That Shot

October 23 was the day Chen Daolin went out to hunt monsters.

Today, Chen Daolin didn't go out of his way to seek out monsters. Instead, he carried his spear and wandered aimlessly through 1001 City in silence.

Whenever he came across a suitable monster, he would fight it, seeking insights into his spear technique through actual combat.

He thrust his spear straight ahead, his movements swift as a venomous snake striking, making it hard to defend against.

He brought the spearhead down in a fierce blow, aiming straight for vital spots like a hunting eagle swooping on its prey.

He swept the butt of the spear sideways. It looked clumsy, but carried tremendous force, like an ox swinging its horns.

Move by move, technique by technique, Chen Daolin applied his insights in actual combat, then gained even more insights from the battles, using them to understand the mysteries of the World Destroyer spear technique.

Like teasing apart silk, he dug up the secrets hidden in the mist. Chen Daolin's mind grew clearer and brighter.

That feeling of understanding grew stronger and stronger. His long years of accumulation had been tempered and refined through battle after battle for survival. Now, it was beginning to pay off, ready to burst forth.

"I'm still missing a worthy opponent, someone I can fight with to my heart's content." Chen Daolin stroked his spear as he sat on the fifth-floor balcony of a building, gazing into the distance. Suddenly, his eyes lit up. Beside an abandoned fountain in the center of a plaza, a Golden Leopard was approaching with steady yet nimble steps. Its sleek, golden-yellow coat was patterned with beautiful spots, and its body was lithe and ferocious. When Chen Daolin noticed it, it seemed to sense him too. It raised its head, and its gaze met his.

Across a straight-line distance of nearly a kilometer, their gazes met, as if sparks had flown between them.

The Golden Leopard's pupils narrowed at once. It stuck out its rough tongue and licked its lips.

Chen Daolin smiled too. It really was a small world. This Golden Leopard had nearly killed him last time. If he hadn't broken through and grasped the Micro-level Movement Technique at the last moment, greatly increasing his combat power and frightening the Golden Leopard into fleeing, he might already be dead.

Whoosh.

Chen Daolin leaped straight down from a building more than ten meters tall, landing like a meteor and kicking up dust from the ground. His equipment and weapons now weighed at least several hundred kilograms. The C6 Model spear, made from special materials, alone weighed nearly two hundred kilograms.

After landing, Chen Daolin strode toward the Golden Leopard. Each step carried him nearly a hundred meters, and his aura surged rapidly.

By the end, Chen Daolin had become a streak of afterimages.

King Kai Fist.

Two times!

Three times!

Four times!

Chen Daolin's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and his ordinary-looking face brimmed with fighting spirit.

"Die!"

The air blurred for an instant as a spear-shadow shot out like a venomous snake emerging from its hole, stabbing toward the Golden Leopard's vital spots as fast as lightning.

The Golden Leopard let out a low growl. It had recognized the human before it, but hadn't expected him to be so bold as to provoke it. There was nothing more to say. Kill!

One was a human martial artist with refined spear skills, an uncanny Movement Technique, and explosive strength on par with a high-level Battle General—a human-shaped monster. The other was a massive, ferocious, lightning-fast monster at the high Beast General Level. The two fought one-on-one, and the battle raged so fiercely that the sky darkened and the earth shook, with dust and sand flying everywhere.

The entire plaza became their battlefield.

Chen Daolin's physical strength had now reached [number missing] kilograms. With the fourfold boost from King Kai Fist, that became [number missing] kilograms, which was no small amount even among high-level Battle Generals.

So right from the start, he caught the Golden Leopard completely off guard and made it suffer. It no longer dared to underestimate the human before it.

Monsters didn't fight with the same flexibility and variety as humans. They relied more on their powerful bodies, swift speed, and sturdy physiques—in other words, whoever had the greater physical strength won.

Humans, on the other hand, trained their bodies but placed even greater importance on Attack Techniques, Movement Techniques, and battle instincts. That was why human martial artists were stronger than monsters of the same level.

As Chen Daolin fought the Golden Leopard with his spear, he pondered the first spear strike of the World Destroyer. Gradually, his spear grew slower, yet heavier. It always arrived just in time to meet the inevitable path of the Golden Leopard's attacks, and soon left it covered in wounds and consumed by rage.

This isn't working. I can't beat this human. The Golden Leopard had begun to realize as much. It felt frustrated and helpless, but, possessing a measure of intelligence, it knew that if it couldn't win, it could only run.

If you can't win, run. A beast's thinking was that simple, unlike humans, who sometimes considered other things.

At that moment, Chen Daolin's eyes grew brighter and brighter. He and his spear suddenly seemed to fall into harmony. His spear shuddered as he swung it, and its speed nearly doubled in an instant. The spear-shadow blurred, then pierced the Golden Leopard's lower abdomen.

That thrust shattered the bottleneck Chen Daolin had been stuck at for so long.

The first level of the World Destroyer spear technique—achieved!

The Golden Leopard let out a pained howl, and a trace of fear flashed in its eyes. How was this human getting stronger and stronger? It didn't dare keep fighting. It turned to flee.

"Trying to run? Not a chance!" Chen Daolin roared and charged after it. His spear thrust out again. The muscles in his body shuddered, adding another burst of power to the spear. Its speed finally broke the sound barrier, and it plunged deep into the Golden Leopard's body. Chen Daolin didn't let go. He roared as his muscles bulged and his veins stood out, making him look like a steel warrior. Bracing his feet against the ground, he gripped the spear and drove forward, forcing the Golden Leopard's massive body back again and again. The incredibly tough alloy shaft bent into a pronounced curve. The Golden Leopard felt an overwhelming force surge through it, churning its insides into chaos. It writhed in agony and let out a deafening scream. Then, with a swing of its tail like a bowling ball striking its pins, it knocked Chen Daolin away and bolted in a frenzy, leaving a trail of blood behind.

The Golden Leopard's desperate final swipe sent Chen Daolin flying more than twenty meters. His chest felt tight, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. He knew he'd made a mistake—he'd gone head-to-head with the Golden Leopard. Fortunately, King Kai Fist had quadrupled his defensive power. Otherwise, he would have been dead or crippled. He slapped his head, quickly got back to his feet, and chased after the Golden Leopard. He knew it was badly wounded and couldn't have gone far.

Following the blood trail, Chen Daolin soon found the Golden Leopard on the ground floor of a supermarket, barely clinging to life. Blood pooled beneath it, and two newborn Golden Leopard cubs circled around it. When the Golden Leopard saw Chen Daolin appear, it struggled to get up, but its injuries were too severe. It could no longer stand. A weak growl came from its throat, and a trace of humanlike pleading showed in its eyes.

Chen Daolin fell silent for a moment, then walked over and gripped his spear. He kicked away the two cubs that had lunged at him, then suddenly drove the force of his body into the spear. With a wet squelch, the Golden Leopard's huge body shuddered, and its head drooped lifelessly.

Chen Daolin pulled out his bloodstained spear and took out his skinning knife. He hesitated, then put it away. After kicking away the two Golden Leopard cubs as they nipped at his feet, he turned and left.