First Refinement

"Only five."

Xu Feng carried the five Octopus Monster corpses, a hint of regret showing between his brows.

He had spent over half an hour searching the sewers near the rat hole, but had only managed to find five E-Rank Octopus Monsters.

Together, they had barely contributed 23 Breakthrough Points.

As for the deeper parts of the sewers, he no longer dared venture in.

For one thing, the sewers were riddled with branching paths, their web-like twists enough to make anyone dizzy. He was afraid that one wrong turn would leave him lost.

For another, after breaking through to the Blood Replacement Realm, his senses had become far sharper. Whenever he approached the deeper parts of the sewers, a heavy pressure laced with bone-chilling killing intent would slowly spread from within.

For safety's sake, he ultimately suppressed his urge to explore.

"Meow~"

A cheerful cry rang out.

Xu Feng casually tossed over a thoroughly washed Octopus Monster tentacle. Little Black immediately pounced on it, hugging the tentacle and tearing into it with relish.

This time, he had learned his lesson.

He had deliberately dragged three Octopus Monster corpses to the community's public restroom, carefully washing away every trace of mud and slime before stuffing them into the bags he had prepared in advance.

Otherwise, just thinking about how he had previously swallowed that filth-covered flesh when he was too hungry to care made his stomach churn.

That said, he was no longer quite as repulsed by eating monster flesh.

After all, he had already done it once.

As the old saying went, being able to eat was a blessing.

Besides, the Octopus Monster's flesh really did taste good. Even raw, it was countless times more delicious than the salmon sashimi he had eaten before.

"For strength!"

"Let's get to work!"

"Meow!!!"

Hiding in the shadows of the woods, the man and cat watched as Xu Feng spread out a placemat and neatly arranged the three Octopus Monster corpses on it.

He picked up the largest one and bit into it, while simultaneously sinking his consciousness into his mind and frantically adding points to Iron Cloth on the panel.

[Iron Cloth: Great Completion!]

[Iron Cloth: Perfection!]

[Unknown Hard Technique: First Refinement!]

A full 22 Breakthrough Points were invested. Iron Cloth instantly broke through the Perfection stage and gave rise to an entirely new body-tempering technique!

Xu Feng chewed faster and faster. In the end, he could not even be bothered to chew anymore.

He grabbed a tentacle and, with a whoosh, swallowed it straight down like a strand of noodles.

Then he tore off another one and continued devouring it ravenously.

Only after he had gnawed through three and a half Octopus Monsters did the hunger that had seeped out from between his bones finally dissipate.

He lowered his head and looked at his arm. His skin still looked the same as always, with not the slightest visible change.

But only he knew that this physical body had long since become completely different.

Xu Feng pulled out half of a broken cleaver blade and slashed it viciously across his forearm!

The sharp edge landed on his skin, but only left behind a faint white mark.

He raised his hand and rubbed it lightly. The white mark vanished completely, without even the slightest trace of blood.

In terms of defense, he had now surpassed those Octopus Monsters!

What delighted him even more was that as his body's defense soared, so too had his body's limit for containing qi and blood.

Before, his entire arm could only contain a single thread of qi and blood.

A thread was one-tenth of a wisp of qi and blood.

Now, however, his arm could contain a full two threads of qi and blood, and he still handled it with ease!

Both his qi and blood and his physique had broken through the mortal limits. This was far more than simply one plus one.

His overall strength was probably about equal to that of a D-Rank monster.

"I'm terrifyingly strong now!"

Xu Feng abruptly exerted force with his right arm. His biceps swelled high, their rigid contours seeming cast from refined iron and filled with explosive power.

Little Black followed suit. It rose onto its hind legs, bracing them against the ground, and bent its right forepaw the way he had. It even raised its little head proudly.

Xu Feng could not help bursting into laughter.

Amid the laughter and teasing, he suddenly noticed that as Little Black swallowed the Octopus Monsters' remains, its body was quietly transforming as well.

Its size had not increased, but its claws had grown increasingly sharp. Beneath its fur, a frighteningly fierce aura faintly radiated.

"Once Little Black fully grows up, it should be able to help protect my family."

Xu Feng's heart stirred, and he turned his gaze to the new technique on the panel.

"Since this path tempers the body and increases defense, I might as well call it the Body Realm."

With a thought from him, the Attribute Panel immediately appeared clearly:

[Name: Xu Feng]

[Breakthrough Points: 4]

[Qi Realm: Early Blood Replacement Realm]

[Body Realm: First Refinement]

Looking at the panel, Xu Feng fell into thought.

He had watched so many martial arts instructional videos before, yet in the end, only Iron Cloth had remained on the panel.

This was not learning martial arts at all. It was clearly using those martial arts as keys to pry open the gates of his own potential.

Once they broke through to Perfection, the original martial arts would transform into entirely new techniques that suited him even better.

"I wonder if other martial arts can trigger new attributes too..."

At the edge of the sky, a streak of orange-gold light quietly tore through the darkness.

Dawn was approaching.

Xu Feng took out his phone and glanced at it. It was five-thirty.

"I should head back."

He muttered under his breath, swiftly packed everything up, slung the remaining Octopus Monster corpses over his back, and turned to leave.

But the moment he took a step, he stopped again.

He turned around, pulled the two thickest tentacles from the bag, and tossed them to Little Black, which was gazing at him with eager eyes. Only then did he sprint toward home.

He was not worried about Little Black in the slightest.

He had tested it during this period. The little fellow was only a fraction slower than him, and ordinary people could not possibly catch it.

Even the Octopus Monsters were about evenly matched with it in speed.

Besides, Little Black bore the Spiritual Imprint he had left on it.

No matter how far apart they were, he could faintly sense the little fellow's location and whether it was safe.

The morning wind brushed past, carrying a hint of fresh coolness.

Xu Feng gazed at the gradually brightening pale belly of the sky, feeling the ceaseless power surging through his body. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.

"These days are getting more and more promising."