Tuoshan Deer Cub

The bright moon hung in the sky, surrounded by a scattering of stars, but Guan Ning could not appreciate this beautiful starry night.

He was currently in the basement practicing his swordsmanship. His figure flickered, sword shadows multiplied, and the whistling wind was punctuated by the sonic booms of the Qingming Sword. Yet, it all looked somewhat awkward, as if he were constantly falling short of perfection.

"Still not working?" Guan Ning stopped, looked at the sharp blade in his hand, and muttered to himself, "I still need to wait."

Guan Ning knew where the lack of coordination came from. The second layer of the Dugu Sword Art, aside from the thirteen basic forms, included techniques like coiling, circling, drawing, and pulling. These moves were not suited for a rigid, speed-oriented blade like the Qingming Sword, which was why Guan Ning had specifically prepared a soft sword.

He set the Qingming Sword aside and took the coiled Panlong Sword from his backpack; it looked remarkably like a belt.

"Swish, swish, swish."

As he flicked his wrist, the Panlong Sword began to vibrate. Amidst the flickering cold starlight, it transformed into a straight, thin, and razor-sharp longsword.

A soft sword, because its blade is as supple as silk, makes it difficult to control and apply force. Practicing with it requires a high degree of concentration of essence, energy, and spirit. Therefore, among the various types of swords, it belongs to a highly difficult category of swordsmanship, completely different from a hard sword.

Recalling the pros and cons of soft swords listed on the Limit Home website when he purchased the Panlong Sword, Guan Ning smiled faintly.

He then thought of the price of the Panlong Sword and felt a pang of heartache. The Grade 6 Qingming Sword cost 20 million, or 10 million at half price. However, the Panlong Sword, also Grade 6, cost twice as much as the Qingming Sword due to its special material. Even at half price, it had cost him 20 million. If he hadn't earned a fortune in the Wilderness Area, he truly wouldn't have been able to afford it.

After returning to the Ginkgo Residential District from the Wilderness Area, Guan Ning began practicing the "Hidden Edge Sword." He quickly discovered the shortcomings of the Qingming Sword and subsequently ordered this Panlong Sword.

For nearly half a month, Guan Ning had been using the Panlong Sword to practice the "Hidden Edge Sword" with remarkable results; otherwise, he would never have touched the threshold of reaching perfection in his swordsmanship.

It was precisely because he saw the results today that Guan Ning had the idea to try practicing with the Qingming Sword again. He hadn't expected it to still be ineffective, and he had no idea when he would be able to execute the Hidden Edge Sword Technique with the Qingming Sword.

In the basement, sword shadows flew. Although the Hidden Edge Sword Technique consisted of only thirty-six moves, each move had dozens of variations. Once extrapolated, the changes were extremely complex, dazzling like a kaleidoscope.

The sword edge was even more chilling. Under the illumination of the lights, it seemed almost invisible, with only the fleeting sword light proving its existence.

The Panlong Sword moved through the air like a spirit snake, wantonly extending and retracting its tongue, displaying its sharp fangs. The entire blade not only swayed and twisted at will, but it even appeared to be able to lengthen and shorten as it pleased.

Don't let Guan Ning's current ease fool you; when he first came into contact with the Panlong Sword, it was a series of perilous and thrilling situations. Fortunately, he followed the instructions in the manual, mastered the swift sword techniques with the Panlong Sword first, and only then practiced the Hidden Edge Sword Technique. Otherwise, he would have been covered in wounds long ago.

Normally, he wore the Panlong Sword as a belt around his waist and carried the Qingming Sword on his back. Outsiders would surely assume his weapon was the Qingming Sword, but in reality, the power of the Qingming Sword was now far inferior to that of the Panlong Sword.

In terms of speed, the Panlong Sword was thinner and lighter; with the same amount of force, its speed was naturally faster.

In terms of technique, a hard sword like the Qingming Sword had no possibility of comparing to the Panlong Sword.

In terms of raw power, the Qingming Sword was naturally stronger, but the Panlong Sword was sharper, pushing the level of danger even higher.

In this way, he gained an extra layer of camouflage. In this dangerous world, it was better to keep some trump cards hidden.

Time flowed rapidly during Guan Ning's training, and in the blink of an eye, it was April 1st.

After finishing his morning session, Guan Ning went to the third floor of the Nine-Story Tower, where the simulated Gravity Room prepared for him by Feng Mu was located.

He spent four hours in the morning training inside, whether it was practicing swordsmanship, footwork, or absorbing cosmic energy; everything had to be done within the Gravity Room.

The afternoon was the same, another four hours. Although it was only three times gravity—not comparable to the ancient civilization's gravity rooms—the effect of these eight hours was equivalent to four times his usual training.

The next day, April 2nd, Guan Ning headed to City 1001, a city in the Wilderness Area about 300 kilometers away from the training camp. This designation was personally set by 'Hong', the founder of Hongning Base City. All students were required to hunt monsters in this city.

Furthermore, a satellite was specifically dedicated to monitoring City 1001.

The houses on both sides of the highway had completely collapsed, leaving a ruin filled with the gray-white color of cement. Between the mud and rubble, rusted steel bars were exposed.

The road beneath his feet was full of cracks, with weeds over half a meter high growing out of them. There were even strangely shaped pits—the footprints left behind by monsters stampeding through.

This road had been cleared by the students of the training camp countless times, so monsters were rarely seen here. Only within City 1001 could one find monsters in droves.

Moreover, the number of monsters there was immense, especially Beast General Level monsters, which could be said to appear in clusters. Otherwise, how could it withstand the years of hunting by the training camp?

Just as he entered the outskirts of the city, where there were ruins of villas, Guan Ning saw a group of forty or fifty Shadow Cat monsters. The one in the middle was 1.5 meters long, with three tails nearly a meter long whipping back and forth—it was an intermediate Beast General Level.

Surrounding it were three Two-Tailed Cat monsters, each a meter long, which were three primary Beast General Level Shadow Cats. The rest were merely Beast Soldier Level.

"You'll do."

Guan Ning's eyes narrowed, his figure flickered, and he arrived in the middle of the cat pack.

His speed approached the speed of sound, which would normally have caused a loud sonic boom, but because he had practiced the footwork from the Basic Sword Technique, his movements were silent, like a ghost.

"Meow..."

The cat monsters also discovered this uninvited guest, roaring, pouncing, clawing, and whipping their tails as various attacks came at him from all directions.

Guan Ning smiled slightly, his figure becoming even more ethereal. No matter what kind of attack came, it couldn't touch him. Walking through the pack of cat monsters as if taking a stroll, Guan Ning used his Qingming Sword to stab or flick, leaving sword marks on the bodies of the four Beast General Level cats.

The Shadow Cats hissed in pain. Provoked into a frenzy, their movements became even more violent, pouncing forward in an attempt to trade wounds for wounds. Guan Ning easily dodged the incoming claws, and with a sweep of his longsword, a large amount of blood sprayed from the neck of the cat leader, staining the ground bright red.

With a sweep and a flick of his longsword, the three tails from the corpse flew into the air and landed right in Guan Ning's hand.

During this delay, the three primary Beast General Level Shadow Cats were already upon him. Guan Ning didn't care at all about the incoming claws. "Swish, swish, swish," three flashes of sword light passed, and the three claws were severed instantly. Looking at the three wailing cats, Guan Ning muttered to himself, "Since you're in so much pain, I'll help you out."

Before his words had even faded, Guan Ning's figure instantly appeared beside the three cats. The Qingming Sword flashed like a stream of light, slicing across their bodies, leaving huge wounds on their bellies until their entrails were about to spill out.

Immediately, a thick, fishy stench filled the air. Although Guan Ning had only been to the Wilderness Area once, he had long since grown accustomed to this smell of blood. Without changing his expression, he cut off the tails of the cats, retreated violently, and emerged from the cat pack in the blink of an eye.

"13 points secured."

Guan Ning weighed the six cat tails in his hand, put them back into the backpack on his back, and continued on his way.

"There really are so many Beast General Level monsters. I suppose it's not much different from City 003, which bears the title of 'Devil's Den'."

In just one day, Guan Ning had hunted twenty or thirty Beast General Level monsters, and these were all intermediate Beast General Level. Since arriving in City 1001, he had lost interest in primary Beast General Level monsters, and he wasn't yet capable of dealing with advanced Beast General Level monsters, so he focused his targets on the intermediate ones.

During this time, he encountered other trainees from the camp, but everyone was in a rush to earn points, so there was little conversation. Even when running into familiar faces, they only exchanged a sentence or two, quick and efficient—Guan Ning liked it that way.

"Six o'clock. Time to head back." Guan Ning checked the time and prepared to return.

Guan Ning set off on his journey home with his bulging backpack strapped to his back.

"Wait a second."

Just as he passed the entrance of a department store, he noticed that the Lord Level leader of the Tuoshan Deer herd was missing, and even the Beast General Level monsters were reduced to half their number. His mind immediately began to race.

Not long after entering the city, Guan Ning had noticed this herd of Tuoshan Deer. It wasn't because of their unique species, but rather because Tuoshan Deer cubs were not only rich in nutrients but also delicious; they had been famous even before the Great Nirvana period.

Monster cubs were recognized as one of the best materials for improving physical fitness, yet almost no one used this method to enhance their strength.

For one, monster cubs were incredibly rare. If an ordinary person managed to capture one, they would sell it to a major organization for cultivation rather than bear to eat it.

For another, stealing the cubs of high-level monsters was no simple task. Monsters that had just given birth were usually protected by their entire herd, making it nearly impossible for an outsider to sneak in and steal them.

The bodies of monster cubs contained a massive amount of nutrients required for physical growth, making them an exceptionally rare tonic for humans.

Originally, although Guan Ning had coveted the Tuoshan Deer cubs, he hadn't dared to entertain the idea of targeting them. Never mind the Lord Level Tuoshan Deer, even two High-level Beast General Tuoshan Deer were far beyond his reach.

But things were different now. The Lord Level Tuoshan Deer was gone, the two High-level Beast General Tuoshan Deer were absent, and even the Low-level and Mid-level Beast General Tuoshan Deer had been reduced by half. From the entrance, he could clearly see three Tuoshan Deer cubs running around in the middle of the herd.

"This is a god-given opportunity. Forget three cubs—even a single one would be enough to help me break through to a High-level War General at the very least! Screw it."

Guan Ning hardened his heart and made up his mind.