Ferocious Beast Fruit

The next day, during martial arts class.

Yang Lie took out an Essence Nurturing Pill and swallowed it in one gulp. Then, he practiced the Basic Foundation Stance and adjusted his breathing. A faint warm current flowed through his body, strengthening his qi, blood, and physique.

Yang Lie's eyes lit up. "As expected, taking Pills is far more effective than ordinary cultivation!"

Ten days later.

Yang Lie swallowed the last Essence Nurturing Pill and began practicing the Basic Foundation Stance. Before long, he felt as though the blood in his body had begun to boil along with his practice. Then, an even more powerful surge of qi and blood emerged within him and flooded into his limbs and bones, making his entire body swell slightly before it gradually calmed down.

The corners of Yang Lie's lips curled up. "Qi Blood First Change! I did it!"

The Qi Blood Realm was the foundation of martial arts cultivation. Therefore, as long as one took Essence Nurturing Pills and ate spirit rice and Ferocious Beast Meat, anyone could complete the Qi Blood First Change within ten days. Without the help of Essence Nurturing Pills, an ordinary person with sufficient nutrition could still complete the Qi Blood First Change after half a year of grueling cultivation.

Yang Lie walked over to a punching-force testing machine and slammed his fist into it.

"178 kilograms!"

The corners of Yang Lie's lips rose slightly. "When I tested before, my punch only reached 78 kilograms! After completing the Qi Blood First Change, my punching force increased by a full 100 kilograms! Just the Qi Blood First Change has already made my physical condition far surpass that of ordinary Earthlings. If I complete the Qi Blood Nine Changes, I'd be considered a little superhuman even on Earth!"

"178 kilograms! Looks like he completed the Qi Blood First Change!"

"Our class has another Qi Blood First Change expert!"

"..."

The students gathered around and exchanged a few remarks.

Beihe Number One High School was the top school in Beihe Base City, gathering the children of Beihe Base City's powerful and wealthy families. Many of them took Essence Nurturing Pills every day and ate Ferocious Beast Meat and Low-Grade Spirit Rice. Twelve of them had already advanced to the Qi Blood First Change.

Yang Lie returned home and entered the Small World, where he saw a plant less than thirty centimeters tall growing in the center of the acre of land. At the top of the plant was a red fruit.

"It's ripe!"

Yang Lie's eyes lit up. He picked the red fruit and swallowed it in one bite. A warm current flowed through his body, strengthening his flesh.

The next day, after martial arts class ended.

After everyone had left, Yang Lie punched the punching-force testing machine.

"208 kilograms!"

Yang Lie's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his face. "Not bad! According to the current data, martial artists at the Qi Blood Nine Changes have an average punching force of 1,000 kilograms, with the highest reaching 2,100 kilograms! If I keep consuming exotic fruits like Scarlet Armored Ant Fruit, I might be able to break the records of Qi Blood Nine Changes martial artists!"

In the days that followed, Yang Lie maintained a simple routine between three places. He diligently practiced the Basic Foundation Stance, basic boxing, basic saber techniques, and basic spear techniques, while taking Essence Nurturing Pills every day. Two months later, he successfully advanced to become a Qi Blood Second Change martial artist.

That day, inside the Small World.

"Today is the last Scarlet Armored Ant Fruit! I'm really looking forward to this!"

Yang Lie swallowed the Scarlet Armored Ant Fruit in one gulp. A warm current surged through his body, then seemed to merge with the residual power inside him, frantically strengthening his body and sending waves of intense pain through him.

Only an hour later was the transformation complete.

"I can feel that my strength has increased by another huge margin! And my defense has also improved tremendously!"

After getting up from the ground, Yang Lie left the Small World and took a kitchen knife to slash at his hand.

It felt as though he were cutting thick, aged cowhide. Yang Lie slowly increased his strength, needing roughly seventy percent of his power before he barely managed to cut through the skin on his arm.

The corners of Yang Lie's lips lifted into a smile. "Amazing! My body's defense is probably comparable to that of Qi Blood Realm martial artists who practice Horizontal Training Martial Arts like Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth!"

High school students like Yang Lie were all prospective university candidates. Their goal was to break through the Qi Blood Realm and advance to the Essence Solidification Realm, so they could gain an advantage in the college entrance examination and enter university.

Practicing tough martial arts such as Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth consumed qi and blood, so ordinary high school students would not practice them. Only retired soldiers who had been conscripted after graduating from middle school might cultivate martial arts such as Golden Bell Shield and Iron Cloth while still in the Qi Blood Realm.

The next day, after martial arts class ended.

"748 kilograms!"

Yang Lie looked at the number displayed on the punching-force testing machine and smiled. "The nine Scarlet Armored Ant Fruits increased my punching force by a total of 470 kilograms. The first eight each added 30 kilograms of punching force, while the ninth completed the transformation and increased it by 230 kilograms in one go."

Yang Lie rejoiced for a while before quietly assessing his own strength.

"My strength can now rival that of a Qi Blood Seventh Change martial artist, but those martial artists are proficient in combat techniques, while I only know basic boxing and basic saber techniques! I'm afraid I wouldn't even be a match for a Qi Blood Fourth Change martial artist proficient in combat techniques."

"What a pity. Those pig-type Ferocious Beasts known for their strength basically weigh several hundred jin, and each jin of meat costs several hundred yuan. One beast costs hundreds of thousands. I only have four million in savings, so even buying nine pig-type Ferocious Beasts would be difficult."

Yang Lie's four million in savings was compensation received after his parents died in battle. This compensation was no small sum for ordinary people, but for martial arts cultivation, it was nowhere near enough.

Yang Lie thought to himself, The cheapest are ant-type Ferocious Beasts! But individual ant-type Ferocious Beasts are weak! If I want to greatly increase my strength, I should choose wolf-type Ferocious Beasts! Wolf-type Ferocious Beasts aren't as strong as pig-type Ferocious Beasts, but they have more bones, great strength, and are extremely agile. They're also cheap. Although there are dozens of types of first-tier ant-type Ferocious Beasts and they offer better value, my time is limited!

To obtain the power of one Ferocious Beast, Yang Lie had to spend ninety days cultivating its fruit. He could only obtain the complete power of four Ferocious Beasts a year. He also needed to cultivate High-Grade Spirit Rice during his second year, so he naturally had to choose the Ferocious Beasts with the best value.

Yang Lie went straight to the market and spent twenty thousand yuan to buy the complete corpse of a first-tier low-grade Black Fur Vicious Wolf, then threw it into the Small World for cultivation.

Ten days later, a thirty-centimeter plant had grown in the center of the acre of land in the Small World. At the top of the plant was a pitch-black fruit the size of a longan.

"Black Fur Vicious Wolf Fruit!! I'm really looking forward to this!"

Anticipation flashed through Yang Lie's eyes as he swallowed the fruit in one bite.

A warm current swiftly spread from Yang Lie's abdomen and surged through his body. Part of it strengthened his torso, while more of it strengthened his legs.

Only an hour later was the enhancement complete.

"I feel stronger, and lighter too!"

Yang Lie moved his body around inside the Small World, delight flashing through his eyes.

The next day, during martial arts class.

He Qing stood to one side and said calmly, "Today is the final exam! The students whose names I call, come forward! Lin He, Fang Xiong, step up."

The two boys came to the center of the Martial Arts Practice Field, exchanged bows, and began fighting. They traded dozens of moves before Fang Xiong was ultimately knocked to the ground by a punch from Lin He, losing the match.

"Yang Lie, Zhou Wei!"

Yang Lie stepped into the center of the Martial Arts Practice Field. A tall, short-haired boy with a face full of acne also walked into the center.

The two bowed to each other.

"Begin!"

"Die!"

Zhou Wei's gaze sharpened. With an angry roar, he threw a straight punch at Yang Lie's face.

"Too slow!"

With a casual slap, Yang Lie knocked Zhou Wei's fist off course, then struck the center of Zhou Wei's chest with his palm.

Zhou Wei was sent flying by Yang Lie's palm strike. He crashed to the ground and rolled about in pain. Two students quickly rushed forward and carried him to the infirmary.

"Instantly defeated? Zhou Wei is a Qi Blood Third Transformation expert!!"

"Yang Lie is actually stronger than Zhou Wei?"

"..."

The surrounding students immediately began discussing among themselves.

There were only ten Qi Blood Third Transformation experts in Beihe Number One High School's first-year class, and all of them were notable figures among the freshmen. Yang Lie had always been a quiet nobody in the first-year class at Beihe Number One High School, but today, he had become famous in a single battle.

A trace of surprise flashed through He Qing's eyes. "What tremendous strength, what incredible speed! Could he already be at the Qi Blood Seventh Transformation? Could he be a genius on the same level as Fang Lingxiu?"

He Qing walked directly up to Yang Lie and said, "Yang Lie, go test yourself on the punching-force machine! Give it everything you've got!"

"Yes!"

Yang Lie walked over to the punching-force machine, activated the power of his qi and blood, and slammed a punch into it.

"802 kilograms!"

"802 kilograms? How did this guy train?"

"Qi Blood Eighth Change? Damn, he's actually a freak on the same level as Fang Lingxiu?"

"That's insane, isn't it?"

"..."

Seeing this, every student nearby had a trace of shock in their eyes, and the way they looked at Yang Lie became markedly different.

He Qing swept his gaze over the surrounding students and said, "Other than Fang Lingxiu, is there anyone else who wants to challenge Yang Lie?"

The students looked at one another, but not a single one was willing to step forward. Aside from Fang Lingxiu, the strongest among them had only reached the Qi Blood Third Transformation. Challenging Yang Lie would most likely only bring humiliation upon themselves.

"I will!"

A tall, short-haired, handsome boy stepped out from the crowd.

"It's Zhang Linghe! He's a member of the Martial Arts Club! I heard he's already learned his family's inherited Yellow-Rank Martial Skill, Crane Fist!"

"He may only be at the Qi Blood Third Transformation, but with a martial skill, he should have some chance of defeating Yang Lie!"

"..."

Quite a few girls' eyes lit up as they looked at Zhang Linghe, and they began discussing excitedly.

He Qing said flatly, "Begin!"

The moment He Qing finished speaking, Zhang Linghe unleashed Crane Fist. His entire body seemed to transform into a crane, his punches ethereal and elusive. His right palm became a bird's beak and viciously pecked toward Yang Lie's eyes.

Yang Lie swung his palm toward Zhang Linghe's right hand.

"You fell for it!"

Zhang Linghe shouted fiercely and swiftly changed moves, driving his left palm hard into Yang Lie's chest. But it felt as though he had struck a sheet of old cowhide, and a powerful rebounding force surged back from it.