Martial Artists Have Already Appeared

Although he had decided to make his move now, Yang Yu currently only planned to use the strength of a Martial Artist against the enemy, honing his Martial Way through actual combat and striving to reach the Grandmaster Realm as soon as possible!

After all, the Martial Way Realm of his previous life differed considerably from that in Swallowed Star. After comparing them over this period, Yang Yu found that the Master Realm of his previous life was equivalent to the "Perfect Level."

A Martial Way Grandmaster was a notch stronger than the "Perfect Level," but still inferior to the "Conception Level."

As for the Soaring Dragon Footwork, it was probably only at the Micro Level, since he had never tested it in actual combat. However, with a solid Martial Way Foundation and the support of Spiritual Force, future breakthroughs would come quickly. After all, it was a footwork technique derived from the Master Realm of the Martial Way; its starting point already produced Micro Level results, and with Spiritual Force assistance in battle, it could become even stronger.

The only downside was that the Alloy Steel Blade Yang Yu had spent a fortune forging might not last long in high-intensity battles against Monsters.

Still, that was a minor matter. If his War Blade became chipped from killing, he would use his fists!

As a Xingyiquan master, and with such powerful Physical Fitness now, his fists were also highly lethal!

Of course, if he encountered unknown dangers, Yang Yu would also use his Spiritual Force to kill.

He would not be so stubborn as to refuse to use Spiritual Force when he had it.

He was not using it now simply because the situation had not reached that point. The early days of the Grand Nirvana were the best time to hone one's Martial Way Realm and improve Blade Technique and Fist Technique.

After all, one's later realm was what mattered most, and improving one's realm required a great deal of actual combat!

If he revealed his Spiritual Force now, killing Monsters would certainly feel satisfying, but it would not help his Martial Way Realm in the slightest. It would also waste this opportunity for nothing.

Yang Yu naturally knew which was more important.

And when the time truly came to use his Spiritual Force, Yang Yu would not hold back.

Leaving the Rich Villa District, Yang Yu carried his War Blade on his back, wore a Steel Shield on his left arm, and sprinted eastward.

But before he had run far, a patrolling Soldier shouted for him to stop.

"Hey, you up ahead, stop!" Seeing a Boy sprinting through the locked-down city streets, the patrol Captain hurriedly took out a loudspeaker and shouted.

Yang Yu could only stop first. Looking at the fully armed Soldier approaching him, he said, "Big Brother, I'm going to assist the military in killing Monsters, not cause trouble."

However, this Middle-aged officer clearly did not believe him. Seeing the War Blade over a meter long on Yang Yu's back and the Steel Shield strapped to his left arm, he even thought Yang Yu was cosplaying an anime character.

But when he saw Yang Yu's utterly serious expression, his tone suddenly softened. "Good kid, don't act on impulse. Go back quickly. It's dangerous outside right now! Besides, the situation has not become so critical that young people like you need to go to the battlefield and risk your lives against Monsters."

"Sir, I'm really not acting on impulse. Please believe me."

Looking at Yang Yu's resolute gaze and calm expression, the officer gradually sensed his determination. He had previously heard that some extraordinarily gifted humans were no weaker than those Monsters. Could the Boy before him be one of them?

"Then show me your strength. If there's no problem, I'll personally guarantee your participation in assisting the military. However, you'll need to follow me first and learn some experience," the Middle-aged officer said.

"No problem. How should I show it?"

"Simple. See that tree by the roadside? As long as you can break it with one punch, that will do."

"Easy." Yang Yu walked to the large tree beside the sidewalk, slightly circulated his strength, and casually smashed the thigh-thick trunk apart with a single punch.

Seeing the Boy break the tree without any effort at all, the Middle-aged officer put away his contempt. Knowing that Yang Yu was one of those extraordinarily gifted people, he solemnly gave Yang Yu a military salute.

"Hello, warrior. My name is Cong Hujun, an Army Captain assigned to the Third Special Warfare Brigade of the First Group Army, South China Military Region. I am specifically responsible for defending and patrolling this area, killing Monsters that have fled in and clearing out Mutated Creatures hidden throughout the city. On behalf of all the Civilians of Jiangnan City, I thank you for stepping forward!"

"Hello, Captain Cong. My name is Yang Yu, and I'm a local of Jiangnan City." Yang Yu also saluted Cong Hujun. "I saw on television that the eastern battlefield is in a dire state, so I wanted to go there and assist the military in killing the Monsters that have wandered in."

"The situation on the eastern battlefield truly does not look good. But you're still so young and lack experience fighting Monsters. I'll first take you to clear out some Mutated Creatures nearby. Build up some actual combat experience before you go."

Cong Hujun looked at Yang Yu with admiration. Boys who could step forward in a crisis, possessed outstanding strength, and feared neither Life nor death were exceedingly rare.

Furthermore, Yang Yu was so young yet so powerful. He was clearly a Super Expert hidden among ordinary people, with no need to expose himself at all.

Yet Yang Yu had still done so.

Cong Hujun could not simply watch such an outstanding Boy face such a dangerous situation from the very start.

He believed that no experienced, conscientious officer would allow such a thing to happen.

Seeing how sincere the other man was, Yang Yu could not reject his goodwill. Besides, gaining some actual combat experience by following these seasoned officers was not a bad idea. "All right, Captain Cong. This is a good chance for me to learn more about these Mutated Creatures as well."

"What a fine young man," Cong Hujun praised. "But your equipment is too crude. Come, put on this Combat Vest."

Cong Hujun took out a black vest made of special material. "This is a Special Combat Vest developed by combining special materials taken from Monsters with the latest technology. Its defensive power far exceeds that of previous bulletproof vests. Even the ordinary Monsters outside cannot tear it apart."

Yang Yu accepted the vest and promptly put it on. "It fits pretty well."

After moving around a little, he found that while the vest looked hard, it was soft and snug when worn, without hindering his movements.

"Other Combat Suits need to be custom-made and require more Monster materials, so I can't give you one for now. But I'll submit a report to my superiors. Once one becomes available, I'll have it replaced for you immediately. Martial Artists who can fight Monsters head-on one-on-one are very valuable, and the higher-ups take them very seriously," Cong Hujun said.

"Martial Artists?" Yang Yu asked in confusion.

"That's right! Martial Artists! That's our collective term for people like you who can absorb Cosmic Energy to strengthen their bodies."

"So that's how it is. Then, Captain Cong, are there many Martial Artists like me now?"

"To be honest, very few! Only those who have trained from childhood, possess great Martial Way talent, and have pushed their Physical Fitness to its limit can possibly absorb Cosmic Energy. Across our entire South China Military Region, there are fewer than a hundred such people at present. Most of them came from Soldier King backgrounds. There are even fewer Freelance Martial Artists like you among the civilian population."

As he listened to Cong Hujun's explanation, the two patrolled around the city.

So the title Martial Artist had already appeared by now. That was somewhat unexpected.

Yang Yu guessed that geniuses capable of absorbing Cosmic Energy had already emerged in the military, while similar people had appeared among civilians as well. That was why this term had come into use so early.

Of course, there were indeed very few people capable of absorbing Cosmic Energy now. The Physical Fitness of Soldier Kings had likely long reached the limits of the human body. After being tempered by the Double R Virus, then continuing their training and improvement, they had a high chance of reaching the qualification threshold for Quasi-Martial Artists.

Combined with the military's corresponding Martial Way training and Breathing Technique methods, it was not surprising that they had discovered a way to refine Cosmic Energy while meditating.

After all, the posture of the Five Hearts Toward Heaven Method was the same as the Daoist School meditation posture.

Meditating in that posture made it easy to stumble upon Cosmic Energy by accident.

It was also easy to understand how a few extraordinarily gifted Soldier Kings, Martial Way masters, or Grandmasters could summarize it and promote it on a small scale.

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