"Ba Dou! Come here for a moment!"
Chen Bugu gave up. Naming such a professional task should be left to professionals.
Han Badou was squatting on the ground, stroking the black ice, when he suddenly heard Chen Bugu call him. He quickly stood up and turned around.
"Chen Dage, I've tested it. This black ice can indeed absorb mental power, but the absorption speed isn't particularly fast. It can only absorb about one point of mental power per minute. Perhaps the absorption speed will increase with level progression later, but this is the current situation."
Han Badou thought Chen Bugu wanted to ask him what he thought of this black ice, as the most peculiar ability this young alligator turtle currently displayed was this black ice.
"Bai Ting Ge has also tested its hardness. It's much harder than ordinary blue ice."
Han Badou walked towards Chen Bugu, speaking his analysis.
"Not about that..."
Han Badou paused, then reacted.
"As for the temperature, although we don't have professional testing equipment at the moment, we asked Binge Ge to test it using Ignite. The temperature of this black ice is lower than that of ordinary ice."
"No, well, you give this little alligator turtle a name."
Han Badou was interrupted by Chen Bugu before he could finish speaking. This time, he was stunned for a full two or three seconds.
"Huh?"
"Yes, it's you. You have a good brain, you name it..."
Chen Bugu, adhering to the principle of everyone doing their part and making the most of resources, gloriously handed the task over to Han Badou.
Han Badou stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly had an idea.
"Then let's call it 'Amon,' how about that?"
Everyone looked at Han Badou. Everyone knew that thanks to the blessing of Brain Power Enhancement - Qianji, Han Badou's brain was like a computer, so if he proposed an idea, it wouldn't be groundless.
"Actually, 'black ice' also exists on Earth."
Without waiting for questions, Han Badou consciously began to explain.
"In the North and South Poles of Earth, there's a type of ice that, due to its ancient age, has had all the air within the ice and snow completely squeezed out, compressed to extreme purity, resulting in extremely high density. Therefore, the entire block of ice will appear absolutely transparent. When this ice becomes transparent to a certain degree, it will appear inky black in seawater."
"Any piece of black ice is at least ten thousand years old; it can be said to be the most extreme ice on Earth."
"The first explorer in human history to conquer both the South and North Poles simultaneously was named Amundsen. That was almost over a hundred years ago, but even today, the polar regions of Earth still hold countless inexplicable and unexplored mysteries. They are human forbidden zones, concealing countless secrets, perhaps just like the Starting Forest before us."
"Furthermore, at the age of 44, Amundsen's plane crashed during a search and rescue mission. Although the plane was eventually salvaged, no one found his body. Amundsen was forever lost in the Arctic he had conquered."
Han Badou paused, looked around at everyone, and then continued.
"But do you think he really died? Or did he, like us, encounter a 'Great Disaster' and continue to live elsewhere?"
This conjecture stunned everyone. If they had been asked before coming to this world, they would have found this conjecture absurd, but now, anything was possible.
"My thoughts might be a bit jumpy, but black ice really made me think of 'Amundsen,' so I want to take the first two characters and name this little turtle 'Amon.'"
"Another point is that although this little turtle was only Black Iron One Star when it was born, it achieved a breakthrough by eating an eggshell. In the future, it will surely be like Wu Xia Amon, where after three days apart, one should look at him with new eyes."
After Han Badou finished explaining, the whole place was silent.
Chen Bugu was secretly congratulating himself at this moment, grateful that he hadn't tried to name this alligator turtle himself. Otherwise, with names like "Chang Wei," "Lai Fu," or "Wang Cai," he wouldn't know how to explain them.
"Good, Amon it is!"
Chen Bugu decisively agreed, and everyone else had no objections.
Amon, having received its name, also seemed very joyful, happily rubbing Chen Bugu's hand with its head.
Chen Bugu placed Amon on his shoulder, and after making sure the little fellow could stay steady and wouldn't fall off, he and the others set off again.
For the remainder of the journey, Lin Xiaoxiao and Lin Lin always stood one on each side behind Chen Bugu, happily teasing Amon with a big-orange.
...
Another two days passed in a flash. This was already the 14th day since the group arrived at the Starting Forest.
After cooperatively slaying several Black Iron Mid-level demonic beasts that blocked their path, Chen Bugu successfully broke through to Black Iron Six Star.
"Virus Type Ability: Cracking"
"Element-type ability: Space-Time"
"Strength: 55"
"Blood Qi: 67"
"Speed: 66"
"Spirit: 350 / 350"
"Skills: Fireball, Bullet Time, Recall"
"Genetic Lock: Eye Cracking 100%"
"Unlocked: Inference, Weakness Detection, Mental Shock"
Chen Bugu felt the changes in his body, then opened his eyes and looked at the enormous root system before him, filled with countless emotions.
Before them were countless intertwined, massive tree roots, so thick that one person couldn't embrace them. The parts exposed above the soil were covered in moss, like a green sea, and those undulating roots formed continuous waves.
These "waves" constantly undulated and changed with distance; the closer they were to the tree trunk, the larger the waves became, crisscrossing and winding, as if they could swallow a person at any moment.
Several hundred meters away from the group, an endless, colossal tree wall seemed to have traversed a long expanse of time, standing there eternally, towering into the clouds, its crown unseen.
Everyone was shocked by the sight before them. Although they hadn't flown high into the sky to see its true form like Old Liu, they had indeed gazed at this tree, taller than the heavens, from a distance when passing through open ground, but never before had they felt such awe as they did now.
Everyone understood that "Tongtian" was not an exaggerated embellishment, but a solid, objective description.
Even though it wasn't the first time he had seen this "Soaring Sky Tree", Chen Bugu still felt a hint of shock. The insignificance of humanity was further highlighted in front of this tree.
At this moment, Chen Bugu suddenly had an idea. He wanted to go to the top of this tree and see if the areas above the clouds were also covered in branches and leaves, and if demonic beasts or intelligent races also resided on this tree...
However, Chen Bugu didn't believe he had such strength at the moment. In his previous life, an alien strongman who had just entered the Gold rank once attempted to ascend the Soaring Sky Tree.
Later, it was said that when he returned, he was severely injured and on the verge of death. Even after receiving healing, he seemed to have developed a heart demon, and he would remain silent whenever anyone asked about that exploration.
This demeanor further spurred people into discussions, and various rumors and whispers spread like wildfire.
Some said that the top of the Soaring Sky Tree belonged to the dwelling of gods and should not be offended; some said that the top of this giant tree concealed the secrets of this world; others said that this giant tree was the last legacy left by a certain civilization, awaiting a fated person.
Various conjectures abounded, but their truth or falsity could not be verified.
Only one piece of information was universally acknowledged: the secret of the Soaring Sky Tree's summit could only be glimpsed by the strongest in this world.
"It's too high, I can't see the end, it's like a huge mountain."
"Chen Bugu, it's so tall, how are we going to climb up?"
Standing near the Soaring Sky Tree, the sunlight reaching the base was extremely scarce, so everyone had to use torches for illumination.
Bai Ting held a powerful flashlight, shining it into the distance. The dense, intricate tree roots already made his scalp tingle, not to mention the giant tree whose end could not be seen.
Under the torchlight, Chen Bugu's expression was calm as he slowly spoke.
"Climb? Why climb?"
"I never said the exit was on the tree..."