At that moment, Zhou Yi strode boldly into the village entrance with Han Guang strapped to his back and the straw man's shattered remains in his hand.
"Right, didn't I forget something? Forget it, never mind that. I'll claim the merit first!" Zhou Yi said as he headed toward the Patrol Team's storehouse.
Meanwhile, in the wheat fields, Lin De and Lin Cheng stood at the edge waiting for Zhou Yi, with Qu Yong, who had just arrived, beside them.
"You said that brat chased after it in that direction?" Qu Yong asked the two while holding a large spear.
"Yeah, over there. We wanted to chase after them too, but that straw man and Boss Zhou ran too fast. We couldn't catch up." Lin Cheng pointed in a direction as he spoke to Qu Yong.
The moment he finished speaking, Qu Yong sprinted in the direction Lin Cheng had pointed.
After running for some distance, Qu Yong discovered signs of battle ahead.
When he drew closer, he saw scattered pieces of the straw man's remains on the ground, but no red bloodstains nearby.
Qu Yong immediately knew that Zhou Yi was all right. Relieved, he turned and headed back toward the wheat fields.
After finding the Lin brothers, Qu Yong had them end their patrol for the day and return to the village with him.
The three had just reached the village entrance when they ran into Zhou Yi, who had finished exchanging for martial arts. The four stared wide-eyed at one another.
Only after Zhou Yi had exchanged for the martial arts did he realize what he had forgotten: he had left the Lin brothers, as well as the master who had arrived afterward, in the wheat fields.
Just as the atmosphere suddenly froze, Zhou Yi spoke up.
"Master, what a coincidence!"
"What coincidence? You dared to chase after it alone!" Qu Yong glared at Zhou Yi.
"If I hadn't chased it, wouldn't it have gotten away..." Zhou Yi said helplessly.
Qu Yong looked Zhou Yi over. Seeing that he was uninjured, he did not say much more, merely waving his hand. "Don't chase off alone next time. The strange things' methods are impossible to guard against. You got lucky this time and nothing happened, but next time might not be the same."
"Understood, Master," Zhou Yi could only answer obediently.
"Enough. Go back to patrolling." Qu Yong turned to Zhou Yi and the Lin brothers.
Zhou Yi nodded, then led the two brothers toward the wheat fields.
After the straw man was dealt with, no other strange things appeared in the peaceful wheat fields. Still, Zhou Yi and the other two patrolled as usual until dawn.
Once daybreak came, the three returned to the village entrance for roll call. After roll call ended, Zhou Yi went back to his small hut.
Taking out the martial arts manual he had exchanged from Old Qin, Zhou Yi flipped through it once before opening the modifier panel.
Name; Zhou Yi Race; Human Strength; 6 Speed; 6 Physique; 7 Spirit; 1.2 Cultivation Method: Tongming Record+ (Mastery) Primordial Pile (Perfection) Martial Arts; Jade Lock Skill (Perfection) Star Picking Steps (Perfection) Wave Breaking Saber Technique (Perfection) Breath Concealment Technique (Perfection) Vajra Skill+ (Not Yet Initiated) Yin Energy; 137 Exotic Qi: Qi (2)
The Vajra Skill he had just flipped through had appeared on the panel.
After looking at his Yin Energy value, Zhou Yi focused his thoughts and tapped the + sign behind Vajra Skill.
After entering the Vajra Skill, Zhou Yi saw that the Physique on the modifier panel had changed from 7 to 7.5, while Strength had also increased by 0.5.
"Good. I'll strike while the iron is hot and cultivate the Vajra Skill to perfection," Zhou Yi muttered inwardly.
Zhou Yi focused his thoughts again and tapped the + sign.
At once, an enormous force surged through Zhou Yi's body. The sensation of his muscles tearing apart during the breakthrough made him wish he were dead.
Zhou Yi clenched his teeth hard, using his will to resist the pain of the breakthrough. Others cultivated such tough-body techniques step by step, but Zhou Yi had used the modifier to raise it to perfection in one stroke. Naturally, the pain was far more intense.
After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Yi felt the pain gradually weaken, and his body began to relax.
After a while longer, the pain vanished completely. Zhou Yi looked as though he had just been fished out of the water, his clothes soaked through with sweat.
"Fortunately, all of this was worth it."
Zhou Yi removed his drenched clothes and felt as though his body had slimmed down a full circle. His muscles were taut, radiating waves of heat. He tried pinching them with his hand and found them firmer than before.
Afterward, Zhou Yi went into the courtyard and rinsed himself with water. Only then did the heat in his body subside.
After changing into a clean set of clothes, Zhou Yi opened the modifier panel.
Name; Zhou Yi Race; Human Strength; 9 Speed; 7 Physique; 9 Spirit; 1.2 Cultivation Method: Tongming Record+ (Mastery) Primordial Pile (Perfection) Martial Arts; Jade Lock Skill (Perfection) Star Picking Steps (Perfection) Wave Breaking Saber Technique (Perfection) Breath Concealment Technique (Perfection) Vajra Skill (Perfection) Yin Energy; 120 Exotic Qi: Qi (2)
"I still haven't reached the limits of the flesh? Looks like I need to find another body-tempering technique..."
Zhou Yi muttered as he looked at the panel.
Zhou Yi knew that the attributes on the panel did not seem to have increased much, but the further they rose, the harder they became to improve. If he encountered that straw man again, it would not even have a chance to run.
After tonight's battle, Zhou Yi had gained a rough understanding of his own strength. With nearly all his techniques at the Perfection level, dealing with strange things below Crimson Grade was practically a sure thing. Even if he encountered an especially powerful Soul Grade strange thing, he was confident he could retreat unscathed.
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