Cultivation

Five cases, all forged from alloy, stood in a row, reflecting a silvery-white gleam beneath the lights.

Xia Zhi first took the Blood Shadow Battle Saber from the long case.

His fingers stroked the sheath, said to be crafted from the hide of a High-level Lord Wing Armor Dragon.

With a hiss, the saber slid from its sheath.

This A8 series Blood Shadow Battle Saber was 132 centimeters long overall, with a 112-centimeter blade, a blade width of 5.8 centimeters, and a total weight of 118 kilograms.

His fingertips lightly brushed the already-sharpened saber. Made primarily from grade-five Kuro Alloy, it could be used to fight most Lord-level monsters without worrying about weapon damage.

Even the natural defenses of Intermediate Lord-level monsters found it difficult to withstand its incomparably sharp edge.

Xia Zhi had bought it at half price using Zhuge Tao's two-star contribution rating, and it had still cost him a full 100 million Huaxia Coins.

The world's monster ranks were similar to those of humans. Beast Soldier level, Beast General level, and Lord level corresponded respectively to Warrior level, General level, and War God level.

A rank higher than that was S-class among monsters, also known as King-level monsters, corresponding to humans who had transcended the War God level—Planetary-level powerhouses.

One had to know that different types of monsters possessed different inherent traits. Most monsters were naturally born with scales, armor, fur, and other defenses, something humans of the same level were far inferior to.

And Lord-level monsters could not even be killed by missiles!

For a battle saber to inflict damage and withstand the combat of War God-level experts without fear of breaking, one could imagine how demanding the requirements were for the weapon's material!

A battle saber costing 200 million Huaxia Coins at full price was within a reasonable range.

After examining the saber, Xia Zhi took out the other equipment and arranged it on the floor.

A B9 series Hexagonal Shield cost 120 million Huaxia Coins at full price and 60 million at half price. Most Lord-level monsters could not damage it.

Ten E8 series throwing knives, purchased at half price for 7.5 million Huaxia Coins each, were forged entirely from grade-five Kuro Alloy. If the user's strength was sufficient, they could easily pierce through most High-level Lord monsters.

The two E9 series throwing knives had cost 60 million Huaxia Coins at full price. Buying them at half price required a three-star contribution rating, something even Zhuge Tao did not possess.

Xia Zhi had bought them at full price to use as trump cards. They were forged entirely from grade-six Kuro Alloy, the strongest alloy current Earth technology could produce. If his own strength was sufficient, they could injure most S-class monsters.

Among all a warrior's equipment, combat uniforms were the most expensive.

A D7 grade combat uniform, capable of withstanding the tearing claws of Beginner Lord-level monsters, along with arm guards, battle boots, and the rest of the set, actually cost 280 million Huaxia Coins at full price. Half price was 140 million.

Adding backpacks, combat communication watches, and other auxiliary equipment and tools, Xia Zhi had spent a full 440 million Huaxia Coins this time. Assistant Bai had been stunned at the time, and it had eventually even alerted Zhuge Tao.

"Ha ha, using my opponent's money to improve myself feels great!"

Looking at the pieces of equipment whose prices would leave ordinary people dumbfounded, Xia Zhi thought excitedly, Let's put them on and try them out.

Not long afterward, Xia Zhi looked at himself in the huge mirror hanging on one wall of the training hall, fully armed with a saber in hand.

He suddenly felt as though he had spent money on a god-tier equipment set in a game.

"Spend what needs to be spent. True treasures can't be bought with money."

Thinking of Hong's collection in the original story, all of it had to be traded item for item. Huaxia Coins held no appeal at all for top experts.

"But for ordinary warriors, money is also a resource. If it can be exchanged for equipment that increases strength, then I can kill stronger monsters, earn more money, and obtain more resources to improve my strength."

After indulging in the novelty and excitement for a long while, Xia Zhi removed his equipment and sat cross-legged on the floor again.

"Ultimately, my own strength is the foundation of everything."

He opened the introduction to the Guidance arts in the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade Manual and began cultivating.

Created by Thunder God, whose body was the strongest in the world, Nine Heavens Primordial absorbed cosmic energy at a rate the basic Primordial Energy Cultivation Method could not compare with.

What was remarkable was that this set of Guidance arts was extremely similar to the Supreme Body Refining Art. Both used different body postures combined with specialized breathing techniques to achieve miraculous effects. The postures of the Nine Heavens Primordial Guidance Technique bore many traces of Indian Yoga practice.

After Xia Zhi began cultivating according to the manual, he felt a long-forgotten hunger rise from every cell in his body.

Through the Guidance arts, countless pores across his body could absorb cosmic energy into him, greatly accelerating the speed at which his body absorbed energy.

Combined with the Supreme Body Refining Art, which required vast amounts of energy to temper the body, he had never felt his strength increasing so clearly.

His tendons, skin, muscles, and bones—especially the bones throughout his body—absorbed the cosmic energy entering him like bottomless pits.

When his bone cells neared saturation and could no longer absorb more, the second stage, the Bone Refining Chapter, began its tempering evolution of every bone in his body.

Pain, itching, soreness, numbness... all kinds of sensations arose, all emerging from deep within his bones. Yet Xia Zhi continued to endure every kind of suffering with his astonishing willpower, rapidly improving amid this endless tempering.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, half a month went by in cultivation. Xia Zhi hardly left home and spent every day cultivating.

The effects of combining Nine Heavens Primordial with the Supreme Body Refining Art were especially apparent. He had also already mastered the third stage of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade saber technique, allowing every strike to unleash three additional layers of force.

In the silent training hall, Xia Zhi sat cross-legged. As his body rose and fell with his breathing, a sudden rushing sound came from within him, as though water were flowing.

The sound of flowing water grew louder, and his complexion became increasingly rosy.

As time passed, his breathing grew lighter and the sound of water grew softer. Only after the training hall returned to silence did his eyes slowly open.

"I've finally entered the final chapter of the Supreme Body Refining Art, the Blood Refining Chapter. Completing the Bone Refining Chapter allowed me to break through into the Beginner General level. Now that I've begun the Blood Refining Chapter, I should be infinitely close to Intermediate Wargod-level strength."

These half a month of focused cultivation had been Xia Zhi's greatest improvement since his rebirth. The perfectly compatible Guidance arts and Supreme Body Refining Art had allowed him to advance by leaps and bounds.

"My Mind Controller strength is currently at the peak of High-level General. As long as my body reaches the Intermediate Wargod level, I can break through and become a Beginner War God-level Mind Controller."

Thinking about his Mind Controller rank, he could not help thinking of the Nine-story Pagoda within his sea of consciousness.

"I'm already extremely close. I can practically touch the pagoda gate."

With his mental will, Xia Zhi could now stand before the pagoda's gate within his sea of consciousness. He was only a single step away from touching the pagoda.

Xia Zhi understood that when his Mind Controller level entered the War God level, it would be time to truly come into contact with the Nine-story Pagoda.

"Today is August 18th, the day our Golden Spear Squad members meet for the first time. There's still some time, so I'll head out early and test my current strength at headquarters first."

Ten days ago, Zhuge Tao had contacted Xia Zhi. The captain of the warrior squad arranged for him was named Qin Feng, a High-level General-level warrior, and the squad was called the Golden Spear Squad.

Today was the gathering day Captain Qin Feng had notified them about.

They had agreed to meet at noon at the Limitless Martial Arts School headquarters in the Main urban area.

After everyone met and got acquainted, they would head into the Wilderness Zone to hunt monsters.

This would be his first time entering the Wilderness Zone to hunt monsters.

Over the past half month, his strength had rapidly improved, but he had not tested his exact figures yet.

Xia Zhi knew well that only by fully understanding the limits of his own strength could he ensure there would be no mistakes at critical moments!

Even the slightest mistake in battle could lead to irreparable consequences. This was experience countless warriors had bought with blood.

Thinking of this, he stopped wasting time and silently began putting on his combat uniform trousers, fastening the twelve throwing knives to the outer sides of both legs.

He put on Alloy Battle Boots, wore a combat vest, left both arms bare, and wore wrist guards on both hands. A communication watch was secured to the wrist guard on his right hand.

Then he slung on his warrior backpack and fastened the Hexagonal Shield and Blood Shadow Battle Saber to the weapon clasps on the outside of the pack.

Dressed in a standard full set of warrior gear, Xia Zhi looked in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction.

"Let's go!"

This is the first chapter today. Thank you, readers, for your encouragement and support! If you like this book, please add it to your bookshelf. Two chapters daily—many thanks!