Wilderness Area

The videos grew fewer, and the Qingming Sword moved faster and faster.

Guan Ning swung his sword again and again. His sword moves were no longer the original nine forms, though traces of them could still be made out. Now, he was searching for the feeling in his heart—the feeling of the Swift Sword. The sword followed his heart. As his understanding deepened, flashes of sword light swept down, thrust forward, rose in an uppercut, or cut across, each like a streak of flowing light.

"Right! Right! Right! That's it..."

After swinging his sword continuously, Guan Ning's body was already exhausted. But he was immersed in the world of the sword, with nothing in his heart but the blade.

The final three video clips of the Swift Sword kept flashing through Guan Ning's mind. Through his unrelenting effort, the three swift sword strikes merged into a single flash of light, as fast as thunder and as fierce as a gale.

"Whoosh!"

At the same time, Guan Ning's figure blurred. He crossed a meter in an instant, and the Qingming Sword rang out with a clear chime as it shot forward at a speed many times greater than before. A sharp whistle split the air, and the sword became a streak of azure light that vanished in the blink of an eye.

"I finally mastered it. No wonder it's called the Swift Sword. It really feels like it can pierce through space!"

The pressure wave from the sword tearing through the air billowed out Guan Ning's already loose training clothes. Only after they settled back into place did he come to his senses.

"I'm exhausted!"

Only then did Guan Ning notice his condition. He was drenched in sweat, his limbs weak and limp, and even his mind felt weary.

This was no surprise. When practicing the Basic Sword Technique, the bones and cells throughout the body vibrated at different frequencies. That was the key to generating power.

Such vibrations placed a heavy burden on the muscles and cells. What was more, Guan Ning had practiced for nearly two hours, and the Swift Sword had pushed his body to its limits. He was exhausted—so exhausted that even breathing felt difficult.

As for his mental fatigue, that went without saying. For the past two hours, his mind had been working beyond its limits. If his soul hadn't undergone a slight transformation, his mind would have been completely drained, and he would have dropped dead.

I want to sleep so badly...

Though Guan Ning desperately wanted to sleep, he forced himself to stay alert. He sat cross-legged on the floor and rested briefly before beginning the Guiding Technique. As cosmic energy entered his body, his exhausted muscles relaxed as if he were soaking in a hot spring, until he felt pleasantly limp.

The pale purple mist in his sea of consciousness had dimmed from the strain on his mind. After absorbing cosmic energy, it gradually regained its glow.

After tempering himself with sword practice and the Guiding Technique, he finished with the Five Hearts Toward Heaven cultivation method.

"Shh shh~~"

As soon as Guan Ning began cultivating, he felt as if every cell in his body were ravenous, greedily devouring Genetic Origin Energy. With each passing moment, his cultivation speed increased a little.

One minute, two minutes... Time passed, and at last, every cell in his body became saturated. They could no longer absorb any more.

"Just like the manual said: greater efficiency, longer duration, and a much faster cultivation speed." Guan Ning felt the strength welling up in his body. The increase seemed to be even greater than twice what the manual described. "Wait, isn't the cultivation speed supposed to double? Why does it feel like it increased by more than that?"

Could the manual be wrong?

Impossible! Cultivation manuals in the universe had been revised thousands upon thousands of times. How could there be such an obvious mistake? And his parents had never mentioned anything about it, either.

Guan Ning fell into thought. Suddenly, he recalled something he'd heard in his previous life: extreme training.

In his previous life, extreme sports were thrilling and dangerous activities. Exercise could speed up the heartbeat, deepen breathing, and fully engage the body's capacity for movement and adaptation, thereby improving physical fitness. Extreme sports were even more effective and produced results faster, but without adequate nutrition, they could harm the body instead.

That idea probably applied to this world, too. In that case, the extra boost made perfect sense.

"Then I don't have to worry about nutrition anymore."

He took out the last of the monster meat at home and prepared a lavish feast. As he wolfed it down, he reviewed what he'd gained that day.

There were three main reasons he'd mastered the Swift Sword so quickly. First, his understanding far exceeded what the first level required. That was the foundation.

Second, he'd compared what he practiced with Guan Hong's instructional videos, so he'd progressed quickly. That had given him direction.

Third, he'd practiced diligently and put in the effort. Added to that was the improved comprehension brought on by his soul's transformation. That was perseverance.

Mastering the first level so quickly had been unexpected, but it still made sense. The second level, however, would be much harder...

After lunch, it was time to begin another round of training.

Guan Ning didn't rush into practicing the second level. Instead, he continued working on the first, aiming to weave the Swift Sword into every move and every form, so that each strike would be swift rather than saving it as a trump card.

Before long, the day was over.

After his morning exercises the next day, Guan Ning didn't continue training. Instead, he went out and bought a large assortment of supplies: bandages, medicine to stop bleeding and prevent infection, high-energy food for quick nourishment, and more.

He was buying these things because he planned to go to the Wilderness Area. It wasn't a spur-of-the-moment decision; he'd been preparing for it for a while. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone on such a major shopping spree. He'd found all these recommendations on the Martial Artist Forum.

Guan Ning had his reasons for going to the Wilderness Area. On the one hand, he wanted to prepare for the A-Grade Trial and get used to it in advance. On the other, training at home simply couldn't compare to the improvement he'd get from fighting monsters for real. That wasn't just the consensus of the world; it was Guan Ning's own honest opinion, too.

This was his first trip to the Wilderness Area, and he was going alone, so he chose several counties near the military district.

Almost all the monsters in these counties were Beast Soldier Level. Beast General Level monsters were rare, and most of those were Junior Beast General Level. Intermediate Beast General Level monsters were even rarer. Since Beast General Level monsters were so scarce, every Junior Beast General Level monster could command hundreds or even over a thousand Beast Soldier Level monsters.

That was why even the stronger warrior squads couldn't be bothered to stay in these counties. There was little profit to be made.

These cities were just right for Guan Ning. After mastering the first level, his physical abilities had reached Elementary War General Level. With his movement skills and swordsmanship, even if he ran into a pack led by an Intermediate Beast General Level monster, he was confident he could escape safely.

It was a good chance to get familiar with conditions in the Wilderness Area and turn all the information he'd read on the Martial Artist Forum into practical experience. Most importantly, he could hone his swordsmanship and get used to being surrounded by hundreds of monsters. After all, the Trial Tower wasn't a series of one-on-one fights. It was a chance to kill several birds with one stone.

Of course, he had Luo Feng to thank for inspiring the idea.

He hadn't told anyone about the trip.

Holding the Qingming Sword, wearing combat gear, and carrying a backpack, Guan Ning headed fully equipped to the train station. He boarded a train and left the Base City for the Wilderness Area.

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

One fully armed warrior after another stepped off the train. There were more than twenty in all, and they naturally split into four squads.

Guan Ning was the only one on his own, standing out sharply among the crowd. He walked alone along the warriors' passage toward the Supply Base. Before long, it came into view.

What appeared before him was a towering iron beacon, a good fifty or sixty meters high. Throughout Huaxia Nation—and indeed, the whole world—every military district had a special area set aside as a Warrior Supply Base, where warriors could rest. Such bases usually had a lighthouse like this one.

It symbolized the light that showed warriors the way home!

"Guan Ning? Is this your first time in the Wilderness Area? Where's your team?"

At the base entrance, the attendant glanced at the information displayed on the scanner and looked at Guan Ning in surprise.

"Just me," Guan Ning replied quietly. He knew his actions drew attention, so he'd deliberately lowered his voice, hoping not to attract anyone's notice.

"Alone? And it's your first time?"

It was a good idea, but the attendant didn't cooperate. He shouted, immediately drawing everyone's attention.

"What's going on?"

"He's going into the Wilderness Area alone, and it's his first time?"

"Who knows if he's skilled enough to be confident or just too arrogant to know better?"

"Even Madman Luo Feng went with the Fire Hammer Squad the first time!"

There were plenty of warriors at the entrance. They started chatting as soon as they heard, though most of them meant Guan Ning no harm; they were simply curious.

Seeing the commotion, Guan Ning's face darkened. He'd tried every way he could think of to keep a low profile, only for the man before him to call him out with a single shout. His gaze toward the attendant gradually turned unfriendly.

The attendant realized he'd been careless. Seeing the look Guan Ning gave him, he knew that although Guan Ning was just a fledgling, it was better to make peace than make enemies. He hurried to smooth things over. "My name is Cui You. I work for the HR Alliance. I didn't mean to do that just now. To make it up to you, I'll offer you a very good price for any monsters you hunt. How does that sound?"

Cui You's words were both firm and conciliatory. On the one hand, he let Guan Ning know that the HR Alliance had influence; on the other, he lowered his head and apologized. It was a flawless performance—just what one would expect from a businessman.

There were quite a few people like Cui You inside the Supply Base. Though they wore military uniforms, they actually represented the Limit Martial Hall, Thunder Martial Hall, government forces, and the Underground Alliance. They served the warriors, but also bought valuable materials from the monsters they killed.

Once he understood, Guan Ning nodded.

"H502. This is the key to the small row house assigned to you. 156...451. That's my contact number. If you want to sell any materials, just give me a call."

Cui You handed him a key and recited a string of numbers.

Guan Ning nodded, took the key, and was about to go inside.

"Just a word of warning: going into the Wilderness Area alone is dangerous, especially on your first trip. Good luck. I hope I'll see you here again."