Ambush

Li Qi seemed to become a Shaman himself, muttering under his breath in strange poses.

But it had to be said—this really worked!

Water from nowhere began to flow into Li Qi's body.

Like meltwater dripping from icicles in winter, it amounted to no more than twenty milliliters in total, thin as threads.

Yet this water made Li Qi feel comfortable all over.

He felt as though his soul had been cleansed and his body washed pure.

His abdomen, limbs, and mind were like corners touched by flowing water, scoured by the babbling stream until every speck of filth had been swept away.

The water also carried a rich breath of life, gradually swelling his body, which had not been particularly strong due to his lack of meat.

Li Qi felt a surge of exhilaration. He looked down at his body, only to suddenly see two progress bars.

Ritual Enhancement: 92%.

Ox-Strength Technique Progress: 100%.

For some reason, the learning progress for that Divine Will Inheritance of the Ox-Strength Technique had suddenly filled up.

Perhaps it was the effect of sharing in the festival's bounty, but regardless, his head thundered as all the crucial points of the Ox-Strength Technique were directly implanted into him!

It truly was memory that had appeared out of thin air, as if he had suddenly gained ten years of cultivation.

It was like playing a game—clicking on a skill book, waiting for the progress bar to finish, and instantly reaching consummate mastery.

Could Divine Will Inheritance really accomplish something like this?

Yet from Uncle Liu's appearance, it definitely did not have such an effect.

Why was he so certain? Because Uncle Liu's Wave-Pushing Strength was far inferior to his own, and Uncle Liu himself had said that his Wave-Pushing Strength came from Divine Will Inheritance.

Uncle Liu had also received Divine Will Inheritance, yet his Wave-Pushing Strength was inferior to the results Li Qi had achieved through two years of practice.

Clearly, Divine Will Inheritance should not be able to make someone proficient outright.

But now, for some reason, he knew with absolute clarity that he had mastered the Ox-Strength Technique!

"Is this the progress bar's effect? Once it fills up, do I just learn it directly?" he could not help guessing.

There were still too few samples to be sure. It might also have been the festival's effect.

Still, joy filled his heart. This time, he had gambled right!

He hurriedly got up and broke into a quick trot, intending to leave.

After the festival, they would drive people away. He had snuck in, and though security was not particularly tight, Night Watchmen still patrolled at night. He had to slip away before anyone spotted him.

Passing through streets and alleys and around corners, he carefully made his way toward home.

As he rounded another bend, a blur of a stick suddenly appeared before Li Qi.

He lacked experience and had been caught in a sudden ambush. Though his caution let him react, he only managed to dodge halfway before the blow smashed viciously into his shoulder!

With a dull thud, the wooden stick snapped in two, and Li Qi groaned in pain as half his body went limp!

Moreover, that person did not hesitate in the slightest and swung the stick again!

Li Qi even sensed that there seemed to be someone behind him as well!

Pain and numbness had seized half his body. Half-crouched on the ground, he had nearly lost all ability to resist.

That was how any ordinary person would react after being struck hard with a stick. If Li Qi had not reacted and dodged a little, had that blow landed on his head, he would definitely have lost consciousness at once.

Even though he had practiced Wave-Pushing Strength and his body was not so fragile, the other party's strength was inconceivably great. That wooden stick was clearly scrap Ironwood left over from shipbuilding, hard as metal—and it had been broken by a single blow!

But it was not over. From the darkness came another strike. The wooden stick, swung with all its strength, gave off a whistling rush of wind as it shot straight toward Li Qi.

At the same time, Li Qi clearly saw two progress bars in the darkness, both displaying "Attack."

There really were two people!

Then, his body seemed to cease belonging to him.

His skin began to harden, becoming like tanned leather. It not only lost its elasticity, but even his senses seemed to dull; he could not feel it even when he pinched himself hard.

His muscles began to bulge, and a rush of heat shot into his head!

Bang! The wooden stick slammed brutally into him, but this time, only the stick shattered.

The blow landed, yet his body felt no pain. The force surged into him, and Li Qi could not help gasping.

Two white streams burst from his nostrils. Vast clouds of white vapor poured from his body, directly engulfing the attacker and blinding him for the moment.

The white streams were remarkably powerful; even the ash lingering in the corner of the wall was scattered by the hot current.

Li Qi suddenly felt incredibly strong, as if he could punch through a wall by day.

The Ox-Strength Technique activated. It was as though a savage bull had been stuffed into his body, and he visibly swelled in size.

Then came a punch!

The man holding the wooden stick had just been blinded by the white vapor Li Qi exhaled. Unable to react in time and completely defenseless, he took the punch squarely.

With a sharp crack, the man's eyes widened!

There were no sophisticated machines in this world, but if there had been, he surely would have used one sentence to describe how he felt—

Like being hit by a dump truck.

Blood gushed madly from his mouth, impossible to stop. His vision went black, and his entire body was smashed apart!

Yet as Li Qi threw that punch, the attack from the person behind him arrived right on cue.

Li Qi watched the other person's "Attack" progress bar fill, but his body could not react in time. He could only helplessly wait for the attack to stab into him.

With a soft pfft, it sounded like a dull blade scraping across tough leather armor.

That person froze.

This was a knife!

How could there be someone a knife could not stab to death?

No, this person... how had he suddenly grown taller?

On Li Qi's side, his body suddenly shot up by a foot, his entire bulk expanding by a third.

White vapor billowed from his nostrils, his skin flushed red—he had become a humanoid savage bull!

He grabbed the attacker and violently slammed him to the ground.

He had originally intended to restrain the man, but with a bang, the back of the man's head caved in. He kicked his legs once and stopped breathing.

Li Qi froze where he stood.

From the moment he had been ambushed until now, less than two seconds had passed.

In less than two seconds, he had dealt with two enemies? And with one of them, he had intended to hold back, yet still crushed him to death in a single move.

"People from the Mighty Gang... I could only fight two before, but now I can take them down one at a time, and finish two in two seconds?" Li Qi stared at his hands, scarcely able to believe it.

He was already certain they were from the Mighty Gang.

Among the people who bore him a grudge, only the Mighty Gang possessed the strength to smash apart an Ironwood stick.

He just did not know how the Mighty Gang had learned it was him.

Though he had killed people, he did not feel there was anything wrong with killing them. Nor did he feel nauseated, as he had seen others feel before.

After all, the Mighty Gang members had tried to kill him first. He had been forced to kill them in return. Even if this went to court, it would count as self-defense, so what was there to be sickened by?

Compared to killing people, his attention was far more focused on himself.

The effect of the Ox-Strength Technique had greatly exceeded his expectations!

Worthy of being a spell technique!

But now was not the time for amazement. He quickly seized the two corpses, one in each hand, and after thinking for a moment, threw them into the water. Then he dove in himself. Using Wave-Pushing Strength, he swam to the riverbed, dug through the silt, found stones, and buried both bodies beneath it. He weighed them down with stones to ensure they would not float up, then washed his body clean and cleared the scene of the crime.

As he cleaned up the scene, he suddenly felt a stifling pressure in his chest.

When he paid attention to his body, he saw that a progress bar for the Ox-Strength Technique had appeared on him.

"Ox-Strength Technique, remaining duration: 95%."

Judging by the time, it would last around ten minutes?

He immediately canceled the Ox-Strength Technique, and his body shrank down like a deflated balloon.

Having adapted to that powerful strength, he felt somewhat uncomfortable without it. Still, according to what the memories said... the Ox-Strength Technique could be used three times a day. If each use lasted ten minutes, that was already immensely powerful.

"And... the progress bar has a third function now."

The first was checking conditions.

The second was that once a learning progress bar filled, he could possibly master the skill directly.

The third was this—it could even show the remaining duration of his own spell techniques!

With this, combined with the Ox-Strength Technique, Li Qi clenched his fist.

Give him some time, and he would no longer have to be a towman!