First Battle

Hearing Gao Feng's words, Luo Zhe and Luo Feng exchanged a glance, nodded, and replied, "Understood!"

Chen Gu stood by and solemnly reminded them, "Don't you two get careless. The wildness and cunning of these monsters are far more dangerous than those raised in the military district."

Luo Zhe nodded, signaling that he understood.

He stroked the Blood Shadow Battle Blade in his hand and looked ahead at the One-Horned Wild Boar currently hunting for prey. This One-Horned Wild Boar, nearing the Junior Warrior Level, would be the first monster to fall under his blade!

After confirming with Luo Feng, they quickly moved toward the front.

With Luo Zhe's speed, it took only a dozen breaths for him to reach the back of a large rock not far from the One-Horned Wild Boar. Luo Feng was slightly slower, but like a nimble leopard, he soon darted behind a car overturned on the highway.

Luo Zhe peeked at the One-Horned Wild Boar ahead. Its fur was black, resembling stiff black steel needles, and its dark gray horn looked like a sharp blade!

Under the glow of the setting sun, the tip of the horn refracted a cold, chilling light.

If the Iron-Haired Wild Boars from the martial artist practical exam were like heavy Hummers—brutal and wild—then this One-Horned Wild Boar gave off a feeling of both agility and ferocity.

After signaling to Luo Feng and receiving a nod in return, Luo Zhe tapped the back of his blade against the rock, creating a crisp sound. Once he had drawn the beast's attention, he stepped out from behind the rock, swaggering openly.

"Come and get me!" Luo Zhe shouted, waving at the One-Horned Wild Boar.

"Hmph—hrrr—"

The One-Horned Wild Boar let out a series of snorts, its eyes filled with murderous intent as it stared at Luo Zhe, seemingly wanting to tear its prey to shreds in one bite.

"BOOM!" The One-Horned Wild Boar suddenly charged, transforming into a high-speed tank as it barreled straight toward Luo Zhe.

"Oh, ho!" Facing the charging beast, Luo Zhe's heart rate accelerated, and he felt a surge of excitement. Only when the boar was nearly upon him did he take a side-step to the left, easily dodging the impact of its horn.

Then, he raised his right foot and slammed it into the back of the boar's front right leg. With a crisp crack of bone, the One-Horned Wild Boar let out a miserable shriek. Its high-speed momentum was instantly broken, and it tumbled across the highway, rolling over several times.

At this moment, Luo Feng flashed out from behind the dilapidated car. His speed surged, and he followed the off-balance boar with his Blood Shadow Battle Blade in hand. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as he seized the opportunity to strike a vicious blow at the boar's throat!

"Pfft!"

Fast as lightning, the sweeping blade sliced directly across the boar's neck. As the edge cut through, Luo Feng could clearly feel the hardness of the bristles and the toughness of the hide. It truly lived up to its reputation as skin that even ordinary bullets couldn't pierce!

"Hrrr—" Suffering a grievous wound to its neck, the One-Horned Wild Boar let out a harrowing roar!

Its massive body thrashed violently on the ground, causing the long-abandoned highway concrete to crack layer by layer. Foul-smelling blood poured from the thick skin of its neck, dripping onto the dusty ground.

"Luo Feng, watch out!" Luo Feng hadn't even had a moment to celebrate his successful strike when Luo Zhe's urgent warning came from behind.

Whoosh!

Before his brain could even process the meaning of the warning, he saw a black shadow whipping toward his head. Startled, Luo Feng hurriedly kicked off the ground, barely managing to twist his body and dodge the shadow.

Luo Zhe saw it clearly from the side. Although Luo Feng's strike had caused significant damage to the boar's throat, it wasn't a fatal blow. The most troublesome thing about monsters was their tenacious vitality; killing this One-Horned Wild Boar was not going to be easy.

Furthermore, the boar still had some fight left in it—that black shadow was its tail, which whipped around like an iron lash!

Seeing that Luo Feng had retreated to a safe position, Luo Zhe didn't want to drag it out any longer. Seizing the moment, he stepped forward and swung his Blood Shadow Battle Blade, severing the boar's lashing tail. Then, a second wave of force erupted from within his body.

Nine-Fold Thunder Blade—First Fold!

The speed of the Blood Shadow Battle Blade soared once more!

It landed precisely on the boar's already mangled neck. As soon as the blade touched the hide, Luo Zhe felt its astonishing resilience. However, under his force of nearly 13,000kg, the blade cleaved two-thirds of the way through the boar's skull. Luo Zhe then kicked off the boar's belly, using the recoil to pull his blade free and leap back!

Blood sprayed like a fountain from the massive wound!

"Awoo—" With a shrill cry, the One-Horned Wild Boar convulsed, its four hooves kicking the asphalt highway until the ground cracked.

As the blood gushed out, the boar's sounds gradually grew weaker until it stopped moving entirely.

Luo Zhe stood near the carcass, looking at the One-Horned Wild Boar with its head nearly severed. The flow of blood began to slow; it had clearly bled out. After all, it had likely lost more than a wooden bucket's worth of blood.

He stepped forward and used his Blood Shadow Battle Blade to carve the horn from the boar's head.

Of the entire One-Horned Wild Boar, this single horn was the most valuable part!

Luo Feng walked over, looking at Luo Zhe in surprise, and asked, "Brother Zhe, that was the first fold of the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade, right? You've mastered it!?"

Luo Feng had clearly seen that after severing the tail, the blade in Luo Zhe's hand had accelerated again, allowing him to kill the beast in one go. Recalling that Luo Zhe had also purchased the Nine-Fold Thunder Blade manual, he couldn't help but guess that he had already mastered the first fold.

"I accidentally mastered it three days ago." Luo Zhe nodded and handed the horn to Luo Feng. "This is our first kill of the trip; you take it."

Luo Feng hesitated for a moment before taking it. After a brief pause, he asked for advice, "Brother Zhe, when you have time, could you explain the essentials of the first fold to me? I still haven't mastered it; I feel like this blade technique is so hard to get into!"

Luo Zhe draped an arm over Luo Feng's shoulder and walked toward the members of the Fire Hammer Squad who were watching from afar. "That's definitely no problem. Let me tell you, the key to the first fold lies in..."

The five members of the Fire Hammer Squad, having watched the entire process of the two hunting the One-Horned Wild Boar, couldn't help but let out a long breath.

"That Luo Zhe is too reckless! If he wasn't careful, he could have been gutted by that boar, and yet he dared to play it like that!" Zhang Ke gasped. This kind of dancing on the edge of a blade made even a veteran martial artist like him, who had spent years in the Wilderness Zone, break into a cold sweat.

"That strike was powerful! To be able to sever the tail and the neck of the One-Horned Wild Boar in one go—I'm afraid even Tie or Qing couldn't do that," Chen Gu said with a look of joy.

"I couldn't do it."

"I couldn't either. That strike reached at least the Junior Warrior Level, and it's considered formidable even among Junior Warriors."

The Wei Brothers spoke one after another. Especially the younger one, Wei Qing, who rarely spoke so much, clearly showing how shocked he was by Luo Zhe.

"How about that? I told you this kid was good. He's someone I personally invited!" Chen Gu shouted triumphantly. Having a newcomer he personally recruited perform like this brought him a great deal of face.

"Incredible," Zhang Ke couldn't help but sigh. "Are these two really newcomers? Especially Luo Zhe—that kick was peak perfection. Once he made the boar lose its balance, their follow-up attacks left the beast with no chance to recover."