Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 116 Insights into Subtlety

As it turns out, one of the old guys was still quite annoying.

Zhou Ye was chatting and laughing with Du Juan and Xiao Cui, while he was coughing loudly in the next room like a sickly person.

However, from the chat, we learned that:

Because the new prefect has sold out too many interests, the previous government has become completely weak, and the entire prefecture is in a state of anarchy.

On the contrary, wealthy and powerful families thrived. Taking advantage of the consecutive disasters of the past few years, they began hoarding and speculating. Prices for almost everything skyrocketed. Vast amounts of wealth accumulated in the hands of these wealthy families, while the common people suffered immensely.

After the miners fled the county town, they joined the previous rebel forces and quickly became the core of the rebel army.

Also due to the weakness of the new prefect and the army, the rebellion grew increasingly powerful. Currently, apart from the prefectural capital and a few county towns, rebels were everywhere. The army's efforts to quell the rebellion became extremely difficult.

Furthermore, due to the impact of the war, many rural residents had fled. A large influx of refugees arrived in the county seat, causing prices to skyrocket further.

Third Senior Brother Han Guang failed to break through to the Inner Strength stage and is currently recuperating at home. This has led to some chaos in the management of the Fenglei Martial Arts School, forcing Du Keyuan to personally intervene.

Senior Sister Weiwei is pregnant again. Okay! Brother-in-law Lü is really doing a great job, huh?

After the martial arts tournament, Song Zhongqi traveled the world with several young heroes and heroines to challenge masters, much to the dismay of Du Juan and Xiao Cui, the mistress and servant.

However, the latest news is that Song Zhongqi and his group defeated a long-established gang of thugs, resulting in a significant increase in the number of students enrolling at the martial arts school recently. Therefore, Du Juan is still a little proud.

After leaving the Fenglei Martial Arts School, Zhou Ye headed towards his home at the dock. When he saw the long queue outside the grain shop, he could only shake his head with a wry smile—"Huh?"

It seems I've stockpiled a whole warehouse of cloth, haven't I? Turns out, I'm the unscrupulous merchant myself?

Since prices have skyrocketed, should we sell all these fabrics?

Forget it! There are only a few days left to start over and rebuild my cultivation. I'll just switch to the Realm of Freedom and Unfettered Skill all at once.

Inside the room, Zhou Ye sat cross-legged, circulating his qi and blood, and felt as if strands of qi and blood were transforming into the incomparably pure Mirage Free and Easy Skill.

But suddenly, as if breaking through some boundary, like a silver bottle shattering, that mysterious feeling instantly converged, making the whole person seem to float in this wondrous enlightenment—

And so, in this half-dreaming, half-awake state, three days have passed.

-

When Zhou Ye opened his eyes and saw the new content appearing on the panel, he couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Because the panel now has a new section for [Passive Talents], I've gained a new passive talent called "Slight Cripple (Exterior Vision)"!

Furthermore, entering the Minor Imperfection realm grants rewards—Comprehension +1, Essence +1, and 4 Natural Attribute Points!

What's even more exhilarating is that, thanks to this profound understanding of the subtle and incomplete realm, the experience points for the Mirage Realm Free and Easy Skill have increased by leaps and bounds.

Has he already reached the great mastery of the early stage of Ming Jin?

Zhou Ye (Early Ming Jin Stage): 17/72

Root Bone: +6

Comprehension: +5

[Passive Talent]

Entering the Subtle Imperfections (External Perspective): Introduction (21/50)

[Basic Data]

Life: (130/130)

Strength: +4

Agility: +7

Constitution: +4

Essence: +5

Charisma: +1

[Technique]

Intermediate Poison Skill (Mortal): Perfect (1000/1000) (+)

Mirage Realm Free and Easy Skill (Early Stage of Ming Jin): Great Success (421/500)

【Skill】

Intermediate Concealment Technique (Mortal): Minor Success (55/200)

Primary Azure Eye (Mortal): Mastery (19/500)

Basic Blood Transfusion Technique (Mortal): Proficient (81/100)

[Martial Arts]

Intermediate Military Sword and Shield Technique (Second-rate): Proficient (46/100)

Immaculate Glazed Skill (Second-rate): Proficient (4/100)

Shadow Step (Second-rate): Proficient (11/100)

Second-rate archery: Beginner (8/50)

Azure Waters Swimming Dragon (Second-rate): Beginner (0/50)

Wind and Thunder Grappling Technique (Third-rate): Proficient (4/100)

Eight Directions Night Rain (Third-rate): Proficient (66/100)

Silk-pulling expert (third-rate): Minor achievement (126/200)

Wind and Thunder Spear (Third-rate): Beginner (46/50)

Cloud Sea Overlapping Waves Sword (Third-rate): Beginner (0/50)

Basic Hammering (Unskilled): Perfect (1000/1000)

Free attribute points: 2

Seeing the new content on the panel, Zhou Ye grinned broadly. Perhaps it was the result of years of hard work and accumulation; his strength had undergone a dramatic transformation.

The biggest change was reaching the "early stage of Ming Jin" (a martial arts technique). He not only became a Ming Jin martial artist, officially entering the ranks of minor masters, but his life expectancy also increased significantly, rising from 63 to 72 years old—a full nine years longer.

Another thing is the addition of a [passive talent]. In just one enlightenment, I actually comprehended the Subtle Imperfection (External Vision).

Although the passive talent of "Insightful Insight" is not complete, it is only "Incomplete Insightful Insight", and it only has external vision.

However, stimulated by the enlightenment, his main cultivation technique advanced by leaps and bounds. Not only did he transform the Wind and Thunder Technique into the Mirage Realm Free and Unfettered Technique, increasing the richness of his qi and blood by about one-third, but he also broke through to the Great Completion stage, just one step away from perfection.

To be honest, Zhou Ye could break through to the mid-stage of Ming Jin in just a few months, and in less than a year, he could also break through to the late-stage of Ming Jin.

Therefore, breaking through to the Dark Force realm is no longer a dream. Considering that there are only a few Grand Force masters in Fufeng County, at most a hundred or so Dark Force masters, once you reach the Dark Force realm, you will almost certainly not encounter any dangerous enemies in the surrounding area.

Additionally, there's the reward of 10 natural attribute points for breaking through to the Ming Jin level. There are also the entry-level rewards for the Minor Comprehending skill, the max-level rewards for the Basic Concealment and Breath-Concealing Technique, the max-level rewards for the Wild Bull Tempering Technique, the max-level rewards for the Cloud Ladder, the max-level rewards for the Third-Rate Archery, and the guaranteed max-level reward for Basic Thrust. Finally, there's the entry-level reward for Azure Dragon Swimming.

All these rewards combined amounted to 24 points of natural attribute.

Of those 20 points, 20 were added to Root Bone. Root Bone +2 → Root Bone +6

Through such a long period of hard work, Zhou Ye's natural talent has finally made him a naturally gifted player. Although he is slightly inferior to Yuan Zhen and Du Juan, he is already on par with Huang Sheng at that time. In fact, he has even slightly surpassed Huang Sheng.

Recalling his friend Huang Sheng, Zhou Ye secretly resolved that he would never let Huang Sheng down in his dream of martial arts.

And with the +6 to Root Bone, the daily experience gain reached as much as 6 points? From 1 point every five days to 6 points every day? That's like a dream.

Furthermore, as Zhou Ye's cultivation level reached the early stage of Ming Jin, he could gain 12 experience points per day by practicing third-rate martial arts techniques; if he practiced second-rate martial arts techniques, he could gain 4 experience points per day. The speed at which he gained experience points was also much faster.

Finally, there are the basic data. After breaking through to the Mingjin level, almost all of the basic data have doubled!

In other words, the average score for ordinary people has risen directly to 20 points.

Since the Mingjin panel has been refreshed, the calculation now uses the average Mingjin data, also based on an average of 10 points. Therefore, all basic data must be halved in the calculation.

The highest stat remains Agility, reaching +7. This is equivalent to an average person's Agility of 34. Even among Ming Jin martial artists, such Agility is quite astonishing.

Furthermore, aside from Charisma +1, all other base stats are also +4 or +5. This surpasses the level of ordinary Ming Jin, with almost every stat reaching the entry-level standard for genius. In other words, it's the level of a genius with all talents.

From now on, can I call myself a "hexagonal warrior"? Hahaha!

As for the remaining natural attribute points? Intermediate Poison Skill was not added for the time being; 2 points were added to Third-Class Archery, upgrading it to Second-Class Archery.

I have 2 natural attribute points left, keep them for future use!

Therefore, after consolidating his realm for a few days, Zhou Ye couldn't wait to rush to his small home, eager to test his latest strength!

A month later.

In the gray swamp, a figure darted out of a cloud of miasma, immediately startling several fire lizards nearby, who scattered and fled. One of the fire lizards had only taken a few steps when it suddenly felt a sharp pain on its scalp, as if someone had patted it. It froze in place, terrified.

However, after a while, the fire lizard realized it was completely unharmed, and the human had long since flown far away, only a tiny black dot remaining in its sight. The fire lizard's eyes darted around, and it began to struggle, immediately fleeing in panic—

Rushing like the wind, Zhou Ye smiled slightly. He had just been in a playful mood and casually patted the fire lizard's head—it was indeed just a light pat. He had no intention of hunting those fire lizards at all. Because demonic beasts at the early stage of the Qi Refining realm were practically useless to him.

After reaching the Ming Jin level, Zhou Ye's health and physique greatly improved, and with the Blood Exchange Technique having reached its peak, he was able to venture deep into the Gray Swamp area.

Therefore, Zhou Ye has ventured deeper into the area several times in recent days, each time going further and deeper than the last. He wants to determine exactly where his limits are.

Half an hour later, Zhou Ye stood on an island in the middle of a lake, surrounded by a black lake of mud and yellow water.

The island is very large, covering an area of ​​more than twenty miles. And along the coast near the mainland, there are mudflats that stretch for several thousand paces.

Zhou Ye quickly arrived at the mudflats, and a moment later, several dark figures suddenly sprang out of the mud in front of him. They pounced on Zhou Ye; they were several huge oil crocodiles.

After sensing them briefly, I discovered that most of these oil-armored crocodiles were at the early stage of the Enlightenment Realm, with only one at the middle stage.

Zhou Ye felt bored. He brandished his Black Dragon Spear, swatting the armored crocodiles away one by one. As soon as the crocodiles fell into the mud, Zhou Ye noticed that many of them were already subtly swimming towards him—

A quarter of an hour later, there were now seven or eight oil-armored crocodiles in front of Zhou Ye. Among them, the two most ferocious were those that had reached the late stage of the Qi Refining realm.

Countless groups of oil crocodiles live in this vast blackwater lake and mudflats.

Just as Zhou Ye's figure flashed, three figures suddenly appeared in the spot where he had been standing. A powerful oil-armored crocodile sprang out from under the feet of one of the figures, but it missed its bite and was slightly stunned in mid-air.

Zhou Ye finally smiled. He was really lucky this time; he had finally encountered an oil-armored crocodile at the early stage of the Ming Jin realm.

More than half an hour later, Zhou Ye and the group of oil-armored crocodiles were evenly matched. The main force of these oil-armored crocodiles had now become one early-stage Ming Jin and four late-stage Ru Jin.

Zhou Ye did not use any other weapons. The martial art he used was the Wind and Thunder Spear (a third-rate skill) that he was not yet very proficient in.

While fighting, you can also farm some experience points for the Wind and Thunder Spear.

To be honest, Zhou Ye had already fought this kind of oil-armored crocodile at the early stage of Ming Jin several times. He discovered that not only were Ming Jin martial artists not easy to deal with, but even these Ming Jin demonic beasts were not to be trifled with. It could also be said that—without entering the Ming Jin realm, one is not a demonic beast.

Once a demon beast reaches the Ming Jin level, its combat skills often become instinctive. Perhaps one of them will be beyond the limit, and two or three may even reach the level of mastery or perfection of first-class martial arts.

Unlike Zhou Ye, whose first-rate martial arts skills are still in the foundation stage and at most at the second or third-rate level, the Ming Jin demon beast is directly first-rate. This seems to be some kind of talent of demon beasts. It is indeed particularly enviable.

Like this oil-armored crocodile, they secrete a kind of oily substance that makes their skin exceptionally smooth and greasy. This not only greatly increases their defensive capabilities but also allows them to swim quickly in water or mud. In particular, oil-armored crocodiles have an excellent ability to conceal their presence; when they lurk at the bottom of the water or in the mud, they are extremely difficult for the average person to spot.

Therefore, in past battles, defeating the oil-armored crocodile was not difficult, but hunting it was extremely difficult. Once they burrowed into the mud, they were impossible to catch.

Of course, Zhou Ye also discovered some of his own problems:

First of all, it's certain that no other martial arts techniques were used. Otherwise, hunting an oil-armored crocodile at the early stage of Ming Jin might be quite difficult, but hunting one at the late stage of Ru Jin would be a piece of cake.

Secondly, the Realm of Freedom and Unfettered Skill is not a particularly powerful offensive technique. It excels more at maneuvering and escaping. Therefore, it cannot deliver a decisive blow. Not to mention, the Oil-Armored Crocodile's defenses are incredibly strong—

Finally, there are the weapons. For example, this Black Dragon Spear is just a slightly better ordinary weapon. It's basically classified as a second-rate weapon. My own Xuan Steel Battle Blade is slightly better, barely qualifying as a third-rate weapon! Not to mention those divine weapons, it's far from being a first-rate weapon.

That's why, even if Zhou Ye wanted to hunt it, the moment he wounded the oil-armored crocodile, it would quickly burrow into the mud and disappear in the blink of an eye.

So, whether they can ultimately hunt it down depends on luck.

Another quarter of an hour passed. Zhou Ye's situation seemed to be getting increasingly dire. Under the siege of the oil-armored crocodiles, he was already suffering repeated defeats.

Oil-armored crocodiles are likely not very intelligent. If they see prey about to escape, they will relentlessly pursue and kill it.

When they were more than a hundred paces away from the mudflats, Zhou Ye's eyes suddenly lit up. He had finally pulled the monster far enough away, and the ground beneath his feet had turned into hard ground.

A powerful surge of energy erupted into the sky. Zhou Ye finally ceased his extreme restraint, releasing his powerful Ming Jin energy.