7: Shadowcat! Martial Arts Improvement

“There’s a plus sign now. Does this mean I can upgrade?”

“First, upgrade my realm!”

Li Ziyu looked at the system panel and, without much hesitation, chose to increase his realm.

As his thought settled.

Instantly, Li Ziyu felt his limbs and bones become incredibly hot.

Then, a crackling sound, like exploding beans, emanated from within his body.

At the same time, a turbid, viscous, black liquid, emitting an unpleasant odor, seeped from his body.

Li Ziyu was not surprised but rather delighted by this sudden change.

He couldn't help but widen his eyes and look at his hands.

“The resonating of bones and muscles, the roar of a tiger and leopard, and the expulsion of impurities—is this the sign of becoming a First Grade Warrior?”

“I've become a First Grade Warrior just like that??”

The resonating of bones and muscles and the roar of a tiger and leopard—when one's bones reach a certain level of hardness, they will emit such sounds.

And these impurities within his body are a sign of toxins being cleared.

He was all too clear about what these two conditions represented.

Not only did he understand, but probably everyone who wanted to become a Warrior knew.

Because this was what everyone yearned for.

It signified that, in terms of qi and blood, he had reached the standard for a First Grade Warrior, as announced by the national Martial Arts Association!

Thinking this, Li Ziyu opened his system panel.

Name: Li Ziyu.

Realm: First Grade Elementary Warrior.

Battle Skill: Elementary Swordsmanship.

System: Martial God System.

Function: Can absorb all things to enhance qi and blood; other functions await the host's discovery.

Sure enough, the realm display on the system had changed to First Grade Warrior.

The plus sign behind it had also disappeared.

“Excellent! Becoming a Warrior means I now possess some self-preservation ability in this dangerous world, haha!”

Li Ziyu couldn't help but laugh heartily.

Laughing, he set the steel Knife Skill aside.

He took two steps to a nearby dirt mound, beside a willow tree as thick as a bowl.

He twisted his waist, swung his arm, and punched the trunk of the willow tree.

With a crack.

This bowl-thick, seemingly incredibly sturdy willow tree was directly snapped in half by Li Ziyu's cannonball-like punch!

It crashed down, flattening a patch of grass and plants.

“My current strength is at least several times stronger than before!”

“Previously, one punch could only make this willow tree's trunk wobble; now, I can break it in one punch!”

“When hunting Red-Eyed Rabbit, I could decapitate them with just my fists!”

“Moreover, this is without cultivating any Battle Skill, relying purely on physical strength!”

“If I were to cultivate powerful Battle Skill, my strength would definitely reach another level!”

Li Ziyu looked at the fallen willow tree, his eyes gleaming.

Besides basic Battle Skill like boxing, Knife Skill, swordplay, and spearplay.

There was also a more advanced type of cultivation technique, known as Battle Skill!

Battle Skill, like Warrior ranks, are also divided into nine levels from lowest to highest.

Level one is the lowest, and level nine is the highest.

At the same time, the higher the level of Battle Skill, the more difficult it is to cultivate, and the higher the requirements for the Warrior.

Correspondingly, their power is also much stronger than low-level Battle Skill.

“I remember there are many places in Xu Jiang City that buy and sell Warrior resources; they should have Battle Skill for sale!”

“I've killed enough for now; time to head back to the city.”

Li Ziyu waited for a while longer in the same spot.

After killing a few more Red-Eyed Rabbit.

He packed up his sack and prepared to return to the city.

The Red-Eyed Rabbit corpses no longer fit in the sack he had on the ground.

Moreover, after advancing to First Grade Warrior, he found that killing Red-Eyed Rabbit yielded far less qi and blood than before he became a Warrior.

“To increase qi and blood quickly, I probably need to hunt ferocious beasts of the same level as myself, or even higher.”

“So, as a First Grade Warrior, my hunting targets must now be First Grade ferocious beasts, or even Second Grade ferocious beasts.”

First Grade ferocious beasts.

Are not as easy to kill as unranked ferocious beasts like the Red-Eyed Rabbit.

Both their attack and speed are countless times stronger than the Red-Eyed Rabbit.

Although Li Ziyu had now advanced to First Grade Warrior, his weapons and Battle Skill were still not very good.

On his way back, Li Ziyu killed several more Red-Eyed Rabbit.

Just as Li Ziyu finished packing his sack, holding his steel Knife Skill, and was about to lift his foot to return towards the city wall.

Suddenly.

In the distance, behind him, a low growl of a beast sounded.

It sounded somewhat like the roar of a large feline.

Li Ziyu's gaze sharpened, and his muscles instinctively tensed.

Upon hearing that roar, he didn't even think, instantly dodging behind a large tree nearby.

The tree was thick enough to completely conceal Li Ziyu's figure.

Li Ziyu cautiously peered out, looking towards the direction of the roar.

It was a First Grade ferocious beast, a Shadow Cat!

He saw that less than a hundred meters away, on the small hill where he had just hunted Red-Eyed Rabbit.

A large black cat, about the size of a Northeast Tiger, with a nimble body and sleek, shiny black fur.

Was feasting on the Red-Eyed Rabbit corpses on the ground.

It was indeed the First Grade ferocious beast, the Shadow Cat, that Li Ziyu had seen in his textbooks!

Li Ziyu also noticed that on the Shadow Cat's hind leg, there was a wound so deep that the bone was visible.

Blood was continuously dripping onto the ground from it.

“It was probably attracted by the smell of Red-Eyed Rabbit blood. This Shadow Cat must have been hungry for a long time; it doesn't even have basic alertness, just burying its head in eating.”

Li Ziyu stared at the Shadow Cat, which had its back to him, his eyes flickering.

He had originally intended to retreat.

But upon seeing the wound on the Shadow Cat's leg, he hesitated.

Ferocious beasts also prey on each other.

Looking at the wound on this Shadow Cat's leg, it was clearly left by another ferocious beast.

Combined with how long it had been hungry, this Shadow Cat's strength was definitely at an all-time low!

“Damn it, a Warrior must always push forward. I'm a First Grade Warrior now. If I don't even dare to face an injured ferocious beast, how will I kill stronger ferocious beasts in the future?”

“Let's do it!”

Li Ziyu's eyes hardened, and he made up his mind.

He put down the sack on his back, gripped the steel Knife Skill with both hands, and cautiously approached the Shadow Cat from behind.

The school had taught about the habits and weaknesses of low-level ferocious beasts.

Shadow Cat are the type of ferocious beast that are extremely fast, but their attack power and defense are quite ordinary.

An ordinary First Grade Warrior, if not mastering Initial Body Technique, simply cannot keep up with the Shadow Cat's speed.

Now that this Shadow Cat had a lame leg, its greatest advantage, speed, was gone, which was why Li Ziyu dared to boldly approach.

This Shadow Cat must have been hungry for a long time.

Li Ziyu had walked to within twenty meters of it, yet it remained completely unaware, burying its head in eating.

“Now's the time!”

When he was less than ten meters away.

The Shadow Cat finally sensed something was wrong, stopping its eating.

It bared its teeth and growled lowly, sharply turning its head, fixing its cold, bloodthirsty eyes on the area behind it.

What it saw was a steel Knife Skill steadily growing larger.

Bang!

Ow!

This time, Li Ziyu did not smash the Shadow Cat's head directly, unlike when he killed the Red-Eyed Rabbit.

Although the Shadow Cat's defense was not high, its skull, being the hardest part of its body, could not be directly shattered by his steel Knife Skill.

Li Ziyu attacked the Shadow Cat's waist!

As the saying goes, 'copper head, iron bones, tofu waist,' this ancient adage held true for the Shadow Cat as well.

Sure enough.

Under his full-force strike, the Shadow Cat was directly slammed to the ground.

Its waist bones were twisted into a V-shape, and it couldn't get up for a long time.

Li Ziyu didn't know his current qi and blood value or combat power.

But having just killed so many Red-Eyed Rabbit, with the accumulated qi and blood, he guessed he had at least reached the level of a First Grade Intermediate Warrior.

With a full-power strike and a sneak attack.

It was expected that this Shadow Cat would be instantly killed by him.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump!

Li Ziyu pressed his advantage, delivering several more blows.

Although the ordinary steel Knife Skill couldn't break the Shadow Cat's defense.

His brute force was enough.

Under Li Ziyu's immense strength, the Shadow Cat on the ground, which had been struggling with a vicious expression, instantly lost its life.

Before dying, its eyes were wide open, looking unwilling.

As if saying, 'Damn it, a sneak attack? You have no martial ethics.'

Ding, killed First Grade ferocious beast Shadow Cat, qi and blood increased by 0.01.

Name: Li Ziyu.

Realm: First Grade Elementary Warrior.

Battle Skill: Elementary Swordsmanship (+).

System: Martial God System.

Function: Can absorb all things to enhance qi and blood; other functions await the host's discovery.

“Huh, my Battle Skill can be upgraded now?”