"I finally finished. Taking them apart took even longer than fighting them."
Outside the residential compound.
Fang Yi adjusted the backpack on his shoulders. This was his first time fighting Beast-General Rank monsters.
"Three rare Crystal Spined Scorpions, plus several Advanced Beast Soldier-level Crystal Long-tailed Scorpions, and a few mid-level Silver Bull Horns... Not a bad haul."
As he tallied up his spoils and thought over his experiences, he continued searching for more monsters.
When his backpack was too full to hold anything else, he headed toward the military base.
Back at the Military Supply Base.
"Not bad! These are all good things. Silver Bull Horns aren't particularly high-grade, but this kind is very rare..."
The Limit Dojo's purchasing agent at the Military Supply Base counted the items in the backpack.
Once the lower-level monsters' remains had been set aside, the agent immediately turned his attention to the rare Crystal Long-tailed Scorpions and Crystal Spined Scorpions.
A smile spread across his face. Shaking his head, he said in astonishment,
"Crystal Scorpions! These are incredibly rare. Scorpion-type monsters are no joke, and you've got three Beast-General Rank ones... Hold on, let me work out the price."
"Mm." Fang Yi sat to one side, holding a glass of juice.
Nearby,
other martial artists selling monster remains and materials cast curious, astonished glances his way.
"Would you look at that—is that Fang Yi?"
"Yeah. I heard he collected hundreds of monster ears all by himself during the martial artist assessment. I thought it was an exaggerated rumor, but now that I see this, it must be true."
"He killed several Beast-General Rank monsters in one trip, after all. He must already be a War General-level martial artist."
"I heard he works alone, too. Should we try to recruit him?"
Fang Yi listened to the chatter around him, his expression unchanged.
While the agent counted the items, quite a few martial artists approached Fang Yi to discuss joining their teams, but he turned them all down.
He preferred working alone to going out with a team.
"All right, Mr. Fang Yi, I've finished counting everything. The materials are worth a total of 53 million Huaxia Currency and 1,800 contribution points. Here's the detailed list."
The purchasing agent handed Fang Yi the list of materials.
Fang Yi glanced over it. The Silver Bull Horns and materials from the other kinds of monsters were relatively cheap, while materials from the Beast Soldier-level Crystal Scorpions and the like were a little more expensive, adding up to a million.
The three Beast-General Rank monsters were the most valuable. They were only Primary Beast Generals, but their rarity still fetched a good price, making up the bulk of the total.
"These Crystal Scorpions really are expensive... No wonder some people are so careful with them, even venturing deep into caves to try their luck."
Fang Yi had sold them to the Limit Dojo. If he'd sold them directly to the HR Alliance, he could have gotten even more.
"Of course, Mr. Fang Yi. The funds will be transferred to your account shortly. If you get your hands on any more good materials, please come to me!"
The purchasing agent cheerfully arranged for his staff to start clearing everything away.
Nearby,
the other martial artists didn't know the exact amount involved in the transaction, but they knew that a Primary Beast General-level Crystal Spined Scorpion was worth a fortune.
It was only a Primary Beast General, but scorpion-type monsters were extremely rare.
"Damn, he must've made at least 40 million from that one haul!"
"Seriously? Don't lie to me! We couldn't make 40 million in half a year. And it looks like this was his first hunt!"
"Why would I lie? Those were Crystal Scorpions!"
Quite a few people were envious, but they knew Fang Yi had earned the money through his own strength, so they could only sigh over it.
Besides, he was with the Limit Dojo. Ordinary people wouldn't dare try anything.
Just as Fang Yi was about to rest, he ran into several members of the Limit Dojo who had come to his aid earlier.
"Hey, Fang Yi!" The male martial artist who had warned him earlier waved.
Fang Yi nodded when he saw him, then walked over. "How's that team doing?"
"Ah, one of them was poisoned too badly and died a while ago... The other two are all right. They're badly injured, but their lives aren't in danger. They should be fine after some time in treatment." As soon as the martial artist finished speaking, he remembered something and added,
"Oh, right. Their captain—the female martial artist—asked us for your contact information. She said she wanted to thank you, since you saved them."
"Mm." Fang Yi gave a simple nod. He'd only saved the team because it was convenient.
His real target had been the Crystal Spined Scorpions.
"Want to join our team? Going out alone is too dangerous. And when did you reach War General Level? That's incredible—you've barely been a martial artist, and you're already a War General..."
The martial artist's face was full of shock and confusion.
Becoming a War General so soon after becoming a martial artist was terrifying... Fang Yi had to be the son of some great family—or maybe an illegitimate child!
The other martial artists thought the same.
Fang Yi still waved them off. "No, thanks. I prefer working alone. I appreciate the offer, but I'm going to get some rest."
"Okay..." The martial artist wasn't discouraged by the rejection. There was no way someone as ridiculously talented as Fang Yi would join him so easily.
He'd only asked on the off chance Fang Yi might say yes.
You never knew!
After saying goodbye to them, Fang Yi went to his room to rest.
The next day
Fang Yi wrapped the black band around his eyes again.
"Sure enough, after spending these past few days in the Wilderness Zone without the black band, the awakening of my Double Pupil Eyes has progressed much more slowly."
Fang Yi had worked it out based on how it felt.
If the rate of awakening under normal conditions was 1, then with the black band on, it rose to around 1.25.
And when he absorbed Cosmic Energy, the rate reached around 2. So it was better to keep the black band on while cultivating.
After packing his gear,
Fang Yi left the Military Supply Base again.
On his second outing, Fang Yi hunted four ordinary Red-Haired Lions at Beast General Level and more than a dozen Advanced Beast Soldier-level monsters, earning 38 million and 900 contribution points in total.
On his third outing, he hunted five ordinary Beast-General Rank monsters... and 30 Advanced Beast Soldier-level monsters... earning 42 million and 1,100 contribution points in total.
Each time he went out, he earned a considerable amount, and his combat skills improved through practice.
He also kept up with his cultivation, wearing the black band as he did his best to improve.
The night of August 27, in the rest area.
Fang Yi removed the black satin wrapped around his eyes. The Divine Light in his left eye was more intense than before.
"Finally, I've reached another breakthrough point."
An Interface immediately appeared before him.
[Double Pupil Eyes] Growth Progress──4.9% [Fist Strength──13809kg] [Speed──127m/s] [Nerve Response──Intermediate War General] ["?" Unlock Progress──30%]
"Twenty days have passed, and the awakening of my Double Pupil Eyes has stalled at 4.9%. That means that when I break through to 5% next time, I'll awaken another ability."
Fang Yi smiled. He had a rough idea that next time he might get stuck at 9.9%, or perhaps somewhere between 10% and 20%.
And every time he awakened another 0.1%, his full-power speed and nerve response improved considerably.
Earlier, my fist strength was only 8,000, but now it's shot up to around 13,000.
"Although my fist strength hasn't yet gone beyond the Primary War General range, once I get past 4.9% and reach 5.0%, I'll get another massive boost... Then reaching the peak of Intermediate War General, or even the threshold of Advanced War General, won't be impossible."
Fang Yi felt a little dazed. It hadn't been that long, yet he seemed about to break through another level.
At this rate,
becoming a War God at eighteen wasn't impossible...
War Gods counted as strong on Earth, but they didn't measure up in the universe. They were still only Apprentices, and even those Beyond War God had only just reached Planetary Level. Star Level beings barely scraped by in the universe.
Even Star Level and Universe Level beings couldn't be considered true powerhouses.
There were many more realms and levels beyond that...
But Fang Yi knew he had to take it one step at a time.
"Keep working hard."
Fang Yi lifted his eyes to the window and gazed at the vast starry sky beyond. His eyes were full of longing and anticipation.
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