Iron Blood Squad

That afternoon, Xiao Yu collected the complete set of equipment from his Third Uncle and put it all on.

He now wore D6 series combat boots and a D6 series combat suit, with a broad Silver Moon Battle Saber 6 Series in each hand. He looked incredibly imposing.

"Cousin is so handsome!"

"Cousin is mighty!"

"Cousin is a great general now!"

A group of younger brothers and sisters circled him with shining eyes.

"Why aren't you training yet?" Xiao Ling came over and said.

She looked Xiao Yu over and said, "Not bad. You're starting to look like a man!"

"Tsk, I'm only a few months older than you." Xiao Yu found it rather amusing. This little girl was actually putting on airs like an adult. Still, a few months of training in the Wilderness Zone had indeed made her much more mature.

It wasn't merely her outward experiences and accumulated knowledge. More importantly, her heart had already begun to change.

On the second floor of the Xiao Family residence, in the Training Hall.

The afterglow of the setting sun streamed through the windows, bathing the entire Training Hall in a golden orange light. Xiao Yu wore loose training clothes and sat cross-legged barefoot in the hall. The Training Hall, which covered more than one hundred and fifty square meters, was empty. Xiao Yu was the only one sitting cross-legged in the center, with a manual titled Nine Heavens Thunder Blade placed in front of him.

He opened the first page of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade manual.

"Fast!" The most eye-catching character on the title page made Xiao Yu feel as though blade light were rushing toward his face. His entire heart trembled. It was easy to imagine that when Thor had created this technique, he had already reached the Planetary level. Otherwise, it would not have made Xiao Yu, who possessed the rich cultivation experience of his previous life, tremble in his heart.

"Among all the martial arts in the world, nothing is indestructible, and only speed cannot be broken."

The sole essence of Thor's Nine Heavens Thunder Blade was one word: "fast"!

The Nine Heavens Thunder Blade contained an entire movement technique, "Flowing Light," an entire guidance technique, "Nine Heavens Primordial Chaos," and an entire saber technique, "Thunder Blade." Of the three, the guidance technique was the foundation!

The Nine Heavens Primordial Induction Technique had a total of nine sections, but this book only recorded the first four. Likewise, the Thunder Blade saber technique only had the first four layers, and the Flowing Light movement technique only had the first four layers.

The Nine Heavens Primordial Induction Technique could strengthen the human physique. Only physical fitness was fundamental; movement and saber techniques were merely skills, requiring repeated practice and comprehension.

Xiao Yu carefully studied the first four layers of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade. They were indeed praiseworthy. Some of the key techniques were things even he, in his previous life, had never considered. No wonder it had been created by a martial arts genius, a powerhouse who had risen during the Great Nirvana Period. It seemed no one could afford to underestimate him.

When an ordinary person swung a saber with all his strength, he might use ninety percent of his power, or perhaps the full hundred percent! But when a cultivator of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade swung a saber, he would use only seventy percent of his strength. As he released the first layer of force, he would strive to make his body release a second layer of force, also at seventy percent. The two layers combined amounted to one hundred and forty percent of his strength.

After mastering the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade, each layer could produce one additional layer of hidden force. In other words, the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade could unleash up to seven times one's normal strength.

This power could be applied not only to attacks but also to movement, making one's speed even more agile.

The first four layers of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade that Xiao Yu had purchased could let him unleash an attack with up to 3.5 times his strength.

Xiao Yu began practicing according to the methods described in the Thunder Blade saber technique.

The first layer of Thunder Blade contained eighteen saber techniques. Practicing these eighteen techniques was beneficial for comprehending the force exertion of the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

All eighteen saber techniques were very simple. Xiao Yu could perform them after practicing once. The difficult part was using them fluidly.

"System, set my first wish as perfectly comprehending the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade."

Setting successful!

Host: Xiao Yu

First Wish: Perfectly comprehend the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

Wish Completion: 121.2/5000 Wish Points.

"No wonder it's known as the most difficult manual in the entire world to comprehend! Comprehending the first layer actually requires five thousand Wish Points, more than twice as many as advancing from Apprentice Level 2 to Apprentice Level 3." Xiao Yu muttered to himself.

Putting those thoughts aside, he began practicing with full concentration.

Following the eighteen saber techniques, he swung his saber eighteen thousand times every day. He spent the remaining time practicing the Flowing Light movement technique, while at night he practiced the Nine Heavens Primordial Induction Technique together with Genetic Energy. That produced the most obvious results.

Every day, he could feel himself growing stronger.

A week later, in the Training Hall on the second floor of the Xiao Family residence.

A young man standing 1.8 meters tall wore a full D6 combat suit and wielded two sabers, swinging them constantly at the empty air. At the same time, his body moved rapidly, so fast that he seemed to produce afterimages.

"Xiao Yu! Not bad!" A middle-aged man in casual clothes had been standing nearby watching for a long while. He finally said, "You've only just begun practicing the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade, yet you're already showing some results. It seems you chose the right manual."

"Huh?" Xiao Yu had been so engrossed in practicing his saber techniques that he hadn't noticed his father, Xiao Dingguo, enter.

"You were so focused just now that I didn't want to disturb you." Father Xiao Dingguo's face was filled with affection as he said, "Judging from your movement and speed, you should already be at the Advanced Warrior Level, right?"

"Yes. My physical fitness had already reached the Advanced Warrior Level before the combat assessment. After the assessment, practicing the Nine Heavens Primordial Induction Technique seems to have accelerated my improvement even more." Xiao Yu spoke confidently.

Xiao Dingguo was overjoyed. "How much strength have you reached now?"

"I tested my punch force yesterday. It was 7,500 kilograms." Xiao Yu answered honestly.

"What? Come, test it again." Father Xiao Dingguo spoke in disbelief.

The two of them came to the Punch Force Tester in the corner. Xiao Dingguo pressed the switch. After the machine started up, Xiao Yu stood ready and struck the punching target. The display showed "7535KG."

"Hahaha! It seems our Xiao Family is secure!" Xiao Dingguo laughed loudly.

"By the way, I'll only be staying in the city for about a week this time. I mainly came back for two things. First, your uncle gave me some insights and asked me to pass them on to you." Father Xiao Dingguo spoke with a smile.

"The second thing is to bring you into the Iron Blood Squad."

"Uncle Wu mentioned it when he came before. I thought you wouldn't be able to return for another month!" Xiao Yu said doubtfully.

"Haha, my son is joining the Iron Blood Squad to train in the Wilderness Zone. How could my old friends not show me some consideration?"

"I'll tell you about our squad's basic situation. Our squad currently has six members, all General-level Warriors. With you, there will be seven. Of them, only your Uncle Liu and I joined when the squad was first founded. The other four joined later. Your father is the captain of the Iron Blood Squad, and your Uncle Liu is the vice-captain."

"This is the cultivation insight of Thor Yang Renhua regarding the first six layers of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade." As Father Xiao Dingguo spoke, he pulled a book about the size of an elementary school notebook from his clothes and handed it to Xiao Yu.

"These are cultivation insights?" Xiao Yu asked.

"Don't doubt it. The insights in here are all pure substance, though there aren't many pages, of course. There are some bottlenecks you might ponder for several months without gaining anything from, yet a single sentence from a master could make you suddenly understand. That's how it is." Father Xiao Dingguo smiled. "When cultivating a technique, having someone to guide the way is very important. It's difficult to achieve results by relying entirely on your own exploration, unless you're a genius with extraordinary talent!"

Xiao Yu opened the first page of the insights. Four large words were written on it: "Yang Nine Insights."

He continued turning the pages. The second page read, "The key to cultivating the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade is how to connect the eighteen saber techniques into a single set, allowing the muscle groups of the waist, hips, and back to continuously release two streams of force..."

"Mm, this book is written well. Many of the problems I encountered before seem to have been solved all at once." Xiao Yu praised it.

These insights really were a treasure. If he had had them as a reference before beginning cultivation, he probably could have comprehended the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade very easily.

"It's good that you gained something. Practice well these next few days. In five days, come with me to the Wilderness Zone! Hahaha." Father Xiao Dingguo laughed twice before leaving the Training Hall.

Xiao Yu nodded.

After his father left, Xiao Yu carefully studied the cultivation insights for the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade. After reading them seriously two or three times, he gained a great deal. The doubts that had lingered in his mind were answered one by one.

Taking advantage of his current comprehension, he hurried to practice.

On his first attempt, he linked the eighteen saber techniques together. With each swing, when he slashed, the core muscle groups of his body erupted with a surge of force. After that force was transmitted into his arms, another surge of force unexpectedly arose from his waist and hips.

"Swish!"

The Silver Moon Battle Saber flashed with a cold gleam. Its speed was the same as before, but the arc of the gleam through the air was slightly larger.

He had failed!

He had clearly produced the second surge of force!

The interval between the production of the two surges of force had been a little too long.

He continued training.

"Huh?" Xiao Yu was startled. He had actually succeeded.

Xiao Yu suddenly stepped forward.

The core region of his body's strength, the waist and hips, erupted with a surge of force almost instantaneously. At the same time, when the muscular force was transmitted into his arms, the waist and hips naturally erupted with another surge of force, as though a wave were propagating. The two surges of force entered his arms almost simultaneously.

"Swish!"

The Silver Moon Battle Saber flashed with a cold gleam in the air, its speed unexpectedly two percent faster than before.

"Hahaha, just as I thought. It really is possible to release two surges of force one after the other. I actually managed to reach this point without relying on the system!" Xiao Yu muttered inwardly.

He wanted to see how the system would handle the situation under these circumstances.

"System, check the completion of my first wish."

Host: Xiao Yu

First Wish: Perfectly comprehend the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade.

Wish Completion: 121.2/2000 Wish Points.

"The Wish Points actually decreased. This never happened in my previous life!" Xiao Yu was puzzled.

"Could it be that after making a wish to the system, I can reduce the required Wish Points through my own efforts? But why do I still need two thousand Wish Points to fulfill the conditions when I've clearly comprehended the force-exertion technique of the first layer of the Nine Heavens Thunder Blade?"

Perhaps the force-exertion technique he had comprehended was not yet perfect.

"Xiao Yu, come down for dinner!" His mother, Xu Jingyi, called out.

"Okay, I'm coming down." Xiao Yu answered.

Xiao Yu left the Training Hall. The moment he entered the dining room, he was stunned by the table full of dishes.

"Mom, are we celebrating something? Or did you win the lottery?"

It was no wonder Xiao Yu was making such a fuss. The table held eighteen bowls and plates, an extravagance beyond measure. Even with the Xiao Family's wealth, they could rarely eat like this. Even during the New Year, they would only prepare one or two main dishes. The ingredients alone had cost more than a million Huaxia Coins.

"My son is about to go to the Wilderness Zone, isn't he? I want you to eat well and build up your strength over the next few days. Once you're out there, you won't be able to eat or sleep well!" his mother, Xu Jingyi, said.

"Mom, you're the best!" Xiao Yu said with a grin.

"Hmph! I go out often too, but I never see you make me anything delicious to help me replenish my strength!" Father Xiao Dingguo said sourly.

"You're even jealous of your own son! Honestly, with so much food, you still can't keep your mouth shut?" Mother Xu Jingyi scolded playfully.

August 16. Today was the day Xiao Yu would follow the Iron Blood Squad on an expedition to the Wilderness Zone.

"Let's go, Xiao Yu. We're heading to the HR Alliance Mall to meet Old Liu and the others." Wearing a D8 series combat suit and carrying two 7 Series battle axes, Xiao Dingguo walked out of the villa first.

"Mm." Xiao Yu followed.

"Xiao Yu, be careful!" Mother Xu Jingyi couldn't help warning him as she looked at him in his combat suit.

"Don't worry, Mom. Take care of yourself too!" Xiao Yu grinned.

"Don't worry, Jingyi. You have me!" Father Xiao Dingguo turned his upper body toward her and patted his chest.

Xiao Yu and his father, Xiao Dingguo, boarded the Limit Martial Arts School's special vehicle and quickly set off.

Jiangnan Base City was one of the six major base cities of Huaxia Country and was extremely prosperous. In the main urban district stood a skyscraper eighty-eight stories high. Two dazzling English letters, "HR," were displayed on its walls. Around the first floor were a beautiful plaza and the largest fountain in the entire Jiangnan Base City. More than a thousand fully armed soldiers patrolled around the plaza, prohibiting any outsiders from taking even a single step inside.

This was the famous HR Alliance Jiangnan Base City Headquarters, whose interior was extravagantly decorated.

In the lobby's reception area.

Xiao Yu and his father sat on a sofa.

"What would you two gentlemen like to drink?" A rather handsome waiter bowed slightly and asked with a smile.

"Give me Tieguanyin, and bring him a cup of Pu-erh." Father Xiao Dingguo answered directly without waiting for Xiao Yu to order.

"Xiao Yu, you must not be careless when entering the Wilderness Zone. You have to remain fully alert, and you must not drink alcohol! Remember this above all else." Xiao Dingguo spoke solemnly.

Xiao Yu nodded heavily.

"Xiao Yu, the first floor is where guests are welcomed and rest. From the second floor upward are the shopping areas where goods are sold. The prices here are generally somewhat lower than the full prices on the 'Limit House' online mall. Of course, they're still higher than our half-price..." Xiao Dingguo carefully introduced the HR Alliance to his son.

"Mad Axe!" A hearty voice rang out.

A middle-aged man with half-white hair walked over. He wore a D6 series combat suit and carried a pair of enormous battle hammers. Two heavily armed young men followed behind him. Both wore D5 combat suits and carried battle axes and shields.

Hearing the voice, Xiao Dingguo immediately stood up. "Old Liu, over here!"

Xiao Yu also turned around, quickly stood, and called out, "Uncle Liu!"

The half-white-haired middle-aged man at the front was Xiao Dingguo's old friend, the vice-captain of the Iron Blood Squad, the Iron Blood Berserker Liu Yuanping.

Liu Yuanping walked over and looked Xiao Yu up and down. "Good kid! It's only been a year since I last saw you, and you've grown taller and more handsome! You even resemble Old Xiao a little when he was young!"

"Come, Xiao Yu, let me introduce you. These two are the famous Zuo Family Twin Heroes, Zuo Yan and Zuo Xuan." Xiao Dingguo smiled.

The Zuo brothers nodded at Xiao Yu, removed the shields and battle axes from their bodies, and sat down.

"Brother Yan, Brother Xuan." Xiao Yu greeted them with a smile.

Seeing Xiao Yu keep looking at the two of them, the man sitting closer to him spoke up. "Xiao Yu, I'm Zuo Yan. Don't be confused. Zuo Xuan and I are twins, and we look exactly alike. It's normal not to be able to tell us apart at first. But our personalities are different. You'll understand after spending more time with us."

"All right, Big Brother Zuo Yan." Xiao Yu nodded.

Zuo Xuan, sitting beside him, said nothing and simply sat there quietly.

"Why haven't Li Chao and Zhang Shaoyong arrived yet?" Zuo Yan kept glancing left and right. He was clearly unable to sit still.

"Xiao Yu, I see you're carrying two sabers. You use dual sabers, right?" Zuo Yan said with a smile. "Zhang Shaoyong in our squad uses a saber too. You can exchange pointers more often in the future."

"Mm." Xiao Yu nodded.

Zuo Yan extended his left arm, revealing the mark left by a huge healed scar. He said to Xiao Yu:

"Brother, see this? This scar on my left arm was left by a high-level Beast General Crimson Flame Tiger Ape monster I hunted a year ago. If I hadn't reacted quickly and blocked it with my shield, that half-meter-long claw would have pierced straight through my body..."

"Brother!" Zuo Xuan interrupted him.

After being interrupted, Zuo Yan picked up the coffee the waiter had just brought over and finished it in one gulp. Then he began looking around again.

"Li Chao, Zhang Shaoyong, over here!" Zuo Yan stood up and waved toward the entrance of the lobby.

Xiao Yu turned his head to look. Of the two people approaching, one was a burly man standing nearly 1.9 meters tall with a robust build. He wore a D6 series combat suit and carried a huge battle saber and shield.

The man beside him was also over 1.8 meters tall. He was slimmer than the burly man beside him but still more robust than an ordinary person. He wore a D6 series combat suit and carried a detachable battle spear.

"Old Yan, Captain!" the two men called out almost simultaneously.

"You two, hurry up. I'll introduce you to the new recruit who just joined our squad." Zuo Yan spoke impatiently.

The two men set down their weapons and shields and sat on the sofa.

"Xiao Yu, these two are Li Chao and Zhang Shaoyong." Xiao Dingguo smiled.

"Brother Chao, Brother Yong!" Xiao Yu greeted them with a smile.

The two men also nodded with smiles and looked Xiao Yu over.

"Let's rest for a while, then we'll set out." Xiao Dingguo spoke.

"Yes, Captain." Everyone answered in unison, and Xiao Yu followed suit.

In less than twenty minutes, everyone had finished their tea and was ready to depart.

"Let's go!"

The seven members of the Iron Blood Squad boarded an HR Alliance special vehicle and went directly to the train station. They took a train out of the Base City toward County Level City No. 0201.

County Level City No. 0201 was located several hundred kilometers north of Jiangnan Base City, with a military district stationed nearby.

A special area had been designated inside the military district as a warrior supply base, specifically for warriors to rest and replenish various supplies. Personnel from the Limit Martial Arts School, Thunder Martial Hall, HR Alliance, and the government military were gathered here. Warriors could also sell the monster materials they obtained in the Wilderness Zone here.

When the special train carrying the Iron Blood Squad arrived at the military district, it was noon. The seven members replenished their food and water at the supply base and continued on their journey.