Wang Dali

"Little brother, don't get worked up—I mean no harm."

Li Ziyu followed the voice and saw a middle-aged man with dark skin, dressed in a black combat suit.

Behind him trailed a red-haired woman carrying an enormous sniper rifle.

Given that thermal weapons were nearly useless here, it was rare to see someone still daring to use a sniper rifle.

Li Ziyu also noticed that both of their combat suits had some tears, and their faces showed signs of wear.

Behind the two, they were dragging the corpse of a Shadow Cat—clearly, like him, they had come to the Wilderness Area to hunt beasts for money.

Li Ziyu stared at them warily, saying nothing.

In the Wilderness Area, the danger wasn't just from beasts—sometimes running into humans was even more perilous than encountering a beast!

After all, in this remote place with no cell signal, human greed could swell without limit.

Murder and robbery were common occurrences.

Still, Li Ziyu wasn't too panicked.

Judging by the Shadow Cat corpse they dragged and their disheveled state, he could infer they were probably around Level 1 Intermediate Martial Artist.

A Level 1 Intermediate Martial Artist—he wasn't afraid at all.

"Brother, no other meaning—I just saw you're young and couldn't bear to see you die in a beast's jaws, so I came specifically to warn you."

"The Wilderness Area has undergone a mutation now—it's far more dangerous than before. You'd better hurry back to the city!"

The middle-aged man in the black combat suit looked at Li Ziyu with a grave expression and said to him:

"You dare to leave the city alone to hunt beasts—I take it you're a Level 1 Beginner Martial Artist?"

"A Level 1 Martial Artist this young is rare. If something happened to you in the Wilderness Area, it would be a real shame."

The middle-aged man in the black combat suit was dead serious. Li Ziyu frowned slightly, swept his gaze around, then asked curiously:

"Mutation? What mutation?"

"On our way here, we saw many Shadow Cat corpses—not just Shadow Cats, but all kinds of Level 1 beast carcasses!"

"And there were Wall Blade Tigers too!"

"Killing them but not collecting the bodies—that's definitely not the work of a martial artist!"

"I suspect it's a Level 2 beast's doing!"

"A Level 2 beast has appeared nearby! So, little brother, take my advice—don't stay here, get back to the city quickly."

The combat-suit middle-aged man's expression grew heavier, and as he spoke, he kept glancing around warily, as if some lurking monster might spring out.

Li Ziyu's expression turned a bit odd. He thought it was something serious—those Shadow Cats were the ones he'd killed.

Leaving the bodies where they lay was simply because he couldn't carry them all.

Still, this combat-suit middle-aged man meant well.

Most people would have just run off on their own, not bothered to come and warn him like this.

Li Ziyu smiled and exchanged a few words with the two, then continued deeper into the wilderness.

The combat-suit middle-aged man watched Li Ziyu's unhurried retreating figure and shook his head silently:

"Sigh, advice fills the belly—why won't this kid listen?"

"A Level 2 beast has shown up, and he's still heading in—isn't that just asking for death?"

"Forget it, good words can't sway a lovesick ghost. Let's go."

Li Ziyu pressed on deeper into the Wilderness Area.

Encounter a Level 1 Mid-tier Beast, the Shadow Cat—one slash.

Encounter a Level 1 High-tier Beast, the Blood-Rage Ape—one slash.

Encounter a Level 1 Peak-tier Beast, the Arm Blade Tiger—still one slash.

The system's prompts for increased qi and blood rang out without pause.

Li Ziyu calmly sheathed his blade. Before him, a Level 1 Peak-tier Beast, the Arm Blade Tiger, crashed to the ground.

"Call me Li One-Slash."

After the Raging Bull Body Tempering Method advanced to Intermediate, his stamina and endurance had multiplied beyond compare.

The most direct example was this:

He had just gone through several hours of high-intensity combat, yet he didn't feel tired at all.

Not only was he not tired—he actually felt invigorated.

After hours of slaughter, he'd nearly lost count of how many beasts he'd killed.

All he knew was that whenever one appeared before him, he killed it.

Draw the blade, then sheathe it.

Blade falls, beast dies.

Li Ziyu sheathed his blade, found a safe spot, and pulled up the system panel.

Name: Li Ziyu. Realm: Level 1 Advanced Martial Artist (+). Combat Skills: Intermediate Mighty Ox Body Tempering Method (+), Gale Blade Technique (+), Intermediate Blade Technique (+), Basic Movement Technique (+). System: Martial God System. Function: Can absorb all things to enhance blood and qi; remaining functions await host's self-discovery.

"Just as I thought—I can level up!"

"System, upgrade Basic Movement Technique!"

Li Ziyu didn't hesitate. Development had to be balanced and comprehensive.

Since he'd decided to walk the path of extreme leveling, he had to see it through without neglecting any area.

He hadn't upgraded his movement technique before because he felt the basic level was sufficient, saving blood and qi for other skills.

But now, after killing so many beasts, he had more than enough blood and qi.

Even after raising his movement technique to Intermediate, Li Ziyu estimated he'd still have points left for other martial skills.

Name: Li Ziyu. Realm: Level 1 Advanced Martial Artist (+). Combat Skills: Intermediate Mighty Ox Body Tempering Method (+), Gale Blade Technique (+), Intermediate Blade Technique (+), Intermediate Movement Technique (+). System: Martial God System. Function: Can absorb all things to enhance blood and qi; remaining functions await host's self-discovery.

Sure enough, after raising Basic Movement Technique to Intermediate, the plus sign still remained.

This meant he could keep upgrading!

Without rushing to test the effects of Intermediate Movement Technique, Li Ziyu gave the system another command in his mind.

"Keep adding to the Body Tempering Method!"

Intermediate Body Tempering Method, advance to Advanced Body Tempering Method!

In an instant, an electric current more than ten times stronger than when he'd gone from Basic to Intermediate surged through Li Ziyu's limbs and bones.

But this time, the duration was much shorter than the upgrade to Intermediate.

When the current ended, Li Ziyu wiped the grime off his face with distaste, found a nearby river, confirmed there were no beasts inside, stripped off his clothes, and jumped straight in.

A moment later.

Li Ziyu looked at his own fist, his tone full of emotion.

"I've gotten stronger again."

"The me now could probably one-shot the me from before!"

"If I ran into an Arm Blade Tiger again, I wouldn't even need a blade—I could just punch it to death!"

Every time the Mighty Ox Body Tempering Method leveled up, it purged impurities from the martial artist's body and continuously compressed and refined their blood and qi.

Stronger and stronger.

"An ordinary martial artist would need at least ten years of effort to train their Body Tempering Method to Advanced, but I did it in less than three days!"

"Above Advanced is Peak Level. I wonder if I can keep going higher after reaching Peak in the Body Tempering Method."

Li Ziyu also tested his movement technique.

With blood and qi boosting his speed, he was now more than twice as fast as before.

"It's about time I headed back to the city. I wonder just how strong I really am now—can I fight above my level?"

"But there's no one out here in the wilderness to test on. I'll go back to Hongsu Martial Arts Hall and get tested!"

"And I'll have Tang Xuan come help collect the beast corpses."

With that thought, Li Ziyu put away his long blade and headed back toward the city wall.

On a winding path, the wreckage of an abandoned off-road vehicle lay across the middle.

A burly man sat cross-legged on the wreckage, legs spread wide, eyes closed in meditation, looking every bit the expert.

Beside him lay a gleaming Zhanmadao.

If Bai Haoran were here, he'd recognize him immediately—it was his coach, Peak Level 1 Martial Artist Wang Dali.

Wang Dali had been stuck at Peak Level 1 for years. With his talent, he'd never advance in this lifetime.

But after hearing about Li Ziyu from Bai Haoran, he realized Li Ziyu must have some kind of lucky encounter!

And if he could get that encounter, it might just push him from Level 2 to Level 3!

So he'd followed Li Ziyu all the way out to the Wilderness Area outside the city.

"This road is the only way back to Xujiang City from the wilderness. If I just wait here, Li Ziyu is bound to show up."

"Hmph! If I run into him, I don't believe I can't pry the secret manual out of Li Ziyu!"

Wang Dali's lips curled into a smug arc, his expression triumphant.

Damn it, once I get that secret manual off Li Ziyu, it'll definitely help me break through to Level 2 Martial Artist!

When that happens, I'll first go into seclusion for a few months, become a Level 2 Martial Artist, then kill that old bastard Hong Tianlang and snatch his daughter.

And that front desk girl too.

Damn, acting all high and mighty! A Peak Level 1 Martial Artist like me, and she treats me like dirt. Once I take over Hongsu Martial Arts Hall, I'll make her kneel and call me 'Daddy.'

Wang Dali mapped out his bright future after squeezing the secret manual out of Li Ziyu, and a wave of satisfaction washed over him.

If you find this book enjoyable, to avoid losing it next time, please remember to add it to your bookshelf.