Breaking Through to a Level 7 Warrior

Matthews first stood beneath the waterfall, beginning to slash his blade along the flow of the water.

He remembered the training of the swordsmen he had seen in the television dramas from his past life. They would use their blades to strike at waterfalls, and after a flash of steel, the waterfall would be severed; that signified that one had grasped a certain realm of swordsmanship.

Thus, Matthews began to linger here, swinging his blade in hopes of attaining that realm.

This practice lasted for two years, and Matthews finally mastered the second realm of his swordsmanship. He had currently touched upon the third realm, which meant he could finally swing his blade and sever the cascading waterfall.

"Boss, I brought back a Magic Beast leg. Let's eat beef today!"

"Alright."

After Matthews sheathed his blade and wiped the moisture from it, he went to find some edible wild vegetables. Eating nothing but meat for the past year had caused Matthews to lose a lot of weight. Finding some vegetables was now a necessity, and for this meal, Matthews still complied with the request of Asolun, roasting the leg for him. Matthews himself ate some of the roasted meat wrapped in edible leaves!

"Boss, where are we going next?"

Matthews looked at Asolun, who was now a level four magic beast, and said, "We don't have much salt left, so let's start heading back now."

"Mm."

That day, as Matthews began to head out, he saw a warrior who appeared to be injured approaching him. Matthews immediately called out a warning: "Don't come any closer, or I will attack."

"I have no ill intentions."

The injured warrior dropped the long spear he was leaning on while signaling to Matthews that he posed no threat.

Matthews was no longer a novice. When he had first arrived at the Magic Beast Mountain Range, he might have been arrogant and self-reliant, but now he wouldn't let someone get close so easily, so he asked, "Is there a magic beast chasing you?"

"No."

"Stop right there!"

Seeing the intense vigilance in Matthews' eyes, the warrior spread his hands, indicating he had no ill intentions and simply wanted to ask for help because he was injured.

"Fine, I'm leaving."

With that, Matthews walked away. In the back of his mind, Asolun asked in confusion: "Boss, why is this person following us?"

"Perhaps he saw that we are lone wolves and decided to make us his target."

"Then should we kill him now?"

"No rush, let's play with him."

Along the way, the injured warrior followed them. In the evening, Matthews took out some of the previously roasted meat and gave a piece to Asolun, then took out his small knife to cut some for himself.

"Brother, can you give me a piece? I'm a bit hungry too!"

Matthews said playfully: "Aren't you afraid I'll poison it?"

"Hahaha, I'm no novice either. I only asked after seeing you eat it. Besides, I have no ill intentions."

As he spoke, he moved closer to Matthews, sat down, and continued: "I also believe a brother like you wouldn't kill me for no reason."

"Whatever makes you happy."

After Matthews finished speaking, he tossed the beef in his hand to him and picked up the last remaining piece to eat. That night, Matthews had Asolun stay alert while he pretended to rest. Nothing happened all night, as if the warrior were truly injured and seeking help.

The next day was the same as usual; Matthews walked, and he followed. When it was time for lunch, Matthews pretended he had run out of salt, and after letting the man take out his own, he used the man's salt to cook a meal. Only after the man ate some did Matthews take a few light bites himself!

This won't do. If he doesn't make a move tonight, I'll have to kill him. I don't have the energy to keep dragging this out with him.

At night, Matthews began to sleep. The warrior knew Matthews was guarding against him, and he had now closed the distance to within five meters of Matthews.

He watched Matthews with cold eyes, knowing he had heard Matthews' breathing grow shallow as he fell into a deep sleep.

"Kid, even though you were wary of me, you're far worse than the last kid I killed. He managed to drag it out for four or five days before I could get within five meters of him. Don't blame me for your death; blame yourself for being too green."

He laughed to himself while quietly approaching Matthews. Suddenly, he accelerated, thrusting his dagger toward Matthews.

"Clang—"

Seeing his dagger blocked, the warrior's face was filled with disbelief.

"How is this possible? I heard your breathing grow shallow before I struck."

Matthews shook his head and smiled at him: "You have too many flaws. In a place as dangerous as the Magic Beast Mountain Range, what kind of warrior would just discard his long spear?"

"Hmph, even if you saw through it, so what? We are both level six warriors; killing a rookie like you should be as easy as turning over my hand."

"Enough talk. Even if you hadn't made a move, I was planning to kill you tonight anyway."

Hearing Matthews say this, he snorted coldly and charged forward again, launching the first attack. Matthews' swordsmanship had already faintly touched the third realm, and he quickly killed the level six warrior.

From his body, Matthews recovered the salt he had used earlier, along with several magic beast cores.

"As expected, this one was much more sophisticated than the one who tried to assassinate me last year. He had many more magic beast cores on him. Look, there's even a level six magic beast core!"

After looting the spoils, Matthews left. Because of the salt shortage, he had originally intended to head back, but now it seemed he could stay and train for a few more years!

Three years later, Matthews sat atop a giant boulder, fully absorbing the lightning elements between heaven and earth. Most of the magic elements he had absorbed previously had been swallowed by the lightning sphere within his dantian. Today, he was finally going to condense the battle energy within his dantian that could completely envelop the lightning sphere.

"Boom—"

Matthews suddenly felt a sense of total comfort throughout his body. The battle energy that had finished enveloping the lightning sphere turned into liquid and settled in his dantian. From within that solid lightning sphere, bolts of electricity would occasionally pulse out, helping him refine the lightning battle energy within his body.

Matthews knew that by the standards of this world, he had reached the realm of a level seven warrior. Because of the existence of the lightning sphere, his battle energy was far more powerful than that of an ordinary level seven warrior, and his endurance during combat was also significantly greater.

"Boss, you've broken through!"

"Hmm, your boss has already broken through to a seventh-rank warrior."

Asolun said to Matthews with an excited look on his face: "Congratulations, Boss, congratulations, Boss."

"Alright, enough with the flattery. You are only a fifth-rank Magic Beast right now; you need to break through as soon as possible."

"Mm, I feel like I am also close to breaking through to a sixth-rank Magic Beast."

Matthews also knew that Magic Beasts capable of changing their size before reaching the Saint Realm were generally not ordinary, and he was certain it would be a great help to him in the future, so he was willing to urge it to cultivate.