After finishing two battles, both in total victory.
Lu Xuan calmed his mind and entered the Federation database to search for Martial Skills suitable for him.
Martial Skills.
Unlike Martial Art Manuals.
These things were extremely valuable. Any random one was worth a million.
Lu Xuan opened the database.
He had to choose one or two carefully.
"One movement technique, one attack technique, and one defense technique."
Martial Skills emphasized both offense and defense.
Of course, the most important thing was escaping.
Whether fighting monsters or people, it was fine if he could not win—but he could not be slower than them when running away.
Following this principle.
Lu Xuan ultimately chose a movement technique called Faster Than You.
An offensive technique called Every Strike Fatal.
And a defensive Martial Art Manual called My Golden Spear Never Falls.
They were all Yellow-level Martial Art Manuals.
Although he had no idea why their names had been chosen so casually.
Their introductions showed that they were still the most cost-effective Yellow-level Martial Art Manuals.
They had simply been held back by their names.
"Faster Than You... This Martial Skill is great!"
Lu Xuan studied it for only a moment before grasping its essentials.
Rather than a movement technique, Faster Than You was more like a sticking plaster, because this Martial Skill had two core principles.
First, interrupt someone else's escape. Naturally, he would then run faster than them.
Second, stick to someone else while running.
Of course,
the core cultivation method was to sense the other person's blood-and-qi aura and move along with it.
It was similar to following like a shadow.
For Lu Xuan, who possessed Mental Power, this was far too simple.
"Capture their blood-and-qi aura and use it as a leash to pull myself along, staying beside them forever... Tsk, what a perverted Martial Art Manual."
Whatever.
Train!
Every Strike Fatal was even simpler.
This Martial Skill mainly used extremely fast movements to find an opponent's openings, then deliver a fatal blow. As long as every strike landed on a weak point, it was called Every Strike Fatal.
Its core method of cultivation could be summed up in one phrase—playing dirty.
"Damn, this Martial Skill is much stronger than the movement technique."
"Train!"
As for the defensive Martial Skill My Golden Spear Never Falls.
Compared to the previous two, this one was the most proper.
Tempering the body with blood and qi.
Training the body until it became impervious to blades and spears, water and fire.
In plain terms, it was a body-tempering art.
This Martial Skill was somewhat more orthodox. Once one began cultivating it, one had to temper the body with all kinds of substances: heavenly lightning, earthly fire, marshes, poisons... It was extremely difficult to master.
In Lu Xuan's view.
My Golden Spear Never Falls could actually be cultivated endlessly.
As long as he could find suitable things with which to temper his body, he could forge his flesh into a true Golden Spear That Never Falls.
"This Martial Skill is interesting. If I can find body-tempering methods stronger than heavenly lightning and earthly fire, I can keep tempering my body without limit. The only reason it's Yellow-level is that it's constrained by real-world circumstances."
"Train!"
Without the slightest hesitation.
Lu Xuan began comprehending the three Martial Skills.
The conditions did not allow him to practice them, so he could only comprehend them.
Especially the defensive Martial Skill My Golden Spear Never Falls. He had to find a place suitable for tempering his physique.
The night passed without incident.
The next day.
Lu Xuan exited the Virtual Combat Platform.
After a night of battles, he ultimately achieved a record of one loss and ten wins.
"There's still quite a gap between the Fourth and Fifth orders."
In his final battle against a Fifth-order martial artist, he had lost by one move.
If he had used Psychic Power, he could have defeated his opponent.
Unfortunately, the Virtual Combat Platform could not replicate Psychic Power.
Furthermore.
His cultivation of the Martial Skills had barely crossed the threshold.
Every Strike Fatal was the easiest to comprehend. Especially with the support of Psychic Power, its dirty tricks were incredibly fierce. He had mastered it in a single night.
In addition, the movement technique Faster Than You was even simpler.
Under the perception of Psychic Power, no martial artist could escape his detection.
Unless they had special items like the Holy Cult.
Otherwise, this Martial Skill could truly flourish in Lu Xuan's hands.
As for Golden Spear That Never Falls, he had to go into the wilderness for that.
There were indoor body-tempering facilities too, but they were too expensive.
Lu Xuan swung his legs out of bed.
The sound of his little sister moving things was already coming from outside the door.
When he went out, staff from Jiangnan Martial University were moving things according to Lu Ying's instructions.
"Big Brother, take care of yourself at home!"
When she saw her older brother, Lu Ying reached out and hugged him, tears streaming down her face.
Lu Xuan's eyes grew slightly sore, but he forced back a laugh and said, "It's not like we're being parted by life and death. Why are you making it so tragic? Once you return to school, you can still come home."
While the two were saying their goodbyes, Xu Xin walked in.
"Lu Xuan, as Lu Junior Sister's brother, you can also come with us to the Jiangnan Martial University safe zone. They can provide you with better employment opportunities there."
She reminded him.
For an ordinary person, surviving in Jinling City was already difficult.
And he was living here alone.
It was easy for all sorts of incidents to affect him.
"No need."
Lu Xuan scratched his head and refused. "I have my own plans for my life. If I move there, I might affect my little sister's cultivation, and I could easily become a laughingstock."
Now that he had finally sent his family away.
He could venture boldly into the Wilderness without any further fear of revenge from his enemies.
Leveling up alone like this was the clearest path for his martial heart.
With no ties, and nothing to fear.
"All right, then!"
Xu Xin did not press him.
Everyone made different choices in life.
Once she found Lu Ying a teacher, she and Lu Xuan would no longer owe each other anything.
The guilt she had felt in the Wilderness before this disappeared completely.
From then on, they probably would not have much interaction in life.
Before long,
Lu Xuan stood at the entrance of the residential complex, watching his little sister leave with the people from Jiangnan Martial University.
"Little Sis, let's meet at the summit."
After throwing out those words, Lu Xuan left without looking back.
He did not return home.
For one thing, his little sister had been admitted early to Jiangnan Martial University. There would certainly be many neighbors, and even strangers, coming to visit and build connections.
Jiangnan Martial University.
One of the four top universities. Everyone who cultivated there was a favored child of heaven. Even if many later performed only ordinarily, they could still obtain decent positions after graduation.
Who would not want to curry favor with such people?
For another thing,
he could no longer wait to head into the Wilderness to cultivate and make money.
"May 20th. There will be an Awakened-level monster seriously wounded in Satellite City No. 6."
Lu Xuan had already set his target.
Future Mail had mentioned that Satellite City No. 6 would suffer a small-scale beast tide. This was the perfect opportunity to pick up the scraps.
With his worries gone.
Lu Xuan could not be bothered to disguise himself when leaving the city.
After making a simple disguise, he arrived at the city-exit registration office.
Everyone leaving the city had to be strictly monitored. No matter the reason—even if a company was going to a nearby satellite city for business—they still had to register.
At the same time,
countless martial artist teams were forming groups here.
"Martial artists below the Fifth order, heading to Satellite City No. 3! Split the earnings fifty-fifty!"
"Martial artists above the Sixth order, forming a team to Satellite City No. 10! Split the earnings thirty-seventy!"
"Martial artists above the Seventh order, escorting goods to Magic City! Payment starts at a million. If we arrive safely in Magic City, we'll reimburse the cost of a one-day tour!"
"..."
Lu Xuan ignored everyone and went alone to the registration desk.
"Heading to Satellite City No. 6."
"Fourth-order martial artist, you have been registered. The Wilderness is filled with danger, so please proceed with caution. Also, if you become lost in the Wilderness, you can contact the Federation for rescue. At that time, fifty percent of your gains will be collected..."
Martial artists heading into the Wilderness alone had to take responsibility for their own actions.
The Federation had the authority to protect them within the safe zones. Once they left the safe zones, life and death were left to fate, and wealth to Heaven.
Unless they were Federation martial artists or martial artists from another faction.
Lu Xuan,
strictly speaking, was a Rogue Cultivator.
The Federation would manage such martial artists—but they had to pay extra.
After completing the procedures for leaving the city.
Lu Xuan looked at the Wilderness vehicles in the distance, wondering whether he should rent one.
Jinling City was at least fifty kilometers from Satellite City No. 6.
An ordinary Fourth-order martial artist could sprint there in one hour at the fastest or three hours at the slowest, provided they did not encounter any monsters.
The most frightening thing was encountering monsters.
By then, no one knew whether he would even reach his destination.
The staff member seemed to notice Lu Xuan's hesitation and reminded him, "Wilderness vehicles have been set up from the main city to every major satellite city. Ten thousand Federal Coins for a round trip!"
"The... Wilderness vehicle to Satellite City No. 6."
Ten minutes later.
Lu Xuan boarded the Wilderness vehicle.
Many martial artist teams were accustomed to taking Wilderness vehicles.
The martial artist team sharing Lu Xuan's carriage had six members in total.
Two women and four men.
"Brother, you're heading to Satellite City No. 6?"
The leader was a bald, burly man who looked rather honest.
A Sixth-order martial artist.
He flashed Lu Xuan a friendly smile and struck up a conversation.
"Mm. Just going out for some experience."
Lu Xuan replied concisely.
"Brother, my name is Scarhead." The bald man chuckled. "This is your first time going to Satellite City No. 6, right?"
"You might not know this, but monsters are extremely active there, and Awakened-level ones occasionally appear. If you act alone, I'm afraid it'll be difficult... Would you be interested in joining us?"
Before you continue