The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle

County 0231.

This was one of the cities closest to the military district. Powerful War General-level monsters were rarely seen in the county, but enormous numbers of Beast Soldier-level monsters had made it their territory.

Since Su Zhe had snuck into the Wilderness Zone, he didn't plan to go too far, in case his elderly father at home started worrying.

At the very least... he needed to prove he had what it took to survive in the Wilderness Zone.

At the rate Su Zhe's strength was increasing, becoming a War God wouldn't be too difficult.

It had been less than three days since he passed the Martial Artist Combat Assessment, yet Su Zhe had already risen from the Junior Warrior standard to the Advanced Warrior standard, and his strength was still increasing.

Before merging with the Blacklight Virus, Su Zhe's natural talent hadn't been too bad—at least by the standards of other Earthlings. Becoming a martial artist at eighteen meant he had the potential to become a War God. At the very least, he could become a War General-level martial artist.

War General-level martial artists were still considered powerful on Earth at this time!

It wasn't until later, after Luo Feng made a trip into the universe, that the bloodlines of Earthlings began to evolve in earnest, ushering in an era when everyone was a martial artist.

But compared with Luo Feng and the others, Su Zhe's original talent was downright poor.

"Roar!"

"Awooo!"

"Caw!"

The cries of all kinds of monsters rose and fell around him.

Su Zhe stood on the outside of a high-rise, gazing down. His feet rested against the building's surface as if he were standing on level ground. Fine black-and-red strands could be seen burrowing into the concrete blocks, anchoring him in place. Below him was a large group of monsters gathered together.

This was only one of the Blacklight Virus's most basic applications.

With a game to use as a reference, developing the Blacklight Virus's various abilities was much easier for Su Zhe.

"Caw—!"

A cry rang out from nearby. Su Zhe looked up, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

His target had finally appeared!

It was an immature Black-Crowned Golden Eagle. Though it hadn't yet reached adulthood, its body was already nearly fifteen meters long, with a wingspan of over twenty meters. Its flying speed could rival that of a War God-level martial artist.

Its strength had reached the Junior Beast General level. With its speed advantage, it would be even more troublesome than an ordinary Intermediate Beast General!

Even an Advanced War General-level martial artist would have trouble killing a Black-Crowned Golden Eagle like this. The reason was simple: they were far slower. They might be able to kill it, but they couldn't catch it!

Su Zhe had his reasons for daring to hunt this Black-Crowned Golden Eagle.

Based on his observations,

the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle wasn't fully grown yet, and... its parents weren't with it. It was in the stage of growing up on its own!

That was why it had settled in the small city of County 0231 instead of hunting in one of the larger cities.

"Whether I can gain the ability to fly before reaching the Apprentice Level depends on you."

Watching the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle soar overhead and the noisy monster horde below, Su Zhe didn't rush to attack. The time wasn't right yet.

He watched as the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle flew to the top of the tallest building in the county. Then, without hesitation, he looked down at the horde and leaped!

"Boom!!!"

The impact of his landing smashed a deep, unmistakable crater into the old concrete ground.

The monsters nearby turned their heads, searching for Su Zhe, only to find that he seemed to have vanished into thin air.

"Roar?"

Amid the chaotic monster horde, a Tiger Mastiff silently slipped away.

Camouflage!

Su Zhe could disguise himself as any target he had devoured. He could even obtain some of the target's memories. He could mimic almost any living creature made of flesh and blood, reproducing its aura so perfectly that it was indistinguishable from the real thing. If he kept developing this ability, he might even rival the Mosha Clan's Innate Secret Technique.

Disguised as a Tiger Mastiff, Su Zhe headed toward the outskirts of the county.

This wasn't the time to strike. Su Zhe was confident he could kill all the monsters here, but if he alarmed the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, that would be a problem. If it decided to flee, it would be very difficult to find it again.

"Awooo!"

Just as Su Zhe slipped out of the horde and was about to leave, another Tiger Mastiff suddenly came up to him.

Su Zhe turned his head in confusion and saw the Tiger Mastiff circling his hindquarters and rubbing against him.

Could it be...

Su Zhe's expression gradually darkened.

It was a female Tiger Mastiff.

From the Tiger Mastiff's memories, he could tell that the female was asking to mate with him!

You've got to be kidding me. How could I possibly mate with a female dog?

That was what Su Zhe thought as he kept walking.

"Awooo?"

The female Tiger Mastiff repeatedly trotted up in front of him, sticking out her rear to beckon him. But Su Zhe remained unmoved and continued toward the outskirts of the county.

No. He still couldn't attack.

There were too many monsters here.

Suppressing his urge to kill, he lured the female Tiger Mastiff to the edge of the county, then struck without mercy!

[Devoured Apprentice Level 1 monster. Gained 0.1 Devour Points]

After devouring the female Tiger Mastiff, Su Zhe returned to human form.

He looked back toward the center of the county. The high-rise was conspicuous even from the outskirts, and the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle's nest was on its roof.

Hunting the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle would take a little planning, but it wouldn't take long. A day or two should be enough.

He'd better head back first.

Su Zhe thought to himself.

Military camp.

The officer didn't look surprised to see Su Zhe return from the Wilderness Zone empty-handed. He smiled and said, "Well? Now you understand how dangerous the Wilderness Zone is, don't you?"

"You're lucky, kid. You went into the Wilderness Zone alone and made it back in one piece. Even some veteran martial artists would have a hard time pulling that off."

"All right, don't be too discouraged. Everyone has a first time, and the important thing is that you weren't hurt. Next time, find a martial artist squad to go into the Wilderness Zone with!"

The officer patted Su Zhe on the shoulder and left, not giving him a chance to explain.

Su Zhe knew he'd been misunderstood, but couldn't be bothered to explain.

"I'll go home first, before the old man panics because he can't find me," Su Zhe thought. "I also need to test my physical fitness and take another shot at learning the Force Amplitude manual..."

Before reaching immortality, the highest possible Force Amplitude was a hundredfold, which could greatly increase one's strength.

On top of that, blade techniques and movement techniques were important too. But what mattered wasn't the techniques themselves; it was that they could help one grasp Intent, eventually opening the door to Domains and Laws.

Su Zhe had worked hard even before obtaining the Blacklight Virus, but his talent was only average. He might have been a young prodigy among ordinary people, but compared with other geniuses, he couldn't even measure up to Luo Feng at the very start of the story.

Fortunately, the Blacklight Virus could solve the problem of talent.

With that thought, Su Zhe set off for home.