-ha, there
is no 'first come, first served' in the world of martial arts.
Strength is the only thing that matters. Besides, you have just arrived, and those marsh muds in the
visible swamps have not yet fallen into your hands." Kirk laughed in reply.
It was eerie because one second he was laughing, and then in the next second, he straightened up
with a serious look on his face.
"Cut the crap, Edie. We both have four people on our sides, and except for the two of us, these other
people can have a one-one fight with each other. The side who wins two rounds will win the battle, and
the winner will get the marsh mud here," he suddenly suggested. "Really? Are you serious?" Edie was
slightly interested in his proposal, for it sounded fair, and he believed his side had a good chance of
winning too.
"Of course. Would I offer if I don't want to do that? But it all depends on whether you have the courage
or not," Kirk answered.
Among the four competitors, Kirk was most afraid of Edie because he had fought with him before and
he knew exactly how powerful Edie was. Therefore, he wanted to make the battle between Edie and
him a draw, so that the outcome could be decided in the remaining three battles.
And even though Ricky's reputation had spread far and wide, he had only killed Fitch and the Yellow
Water Emperor.
Fitch and the Yellow Water Emperor were not powerful enough in the eyes of these talents who were at
the Sage Level. Thus, they still looked down on Ricky.
"We have no choice but to agree with your proposal. After all, you don't follow the principle of 'first
come, first served'," Edie said after hearing the confirmation of Kirk.
He was confident in Ricky after all.
And even he, himself, didn't think he could defeat Ricky.
Soon, Flint fought with one man on Kirk's side. It was a fierce battle, but Fitch was still defeated in the
end. From this battle, Ricky could see that Flint's strength was just only slightly stronger than that of
Fitch.
"It seems that Flint was sent here mostly because of his identity," Ricky talked to the Dragon Intent
Grass through telepathy.
"That's possible. The Wind-Mountain Alliance is a big force. There should be many geniuses under the
age of one hundred years old. Apart from Edie and Winifred, there should be someone more powerful
than this Flint," remarked the Dragon Intent Grass.
On the other hand, Ricky was more curious about Edie's identity, which was still unknown to him until
now.
The access to the Emperor Beast Swamp was unquestionably tough and stringent. And yet, Ricky was
qualified to enter just on Edie's word. No warrior of the Wind-Mountain Alliance had stepped out to
oppose it.
It supported his theory that Edie must have a special place in the Wind-Mountain Alliance.
Ricky even guessed that the two saints of the Wind-Mountain Alliance must show respect to Edie.
Back in the battle, Flint was once again cloaked in shame after he was defeated in front of Ricky.
Ricky could even feel that Flint blamed him again for his failure.
But Ricky didn't care about it at all. If Flint came to vent anger on him, he would teach Flint a good
lesson.
And then, Marvel stood out, pointed at Ricky with her slender forefinger, and said a little flirtatiously, "I
want this handsome guy with white hair to be my opponent!"
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