Entering the Wilderness Zone

"Rumble..."

Hundreds of miles north of Jiangnan Base City, a train slowly rolled along the tracks into a military station, finally coming to a steady halt at the platform.

Chen Yuan, fully armed, followed the crowd off the train. His gaze swept across the area; the surroundings were packed with people just as heavily equipped as he was, numbering no fewer than a hundred at a rough glance.

The passengers on this train were all Martial Artists intending to enter the Wilderness Zone. Unlike Chen Yuan, however, most of these people had formed teams beforehand. Barely off the train, they gathered in twos and threes to quickly organize into squads, each discussing their upcoming plans.

Chen Yuan naturally had no team, nor did he intend to join one. Since he had no immediate need for supplies or rest, he didn't even linger at the station. After fixing his eyes on the direction of the Wilderness Zone, he left the crowd and headed outside the encampment.

Chen Yuan's actions drew the attention of most people, and soon, a young man in military uniform called out to him.

"This gentleman—"

Chen Yuan had only walked a few steps when he was suddenly stopped by a clear voice. He turned to see a young man in a crisp military uniform jogging toward him.

"Are you planning to enter the Wilderness Zone alone?" The young man's smile carried a professional warmth. "It's rare to see a Martial Artist daring enough to go it alone these days. Do you need help contacting a temporary squad? You only need to pay a 5% commission, and your safety factor will triple."

So he was a broker. Chen Yuan shook his head and said politely, "Thank you, but that won't be necessary."

The young man wanted to say more, but as his gaze swept over Chen Yuan's Series 7 Combat Suit, his pupils constricted slightly. He immediately changed his tone: "Understood. I am a service representative for the HR Alliance. If you have any hauls from the Wilderness Zone, you are welcome to sell them to me; I will certainly give you a satisfactory price."

As he spoke, he pulled out a business card and handed it to Chen Yuan. Chen Yuan took the card and glanced down. It read: Zhou Jie, Manager of the HR Alliance, Northern Military Region of Jiangnan Base City. It listed his specialties as monster material acquisition, squad member introductions, and more, with his phone number printed at the bottom.

Chen Yuan put the card away and nodded at the young man: "I understand. If I have any hauls, I will contact you."

He turned and left. This time, the young man did not stop him. He watched Chen Yuan's receding back, lost in thought, and muttered to himself, "Wearing a Series 7 Combat Suit... could he be a War God, or perhaps an Advanced War General? He's far too young."

But regardless of Chen Yuan's true strength, Zhou Jie chose to trust his intuition: even if he couldn't befriend this person, he must never offend him.

Chen Yuan paid no mind to the young man's thoughts. After walking out of the military encampment, he picked a direction at random and began to move forward.

It was already dusk. As time passed, Chen Yuan ventured deeper and deeper into the Wilderness Zone. Gradually, the surroundings grew increasingly desolate, and within his line of sight, the figures of monsters began to appear.

Soon, he encountered a monster. Coincidentally, it was an Iron-Haired Wild Boar.

"What a coincidence, the first monster I run into is you." A look of interest appeared in Chen Yuan's eyes. He hadn't forgotten that when he first transmigrated, he had suffered a major loss at the hands of an Iron-Haired Wild Boar.

"Perfect. I'll have pork for dinner tonight."

Chen Yuan reached out to draw his Streamer Battle Sword, while his other hand beckoned toward the Iron-Haired Wild Boar in front of him.

As a lowest-tier H-Class Monster, the Iron-Haired Wild Boar possessed no real intelligence. Seeing Chen Yuan's provocation, it charged at him in a fit of rage.

The charge was the Iron-Haired Wild Boar's only means of attack, and its power was naturally significant. Furthermore, as the distance closed, its running speed continued to increase.

In the blink of an eye, the Iron-Haired Wild Boar covered dozens of meters and reached Chen Yuan.

Yet, in Chen Yuan's eyes, its movements were clumsy and sluggish.

Just as the boar was about to collide with him, Chen Yuan shifted his feet slightly. His figure flashed, easily dodging the frontal charge. At the same time, the long sword in his hand thrust out like lightning, precisely piercing the Iron-Haired Wild Boar's brain.

Kill Points +1

The Iron-Haired Wild Boar's body maintained its forward momentum. Chen Yuan smoothly withdrew his sword, trailing a spray of blood.

He stood where he was, watching the body continue to slide forward for a dozen meters due to inertia before finally crashing to the ground.

Chen Yuan walked over to where the Iron-Haired Wild Boar had fallen and lowered his head slightly: "Is this the Iron-Haired Wild Boar I couldn't stop thinking about? It feels much weaker than the one in my memories."

Of course, Chen Yuan knew that for a monster like the Iron-Haired Wild Boar, the differences between individuals were not that great.

It was just that the memories of his initial transmigration into this world were too vivid; the ferocity and oppressive force of that boar had been infinitely magnified in his heart, almost becoming an obsession.

Now, having witnessed the true strength of an Iron-Haired Wild Boar, that little obsession in his heart vanished into thin air.

"As expected, I've become too strong," Chen Yuan sighed. "This kind of enemy isn't enough to hone my sword art. I should go deeper."

He sheathed his sword and, without giving the corpse of the Iron-Haired Wild Boar another look, continued deeper into the Wilderness Zone.

As time passed, the sky turned completely dark. Only the high-hanging moon cast a cold, clear light, tirelessly guiding his path. Chen Yuan pressed on, encountering more and more monsters, but none were a match for him in a single exchange.

The sword light was biting, suddenly cutting through the darkness to slice a Shadow Cat leaping from the shadows into two pieces. Chen Yuan flicked the blood off his blade and continued forward.

This was not the first monster to attempt an ambush. As night fell, the predators of the Wilderness Zone emerged one after another, and more and more monsters set their sights on Chen Yuan. But under his keen perception, these hidden dangers had nowhere to hide, serving only as fodder for him to hone his sword art.

By midnight, Chen Yuan finally arrived at a county town. He stood outside the town, looking at the broken walls and ruins within, which exuded a sense of decay.

"As expected of a county town, the level of monsters is clearly a tier higher than outside." Chen Yuan watched the figures emerging from the ruined city—there were about seventeen or eighteen of them in total. Their spotted fur, streamlined bodies, and powerful limbs all identified these monsters: Tiger Mastiff Dogs.

The pack of Tiger Mastiff Dogs surrounded Chen Yuan, but they did not attack immediately, seemingly wary of the aura emanating from him.

Chen Yuan had killed dozens of monsters on his way here, and his body was stained with the scent of monster blood, which these keen-nosed Tiger Mastiff Dogs had picked up on.

"Primary Beast Soldier Tiger Mastiff Dogs, eighteen in total. The three leaders are clearly stronger; they should have reached the intermediate level." Chen Yuan mused to himself while pulling up his panel to check the proficiency of his Spirit Wind Sword Art. He saw that the progress for both his sword art and his Guiding Technique had reached the 99.99% threshold, while only his footwork was at 91.37%.

It seemed that because these three secret techniques were originally one, the failure of the footwork to break through was also causing the other two to remain stuck at a bottleneck.

"If I didn't have a faint feeling that I was about to uncover the secret of the Spirit Wind Sword Art, I would have already used my Kill Points to optimize you," Chen Yuan thought, looking at his balance of 87 Kill Points.

Ever since his Guiding Technique reached 99.99% progress, Chen Yuan had developed a premonition: when the Spirit Wind Sword Art entered the "Proficient" level, it would truly reveal its power. This premonition only grew stronger now that his sword art progress was also full.

Now, only a breakthrough in his footwork was needed to lift the veil on the Spirit Wind Sword Art, and this pack of Tiger Mastiff Dogs was the sparring partner Chen Yuan had sought to improve that footwork.