I only reached the Foundation Establishment stage at eighty years old, and then the system appeared.

Yang Hongbo stealthily moved through the monster hunting area. Although he could kill level 8 monsters now, he might not be able to withstand a single blow from a level 10 monster.

Just then, a cracking sound came from the ground nearby. As soon as Yang Hongbo focused his attention on the ground, a monster resembling a lizard burst through the road and appeared in front of him. This was another eyeless monster of the eighth rank, which relied on its ears to track its prey.

Because Yang Hongbo entered its hunting range, it jumped out, opened its mouth wide, let out a roar, and then pounced on Yang Hongbo.

Yang Hongbo dodged to the side and casually slashed a long gash in its right rib. The monster roared in pain and a giant tail swept towards Yang Hongbo's waist.

Yang Hongbo leaped high and made another cut on its neck. Blood flowed freely from both cuts, and the eyeless monster became even angrier. However, its movements were so slow in front of Yang Hongbo that every time it attacked, Yang Hongbo would make another cut on its body.

Just a few minutes later, the eyeless monster collapsed to the ground, barely able to breathe. Yang Hongbo stepped forward and sliced ​​off its head with a single stroke.

At this moment, Yang Hongbo remembered that zombies and monsters in post-apocalyptic novels all had crystal cores in their heads. He checked here for any, then drew his knife and cleaved open the eyeless monster's head.

Sure enough, there was a crystal core, about the size of an egg, inside the head of the eyeless monster. When Yang Hongbo picked it up, the light screen in front of him reappeared.

[The Eyeless Monster's Crystal Core grants 10,000 experience points upon absorption!]

[Upgrading to Tier 8 requires 100,000 experience points, and I already have over 30,000. Just a few more Tier 8 monsters to kill, hehe!]

Over the next few days, Yang Hongbo searched everywhere for eighth-tier monsters, also killing many sixth- and seventh-tier monsters in the process. He also realized the loophole in this quest: if it only required killing monsters of a higher tier than himself, then he could simply level up to be higher than all the monsters, which would be better than searching for monsters everywhere, right?

Yang Hongbo searched everywhere within the monster's hunting range, muttering to himself, "Where on earth is this monster hiding? I hope I didn't make this trip for nothing."

Suddenly, a nauseating stench assaulted his nostrils. Yang Hongbo frowned, covered his nose, and said, "What is this smell? It's worse than a stinking ditch." Following the smell, he saw a group of level six zombies staggering towards him. These zombies were rotting, with bones exposed in some places and intestines hanging out, swaying as they walked.

Suppressing his nausea, Yang Hongbo swung his broadsword and roared, "You disgusting bastards, prepare to die!" With that, a sharp blade of energy shot towards the horde of zombies. Although the zombies moved slowly, sensing the danger, they still tried to dodge, baring their teeth and claws. However, the blade of energy was extremely fast, instantly piercing through the zombies' bodies. A group of zombies were cut in half at the waist, their upper bodies falling to the ground, still twitching.

"Hmph, utterly pathetic." Yang Hongbo snorted coldly, preparing to continue forward, when suddenly he heard a low roar coming from the side. He turned his head warily and saw a seventh-tier monster emerge from the ruins. This monster resembled a wolf, but was several times larger than an ordinary wolf. Its fur was messy and reeked of decay, and green slime dripped from its mouth.

"Oh, here comes something a little more challenging." Yang Hongbo smirked and said to the monster, "Come on, let me see how powerful you are."

The monster seemed to understand Yang Hongbo's words, roared, and pounced at him. Yang Hongbo dodged the attack easily, then seized the opportunity to kick the monster in the stomach. The monster cried out in pain, but quickly regained its balance and pounced at Yang Hongbo again.

Yang Hongbo dodged to the side, simultaneously slashing his broadsword fiercely across the monster's back. A large patch of fur was cut off, revealing a bloody, mangled wound. The monster thrashed wildly, trying to shake Yang Hongbo off, but Yang Hongbo gripped the hilt tightly, using the monster's momentum to deliver several more blows.

"Is that all you've got?" Yang Hongbo sneered. The monster seemed enraged; it suddenly opened its massive mouth and spewed out a cloud of green poisonous mist. Yang Hongbo quickly retreated, simultaneously swinging his broadsword to dispel the mist.

"Pretty cunning," Yang Hongbo said, then his eyes sharpened as he unleashed his ultimate technique. His broadsword shone brightly, unleashing a massive burst of blade energy that slashed towards the monster. Unable to dodge in time, the monster was struck by the energy, its body instantly sliced ​​in two, and it lay motionless on the ground.

"Ding ding ding..." The sound of experience points increasing rang in Yang Hongbo's mind. He looked at the numbers on the panel that kept climbing, nodded in satisfaction, and continued walking forward.

As Yang Hongbo ventured deeper, the monsters he encountered grew increasingly powerful and grotesque. The eighth and ninth-tier zombies were mostly stitched-together monsters, some composed of several zombies combined, while the most numerous were dozens of zombies in one form. One of them was over ten meters tall, with dozens of heads and hundreds of arms and legs protruding from its body. It resembled a multi-legged worm, crawling on the ground, attacking and devouring anything with flesh on it.

Yang Hongbo stared at the enormous, stitched-together monster before him, his stomach churning. He frowned and said, "What the hell is this thing? It's disgusting!"

The Frankenstein monster seemed to sense Yang Hongbo's presence; dozens of heads turned towards him simultaneously, emitting roars. Hundreds of arms and legs also began to wave, as if in defiance of Yang Hongbo.

"Hmph, no matter how disgusting you are, you're going to die today!" Yang Hongbo roared and charged at the Stitched Monster. He moved like lightning, weaving between the monster's many arms and legs, while his large sword kept slashing at the monster's body.

Despite its enormous size, the Frankenstein monster was not agile. It angrily swung its arms and legs, trying to grab Yang Hongbo. However, Yang Hongbo always managed to skillfully evade its attacks, leaving wounds on its body.

"Is that all you've got?" Yang Hongbo taunted as he attacked. The Stitches seemed enraged; it suddenly opened the mouths of all its heads, spewing out streams of black venom. Yang Hongbo quickly retreated, but a few drops of venom still splashed onto his clothes, instantly corroding them and creating several holes.

"What powerful venom!" Yang Hongbo was startled. He dared not be careless any longer and unleashed all his strength, slashing towards the core of the Stitches monster. The Stitches monster seemed to sense the danger, frantically waving its arms and legs, trying to stop Yang Hongbo's attack.

But Yang Hongbo was too fast and too strong. He struck the core of the stitched monster with his blade, and with a loud bang, the monster's body began to tremble violently. Then, its body gradually disintegrated, and dozens of zombies fell to the ground, struggling a few times before becoming still.

"Finally solved." Yang Hongbo breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the pile of wreckage on the ground, feeling somewhat emotional. Along the way, he had killed many sixth and seventh-tier zombies and monsters, and also encountered eighth and ninth-tier stitched monsters like this one. Every battle was extremely difficult, but he persevered.

With accumulated experience, Yang Hongbo finally advanced to the ninth rank. He felt the powerful energy within him and was filled with confidence. However, before he could celebrate for long, a tremendous roar suddenly came from the city center.

"What's going on?" Yang Hongbo looked warily toward the city center, a sense of foreboding rising in his heart.

Just then, a level ten monster appeared. It was a hybrid of a pig and a dog, with two heads on its enormous body, one a pig's head and the other a dog's head. The pig's head had a face full of muscular flesh, with fangs protruding, exuding a ferocious aura; the dog's head had fierce eyes, a wide-open mouth, and sharp teeth.

"A level ten monster!" Yang Hongbo's heart skipped a beat. He knew this would be an unprecedentedly difficult battle. But he did not back down. Instead, he gripped his greatsword tightly and stared intently at the super-Structured Monster.

"Come on, let me see how good you are!" Yang Hongbo shouted.

The Super Frankenstein's monster let out a deafening roar and charged towards Yang Hongbo. Its massive body caused the ground to tremble with every step. Yang Hongbo dodged the monster's attack and seized the opportunity to slash its leg with his sword.

However, the tenth-tier monster's defense was extremely strong, and the blow only left a shallow wound on its leg. The Super Stitched Monster, in pain, angrily swung its body, trying to shake Yang Hongbo off. At the same time, the pig-headed and dog-headed monsters respectively spewed flames and venom, attacking Yang Hongbo.

Yang Hongbo quickly retreated, simultaneously wielding his broadsword to dispel the flames and venom. He stared at the Super Frankenstein's monster, pondering a strategy. This monster was far too powerful; a direct confrontation was clearly not the way to go. He had to find its weakness.

After some observation, Yang Hongbo discovered that the Super Stitched Monster's two heads were its key parts. Attacking both heads simultaneously might be enough to defeat it. So, Yang Hongbo flashed forward and charged towards the Super Stitched Monster.

The Super Frankenstein's monster sensed Yang Hongbo's intentions and frantically waved its arms and body, trying to stop Yang Hongbo from getting closer. But Yang Hongbo, with his agile movements and powerful strength, gradually approached the Super Frankenstein's two heads.

"Now!" Yang Hongbo roared, unleashing his strongest technique. His greatsword shone brightly, and two massive blades of energy slashed towards the pig's head and the dog's head respectively. The super-Frankenstein monster sensed the danger and tried to dodge, but it was too late.

The blade struck both heads instantly, and with two loud thuds, the pig's head and the dog's head were simultaneously severed and fell to the ground. The super-Strobe Monster's body trembled violently before crashing to the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

"Finally made it through." Yang Hongbo looked at the Super Frankenstein's monster lying on the ground and sat down wearily. He had exerted tremendous effort in this battle, almost exhausting all his physical strength and energy. But he knew he had succeeded and passed the first hurdle.

He looked at the words "Level 1 Passed" on the panel and felt a sense of accomplishment. After resting for a while, he stood up and prepared to face the challenge of the next level.