Supernatural! Blood Replacement Realm!

"I can finally break through into the supernatural!"

Xu Feng suppressed his excitement, took out two bottles of mineral water, and carefully rinsed the three Octopus Monsters' corpses clean. Then he swiftly stuffed them into the canvas sack he'd prepared beforehand.

He had no intention of breaking through at home.

If the commotion got too loud and his parents saw him, there'd be no way to explain it.

His backpack was already packed with food and water, enough to sustain him through a high-intensity breakthrough.

Picking up his backpack and the sack, Xu Feng headed deeper into the woods.

He deliberately chose a clearing overgrown with weeds, far from the sewer. But as soon as he set his things down, he caught sight of a familiar little black shape.

It was the black cat from before!

The little thing was crouched on a bush not far away, staring at him with unblinking amber eyes, full of curiosity.

Xu Feng gave an amused laugh and casually tossed it a Ham Sausage.

The Little Black Cat immediately sprang down with a cheerful "meow, meow" and buried its head in the food, gobbling it down.

Xu Feng took off his backpack and neatly arranged the compressed biscuits and mineral water in front of him. He took a deep breath, focused, and summoned the system panel in his mind.

His fingertip settled on the conspicuous crimson plus sign beside Iron Wire Fist. He pressed down hard!

Buzz—

In an instant, a scalding wave of warmth burst from his dantian, like a volcano dormant for millennia suddenly erupting. The surging heat raced wildly through his limbs and bones!

Wherever it passed, his muscles and bones hummed and trembled, his skin and flesh gleamed faintly, and his bone density soared at an unbelievable rate. The fascia throughout his body was tempered until it was incredibly tough!

But as his body underwent this frenzied transformation,

an utterly terrifying hunger suddenly swept over him. It was as if countless hands were clawing at his stomach and intestines, leaving his vision dark with hunger.

Xu Feng didn't dare delay. He grabbed the compressed biscuits and washed them down with mineral water, stuffing them into his mouth.

One pack, two, three... fifty, sixty...

The crunching of his teeth sounded especially harsh in the quiet woods.

Only when his fingertips brushed against empty packaging did he suddenly come to his senses.

"I ate it all?!"

Xu Feng stared at the now-empty backpack, his face turning deathly pale.

He'd made a special trip to the supermarket last night and stocked up on more than a hundred packs of compressed biscuits!

But now, all that remained were crumpled wrappers scattered across the ground. The food hadn't even lasted fifteen minutes!

"What do I do?!"

His stomach felt like a bottomless abyss. The food he'd just swallowed wasn't even enough to fill the gaps between his teeth.

The bone-deep hunger grew more and more intense, driving his eyes bloodshot. Saliva poured uncontrollably from his mouth, and his expression twisted into something horrifying.

If he couldn't find something to eat, he'd starve to death at the final step of his breakthrough!

"Fuck it, let's do this, brothers!"

Xu Feng's eyes bulged as he tore open the canvas sack containing the Octopus Monsters.

A foul stench mixed with the filth of the sewer hit him in the face, making his stomach churn.

He gritted his teeth and scraped the slime off the tentacles with his fingers. Without a second thought, he sank his teeth into one!

The expected stench never came. Instead, a strange sweetness burst across his tongue.

Was it because he was starving?

Xu Feng had no time to think. His eyes suddenly lit up, and he tore into the flesh and swallowed it like a ravenous wolf, devouring an entire Octopus Monster in the blink of an eye!

The Octopus Monster's flesh had barely reached his stomach before it transformed into streams of pure energy, spreading wildly through his limbs and bones.

His body expanded under the force, his muscles and bones growing stronger at a furious pace. When the power reached some kind of limit, he even felt a faint stirring, as if he were about to break free of a cocoon and emerge transformed!

"Still not enough!"

Eyes bloodshot, Xu Feng lunged at the remaining Octopus Monsters. As he tore at them with both hands, chunks of steaming flesh flew everywhere, splattering across the withered grass in glaring patches of dark red.

The Little Black Cat licked the crumbs of Ham Sausage from the corners of its mouth and sat nearby, watching Xu Feng wolf down his food. Its round amber eyes were full of longing.

It crept closer, stopping in front of a thumb-sized chunk of Octopus Monster meat. Its little head tilted from side to side.

It looked at the meat, then at Xu Feng. It was clearly begging for a bite.

But Xu Feng's mind was entirely occupied with eating. How could he spare a thought for the little thing?

The Little Black Cat waited a long while, but got no response. Watching Xu Feng eat with even greater relish, it could no longer hold back its hunger.

It cautiously licked the meat. When Xu Feng still didn't react, it simply swallowed it in one gulp.

If Xu Feng had been clear-headed, he would have stopped it.

In this world, nearly every animal other than humans would die after consuming flesh infused with magic. They couldn't withstand the corrosive effects of the magic!

Even creatures as enormous as blue whales and elephants could barely endure it. They would fall seriously ill and need several days to expel the magic from their bodies.

For a Little Black Cat the size of a hand, eating this bite of meat should have been fatal!

Sure enough, within seconds, the Little Black Cat's body began to tremble uncontrollably. A pained whimper came from its throat.

It arched its back and coughed violently several times, spraying a mouthful of blood onto the grass. Its front paws scrabbled helplessly at the ground as its strength drained away at an alarming rate.

It used the last of its strength to open its eyes. Its gaze fell on Xu Feng, who was still devouring the meat. As if it had suddenly understood something, it weakly nuzzled its fluffy little head against the back of his hand.

"Spiritual needs of the conscious entity have been fulfilled. Spend 1 Breakthrough Point to create a Spiritual Imprint and improve the target's body?"

The cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in Xu Feng's mind.

Xu Feng paused mid-bite and looked up in confusion. He saw the Little Black Cat lying limp beside his hand.

Its chest rose and fell so faintly it was almost impossible to see, and a startling streak of blood clung to the corner of its mouth.

"Spiritual Imprint... improve its body? The Attribute Panel can do that?"

Xu Feng hesitated briefly, then agreed.

He'd spent 10 Breakthrough Points to bring Iron Wire Fist to perfection. Now only 7 remained on his panel, not enough to attempt the next realm anyway.

Spending 1 to run an experiment was acceptable.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the number on the panel changed to 6.

A faint trickle of warmth flowed out of Xu Feng's body. Compared with the surging heat of his breakthrough, it was so weak it could almost be ignored.

It flowed through Xu Feng's palm and slowly into the Little Black Cat's head.

Xu Feng looked at the chunks of Octopus Monster scattered across the ground, then at the kitten on the verge of death. Only then did he realize what had happened.

"Did this little thing... sneak a bite of the Beast Flesh Chunk?"

At that moment, the hunger in his stomach finally subsided.

The last Octopus Monster had been reduced to two tentacles by his ravenous bites.

His gaze returned to the Little Black Cat. Its frail body was visibly growing taller and sturdier.

In just a moment, it had grown from the size of two palms to the length of a forearm.

Its black fur had become sleek and glossy, gleaming like silk. Muscles stood out beneath its skin, giving it the lithe, sharp look of a leopard.

As the changes to its body gradually subsided, a wave of emotion surged into Xu Feng's mind—affection and gratitude.

"Meow, meow, meow~"

The Little Black Cat let out a few soft meows, and Xu Feng somehow understood what it was saying.

It was thanking its master and promising to follow him forever.

The Little Black Cat opened its eyes. Its amber pupils were clearer and more lively than before, and its gaze toward Xu Feng was full of reverence and obedience.

"Did I just... get a Spirit Pet?" Xu Feng laughed helplessly. "But I practice martial arts. Shouldn't it be called a Martial Pet?"

"This Spiritual Imprint is pretty interesting, though..."

He shook his head and was about to reach out to stroke the Little Black Cat's head, but the little thing rubbed against him first, purring contentedly in its throat.

"Fine, fine. I'll treat you like a pet." Xu Feng rubbed its fluffy head. "I'll look for some materials tomorrow morning and build you a little den?"

The Little Black Cat immediately shook its head and gestured with its little paws. It meant that its master didn't need to go to the trouble; it could handle it itself.

"Even better. Saves me the effort." Xu Feng was happy to leave it to the cat. He stood up and looked down at his body.

[Name: Xu Feng]

[Breakthrough Points: 6]

[Unknown Fist Art: Early Blood Replacement Realm]

The moment Iron Wire Fist reached perfection, it had already undergone a complete transformation, becoming a truly supernatural technique.

"Since it's a supernatural fist art, it needs a suitably impressive name." Xu Feng rubbed his chin, thinking. "Nuclear Explosion Fist? Black Hole Fist? The Infinite Fist of the Interdimensional Starstream..."

He cleared his throat, embarrassed even by his own ideas. "Ahem, too chuunibyou. There's a trace of Qi energy in my body now, so I'll just call it the Qi Realm."

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, the words Unknown Fist Art on the panel refreshed, changing to Qi Realm.

Xu Feng felt the power surging through his body. A faint stream of energy curled around his dantian, ready to be summoned at will with a single thought.

"Supernatural realm, early Blood Replacement Realm... I wonder how I'd compare to a real E-class hunter?"

Monsters possessed brute strength, but when they faced hunters of equal power, they were usually outmatched by their opponents' combat instincts and intelligence.

Besides, hunters liked to operate in groups.

Xu Feng spread his legs and assumed the opening stance from the Fist Scripture, his muscles instantly tensing like a fully drawn bow.

He spun around and threw a straight punch at the ginkgo tree beside him, the blow wrapped in a gust of wind.

Crack—

Two sharp sounds rang out almost simultaneously!

The first was the explosive crack of his fist tearing through the air.

The second was the tree trunk splitting under the force of the blow!

A fist-shaped dent ten centimeters deep had appeared in the trunk, which was as thick as an adult's waist. Yellow leaves shook loose from the tree and fluttered to the ground.

"You can't buy a sound like that for a thousand gold. No wonder it's supernatural!"

A glint flashed in Xu Feng's eyes, and he focused again.

A tenth of the energy in his dantian flowed out, traveling through his meridians and into his right arm.

In an instant, the muscles in his right arm swelled, and veins bulged like coiling dragons. Even his skin took on a deep crimson hue!

Bang—!

He threw another punch. This time, he pierced straight through the sturdy ginkgo tree!

Xu Feng pulled back his fist and stared at the mangled tree, his pupils contracting sharply.

"This is the supernatural power unique to martial artists—qi and blood!"

He decided to call the stream of energy in his dantian qi and blood.

"With qi and blood reinforcing me, my strength has doubled!"

Delighted, Xu Feng looked down at his fist. Fine scratches covered its surface, cuts from the splintered wood that had flown into him.

His entire right arm was worse. The capillaries beneath his skin had ruptured, leaving it faintly purple, and several muscles throbbed with pain.

He'd clearly strained them.

"My body still can't withstand the power of qi and blood..."

He furrowed his brow, then quickly relaxed it. A spark of insight flashed in his eyes.

"If practicing fist arts alone isn't enough, what if I also trained in defensive skills and movement techniques? If I developed my body inside and out, it should be able to handle the strain, right?"

At the thought, Xu Feng's eyes lit up. He immediately took out his phone and searched online.

"Child Kung Fu, Tiger Crane Double Form Fist, Iron Sand Palm... There it is, Iron Cloth Shirt!"

He opened a video. On screen, a monk stood in a tiger stance, practicing a standing exercise. It was the foundation of Iron Cloth Shirt.

Vajra Standing Stake.

The monk sank his Qi into his dantian. Five other monks stood around him, holding wooden staves and bamboo boards. They took turns striking him hard, but he remained steady as a mountain, not moving an inch.

"Tempering the skin, flesh, muscles, and bones with external blows. Simple and practical." Xu Feng suddenly understood.

The moment he finished watching the video, another section appeared on the panel in his mind.

[Iron Cloth Shirt: Not Yet Initiated]

"Add points!"

[Breakthrough Points -3]

[Iron Cloth Shirt: Minor Mastery]

The familiar wave of heat surged through him again. This time, though, it gathered entirely around the surface of his body, slowly nourishing his skin, flesh, muscles, and bones.

Xu Feng squeezed his arm. His skin was definitely tougher, but the effect was still limited.

After all, Iron Cloth Shirt had only just reached minor mastery. It was nowhere near the supernatural realm.

He looked toward the sewer in the distance, narrowed his eyes, and let a hint of excitement curve his lips.

"Then I'll keep hunting."

The feeling of his power increasing by leaps and bounds was truly intoxicating!

The cultivation realms in I Alone Stand Supreme are:

E, D, C, B, A, S, and SS (subdivided into National Authority Level and Legion Commander Level), followed by SSS (Ordinary Monarch Level and Demigod Level).