Jiangnan Extreme General Pavilion.
"What did you say?!"
Zhuge Tao shot to his feet and stared wide-eyed at Xiao Qi.
He could hardly believe what he was hearing.
He had hunted thousands of monsters, including many high-level Beast Generals.
He had even slain an Elementary Lord-level monster by himself—a Silver Moon Fierce Wolf—and emerged completely unscathed.
Could someone who had passed the martial artist assessment just half a month ago really have done all that? And he was only eighteen!
"That's exactly what happened."
Xiao Qi nodded.
If someone had told him the same thing, he wouldn't have believed it either.
But he had been there the whole time, and the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's pelt was now in his backpack.
"This is the Silver Moon Fierce Wolf pelt that War God Li Qingxu had us strip off."
Xiao Qi lifted the specially made backpack from the floor and set it on the table. Then he opened it and tipped out the bloodstained pelt inside.
At the sight of it, Zhuge Tao hurriedly reached out and picked up the pelt.
Though it was still stained with some beast blood, its fur was silver-white from head to toe.
An ordinary Intermediate Beast General Silver Moon Fierce Wolf had only a small tuft of silver-white fur on its head.
Only after reaching Lord Level did a Silver Moon Fierce Wolf's entire coat turn silver-white.
There was no longer any room for doubt.
Xiao Qi was telling the truth. With the strength of their Eagle Predator Squad, they would never have been able to hunt a Silver Moon Fierce Wolf comparable to an Intermediate Lord-level monster.
"He's really become this strong."
Zhuge Tao marveled inwardly.
He remembered their last meeting, when Li Qingxu had said he was going into the Wilderness Zone alone. He had also said his strength wasn't merely at Warrior Level.
They had even tested him then, and Li Qingxu's punching force had reached thirteen thousand kilograms.
At the time, Zhuge Tao had guessed he was probably a mid-level War General.
But that had been barely two weeks ago. Could someone really go from mid-level War General to War God in just two weeks?
Zhuge Tao himself was one of the four directors at the Extreme Pavilion, yet he had been stuck at high-level War General for over a decade without breaking through.
Meanwhile, Li Qingxu had gone from passing the martial artist assessment to becoming a War God in just three weeks.
Good heavens, the gap between people was just too great.
"By the way, where is he? Is he still hunting monsters in the Wilderness Zone?"
Zhuge Tao snapped out of his thoughts and asked.
"That's what I was about to tell you, Director. While we were collecting the spoils, someone fired on us from hiding. War God Li Qingxu went after them alone and told our squad to retreat first."
"What! You... Why didn't you tell me that sooner?"
Zhuge Tao's expression changed instantly.
The kind of people who took potshots in the Wilderness Zone were ruthless. Why had Li Qingxu gone after them alone?
"I'll settle this with you later."
Zhuge Tao hurriedly pulled out his phone. He saw the name at the top of his contacts list and immediately called.
Before the person on the other end could say anything, he rattled off his message as quickly as he could.
"Hello, Inspector Liu. This is Zhuge Tao. Please contact the higher-ups at headquarters immediately and send people to rescue Li Qingxu."
"Hm? What happened?" Inspector Liu's voice came through the phone, sounding puzzled.
"Inspector, I'll explain the details later. Please report to headquarters that Li Qingxu has already broken through to War God, and that someone fired on him in the Wilderness Zone. He went after them alone."
Zhuge Tao spoke anxiously.
"Damn it!"
A furious curse came through the phone, followed by a question. "Where is he?"
"City 026."
Zhuge Tao answered quickly.
"Good. I'm heading there now."
"You're going yourself? But what if something unexpected happens over there..."
"I don't need you to tell me what to do. While you were talking to me, I already sent the information to the Dojo Master. Anyone who secretly attacks a member of my Limit Dojo will die!"
The call ended as soon as the murderous words fell.
"Director, what should we do?"
"Wait. Even if we went, we wouldn't be able to help."
Zhuge Tao could only hope the martial artist squad that had fired on them from hiding wasn't stronger than Li Qingxu.
Otherwise, if anything really happened, he, as their director, would have no way to escape the blame.
A minute later, a Butterfly Fighter Jet suddenly took off from the helipad at the Jiangnan Base City Limit General Dojo.
The jet accelerated several times, and the resulting sonic boom echoed across the sky.
At the same time, many people in the main urban district of Jiangnan Base City heard the sonic boom, but they had no idea what had happened.
Only martial artists understood that it was the sound made when a human powerhouse broke the sound barrier.
For a sonic boom to sound over the Base City, something major must have happened.
At the same time.
In Hongning Base City, inside the Limit Dojo headquarters—a colossal, ten-thousand-meter-long structure shaped like a spaceship—
A black-haired man sat cross-legged in a quiet room.
Suddenly, a terrifying aura erupted from his body, then vanished in an instant.
The entire Limit Dojo headquarters shuddered violently.
This man was none other than Hong, the world's strongest fighter and the founder of the Limit Dojo.
"Someone dares to assassinate a genius from my Limit Dojo. It seems that after all this time without taking action, some people have forgotten."
His words still echoed through the quiet room, but Hong had already disappeared.
The tremor at headquarters made many martial artists furrow their brows. But when some of them looked outside, they spotted something unbelievable.
A blood-red, triangular fighter jet flashed across the sky above headquarters and disappeared into the distance.
"That's?!"
Looks of astonishment appeared on their faces.
Wasn't that the Dojo Master's fighter jet? Why had it suddenly taken off?
City 026.
On the rooftop of a twenty-three-story building, Li Qingxu remained immersed in his cultivation.
He had no idea that Xiao Qi's report about him had even alerted Hong.
As his rate of absorbing cosmic energy increased, it seemed to wash over his body.
The cosmic energy nourished every inch of his physique, strengthening it.
With his physique improving once more, golden light shimmered through his flesh and blood. He encountered little resistance while opening his Bitter Sea.
More than three hours later, Li Qingxu sat cross-legged, his whole being seeming to have grown more ethereal.
His body was transforming and his physique growing stronger. Divine radiance shimmered across his flesh, and he met no resistance as he opened his Bitter Sea.
A night breeze swept past. His entire presence had changed dramatically, as though he were shrouded in mist.
His shoulder-length hair fluttered in the wind. With his eyes closed in cultivation, he looked like a Banished Immortal descended to the mortal world.
His golden Bitter Sea had undergone a tremendous transformation. Waves surged skyward, divine light blazed, and thunder rumbled.
Compared to before, it had more than doubled in size and was nearly as large as a palm.
At the center of the Bitter Sea, the Life Spring gushed forth, its source of divine power boiling.
The spring's eye at the bottom of the sea had widened considerably. Its waters surged ceaselessly, and flashes of radiance occasionally burst forth.
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