Making Amends!

The Exhalation Technique had already reached Reaching Perfection. This was merely one of its subtle applications, and Jiang Zhe quickly mastered it under his uncle's guidance.

An Apprentice Level warrior could not control Gene Primordial Energy, but he possessed the force cultivated through the Jiang Family's secret techniques.

Tiger-Leopard Thunderclap gradually rose!

—His chest and abdomen worked like bellows, his lungs rumbling like thunder!

He mobilized his force and flooded it through his entire body. With an explosive "Ha!" he shot forward at supersonic speed, smashing apart a solid concrete parapet over half a meter wide on the rooftop.

Amid the rising dust, Jiang Zhe quietly savored the sensation from earlier—the recoil from the violent collision had been offset by the force flooding his body!

The Exhalation Technique... no, the entire secret canon of "Thunder Tone" truly had the effect of enhancing defense.

Perhaps because the enhancement was not obvious, and because Earth's martial arts had been led astray by Hong and Thunder God, blindly pursuing force output while relying on the Black God Set to compensate for defense... the Jiang Family had failed to notice the immense potential of "Thunder Tone" in strengthening the muscles and bones.

"How many times can it improve it by?" Jiang Zhe shook his head. "I can't tell. And this technique is still very immature, but the path should be right, shouldn't it?"

"Quick! The old man's back. Get ready." Jiang Zhe's thoughts were interrupted.

Following his uncle's gaze, he saw a streak of light speeding toward them.

As it drew closer, he could make out a figure carrying a massive block of ice toward them.

A living creature was sealed within the ice!

This was a small trick the old man had developed using his ice-control ability. A low-level Lord was utterly incapable of resisting him.

Jiang Zhe silently picked up the weapons placed in the corner, slung a round shield and golden mace over his back, and held a long spear in one hand.

His uncle's wistful voice reached his ears.

"Monsters like the Kui Ox left a deep impression on me. My 'Thunder Sound' only became something worthwhile because of them."

"Little Zhe, with your current mastery of 'Thunder Sound,' even the old man can no longer teach you anything."

"Your comprehension is far greater than mine. Now we'll see whether this Kui Ox can help you bring 'Thunder Sound' to its peak!"

"I understand." Jiang Zhe nodded, planted the butt of his spear into the rooftop floor, then took the golden mace from his back and tossed it to his uncle.

"Uncle, help me adjust it to one ton."

"Haha, I like that confidence!" Jiang Chengbai said approvingly.

His nephew's intentions were obvious. He would not use the spear or seek a quick kill. Switching to the golden mace, he wanted to see whether the Kui Ox could offer him some inspiration.

Jiang Chengbai infused it with Gene Primordial Energy, activating the secret patterns on the golden mace's surface. After changing its weight, he handed it back.

Jiang Zhe took it and swung it twice, satisfaction appearing on his face. With his current Physical Quality, one ton felt just right in his hands.

The old man, who had traveled at several times the speed of sound, had already flown to the front of the apartment building and hurled out the massive block of ice he held overhead.

"Little Zhe, this is a Kui Ox, a mutated sea-cow-type monster. It excels in defense and Sonic Attacks and possesses the strength of a low-level Lord-Tier creature. Try your hand at it."

The ice exploded as it fell.

The nearly eight-meter-long "fish," shaped like a liquid tanker truck, broke free.

"Moo-roar!"

Its frantic roar resembled muffled thunder!

It actually produced a visible Shockwave that swept in all directions. Nearby high-rises trembled, concrete walls cracked apart, and vast clouds of dust rose into the air.

The ear-piercing howl nearly echoed throughout all of City 079!

Jiang Zhe was only around fifty meters away from it. Facing that terrifying sonic boom head-on, he was fortunate to be wearing the Black God Set and had plugged his ears beforehand, yet he still felt some discomfort in his internal organs from the vibrations.

Yes, "discomfort." That was all.

Even the Sky-Screaming Beast, the representative of Sonic Attacks among Earth's monsters, could do nothing to the Black God Set. How could the somewhat inferior Kui Ox compare?

Hrrr—gurgle—

Jiang Zhe unleashed Tiger-Leopard Thunderclap, driving his internal organs to vibrate and offsetting the foreign force, completely freeing himself from the effects of the Kui Ox's Sonic Attack.

Golden mace in one hand and round shield in the other, he leaped down from the thirtieth floor.

He landed on the street after the Kui Ox Lord. Less than twenty meters separated them as they faced each other, and he struck the round shield twice with the golden mace, provoking the Kui Ox.

"Moo-roar!"

The explosive sonic wave surged straight at him, pushing Jiang Zhe several meters back with its horrifying blast.

His metal combat boots plowed two shallow trenches through the asphalt, but he remained uninjured. Full of vigor, he knocked on his shield again and issued another provocation.

The aura of the two kings in the sky had already made it restless, and now this insignificant ant before it dared to provoke it without knowing its place. The Kui Ox's emotions completely erupted, its eyes turning crimson as it descended into madness.

Pfft!

The swim bladder behind it violently expelled a massive amount of gas, propelling it toward Jiang Zhe at supersonic speed.

"Good! Let's see whose strength is greater!"

Jiang Zhe assumed the stance of the Bear King Shield. With an explosive "Ha!" he unleashed twelvefold force and charged forward behind his shield.

The entire collision ended in almost one-thousandth of a second.

Bang!

After a muffled crash, the large and small figures were both sent flying backward, each smashing into an apartment building on opposite sides of the road.

A hundred meters in the air, the two Councilor Level warriors who had witnessed the first exchange looked at each other.

The old man turned and shot his eldest son a Death Glare. "Who taught him to fight a Lord like that? Was it you this morning?"

"I don't know! It wasn't me! I never taught him that!"

Jiang Chengbai denied it three times in a row, hurriedly clearing himself of suspicion.

"Dad, believe me, it definitely has nothing to do with me."

"Little Zhe seems to have some psychological issues. He always likes to clash head-on with monsters and yearns for that kind of fist-to-flesh battle."

Though he argued like that, Jiang Chengbai actually felt that his nephew had indeed been influenced by him.

After all, he had just taught him the Exhalation Technique's special use in strengthening muscles and bones.

Well, wasn't he applying it in real combat now?

—Normal fragile martial artists used movement techniques to evade monster attacks, then looked for an opportunity to land a fatal blow!

On the battlefield below.

Jiang Zhe had already rushed out of the rising dust and returned to the street.

"The secret canon 'Thunder Tone' is pretty effective."

"The damage from that collision was reduced by ninety percent by the Black God Set. The remaining ten percent was offset by the force surging through my body, so it didn't cause me any internal injuries at all."

At that moment, Jiang Zhe even wanted to take off the Black God Set and test his own defense. Fortunately, reason prevailed, and he dismissed the thought.

"Moo-roar!"

The Kui Ox roared furiously, shaking the entire apartment building until cracks spread everywhere. It punched another hole through a load-bearing wall, burst out, and landed on the street, causing the high-rise apartment building to collapse with a boom.

With dirt and stones raining down around him, Jiang Zhe and the Kui Ox clashed once more.

The Kui Ox swung its tail, batting an abandoned sedan from the roadside and sending it hurtling toward Jiang Zhe with momentum even more terrifying than a cannonball.

"A petty trick like this, and you dare show off before an expert?"

Psychic Power with the quality of Apprentice Level Eight poured out from his Original Core, freezing the sedan in midair before pushing it back along its original path toward the Kui Ox.

Jiang Zhe stomped heavily and, carrying the golden mace, closed in on the Kui Ox's side in an instant.

"Moo-roar!"

A terrifying sonic wave exploded right in his face.

The abandoned sedan was blasted away, while Jiang Zhe used Psychic Power to push against his Combat Suit from behind, preventing the sonic wave from knocking him back.

But immediately afterward, a pair of two-meter-long white tusks, curved like sickles, stabbed toward him.

"Break!"

Combining eightfold force with the Artistic Conception of Speed, Jiang Zhe smashed out with his golden mace.

—Rain lashes white sand; the mace smashes scattered firewood!

Weapons like maces were also a perfect match for the Artistic Conception of Speed.

Crack!

The sickle-like white tusks shattered.

The golden mace did not slow, smashing into the Kui Ox's fat face. Amid its howl, flesh rippled across its body as its liquid-tanker-truck-like form was sent flying sideways.

When the Kui Ox crawled back up, Jiang Zhe was surprised by its appearance.

The violent blow had broken its tusks, tearing a small patch of skin around its mouth and nose and exposing white bone.

Yet the half of its face that had taken the mace strike was merely caved in. The layer of fat beneath its skin had not been smashed into pulp.

Recalling the scene just now, Jiang Zhe found the reason.

"First, its skin structure is extremely special. It's a natural meat shield, very durable!"

"Second, it vibrates its skin through sound, forming a special technique that disperses force!"

"My uncle's special application of the Exhalation Technique is clearly related to this kind of technique."

"..."

Jiang Zhe's interest surged. Rather than rushing to kill the Kui Ox, he continued entangling with it.

He hammered its fat with blow after blow from the golden mace, observing this special defensive technique and refining the Thunder Sound of his Xingyi Six Arts.

Two hours later, the Kui Ox Lord could no longer endure the torture and died miserably.

Jiang Zhe still wanted more.

The old man descended from the sky and asked, "Did you gain anything?"

"Yes, a great deal!"

Jiang Zhe licked his dry lips, his expression excited.

"Who would have thought that such an ordinary, obscure Kui Ox contained such profound mysteries? Nature truly is wondrous beyond measure!"

The old man looked gratified and smiled with narrowed eyes. "Haha, the Dao follows nature."

"Little Zhe, from this day onward, there's nothing left in the family that can teach you. You can be considered formally graduated from your apprenticeship."

"But remember, 'Xingyi' is a form of biomimicry. Imitate trees with Stance Training; imitate the Twelve True Forms of beasts and Thunder Sound... learn from all things in heaven and earth!"

"In the future, you will walk alone and forge your own path. I hope the Xingyi Style will rise to glory in your hands!"

Jiang Zhe clenched his fist and struck his chest twice, promising boldly, "Grandpa, don't worry. I will. Xingyi is my root!"

For a moment, Jiang Lie saw his younger self in Jiang Zhe.

In an era of turmoil, holding tightly to his family's inherited arts, he had stepped onto an unknown new path, carving through thorns and brambles until he reached this point.

After dealing with the Kui Ox, Jiang Zhe's Combat Assessment continued according to the challenge list they had drawn up.

The Blackscale Mystic Turtle had been a land tortoise in City 079's zoo before it mutated.

It was not good at attacking, but like the Kui Ox, it excelled in defense. Jiang Zhe used the golden mace together with tenfold force to vibrate it to death.

The Golden Python had its head pierced by a spear. Its nearly thirty-meter-long body writhed for a long time before dying.

The Jadehorn Stone Ram possessed exceptionally formidable ramming power.

Jiang Zhe suffered a minor hidden injury when he met its charge head-on behind his round shield.

He immediately reclaimed his dignity by smashing its spine apart with the golden mace.

It was rare for a Lion Mastiff, a monster generally only at Beast Soldier Level, to grow to Lord-Tier.

However, its combat strength was pathetic among creatures of the same level. Jiang Zhe thrust his spear into its head and sent its corpse flying dozens of meters away.

The Firescale Tri-Tusk Boar was the renowned foremost among pig-type monsters.

The one the old man found was already close to a mid-level Lord.

Jiang Zhe feigned defeat and retreated, luring the Firescale Tri-Tusk Boar into pursuit. A Returning Spear combined with twelvefold force and the Artistic Conception of Speed killed it in one strike!

The Azure-Backed Blackclaw Crab, a mid-level Lord, was the second-to-last prey.

It was famous for its pair of black claws. Even at Lord-Tier, it could shear through an SS-Grade Combat Suit.

Jiang Zhe did not dare lower his guard in the slightest during the challenge.

Yet it still found an opportunity and snapped his spear in two.

Jiang Zhe switched to the golden mace and gave its azure back, which resembled a marble slab, a thorough back-cracking service.

When the giant crab fled and tried to burrow into the river, Jiang Zhe controlled a throwing knife and sent it through a crack in its back, shredding all its internal organs and killing it.

This was the first time Jiang Zhe had used Psychic Power in his recent challenges.

Only the final name remained on the "Death Roll Call": a mid-level Lord-Tier Kui Ox!

Jiang Zhe followed his grandfather and uncle out to sea to complete the objective.

The two Councilor Level powerhouses intended to hunt the renowned Kui-Niu King that ruled the waters off Huang County!

The grandfather and uncle hoped that a battle at that level could give Jiang Zhe even more inspiration.

After arriving in Huang County, the two of them held off the Planetary Level Kui-Niu King.

Jiang Zhe, meanwhile, unleashed a slaughter upon the Lord-Tier Kui Oxes spread across several islands.

His Psychic Power erupted in Full Burst. Ten throwing knives transformed into a meat grinder, displaying the sharp edge a Psychic Master should possess.

His Psychic Master cultivation was at Apprentice Level Seven, but his Psychic Power possessed the quality of Apprentice Level Eight.

Killing other Greater Lord-Tier monsters might have required some effort, but killing Greater Lord-Tier Kui Oxes was easy.

Within a few minutes, Jiang Zhe killed eleven Kui Ox Lords, including two Greater Lords, three mid-level Lords, and six low-level Lords.

With the remaining time, Jiang Zhe comprehended the Dao amid the Kui-Niu King's roars, his eyes struggling to keep up with the movements of the three fighters as he desperately wished to see something useful.

Within the ocean, humans ultimately could not act without restraint. The Kui-Niu King's roars were too loud, and they feared drawing other King Level Monsters.

Therefore, Jiang Zhe watched for less than five minutes before the old man delivered the final blow to the Kui-Niu King with the Eight Treasures Alligator Dragon Spear.

The corpse of a King Level Monster was not only extremely valuable, but also of great use to Jiang Zhe. Thus, the old man froze it, and Jiang Zhe carried it away with Psychic Power.

The twenty-nine-day wilderness cultivation came to an end.

Jiang Zhe and the old man had set off in haste on August 5. They spent five days traveling along the railway and officially began cultivation on August 10.

Today was September 8. The three of them departed Huang County and flew back to Lanling Base City with the Kui-Niu King's corpse and backpacks full of Lord-Tier monster materials.

When they passed through the Taiyi Mountain Range, they stopped to rest. As Jiang Zhe recovered his Psychic Power, he heard the noisy cries of apes and suddenly thought, Returning home in glory is better than walking at night in fine clothes.

So the three generations of grandfather and grandson discussed it and decided to wipe out the Golden-Fur Ape clan entrenched there.

In less than half an hour, Jiang Zhe slaughtered every War Marshal Level and Lord-Tier ape in the enormous troop with the methods of a Psychic Master, while the leader, the Ape King, was jointly killed by the two Councilor Level warriors.

In the early hours of September 9, 2046, the three generations finally returned to Lanling Base City and the Jiang Family.

The two King Level corpses and the Lord-Tier materials were handed over to Butler Wu for processing.

The three generations split up in the main courtyard, each eager to go back and clean themselves up. Even though there was a Safe House in the Wilderness Zone, there hadn't been enough water. The three of them had practically been marinating in their own stink.

Back in his private courtyard, Jiang Zhe was still soaking in a hot bath, pondering the various derivative applications of "Thunder Sound."

Butler Wu suddenly came looking for him.

"Young Master Zhe, an honored guest has arrived. Hurry up and wash up. The old master wants you to come over."

"Alright, Uncle Grandfather, I understand."

Jiang Zhe agreed, while musing inwardly, The family produced two councilors and became a hot commodity. It should be someone from the authorities. Could it be Jia Yi?