First Refinement

"Only five."

Xu Feng carried the corpses of five octopus monsters, a hint of regret in his brow.

He had spent nearly half an hour searching the sewers near the rat hole, yet only managed to flush out five E-Rank Octopus Monsters.

All together, they barely contributed 23 Breakthrough Points to him.

As for the deeper parts of the sewer, he dared not set foot there again.

For one, the sewers were a maze of branching paths, winding like a spiderweb that left one dizzy; he feared he might lose his way with a single misstep.

For another, after breaking through to the Blood Replacement Realm, his senses had sharpened far too much. When he approached the deeper reaches of the sewer, a heavy pressure, wrapped in bone-chilling killing intent, slowly seeped out from within.

Out of caution, he ultimately suppressed the urge to explore.

"Meow~"

A cheerful cry rang out.

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

This time, he had learned his lesson.

He had deliberately dragged the corpses of three octopus monsters to the public restroom in the residential complex, carefully rinsing off the mud and slime before stuffing them into a bag he had prepared in advance.

Otherwise, just thinking back to how he had wolfed down that filth-mixed flesh without a second thought made his stomach churn.

That said, he was no longer as repulsed by the idea of devouring monster flesh.

After all, he had already done it once.

As the old saying goes, being able to eat is a blessing.

Besides, the octopus monster's meat was indeed tasty. Even eaten raw, it was far more delicious than any salmon sashimi he had ever had.

"For power!"

"Let's dig in!"

"Meow!!!"

Man and cat hid in the shadows of the woods. Xu Feng spread out a picnic mat and neatly arranged the three octopus monster corpses on it.

He grabbed the largest one, bit into it, and at the same time sank his consciousness into his mind, frantically adding points to the Iron Cloth Shirt on the panel.

Iron Cloth Shirt: Great Success!

Iron Cloth Shirt: Perfection!

Unknown Hard Technique: First Refinement!

A full 22 Breakthrough Points were poured in, and Iron Cloth Shirt instantly broke through to perfection, giving rise to a brand-new body-hardening technique!

Xu Feng's chewing grew faster and faster, until finally he couldn't be bothered to chew at all.

He grabbed a tentacle, and with a "shloop," sucked it down his throat like a noodle.

Then he tore off another and continued feasting.

It wasn't until he had devoured three and a half octopus monsters that the hunger gnawing at his very bones finally faded.

He looked down at his arm. The skin was still the same as before, showing no sign of change.

But only he knew that this body was now a far cry from what it had been.

Xu Feng pulled out half a broken Kitchen Knife blade and slashed it fiercely across his forearm!

The sharp edge struck his skin but left only a faint white mark.

He rubbed it lightly with his hand, and the white mark vanished completely, not even a trace of blood.

In terms of defense, he had already surpassed those octopus monsters!

What surprised him even more was that with the surge in physical defense, the capacity for blood energy within his body had also increased.

Before, his entire arm could only hold a single strand of blood energy.

One strand was a tenth of a wisp.

Now, his arm could hold a full two strands of blood energy with ease!

Both blood energy and physique had broken through to the extraordinary—this wasn't just a simple one-plus-one.

His overall strength was likely on par with a D-Rank by now.

"Right now, I'm terrifyingly strong!"

Xu Feng's right arm suddenly tensed, his biceps bulging high, lines as hard as forged steel, brimming with explosive power.

Beside him, Little Black mimicked the pose, standing on its hind legs, bending its right front paw just like him, and proudly lifting its little head.

It made Xu Feng burst into laughter.

Amid the laughter, he suddenly noticed that as Little Black swallowed the remains of the octopus monsters, the little creature's body was also undergoing a quiet transformation.

Its size hadn't increased, but its claws had grown sharper, and beneath its fur, a faint, intimidating aura of ferocity was beginning to emerge.

"Once Little Black fully matures, it'll be able to help protect the family."

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

"Since it's a path of body refinement and defense enhancement, let's just call it the Body Realm."

With a thought, the Attribute Panel clearly materialized before him:

[Name: Xu Feng]

[Breakthrough Points: 4]

[Qi Realm: Blood Replacement Realm, Early Stage]

[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 Shirt remained on the panel.

This wasn't learning martial arts at all—it was clearly using these martial arts as keys to unlock the door to his own potential.

Once a breakthrough was complete, the original martial art would transform into a new technique more suited to him.

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

At the edge of the sky, a patch of orange-gold dawn light silently tore through the darkness.

Daybreak was near.

Xu Feng pulled out his phone and glanced at it—5:30.

"Time to head back."

He muttered to himself, packed up swiftly and efficiently, slung the remaining Octopus Monster carcass over his back, and turned to leave.

But just as he took a step, he stopped.

He turned back, tore off two of the thickest tentacles from the bag, and tossed them to Little Black, who was staring at him eagerly. Only then did he sprint off toward home.

He wasn't worried about Little Black at all.

He had tested it over this period—the little guy's speed was only a hair slower than his own, and ordinary people couldn't even dream of catching him.

Even those Octopus Monsters were evenly matched with him in speed.

What's more, Little Black bore the Spiritual Imprint he had left behind.

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

The morning breeze blew, carrying a hint of fresh coolness.

Xu Feng gazed at the gradually brightening sky, feeling the surging power within his body, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth upward.

"This little life of mine is really starting to look up."