I'm One Step Closer to the God of War

"Hey, Old Xu, what's going on? I just noticed you've lost so much weight. You even look younger."

At the airport, his colleague Bai He asked with a lecherous grin.

"Have you been going to the foot massage parlor again? No, that's not right—Xiao Yue at the shop said you haven't been there in over half a month. What are you up to?"

"Haha, I'm done with foot massages. That stuff only drains my body and my wallet."

Xu Feng replied with a laugh, casually tossing a piece of gum to Bai He.

"What's wrong? Short on cash at home?" Bai He's smile faded as he asked with concern, tearing open the wrapper and popping the gum into his mouth. "If you're really short on money, I've got some secret savings."

Xu Feng waved his hand and smiled. "Thanks, but that's not it. I've been practicing martial arts lately."

"Martial arts?" Bai He didn't react for a moment.

As middle-aged men pushing forty, something as "distant" as practicing martial arts felt like a dream to him.

"The shantytown is still too dangerous. I need some means of self-defense, so I'm just practicing casually."

Xu Feng laughed, picked up the cargo on the ground, and headed toward the transport vehicle.

Bai He suddenly snapped out of it, frowning as he hurried to catch up. "No, don't do anything rash! Is practicing martial arts something people like us should even think about? You aren't still dreaming, are you?"

He snatched the cargo from Xu Feng's hands, placed it on the truck, and said worriedly, "With our salaries, our expenses, and our talent, martial arts is a bottomless pit. Don't forget you still have Xiao Dan to support, you—"

Xu Feng gently patted Bai He on the shoulder and explained with a smile, "Old Bai, I'm just doing it for fitness. I'm not planning on becoming a martial artist; I know my limits."

Bai He let out a heavy sigh of relief and rolled his eyes. "Geez, you should've said so earlier. I thought you were losing your mind just like Madman Zhou."

Xu Feng pursed his lips and smiled, choosing not to explain further.

The Madman Zhou that Bai He mentioned was a former colleague of theirs.

He had been in the same situation as Xu Feng, but in order to practice martial arts and become a warrior, he had sold everything he owned, only to end up achieving nothing.

To earn money for blood-gas potions, the guy took on a dangerous transport mission for the Martial Arts University and was killed by a mutated creature.

Later, his wife remarried, and his child took someone else's surname.

In Bai He's eyes, this was the most terrifying thing for men like them who had families.

Although the two weren't particularly close, he didn't want to see Xu Feng "degenerate" like that.

In Bai He's view, people sometimes needed to know their own limitations.

If you didn't have the ability, don't touch "martial arts."

Xu Feng knew what Bai He was thinking, but he naturally wouldn't explain anything.

He appreciated the good intentions, but he was not like Old Zhou.

After getting off work and returning home, Xu Feng first tidied up the entire thirty-square-meter shanty, throwing away all the useless clutter.

Then, he scrubbed and cleaned the bathroom and kitchen until they were spotless.

Once the room was clean and comfortable, he stood in the center of the "living room-cum-bedroom" and slowly settled into his stance.

After practicing the Nine Star Body Refining Art three times, Xu Feng was drenched in sweat.

He took off his shirt and continued practicing with his upper body bare.

He caught a glimpse of himself in the mirror by chance and paused in surprise.

His bloated physique was long gone.

In its place were lean, toned muscles, sharp lines, and a well-defined jawline.

"I'm one step closer to being a God of War."

Xu Feng touched the abdominal muscles on his stomach, feeling quite satisfied.

Keep going!

Without dwelling too much on his forty-year-old physique, Xu Feng continued his training.

From the beginning, when practicing the Nine Star Body Refining Art once a day made his body feel "full," he had progressed to the point where he had to practice at least five times a day just to feel "nine-tenths full."

This progress was nothing short of significant.

The Nine Star Body Refining Art allowed the body's cells to absorb the "energy" drifting through the universe.

This energy was like food.

But it wasn't a case of the more you ate in one sitting, the better.

Eating too much when the body cannot digest or absorb it is harmful.

However, an increase in appetite indicates an improvement in the potential of Xu Feng's body cells.

After five repetitions, Xu Feng felt refreshed and full of energy.

Immediately, he began practicing his blade work again.

Yet, before he could even finish one set, Xiao Dan returned.

"Dad! I'm hungry!"

As soon as she dropped her schoolbag, the Little Taotie began to shout.

After a month of living together, Xu Feng had finally managed to correct some of the child's "bad habits."

For instance, cooking, doing laundry, cleaning, and acting older than her years.

A child should act like a child.

Helping out with chores occasionally was fine as a way to relieve boredom after studying.

The heavier burdens of life were for him, the father, to shoulder.

Xu Feng hurriedly put on his clothes and, without even stopping to shower, ducked into the kitchen.

Cooking, eating, and urging his daughter to do her homework.

Xu Feng had never imagined that he would experience the joys of family life before even having a partner.

It was truly skipping the process and heading straight to the point.

Daily life was just that unexpected and unpredictable.

After dinner, so as not to disturb Xiao Dan, Xu Feng went back outside to the yard to practice his blade work.

After half a month of renovations, this area, which had originally been wasteland, had been leveled by Xu Feng and turned into a new training ground.

He practiced from dusk until late at night.

Xu Feng did not rest for a single moment, save for a quick trip back inside to drink a glass of water.

Until, at one moment, the scattered blade light suddenly condensed, abruptly transforming into a cold gleam that whistled with a sharp, bird-like cry.

Xu Feng froze for a moment, then stopped, his hands trembling slightly as his heart stirred.

[White Wolf Blade · Proficient (1/200)]

"It's truly difficult."

Xu Feng plunged his blade into the ground and slowly sat down on a nearby chair.

He picked up his water glass and took a sip, a smile spreading across his lips.

Contentment.

There was nothing more satisfying than this.

"Hum—"

Just then, a buzzing sound like the beating of insect wings suddenly echoed through the night sky.

The sound was not faint, as if some giant hornet were flying toward the house.

Having been afraid of bugs since childhood, Xu Feng instinctively raised his hand and fired a throwing knife.

"Hum—"

The buzzing sound stopped abruptly.

"Heh, I suppose my throwing knife skills have achieved a small measure of success, haven't they?"

Xu Feng touched the throwing knives at his waist with satisfaction, and feeling inspired, he decided to practice a bit more.

He left his combat blade stuck in the ground, turned around, and began practicing the Secret Blade Art again.

He couldn't afford to neglect either long-range or close-quarters combat.

Security Department of the Sky Moon Martial University Vanguard Base.

Monitoring Room.

"Report, Captain, the vital signs of that F-rank beast-soldier Copper-Winged Bird have disappeared in the outer perimeter."

A martial artist in a combat suit sitting in front of the screen said in surprise.

At a table in the corner of the room, four martial artists were playing cards. One middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and asked, "What do you mean by disappeared?"

"Exactly that. It disappeared; the monitoring drone can no longer detect its vital signs."

The staff member said helplessly.

Screech—

With the harsh sound of a chair scraping against the floor, the middle-aged man walked over to the screen and took a look. "Could it be an accidental signal loss?"

The staff member frowned and said, "It might have happened before, but it shouldn't this time."

The entire monitoring system was specifically redeveloped by the An City Academy of Sciences for the Wumeng Mountain Region.

It was designed precisely to prevent the kind of attacks that occurred in the past.

"The strange thing is, when that Copper-Winged Bird breached the electronic interference field earlier, it was repelled by a special frequency signal and turned away.

But that biological signal suddenly vanished while it was on its way out, as if... it had been attacked."

The middle-aged man turned his head to look at the other three martial artists at the table and said, "Luo Feng, take your men and go take a look. Find the carcass of that Copper-Winged Bird and determine the cause of death."

"Uh, Boss, there's hardly anyone living in those shantytowns anymore. Is it really necessary?"

Luo Feng couldn't help but ask.

The middle-aged man replied indifferently, "It's not a question of whether people live there or not. I don't want anyone questioning the capabilities of our Warhammer squad."

"Yes, I understand."

Ten minutes later.

In a wasteland several hundred meters away from the shantytown.

Luo Feng, a martial artist from the Warhammer squad, squatted on the ground and frowned as he looked at the "corpse" on the ground:

"Captain, I found it. This Copper-Winged Bird had its head blown off; only half of its body remains.

But I can't tell what kind of weapon caused this. It looks like it was a bullet."

"Go ask the nearby residents immediately if they heard any gunfire. The proliferation of firearms is a serious matter."

Over the phone, the captain's voice turned stern at once.

Luo Feng clearly understood the gravity of the situation and quickly straightened up, saying, "Yes!"

Data on follow-up reading during the new book period is extremely important. Readers who enjoy this book, please show your support. Even if you are "stockpiling" the book, please flip through the latest chapters every day. This affects the life and death of a book! This humble author thanks you!

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Five to six thousand words per day is already the limit. More content will have to wait until the book is officially released for sale. I ask for everyone's understanding.

(End of chapter)