Guidance, Growth

Guidance, Growth

Qin Ming had actually been considering this question during the earlier battle.

Not only because he wanted to temper his body technique and halberd art, but also because he had discovered that when fighting the Beast Tide, that feeling of intense concentration and unrestrained combat sent him into a state where his blood boiled.

When reviewing the battle afterward, Qin Ming found that in that state, he absorbed Soul Aura and Blood Essence several times faster than usual!

What this brought was a rapid increase in strength.

Although he had not tested his punching power, Qin Ming estimated that it was probably close to 7,000 kilograms.

While protected by the others, simply using Mental Force to attack did increase the speed at which he absorbed Soul Aura and Blood Essence compared to normal, but not by much.

Qin Ming had some guesses about this.

There was great terror between life and death.

When faced with a life-threatening crisis, every cell in his body would instinctively boil, making his absorption speed faster.

And with the captain and the others around, this was also an excellent opportunity for training.

Spiritual Force Users indeed possessed a great advantage at the Apprentice Level, but once Martial Warriors broke through to the Planet Level, gained the ability to fly, and awakened special abilities, that advantage would be greatly weakened.

With the Myriad Souls Banner, Qin Ming believed that reaching the Planet Level would not be a problem.

At this stage, he still relied mainly on Mental Force, but his body technique and close combat abilities were not bad either.

"Sure. You'll switch out with Qian Ye later. Be careful. We'll clear out most of the monsters first, then lure out the ones hiding inside the buildings.

Advanced Beast Generals have already appeared here. If they gather into a Beast Tide, we'll be in danger as well."

Lu Haochuan agreed without much hesitation.

Qin Ming had already proven his strength. There was nothing wrong with letting him take the lead.

However, as they continued clearing deeper in, they had entered a dangerous area. They could no longer charge ahead recklessly like before.

"Don't worry, Captain. With Mental Force, I don't have to worry about being ambushed. If necessary, I can use Flying Knives to end the fight."

Qin Ming nodded and answered without hesitation.

Two hours later.

"Let's go. Keep advancing!"

Once they had recovered their stamina, the group continued toward the next street. As for the monster corpses behind them, the Military had specialized personnel to clean them up.

The battlefield recording system would also clearly log the military merit earned from hunting monsters.

Carrying the Breaking Army Halberd, Qin Ming and Zhang Yan walked at the front. Twelve Flying Knives floated in midair, drifting slowly like swimming fish.

"You take the left, I'll take the right. Move!"

Zhang Yan held his War Hammer in one hand and looked at a small herd of Iron-armored Oxen in the distance.

Iron-armored Oxen stood nearly three meters tall at the shoulder. Their fur had mutated into black scale armor, and both their strength and defense were among the stronger types at the same level. Even the weakest among them were Advanced Beast Soldier Level, while their leader was an Intermediate Beast General.

Farther away were monsters such as Single-horned Wild Boars and Lion Mastiff Dogs.

Before the Great Nirvana Period, pigs, dogs, cats, cattle, and sheep had been the most common animals in human society. Thus, among monsters today, pig-type, dog-type, cat-type, cattle-type, sheep-type, and snake-type monsters were the most common.

Monsters formed from mutated foxes, monkeys, scorpions, wolves, tigers, and leopards were extremely rare.

The same applied in City 003. However, since City 003 was close to the Sea, some amphibious monsters would crawl ashore from the Sea.

"We both use long weapons and heavy weapons, so our fighting styles are similar.

You can watch how I fight.

Heavy weapons give us far greater killing power than other Martial Warriors, but their wide, forceful movements also make it easy for monsters to exploit openings. So you need to hold back a portion of your strength.

Also, use your Flying Knives when it's time to use them.

This is real combat, not training. One mistake could mean severe injury or even death!"

Zhang Yan said solemnly.

Qin Ming's Talent was high, but his Martial Warrior strength was only at the Advanced Warrior level. Once he entered close combat against monsters at the Iron-armored Ox's level, he would be under considerable pressure.

"Understood! Don't worry, Brother Zhang."

Qin Ming took a deep breath, gripped the halberd with both hands in a yin-yang grip, and strode forward.

Thud! Thud!

His Alloy Combat Boots struck the ground with crisp sounds.

The Iron-armored Oxen a hundred meters away immediately looked over. Years of battle had made them turn red-eyed the instant they spotted humans.

Roar!

Amid roar after roar, all the Iron-armored Oxen began charging wildly through the ruins.

"They're coming!" Zhang Yan slammed his War Hammer into the ground, sending a long-deformed manhole cover flying up before kicking it fiercely.

Bang!

Driven by tremendous force, the manhole cover screamed toward the herd of Iron-armored Oxen. One Iron-armored Ox struck by it had its skull cave in on the spot, while three others beside it instinctively turned their heads to dodge.

Their charging formation instantly fell into chaos.

Now!

The two men let out low shouts and launched a countercharge toward the herd of Iron-armored Oxen at the same time.

For Martial Warriors and Iron-armored Oxen, a distance of a hundred meters vanished in an instant.

Qin Ming's pupils narrowed slightly. He shifted aside to evade the Iron-armored Ox's frontal charge. As his twelve Flying Knives tore three Iron-armored Oxen apart, the tip of his Breaking Army Halberd precisely pierced the gap in another Iron-armored Ox's nasal bone.

Like Qin Ming, Zhang Yan dodged the Iron-armored Ox's frontal impact and smashed his hammer into its side.

The instant the hammerhead struck its scale armor, the force of more than twenty tons sent the entire Iron-armored Ox flying.

Bang!

The airborne Iron-armored Ox crashed into several charging companions in succession, completely throwing the formation into disarray.

Seizing the opportunity, Qin Ming rushed forward.

His War Halberd pierced an Iron-armored Ox's throat. As he drew it out, he used the crescent blade of the long halberd to hook another Iron-armored Ox's leg joint and yank hard.

With his strength, he could not contend head-on with an Iron-armored Ox as Zhang Yan could. He could only attack their weak points.

Although he could not kill a monster every time, Qin Ming did not turn back to finish them off. Instead, he continued forward.

He was not fighting alone. The captain and the others were behind him.

"Watch your rhythm!" Lu Haochuan's Long Spear shattered an Iron-armored Ox's skull. His voice was as calm as a precision machine. "Qian Ye, two o'clock!"

Ling Qianye's Dual Blades turned into phantoms as he slid beneath an Iron-armored Ox like a ghost, keeping Xiao Heng firmly protected in the center.

Xiao Heng held a heavy machine gun and fired in steady bursts.

Amid the muffled blasts, an Iron-armored Ox fell with every burst.

Against Beast Soldier Level monsters, firearms were extremely powerful, especially in the hands of a Firearm Battle General like Xiao Heng.

However, the roar of the machine gun could also easily draw monsters from farther away.

Half an hour later.

Monster corpses carpeted the street ruins, and Qin Ming was covered in blood.

"You did well, but it's still not enough.

You've been learning Zhang Yan's fighting methods and mine. That's good.

But remember, you are a Spiritual Force User!

You don't need to copy us completely.

A Perfect Level Movement Technique allows you to make use of any object or living being around you.

But as a Spiritual Force User, why are you abandoning your greatest advantage?

You can fully use Mental Force to help your body move better, kill monsters with the smallest amount of force, and attack their weak points.

You can also disrupt monsters and create opportunities.

Don't reject your own power.

The fighting style that suits you is the best one."

Lu Haochuan walked up to Qin Ming. His brow was slightly furrowed, and his voice was stern.

From the start of the battle, he had noticed that Qin Ming had deliberately refrained from using Mental Force in order to train his body technique and halberd art. He was clearly taking the wrong path!

He had not pointed it out immediately during the battle because he wanted Qin Ming to gain a deeper understanding of it.

"I understand."

Qin Ming suddenly saw the light.

He had indeed been intentionally imitating the captain and Zhang Yan's fighting styles, especially the captain's. That smooth, flowing style of combat was simply too appealing to him.

And in order to train his body technique and become stronger, he had indeed suppressed his Mental Force.

That had always left him feeling stifled. It was even less satisfying than fighting the Beast Tide alone.

There was nothing wrong with imitation, but blindly copying was wrong.

"Also, you made several fatal mistakes when facing the Iron-armored Oxen! For example..."

As an Advanced General close to becoming a War God, as well as a Weapon Master who had reached the Movement Technique Artistic Conception level, Captain Lu Haochuan clearly pointed out Qin Ming's mistakes one by one.

Some concerned his body technique, some his halberd art, and some even the way he controlled his Flying Knives.

Qin Ming felt increasingly enlightened as he listened. All sorts of ideas surged through his mind, and he wished he could test them immediately.

"Let's go! Rest for a while. There's a big one ahead. The real test has only just begun."