Meeting

Although there were many Iron-Armored Savage Bulls, only two or three could attack Guan Ning at the same time.

As the number of monster corpses increased, Guan Ning was occasionally able to use the bodies of the dead monsters to find gaps and dodge the charges of the herd.

"Pfft!"

Blood sprayed out like a faucet. In just a moment, thirty or forty of the hundred Iron-Armored Savage Bulls were dead, and the remaining ones fled under the leadership of two other Elementary War General Level Iron-Armored Savage Bulls.

The commotion caused by the battle and the thick scent of blood attracted many monsters, including some Beast General Level ones, but upon seeing the Iron-Armored Savage Bull leader and Guan Ning, they quickly retreated.

Beast General Level monsters possessed a certain level of intelligence; they were very familiar with the overlords of this city—the Iron-Armored Savage Bulls—and with Guan Ning, who frequently harassed them. Since neither was a target they could handle, they naturally wouldn't seek trouble.

While Beast General Level monsters could control themselves, the Beast Soldier Level ones were not necessarily as disciplined. Guan Ning did not turn away any of these monsters that delivered themselves to his doorstep.

He processed the materials from the Iron-Armored Savage Bulls while simultaneously killing the monsters that approached him.

The most important materials on an Iron-Armored Savage Bull were the pair of horns on its head and the scales on its body.

However, the body of the Intermediate Beast General Level Iron-Armored Savage Bull was too massive. After Guan Ning packed its scales and horns into his backpack, there wasn't much space left. With no other choice, he picked and chose, eventually selecting the horns of nine High-Level Beast Soldier monsters, which filled the entire backpack.

"This..."

Guan Ning, preparing to leave, looked at the meat on the Iron-Armored Savage Bull and couldn't help but feel a bit greedy.

Monster meat is rich in nutrition and full of energy, which is a significant help in improving one's physical fitness.

Take Guan Ning, for example: the reason he was able to pass the quasi-martial artist assessment at seventeen was partly due to his hard work, but also because of his long-term consumption of monster meat. However, monster meat is extremely expensive in the base city and not something an average person can afford.

Guan Ning had previously only eaten meat from farmed Beast Soldier Level monsters, which no longer had much effect on him now.

He had finished the monster meat at home before leaving, and Guan Ning had come to the Wilderness Area with this in mind, even coming prepared. The Iron-Armored Savage Bull before him was perfect—nutritious, chewy, and delicious.

He acted immediately, emptying everything out of his backpack and taking out the prepared plastic wrap. These were made from monster materials; not only could they preserve freshness, but they could also mask the bloody scent of the meat. A single roll cost as much as 100,000 Chinese Yuan.

Fortunately, it could be reused, otherwise, Guan Ning wouldn't be able to afford such a luxury.

He used his Qingming Sword to carve the meat off the Iron-Armored Savage Bull, then used a dagger to cut it into neat, square blocks, wrapping them in the plastic film before placing them into his backpack.

"That's enough."

The backpack was made of monster materials, making it lightweight, durable, and spacious. Thirty kilograms of monster meat would be more than enough to satisfy his training needs before heading to the Elite Training Camp.

The backpack still had some space left, but it could only fit the horns and scales of the Iron-Armored Savage Bull leader; the remaining horns from the High-Level Beast Soldiers would have to be left behind.

"It's still worth 200,000, what a pity. Wait..."

Guan Ning took a transparent thread from his body; it was the tail tendon of the Twin-Tailed Civet he had hunted on the first day, two strands in total.

Ever since he got it, Guan Ning would set it up on the windows and balcony whenever he practiced his sword in the Wilderness Area. If a monster approached, he would be alerted, which had been quite convenient.

He strung the bull horns together with the tail tendons and wrapped them around his body. Although it looked a bit unsightly, it didn't cause much of a hindrance.

Besides, if there was any danger, he could just throw them away.

And so, wearing his cyan-green combat suit, carrying his Qingming Sword, sporting a bulging backpack, and draped in bull horns, Guan Ning set off.

Returning to the supply base, Guan Ning summarized his gains from this period.

He had originally thought he could master the first level in five or six days, but he hadn't expected it to take nearly half a month. During this process, he encountered at least five monster herds every day, using the time to hone his sword techniques and exercise his footwork.

The long duration, high frequency, and intense pressure eventually led to a brief breakthrough to the "Perfect" level during his battle with the Iron-Armored Savage Bulls.

In this half-month, Guan Ning had killed five or six hundred monsters, and the number of battles he had fought was countless. His practical combat experience had increased significantly—specifically his experience in handling group attacks—along with his astonishing calmness and judgment!

It was precisely because of that calmness and judgment that he was able to grasp a method of improving defense recorded in the manual during a life-or-death moment, thereby seizing a glimmer of survival.

This method involved diffusing the impact throughout his entire body through muscle vibration, spreading it from a point to a surface to increase his defensive power, effectively acting like wearing a Force Combat Suit.

An increase in defensive capability also meant an increase in survivability, which was a qualitative leap for Guan Ning.

Then there was the financial aspect. He had sold over five hundred High-Level Beast Soldier monsters to Cui You of the HR Alliance for an average of 8,000 each, totaling 5 million. Although this was nearly ten percent higher than the market price, Cui You still made a profit; merchants never engage in loss-making deals.

As for the three Beast General Level monsters—the Twin-Tailed Civet, the Iron-Armored Savage Bull, and the Sword-Master Wild Boar he had hunted a few days ago—Guan Ning intended to sell them to the Limit Martial Hall. On one hand, he could raise his martial artist rank to Elementary War General, and on the other, he could increase his martial hall contribution points.

"Brother Wang, take a look and see how much these are worth."

Finding the person in charge of the Limit Martial Hall at the supply base, Guan Ning dumped a pile of monster materials onto the ground.

"The claws and fur of a Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat, and the sword-spikes of a Sword-Master Wild Boar—both are Elementary Beast General Level. That's 14 million Chinese Yuan and 7,000 contribution points."

"Whoa, what's this? The horns and scales of an Intermediate Beast General Level Iron-Armored Savage Bull. That's 26 million Chinese Yuan and 13,000 contribution points."

"That makes a total of 40 million Chinese Yuan and 20,000 contribution points."

Guan Ning nodded slightly.

If he had sold this batch of monster materials to the HR Alliance, he could have gotten around 60 million. At the Limit General Hall, he could only get two-thirds of that price—40 million—losing 20 million. However, he gained 20,000 contribution points. If one were to obtain contribution points purely through donations, it would take a full 200 million.

In other words...

By selling monster materials to the Limit Martial Hall, losing 10 million could earn him 10,000 contribution points. It was ten times more cost-effective than donating! It was clear that the Limit Martial Hall hoped everyone would obtain contribution points by hunting monsters. If one gained points by donating to the Limit Dojo, it was considered a shortcut, which is why it cost 10,000 Chinese Yuan for just 1 contribution point. It had a punitive nature to it.

"Guan Ning, your speed at making money is faster than some martial artist squads!"

The middle-aged man Guan Ning called Brother Wang had been normal at first; after all, it was expected for a genius who could join the Elite Training Camp to hunt Elementary Beast Generals.

However, upon seeing the Iron-Armored Savage Bull, he was somewhat surprised. The defense of an Intermediate Beast General Level Iron-Armored Savage Bull was comparable to that of a High-Level Beast General monster; an ordinary person wouldn't have the strength for this, so he couldn't help but look at him with newfound respect.

"Brother Wang, you flatter me. For this one Iron-Armored Savage Bull, I almost ended up as a corpse. Luck, just luck..."

Guan Ning gave a bitter smile; even now, thinking back to that scene, he still broke out in a cold sweat.

"Alright, the money and contribution points have been transferred, and your rank has been upgraded to Junior War General."

Although he had been talking the whole time, the middle-aged man surnamed Wang hadn't stopped moving, and he quickly finished everything.

"Beep."

Guan Ning also lowered his head to look at his communication watch, and the Martial Artist page of the Limit Martial Hall appeared before him.

Name: Guan Ning
Gender: Male
Address: Huaxia Nation, Jiangnan Base City
Martial Artist ID: 423656205703010001
Rank: War General (Junior)
Contribution Points: 20,000 (One-Star)
Account Balance: 46,751,683

Reaching 10,000 contribution points meant achieving One-Star status.

Reaching 100,000 contribution points meant Two-Star status.

Reaching 1,000,000 contribution points meant Three-Star status.

Reaching 10,000,000 contribution points meant Four-Star status.

Reaching 50,000,000 contribution points meant the legendary Five-Star status! Achieving Five-Star status was almost impossible; the difficulty was far too high.

After leaving Brother Wang's place, Guan Ning returned to his assigned villa, browsed the Martial Artist Forum for a while, and then washed up and went to sleep.

Over the past half-month, although he had been at the supply base every night, he had spent every day training and hadn't had a proper rest.

Now that everything was settled and he was returning to the base city tomorrow, he naturally needed a good night's sleep; striking a balance between work and rest was the proper way.

When he returned to the base city the next day, Uncle Zhong, Aunt Xue, and Aunt Qian were all waiting for him at the entrance of the residential complex.

"You! You didn't even say a word before heading to the Wilderness Area. I could have arranged a martial artist squad for you; how could you go alone?"

"It's not that I'm lecturing you, but the Wilderness Area is so dangerous, and you went by yourself—are you trying to throw your life away?"

"Are you hurt? Let me see, quickly."

Seeing Guan Ning, a barrage of scolding and caring words poured out from them, and Guan Ning felt incredibly warmed in his heart.

"Don't worry, I'm fine. I'll definitely tell you next time... As for dinner, forget it, I still need to go home and clean up!"

They invited Guan Ning to their homes for a meal to welcome him back, but Guan Ning did not agree and politely declined.

After returning home, he first reported to his parents and then began a deep clean. Although the house had only been vacant for half a month and there wasn't much dust, his habits as a forensic doctor from his past life made him uncomfortable with it.

What kind of habits did a forensic doctor have? Their living and working spaces didn't need to be spotless, but they had to be clean and tidy at the very least. This was a professional necessity, not some form of germaphobia.

After the deep clean, Guan Ning prepared a feast using Savage Bull meat; the taste was truly marvelous and left an endless aftertaste.

After satisfying his appetite, Guan Ning went to the training room to read and study the second level.

After finishing it, Guan Ning was deeply shocked. The thirty-six sword moves of this second level could be said to display the words "bizarre" and "perilous" to the extreme.

Guan Ning also understood why the second level required one's sword technique to reach the "Specialist Level" before it could be learned. The second level was truly so strange and treacherous that a moment of carelessness could result in self-injury. It would hurt the user before it hurt the enemy; only by reaching the "Specialist Level" could one ensure they wouldn't harm themselves.