Choosing Secret Manuals, The Hunt Begins

The next morning, the secret manual Su Zhe had purchased was delivered to his home.

Holding a massive fortune of 300 million Huaxia Currency, Su Zhe had no intention of pinching pennies; he directly bought the first four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, which cost him 250 million Huaxia Currency after a half-price discount.

As for the remaining money, Su Zhe left it untouched, intending to return it to Su Yongyi after some time.

The primary purpose of purchasing the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade was to increase his force amplitude.

As for the blade technique itself, Su Zhe did not plan to study it in depth; it would not be too late to look for a manual suited to him once he reached the Planetary level and awakened his genetic energy attribute.

If one were to master all four levels of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, they could achieve a force amplitude of 3.5 times.

The moment he received the manual, Su Zhe couldn't wait to begin his study.

Half an hour later.

Su Zhe set the manual down with an expressionless face.

Although it came with accompanying demonstration videos and he had the foundation of blade techniques Su Yongyi had taught him, Su Zhe still could not quickly grasp the basics of the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

The feeling was akin to asking an elementary school student who had just learned addition and subtraction, and knew nothing of quadratic equations, to study calculus; it was like reading a heavenly book—he couldn't understand a single thing.

Su Zhe sighed.

His cultivation talent was truly quite mediocre.

Although he had devoured quite a few monsters during this period, those monsters were weak and their talents were naturally relatively poor; he had improved compared to before, but not by much.

If he wanted to improve his talent quickly... he was afraid he would have to devour those powerhouses.

For instance, if he were to devour Thunder God directly, could he inherit the complete Nine-Layered Thunder Blade, or perhaps even Thunder God's lightning domain?

After thinking about it, Su Zhe abandoned this notion.

Not to mention that it would directly offend Hong, Luo Feng, and a series of other Earth powerhouses, Su Zhe himself had not yet lost his humanity to that extent.

The influence of the Blacklight Virus had made Su Zhe bloodthirsty, but it had not turned him into a madman.

However, if an enemy were to deliver themselves to his doorstep, that would be a different story.

Su Zhe fell into deep thought.

In the original story, during the time Luo Feng was possessing the Golden Horned Beast and gestating his clone, it seemed that several villains had emerged on Earth?

Among them, there seemed to be someone who was proficient in the Nine-Layered Thunder Blade.

Forget it.

First, he had to find a way to kill that Black-Crowned Golden Eagle.

After saying goodbye to Su Yongyi, Su Zhe put on his combat suit, preparing to head to the wilderness area.

Armor was still somewhat useful.

The Grade 6 combat suit could withstand the attacks of a high-level Beast General, and combined with Su Zhe's own formidable vitality, he could almost ignore the attacks of that Black-Crowned Golden Eagle; plus, with a Grade 6 combat blade, his attack power would be sufficient to break through the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle's defenses.

Su Zhe's Claw Form was actually not bad; after all, it was once the claws of a mid-level Beast General Silver Moon Dire Wolf, but limited by Su Zhe's own strength, he could not utilize it very well.

Therefore, he still had to rely on devouring to become stronger.

Departure, wilderness area!

County 0231.

After figuring out the nest of that Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, Su Zhe disguised himself as a small Shadow Cat and arrived beneath that building.

"Here... the elevator shaft!"

After wandering around inside the building, Su Zhe quickly found the elevator shaft leading to the top floor.

His petite body slipped into the elevator shaft. Forty or fifty years had passed since the Great Nirvana, and the elevator shaft here had long since severely aged, the steel cables covered in rust. Su Zhe clung to the walls with his four limbs, climbing upward rapidly.

It didn't take long for Su Zhe to reach the top floor of the building.

Passing through the rooftop to reach the top of the building, a bird's nest constructed from a large amount of dead branches and weeds appeared before Su Zhe.

The nest, over twenty meters in diameter, covered the entire rooftop.

By comparison, the Shadow Cat Su Zhe was disguised as was not even as large as the branches in the nest.

The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle was out hunting and had not yet returned.

Su Zhe was not in a hurry; he waited there silently, simultaneously utilizing the characteristics of the Blacklight Virus to conceal his aura as much as possible, blending in with the scent left behind by the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle in the surroundings.

Coupled with the fact that Shadow Cats were naturally black, one wouldn't be able to discover Su Zhe's hiding spot unless they were very close.

About two hours later.

The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle returned to its nest, carrying a high-level Beast Soldier Single-Horned Wild Boar in its beak; it seemed that was its lunch.

"Caw--!"

The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle seemed to have never considered that someone might be lurking in its nest; it dropped the Single-Horned Wild Boar, which had not yet completely died, onto the ground and began to feast.

No rush.

Su Zhe hid in the shadows, lost in thought.

The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle appeared to have lowered its guard, but its wings remained slightly spread, ready to take flight at any moment. If he could not kill the beast in a single strike, it would likely escape, making it nearly impossible to capture later.

Su Zhe waited in silence, biding his time until the exact moment the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle finished its meal and its vigilance was at its lowest—

"BOOM!"

Suddenly, accompanied by a thunderous gunshot, a bullet from an unknown origin streaked toward the unprotected eye of the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle.

"SCREECH!!!"

The Black-Crowned Golden Eagle reacted quickly, but the bullet was clearly faster. Its right eye was pierced instantly; although the projectile failed to shatter its brain, it thoroughly enraged the beast!

Su Zhe and the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle looked toward the direction of the shot simultaneously, where the faint glint of a sniper scope was visible.

Who was ruining his plans?

"Damn it!"

Su Zhe cursed inwardly. Why did a martial artist have to show up and stir up trouble at a time like this?!

There was no way to remain hidden any longer.

The moment the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle was startled, Su Zhe erupted into motion. Gripping his Series 6 Combat Blade, he slashed fiercely at the back of the eagle's neck. The razor-sharp edge sliced through the beast's metallic-sheened feathers and plunged deep into its body!

Though his strength was insufficient, the sharpness of the weapon compensated for the deficit.

Enduring the excruciating pain, the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle flapped its wings and wobbled into the sky, ascending a thousand meters in an instant. Su Zhe's blade remained wedged in the eagle's bone, preventing him from being flung off.

"Devour!"

Su Zhe tightened his grip on the blade with his right hand, his body clinging firmly to the eagle's hide. His left hand transformed into countless black-red tentacles, which snaked through the wound created by the blade and burrowed into the Black-Crowned Golden Eagle's body, relentlessly draining its life force.

The Blacklight Virus was infectious.

Once contaminated by the Blacklight Virus, ordinary creatures would turn into infected beings; even an ordinary human infected by the Blacklight Virus could possess strength rivaling that of a martial artist.

Su Zhe had previously been careful to control the Blacklight Virus, preventing it from infecting other life forms to avoid triggering a catastrophe even more terrifying than the Great Nirvana. But now, facing this frenzied Black-Crowned Golden Eagle, he no longer had the luxury of restraint.