"Something's seriously wrong!" Su Yunwan took several deep breaths before barely calming her turbulent emotions. Her gaze turned incomparably solemn.
"Lin Ming, a breathing technique is the foundation of a Warrior—nothing is more important. You're in the Second Realm now, so it's not too late to switch! I... I have a breathing technique here. It's A+ Grade."
She gritted her teeth, as though making an enormous decision. "But if you can help me deduce those incomplete martial arts and... and allow me to observe and learn during the deduction process, to understand your train of thought, I can make the call and give you that breathing technique."
An A+ Grade breathing technique! Su Yunwan was truly making a generous offer.
Clearly, the "deduction ability" Lin Ming had displayed, along with his terrifying potential, had made her decide to invest at any cost.
Lin Ming was tempted. An A+ Grade breathing technique would absolutely be hundreds, even thousands of times better than his current trashy Basic Breathing Method!
With a better breathing technique, his cultivation speed, blood and qi recovery, and combat strength would all rise to another level! His efficiency in obtaining Kill Points would become even greater!
"Fine." Lin Ming considered it for several seconds before nodding. "But I want to see the breathing technique first. And the deduction process could be fast or slow. I can't guarantee that you'll definitely learn anything."
"No problem!" Su Yunwan agreed without hesitation. "I'll bring the A+ Grade breathing technique and those incomplete martial arts over first thing tomorrow morning! After you've looked over the breathing technique, you can decide whether to help me deduce the martial arts. How about it?"
"Alright." Lin Ming nodded.
With the agreement made, Su Yunwan seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. She gave Lin Ming one more deep look before turning and leaving. Even her steps were noticeably lighter, as if she had picked up some priceless treasure.
Once Su Yunwan had gone far away, Old Wang and the others gathered around again, talking over one another.
"Kid Lin, what did Major Su say to you? Is she planning to promote you?"
"I think the way Major Su was looking at you was a little strange. Could it be..."
"Fuck off! Madman Lin is the soul of our Blade Camp! No one's taking him away!"
Lin Ming could not be bothered to explain. He sent away these overly energetic fellows, closed his eyes again, and sank his consciousness into his mind.
With Su Yunwan there earlier, he had not had time to inspect it carefully.
Now, the system interface clearly appeared before him.
[Host: Lin Ming] [Martial Arts Realm: Tier Two · Dragon Tendon (Third Layer)] [Breathing technique: Basic Breathing Method (Mastery)] [Martial Arts: Heaven-Splitting Three Forms (Major Accomplishment), Basic Spear Art (Microscopic Control), Ironstep Armor (Mastery), Mountain-Splitting Palm (Mastery)] [Current Kill Points: 141215]
One hundred forty-one thousand, two hundred and fifteen points!
At the sight of that number, even someone as composed as Lin Ming could not stop his heart from burning with excitement.
The reward for killing a Third Tier commander across realms was simply too generous! It was almost equal to the combined total from all his previous battles!
"System, raise my martial arts realm!" The first thing Lin Ming thought of was leveling up. Strength was the foundation of everything.
However, just as his attention focused on the "+" behind his martial arts realm, the system interface suddenly flickered slightly. Below the [Martial Arts] section, a new line of faintly golden text appeared out of nowhere!
[Martial Arts Talent: Unawakened (Can Be Awakened)]
There was a "+" sign after it as well.
Martial arts talent?!
Lin Ming's pupils contracted slightly. Of course, he knew how important martial arts talent was to a Warrior.
If one's realm was the height of a bucket and martial arts were the craftsmanship of its ladle, then martial arts talent determined whether one was a wooden bucket, an iron bucket, or a treasure basin with its own spring!
A Warrior with powerful talent would experience a qualitative leap in cultivation speed, combat potential, comprehension of martial arts, and even the ability to fight across tiers!
Su Yunwan had been able to withstand the Third Tier Blood Wolf King for so long at the Sixth Layer of the Second Realm. Besides her A-grade Weapon and exquisite spear techniques, her Spearheart Clarity talent had undoubtedly played a tremendous role!
He had once possessed only the most ordinary physique, with no special talent at all. He had made it this far entirely through the system and sheer desperation. If he could awaken a talent now...
Lin Ming's heartbeat involuntarily accelerated.
He focused his thoughts on that "+" sign.
[Consume 100000 Kill Points to awaken martial arts talent? Awakened talent is random. Its quality is related to the host's soul essence, killing intent, and current condition. Reminder: The awakening process is irreversible.]
One hundred thousand Kill Points!
Lin Ming drew a sharp breath. That price was anything but small. It was nearly seventy percent of everything he had!
But... was it worth it?
He thought of Su Yunwan's Spearheart Clarity, and those monstrous geniuses rumored to possess S Grade talents, or even higher...
Martial arts talent was one of the true fundamentals that determined how far a person could go!
He now had the system and could rapidly obtain Kill Points to raise his realm and martial arts. But if he could also gain a powerful martial arts talent, it would undoubtedly be like giving wings to a tiger! His future potential and combat strength would be limitless!
"High risk, high reward..." Light flickered in Lin Ming's eyes. After hesitating for only three seconds, he made his decision.
"System, consume one hundred thousand Kill Points and awaken my martial arts talent!"
[Command confirmed. Consuming 100000 Kill Points. Beginning scan of host's soul essence...] [High-intensity killing intent detected...] [Tenacious and unyielding soul essence detected...] [Indestructible battle intent detected...] [Conditions fulfilled... Beginning talent matching and awakening...]
An indescribable tremor, as if rising from the deepest depths of his soul, suddenly swept through Lin Ming's entire body! It was not the boiling of blood and qi, nor the surging of strength, but a more fundamental, more mysterious transformation!
It was as though something sleeping deep within his bloodline and soul source had been forcibly awakened, activated, and reconstructed!
Pain! Soul-rending pain instantly drowned him! It was a hundred times more agonizing than any previous breakthrough or injury. It was the side effect of his life level and soul essence being forcibly elevated and remade!
Who knew how long passed? Perhaps an instant, perhaps ten thousand years.
All the illusions and agonizing pain receded like the tide.
Lin Ming abruptly opened his eyes!
A flash of dark golden light passed through them. Deep in his pupils, there seemed to be an additional trace of ancient, unchanging coldness and battle intent.
The ferocious aura around him gradually withdrew, yet his entire temperament had undergone some subtle change.
He slowly raised a hand and clenched his fist. Without using any blood and qi, with just that simplest motion, his finger bones gave off a string of deep cracks like muffled thunder. A dark golden gleam faintly flowed beneath his skin, brimming with explosive power.
The system interface in his mind had already updated.
[Martial arts talent awakening successful!] [Obtained SSS Grade Talent: Indestructible Asura Body!]
SSS Grade?!
Lin Ming's heart shook violently! He knew only that talents were ranked from E to S Grade, but he had never heard of—nor seen in any records—an SSS Grade evaluation!
This had already surpassed the bounds of conventional understanding!
He forcibly suppressed his excitement and continued reading.
[Indestructible Asura Body (SSS Grade)] [Description: The supreme battle body born from ancient war souls and an indestructible will. Born for battle, growing stronger with every fight, transforming through slaughter, and reborn amid destruction.] [Talent Abilities:] [Passive One: Boiling War Blood. Injuries are directly linked to battle intent. The more severe the injuries, the greater the increase to aggression, speed, and reaction speed. Pain is converted into strength and clarity. Maximum increase can reach 500%. Fear no pain; fear only the absence of battle.] [Passive Two: Immortal Foundation. Base defense and vitality far surpass those of the same tier. Bones are like divine iron, blood and qi like a blazing furnace. Possesses powerful instincts for self-repair and resistance to abnormalities.] [Active: Asura Unmatched. Upon activation, enter the "Asura" state for 3 minutes. During this time, immune to most mental control and negative conditions. All combat attributes increase by 200%, and attacks carry Asura Sha Qi, corroding the enemy's mind and body. Cooldown: 24 hours.]
Looking at those brief descriptions, even Lin Ming's composure could not stop his mouth from going dry or his heart from pounding like a drum.
It was too powerful!
Boiling War Blood—the more injured he became, the stronger he would grow, with a maximum fivefold increase! This meant that in desperate situations, he could unleash terrifying combat power far beyond his own realm!
Combined with the system, it was practically a divine skill for turning defeat into victory and overcoming the strong while weak!
Immortal Foundation comprehensively enhanced his survivability. He would be impossible to kill, and together with his powerful self-repair, his endurance and margin for error would be maxed out!
Asura Unmatched—three minutes of absolute dominance. All attributes tripled, with control immunity and corrosive effects! At critical moments, it would be his ultimate trump card for killing powerful enemies and turning the tide!
And this was only the initial ability after awakening an SSS Grade talent! As his strength increased, this talent would inevitably become even stronger.
Before you continue