Steel Muscles and Bones, Shadow Leap

"Tch, can't sleep~"

Qin Tian lay on the carpet, tossing and turning, unable to drift off.

"Forget it, if I can't sleep, I won't."

Qin Tian slowly sat up and glanced at the Evolution Points on the system panel.

In this war, he had killed over a hundred Green-skinned Orcs, hundreds of Shadow Cats, and one Sky Camel Beast, harvesting a total of 4396 Evolution Points.

[Shadow of the Spirit Cat] had been upgraded to [Shadow Muscle and Bone], costing 2000 Evolution Points, leaving over 2000 points—enough to complete another green orb evolution.

The green talents he currently possessed were Absolute Gun Sense, Advanced Strength, Rapid Recovery, and Danger Sense.

If he were to upgrade one, he planned to choose between Advanced Strength and Rapid Recovery.

After all, these two directly enhanced physical constitution, making their effects more intuitive and practical.

Which one to upgrade?

After a brief consideration, Qin Tian made his decision.

Upgrade [Advanced Strength].

Rapid Recovery was useful; if upgraded to a certain level, he might gain an immortal body like Wolverine's and an ageless appearance—something many dreamed of.

However, if he only had strong recovery but lacked strength, defense, and endurance, he'd just be a Blood Pack that healed fast, with combat power barely worth mentioning.

Wolverine was the best example.

Before being infused with Adamantium, Wolverine was a pushover, barely able to bully ordinary people. With Adamantium, he barely counted as third-rate combat power.

But if Wolverine had the strength and physique of the Hulk, stacked with an immortal body, he'd definitely be a bug-level hero in Marvel, directly entering the top tier.

This one it is!

Investing 2000 Evolution Points, upgrade [Advanced Strength].

Wooom~~~

The green orb symbolizing [Advanced Strength] trembled violently, its green deepening, and soon a blue light appeared, tingeing the orb a faint blue.

[Name] Steel Muscles and Bones (Blue)

[Type] Passive Talent

[Description] Your body has been tempered through countless refinements; muscles like steel, bones like iron. Strength, defense, endurance, and explosive power are greatly enhanced. Physical damage reduced by 20%, magical attack damage reduced by 15%.

Boom!!!

A surge of heat erupted from his heart, rapidly spreading throughout his body.

Qin Tian's eyes were tightly shut; Qi and Blood churned within him, muscles swelling and contracting as if undergoing some forging. Bones emitted faint, crisp sounds under the tempering of this mysterious force, growing denser and harder, their density increasing geometrically. The meridians hidden deep within his flesh now blazed with brilliant light, like shining spirit snakes visibly widening and becoming tougher.

After a moment, Qin Tian slowly opened his eyes, clenching his fists. A surging sense of power filled his entire body.

"Steel Muscles and Bones."

Qin Tian's lips curled slightly. Compared to the agility and flexibility brought by Shadow Muscle and Bone, he preferred the weight and power of Steel Muscles and Bones.

An assassin? Nothing beats the thrill of a Meat Shield warrior!

Meat is the way!

With the evolution of Steel Muscles and Bones complete, Qin Tian was brimming with energy and even more unable to sleep.

"Tch, still four hours until wake-up time. This is going to be rough~"

Qin Tian sighed helplessly.

Just then, alarm bells suddenly rang in his mind. He instinctively turned his head to look.

In the pitch-black tent, a gelatinous black shadow emerged from the ground. Soon, the shadow revealed its true form—a cat-person with a hunched back, long slender limbs, and pitch-black fur.

Qin Tian had the talent [Shadow Muscle and Bone], granting him exceptional Night Vision Ability. He could even see the faintly drifting fur on the cat-person's face.

The cat-person scanned its surroundings, its eyes locking onto Qin Tian's.

"Meow!!!"

"Die!!!"

Man and cat lunged at each other simultaneously.

The cat-person swung its claws at Qin Tian's throat. Qin Tian reacted swiftly, tilting his head back to narrowly dodge the claws, while instinctively lifting his right foot in a lightning-fast upward kick.

Bam!!!

The cat-person's lower body was struck. Faintly, there was a sound of something shattering.

The cat-person's eyes bulged, blood vessels bursting in its emerald pupils, letting out a piercing scream.

"Meow!!!!"

Boom!!

A massive fireball struck the cat-person's ear from the side, and a huge figure pounced from nearby, pinning the cat-person firmly beneath it.

Qin Tian didn't hesitate. With a violent soccer kick, he slammed his foot viciously into the cat-person's temple.

BANG!

The head burst open like a watermelon, red and white splattering across the floor.

Even Qin Tian hadn't expected his kick to carry such power; he froze for a moment.

Slap~

The tent's night lamp flicked on. Qin Dadi, Liu Zhaozhao, and Xiao Yunlong all crowded around, looking down at the decapitated corpse on the ground.

"Hiss—this is the Spirit Cat's upper race, the Shadow Catman."

Xiao Yunlong sucked in a sharp breath, his heart pounding wildly.

The Shadow Catman belonged to the Bronze Beastmen. They were darlings of the darkness, assassins under the night veil. Not only did they possess agility surpassing the Spirit Cat, but they could also merge into shadows, stalking and leaping within them.

"This should be a Second Order Shadow Catman. If it were Third Order, none of us would have survived."

Qin Dadi took a deep breath, a faint tremor and lingering fear audible in his voice.

"Qin Tian, you've saved our lives again." Liu Zhaozhao turned to look at him.

From that arrow on the battlefield, to the Spirit Cat fight afterward, and now this Shadow Catman before them—

Counting it up, Qin Tian had saved them a full three times.

In truth, when Qin Tian first joined the Earth Dragon Squad, she hadn't been impressed by this new teammate. After all, the world always held some prejudice against Clones.

Even though Qin Tian's marksmanship had been certified by Raymond, she still believed he was far inferior to the battle-hardened former Sharpshooter, Huang Xun.

Worse, lacking basic knowledge and combat experience, Qin Tian might not help the Earth Dragon Squad at all—he could even become a burden to the team.

But the facts proved her wrong, terribly wrong.

Qin Tian wasn't just precise with his gun; his physical abilities were astonishingly formidable.

Keen battlefield awareness, agility rivaling a Spirit Cat, endurance comparable to a Horned Horse—

He was like a super soldier manufactured by the military, with no visible weaknesses or flaws.

Originally, the three of them were supposed to protect this new teammate, to prevent Huang Xun's tragedy from repeating. Yet in the end, it was Qin Tian who repeatedly pulled the squad from the jaws of death.

"Couldn't sleep, and I just happened to spot him."

Qin Tian's lips pressed together slightly, a flicker of surprise gleaming in his eyes.

Killing the Shadow Catman, two Blue Light Orbs entered his body.

One merged with [Shadow Muscle and Bone], showing almost no change.

But the other was a brand-new Blue Talent—

[Name] Shadow Leap (Blue)

[Type] Active Talent

[Description] Upon active activation, the host merges into shadows, able to walk and traverse within them, using shadows as springboards to achieve movement over a certain distance.