Insight into Rainstorm

Lin Zhen did not continue tracking the person who had ambushed him. Time was pressing, and he felt that the captain's results might not be ideal either. If he held them back again, the Demon Hunter Squad truly would not qualify to enter Yilan County.

Picking up the Black Dragon Spear, Lin Zhen began hunting everywhere.

"Given my current strength, killing F-Rank and E-Rank monsters isn't too difficult, but D-Rank ones are much harder. Unless they're the type with strong offense and weak defense, perhaps I can achieve an instant kill by controlling Flying Knives with Mental Power."

Aside from large animals such as cattle and horses, poisonous snakes were the most common D-Rank monsters.

After mutation, poisonous snakes primarily attacked with their fangs and constriction. However, they moved relatively slowly and had weak defenses, so Lin Zhen set his sights on them.

"Snakes like to live in dark, damp places with plenty of weeds. Looking at the terrain of the entire Town, the northeastern area may be the most suitable place for them."

Having chosen his target, Lin Zhen headed northeast.

Along the way, Lin Zhen killed two Mutated Pigs and one mutated cat, along with dozens of F-Rank creatures.

He casually stuffed the ears and other parts he cut off into his bags, gradually making his way to the northeastern part of Town.

The northeast had suffered the worst damage. Meteorite Craters were scattered everywhere, blasting the area full of holes. There was almost no standing building left.

Wild grass covered the ruins. As soon as Lin Zhen approached, he saw several corpses.

The bodies belonged to Warriors who had come from outside. They appeared to have died only recently, and every one of them had a bluish-black complexion, clearly poisoned to death.

One corpse was still wrapped in the coils of a seven-meter-long snake. The snake's jaws were stretched wide as it swallowed the corpse, with only the two legs still sticking out.

"My guess was right. If there are snake-type Mutated Beasts in Town, this is their gathering place. This is the Snake Den."

A snake was at its most vulnerable while swallowing prey. Lin Zhen struck like lightning, piercing its head with one thrust. He twisted the spear tip, turning the snake's head into pulp.

The snake was killed halfway through swallowing its prey.

"This kind of venomous snake is a D-Rank Mutated Beast. It can be considered one of the fiercest among D-Ranks, but also one of the weakest. As long as you find their weakness, they aren't difficult to kill."

"Ordinary Warriors really wouldn't dare enter this Snake Den, but my Black Dragon Spear has the advantage of being a long weapon. It's practically the best weapon for hunting snakes. And if I encounter a particularly troublesome snake, I have Flying Knives and excellent Neural Reaction. Those are advantages other Warriors don't have."

Lin Zhen leaped into the ruins. With his Mental Power spread outward, his five senses became extraordinarily sharp. After mutation, snakes had grown much larger and lost much of their ability to hide. It was nearly impossible for them to ambush Lin Zhen.

With a shake of the Black Dragon Spear, its tip trembled wildly. Lin Zhen wielded the great spear amid the ruins, sending dust flying and stirring up a tremendous commotion.

With a move of Gale, a swath of weeds fell backward in unison as if pressed down by something, revealing many large snakes hiding in the grass.

Feeling challenged, these naturally vicious snakes began slithering out from their hiding places, winding their way toward Lin Zhen from all directions.

"Come on, come on. I startled the grass to scare out the snakes precisely to draw you out. Every D-Rank monster is worth one hundred points. This is the most efficient place to farm points."

One large snake arrived before Lin Zhen first. Its barrel-thick body rose high into the air, standing nearly two meters tall. Its powerful mutated muscles were enough to support such a movement. Opening its bloody maw, it bit down at Lin Zhen from above.

Before its mouth even reached him, a foul stench rushed into his face.

"Hit!"

With a flick of his wrist, Lin Zhen's Black Dragon Spear shot out like lightning. The snake was not slow either, even twisting aside in midair.

Lin Zhen was now using the second move of Nine Heavy Spears River: Rainstorm.

Although Lin Zhen had not yet comprehended the true essence of Rainstorm, if a snake could evade it so easily, there would be no point in practicing it.

The spear tip quivered, turned in midair, and pierced straight into the snake's mouth!

"Pfft!"

It entered through the mouth and burst out through the back of its head. Lin Zhen twisted his arm, turning the snake's brain into mush. Its enormous body fell from the air.

Pulling back the spear tip, he sliced off the snake's red tongue and casually tossed it into the backpack behind him.

"One hundred points in hand! Killing one large snake is worth more than everything I gained during all this time in Town."

After killing the first large snake, Lin Zhen looked around. Nearly ten large snakes had already surrounded him.

"Good. These snakes are perfect for practicing Rainstorm. I don't expect to master it in one stroke, but at the very least, I need to achieve minor mastery of the Spear Art and gain the initial might of a raging storm."

Lin Zhen brandished his Long Spear and charged into the swarm of snakes. The greatest threat posed by these snakes was their sudden strikes, which were as fast as bullets leaving a barrel. They were extremely threatening to Warrior Level fighters with Neural Reaction above 0.01 seconds. But Lin Zhen happened to be an anomaly. His Neural Reaction had already reached the General Stage, making it difficult for these snakes to kill him with a single strike.

If the snakes tried to constrict and crush Lin Zhen, they would be driven back or even killed by his storm-like attacks.

Even when danger occasionally arose, Lin Zhen's Flying Knives would strike in time and pull him from peril.

Under Lin Zhen's deliberate control, his comprehension of Spear Art improved rapidly. After all, he had studied Spear Art for a long time in his previous life. Naturally, his progress this time was beyond what ordinary people could match.

Although he did not kill the snakes particularly quickly, a D-Rank Mutated Beast fell beneath his spear roughly every ten minutes. That speed was already enough to leave other Warriors far behind.

Gradually, Lin Zhen ventured deeper into the ruins. The corpses of large snakes lay behind him one after another, while his backpack was already filled with dozens of Snake Fangs.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!"

A flash of intense light swept past. A large snake that had just appeared did not even have a chance to fight back before its head was riddled with rain-like thrusts. It collapsed limply to the ground and died.

"That's the feeling! That's the feeling! In that instant just now, I seemed to grasp a little of the essence of a raging storm. As long as I can seize that feeling, I'll have achieved minor mastery of the second layer of Nine Heavy Spears River."

"The second layer at minor mastery is enough to contend with a War General Initial Stage fighter. When I can't easily reveal my Mental Power, this is the foundation of my ability to fight above my level."

After being reborn, Lin Zhen's understanding of battle seemed much greater than in his previous life. The high concentration of Gene Potion and the absorption of Dark Energy Stones had both been subtly transforming him.

Without even having time to deal with this snake's fangs, Lin Zhen sat down on the spot and recalled the insight he had gained in that instant.

"Nine Heavy Spears River's first two layers, Gale and Rainstorm, pursue delivering fierce blows to the opponent. Most importantly, one cannot retreat. The moment you retreat, the gale vanishes and the rainstorm disappears. Once the momentum is gone, so is the power."

"When facing these large snakes, I still felt fear. I feared their venomous fangs and their deadly constriction. Those things can indeed kill people, but ultimately, it's because I don't believe in myself. As long as I believe in myself, once Gale and Rainstorm are complete, how could mere mutated venomous snakes have any chance to hurt me?"

"A person is like a spear, and the spear is like a storm. That is what matters most..."

"I've already lived once before. This life was given to me for nothing. If I'm still so timid and hesitant, then I really would have been reborn for nothing."

A few minutes later, Lin Zhen opened his eyes. He grabbed the Black Dragon Spear and saw another large snake charging toward him ahead.

"Come die!"

Lin Zhen pushed off with his feet and leaped forward like a cannonball leaving its barrel, leaving an afterimage behind him. His spear rose in hand, unstoppable!

Gale arose, Rainstorm descended!

His figure swept past, and the large snake had already fallen riddled with holes, without even time to react!

Nine Heavy Spears River Second Layer, Rainstorm—minor mastery of the Spear Art!