We made you practice martial arts, and you've mastered the Great Golden Body?

Chapter 194 Crimson Stone Statue
"Upgrading the basic swordsmanship skill by one level will increase both the physical and mental attributes by 0.2 levels respectively."

"And leveling up the Gale skill of the same rank will increase the Physical and Mental attributes by 0.1 and 0.3 levels respectively."

"Based on this calculation, once both are upgraded, I can probably raise my physical attributes to level 20.5, which is half a step into the Sea Opening Realm."

Of course, the term "half-step Sea Opening Realm" was purely invented by Shen Bailian, and there is no such term in the official realm ranking system of the Great Xia Dynasty.

"No, to be precise, my physical attribute value can be increased even further." Shen Bailian shifted his attention to the only ordinary skill that was still at "Tier 1"—

[Basic Knife Skills LV4 (1056/1100)]

The four skills, namely Gale, Heavenly Qi, Five Elements Breathing Technique, and Iron Body, are currently in the "second stage" state, while only the basic sword technique is still in its most primitive state.

Although Shen Bailian's martial arts skills have now reached the fourth level of subtlety, he is about to reach the realm of simplifying complexity.

However, skill advancement is not just about advancing; it also comes with additional special effects.

For example, with the Gale skill, when Shen Bailian first advanced, his agility underwent a qualitative leap, along with the fourfold burst of Heavenly Qi and the strong physique of Iron Body.

The fourfold burst of Tiangang Qi is deeply bound to the Iron Body skill, forming a strong bond.

If it were an ordinary late-stage Transcendent Realm martial artist in the pinnacle battle of the Golden Cup League, let alone a four-times burst of power, even the most ordinary one-and-a-half-times burst would be difficult for their body to withstand.

Among the martial arts prodigies, those with bloodline martial arts might be able to increase this burst limit to two or even three times.

These skills greatly enhanced Shen Bailian's combat power, even enabling him to deliver the decisive blow in protracted battles.

Among all of Shen Bailian's skills at this stage, the basic sword technique is an anomaly, and after one more level, it will reach the fifth level, which has the highest experience value cap.

Whether considering the speed of gaining experience or the attribute increases, the cost-effectiveness is too low.

Just like the advancement of the basic breathing technique, Shen Bailian's best choice would be to use divine matter to advance the basic sword technique after it has reached level four.

“However,” Shen Bailian raised his head, looking at the gradually thinning fog around him, feeling his vision and perception range becoming clearer, and murmured softly, “If we absorb all the divine matter here, won’t the anomaly be noticed?”

He wasn't the only one there; there was also a martial artist from the military at the Opening Sea Realm, a veteran of countless battles with an extremely keen sense of his surroundings.

Furthermore, prior to this, in order to ensure Shen Bailian's safety, the other party had risked entering the dense fog area.

Although those who possess a sacred body can avoid divine contamination when encountering divine substances, they must never absorb or ingest divine substances.

In other words, if Shen Bailian absorbs all the divine substances in this dense fog, it means that the protective measures of the core area will be eliminated.

The martial artist at the Sea Opening Realm outside would surely notice something amiss.

[Divine Matter: 920]

"It seems the plan will have to change again. If I want to accumulate a thousand points of divine matter, I can't just rely on the divine matter here," Shen Bailian thought to himself.

Upgrading a "first-tier" skill to "second-tier" requires 100 points of divine matter, while upgrading a "second-tier" skill to "third-tier" requires 1,000 points of divine matter.

"If the plan goes smoothly, I will most likely be able to break through to the Sea Opening Realm before the end of this semester and become a 17-year-old Sea Opening Realm martial artist who has never been before!" Shen Bailian's breathing became slightly rapid when he thought of this.

In the present-day Great Xia, martial artists at the Opening Sea Realm are considered the backbone of the force. Most martial arts prodigies from top-tier martial arts universities barely reach this level upon graduation.

Its powerful physical body, with its own built-in defense, can withstand the bombardment of most thermal weapons. In addition, it has supersonic flight and super-strong perception comparable to high-precision phased array radar.

And whims bordering on metaphysics.

It can be said that without setting up an ambush first, it is difficult to inflict effective damage on them, and even laser weapons have difficulty locking onto martial artists at the Opening Sea Realm.

Shen Bailian has been in this world for nearly eighteen years, and only now has she finally managed to survive alone in the wilderness and protect her family.

Of course, compared to the ferocious beast tides on the border of the Great Xia Dynasty, a mere Sea Opening Realm martial artist is not enough to be considered.

"Never mind, plans can change if they want. Anyway, I can't stay here any longer." Shen Bailian made a decision in an instant.

The process of purifying divine matter cannot be interrupted at will. As long as he is in this thick fog, he will eventually absorb all the divine matter within it naturally.

Moreover, the divine matter within the dense fog can also cause fluctuations in the very essence of the world.

Instead of staying here, it would be better to go out and find other treasure lands to hunt some ferocious beasts to obtain divine substances, and upgrade the Gale skill in the process.

Shen Bailian hasn't received news of the battle's end yet. He's collected 180 points—no, he currently has 179 points of divine matter—which should be enough.

"boom!"

Shen Bailian stood up, stretched his muscles and bones, and threw a punch. His punch was like a dragon, powerful and unstoppable, with dazzling shadows. Both his speed and power were much stronger than before.

"Although it's only a 0.1 level increase, with my current physical condition, combined with basic swordsmanship and the Gale skill, plus the Heavenly Qi and Five Elements Breathing Technique, I should... be able to fight that Storm Lion to a draw." Shen Bailian made a simple judgment.

"Perhaps this time we can find an unexplored treasure land and a second-tier peak king-level ferocious beast to simply test our own strength."

"What we really need to worry about are the unmanned aerial surveillance and strike device in the sky, and our other teammates." Many thoughts flashed through Shen Bailian's mind:

"With the eyes of those battle-hardened martial artists at the Opening Sea Realm, they can roughly judge my physical fitness level from my explosive speed and strength with just a little attention."

He does not underestimate any martial artist whose martial arts level is higher than his.

This is something Shen Bailian realized on his own.

A 17-year-old martial artist at the early stage of the Transcendent Realm is enough to shock most of the higher-ups at the Heavenly Gang Academy, let alone a 17-year-old martial artist at the peak of the Transcendent Realm.

This will likely shock the entire Great Xia.

“Once I’ve accumulated enough divine matter, there’s no need to rush to advance my skills. The initiative is in my own hands anyway.” Shen Bailian’s thoughts stirred slightly.

hum~
Nanosuit and a rough Force suit instantly covered his body, and the Dragon Slayer suddenly appeared in his right hand.

Then, in the instant Shen Bailian's eyes moved, a fragmented map of the post-nuclear explosion world of Cave Heaven No. 98, marked in red in many places, appeared before his eyes.

The area marked with a red dot means that it has been "occupied" by other teammates.

Shen Bailian didn't have many options left.

"This one will do." Shen Bailian looked at the unexplored treasure land in front of him. His mind worked very quickly, and he soon selected a treasure land that was 360 kilometers away from him and had not yet been explored.

Then, he checked the resources in his storage ring: food, water, nutrient potions, elemental crystals... Although there weren't many left, it was more than enough to support a battle.

Moreover, Shen Bailian currently possesses nearly twenty resurrection coins. As for the origin of this world, since Shen Bailian has already marked this treasure land on the map, almost no one will waste their time coming here.

Furthermore, here, only Yuwen Changkong possesses the Sacred Body. With the divine matter still present, no martial artist would be foolish enough to risk their life to infiltrate this dense foggy core area.

All is ready except for the opportunity.

"boom!"

A violent gust of wind suddenly swept across the lake.

Shen Bailian's figure soared into the sky, and in just a few seconds, amidst a deafening roar, his speed directly broke through two hundred meters per second.

They sped rapidly toward their destination.

……

"Good heavens, this kid has finally decided to come out for a stroll." Yang Wu sat cross-legged atop a giant tree a hundred meters tall. His keen senses allowed him to perceive the deafening sound in an instant, and he chuckled:
"My mission... is finally complete!"

When Yang Wugang received the assignment, he originally thought it was just a simple bodyguard job, but he didn't expect that he would stay for two or three days.

Fortunately, he was a combatant on the front lines, and his merits and profits were calculated and shared after the war.

Otherwise, with the battle on the main front now nearing its end, in this short time, the resources within Cave Heaven No. 98 would probably be reduced to nothing but scraps.

"From now on, I won't have to keep an eye on this guy anymore." Yang Wu stretched. For nearly three days, he couldn't focus on his cultivation or move around much.

If this continues, his body will start to rust.

With a swift movement, Yang Wu soared into the sky, breaking the sound barrier in just a few seconds amidst a continuous roar, creating a sonic boom cloud behind him that resembled a skirt.

They rushed towards the front lines of the battlefield, heading in the exact opposite direction from Shen Bailian.

……

About ten hours later.

In what was once a vibrant dense forest, the remains of a massive, ferocious beast, blood, and broken arm bones were now scattered everywhere, and the air was thick with the stench of blood.

Blood flowed like a river, and chaos reigned.

Thick trees, some tens or even hundreds of meters tall, fell with a series of heart-stopping roars, boulders shattered, and deep craters were blasted into the ground from time to time.

"Roar!"

"Woo-woo-woo-ha-ha-hey..." The densely packed ape-like beasts roared and brandished their crude weapons made of ironwood or stone.

Nourished by the rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth over the years, and further influenced by divinity, the ape-like ferocious beasts, whose potential was originally exhausted before reaching the early stage of the second tier, have now reached the middle and late stages of the second tier.

Furthermore, they are extremely robust, with even the thinnest among them exceeding three meters in height.

However, the side effect is that the degree of hatred for humans hidden in one's bloodline also deepens with the influence of divinity, making one like a mindless puppet, at the mercy of divine favor.

In a racial conflict, there is virtually no possibility of reconciliation.

Shen Bailian stood atop a pile of corpses, his eyes icy cold. His Dragon Slayer Blade, like a raging dragon, unleashed a fierce burst of energy with each afterimage.

Many boulders that were about to crash down on the boy were also reduced to dust by the blade's energy.

Subsequently, many ape-like ferocious beasts with strength only at the mid-stage of the second tier fell down like wheat under the dozens of sword energies.

As time passed, the sword inevitably became stained with splattered blood, but with just a slight thought from Shen Bailian, the sword trembled violently, returning to its pristine state and gleaming with a chilling light.

The blade then spun 270 degrees like a dragon, moving with lightning speed and unparalleled swiftness.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" A golden line instantly appeared on the necks of dozens of ape-like ferocious beasts whose strength had barely been activated to the late stage of the second tier.

Blood splattered, and the body, propelled by inertia, crashed to the boy's feet.

[Congratulations! Your basic swordsmanship skill has improved. Experience points +3]

Congratulations! Your character level experience has increased by 3.

【…】

Congratulations! Your Iron Body skill has been upgraded. Experience points +1

……

[Congratulations, your divine matter has been upgraded, divine matter +2]

[Divine Matter: 1102]

"Compared to lying in the core area of ​​the dense fog and obtaining divine matter, the current speed is really too slow. It took several hours and slaughtered thousands of ferocious beasts to barely obtain 180 points of divine matter," Shen Bailian muttered to himself.

There was nothing that could be done about it; almost all the divine substances within the ferocious beasts in the treasure land had been extracted by Ram.

Only those ferocious beasts that were still dormant could be considered to have "escaped a calamity".

"Thud!" "Thud!" A group of ape-like beasts fell to the ground, most of them with their heads and bodies split in two, leaving smooth cuts.

It can be considered a painless death.

For these ferocious beasts, this is a relatively "humane" way to die; it's extremely fast and they hardly have to suffer any pain.

"Roar!!!"

Accompanied by a thunderous roar, a visually striking, burly figure suddenly emerged from the depths of the dense forest.

The figure was nearly six meters tall, with a hint of intelligence in his eyes that burned with raging fury. His muscles bulged like red rocks, and his entire body was as hot as flames, with patterns resembling flames.

And the moment the giant beast appeared, the surrounding temperature rose rapidly, quickly surpassing 40 degrees Celsius, and was still climbing sharply.

"It's finally out?" Shen Bailian looked at the information about the ferocious beast that appeared before him, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face. He laughed and said, "Speak of the devil, and he appears. It's so easy to get it. A king-level ferocious beast has actually appeared in this treasure land."

"And it's a scarlet stone statue!"

(End of this chapter)