Calamity of Strangeness Is Approaching!

"Too dangerous. Good thing I retreated in time!" Wei Fan still felt lingering fear.

The strange creature within that forbidden ground was simply unimaginably powerful, not something he could provoke at his current level.

Fortunately, for some unknown reason, that strange creature would not attack living beings outside the forbidden ground's boundaries. That was why Wushan Village had remained safe all this time.

Wei Fan did not linger and turned back toward Wushan Village.

By now, he had ventured deep into the wilderness, remaining alert at all times for dangers that might appear around him.

"Chasing Wind Nine Steps!" Wei Fan unleashed his movement technique, his body turning into a phantom as he raced through the forest.

Two incense sticks' worth of time later, Wei Fan successfully returned to Wushan Village.

Along the way, he casually slew a strange creature and gained 10 energy points.

The sensation of being watched all along the way finally vanished, and Wei Fan let out a long breath.

Entering the wilderness alone truly felt too strange. Together with the powerful strange creatures hidden in the forbidden ground, it left him feeling deeply oppressed.

Wei Fan stood atop the city wall, gazing at the wilderness beneath the night curtain in the distance, a trace of solemnity appearing in his eyes.

"System, add points!"

Then, the attribute panel appeared in his mind.

Name: Wei Fan

Techniques:

"Nine Flames Blazing Sun Art" (First Layer)

"Tiger's Breath Art" True Intent Level

"Iron Ridge Art" True Intent Peak

"Three Yuan Battle Art" True Intent Level

"Ghost Locking Seal" True Intent Level

"Silver Light Saber Art" Entering the Hall and Entering the Room (Upgradeable)

"Chasing Wind Nine Steps" (Can undergo Extreme Breakthrough!)

"Qi Explosion Fist" (Not Yet Initiated)

"Tiger's Fierce Fist" (Not Yet Initiated)

"Cicada Catching Steps" (Not Yet Initiated)

"Fire Toxin Palm" (Not Yet Initiated)

Energy: 45

Gaining 45 energy points all at once was one thing, but how to distribute them gave Wei Fan a headache.

"System, how much energy is needed to raise the 'Nine Flames Blazing Sun Art' to the next layer?" Wei Fan asked.

"Ding. Raising the 'Nine Flames Blazing Sun Art' to the second layer requires 20 energy points. The third layer requires 30 energy points."

Wei Fan frowned slightly at that.

If he raised the "Nine Flames Blazing Sun Art," he could only raise it by one layer. That single layer would not greatly increase Wei Fan's combat strength.

If he used the energy to improve other techniques, he could bring two techniques to Extreme Breakthrough.

Based on his past experience, every technique that underwent Extreme Breakthrough would greatly increase his combat strength.

With that thought, Wei Fan already had a plan in mind.

"Chasing Wind Nine Steps, Extreme Breakthrough!"

"Ding. Energy -15."

Then, a mysterious energy appeared out of nowhere and surged into every limb and bone of Wei Fan's body.

Wei Fan only felt his body grow lighter, while his control over it rose once again.

Whoosh!

Wei Fan moved, leaving an afterimage where he stood, while he himself had already reached a hundred meters away.

"The instantaneous burst over a straight-line distance is already close to a hundred meters in three seconds!" Wei Fan's figure flickered continuously. He ran like a ghost, kicking up gusts of wild wind.

Then, Wei Fan looked at the remaining techniques on the panel.

"Qi Explosion Fist" (Not Yet Initiated)

"Tiger's Fierce Fist" (Not Yet Initiated)

"Cicada Catching Steps" (Not Yet Initiated)

"Fire Toxin Palm" (Not Yet Initiated)

Among them, "Cicada Catching Steps" enhanced speed. After "Chasing Wind Nine Steps" underwent Extreme Breakthrough, speed was no longer Wei Fan's weakness.

Instead, he was somewhat lacking in fist and foot techniques.

Therefore, he could choose any of the remaining three techniques.

"Qi Explosion Fist, raise it to the maximum level!" Wei Fan said.

Among these techniques, Qi Explosion Fist was undoubtedly the most destructive, so Wei Fan did not hesitate for long.

"Ding. Energy -15."

At the same time, understanding and techniques related to Qi Explosion Fist flooded into Wei Fan's mind.

A mysterious energy transformed Wei Fan's body, and tiny air sacs even appeared within him.

The principle behind "Qi Explosion Fist" was to use one's muscles to compress the airflow within the air sacs to the limit, achieving the ability to injure enemies from a distance.

It was divided into two attack methods: "Gun Finger" and "Cannon Fist."

"Gun Finger" released airflow from the fingertips. It could pierce gold and split stone, with extremely strong penetrating power.

"Cannon Fist," on the other hand, pursued pure destructive power. Each punch was like cannon fire, shattering everything!

Wei Fan felt his own strength, then looked at his energy. There were still 15 points left.

"'Qi Explosion Fist,' Extreme Breakthrough!"

"Ding. Qi Explosion Fist requires 30 energy points for Extreme Breakthrough. Insufficient energy!"

The system's prompt sounded.

"Thirty energy points?" Wei Fan frowned.

Qi Explosion Fist required far more energy for Extreme Breakthrough than he had expected.

"Now that my speed has improved, I can head into the wilderness again!" Wei Fan did not wait and leaped down from the city wall once more.

But the moment he landed on the ground, Wei Fan felt a chilling, sinister cold.

"What's going on?" Wei Fan suddenly discovered that the grass beneath his feet had already frozen over with frost.

But it was already May. How could frost possibly form on the ground?

Everything about this was simply too strange!

Wei Fan abandoned the idea of venturing deep into the wilderness and retreated atop the city wall.

Looking down again, he saw a thin layer of white frost gradually spreading over the ground.

"What is going on?" Wei Fan frowned.

When he looked toward the city wall on the other side, he discovered that the situation there was the same.

The entire Wushan Village seemed to have fallen under encirclement.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

At that moment, the Monster Suppressing Stone in the center of Wushan Village emitted wave after wave of light.

Orange-yellow radiance illuminated the entire Wushan Village, like a protective shield formed from light.

"Even the Monster Suppressing Stone has reacted?" Wei Fan's expression turned somewhat grave.

Even during the last invasion by White Resentment, the Monster Suppressing Stone had not reacted. Now that it had responded, a far more powerful strange creature must have invaded.

Wei Fan did not think any further and fired a red Signal Flare into the sky.

Boom!

Red light exploded in the sky.

Immediately afterward, red Signal Flares rose from every direction around Wushan Village.

That sight made Wei Fan's heart sink to the bottom.