Wilderness Area, Perfect Grade?

It was the fourth day since Shi Fen returned home.

With a bottle of Millennium Black Crow Root medicinal wine consumed, the strength of Shi Fen's family and Wei Wen had improved across the board.

Shi Tian and Shi Tie had been Shi Fen's primary focus, and their strength had increased the most; now, the two were nearly evenly matched. When Shi Fen caught their brute-force punches with his palms, he estimated they were both at around 3,000 kilograms, reaching the average standard for mid-level Fighters.

Shi Fen helped Wei Wen push his strength past 1,300 kilograms, far exceeding the standard for a prospective martial artist. Shi Fen had only helped him this much because he was worried Wei Wen might face danger during the martial artist practical examination on February 1st. Over the past few days, Shi Fen had been teaching Wei Wen martial techniques, covering many practical, foundational blade arts that were more than enough for the practical exam.

As long as Wei Wen practiced diligently before the exam and remained cautious when dealing with monsters, obtaining his martial artist qualification would not be difficult.

Having received such a massive boost in strength, Wei Wen was truly filled with gratitude toward Shi Fen.

He clung to Shi Fen, snot and tears streaming down his face.

Shi Fen found this extremely "cringe-worthy" and practically kicked Wei Wen out the door, telling him not to disgust him any further.

After leaving Shi Fen's home, Wei Wen first went to the Extreme Martial Arts Hall to test his strength and coordinate with Instructor Jiang Nian regarding the upcoming prospective martial artist exam. Then, he called his school to quit on the spot, fully committing himself to preparing for the practical exam in over two months.

Once he passed the exam, Wei Wen planned to move directly into the Bright Moon Residential District to become neighbors with his good brothers and dedicate himself entirely to studying forging!

The emergence of Wei Wen left Jiang Nian shocked to an indescribable degree.

What kind of good stuff did this guy Shi Fen get his hands on? Even someone with Wei Wen's level of talent could turn things around like this. Jiang Nian couldn't fathom it. He knew nothing of the existence of treasures like the Spirit of Vegetation, and since Wei Wen wouldn't say a word even if beaten to death, Jiang Nian was left even more confused.

Fortunately, Jiang Nian accepted Shi Fen's "gift." When he was alone that night, he was so beside himself with joy he didn't know what to do.

Luo Feng, Shi Fen, and Wei Wen—these three individuals all represented a reward from the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, so Jiang Nian naturally wished Shi Fen could produce a few more people like them.

Unfortunately.

Shi Tie and Shi Tian had no intention of becoming martial artists; their hearts were entirely set on forging. They were already living in the Bright Moon Residential District, and having a few more martial artists in the family wouldn't provide any extra benefits. Li Ziyi didn't have the strength of a prospective martial artist, making it even less likely for her to go.

Seeing the medicinal effects were so astonishing, Li Ziyi refused to drink any more after her third dose, once her strength had neared that of a prospective martial artist.

No matter how Shi Fen tried to persuade her, it was useless.

Li Ziyi shared her portion with the three men. She knew clearly in her heart that her own increase in strength wouldn't help their lives much, but the stronger the three men were, the better the future of "Three Stones" would be.

Having worked as an accountant for so long, Li Ziyi was somewhat influenced by her job and liked to calculate things precisely.

Shi Fen couldn't stop her.

In any case, he wasn't worried about lacking good items in the future, so he didn't pay much mind to it. Right now, he was preoccupied with the Spirit of Vegetation on Mist Island...

If I could just raise these three to the War God Level, I could take them to find my master for help and learn forging together. Shi Fen's thoughts were extremely "dangerous."

After their strength increased, Shi Tie and Shi Tian had spent these four days dragging Shi Fen into the Forging Room to teach them how to forge Kro Alloy. Shi Fen couldn't refuse, and his plan to head to the Wilderness Area was delayed again and again...

It was the fifth day since he returned home.

Only after much pleading and strenuous effort did Shi Fen finally earn his "freedom."

Today was November 29th.

Shi Fen had to go to the Wilderness Area today because he was heading to County 0231 to stop a beast tide.

Shi Fen had calculated the dates for this break carefully. This day fell right within his vacation. By experiencing it firsthand, the disaster described would no longer be "talk on paper," but a tangible, personal experience. He had to save those people.

He didn't know about other beast tides, but for the disasters he was aware of, he had to take action.

Jiangnan Base City, North Military Region.

Shi Fen wore a black combat suit, a black helmet with a visor, and carried 30 SS-grade flying daggers in the blade bags on his back and legs. With his battle blade and shield strapped on, he stepped off the train at the military station, joining the swarm of martial artists pouring out of the carriages.

There was a chilling, murderous aura here. Although every martial artist was chatting and laughing, the killing intent in their eyes could not be hidden. Along the way, Shi Fen saw many injured martial artists; the gauze wrapped around their wounds was still seeping blood, clearly showing they had been injured only recently.

This level of injury was considered light; Shi Fen saw many martial artists with missing arms or legs. The worst case was a martial artist whose eyeball had been gouged out by something unknown, leaving behind only a deep, blood-filled socket.

The scene was somewhat terrifying.

"The Wilderness Area is truly bloody." Shi Fen walked step by step, his hand gripping the hilt of his blade tightening involuntarily. "In the future, none of these monsters will be allowed to live."

Shi Fen now felt some regret over his decision.

Why hide himself?

Wouldn't it have been better to go straight to Mist Island to obtain the inheritance of Hu Yanbo?

If he had entered the universe earlier, how many fewer people on Earth would have died!

"Forget it, I'll go find Mist Island tomorrow!" After struggling with the thought for a long time, his conscience finally overcame everything. Compared to saving the countless martial artists who hovered on the line between life and death and fought for the safety of humanity, what did snatching Luo Feng's opportunity matter!

At worst, I'll just compensate Luo Feng with more resources later, Shi Fen thought to himself.

Shi Fen's current Spiritual Master strength was more than enough to support and drive the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror for long-distance flight. The current speed of the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror far exceeded 10 times the speed of sound; a trip to the Australian Continent would take only two or three hours.

Combined with the Eight Trigrams Reincarnation Mirror's 1,000-kilometer diameter scanning capability, Shi Fen would only need to probe once to find the exact location of Mist Island.

Shi Fen shook his head, deciding not to think about tomorrow anymore.

Alone, he followed the signs for the martial artist passage toward the supply base, which soon appeared in his sight. Shi Fen entered, purchased some water and food, and walked out of the supply base looking the part.

At the entrance of the supply base, the guards saw the scanning machine process Shi Fen's information. Since he hadn't requested a villa for rest, they let him pass without a word.

They didn't even dare to ask a single question.

Just kidding—his identity information was registered by Hong himself; how could his status level be anything but high? Even the headquarters of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall in a base city couldn't demand Shi Fen do anything. That was the power of his status in the top-tier forging department of the Extreme Martial Arts Hall.

The guard, upon seeing the department Shi Fen belonged to and detecting the SS-grade gear on his person, didn't dare utter a word; he simply saluted and watched Shi Fen depart.

Shi Fen nodded gently at the guard with a smile, then strode off, heading straight for the Wilderness Area.

My god, I've been here for so many years and this is the first time I've seen someone from that department. I never expected such a big shot to be so approachable. The guard's heart hammered against his ribs; he had interpreted the smile behind Shi Fen's visor as a sign of approachability.

It was no fault of the guard for being inexperienced; the probability of him encountering someone from that department was akin to finding a giant panda in the forests of the Northeast—it was nearly impossible!

After all, these people were at least at the level of a War God. Why would such a big shot ever come to this tiny county?

Shi Fen stepped into the Wilderness Area.

The vast expanse of wilderness and the decaying buildings offered Shi Fen a wealth of novel sensations.

Shi Fen didn't draw his blade; he strolled through the Wilderness Area as if he were wandering through his own backyard. Feeling the cool breeze, he followed the dilapidated highway straight toward his target: County 0231.

Though he appeared to be strolling, he was actually moving like a craft skimming the ground, his speed exceeding the speed of sound.

Along the way, various monsters could barely catch a glimpse of a black shadow before it was gone. Packs of beasts were left doubting their own eyes, wondering if they had hallucinated.

Upon entering the city, Shi Fen slowed his pace.

A low-level Beast General-class Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat launched a surprise attack on Shi Fen from the side.

Shi Fen subconsciously drew his battle blade, his upper body tilting sharply backward. While dodging the Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat's lethal strike, he flicked his wrist to slash upward, lightly slicing through the creature's throat.

Having suffered a critical wound but not yet fully dead, the Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat traced a parabolic arc through the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Shi Fen stood holding his blade, watching the Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat twitching on the ground.

Shi Fen was stunned.

Was that just now... Perfect-level footwork? Shi Fen couldn't understand what had happened. He had clearly used only a tiny amount of force and made the most minimal adjustments to his body position, yet he had solved the Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat with ease.

Pondering this, Shi Fen stepped forward to end the creature's life with a single strike, then quickly harvested the valuable materials from the Twin-Tailed Tiger Cat.

Shi Fen had always trained his footwork without any external reference, constantly fumbling in the dark. He had always assumed his footwork was at the Micro-level, but now, it seemed things were not so simple.

Shi Fen walked leisurely, waiting for the next beast to attack.

"Here they come."

In his focused state, Shi Fen immediately sensed a slight tremor in the ground; a beast was about to ambush him!

"Eleven Iron-Armored Bulls. Perfect timing." Shi Fen saw a herd of Iron-Armored Bulls in the distance, charging toward him.

Instead of retreating, Shi Fen accelerated, rushing toward the herd. The Iron-Armored Bulls, finding their prey so arrogant, let out angry bellows and lowered their horns, accelerating toward Shi Fen.

Shi Fen darted into the herd, keeping his strength suppressed to the level of a low-level War General. He held his blade and began to twist and turn through the herd, practicing his footwork with extreme arrogance. The Iron-Armored Bulls, finding they couldn't hit Shi Fen no matter what, grew bloodshot in the eyes, attacking him like madmen.

The moment Shi Fen excitedly charged into the herd, his brain entered a state of high-speed processing. Every piece of information his eyes captured was instantly analyzed, and Shi Fen didn't even need to think; he simply followed his "subconscious" to maneuver his body.

The eleven crazed bulls attacked frantically for over ten minutes, yet they couldn't even touch a corner of Shi Fen's clothing.

Could this be the principle of "mastering one path leads to mastering all"?

Shi Fen discovered that his state of evasion felt just like the sensation of rapid hammer-striking during forging. There was no need for excessive thought; he just had to follow the "rhythm."

Why is my Perfect-level footwork different from what the books describe? Shi Fen was bewildered.

"I'm done playing with you mad bulls." Within the herd, Shi Fen moved like a slippery loach that could never be caught. While constantly dodging, he slashed at the vital points of the Iron-Armored Bulls one by one. With only eleven strikes, all the Iron-Armored Bulls collapsed, losing their lives.

Shi Fen dissected the materials while contemplating the issue of his footwork.

He harbored an uncertain suspicion in his heart.

Once the eleven Iron-Armored Bulls were dissected, the monster materials completely filled Shi Fen's backpack. He quietly found a secluded spot and transferred all the materials into his World Ring.

With an empty backpack on his back, Shi Fen continued his search for test subjects to verify his theory.