Bullets from Front and Back

Night had fallen.

Hazy moonlight draped the ground in a veil of silver, and everywhere the eye could see was filled with strange shadows.

Low beastly roars rose and fell, while the nearby bushes rustled softly.

Swish, swish, swish!

Several black shadows suddenly appeared, then darted far into the distance in an instant.

"We only stayed home for a few days, and before our asses even got warm, we had to come back to this damned place," Xu Liang muttered.

Yang Chao looked enlightened. "No wonder your strength hasn't improved. So you just lay around whenever you went home and didn't train at all."

"Even if I haven't improved, I'm still stronger than you!"

"By twenty extra pounds?"

"Bastard!"

"Hahaha."

Every member of the Warfire Squad was at least an Intermediate Warrior. Moving at the maximum speed of a Quasi-Warrior, twenty-five meters per second, they could cover ninety kilometers in an hour.

It would take over three hours to reach City No. 096. They had to find some amusement while traveling like this.

After they went on for some distance, a pair of eyes glowing with an eerie blue light appeared on the road ahead.

As an Intermediate Warlord, Zuo Xingyuan had undergone more perfect Gene Evolution and was somewhat stronger.

After vaguely judging the monster's strength by its build, he turned and said, "Kid, your meal's here. This Blue-eyed Cat Monster should be a little weaker than the last one. Go deal with it."

Monsters possessed intelligence as well. Many of them preferred living in cities once inhabited by humans, while monsters surviving alone in the wild were generally weaker. Since it was also a familiar species whose strength could be judged, he felt at ease letting Ning Ze temper himself.

"Alright!"

Ning Ze did not hesitate and immediately left the group, charging forward. However, he maintained a speed of twenty-five meters per second, or he might scare the monster away.

The Blue-eyed Cat Monster first ran a short distance forward. When it discovered that Ning Ze was not speeding up, its ferocity erupted, and it pounced at him.

A faint smile appeared on Ning Ze's lips. As it closed in, he thrust out his sword with all his strength. More than six thousand kilograms of force condensed at one point, and with a swish, the blade pierced the monster's eye.

The silvery-white sword light was especially bright, with several drops of blood reflected on the blade.

With a bang, the Blue-eyed Cat Monster crashed to the ground and fell silent.

"That fast? Then this cat monster must have been pretty weak." Zuo Xingyuan was somewhat surprised.

"Still, Little Ze chose his timing well with that strike. It was very sharp." Ma Yu gave a fair assessment.

Ning Ze smiled faintly. "Then let's leave this monster behind. Getting on with the journey is more important."

Judging by the feel of that strike, the monster had actually been close to the strength of an Advanced Beast Soldier, a G-rank monster.

Advanced Beast Soldier-level monsters could still be easily killed with weapons and were worth only between two thousand and ten thousand Huaxia Coin. G-rank monsters were worth even less, so he could not be bothered to collect it.

"Leave it, then. It's not worth much. Let's keep moving."

Zuo Xingyuan and the others were somewhat surprised that Ning Ze had dealt with it so quickly, but they did not dwell on it.

Even among monsters, there were differences in physique. Perhaps this monster had simply looked bigger while actually being quite weak.

"Looks like you trained seriously at home too. You were able to take down a feline monster that quickly," Xu Liang said in a teasing tone.

Ning Ze smiled slightly, a hint of amusement appearing in his eyes.

He still needed to train for some time before he could defeat his father, but against the Warrior Level uncles before him, his combat strength was already not much inferior.

They probably had not expected that, had they?

The group continued onward.

Along the way, Zuo Xingyuan had Ning Ze fight several more times. He basically resolved every battle with a single sword strike. Only a cautious black-and-white striped snake monster took him a little longer. Ning Ze took its fangs, snake eyes, snakeskin, and gallbladder.

A little after three in the morning, they arrived at an abandoned villa. After briefly clearing away the cobwebs, they prepared to rest for the time being and begin the real hunt after daybreak.

"Have our fortunes turned around? We didn't run into a single F-rank, Advanced Beast Soldier-level monster all the way here."

Zuo Xingyuan found it rather strange. The journey had gone too smoothly. Whenever Ning Ze stepped in, he killed the monsters instantly, making them all seem weak.

"Maybe Little Ze improved a little?"

Yang Chao found it strange too. His neural reaction speed was fast, but his physical fitness was the lowest in the team aside from Ning Ze's. He vaguely felt that Ning Ze's attacks had become extremely sharp, perhaps due to the Sword Art he had just begun practicing.

Just then, Zhang Chen, who usually did not speak much, opened his mouth. "Little Ze, let me see the fangs you took."

Ning Ze was slightly surprised. He felt that he was about to be exposed, but he had not planned to hide it forever. He simply took the fangs from the inner compartment of his backpack and handed them over.

Under the hazy moonlight, Zhang Chen's pupils suddenly contracted. The two ten-centimeter-long icy-white fangs in Ning Ze's hand reflected a faint gleam.

He said in a deep voice, "That monster was F-rank!" Then he turned to look at Ning Ze.

At those words, the other four turned as well, their eyes filled with shock.

Zuo Xingyuan said sinisterly, "Kid, don't you have an explanation? I kept asking you about that monster's strength along the way. What did you tell me?"

"Barely passable. Not strong. Easy to deal with. That monster was a little interesting."

"And now you're telling me it was an F-rank monster?"

Ning Ze spread his hands, his expression innocent. "Uncle Zuo, I didn't lie to you. I used seven sword strikes on that monster. The others all took one strike. It really wasn't that strong, and I dealt with it easily."

Zuo Xingyuan froze slightly, then shouted even more angrily, "Then what about your strength? You can easily deal with F-rank monsters, yet you didn't say you'd gotten stronger?"

Ning Ze quietly put the fangs away and muttered, "I did say it."

"Hm?"

Zuo Xingyuan's eyes widened. "When did you say it?"

"When we were eating."

Ning Ze repeated what he had said before. "Training has gone fairly smoothly these past two weeks. My Movement Technique has become more proficient, Gale Sword Master is doing alright, and my strength has increased a little."

Zuo Xingyuan's face was full of astonishment.

To him, those words had meant that Ning Ze's training was normal, that he was steadily improving without slacking off.

Ma Yu asked in a trembling voice, "You mean you mastered the First Layer of Gale Sword Master?"

Ning Ze nodded seriously. "Yes, I succeeded in mastering it."

He had not intended to hide too much of his strength. They had come out to hunt monsters, not put on an act. His exact combat power might not be obvious at night, but it would be exposed once daylight came.

He also needed to fight monsters close to his own combat strength. These uncles were all trustworthy. Once they knew his strength, they would need to rearrange their battle plans.

The Wilderness Area was not a place where they could joke around all the time. Even if no one discovered it, he would have explained it.

After receiving confirmation, Ma Yu sucked in a cold breath. The others were also so shocked that they stood there dumbfounded.

They had only been apart for ten days. They had returned to the Base City from City No. 022 in a sorry state, while he had mastered a top-tier Secret Manual!

Zhang Chen frowned slightly. "After mastering the First Layer of Gale Sword Master, your force stacks in two layers. One layer is seventy percent of your strength, while two layers are one hundred and forty percent. Your Base Strength is twenty-three hundred kilograms, so your strongest force should be thirty-two hundred kilograms."

"This monster's fangs were over ten centimeters long. Even among F-rank monsters, it wasn't weak. Its strength should have been at least five thousand kilograms, perhaps even six thousand. And it's nighttime, which is unfavorable for battle. Logically, it should not have been killed so easily."

Ning Ze answered honestly, "After I mastered Gale Sword Master, my cultivation speed increased a lot! It increased by at least several times. My strength should be over three thousand kilograms now."

This was the explanation he had prepared long ago, and it was perfectly logical.

After others learned Force Generation, the effects of their corresponding Guidance Techniques improved. Their cells had larger appetites, absorbed more Cosmic Energy, and their cultivation speed indeed increased. As for exactly how much faster it became, he did not know.

Guidance Techniques enhanced by Force Generation were useless to him. He had never experienced what it felt like for a Guidance Technique to expand cellular capacity severalfold, because his cells were not hungry now.

It made him feel a little strange. Perhaps geniuses simply could not understand the cultivation of ordinary martial artists. They were on two different levels. He had grown used to it now and did not feel that there was anything wrong.

Hiss!

Hiss!

Hiss!

Yang Chao and the others all sucked in cold breaths. They had been shocked earlier upon hearing that he had comprehended Gale Sword Master, but they had at least been mentally prepared. After all, Ning Ze had bought the Secret Manual, so it was possible for him to master it.

But now, he had increased by seven hundred kilograms in ten days!

That meant seven thousand kilograms in a hundred days!

Seventy thousand kilograms in a thousand days!

He could reach Warlord level in just over two months!

He could cultivate to War God level in three years!

This kind of improvement was utterly unreasonable!

After a simple calculation, their entire worldview had been shattered!

"Is the Force Generation within Gale Sword Master really that miraculous?" Zuo Xingyuan muttered, wishing he could switch to practicing Sword Art.

But reason told him that even if he switched to Buddhist Dharma, he could not possibly achieve such terrifying growth.

Silence.

Other than Zuo Xingyuan's one remark, everyone else looked somewhat lost, even as if they were questioning their lives.

For over a decade, nearly twenty years, they had struggled at Warrior Level. Even Zuo Xingyuan, the most talented among them, had only barely reached Intermediate Warlord level. Yet Ning Ze needed only a year or half a year of cultivation to surpass them all.

Very soon, everyone turned to look at Ning Ze. Their gazes made it seem as though they were looking at a monster.

Ning Ze felt uneasy under their stares and said softly, "My dad said my talent is a little unusual."

"How could Boss Ning bear to let you come out?" Xu Liang's first words dripped with envy.

Ning Ze: ???

He answered seriously, "I came out to temper myself."

"Do you even need tempering?" Xu Liang replied bitterly, his tone painfully sour. "You can improve by fifty kilograms a day. You directly comprehended Sword Art. Your Movement Technique broke through to the Micro-level. You could cultivate at home!"

Ning Ze froze briefly and said in a low voice, "Fighting might make me cultivate faster."

Silence.

Two words echoed through Zuo Xingyuan and the others' minds: faster.

That was right. Fighting in the Wilderness Area could indeed increase cultivation speed.

But hearing those words from Ning Ze made them feel uncomfortably miserable.

Was he slow now?

He was fast as hell!

Seeing his silent uncles, Ning Ze felt that they should be given some time to adjust. After all, unlike him, they were not the beneficiaries.

"Um, Uncle Zuo, I'm going to cultivate."

With that, Ning Ze slowly closed his eyes and crossed his legs, turning the soles of his feet upward. He placed his hands on his legs with his palms facing up, keeping his back straight.

He relaxed his body and mind, his heart like a lake without a ripple. In the nearly meditative silence of his mind, Ning Ze's thoughts slowed as well.

Very soon.

In this eyes-closed, nearly meditative state, a trace of longing remained in Ning Ze's heart. He longed to sense Cosmic Energy.

Half asleep and half awake, he sensed strands of energy flowing into his body, strengthening his skin, bones, muscles, brain...

Ning Ze had completely entered his cultivation state, retaining only a small degree of awareness.

Zuo Xingyuan and the others remained shocked for a long time, but their hearts gradually calmed. Looking at that youthful face, their feelings were extremely complicated.

At first, they had thought he was merely a hardworking and outstanding junior who had become a martial artist at nineteen. They had even planned to temper the kid's body and mind.

Later, after entering the Wilderness Area, they felt he was passable. Youthful, yes, but his foundation was solid enough. With their guidance, he would become qualified.

Then they discovered that this junior was a little genius who had actually comprehended the Micro-level! Instead, they were the ones who had been dealt a blow.

Now, they seemed to be witnessing a Martial Path giant slowly awakening.

Among Earth's martial artists, aside from those who had initially encountered the ruins and could reach War God level within one or two short years, they had never seen anyone cultivate this quickly again.

They had never even heard of it. Perhaps there were people like that in the Elite Training Camp, but they had never seen them... nor could they ever come into contact with them.

And now, their own junior was this kind of genius!

How could they not be excited?

If Ning Ze became a War God, or even a powerhouse among War Gods, they would be the first to benefit.

It was not that they were being pragmatic. Friendship without benefits and social relationships between unequal statuses only drained people and were difficult to maintain. People changed as well.

Anyone who did not know how to maintain such a wonderful relationship right in front of them was an idiot.

They exchanged glances, their thoughts becoming highly aligned at that moment.

Zuo Xingyuan made a gesture. Xu Liang, Zhang Chen, and Ma Yu subtly shifted their positions into a defensive formation.

The night passed silently.

The next day, Zuo Xingyuan arranged for Ning Ze to kill another F-rank monster.

One sword strike, and the monster died.

From then on, they completely acknowledged Ning Ze's strength.

This Wilderness Area hunt also entered its proper rhythm.

Several days later.

On the rooftop of an old nine-story building.

Zuo Xingyuan lay prone on the rooftop, holding binoculars as he searched for Beast Warlord-level monsters.

After searching for fifteen minutes, he suddenly spoke. "Old Yang, fifteen o'clock direction, nearly three kilometers away. Damn! This time, the target is a big one—a Black Tide Savage Bull at Advanced Beast General level, along with two Beginner Beast Generals. Are you confident you can take down the big one?"

Yang Chao frowned. "Advanced Beast General? I can only give it a try. Things at that level are extremely clever. It'll depend on luck."

Ning Ze was very curious as well. He took out his binoculars and looked toward the fifteen o'clock direction.

He continually adjusted the distance, finally discovering a dense black mass nearly three kilometers away.

Looking carefully, he found that it was a herd of bovine monsters, packed tightly together one after another.

Ning Ze adjusted his angle and increased the magnification. The monsters gradually became clearer.

Their bodies were covered in pitch-black fur, their curved and sharp horns stabbing toward the sky. Their powerful muscles brimmed with violent strength, and they looked difficult to deal with at a glance.

"Old Yang, have you found it?"

"I found it."

"How does it look?"

"Black Tide Savage Bulls have inner ear bones. My machine gun isn't powerful enough. Shooting through the ear canal won't guarantee a kill, so I can only aim for the eyes. It's sleeping right now. I think it should work."

"Alright, let's try it. We'll get ready. If it doesn't work, we retreat immediately. There are quite a few of them. If an Advanced Beast General leads a charge, we won't be able to handle it."

Ning Ze was still not very skilled at searching, nor did he have much experience. Because of the magnification, he could not make a proper judgment.

Only after they had decided to attack did he find a monster that looked more like the target. Strictly speaking, it was simply a larger Black Tide Savage Bull.

It lay there sleeping peacefully, three times the size of the other monsters. Resting there, it looked like an oval piece of obsidian.

Its upright horns were even thicker and longer, looking utterly terrifying. Based on a rough estimate, it should have been around five meters long.

After finding the target, Ning Ze kept his upper body still and turned his head toward his side.

Yang Chao lay prone at the edge of the rooftop, setting up a black firearm that looked like both a rifle and a sniper rifle. Its black barrel reflected a faint, cold gleam under the sunlight.

He stretched out a hand to gauge the wind direction, carefully tested and calculated, then adjusted the optical sight.

Ning Ze did not dare make a sound and disturb him. He pressed himself to the binoculars again, feeling that the one he had found was probably the monster leader.

Second by second, time passed. No one spoke, giving Yang Chao the quietest possible environment to aim.

Suddenly!

"Bang!" An explosively sharp sound erupted beside them.

The bullet traveled far faster than sound, seeming to cross space itself as it arrived almost instantly.

Suppressing the discomfort in his ears, Ning Ze saw the Black Tide Savage Bull's left eye explode about two or three seconds later.

Not only that, but blood began flowing from the Black Tide Savage Bull's ears the very next second.

Zuo Xingyuan shouted excitedly, "Move! It's our turn! There are two Beginner Warlords—I'll take one, Old Ma takes the other, and Old Yang will support us. You three make sure Old Yang can fire."

Just then, Yang Chao shouted grimly, "Don't go yet! Another warrior squad is here! We aren't the only ones shooting!"

The smile on Zuo Xingyuan's face gradually froze.

Ning Ze turned and asked in confusion, "The blood in its ears?"

Yang Chao nodded and said seriously, "Yes. They probably used powerful Armor-Piercing Bullets and chose the ears because they were positioned differently. This prey is going to be troublesome."

"Fuck! What a damn coincidence! We actually ran into something like this!" Zuo Xingyuan cursed, then fell into thought.