High Martial Arts Races: I Ascend to the Future in a Simulation

[You lay on the ground for about a day, still tightly gripping the bronze spear. Thanks to your various talents and youthful vigor, your injuries have healed somewhat, but your body remains extremely weak.]

A wolf smelled blood and cautiously approached.

"If I can't handle the Tiger King, I can certainly handle you!"

Even severely wounded and bleeding internally, you remain invincible against these lowly beasts!

You watch helplessly as the wolf approaches, its jaws snapping shut to bite your thigh. Then, with a flick of your finger, a silver steel blade flashes from the side, swiftly piercing its neck and killing it instantly.

[By eating wolf meat and drinking wolf blood, you were finally able to get up and walk around after a day. Fortunately, you didn't encounter that giant tiger in the past few days, and you gradually recovered to your peak condition.]

Another month passed, and your injuries were basically healed. This was a tremendous vitality that you couldn't have imagined in your previous simulations of the Bloodlust Technique. You headed deeper into the grasslands, preparing to fight the saber-toothed tiger once more.

Along the way, you see corpses everywhere; countless skeletons are scattered across the grassland, already rotting and stinking, attracting swarms of mosquitoes and wolves.

"This was... killed by the Sword Tiger King?"

You can't help but wonder: "What about it?"

After walking for hundreds of miles following the rotting corpses, you still did not see the Sword Tiger King.

All that could be seen was a huge, fleshy skeleton.

A dozen or so lions were feasting around the skeleton, including one male and more than ten females. Outside, dozens of coyotes roamed, their eyes fixed on the skeleton, seemingly eager to take a bite as well.

You couldn't help but murmur to yourself.

"...If you were at your peak, you could easily wipe them all out."

"It seems the injuries you sustained after that battle have shown those beasts that you too can be wounded. This will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for them—a chance to eliminate the overlord of the grasslands and usher in an era of warring states."

"You killed countless beasts who dared to challenge your authority... but even the strongest tiger has its limits, and you eventually fell."

Perhaps because the previous battle was too exhilarating, you felt a sense of camaraderie, like heroes admiring each other. That saber-toothed tiger king had been the ruler of the grasslands for countless years, but after fighting you, he was reduced to a fallen tiger, bullied by dogs...

"Dry them to death!"

Xu Fei said excitedly.

He didn't care about heroes cherishing heroes; all he knew was that his "Sabertooth King" achievement was gone!

It's all the fault of those lions!

"They actually stole my kill... How despicable!"

So you rushed forward, taking down the wolves one by one with a single shot, and after a brief battle, you also wiped out the pride of lions.

Finally, looking at the mangled remains of the former saber-toothed tiger king, he shattered it with a single spear thrust and removed its two saber teeth, each over half a meter long.

[Keep this as a souvenir.]

At 26, you arrive on the other side of the great lake. After a massive purchase of leather shoe raw materials, the Crocodile Ancestor is summoned.

Using the mud trap you dug earlier on the shore, you fought and retreated against this crocodile patriarch, waiting for the right moment to activate the mechanism, causing most of its body to fall into the pit.

"Can't jump out now, can you? Old fuming crocodile!"

[While crocodiles aren't exactly weak jumpers, they're nowhere near the level of saber-toothed tigers. They can only weakly flail their four short legs, their snouts opening and closing, before you, with your human intelligence, easily kill them.]

[Achievement: Crocodile King.]

[Afterwards, you drag the crocodile ancestor's corpse out of the pit, cut open its abdomen, and take the "Dragon Heart."]

[Something will leave you stunned: this dragon heart is different from the one you saw in the last simulation; it's not the dragon heart that Tie Man gave you.]

[After cooking and eating it, it didn't have that magical effect after all.]

"Where did he get this from?"

Xu Fei was stunned. Although he did not choose the memory from the last simulation, he still remembered the text description: Tie Man headed north and returned after slaying a dragon.

Isn't the north home to a large lake inhabited by crocodile tribes?

Could it be that...

At 27, you begin practicing your "Hot-Blooded Kung Fu."

[Nothing special, just taking a chance.]

You don't want to experience the aging process you went through in the last simulation, nor do you want to feel the despair of life slowly slipping away.

So while you're still young, give it your all.

Your martial arts cultivation, "Constitution," and "Strength" attributes are soaring at a rate several times, or even ten times, faster than before.

[A 29-year-old savage with astonishing martial arts talent has suddenly appeared, challenging you to claim your chieftainship.]

[When he broke through to the Martial Weapon realm, Qi Ma awakened an intermediate-level talent and also cultivated the Hot-Blooded Technique. Even though his martial arts cultivation is inferior to yours, his attributes after the buffs have already surpassed yours.]

He easily defeated the previous "acting clan leader" who had cultivated the Extreme Breaking Technique.

You fought him for hundreds of rounds, finally defeating him with your "perfect" level of marksmanship.

[At 30 years old, another young savage challenges you—a unique event you never encountered in your last simulation.]

[After all, back then you had your adopted son: the invincible Iron Barbarian who suppressed all dissent. Even those who coveted the position of clan leader had to get past Iron Barbarian first.]

[Unlike last year, this young savage is actually not as good as last year's, but after hundreds of rounds of fighting, you smiled slightly, gave way to him, and became a hands-off manager.]

[When facing that guy from last year, you actually wanted to step down, but he was too immature; every move he made was aimed at killing you. A challenger like that naturally has to die.]

This year's challenge was purely about proving yourself, so you gracefully stepped back.

At 31, you reached the 8th dan level in martial arts.

"In the past ten years or so, I only gained two points, but now I've gained three points in four years, which means I've increased my physique and strength by more than half a point every year on average."

"This is the confidence that Hot Blood Kung Fu gives me."

Soon after, you will feel your potential exhausted, reaching your peak.

Your progress is starting to slow down. What would you do in response?

Xu Fei: "Ready—"

[Extreme Breakthrough, Activated!]

At 32, in this vast world, you feel only invincibility and loneliness!

[It's a pity that after perfecting your marksmanship, you couldn't find the path to "ultimate mastery," and you felt this was your greatest regret.]

"What bosses haven't I fought yet?"

[With only a few months left until your peak, you can't help but ponder.]

[One is the swamp... Forget it, you really don't want to go back to that awful environment. Who knows if the map boss is some catfish or an old turtle hiding in some mud puddle? You really don't want to get bitten by mosquitoes again.]

"So only one map is left—the Abyss!"

The abyss area is located in the northeast direction.

"Tie Man returned from slaying dragons in the north... Could it be that he wasn't actually from the 'true north'?"

Xu Fei seemed to be deep in thought, and his heart was filled with excitement at that moment.

There might be a dragon in that vast rift valley in the northeast, the divine dragon that Tie Man spoke of!