Leg Technique Mastery

April 8th. Lu Hao was in luck today; a Rank 1 high-stage martial artist had chosen the Life-Death Arena. After waiting for so many days, he had finally found an opponent.

As for why this martial artist had insisted on a Life-Death Arena—whether they were eyeing the prize money or hoping to gamble on themselves to carve out a future—Lu Hao didn't care. Generally, the civilian martial artists who came here all had some baggage; perhaps they had committed a crime, or perhaps they were simply desperate to become stronger. Therefore, even if he killed his opponent, Lu Hao would feel no guilt.

Since they had chosen the Life-Death Arena, once they stepped onto the stage, their life and death were in the hands of fate. This was a simple truth the opponent should have understood as well.

Because the opponent was a Rank 1 high-stage martial artist and it was a Life-Death Arena where they would be fighting for their lives, Lu Hao felt quite nervous. Although he had more vitality than his opponent, it wasn't by a significant margin.

Lu Hao stepped onto the stage. After a struggle that lasted several rounds and cost him a minor injury to his arm, he successfully took down his enemy. After all, Lu Hao's blade techniques were completely superior to those of these street fighters; they were simply not on the same level.

A single Life-Death Arena match provided Lu Hao with 207 Slaughter Points, causing his previously empty wallet to swell once again. He could now temper a few more bones and was nearing the threshold of Rank 1 mid-stage.

Right, you heard that correctly. Lu Hao wasn't even at Rank 1 mid-stage yet. The reason he could kill a Rank 1 high-stage martial artist was entirely due to the increase in vitality brought about by his triple bone tempering; otherwise, Lu Hao definitely wouldn't have been able to beat his opponent.

In the afternoon, Lu Hao participated in the Standard Match for Rank 2 low-stage. Rank 1 peak was no longer providing enough pressure for Lu Hao, so he had no choice but to move up to Rank 2 initial-stage.

Compared to Rank 1 peak, the change in Rank 2 initial-stage martial artists was that they began to temper the limbs they had previously skipped. The increase in vitality wasn't too drastic, either.

In general, the increase in vitality within the lower three ranks was never massive. Combat in the lower three ranks relied primarily on the support of combat techniques. It was only upon reaching the middle three ranks that the gap in vitality between each rank truly widened.

Lu Hao fought two matches in the Rank 2 initial-stage category that afternoon, both of which gave him a wealth of experience. Generally speaking, martial artists who could reach Rank 2, even if they were civilian martial artists, had access to some basic combat techniques.

Therefore, Lu Hao faced considerable pressure during these fights. Although they had no one to guide their practice and their techniques might not have been refined, they had been practicing for a long time, honing their skills over many years.

Even a pig could learn to fly with enough practice, so Lu Hao found himself in two bitter struggles, both of which caused him quite a bit of trouble.

One victory, one defeat.

In the evening, after dinner, Lu Hao used the Slaughter Points he had earned during the day to temper four bones in a single night. Unfortunately, only fifty Slaughter Points remained. This was Lu Hao's bottom line; he couldn't touch this amount, as he needed to keep it in case of an emergency to quickly recover his vitality.

His bone tempering count reached 28.

April 11th. Ever since he killed that Rank 1 high-stage martial artist, Lu Hao had once again fallen into a state of having no Slaughter Points to use, forced to temper his bones the hard way.

Lu Hao was particularly happy today because, while fighting a Rank 2 low-stage opponent, his leg techniques finally had a breakthrough. They were now fully mastered, incorporating force gathering, explosive force, and Adhesion Force.

Relying on his now-masterful leg techniques, Lu Hao was terrifyingly strong, and he easily defeated his Rank 2 low-stage opponent in the afternoon's match.

That night, Lu Hao contemplated his next plan. His leg techniques had reached their limit for now. He would spend the next half-month in the Duel Arena honing his fist and blade techniques, after which he would be ready to officially start taking on missions.

After all, his improvement here had begun to hit a bottleneck. The acquisition of Slaughter Points was too slow; it would be better to take the initiative and go out to hunt down criminals.

After all, with Lu Hao's current level, it was safe to say that the Rank 1 martial artists currently on the run outside were definitely no match for him.

If he could kill one Rank 1 criminal a day, he could earn nearly 200 Slaughter Points, which meant he could temper four bones. This way, he could quickly step into Rank 2.

Yes, that was the decision. Having made up his mind, Lu Hao continued his bone tempering.

Little did Lu Hao know that on this very day, the most interesting anecdote in the martial arts world had been born. Huang Bin, whom Lu Hao had been thinking about, was drugged today by an ordinary person named Fang Ping.

Time to rewind to when Lu Hao was fighting in the Duel Arena.

On the other side, in Yang City.

Fang Ping, who had transmigrated, had already discovered that his "strange neighbor" upstairs was suspicious. Operating on the principle of striking first to gain the advantage, Fang Ping took the initiative.

He had spent a large sum of money in advance to buy Soul-Confusing Water—yes, the kind purchased from an adult store.

Relying on his innocent and harmless appearance, Fang Ping deceived Huang Bin and successfully entered his home. Using the excuse of borrowing water to take medicine, Fang Ping successfully drugged Huang Bin's water without him noticing.

Then, relying on his acting skills, he managed to get a Rank 2 peak martial artist to drink it. And just like that, this kid Fang Ping received the first big gift package of his life.

It was a medicinal pill intended for breaking through to Rank 3, worth about three million. Although he still had to split half with Wang Jinyang, the remaining half was enough to solve Fang Ping's urgent needs.

And so, Fang Ping began his rise.

One could only say that Huang Bin was a disgrace to the martial arts world. As a Rank 2 martial artist, he had been easily taken down by an ordinary person; if word got out, it would likely make most people laugh themselves to death.

Over the next half-month, Lu Hao didn't encounter a single Life-Death Arena match. Lu Hao was full of disappointment; without Slaughter Points, relying on his own tempering was simply too slow.

However, what was worth celebrating was that his fist techniques had reached mastery, and his progress in practicing Blood Battle Mad Blade was not bad either.

The first blade could unleash one-tenth of his vitality, and the second blade could unleash one-fifth; these were already his trump cards. As for the third blade, Lu Hao couldn't unleash it yet; his current vitality was insufficient.

However, Lu Hao estimated that if he broke through to Rank 2 mid-stage, he would be just about ready. After all, ordinary martial artists could usually unleash this third blade at Rank 3 low-stage, but thanks to his triple bone tempering, Lu Hao would be able to use it at Rank 2 mid-stage.

Now, the opponents Lu Hao faced in the Duel Arena were all Rank 2 mid-stage or high-stage.

Rank 2 mid-stage was basically no longer a match for him; only Rank 2 high-stage could trade blows with Lu Hao, with both sides winning and losing.

Therefore, with this level of strength, taking on Rank 1 missions was a sure thing—a piece of cake.

That night, Lu Hao told his mother that he planned to officially go to the Detective Bureau tomorrow to take on missions. Bai Qiuyao agreed; she had already learned of her son's growth from Viper.

Now that Rank 1 missions were no longer a problem for Lu Hao, and with Viper's protection, he could fully handle taking on missions alone, so Bai Qiuyao no longer refused.

After all, Lu Hao had already grown up. His future should be decided by himself, not by Bai Qiuyao. She only needed to express her support.