Attack the Ferocious Beasts Early?

"Commander."

"After comparing the data..."

"That beast is probably the major threat Instructor Su warned us about."

The intelligence officer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Zhao Dingbang narrowed his eyes.

"The Ironclad Mad Ape."

"Su Qingxue said that in her previous life, this beast led the charge during the Beast Tide at the Shu Capital."

"A Peak Second-Order Beast King with skin and bones like iron. Even armor-piercing rounds couldn't penetrate it."

He paused.

Zhao Dingbang studied the energy fluctuations on the data panel.

"But..."

"Judging by the destruction it's caused and its aura signature..."

"It should have only just reached the Early Second Tier."

The mood in the conference room turned grim.

A hot-tempered armored brigade commander shot to his feet.

"Commander!"

"We've identified the target, and it hasn't reached its peak yet."

"I request permission to deploy the Flying Dragon Squad immediately!"

"We'll take the latest bunker-buster missiles and thermobaric bombs and blanket the area!"

"Blow it to pieces!"

Several officers nodded in agreement.

"Exactly. Strike while it's weak!"

"If we wait until it reaches the Peak Second-Order Stage..."

"The casualties we'll suffer taking it down will be far worse!"

"Commander, I agree we should eliminate it early!"

Zhao Dingbang did not answer at once.

He turned to a middle-aged staff officer on his left.

"Old Chen, you're our tactical analyst."

"What do you think?"

Staff Officer Chen adjusted his glasses and rose unhurriedly.

He ignored the fiery brigade commander and walked straight to the holographic screen.

"I oppose attacking early."

The brigade commander frowned and slammed a hand on the table.

"Old Chen."

"Have you spent so long behind the lines that you've lost your nerve?"

Staff Officer Chen gave a cold laugh.

"I'm afraid you'll lead our brothers into a death trap!"

He tapped rapidly at the keyboard, bringing up several thermal images of the area's energy distribution.

"Take a good look."

"The deep forests have become areas of highly concentrated aura."

"The mutated creatures in there number in the millions!"

"How many First-Order Ferocious Beasts are gathered around that ape?"

"Even with heavy weapons, the Flying Dragon Squad would be swallowed by an endless Beast Tide!"

"You'd be feeding troops into the fight piecemeal. That's a cardinal military mistake!"

"Our mechanized forces can't deploy properly in jungle terrain, and our heavy weapons would be far less effective."

The conference room fell silent.

Everyone knew the limitations of modern weapons in difficult terrain.

The brigade commander was still reluctant to give up.

"What about leveling the area with long-range missiles?"

Staff Officer Chen shook his head, a sharp glint in his eyes.

"That brings me to the second point—the most important one."

"You all seem to have forgotten a crucial piece of intelligence Instructor Su gave us."

"Besides absorbing aura, the fastest way Ferocious Beasts grow stronger is by devouring one another!"

"Suppose we pay an enormous price, flatten that mountain with missiles, and kill the Ironclad Mad Ape."

"Then what?"

"Another mutated tiger or black bear would emerge from that vast forest almost immediately."

"It would devour the ape's corpse, along with the flesh of the Ferocious Beasts killed by the missiles."

"Within days, it would evolve into a new, even stronger Beast King!"

"Can we kill them all?"

Everyone fell into thought.

It was a vicious cycle with no easy way out.

As long as aura remained and enough beasts lived in the mountains, new Beast Kings would keep emerging.

"Then what do you suggest?"

The brigade commander sat back down, his tone subdued.

Staff Officer Chen took a deep breath, his expression grave.

"Wait!"

"Wait for the first major Beast Tide in seven days!"

"While they're hiding in the mountains, we can't bring our strength to bear."

"But once they rush out of the forest and onto the open plains, the advantage shifts to us!"

Staff Officer Chen planted both hands on the table and swept his gaze across the room.

"We turn the defenses outside the Shu Capital into one enormous meat grinder!"

"We use the heavy-weapons network we've built to kill the beasts on a massive scale."

"Most importantly..."

"The corpses of Ferocious Beasts are valuable resources, rich in aura!"

"If we want to train more human martial artists—and stronger ones..."

"We need those materials to make medicines and forge weapons!"

"The Beast Tide is a crisis for humanity."

"But it's also our best chance to gather resources and rapidly build our strength!"

His words convinced everyone present.

Without understanding how Ferocious Beasts evolved or the value of their beast cores and other materials...

They might well have charged into the mountains, thrown their lives away, and destroyed those precious resources in the process.

"Old Chen has it right."

"Tell the troops on the defensive line to finish their fortifications. I want every weapon loaded!"

Zhao Dingbang nodded in satisfaction.

He took a sip of tea, unable to hide the joy on his face.

"Next..."

"I have some good news for you."

Everyone sat up straight.

"It's been only two days since aura fully returned."

"Because we distributed the Basic Breathing Technique in advance, sixty-one more soldiers in the Southwest Military Region have successfully formed Qi Vortices and become First-Tier Early-Stage Martial Artists!"

At Zhao Dingbang's announcement...

Cheers broke out across the conference room.

It was a heartening ray of light in the darkness.

In the face of an apocalyptic disaster like this...

Every martial artist gave humanity another chance to survive.

"And it isn't just us."

"National statistics have just come in."

"With the Spiritual Energy Tide accelerating their progress over the last two days, the major military regions across the country..."

"Have produced more than twenty-five hundred new martial artists!"

"These new fighters will be the backbone of our resistance against future Beast Tides!"

"..."

Zhao Dingbang spoke again.

Thunderous applause erupted.

Excitement and pride shone on every face.

These soldiers of Dragon Country had reason to stand tall.

At the far end of the conference table...

Lin Yuan smiled and joined the applause.

The figures Zhao Dingbang had announced did not surprise him in the least.

He knew how dense the aura had become.

Before, in the air...

Aura had been like thin morning mist. You had to breathe with all your might to catch even a trace.

But now...

The air across Blue Star had become a dense ocean of aura.

As long as someone's talent was not too poor...

And they had a complete Breathing Method...

Their body would be washed in concentrated aura again and again.

Crossing the threshold to become a First-Order Martial Artist was no longer difficult.

A moment later...

Lin Yuan closed his eyes.

The others assumed he was carefully considering their tactical plans.

In truth...

He was examining the inside of his own body.

The Qi Vortex in his dantian had expanded into a golden whirlpool spinning at high speed.

Exceptionally pure aura flowed into every part of his body with each breath.

His skin trembled.

His muscles rippled.

A nearly imperceptible rumble of thunder came from his bones.

Every cell in his body seemed to rejoice as it greedily devoured the aura around him.

Even while he sat through the meeting...

The True Qi within Lin Yuan continued to grow, slowly but steadily.

The feeling of growing stronger was intoxicating.

The next moment...

Lin Yuan shifted his focus.

A virtual panel visible only to him appeared before his eyes.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence System]

[Host: Lin Yuan]

[Strength: Peak Second-Order Martial Artist]

[Cultivation Technique: Heavenly Dipper Qi Refining Formula, Second Layer (Perfected Realm: 78%)]

[Martial Techniques: Broken Rock Fist (Minor Mastery Realm: 92%), Wandering Dragon Step (Minor Mastery Realm: 96%), Overlord Spear (Minor Mastery Realm: 94%)]

[Treasures: None]

He was close.

Barring any surprises...

Before the Beast Tide struck the Shu Capital...

He should be able to break through the limits of the Second-Tier Stage and enter the Third-Tier Bone Tempering Realm.

Once he reached the Third-Tier Stage...

True Qi would temper his bones, and both his recovery and defense would improve dramatically.

And that was not all.

The three Martial Techniques Lin Yuan had mastered were also on the verge of breakthroughs.

Once all three reached the Mastery Realm...

Lin Yuan's combat ability would be transformed!