8: Chapter 8 Advancement to Level 10

host: Jiang Ling

Rank: Rank 9 (1.845%)

Strength: 40 (x10)

Agility: 43 (x10)

Vitality: 47 (x10)

Defense: 23 (x10)

Mental Energy: 42 (x10)

Supernatural Ability: World-Ending Divine Thunder (SSS-Rank)

Martial Skill: Basic Fist Technique (Great Perfection), Basic Leg Technique (Great Perfection), Basic Saber Technique (Great Perfection)

Having reached Rank 9, Jiang Ling instantly felt a massive boost in every aspect of his body's power.

With his basic attributes amplified tenfold, Jiang Ling's strength, agility, Mental Energy, and vitality had all reached an incredible level.

"Next step, onward to Rank 10!"

Jiang Ling's eyes were filled with excitement.

Moving from Rank 9 to Rank 10 would be a qualitative change, so it required more upgrade points; Jiang Ling only gained 2% progress from slaying a Rank 9 mutated beast.

Jiang Ling didn't mind.

If he kept killing like this, he would definitely reach Rank 10 today.

After killing over a dozen Rank 9 mutated beasts in a row, a sudden chattering sound echoed from ahead.

Jiang Ling looked closely and saw an entirely grey monkey swinging through the branches; it reached him in the blink of an eye.

"A Rank 10 mutated beast, a Stone Spirit Monkey!"

Jiang Ling took a deep breath.

Rank 10 mutated beasts were a completely different concept compared to Rank 9.

From Rank 9 to Rank 10, it was a qualitative leap.

Rank 10 mutated beasts had a Crystal Core in their heads, which could greatly enhance their supernatural abilities.

This was somewhat similar to the Awakening of a Human Race Martial Artist's Supernatural Ability, allowing the beast's power to double.

Normally, a human would need to reach at least Rank 13 or 14 to compete with a Rank 10 mutated beast.

The Stone Spirit Monkey arrived before Jiang Ling, baring its teeth and making human-like expressions of mockery and provocation.

It also viewed Jiang Ling as a delicious meal.

"Little monkey brat, you're still too green to think about eating me!"

Jiang Ling's eyes narrowed slightly as he raised his horizontal saber high, preparing for battle.

Squeak!

The Stone Spirit Monkey let out a shriek, and in the next moment, its body turned into an afterimage as it lunged toward Jiang Ling.

The Stone Spirit Monkey's agility was exceptionally high and its speed was incredibly fast; if Jiang Ling's Mental Energy weren't strong enough, he likely wouldn't even have been able to see its movement technique clearly.

Jiang Ling dodged and slashed his saber at the Stone Spirit Monkey.

Puchi!

Jiang Ling's blade struck one of the Stone Spirit Monkey's legs, but it only left a shallow mark and failed to inflict a fatal wound.

"What strong defense!"

Jiang Ling couldn't help but be surprised.

This blade of his was a D-Rank alloy battle saber, incredibly sharp, yet it couldn't break through the Stone Spirit Monkey's defense.

It seemed the Stone Spirit Monkey's Supernatural Ability was this thick layer of Stone Skin!

Having suffered a slight setback, the Stone Spirit Monkey immediately began to shriek in anger.

It spun around and lunged at Jiang Ling once more.

Jiang Ling snorted, a flash of lightning flickering in his eyes; in the next moment, electricity surged across his body and coated his horizontal saber as he slashed at the Stone Spirit Monkey.

Crackle...

The lightning struck the Stone Spirit Monkey, causing it to scream in agony as smoke rose from its body.

Jiang Ling's battle saber couldn't cause much damage to the Stone Spirit Monkey, but his SSS-Rank Supernatural Ability, World-Ending Divine Thunder, could.

This was why everyone placed such high importance on the Awakening of supernatural abilities.

A powerful Supernatural Ability could increase a Martial Artist's combat strength by several, or even dozens of times.

The Stone Spirit Monkey howled and bared its teeth, attacking Jiang Ling fiercely once again; Jiang Ling dodged with a shift of his body, lightning swirling around him as he slashed out once more.

Amidst a flurry of thunderous light, the Stone Spirit Monkey leaped about, struggling against Jiang Ling, but it couldn't land a single hit; instead, it became covered in wounds and fell further into a disadvantage.

The Stone Spirit Monkey also realized that if this continued, it would likely be finished, so it suddenly leaped onto a large tree, preparing to flee.

How could Jiang Ling possibly let it escape?

Swoosh!

Jiang Ling leaped high and delivered another slash; accompanied by a flash of thunderous light, the Stone Spirit Monkey was struck and fell heavily from the tree.

Jiang Ling rushed forward, his horizontal saber descending with a flash of blade light and an explosion of thunder; the Stone Spirit Monkey was finally rendered unable to move.

"Ding! Combat has doubled the upgrade effect; Realm progress increased by 4%!"

Jiang Ling walked forward and split open the Stone Spirit Monkey's head, finding a Crystal Core glowing with a grey light inside, just as expected.

"These mutated beast Crystal Cores are very valuable; hunting mutated beasts above Rank 10 earns much more than ordinary ones!"

"After I leave this time, I should buy a suit of combat armor with stronger defense!"

Jiang Ling looked at the bloody scratches on his arm left by the Stone Spirit Monkey and felt it was necessary to upgrade his defense.

No matter how strong he was, there would inevitably be times when he made a mistake.

After carving out everything valuable from the Stone Spirit Monkey, Jiang Ling continued his search.

That day, Jiang Ling encountered many mutated beasts above Rank 10, some even reaching Rank 11 or 12.

Fighting them wasn't easy, and many wounds appeared on his body.

Fortunately, he possessed the Chaos Sacred Body with Physical Strengthening, allowing his injuries to recover extremely quickly.

Ordinary wounds only needed a short rest to heal, and once healed, not even a scar remained.

By the time evening approached, Jiang Ling was only a tiny bit away from Rank 10.

The final opponent Jiang Ling encountered was a massive Rank 12 centipede.

This centipede was over a hundred meters long with a hard carapace and incredible speed; it could spit venom from its mouth, making it very difficult to deal with.

Several times, the toxins sprayed onto Jiang Ling, corroding his clothes and leaving large marks on his skin.

However, Jiang Ling had Physical Strengthening, which increased his toxin resistance by fiftyfold; although he felt uncomfortable, he could still endure.

Crackle...

Jiang Ling's World-Ending Divine Thunder activated wildly, turning the surroundings into an ocean of lightning that completely submerged the centipede.

Green smoke constantly rose from the centipede's shell, and the smell of roasted meat filled his nostrils.

Jiang Ling was uncomfortable, but the centipede was faring much worse.

Finally, Jiang Ling found an opportunity and delivered a high-reaching slash.

Puchi!

The centipede's head was directly chopped off by Jiang Ling.

"Ding! Combat has doubled the upgrade effect; Realm progress increased by 6%!"

"Ding! Your Rank has reached Rank 10 (2.545%)!"

host: Jiang Ling

Rank: Rank 10 (2.545%)

Strength: 50 (x10)

Agility: 54 (x10)

Vitality: 60 (x10)

Defense: 35 (x10)

Mental Energy: 55 (x10)

Supernatural Ability: World-Ending Divine Thunder (SSS-Rank)

Martial Skill: Basic Fist Technique (Great Perfection), Basic Leg Technique (Great Perfection), Basic Saber Technique (Great Perfection)

Upon promoting to Rank 10, which was a First-Order Martial Artist, Jiang Ling's attributes were once again massively boosted.

His Strength reached 50 points; with the tenfold amplification effect, his Strength hit a terrifying 500 points.

This 500-point explosive power from Jiang Ling could even rival that of a Rank 20 Strength-type Martial Artist.