Wang Dali

"Little brother, don't get agitated. I mean you no harm."

Li Ziyu followed the direction of the voice and looked over. The speaker was a middle-aged man in black combat gear with dark, sun-bronzed skin.

Behind him followed a red-haired woman carrying a massive sniper rifle.

With Thermal Weapons having little effect in this era, it was quite rare to see anyone still daring to use a sniper rifle.

Li Ziyu also noticed that both their combat suits were somewhat damaged, and their faces looked rather disheveled.

Behind the two of them, 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 watched the two with a guarded expression and said nothing.

In the Wilderness Area, the dangerous things were not limited to beasts. Sometimes, running into humans was even more dangerous than running into beasts!

After all, in the Wilderness Area, where hardly anyone set foot and there was not even a phone signal, human greed would be magnified without limit.

Murder and robbery were common occurrences.

However, Li Ziyu was not particularly flustered.

Judging from the Shadow Cat corpse they were dragging, along with their battered appearance, he could infer that they were probably only Level 1 Intermediate Martial Artists.

A Level 1 Intermediate Martial Artist was someone he was completely unafraid of.

"Brother, I don't mean anything else. I just saw how young you are and couldn't bear to see you die in a beast's mouth, so I came over especially to warn you."

"The Wilderness Area has undergone a mutation. It's much more dangerous than before. You should hurry back to the city!"

The middle-aged man in black combat gear looked at Li Ziyu with a solemn expression and said:

"You dared to leave the city alone to hunt beasts. I'd say you should be a Level 1 Beginner Martial Artist, right?"

"It's rare to see a Level 1 Martial Artist as young as you. If something happened to you in the Wilderness Area, it would be such a shame."

The middle-aged man in black combat gear wore a serious expression. After hearing him out, Li Ziyu frowned slightly and swept his eyes across the surroundings before asking curiously:

"A mutation? What kind of mutation?"

"On the way here, we saw the corpses of many Shadow Cats. And it wasn't just Shadow Cats—there were corpses of all kinds of Level 1 beasts!"

"There were even Wall Blade Tigers!"

"They were killed, but their corpses weren't taken away. That definitely wasn't done by a Martial Artist!"

"I suspect it was the work of a Level 2 beast!"

"A Level 2 beast has appeared nearby! So, little brother, listen to my advice. Don't stay here. Hurry back to the city."

The combat-suited middle-aged man's expression grew increasingly grave. As he spoke, he kept warily surveying the surroundings, as though some terrifying monster were lurking nearby.

Li Ziyu's expression turned somewhat strange. He had wondered what this was about, but those Shadow Cats weren't killed by anyone else—they were killed by him.

He had left their corpses where they were simply because he could not carry any more, all right?

Still, this man in combat gear was kind-hearted.

An ordinary person would have run away on their own long ago. Who would have come over like him to persuade Li Ziyu?

Li Ziyu chatted with the two for a while, then continued walking deeper into the Wilderness Area.

Watching Li Ziyu's unhurried back, the middle-aged man in combat gear secretly shook his head:

"Ah, they say you'll eat your fill if you heed good advice. Why won't this youngster listen?"

"A Level 2 beast has appeared, yet he's still heading deeper in. Isn't he walking straight to his death?"

"Forget it. Good words can't persuade a lovesick ghost. Let's go."

Li Ziyu continued advancing deeper into the Wilderness Area.

When he encountered a Level 1 Mid-tier Beast, a Shadow Cat, one slash.

When he encountered a Level 1 Advanced Beast, a Blood-Rage Ape, one slash.

When he encountered a Level 1 Peak Beast, an Arm Blade Tiger, it was still one slash.

The system's notifications of increased blood energy rang without end.

Li Ziyu calmly sheathed his blade. In front of him, a Level 1 Peak Beast, an Arm Blade Tiger, crashed to the ground.

"Just call me Li the One-Slash."

After Raging Bull Body Tempering Method advanced to the intermediate level, his endurance and stamina had grown countless times stronger than before.

The most direct example was this:

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

Not only was he not tired, he actually felt refreshed and brimming with energy.

After several hours of slaughter, even Li Ziyu himself had nearly forgotten how many beasts he had killed.

He only knew that whenever one appeared in front of him, he killed it.

Draw the blade, then sheathe it.

The blade fell, and the beast died.

Li Ziyu put away his blade, found a safe place, and opened the system panel.

Name: Li Ziyu.

Realm: Level 1 Advanced Martial Artist (+).

Combat Skills: Intermediate Raging Bull Body Tempering Method (+), Gale Blade Technique (+), Intermediate Blade Technique (+), Basic Movement Technique (+).

System: Martial God System.

Function: Can absorb all things to increase blood energy. Other functions await the host's own discovery.

"As expected, just like I thought—I can upgrade!"

"System, increase Basic Movement Technique for me!"

Li Ziyu did not hesitate. Development had to be balanced and comprehensive.

Since he had decided to take the path of extreme upgrading, he had to carry it through to the end. He could not neglect any aspect.

He had not upgraded his movement technique before because he had felt that the basic level was sufficient and wanted to save his blood energy for other skills.

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

Even after upgrading his movement technique to the intermediate level, Li Ziyu estimated that he would still have enough to add points to his other martial skills.

Name: Li Ziyu.

Realm: Level 1 Advanced Martial Artist (+).

Combat Skills: Intermediate Raging Bull Body Tempering Method (+), Gale Blade Technique (+), Intermediate Blade Technique (+), Intermediate Movement Technique (+).

System: Martial God System.

Function: Can absorb all things to increase blood energy. Other functions await the host's own discovery.

Sure enough, after upgrading Basic Movement Technique to the intermediate level, the plus sign behind it still remained.

This meant he could continue upgrading!

Without hurrying to test the effects of the intermediate movement technique, Li Ziyu issued another command to the system in his mind.

"Keep adding points to the body-tempering technique!"

Intermediate Body Tempering Technique advanced to Advanced Body Tempering Technique!

In an instant, an electric current more than ten times stronger than the one produced when Basic advanced to Intermediate surged once again through every limb and bone in Li Ziyu's body.

But this time, it lasted for much less time than when he had advanced to the intermediate level.

When the electric current ended, Li Ziyu disgustedly wiped the grime from his face. He found a nearby river, confirmed that there were no beasts inside, stripped off all his clothes, and jumped straight in.

A moment later.

Li Ziyu looked at his fists, his tone filled with emotion.

"I've become stronger again."

"Right now, I could probably kill my former self in an instant!"

"If I faced an Arm Blade Tiger again, I probably wouldn't even need to use a blade. One punch would be enough to beat it to death!"

Every time Raging Bull Body Tempering Method advanced by one level, it cleared out the impurities in a Martial Artist's body and continuously compressed and refined the blood energy within them.

He grew stronger and stronger.

"For an ordinary Martial Artist to cultivate a body-tempering technique to the advanced level would require at least ten years of effort. But I used less than three days!"

"Above the advanced level is the Peak Level. I wonder whether I can continue upgrading after cultivating the body-tempering technique to the Peak Level."

Li Ziyu tested his movement technique again.

Combined with the boost to his speed from his blood energy, his current speed was more than twice as fast as before.

"It's about time I returned to the city. I wonder what level my strength has reached now, and whether I can fight opponents above my level."

"But this is the middle of nowhere. There's no one here to let me test it on. I'd better return to Hongsu Martial Arts Hall and give it a try!"

"While I'm at it, I'll have Tang Xuan help collect the beast corpses here."

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

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

A burly man sat cross-legged atop the wreckage in a broad, imposing posture, eyes closed as he rested, looking every inch the expert.

Beside him lay a Zhanmadao that gleamed with a cold light.

If Bai Haoran had been there, he would definitely have recognized this as his coach, the Level 1 Peak Martial Artist Wang Dali.

Wang Dali had been stuck at the peak of Level 1 for several years. With his aptitude, he had originally thought he would never be able to advance any further in this life.

But after learning about Li Ziyu from Bai Haoran, he immediately realized that Li Ziyu definitely possessed some fortuitous encounter!

And if he obtained that fortuitous encounter, it might very well help him break through from Level 2 to Level 3!

Thus, he had followed Li Ziyu all the way here, to the Wilderness Area outside the city.

"This road is the only route from the Wilderness Area back to Xujiang City. As long as I wait here and play the hunter waiting for his prey, I'll definitely run into Li Ziyu."

"Hmph! Once I meet him, I refuse to believe I won't be able to torture the secret out of Li Ziyu!"

The corners of Wang Dali's mouth curled upward, his expression smug.

Damn it, once I obtain the secret on Li Ziyu, it'll definitely help me break through to a Level 2 Martial Artist!

When that happens, I'll cultivate in seclusion for a few months. After becoming a Level 2 Martial Artist, I'll first wipe out that old bastard Hong Tianlang, then take his daughter for myself.

And that receptionist, too.

Damn it, acting so high and mighty!

I'm a Level 1 Peak Martial Artist, yet she still treats me with indifference. Once I take over Hongsu Martial Arts Hall, I'll make her kneel before me and call me Daddy.

Wang Dali envisioned the bright future that awaited him after forcing the secret out of Li Ziyu. His whole body immediately felt blissfully refreshed.