Prowess

Qingxu said, "What can be confirmed is that there are only two Contaminated Creatures below. One appears to be entirely made of rock and is wandering through the corridor. The other has grayish-white skin all over. The rock creature's true condition cannot be determined due to the shielding effect of its rocky exterior. The grayish-white creature displays extremely high biological activity. Preliminary assessment indicates that it possesses at least three times the physical capabilities of an ordinary person."

Lu Ren let out a long breath. His expression was neither sorrowful nor joyful, utterly calm as he turned to Xiang Yang.

"Give me your dagger."

Xiang Yang did not hesitate in the slightest. She knew her own limits. The dagger could not display much power in her hands; only by giving it to Lu Ren could it serve its greatest purpose. With her strength, she could only look for an opportunity.

Strictly speaking, as long as she did not hold Lu Ren back, she would be helping him.

After replacing the most badly damaged longsword, Lu Ren held the dagger in his left hand and the sword in his right.

"Be careful. I may not be able to look after you."

"I know. Thank you..."

Lu Ren looked at Xiang Yang's determined face and could not help feeling moved. Perhaps the environment really could change a person. Those women in the real world all looked delicate and helpless, but if they survived in this world for three years, they would likely transform like this as well.

Unfortunately...

Ever since arriving at this Testing Center, she had seemed unusually lively, almost as if she had stopped thinking things through.

"If there's a crisis, I'll protect myself first," Lu Ren said seriously.

He did not hide it. No matter when, ensuring his own safety was necessary.

Xiang Yang nodded heavily. She also understood that Lu Ren had already done everything he could by bringing her here.

"I'll be extra careful!"

Lu Ren nodded faintly and said nothing more. As the elevator doors opened, he saw the back of the rock monster more than three meters tall, thirty meters away from them. Without hesitation, he sprang forward and charged at full speed.

This was a perfect chance to attack.

With Lu Ren's current physical attributes, along with the footwork contained in Basic Swordsmanship, his short-distance burst could even surpass Bolt.

The dense thud-thud-thud of his footsteps nearly blended into one across the metal corridor.

When the rock monster heard the movement behind it and turned its head, Lu Ren suddenly leaped high to the side. He used the monster's line of sight to run five steps along the wall, then kicked off on the final step and soared into the air, landing above the rock monster's head.

Lu Ren twisted his waist and abdomen, turning in midair. The longsword in his hand carried the force of his spin as it cleaved toward the gap between the rock monster's shoulder and neck with the force of splitting Mount Hua.

Clang!

A thunderous ring of metal against metal sounded out. Yet aside from a spray of sparks and a few chips of stone, it did not inflict any damage at all.

Lu Ren was not surprised in the least. As his sword came down, he spun again. While flipping through the air once more, the dagger clutched in his left hand lit up with a faint blue gleam, slashing viciously across the stone man's neck.

It still gave Lu Ren the sensation of slicing through tofu, without the slightest resistance.

Easy as pie.

With that horizontal slash, he cut through most of the stone man's neck, leaving only a small section of rock holding it together.

If the dagger had been longer, that strike alone would have severed its head.

"Ding! Because you used a short blade to inflict a massive critical strike on a Rock Beast, it has entered a near-death state. You have been struck by inspiration and gained sudden insight. You have successfully comprehended Basic Dagger Technique in a life-or-death battle. Beginner level."

As the system prompt sounded, Lu Ren felt as though he had been using the dagger in his left hand for at least two years.

Before he even landed, Lu Ren flicked his wrist. The dagger danced and spun once around his fingertips before he caught it in a reverse grip. Then, with a twist of his waist and abdomen, he drove the dagger into the stone man's back all the way to the hilt and drew it straight down as he landed.

Roar!!!

A deafening, low roar of pain burst from the Rock Beast's mouth, only to cut off abruptly. Its massive body did not even turn around. It took several steps forward before its huge frame crashed face-first onto the ground.

Lu Ren did not dare pause. He stepped and leaped through the air, landing on the Rock Beast's body and dashing toward its mostly severed neck.

The blue glow on the dagger's edge stretched into a streak of blue light as Lu Ren brought his arm down.

Blade rose, blade fell!

The Rock Beast's enormous head rolled away from its huge body.

Thud, thud, thud!

Watching the Rock Beast's head roll straight to the alloy door ahead, Lu Ren lowered his stance slightly. Only after confirming that the massive body beneath his feet was no longer moving did he sit down heavily.

Then Lu Ren awkwardly got up, climbed off the Rock Beast's corpse, and sat on the floor.

The jagged protrusions on the Rock Beast's corpse hurt his ass too much.

"Ding! You personally slew the Rock Beast in a flash of lightning. Basic Dagger Technique proficiency +100."

"Ding! Due to an intense life-or-death battle, Agility proficiency +10."

"Ding! Due to an intense life-or-death battle, Strength proficiency +10."

"Ding! Due to an intense life-or-death battle, you remained calm in the face of danger. Will proficiency +10."

"Ding! Due to an intense life-or-death battle..."

Hearing the string of prompts in his mind, Lu Ren let out a long breath. This was the first time he had heard the system announce an increase in Will proficiency.

Constitution, Strength, and Agility could all be gained through training, but Lu Ren had no idea how Willpower was supposed to improve.

His understanding of the mysteries of the body was still far too shallow. Or perhaps he had merely been training in a mechanical fashion.

Once he got back, he would have to pester Yan Zhenghua until he gave him answers.

The man was an old scholar who had immersed himself in martial arts for decades. His understanding of the human body might even surpass that of experts in life sciences.

Seeing Xiang Yang walking toward him with a worried expression, Lu Ren waved to show that he was fine.

"Qingxu, how much time is left?"

"According to the five-minute countdown, you have four minutes and fifteen seconds remaining, Commander Lu Ren. Your combat skills and physical abilities are exceptional. You are fully comparable to a Super Gene Warrior trained at high intensity for ten years."

Super Gene Warrior?

It seemed this world held many more mysteries worth uncovering. It was not merely technologically advanced; it had also made remarkable achievements in human genetic engineering. And judging from the high-frequency vibrating dagger, this world had likely solved its most fundamental energy problem.

Lu Ren raised his brows, about to ask a question, when Qingxu reminded him, "You two, while there appears to be plenty of time, it should not be wasted. If the spatial passage expands and creatures from the other dimension enter, there is a ninety percent chance that a large-scale extinction event will occur."

Lu Ren stood up at those words and said to Xiang Yang, "Go open the door and take a look. Next, let's meet the one inside."

From the monitoring center, they could see that it was a humanoid monster two meters tall, with knotted muscles and grayish-white skin.