From a tuberculosis patient to a martial arts master

Rift Valley.

Stretching for hundreds of miles, it lies across the towering mountains north of Jinyang City, seemingly cleaved open by a giant axe, its depths unfathomable. Sheer cliffs stand on either side, accessible only by a suspended iron chain bridge.

The valley rarely sees the sun.

The dark fog lingered, exuding a chilling and eerie aura that cut to the bone. Occasionally, a few deafening roars of beasts would erupt from the wind, lingering for a long time.

"Whoa—"

A soft shout spurred the horse on.

Upon reaching the valley entrance, Zhu Hong dismounted and tied his horse to a sheltered crevice in the rocks. He patted the horse's neck and said, "Stay here for now, I'll be right back."

The horse snorted and pawed at its front hooves.

Zhu Hong tightened the sword at his waist, gathered his strength, and leaped forward, making his way along the iron chain bridge toward the rift valley.

The deeper you go into the valley, the thicker the fog becomes.

A few steps away, no one could be seen clearly, and a foul, fishy stench wafted through the air, wafting straight into one's nostrils. Zhu Hong frowned, cursing inwardly, "This godforsaken place must be filled with miasma from the corpses that have rotted away over the years."

After another incense stick's time, the fog thinned out a bit.

A bright and clear view opened up before my eyes:

On a sheltered, sunny cliff, where the snow had melted, a strange beast lay on the black rock, gnawing on half a leg bone of some unknown animal, making a loud crunching sound.

Zhu Hong took a closer look. At first glance, he mistook it for a pangolin commonly found in the mountains and fields. But upon closer inspection, he realized it was different. Although it resembled one, its scales were bluish-green, and its tail was as thick as a club. It was clearly a first-rank, lower-level Iron-Scaled Beast. This creature's scales were as hard as refined iron and could deflect blades, but it was weak, stupid, and liked to burrow underground.

They are considered to be in the lowest tier of monsters.

He didn't rush to make a move. He first held his breath, scanned his surroundings with his eyes, and listened intently for a while to make sure there were no other demonic beasts around. Only then did he lightly touch the ground with his toes, stick to the shadow of the cliff wall, and silently approach the iron-scaled beast.

The Iron-Scaled Beast was happily gnawing away, completely unaware that a deadly threat was about to strike.

When they were only seven or eight steps away, Zhu Hong suddenly pushed off with his toes, his body leaping out like a cat. The sword at his waist was drawn with a clang, and with a swift and powerful slash, the blade struck the beast, aiming to finish it off in one move.

Hearing the sound of the blade, the Iron-Scaled Beast suddenly raised its head, its beady eyes wide open, with half a bone still dangling from its mouth.

To everyone's surprise, it didn't dodge or flinch after it came to its senses!

The Iron-Scaled Beast quickly tucked its head into its chest, coiled its four short legs around its body, wrapped its tail around its body, and tightened all its scales, forming a hard iron ball.

They didn't take the blow seriously at all.

This method has always worked well against hunters in the past. No matter how sharp your mouth or how sharp your knife, you won't hurt it in the slightest. Once the hunter is tired of cutting or the beast is annoyed by its bites, you can take the opportunity to burrow underground and escape.

Unfortunately, the person I encountered today is unreasonable.

"clang--!"

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the empty valley.

Sparks flew three feet high.

The iron-scaled beast's scales were as hard as refined iron. When struck by this powerful slash, the iron ball it had formed couldn't stop sliding backward more than ten feet, carving a deep trench in the pile of rocks and snow.

What followed immediately was:

"Click."

A sharp, piercing sound rang out.

The beast's prized dark blue scales were suddenly split open from the center of its back, and blood gushed out with a "plop".

"Gah—!!!"

The Iron-Scaled Beast panicked and quickly poked its head out of its shell. Its tiny green eyes were full of confusion. How could its invincible armor be cleaved in two with a single blow?

It wanted to run away.

Four short legs frantically dug a hole in the snow, and in the blink of an eye, they had dug a hole half a foot deep.

But after digging a few times, its body suddenly stiffened and stopped moving. Its body then tilted to the side, and it fell headfirst into the pit. It twitched a few times and then became completely still.

"What a stupid fool."

Zhu Hong flicked his wrist, wiping the blood off the blade, and with a clang, sheathed it again. He slowly walked closer, glanced down at the gaping scales, then at the pair of lifeless, beady green eyes, and couldn't help but sneer: "Did you think a tortoise shell would make you safe?"

As the laughter subsided, he crouched down and reached out to collect the entire corpse into his pouch.

[Acquired: Iron-Scaled Beast (Lower Grade 1)]

Awarded: One Gu of Qi and Blood

In an instant, a warm current arose, and the muscles tightened up.

Zhu Hong stood up, sensing the changes within his body, and smiled knowingly: "Although this rift valley is dangerous, it is also a blessed place."

……

For several days after that.

Zhu Hong only lingered around the outer edge of the rift valley.

He was rather cautious, never venturing recklessly into the depths of the rift valley. He only targeted secluded spots where monsters were alone, not seeking to be greedy or reckless, but only aiming to make a profit with every strike. Over the course of several days, including the first iron-scaled beast he killed, he had slain exactly six monsters.

All five of them were second-rate goods of the lower rank of first grade.

The remaining one was a bit tricky; it was a Swiftwind Sable that had just reached the point of being able to handle meat.

The creature was no bigger than a raccoon, but its movements were as fast as a ghost. It could dodge and weave, and even a blade couldn't catch up with it. It was slippery and adept at sneaking up on gaps to launch attacks.

Zhu Hong chased it for most of the day.

After circling around seven or eight mountain ridges, he finally cornered it in a dead end at the edge of a cliff. In the end, despite being bitten hard on the forearm, he held the beast down and beheaded it with a single stroke.

"He has already accumulated hundreds of merits."

Zhu Hong leaned against a tree, taking a break in the afterglow of the setting sun, a slight smile in his eyes, "In the end, one must go it alone to see quick results."

If he had continued to travel with Lin Jizhi, the benefits of accumulating merit by slaying demons would likely not have been as readily available.

Before his smile faded, his fingertips had already slid to the hilt of the goose-feather sword at his waist.

Clang—

The fingertip slid down along the scabbard.

The blade was drawn half an inch from its sheath, and its edge was covered with nicks and chips, as if it had been chewed by a dog, with hardly any smooth spots.

"No, it won't work."

Zhu Hong frowned, and with a "whoosh," he pushed the sword back into its sheath. He secretly thought to himself, "I can't just leave the valley so hastily. At the very least, I need to collect four hundred merits to exchange for a suitable and powerful weapon, and also take a White Yuan Fruit with me. Only then will my trip to this Rift Valley be worthwhile."

Anyway, the dry rations I carried in my mustard seed bag were enough to last me a month.

They won't starve.

Especially his weapon; ever since he learned the "draw sword slash," he felt uncomfortable without a suitable weapon at hand.

In general, weapons in the world can be divided into two main categories:

One says it's the mortal world below the mountain, the other says it's the work of nature on the mountain.

In the realm of ordinary weapons, they are commonly called "craftsman's weapons," which are conventional swords and knives forged by blacksmiths in the marketplace using refined steel and wrought iron. His few goose-feather sabers belong to this category. This type of weapon becomes particularly inadequate when encountering monsters with thick scales and armor, requiring considerable effort and causing significant damage to the blade.

In just a few days, one of them has already been destroyed.

Of course, it's not entirely the blade's fault that it was dull. His "drawing sword slash" was just too domineering, deserving of the credit.

Above the level of craftsmanship, there are the "heavyweight tools".

This heavy weapon is a top-tier item among ordinary weapons. It was forged by a master craftsman using rare ores such as meteorite iron and cold gold, and was hammered and refined countless times. This kind of weapon is not only far sharper and harder than ordinary weapons, but it can also withstand even a small amount of strength poured into it by a martial artist in the Tendon Refining Realm.

Splitting gold and breaking rocks is a piece of cake for them.

"If I had such a powerful weapon in my hands..."

Zhu Hong narrowed his eyes, and a thought began to stir in his mind: "His overall strength needs to increase by at least one level!"

Further up the mountain, one enters the realm of divine craftsmanship.

Roughly divided into four categories:

[Spiritual artifacts, magical treasures, quasi-immortal weapons, immortal weapons.]

Each grade is strictly divided into four levels: "low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade". Even the lowest-grade spiritual artifact, if it falls into Jinyang City, will definitely cause a bloodbath. Such treasures are coveted by many, and even if they risk their lives, they may not be able to get their hands on them.

"Alright, let's not think about that for now."

As Zhu Hong pondered this, he suddenly chuckled and said, "If I can acquire even one powerful weapon right now, I'll consider it a stroke of good luck from my ancestors."

……