Greatest Challenge

There was a moment of silence inside the door. Just as the hunters were about to continue pounding on it, an aged voice rang out. "Go, open the door! Healers have the hearts of parents; we must prioritize the injured!"

"But Master..." The younger voice wanted to say something, but then the old voice scolded, "Why aren't you going? If the injured person dies because of delayed treatment, I will never forgive you!"

"Yes!" The young voice carried a hint of helplessness.

Then, the wooden door was pulled open, and a reluctant young man stepped out. He looked the hunters up and down, then at the wounded lying on the door, and said, "My master is a benevolent healer; you are fortunate. Quickly bring the wounded in!"

The hunters were overjoyed and hurriedly carried the wounded man into the clinic.

An old man stood in the clinic, his white beard neatly groomed. Upon seeing the injured man, he first frowned, then instructed the hunter to lay the injured man down before bending down to examine him carefully.

"Doctor, how is my brother? You must save him! He has an 80-year-old mother and a young child at home. If something happens to him, his whole family will be doomed!"

A hunter in his forties asked anxiously. Before the old man could speak, his companion interrupted, "What's the rush? Can't you see my master is treating him? If even my master can't save him, then no one in Qingzhou City can!"

Seeing the old man's displeased expression, the young man quickly shut his mouth, and the hunter dared not say another word.

Then the old man quickly fetched a medicine box, ordered a basin of hot water to be brought, and began to treat the hunter's wounds.

A plump figure darted in from outside the door—it was the fat innkeeper who had followed them. He peeked in and was immediately spotted by the young doctor's apprentice, who clearly recognized the fat man. The apprentice chuckled and walked over, greeting him warmly, "Isn't this Manager Song from the Fortune Comes Inn in the east of the city? What's wrong? My master is currently treating a seriously ill patient and is probably unavailable for the time being. If you trust me, I'll take a look at you..."

Shopkeeper Song waved goodbye, but secretly handed the young shop assistant a string of copper coins. "Young man, I'm not here to treat the illness, but go and find out for me what kind of injury this hunter has!"

When the young shop assistant saw the heavy string of copper coins in his hand, his face turned bright red instantly. He quickly nodded and ran back, only to return a moment later and whisper something in the ear to the plump shopkeeper, Mr. Song.

"Thank you so much, sir!"

After saying this, Manager Song glanced at the hunters again and then rushed out. However, he did not return to his inn. Instead, he wandered through a maze of alleyways and arrived at a rather secluded courtyard house, where he knocked on the door.

Soon, the wooden door was opened, and the portly Manager Song slipped inside.

... Li Wei sat upright on a large futon, listening quietly to the fat man's story before nodding and saying, "We've been in Qingzhou Prefecture for over a month now, and including today's news, we've gathered quite a bit of information about the main quest. By the way, did the young apprentice at the clinic really say that the hunter's injury was caused by a bear monster?"

Manager Song, also known as Fatty, took a sip of tea and patted his chest, assuring everyone, "Boss, you don't believe me? When have I ever misheard...? That injured hunter was indeed scratched by a bear monster, and I've also found out where he lives. Shouldn't we take some action? After all, if we don't seal off a sufficient number of demons within the mission's time limit, we'll be considered to have failed..."

Li Wei nodded. "Indeed, you should go back. Tomorrow we'll go to Liu Family Village where the hunters live. If there really is a demon, then we'll find a way to kill it. In the past month or so, my 'Soaring Wandering Dragon Palm' has improved a bit, and I believe Nina and the others have too. If we act together, our success rate will be higher!"

"Alright, now we can finally get started. This past month has been so boring, cooped up in that shabby inn all day. I really thought I was Manager Song, haha!" The fat man chuckled, downed the cup of fine tea in one gulp, and then got up and walked out.

Li Wei went out, closed the wooden door again, and bolted it before returning to the house.

In fact, this was a large mansion, Li Wei's residence was only in the outermost thatched hut. Although the door was open and closed, it did not make much noise or disturb the other people inside the mansion.

Back in his room, Li Wei sat back down on his tattered futon, his mind replaying the events of the past month.

The Qingzhou Prefecture where he is now is one of the scenes in this mission world. In fact, Li Wei and other reincarnators have been active in this place for the past month.

Their mission this time was simple: 'seal the demons'. In reality, it required the reincarnators to kill at least six demons within six months. It seemed easy to achieve, even if the demon was S9 level, Li Wei's current combat strength was more than enough. However, Li Wei had a terrifyingly powerful enemy, the Main God Mordor. Because of this enemy, Li Wei had to desperately improve his combat strength within three months.

Therefore, in order to make the mission rewards more generous, Li Wei considered it carefully and then used the 'Rule Codex' to modify the mission rules.

The original reward for the mission was just an S-level special skill book and 30,000 points, but Li Wei changed it to a 'Hades Fruit', so the difficulty of the mission will be increased to a terrifying level.

To accommodate the exceptionally high rewards, the mission rules first stripped all the combat power and superpowers of all reincarnators entering this scenario. In other words, at this moment, including Li Wei and Fatty, they are all just ordinary people.

Secondly, the mission objective remains unchanged: to seal six demons. However, each demon possesses combat power approaching A-level, making the task incredibly difficult for a reincarnator with no special skills and an ordinary human constitution.

In fact, Li Wei wanted to change the mission reward to two or even three Hades Fruits, but if he really did that, the demons' combat power might reach S-rank or higher, and they might be crippled people missing limbs.

In that case, they wouldn't be here to carry out a mission, but to commit suicide.

Therefore, a Hades Fruit is the best reward Li Wei can obtain through modification. Moreover, that Hades Fruit is unique, meaning that even if someone else later gives Li Wei Hades Fruit they have obtained, Li Wei will not be able to use it.

Upon entering the mission, everyone was assigned a role by Shadow Street within the mission world. For example, Fatty was the innkeeper of an inn in Qingzhou Prefecture, An Hei was a fortune teller on the street, Blood Wolf was a street performer, and he himself was a waiter in a steamed bun shop. However, the identities of the women, such as Zheng Yutong, Nina, and Xue Yan, were much better than those of the men. They were all disciples of various martial arts sects and escort agencies in the city. In particular, Zheng Yutong was assigned the role of a constable.

As for where Li Wei was at this moment, he only found it on the third day after entering the mission world. After modifying the rules, Li Wei knew that they had to find a way to improve their main combat power within the mission world. Fortunately, with the help of An Hei, they only spent two days to gather some useful information.

Qingzhou Prefecture has a large population, and naturally it is a melting pot of all sorts of people from all walks of life. Among them are various martial arts sects and reclusive masters.

The most famous sect here is the "Hunyuan Sect," hailed as the premier martial arts sect in Qingzhou Prefecture. The sect possesses various martial arts styles, but excels most in fist and palm techniques. It is said that every disciple within the sect can cleave wild beasts in two. Besides the "Hunyuan Sect," there are also the "Iron Sword Gang" and the "Divine Might Escort Agency." Members of the "Iron Sword Gang" each carry a broad-bladed iron sword, and their signature martial art, the "Seven Forms of the Iron Sword," is known to all. The "Divine Might Escort Agency," on the other hand, focuses on swordsmanship; their escorts are all exceptionally skilled with the sword, slaying countless bandits on their journeys.

These three martial arts sects are the most famous. Xue Yan and Liu Piaopiao are outer disciples of Hunyuan Sect, Luluo and Tiancao are outer disciples of Iron Sword Sect, and Nina and Baoling are trainee bodyguards of Shenwei Escort Agency.

The girls were currently practicing basic martial arts in their respective sects and gangs, which was also the task Li Wei had given them. As for Li Wei and his friends, they had considered becoming disciples, but no one would accept them, so they had no choice but to find other ways to improve their combat power.

Just like the residence where Li Wei was staying, it was discovered through An Hei investigation. The owner of this place was said to be a martial arts master with superb skills, known as "Wandering Dragon Hermit" in his youth. His "Wandering Dragon Palm" was exceptionally powerful, but compared to the three major martial arts schools, it was not very good. Therefore, Li Wei believed that the so-called claim of his amazing skills in his youth was just Wandering Dragon Hermit bragging. However, this was the only martial art that Li Wei could learn.

While An Hei could learn Yin-Yang Daoist arts, he only relied on a fragment of a Yin-Yang Daoist manual to comprehend it on his own. Zhang Sanfeng and Dongfang Bubai, on the other hand, did not seek a master like the others, but instead planned to study martial arts on their own.

Of all the people, only Fatty was wholeheartedly devoted to being the carefree shopkeeper. In his words, "If the sky falls, someone taller will hold it up." So, he usually did errands and delivered messages. Today, seeing that the hunter was injured, he went to inquire and got news about the 'bear monster'.

Li Wei knew that the 'bear monster' must be a kind of demon. He sat down on the futon, took out his Black Paper, and wrote down 'Bear monster, combat strength unknown, appears in the mountains and forests near Zhao Family Village outside the city!' In addition to the bear monster he wrote down today, Li Wei's Black Paper already contained information on more than a dozen kinds of demons.

After carefully putting away the Black Paper, Li Wei let out a long breath, then gently lifted his hands, inhaled a breath of stale air through his mouth and nose, and began to focus his energy in his dantian, cultivating an internal energy technique called the 'Wandering Dragon Inner Method'.

This residence is the home of the so-called Wandering Dragon Hermit. Li Wei came here a month ago to work as a servant, and on the second day, he received a set of palm techniques and a set of internal energy cultivation methods.

The palm technique is called the "Wandering Dragon Palm," and the internal energy cultivation method is called the "Wandering Dragon Inner Method." It sounds quite powerful, much like the name of some kind of peerless divine skill, but in reality, it's not like that at all.

To Li Wei, a grandmaster-level expert, this palm technique and mental cultivation method were utterly worthless, far inferior to even the 'Cloud Piercing Palm' and 'Innate Skill' that he had initially practiced.

However, because the 'Rule Codex' were modified, Li Wei and all of them were stripped of their combat power and skills. They were even forbidden from retraining themselves on a technique they had already mastered.

Because of the 'fairness' of the rules, the reincarnators cannot use all their previous techniques and skills. In other words, to kill demons, they must rely on the 'martial arts' within the current mission world to complete the mission. The Wandering Dragon Palm and the Wandering Dragon Inner Method are the only martial arts that Li Wei can obtain, so even if they are useless, Li Wei has to practice them seriously.

Feeling a faint sensation of energy rising in his lower abdomen, Li Wei was overjoyed. He quickly sealed his dantian and slowly cultivated the energy. This was the first time he had felt energy in a month, so it was no wonder he was so excited.

Every servant working in this mansion can be taught the 'Wandering Dragon Palm' and 'Mental Cultivation Method' by the Wandering Dragon Hermit if they ask. Therefore, Li Wei is not the only one who has mastered this martial art, but at least in the past month, Li Wei has not heard of anyone who has truly mastered it. Before, Li Wei thought that this was a martial art that was impossible to master. Fortunately, he has now developed Qi Sensation, which at least shows that the Wandering Dragon Hermit's claim of relying on this palm technique and internal energy to dominate the martial arts world was not all empty talk.

Li Wei cultivated this wisp of Qi, constantly rotating it within his dantian. At the same time, he carefully inhaled air and exhaled turbid air through his mouth and nose, leaving only the purest true Qi to flow into that wisp of Qi. For three whole hours, Li Wei repeated this action, and the wisp of Qi within his dantian grew from the size of a hair to the size of ten hairs.

With a sigh of relief, Li Wei finished his practice, but the true energy within his body remained. Whenever Li Wei needed it, he could mobilize and circulate it through the major meridians in his body to enhance the power of his palm technique.

It was already late at night, and dawn would break in a few hours.

Li Wei got up, took out a cold steamed bun from a bamboo basket beside him, swallowed it, then curled up in the corner with his clothes on and fell into a deep sleep.

In his words, with his current ordinary body, if he practiced martial arts for one night, he would definitely feel groggy the next day, so necessary rest is still needed.

Li Wei opened his eyes after hearing the rooster crow in the yard.

Feeling the true energy within his body once more, Li Wei felt much more at ease. He got up, opened the door, and went out.

The courtyard was spotless, thanks to his cleaning. The owner of the house Wandering Dragon Hermit, and the other servants hadn't gotten up yet, so Li Wei took the opportunity to practice that trashy palm technique, 'Youlong Palm'.

Standing still, Li Wei, without using his inner energy, first executed the palm technique with fluid grace. Li Wei body moved swiftly, his palms whistling through the air, each strike producing a whooshing sound. Li Wei had mastered the thirty-six moves of the palm technique to perfection. Even the Wandering Dragon Hermit would be astonished by such a display, for compared to other servants who had also acquired the technique, Li Wei's progress was nothing short of monstrous.

Little did they know that Li Wei was a true martial arts master; even though he had been stripped of all his abilities, his comprehension remained.

After finishing one set of palm techniques, Li Wei immediately performed it again, but this time, Li Wei used a wisp of true energy within his body. With the true energy circulating, the power of the Wandering Dragon Palm immediately increased several times, with both strength and speed greatly enhanced. A figure moved swiftly through the courtyard, palm shadows fluttering, truly like a swimming dragon. With the final strike, Li Wei took a step forward, channeling all his power, and slammed the palm onto a bluestone slab.

A muffled thud was heard, and a palm print about an inch long appeared on the exceptionally hard bluestone slab.

After withdrawing his palm, Li Wei looked at the palm print with a smile. In the past month, his combat strength had at least increased to D-level. If he could continue to refine his internal energy for another night, he should be confident of breaking through to C-level.

Imagining his previous S6-level combat power and now having to level up again is a very strange feeling. Fortunately, this is only temporary. Once the mission is over, he will regain his S6-level combat power and all his abilities.

After finishing the two sets of palm techniques, some other servants got up a while later. Li Wei didn't plan to continue practicing. After all, compared to these servants, he could be considered someone who had truly mastered the Swimming Dragon Palm, and there was no need for everyone to know.

After getting up, most of the servants in the mansion started their day's work. Only a few harbored the dream of becoming masters and practiced martial arts like Li Wei. However, their palm techniques were mediocre and they clearly did not grasp the essentials.

"You bunch of guys, how many times do I have to tell you? If you come here to work, I'll teach you my ultimate techniques, the Soaring Wandering Dragon Palm and the Wandering Dragon Inner Method, for free. But not one of you has practiced them seriously. I'm truly disappointed..." An elderly man in his sixties walked out of the largest house. His sparse white hair was tied in a bun, and although he didn't have much of a beard, it was very neatly groomed. He wore a very proper black training uniform. Without a doubt, this old man was the 'Wandering Dragon Hermit' that Li Wei had mentioned.

"Greetings, Master!" The servants hurriedly bowed.

This explanation was actually requested by Wandering Dragon Hermit. In his words, since they had already obtained his martial arts, they could be called his disciples, and it was only natural for them to call him master.

Clearly, this Wandering Dragon Hermit really wanted to promote his martial arts. Perhaps he had already been planning to establish a martial arts school and teach others. Of course, if his skills were more advanced, this wish might actually come true. But the problem was that none of the servants he used as test subjects had mastered this palm technique.

So the old man felt helpless and sad.