One Week to General Rank, Zhuge Tao Doubts His Life

"That's right, the Wilderness Zone is extremely dangerous!"

Zhuge Tao's expression was grave.

Across the entire world, all land areas outside of the base cities are collectively known as the Wilderness Zone.

For the humans living within the base cities, the Wilderness Zone is synonymous with a forbidden land of death, teeming with all manner of monsters.

In particular, the more prosperous a city once was, the greater the number of monsters that now infest it.

In some places, Lord-level monsters run rampant, and occasionally, even King-level monsters make an appearance.

Even he, a dignified high-level War General, would not dare to venture into those regions alone and rashly, let alone Li Qingxu, who had only just broken through to the Warrior level.

"How do you know I'm only at the Warrior level?"

The corners of Li Qingxu's mouth curled up slightly, his face full of smiles.

"Hm?"

Zhuge Tao's eyes widened significantly in an instant.

If it wasn't the Warrior level, did that mean he had broken through to become a War General?

Could he have consumed all six bottles of the Gene Agent?

But that didn't seem right either; even if he had consumed the Gene Agent, it would take time to absorb, and a week probably wouldn't be enough.

Seeing the suspicious look in Zhuge Tao's eyes, Li Qingxu knew what he was thinking and immediately said, "I didn't drink that stuff, I threw it away."

"It's good you didn't drink it, I can still give you... You threw it away?!"

Zhuge Tao suspected he had misheard.

That was worth over four billion; even he wouldn't dare to be so wasteful.

While chatting, the two took the elevator to the sixteenth floor of the dojo.

"Give it a try."

Zhuge Tao activated a Punch Strength Tester and gestured for him to proceed.

Li Qingxu did not hesitate; he stepped forward and threw a punch directly at the center of the target.

It was a simple punch, without any force-generating techniques, no secret arts, and he hadn't even mobilized the divine power within his Bitter Sea.

Furthermore, it was not his full strength.

"Bang!"

The target shook violently, and a line of data appeared on the screen.

[13131KG]

"Holy crap!"

Looking at those numbers, Zhuge Tao couldn't help but curse; this was already approaching the level of an intermediate War General.

A punch strength of 8000KG is the threshold for a junior War General.

A punch strength of 16000KG is the threshold for an intermediate War General.

Moreover, he could tell that this punch was not Li Qingxu's limit.

In other words, in just one week of not seeing him, Li Qingxu had leaped from a prospective martial artist to the War General level.

He might even have reached the strength of an intermediate War General, only one small realm lower than himself.

If another month passed, would he surpass him?

No wonder he was valued by the Dojo Master; he truly was a monster.

Zhuge Tao felt a bit of an existential crisis.

Li Qingxu, however, felt it was quite normal.

With the blessing of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body, his foundation was already much stronger than that of an ordinary person.

What's more, after opening his Bitter Sea, the Sacred Body's enhancement to his physique increased exponentially.

And he had been absorbing cosmic energy for six whole days!

If this were any other prospective martial artist, continuously absorbing cosmic energy for six days would have at least propelled them to the high-level War General rank.

After all, the effects of the first time one absorbs cosmic energy are the greatest.

Of course, whether the body could withstand it was another matter entirely.

"I shouldn't have any problems going to the Wilderness Zone now, right?"

Li Qingxu asked with a smile.

"You can, but you're going to wear that?"

Zhuge Tao glanced at the clothes on his body.

What normal martial artist would go to the Wilderness Zone wearing a white training suit? Everyone else wears full combat gear, complete with weapons and backpacks.

"I'm not going there to kill monsters; I'm just going to see what it's like first."

Li Qingxu provided a brief explanation.

"Fine."

Zhuge Tao nodded, pulled out his phone, and swiped a few times before saying, "There is a team of warriors from our dojo heading to the Wilderness Zone today; they are already gathering at the HR Alliance."

"Many thanks, Director."

Li Qingxu expressed his gratitude and followed the map on his phone to head to the rendezvous point.

Within the main city district stood an eighty-eight-story skyscraper, with the dazzling English letters 'HR' emblazoned on its outer wall.

Surrounding the first floor of the skyscraper were a beautiful plaza and the largest fountain in all of Jiangnan Base City.

Around the plaza, over a thousand soldiers armed with live ammunition patrolled, forbidding any outsiders from stepping a single foot inside.

Passersby would look at this skyscraper with curiosity and envy as they walked past.

The vast majority of people in the entire Jiangnan Base City would never enter it in their entire lives.

"Beep!"

An electronic sound rang out.

"Sir, please enter."

The doorman at the entrance of the lobby bowed respectfully.

"Mm."

Li Qingxu stepped into this HR Alliance Mall.

This was an underground alliance formed by super-families and consortiums from all over the world; as their headquarters in Jiangnan Base City, the entire building could be described as the height of luxury.

The waiters in the lobby—the men handsome, the women slender and alluring—each wore a smile that made one feel as if they were bathed in a spring breeze.

"Over here."

Four people were seated around a semi-circular sofa, and one of them stood up, signaling to Li Qingxu.

"Eagle Predator Squad?"

Li Qingxu walked over and asked.

"Yes, the Director told me about your situation. We'll talk more on the way."

The one who stood up to greet him was none other than the captain of the Eagle Predator Squad, a High-level War General named Xiao Qi.

The five of them boarded an HR Alliance private vehicle and headed straight to the train station, taking a train to leave the base city for the Wilderness Zone.

Hundreds of miles north of Jiangnan Base City, a military district was stationed.

"Rumble~" The train slowed to a stop at the military district station.

Fully armed warriors stepped off the train one after another; there were over thirty of them, naturally divided into five squads.

"Usually, when we warriors go out to hunt monsters, we enter the military district when we need to resupply halfway."

Knowing that this was Li Qingxu's first time in the Wilderness Zone, Xiao Qi patiently explained to him.

At the same time, he pointed to a spot ahead, where a steel tower stood at least fifty or sixty meters high.

"See that tower?"

That was a special area designated in every military district across the world, serving as a supply and rest base for warriors.

It also symbolized the light that guides us warriors on our way home.

Li Qingxu nodded in understanding.

The Warrior Supply Base was located inside the military district, consisting of quiet little buildings with a very pleasant environment.

"Eagle Predator Squad, you will be staying and resting at A3 Residence."

An officer at the supply base handed Xiao Qi a key and said with a smile, "If you happen to get your hands on any good loot, you're welcome to sell it to our underground alliance. I'll definitely give you a high price."

Although many service personnel in the supply base wore military uniforms.

In reality, most of the staff at the Warrior Supply Base came from the Limit Dojo, the Thunder Dojo, the government military, and the underground alliance.

They were there to provide services, but they also purchased precious monster materials from the warriors.

"Haha, sounds good."

Xiao Qi responded with a laugh, then turned to Li Qingxu and asked, "We plan to set out in the evening; it's too hot during the day. What about you?"

"I'll be heading out first."

Li Qingxu bid them farewell.

Although it was the sweltering mid-August, such temperatures could not affect him.

"Alright, be extremely careful when you're alone in the Wilderness Zone. Sometimes, the most lethal things aren't just the high-level monsters."

"Haha, I get what you mean."

Li Qingxu chuckled, naturally understanding the implication behind Xiao Qi's words.

With that, he turned and left, heading into the Wilderness Zone all by himself.

"I don't know what the Director is thinking, letting someone who just broke through to the Warrior level—and didn't even bring combat gear or weapons—go into the Wilderness Zone alone."

"Isn't there a rumor that he's been favored by the Dojo Master? He must have obtained some kind of treasure."

Watching the figure gradually disappear, the four members of the Eagle Predator Squad spoke in hushed tones.