It was obvious that taking on these tree roots head-on didn't give much chance of victory.
Chen Jie remained calm, blocking the roots' attacks while searching for their weaknesses.
While he tangled with the roots, outside the Land of Thunder, quite a few people had already gathered.
This place wasn't discovered first by the elephant man alone.
Many others had noticed it upon entering the secret realm but had been unable to cross the Land of Thunder.
They could only stand back in frustration.
But now, someone had actually crossed the thunder zone, approaching the Evolution Fruit, and the commotion instantly drew a crowd.
These people weren't just from the Dragon Nation.
There were also people from other countries.
For example, the curly-haired vampires from Eagle Nation.
After the apocalypse broke out, the vampires of Eagle Nation had collectively awakened as well.
These vampires, like the super-warrior awakenings in the Dragon Nation, were a special awakening after consuming animals.
Countries that had a relatively peaceful life saw their warriors awaken.
These warriors still wore their traditional kimonos.
Their core weapon of attack was the long sword in their hands.
Among them, the one closest to the Dragon Nation's super-warriors was the Kimchi Nation.
The Kimchi Nation had also awakened a type of super-warrior.
But many of their weapons were unusual; unlike the Dragon Nation's long swords, they wielded steel baseball bats.
"Oh my God! How did this young man get through those thunderbolts? Incredible."
Curly-haired, white-haired vampire Kulis from Eagle Nation exclaimed in astonishment.
With his body, even the sun was dangerous, let alone lightning.
So he was very curious how Chen Jie managed to pass through the thunder to reach the Evolution Fruit.
"Yo-shi! I don't care how he got through; as long as he takes the fruit out, I'll finish him off and the fruit will be mine!"
Nihon's Nichikawa Steelplate glared fiercely, tightly gripping his samurai sword.
Once Chen Jie came out, he intended to seize the Evolution Fruit.
Awakened from other countries also cast greedy eyes on Chen Jie.
"Who knows who can take it from whom!"
Kimchi Nation's Park Duan Tui twirled his baseball bat confidently.
He also coveted the Evolution Fruit.
The elephant man looked at their faces and felt disgusted.
They didn't dare enter the thunder zone themselves to get the Evolution Fruit, yet they leered at someone else's hard-earned prize.
More than the fruit itself, the elephant man was anxious about whether Chen Jie could handle these aggressively attacking tree roots.
His energy core was still in Chen Jie's hands.
If Chen Jie died, he would likely meet the Grim Reaper too.
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Chen Jie dodged another wave of root attacks with a few flashes.
He took a few breaths.
Although he could now parry these roots, this wasn't a sustainable solution.
His stamina was limited.
These roots seemed able to absorb energy from this area infinitely.
After several waves, their power showed no sign of weakening.
"Swish!"
Another root shot forward.
Chen Jie rolled back just in time, landing inside the Land of Thunder.
A massive bolt of lightning crashed down.
He could only raise the Open Heaven Axe to block it again.
To his surprise, after entering the Land of Thunder, the roots froze in midair.
They didn't dare attack him any further.
Could it be… these roots feared the thunder in this zone?
This gave Chen Jie an idea.
He summoned the Hongmeng Clear-Pollute Qi, and when the next lightning bolt struck, he let the Qi flow into it.
Soon, the Hongmeng Clear-Pollute Qi had become familiar with the characteristics of the thunder in this zone.
Next, with a big wave of his hand, the Qi transformed to mimic the thunder, swirling around him.
Approaching the Evolution Fruit again, the roots sensed him once more and lunged!
But as they neared Chen Jie, they froze midair again.
They didn't dare advance another inch!
Sure enough, these roots were terrified of the thunder.
Chen Jie relaxed, moving freely through the roots. Two jumps later, he climbed the Evolution Tree.
The Evolution Fruit was within reach!
"Woo-ah!"
Just as Chen Jie was about to pluck the fruit, a golden-furred demon monkey on a branch suddenly awoke.
It shrieked at him, trying to make him stop.
Chen Jie wasn't about to let go so easily after all the effort to reach the Evolution Fruit.
He leapt, grabbed the fruit, and plucked it.
The moment it touched his hand, he felt warmth spreading through his palm.
Energy poured into his body, subtly enhancing his constitution.
Even without eating it, mere contact had an effect!
Chen Jie was overjoyed.
He couldn't wait to properly consume it later and see how far it could boost him.
Seeing Chen Jie pluck the fruit, the demon monkey roared furiously.
Its eyes turned blood-red, and its body rapidly expanded, soon reaching the size of a small mountain.
The energy it radiated far exceeded Chen Jie's.
Just one scan with True Vision startled him.
This demon monkey's power had reached roughly seventh-tier awakener level—crushing Chen Jie by two tiers!
Run!
Chen Jie's first choice was to avoid a fight.
Even with godlike talents, the struggle with the roots had drained a lot of stamina.
A direct fight with the demon monkey now would gain him nothing.
Better to find a place to absorb the Evolution Fruit; then the monkey would definitely be no match.
Deciding this, Chen Jie disappeared in a flash, retreating toward the edge of the Land of Thunder.
Those standing outside saw his figure and greed lit up their faces.
"Yo-shi! He actually brought out the Evolution Fruit! This fruit is mine!"
"Oh! Lowly creatures dare possess the Evolution Fruit? Hand it over to me obediently! The Master will bless you!"
"This should belong to our Kimchi Nation!"
…
As they eagerly watched Chen Jie, they suddenly sensed something was wrong.
"Bang, bang, bang!"
The ground trembled rapidly, shaking violently.
An earthquake?
Looking up, behind Chen Jie, followed a mad monkey the size of a small mountain.
With each step, it could cover over a hundred meters.
Luckily, Chen Jie was fast enough; otherwise, the monkey could have crushed him with a single stomp.
"Elephant, transform!"
Chen Jie shouted, holding the Evolution Fruit.
The elephant man quickly shifted into a mighty eagle and charged toward Chen Jie.
Chen Jie leapt and landed on the eagle's back.
"Kyah—"
The eagle screeched, flapping toward the opposite direction of the demon monkey, retreating rapidly.