Breakthrough

"Damn it, we'll have to replace the table again." Jiale let out a wail.

Sure enough, the two old men had already started bickering.

Yang Xuan and Ren Tingting sat together, while Jiale had already run to the doorway. Four Eyes and Yi Xiu glared at each other, looking as though a war was about to break out.

"Junior Brother, is there any pork, porridge, pickles, and peanuts left from yesterday?" Yang Xuan immediately found an excuse to leave.

"Senior Brother, there's plenty left. It's all in the kitchen." Jiale replied in confusion.

Yang Xuan stood up and dragged the bewildered Tingting to the kitchen. The two of them drank porridge mixed with peanuts and pickles while wolfing down the pork.

"Brother Xuan, isn't this a little rude?" Tingting asked indistinctly.

"Nonsense. Wait until you go outside and see. Uncle-Master and Yi Xiu clearly don't get along. Be careful not to get caught in the crossfire. We'd better keep our distance." Yang Xuan said.

Ding~ Learning Maoshan Corpse Raising Technique successful.

Ding~ Learning Maoshan Spirit Invocation Technique successful.

At last, he had some time of his own to properly practice Neijiaquan. He had Tingting teach Four Eyes and Jiale, and only then did Four Eyes hand Yang Xuan the two secret techniques he kept as his trump cards.

This Maoshan Corpse Raising Technique was indeed excellent. It was far more powerful and comprehensive than the Feng Shui Master's Corpse Control Technique.

As for this Maoshan Spirit Invocation Technique, its description sounded mysterious. In reality, it stored up his usual magical power, then used self-hypnosis to temporarily enhance his strength. However, once cultivated to the highest level, it was supposedly truly capable of drawing the gods and Buddhas of heaven into possession. Yeah, right. As if I'd believe that.

Following the Baji Quan method of circulating qi and blood, he circulated his qi and blood while striking. To ordinary people, Yang Xuan's Baji Quan looked quite slow; any young man could dodge it. But if an expert in Neijiaquan saw it, he would certainly be left utterly stunned. Yang Xuan's blood was now like a supercar, speeding through the channels of his blood vessels.

At that moment, Yang Xuan's entire body was bright red. The energy stored from the medicinal soups he usually drank and the meat he ate every day was rapidly released from his body.

"Ah!"

Yang Xuan, who rarely sweated, now had sweat covering his face.

There was a pop.

His realm finally advanced. He was both happy and sad. He was happy that his realm had improved, but sad that his appetite seemed to have grown again.

He took a box of protein bars from his storage space and directly optimized and enhanced them twice. He kneaded each protein bar into a ball and swallowed them whole.

"Phew." He nearly felt as though he was going to starve to death.

System, let me see my physical attributes.

Personal Attribute Table. Host: Yang Xuan. Ability: Physical Strength (16 Men)

Psychokinesis (999 kilograms) Neijiaquan (Late-stage Hua Jin) Inner Skill (99 Years) (First-rate Inner Force)

Maoshan Qi Cultivation Method (Three Strands, One Thread)

Skills: Psychokinesis Series, Baji Quan (Perfection), Tian Can Divine Skill (Perfection), Tathagata Palm (Perfection), Seven Spin Slash (Perfection), Bewitching Soul Grand Technique (Perfection), Axe Aura (Intermediate Mastery), Maoshan True Explanation, Thousand Mountains Shield (Minor Mastery),

Corpse Control Technique (Major Mastery) Dan Jing (Major Mastery).

System Skills: 1. Time Control 1:1000 2. Storage Space 100 Cubic Meters

Height: 174

Weight: 220 Kilograms

Bone Density: Five Times

Muscle Strength: Five Times

Neural Reflexes: Six Times

Speed: Five Times

Endurance: Seven Times

"System, something's wrong. Why aren't the newly learned skills listed?" Yang Xuan asked uncertainly.

"They've all been categorized under Maoshan True Explanation." The system replied.

"That makes more sense. I thought I hadn't learned them successfully. Your system is way too unreliable." Yang Xuan grumbled.

Recently, Black Flame seemed to have become slightly lighter again. His realm had also improved, so he decided to give it a try.

Black Flame, third enhancement.

Yang Xuan felt all the strength in his body pour madly into the axe. When only one percent of his physical strength remained, his Inner Force began surging violently.

"Damn it, why isn't it done yet? If this doesn't finish soon, it's going to drain me dry." Yang Xuan thought in alarm. Having all the strength drained from his body was certainly no pleasant experience.

Black Flame (3)

Weight: 800 Jin.

Traits: Ultimate Sharpness, Ultimate Heaviness, 80% Inner Force Amplification.

Yang Xuan swung Black Flame in his hand. It felt excellent and extremely well-balanced.

"System, get out here! Damn it, I was nearly drained dry. Pay me compensation!" Yang Xuan raged.

"Your strength is too low. I'm unable to manifest physically." The system replied.

"Why did the third enhancement consume so much energy?" Yang Xuan asked curiously. After all, the attribute increase wasn't that great.

"Only items with sufficient potential can be enhanced to Level 3. Ordinary items can only be enhanced to Level 2. The explosive increase in attributes comes when upgrading from Level 3 to Level 4, and there is also one more opportunity for optimization. Of course, if you expend an excessive amount of physical strength, further enhancement isn't impossible."

"I see. No wonder the soups I make can only be enhanced to Level 2 each time. Why didn't you say so? How was I supposed to know if you didn't tell me?" Yang Xuan said irritably.

"Host, you didn't ask." The system replied.

Yang Xuan was now considering something extremely important: what to eat for lunch. Hmm, yesterday's pork had been pretty good, but should he try catching a different animal?

"Tingting, you all practice first. I'm going into the mountains for a while. I've eaten pork every day and I'm tired of it." After Yang Xuan left, his voice drifted into the room from far away.

"Sister-in-law, what is Senior Brother going to do?" Jiale asked in confusion.

Ren Tingting slapped her forehead. "Your senior brother is tired of eating pork and wants a change of taste."

"It's great to have Senior Brother's abilities. He can eat whatever he wants. I wouldn't even dare go deep into the forest. The last time I saw a blind bear, I was scared half to death." Jiale said with lingering fear.

Thump! Four Eyes knocked Jiale on the head. "Focus on your practice. In the future, you'll be able to eat whatever you want, too."

Yang Xuan raced through the forest, searching everywhere for small animals. Hey, a wild rabbit? He didn't like rabbit meat. A squirrel? The environment was excellent; there were all kinds of animals. Thinking back to the modern world, technology was becoming increasingly advanced, but the environment was getting worse and worse. Fortunately, at least the country had begun to take it seriously.

As he walked, he suddenly noticed many small animals, including muntjacs and other creatures, running toward him. Yang Xuan was instantly dumbfounded. Why were they all throwing themselves into his trap? No, there was something behind them.

Yang Xuan immediately took out Black Flame and rushed in the direction the animals had come from.

There was nothing there. Could it be a tiger or a lion?

Lions seemed to be from Africa, didn't they? Sigh, he really didn't understand.

Huh? What was that black mass? Holy crap, he was rich! It was a bear. Yang Xuan immediately thought of bear pelts and bear paws, though he wondered whether bear meat tasted good.

When he got closer, Yang Xuan broke into a cold sweat. Fortunately, he hadn't attacked. This wasn't a bear at all—it was clearly a panda, only it had gotten so dirty that its entire body had turned black. Should he attack it or not?

He walked over and kicked the panda. Hey, it was only a half-grown panda. It bared its teeth and claws, putting on an expression that clearly said, I'm very fierce.

Yang Xuan instantly lost interest. Come on, who in the modern world would dare do anything to a panda? It was a national treasure. After more than twenty years of education, he simply couldn't bring himself to attack it. Forget it. The panda was probably so hungry that it had come down the mountain.

He had never seen a panda from such a close distance in his life. It was incredibly adorable, though far too dirty. Yang Xuan took a piece of meat from his storage space and handed it to the little panda. The little fellow sniffed it first, then began gobbling it down.

As expected of an omnivore. Just then, a beast's roar exploded beside his ears. Yang Xuan immediately turned toward the roar and went on guard. The little panda reacted even more directly: it curled into a ball and immediately hid behind Yang Xuan.

Yang Xuan was instantly speechless. Weren't pandas bears too? How could this one be such a coward?

At that moment, a massive brown bear emerged from the bushes. Yang Xuan could no longer remain calm. It was simply enormous. He could probably defeat it, but he was still afraid. A wild beast radiating such an imposing presence was nothing like the animals in a zoo. Yang Xuan gripped Black Flame and swung it forcefully twice before fixing his gaze on the brown bear.

The brown bear sniffed here and there, then suddenly stood upright and glared fixedly at Yang Xuan as well.

Which bastard had said that brown bears only lived in Eurasia and North America?

The power of his qi and blood and the aura of Hua Jin erupted at full force.

The man and beast stared at each other for a long while. Perhaps the brown bear decided that neither Yang Xuan nor the panda looked tasty, because it roared twice before leaving.

Whether he could beat it was another matter. The sheer difference in body size alone put Yang Xuan under immense pressure. Ultimately, Yang Xuan had far too little combat experience.

After waving goodbye to the little panda, Yang Xuan killed a mountain goat and returned to his residence.