The Power of a Martial Master

After crossing a mountain ridge, they came upon a stretch of River Valley. Traces of human habitation from decades ago could still be seen.

This had once been a town, with densely packed houses and crisscrossing paths, bustling with life.

But after humanity had left for decades, everything had changed. All that remained were broken walls and ruined buildings, with greenery spreading everywhere. It was almost impossible to find a single intact house.

"Let's find a house up ahead and rest for a while," Wu Ruijie suggested.

They had just gone through a fierce battle, and everyone needed time to recover and reflect.

Huang Jiancheng nodded. "Sure, but we need to stay alert for Monsters that might appear nearby at any time."

The group followed the abandoned highway and soon found a dilapidated building.

The house had three stories. Half of it had collapsed, while the other half still stood, like a gigantic cake with one side cleanly sliced away by something.

Qin Heng studied the fractured edge of the building and said in surprise, "This cut is so smooth. It must have been severed by an incredibly sharp weapon."

Zhao Dongxing stretched out his uninjured right hand and touched the broken edge, dust staining his fingertips.

He said, "Judging by the marks, this happened many years ago. Whoever could cause this level of destruction was at least a Martial Master."

Qin Heng held up his saber and gestured with it, his expression full of longing. "I wonder when we'll possess such strength."

They were all only Elementary Martial Warriors now. They still had a long way to go before becoming Martial Masters.

Zhao Dongxing shook his head. "Martial Masters... It's hard to say whether any of us will ever reach that realm. But Qin Heng, you should have no problem. If you work seriously for three to five years, you might get there."

Qin Heng smiled. "It'd be great if that really happened."

Martial Masters were far stronger than Martial Warriors.

Over the past few days, he had often asked Coach Yang about such matters and had learned the most important differences between the various realms.

The three levels of Martial Warriors were all merely increases in strength. At their core, they all relied on brute muscular force.

But Martial Masters were different!

To break through from an Advanced Martial Warrior and become a Martial Master, brute force alone was not enough. One also had to master "qi"!

"Qi" was what high-level Martial Warriors relied on to roam the wilderness unhindered.

Nurturing it within the body could strengthen one's vitality, allowing cells to evolve and grow ever faster. It could even prolong one's life.

If "qi" was released outward, it could produce immensely powerful destructive force.

Take this building, for instance. If one tried to chop through it with brute strength alone, no matter how strong one was, it would be impossible to slice the entire structure in half in a single strike. The weapon in one's hand had limited length and could not pierce through a building more than ten meters wide.

But after mastering "qi," one swing of the blade would send blade qi raging in all directions. Wherever its edge reached was where its power reached.

To a Martial Master, one meter and ten meters were not much different. Within one meter, a single punch could unleash over ten tons of destructive force. Ten meters away, a punch thrown through the air could still carry the same force of over ten tons.

That was the marvelous use of "qi."

Qin Heng's previous goal had been to become a true Martial Warrior, and that goal could now basically be considered accomplished.

His next goal was to charge toward the Martial Master realm and strive to break through while studying at Heavenly Dao Martial Hall!

Martial Masters had astonishing earning power. As long as they worked hard, making several million a year was easy!

Then perhaps he could heal his parents' legs, let them walk on their own again, and spare them from spending every day in wheelchairs.

"You all rest first. I'll take a look around and see whether there are any Monsters nearby."

As the eldest among them, Huang Jiancheng took the initiative to shoulder the duty of keeping watch. He nimbly climbed to the third floor to stand guard.

The group rested inside the half-collapsed building.

Zhao Dongxing was injured and did not want to move. He sat quietly beneath a wall with his eyes closed, resting his mind. The others also needed to recover.

Qin Heng took out his phone and glanced at it. He had wanted to chat with Fang Lingxue for a bit, to tell her what fighting in the wilderness felt like, but there was no signal. He could only put it away again.

He sat beside Zhao Dongxing, closed his eyes, and recalled the battle with the Blood Claw Demon Wolf.

That feeling during the fight was truly strange. It was as though every cell had gained its own thoughts. All the cells in my body united as one and fought the enemy together, Qin Heng thought.

He had never experienced anything like it before. After that battle, he realized that he had started to like the feeling.

Qin Heng had never been someone who loved fighting or acted fiercely. Whether at home or at the Martial Hall, as long as others did not deliberately provoke him, he was always very mild-tempered.

But now, he felt that he seemed to enjoy fighting, that he was suited for fighting, that he relished fighting!

Perhaps he had been born to become a Martial Warrior!

After a while, Huang Jiancheng came downstairs and said to the group, "There are signs of Monster activity around this town, but there shouldn't be many of them. As long as we're careful, resting here for a while won't be a problem."

It was difficult to find a place in the wilderness completely devoid of Monsters. As long as their numbers were low, it could be considered "safe."

After all, Monsters were not brainless creatures. When they saw so many human Martial Warriors gathered together, they became even more nervous than humans and would not dare approach to harass them.

Qin Heng asked, "How long are we resting?"

Actually, he still wanted to keep fighting...

"What do you all think?" Huang Jiancheng left the choice to everyone.

The group exchanged glances and silently shared their thoughts.

In the end, Zhao Dongxing said, "We're progressing through the mission quickly, so there's no need to rush into more hunting and fighting. Let's rest and cultivate here. We'll continue searching for prey tomorrow morning."

Huang Jiancheng said, "Alright. Then those of us who aren't injured will take turns standing guard, four hours per shift. Wen Xin and I will take the first shift, Qin Heng and Liang Yunkai the second, Pang Jun and Wu Ruijie the third."

There was still some time before nightfall.

But after the battle just now, everyone had developed some fear of Monsters. They did not want to immediately enter a second round of combat.

"Alright..."

Qin Heng was the only one eager to fight, and he was slightly disappointed by this.

But as a member of the team, he did not want to go against everyone else.

"I'm going upstairs to cultivate," he said. Then he leaped up and jumped directly to the second floor. Borrowing strength from a broken wall, he climbed to the third floor.

Half of the building had collapsed, but the remaining half happened to still have two rooms on each floor, for a total of six rooms across three stories.

Qin Heng claimed one of the rooms on the third floor. After entering, he saw dry weeds, cobwebs, and grime covering the ground.

After giving it a simple cleaning and clearing a place to sit, he sat down on the spot and began cultivating the Innate Fetal Breathing Art.

After cultivating the Innate Fetal Breathing Art for a week, Qin Heng had benefited enormously and had fallen deeply in love with this cultivation technique.

As he sat quietly and regulated his breathing, threads of invisible energy seeped in through his pores, nourishing his body.

In the wilderness, Cosmic Energy was even more abundant than in the Slum District. Cultivating here felt extremely comfortable.

A faintly warm breeze blew in through the broken window. It too transformed into energy and was absorbed by Qin Heng.

But the state of cultivation did not last long.

Less than half an hour later, Qin Heng was jolted awake by a violent tremor.

Boom!

The entire building shook, as though something had slammed into it.

Qin Heng opened his eyes and heard a familiar voice from downstairs. "Speak! Where is Qin Heng? If you dare lie, I'll kill you immediately!"