After Yasha finished treating Li Wei's wounds, the two sat in silence, waiting for the outcome of Judith's battle. With Yasha by his side, Li Wei refrained from directly summoning the Book of a Thousand Laws. Still, upon careful examination, he discerned the nature of the warm flow that had surged within him after defeating Kuyes.

Life force.

This marked Li Wei's first time slaying a human at the extreme level. While he had previously defeated characters like Zhang Zongming and Hui Xi, the former being a vampire and the latter not posing a lethal threat, this instance presented a new situation: killing for the extraction of life force.

Li Wei felt a mix of excitement and fear. Could taking a life also yield life force?

Upon closer inspection, Li Wei sensed a difference. This power contained a distinct and somewhat unsettling aura, closely resembling Kuyes' own essence. It made him uncomfortable. Unlike the pure life force obtained through genetic fluid or the blood and flesh core of a monster, this life force seemed different. While the other sources were relatively pure, this one appeared to carry a substantial amount of impurity, potentially reducing its efficiency.

Moreover, in terms of quantity, absorbing life force from a human seemed much less rewarding compared to extracting it from a vampire's blood and flesh core. The utilization efficiency of this special life force, with its peculiar aura, would likely be quite low. It seemed that for Li Wei to enhance his strength, he still needed to rely on genetic fluid and hunting monsters for blood and flesh cores.

Regardless, having a new source of life force extraction was a positive development, and Li Wei was content. Shortly after he finished probing the peculiar life force, the battle on Judith's end concluded.

"Are you okay?" Li Wei greeted the woman who had returned to the backseat of the "Wild Horse."

The "Witch" in the car, slightly out of breath with a hint of sweat on her body, remained in high spirits. "Five Blackheart Riders from the Skeleton Gang, hmph, what are they? At first, I held back a bit to avoid harming you guys. Once I distanced myself, I unleashed full firepower. Some guy thought he could ambush me with his speed, but he ended up burning miserably in my flames. There was also a fool from the Hub Link who tried to use psychic attacks to restrain me. Despite the level difference, once his mental power infiltrated, I shattered it, causing him to spit up three liters of blood."

Judith boasted about her achievements, her face filled with excitement.

"Did you kill all those Blackheart Riders?"

"No, two of them escaped." Judith took a deep breath, sniffled, and emphasized, "If I hadn't been concerned about you guys over here, I wouldn't have let them go!"

This woman was indeed formidable. Despite facing five opponents alone, judging by her appearance, aside from a bit of redness and panting, there seemed to be no other issues, not even a scratch.

Clearly, those five Blackheart Riders were no match for her, and they couldn't pose any threat to her whatsoever.

It seemed that after breaking through the genetic lock, the power gap between different development levels was astonishing.

Judith continued, "But you did well. I was worried if you could handle the remaining Skeleton Gang members. Knowing that you could take care of them by yourself, I didn't spare those two who fled when they saw the situation turning unfavorable."

Judith was no longer surprised by Li Wei's performance. Although Li Wei hadn't completed the extreme refinement and still had some distance to go in terms of physical strength, in actual combat, Judith believed that Li Wei was already on par with individuals at the extreme level.

Thus, she admired him for being able to independently kill over a dozen Skeleton Gang members, without being shocked anymore. In her eyes, Li Wei was already quite formidable.

After some casual conversation, Li Wei started the car. The road blocked by Skeleton Gang members was certainly impassable, but Wistom had been thoroughly planned from the upper to the lower regions. Even though the road conditions were a bit worse and narrower, a detour was still possible.

...

"Should we pursue them?"

"Pursue what? Are you as powerful as those five Blackheart Riders? Pursuing them would be suicide."

"So are we giving up on this commission? There's a lot of money involved!"

"Enjoying wealth with your life is better. Don't think too much. Damn it, who would have thought that the target of this commission would have someone like Judith, the 'Witch'? We can't handle it; let's retreat."

Observing the "Wild Horse" disappear around a distant street corner, three or four shadowy figures whispered among themselves and then vanished into the darkness.

...

Following the battle with the Skeleton Gang, Li Wei's group finally encountered no more major troubles. There was a group of foolish bounty hunters who tried to intercept their car, but those opponents were even weaker than the Skeleton Gang's team. Li Wei focused on driving while Judith, with her fiery abilities, incinerated the foolhardy pursuers.

They safely arrived at the location of the Skyward Elevator.

The Skyward Elevator was the only passage from the lower to the upper regions.

Resembling a massive black iron box, it was large enough to accommodate at least a dozen or more vehicles like the "Wild Horse." Four giant metal pillars stood at the box's four corners. Along the edges, thick iron chains were linked to the elevator. Amidst the roar of engines, the iron chains pulled the box upward slowly.

Unfortunately, Li Wei's group arrived just after a Skyward Elevator had left. They could only drive their car into the next available elevator, waiting for it to fill up before they could proceed.