Chapter 51: Martial Arts Mastered, Challenge Me if You Dare

“Old Hu, the carapace of the divine turtle-crocodile is yours.”

Jumping down from the beast’s corpse, Zhang Chu patted Hu Sanyi’s shoulder, then squatted beside the creek to wash the core.

A core from a level-four exotic beast, boosting his vitality by 1,500 points.

If only he could get a level-six beast core—he’d be over the moon.

“That… that’s it? You killed it just like that?”

Hu Sanyi stared at the divine turtle-crocodile lying in a pool of blood, needing a moment to process what had happened.

To slay a level-six exotic beast so effortlessly—

Zhang Chu’s martial level had to be at least six.

Hu Sanyi felt a wave of dizziness. Staring at Zhang Chu’s back, he couldn’t help but think the man was a monster.

Last time, during the mercenary group’s mission, Zhang Chu had only been at level three.

It had only been half a month.

Now, he was level six!

Thinking back on his own excitement after breaking through to level three, Hu Sanyi now felt as if reality had just slapped him in the face.

Still, he didn’t idle.

He drew his dagger and began dismantling the carapace of the divine turtle-crocodile. This was a rare material, highly prized by human forgemasters for crafting advanced defensive armor.

A single piece could fetch at least two million.

Having washed the core clean, Zhang Chu seized the moment when Hu Sanyi wasn’t looking and swallowed it whole.

The level-six beast core was rather large, nearly choking him.

He managed to get it down, and the system chimed: “Ding! Host has consumed a level-six exotic beast core. Vitality +10,000!”

He checked his personal stats—the vitality value had now reached 110,300 out of 500,000.

“Suddenly, anything below a level-six core just doesn’t seem appealing anymore…”

Zhang Chu hadn’t expected the difference between level-four and level-six cores to be so vast.

A single level-six exotic beast increased his vitality by 10,000.

To reach level six and become a Dual Force Warrior, he still needed thirty-nine more.

But Zhang Chu understood well—

His earlier victory over the divine turtle-crocodile in five minutes was only possible because he’d struck first and caught it off guard.

There was still one day left before the competition ended.

If he wanted to slay thirty-nine level-six exotic beasts, just having a level-six warrior’s vitality wouldn’t be enough.

High-level martial skills were the key!

“Old Hu, it’s getting dark. We need to find a place to rest. The level-six forbidden zone isn’t like other places—it’s dangerous at night.”

Seeing Hu Sanyi finish packing up the carapace, Zhang Chu spoke up.

Before the competition began, this area had been designated a forbidden zone.

Not only did level-six exotic beasts roam here, but due to a special electromagnetic field, even the Martial Authority’s War God No. 1 drones couldn’t establish network coverage.

Zhang Chu and Hu Sanyi pulled up their smart wristband maps, only to see the holographic projection indicate a network outage.

They could only skirt the outskirts of the level-six forbidden zone.

As dusk drew near—

A building appeared before them.

Hu Sanyi was taken aback. “Xiao Chu, how could there be a human building in the level-six forbidden zone? Looks like a little two-story villa.”

“Old Hu, we need to be careful,” Zhang Chu cautioned, gripping the Blacksteel Greatsword tightly as the two crept forward.

A human dwelling suddenly appearing in the forbidden zone was suspicious.

But night was falling.

If they wanted to survive until morning, entering the villa was their best bet.

As they got closer, they noticed a high-energy electric grid protecting the building.

“Xiao Chu, this place is eerily quiet. Feels like no one’s lived here for ages.”

They entered the villa and swept their phone flashlights around.

Everywhere was thick with dust, no sign of human habitation, nor trace of exotic beasts.

On the first floor, Zhang Chu spotted a dust-covered solar generator.

Once he started it up, lights flickered to life throughout the villa.

Outside, the electric grid crackled to life, arcs of electricity leaping across its surface.

Seeing this, Hu Sanyi breathed a sigh of relief.

With the electric grid in place, even level-six exotic beasts would have a hard time breaking in.

The two of them settled on the second floor, where the view was good, and ate a quick meal of self-heating rice.

This whole day, Hu Sanyi had been on edge following Zhang Chu.

He’d gained plenty, but the stress had worn him out.

Before long, he was fast asleep.

Zhang Chu wandered the floors, mapping out escape routes for emergencies, and finally settled on the second-floor balcony.

“Forgot—no signal!”

He’d just pulled up his smart wristband’s holographic display to check the points rankings—

But the leaderboard hadn’t updated in three hours.

Remembering the lack of network coverage in the level-six forbidden zone, Zhang Chu shrugged it off.

This competition would crown two champions:

One for the points leaderboard, and one for being the first to reach the Canglong Mountain No. 2 High Ground.

By entering the forbidden zone, Zhang Chu hoped both to hunt level-six exotic beasts and to take a shortcut to the high ground.

He focused his thoughts and summoned twenty-four level-five vitality pills from his storage ring.

“I wonder how much a single premium level-five vitality pill will boost my vitality?”

He tried one, swallowing it down.

“Ding, host has consumed one premium level-five vitality pill. Vitality +3,000!”

Three thousand per pill!

Zhang Chu was so excited he almost shouted—this was leagues above a level-one vitality pill.

He’d deliberately eaten a light dinner.

Now, handful after handful of vitality pills went down the hatch.

The system’s notifications rang incessantly in his mind, along with the activation of the martial skill proficiency module.

By the time all twenty-four pills were consumed—

Zhang Chu checked his stats—a total increase of 72,000 vitality points.

At the same time—

A white pop-up appeared: the martial skill proficiency module. “Host can now enhance martial skill proficiency. Please select a skill and state your command!”

The Sky Cannon, a barehanded skill, saw little use in the forbidden zone.

As for the Iron Mountain Shield, it offered armor amplification and strong defense.

But to slay thirty-nine level-six exotic beasts in a day, the one he’d rely on most would be the “Thirteen Blazing Swords.”

Looking over his three martial skills, Zhang Chu chose “Thirteen Blazing Swords” without hesitation.

“All 72,000 vitality points to be used for upgrading the level and proficiency of Thirteen Blazing Swords. Execute now!”

No sooner had he spoken than the white pop-up began to scroll.

At the same time, his vitality value began to plummet.

In his mind, he could sense a tiny figure endlessly practicing the Thirteen Blazing Swords.

As the vitality was converted into proficiency, Zhang Chu’s understanding of the technique became ever more profound.

Half an hour later, Zhang Chu darted out of the villa in a flash.

. . .

A deep, guttural howl pierced the night.

On a hillside at the edge of the level-six forbidden zone, a three-meter-long wolf approached Zhang Chu, its eyes glowing a ghostly blue.

This was a level-six exotic beast—the Moonshadow Direwolf.

The Moonshadow Direwolf slept by day and hunted by night. It was fast, and its fangs were laced with deadly venom.

If a warrior was bitten, it would be no more than half an hour before their heart veins ruptured and they died.

Zhang Chu had gone less than two kilometers from the villa when he encountered the Moonshadow Direwolf emerging to hunt.

As the beast closed in, Zhang Chu felt no fear—only excitement.

He drew the Blacksteel Greatsword from his storage ring and gripped it tightly, then closed his eyes.

A transparent wave of energy shimmered around the blade.

The Moonshadow Direwolf seemed to sense the ruthless aura emanating from Zhang Chu. With a snarl, it lunged.

“Slash!”

The moment the beast pounced, Zhang Chu leapt forward, swinging his sword down.

Thirteen sword shadows overlapped, each surrounded by that transparent ripple of energy, creating an overwhelming force.

With a thunderous crash, the wolf fell dead on the spot.

Zhang Chu stared at the Blacksteel Greatsword in his hand, exhilarated. “Sword Intent of Blazing Fire—so this is the ‘Intent’ they speak of in level-six martial skills!”