It was late at night.
The nearby Patrol Team members hurried over, lanterns in hand.
But they came too slowly, too late.
By the time they found Jiang Yan and the others, they had already carried the man who had just died onto the path.
Jiang Yan's face was grim. He felt not the slightest joy at having killed the anomaly.
Nighttime was too dangerous!
This was his first official patrol, and he had already encountered an anomaly.
Although several Patrol Team members working together could usually handle this one, he still felt a chill in his heart.
There were simply too many anomalies.
Smack!
Smack!
Smack!
Two figures holding lanterns hurried closer. Jiang Yan looked up and saw Tang Long and Fei Shan.
He glanced at the middle-aged man lying on the ground, never to wake again, and managed a bitter smile.
"Old Shan, are you all right?"
Tang Long asked.
Shan Renhu shook his head to show that he was fine. His face was dark. "We're all right. Jiang Yan took care of the anomaly by himself."
"But someone was still killed before that."
He briefly recounted what had happened.
"Ah." Tang Long sighed but said nothing more. He ordered one squad to carry the body back to the village, then sent the Patrol Team members who had come over back to their patrols.
Many of the Patrol Team members watched as one squad quickly put together a simple stretcher and lifted the dead man onto it.
The newcomers to the Patrol Team were all pale, their eyes betraying their worry and fear.
It had only been ten days, and two people had already been killed.
After making the arrangements, Tang Long walked over to Jiang Yan.
"Brother Jiang, we owe you one this time. Old Shan and the others might not have been able to deal with that thing without you."
Jiang Yan shook his head. He gazed at the ink-black night sky and spoke in a low voice. "Brother Tang, what kind of anomaly was that? As soon as we came into contact with it, a strange force pressed down on us. If I hadn't just broken through and greatly increased my strength, it would probably have killed me outright."
He fell silent for a moment, then continued, "We call that kind of anomaly a mountain ghost."
"Ordinary Patrol Team members can't deal with one. Only a quasi-martial artist who has sensed qi can hold it off."
"As for the strange force you mentioned, that's its innate ability. It's been there since it was born, like an instinct of its body."
"Good thing you acted decisively and killed it right away. Otherwise, you'd have felt heavier and heavier, as if you were carrying a mountain on your back."
Jiang Yan's brow twitched.
"Heavier and heavier?"
"That's right. Heavier and heavier!"
Tang Long let out a long breath and said gravely, "Some anomalies have abilities we can't understand, and they catch people off guard."
"Innate abilities. Impossible to guard against."
Jiang Yan murmured the words, and an indescribable pressure closed in from every direction.
He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
"I'm still not strong enough."
Tang Long and Fei Shan left. They still had other things to take care of.
Rustle, rustle. Tang Long and Fei Shan headed back to the village together. They had to guard against an anomaly sneaking into the village.
"Brother Tang, what do you think of Jiang Yan?"
Fei Shan, usually a man of few words, suddenly spoke.
"What about him?"
Tang Long paused, then continued walking.
"His aptitude."
Tang Long fell silent for a moment. "It's decent."
As if that answer seemed inadequate, he added, "Breaking through in ten days counts as excellent aptitude."
He seemed to realize what Fei Shan meant. "You think he might reach the peak of the Martial Apprentice realm within six months and be specially summoned back by the gang headquarters."
"You want to bet on him?"
Fei Shan didn't hide it. He nodded openly. "That's right. I want to give him a hand. If he succeeds, the gang's bigwigs will definitely take notice of him. Then it'll be easy for me to get transferred back."
Tang Long shook his head and strode on. "You're dreaming!"
Training in martial arts was like climbing a mountain: the higher you went, the harder and slower it got. This godforsaken place had no resources at all. Reaching the peak of the Martial Apprentice realm would be far too difficult!
Fei Shan's face remained calm, as if he had expected Tang Long's reaction. "Whatever you think, I'm going to give it a try."
"I have to try. If I stay here, sooner or later, I'll die at the hands of an anomaly."
The rest of the night passed without incident.
After returning from his night watch, Jiang Yan went straight to bed. He was utterly exhausted.
It wasn't until the afternoon that he had rested enough.
According to the Patrol Team's rules, his squad had to take night watch for a week.
The sunlight was dazzling as Jiang Yan stood in the courtyard, sword in hand.
His sword rose! Jiang Yan shifted from stillness to motion, and in an instant, the blade flashed.
He wasn't practicing the Chopping Iron Four Forms. Instead, he moved as he pleased, practicing the basic moves one by one.
The Chopping Iron Four Forms were a cultivation method for the Martial Apprentice stage. Their main purpose was to guide Vital Energy into the body and strengthen the physique, so the weapon chosen during this stage didn't make much difference.
But they were still four sword forms, and as Jiang Yan improved the martial art, he had also gained methods for executing many basic sword moves.
After a while, mist steamed above Jiang Yan's head. He had clearly used up a great deal of his strength.
Martial Arts Modifier, he thought to himself.
The panel appeared.
Character: Jiang Yan Martial Arts: Chopping Iron Four Forms: First Form, Great Mastery Upgrade (Available) Deduce (Unavailable) Weird Value: 12
Looking at the Modifier panel, Jiang Yan frowned. The martial arts section seemed a little too simple.
Sensing Jiang Yan's thoughts, the panel flickered and began to change.
Character: Jiang Yan Martial Arts: Chopping Iron Four Forms: Level: Four Forms Status: First Form, Great Mastery Upgrade (Available) Deduce (Unavailable) Weird Value: 12
He was taken aback, then smiled faintly. Then—upgrade, upgrade!
Last night's events had shaken him. There were too many anomalies, and even though he was already a Martial Apprentice, the danger was greater still!
Then upgrade!
Keep going until there was nowhere left to go!
The Weird Value kept ticking down until it reached zero.
The panel came into sharp focus.
Character: Jiang Yan Martial Arts: Chopping Iron Four Forms: Level: Four Forms Status: Fourth Form, Great Mastery Upgrade (Unavailable) Deduce (Unavailable) Weird Value: 0
The Chopping Iron Four Forms had reached Great Mastery!
The Chopping Iron Four Forms consisted of four forms. With all four forms mastered, his qi sense was robust, and he had already reached the peak of the Martial Apprentice realm. In an instant, he broke through the stage!
Jiang Yan believed that if he had enough Anomaly Points and a Body Refining Realm cultivation method, he might even be able to enter the Body Refining Realm directly.
Inside his body, he could clearly feel a stream of power flowing gently. This was qi sense.
A powerful force surged from every part of his body into his awareness. At that moment, he was several times stronger than before.
After that, he started practicing his sword again in the courtyard.
He needed to get used to this power as soon as possible.
At dusk, Jiang Yan came to the square with a longsword on his back and noticed that the mood there was off.
He happened to see Meng Neng and went over to greet him. "Brother Meng, what happened?"
Hearing Jiang Yan's voice, Meng Neng quickly turned around and pulled him to the edge of the square.
"What is it? Has another anomaly hurt someone?"
"N-no."
Meng Neng's eyes were a little unfocused. He lowered his voice. "Someone ran away."
"A newcomer to the Patrol Team?"
"Yeah."
Jiang Yan looked up, falling silent.
The Patrol Team had suffered so many casualties that someone had finally been unable to bear the pressure and run away?
What a fool. There were even more anomalies out in the wild. Even martial artists avoided going out there unless they had to. An ordinary person who ventured into the wilderness would—
Before you continue