Bronze

When Lu Heng opened his eyes, the Astrology Room was completely silent.

The Nightmare Bed still quietly supported him, dark patterns slowly flowing across its surface like a sleeping beast. Instead of starlight, a layer of dim twilight shone through the window—he had been sitting there from daytime until evening.

But Lu Heng didn't rush to make a move.

Because he sensed something was wrong.

It's not that it's bad in a bad way, but rather that it's too good.

His consciousness was still lingering in the afterglow of the meditation, but his body had already begun to operate on its own rhythm—his breathing was deep and steady, his heartbeat was slow and powerful, and his blood flowed through his meridians with a warm, subtle pulsation, as if his whole body was humming softly.

Lu Heng slowly raised his hand.

Spread your fingers, clench your fist, and then open them again.

Every movement was incredibly fluid. There was no hesitation, no unnecessary exertion; the coordination between muscles and bones was so precise that it was almost instinctive.

He looked down at his palm.

A thin, sticky layer covered his skin; grayish-white impurities mixed with sweat clung to the area around his pores. This was the impurities expelled from his body after deep cultivation—he hadn't looked this "dirty" since his last meditation session.

Lu Heng frowned, but did not immediately start washing.

He first brought up his Personal Panel.

A light screen unfolded before my eyes, and lines of data appeared one by one.

Lu Heng's gaze swept over the first line, and he suddenly froze.

Grade: Bronze Tier.

He stared at those four words for a full five seconds, making sure he wasn't seeing things.

Bronze Tier.

He clearly remembered that before meditation, he was struggling on the threshold of the Black Iron Tier. One deep meditation, and he had directly leaped an entire major level?

Lu Heng took a deep breath and continued to look down.

Strength: 30

Physical condition: 30

Agility: 30

Spirit: 30

Four numbers, neatly arranged.

It wasn't that a single attribute was boosted; rather, all of them were uniformly reshaped. Strength, constitution, agility, and spirit were as if measured by the same ruler, standing neatly on the same scale.

Lu Heng fell silent.

He closed his eyes and carefully felt his body.

The power – the solid feeling in my palm when I clench my fist – is at least several times stronger than before.

Physical condition – The sticky feeling of impurities being expelled from the skin's surface indicates that the body's purification level is far greater than before.

Agility—the smooth, effortless movement of raising your hand just now is something that even Black Iron Tier player can't achieve.

His mind and consciousness were as clear as a clean mirror; he could perceive every movement of air and the trajectory of every speck of dust in the Astrology Room.

It's all true.

Lu Heng slowly exhaled, his gaze falling on the Mental Energy section of the panel.

The attribute name has changed.

It originally said "Starlight Energy", but now it has become --

The Starlight Big Dipper.

Two brief descriptions follow.

Characteristics: Killing - The energy itself carries a murderous aura, and when it is circulated, it carries a sharp and decisive killing intent.

Seven Luminaries Unlock (Not Activated) -- Unlocking the Big Dipper stars one by one; with each star unlocked, Mental Energy will be further strengthened. (Current Progress: 0/7)

Lu Heng stared at "Seven Luminaries Unlock" for a few seconds.

Seven stars, current progress zero.

In other words, he has bound himself to the Big Dipper, but the power of the seven stars has not yet been truly unlocked. The transformation he just experienced was merely a fundamental reshaping brought about by the binding itself. The true power awaits him, waiting for him to illuminate each star one by one.

He slowly clenched his fist.

The energy within his body surged, carrying an indescribable sharpness—not a violent impact, but a restrained sharpness, ready to be drawn at any moment. Like a knife sheathed, quiet, yet its blade was already humming.

Slaughter and killing.

Lu Heng savored those two words, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.

In the apocalypse, gentleness is a luxury, and violence is the norm.

This attribute aligns well with his path.

He closed the panel, stood up, and stretched his shoulders. His joints made a slight cracking sound, and every inch of his body was screaming with some kind of irrepressible impulse.

Lu Heng walked to the window and looked outside.

It was completely dark outside the window.

The Shelter's lights cast a warm yellow halo in the night, beyond which lay the dark forest. The shadows of the trees overlapped, like a silent abyss.

He should take a shower, get a good night's sleep, and then slowly adjust to his new body tomorrow.

This is the most rational choice.

But Lu Heng stood by the window, staring into the darkness, without moving.

The new power within him was like an uncontrollable flame, making him restless. He wanted to know just how strong this body was, what it felt like to unleash killing intent in actual combat, and how much of a difference there was between his Bronze Tier self and his previous self.

These things cannot be understood simply by looking at the numbers on the panel.

We have to fight.

Lu Heng turned around, took out his coat from his spatial storage, put it on, and walked out the door.

The forest at night is a completely different world from the one during the day.

During the day, you can still see the gaps between the tree canopies, distinguish directions, and judge distances by the light. At night, everything sinks into darkness, with only the soft rustling of fallen leaves underfoot.

Lu Heng hadn't gone far.

He walked slowly along the edge of the safe zone surrounding the Shelter, deliberately avoiding the designated areas.

When he first established territorial boundaries with the intelligent beasts of the forest, they reached a tacit agreement—he wouldn't disturb their territory, and they wouldn't come near his Shelter. This was a rare order in the apocalypse, and Lu Heng didn't intend to break it himself.

So he just loitered around on the periphery.

They walked casually, without a clear direction, as if taking a stroll.

But his senses were much sharper than during the day.

He doesn't need to consciously try to detect which direction the wind is coming from, what smells in the air, or whether there are any unusual vibrations within a few dozen meters of his feet—these pieces of information will automatically surface in his mind.

The perception range of Bronze Tier is much larger than that of Black Iron Tier being.

As Lu Heng walked, he gradually adapted to this completely new state of perception.

After walking for about twenty minutes, he encountered the first group of things.

Cold Stiff.

Three figures emerged from behind a thicket of bushes, their movements stiff, their eyes vacant, like puppets being led by invisible strings.

They didn't even find Lu Heng.

It wasn't until Lu Heng was ten steps away from them that one of them sluggishly turned its head, its cloudy eyes meeting his gaze.

Then, it let out a hoarse growl.

Lu Heng did not back down.

He didn't draw his weapon, nor did he even assume a fighting stance; he simply stood there, watching the three Cold Stiff stagger and pounce on him.

He sensed the difference the moment he took his first step.

It wasn't that Cold Stiff was too fast, but rather that he was too fast.

In his perception, the movements of the three Cold Stiff seemed to have been slowed down by half a beat. He could clearly see their outstretched arms, their open mouths, and the faint light reflected in their turbid eyes.

Lu Heng sidestepped the first attack, his hand grazing the back of its neck.

Energy condensed in his palm, carrying the sharp, killing aura of the Big Dipper, and he struck down with his palm.

The cervical vertebrae of the Cold Stiff snapped, and his entire body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut. He twitched twice and then remained still.

The remaining two were still lunging at them.

Lu Heng turned around, took a step to the second one, and pierced its forehead with his fingertip.

The third one was a little further away. He bent down, picked up a broken branch from the ground, and casually threw it. The branch pierced the throat of one of the three birds and became embedded in the ground.

It took less than ten seconds in total.

All three Cold Stiff were dealt with.

Lu Heng stood still, looking down at his hands.

He wasn't panting, wasn't sweating, and his heart wasn't even beating noticeably faster.

He was silent for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his lips.

Then continue walking forward.

After wandering around for another ten minutes or so, we didn't encounter anything else.

Occasionally, low growls from unidentified creatures echoed from the depths of the forest, but they remained far away, showing no intention of approaching. The intelligent beasts had clearly sensed Lu Heng's presence and tacitly maintained their distance.

Lu Heng walked through a clump of low bushes, and his view suddenly opened up.

A river appeared before us.

The river was narrow, and the current was gentle. Moonlight fell on the water, shattering into silvery scales. The banks were covered with waist-high wild grass, which rustled in the night breeze.

Lu Heng walked to the riverbank, squatted down, and scooped up some water to wash his face.

A chill spread across his face, and he became slightly more alert.

Then, he started to get bored.

Since Shelter, apart from three Cold Stiff, he hadn't encountered a single decent opponent. Those low -Cold Stiff level monsters without intelligence weren't even worth a warm-up. His initial surge of killing intent was quickly extinguished.

Lu Heng sat on a rock by the river, staring blankly at the water.

To put it bluntly, he came out tonight to test the quality of his new body. Bronze Tier strength, Bronze Tier speed, and the energy of the Big Dipper Killing Technique—these things can't be felt just by the numbers on the panel; they need to be experienced in actual combat.

We have to fight.

Ideally, it should be a fight that allows him to fight freely without too many worries.

As a result, after walking from one end of the forest to the other, there was nothing but the Cold Stiff.

"Not even one person is having any serious thoughts," Lu Heng muttered.

He walked along the riverbank for a while. The river flowed quietly under the moonlight, and the shadows of the trees on both banks were reflected on the water, like a still painting.

There was nothing there.

There were no strange beasts, no Cold Stiff, and no living creatures approaching.

It was excessively quiet.

Lu Heng sighed.

Once your edge is sharpened, there's nothing left to cut.

He turned around, intending to go back.

One step, two steps.

He stopped when he took his third step.

It wasn't what I saw, but what I heard.

Something is moving beneath the surface of the water.

It was very light and very subtle; without Bronze Tier perception, it would be impossible to detect. But Lu Heng heard it—the sound of water being pushed aside by something, rapidly approaching from the depths of the riverbed.

Lu Heng slowly turned around, his gaze falling on the water.

The river surface remained calm under the moonlight, with shimmering silver light still gently swaying.

But he knew that something was swimming towards him from beneath the surface.

Lu Heng's lips slowly curled up into a smile.

They've arrived.