Chapter 430: Experience Surge (Part 2)

Tang Wen shrugged. “I don’t get why it takes so long for just one move.”

With that, he turned and began to “slaughter” the other Fifth-Grade expert in black.

Behind him, Hu Yun was speechless, her fists clenched before she even realized it.

‘He’s telling the truth, but why does it make me want to punch him so badly!’

Tang Wen was like a ruthless butcher, precisely carving up the body parts of the “Fifth-Grade Zombie” before him.

After all, he wasn’t a sadist. He had to think of this person as a real zombie.

That was the only way to kill without feeling guilty.

Fortunately, this black-robed Fifth-Grade expert’s previous behavior had been zombie-like anyway.

That was why he could be so composed.

After one round.

The second black-robed Fifth-Grade expert was now also a cripple in every sense of the word.

All these injuries were caused by the Night Divine Fist, so naturally, the Experience Points went to the Night Divine Fist.

He looked back at the first crippled man.

A bloody glow once again appeared on his body.

The self-healing process had started again.

Tang Wen’s gaze fell on the stump of the man’s leg, his eyes filled with anticipation.

It had taken a day for him to heal all his injuries before.

‘If I wait another day, I wonder if his leg and organs will grow back.’

‘If they can, doesn’t that mean I can farm him for Experience Points over and over?’

Hu Yun had been keeping a close eye on Tang Wen.

Seeing his calm expression, she confirmed that he was indeed just practicing his Night Divine Fist.

Now, as he calmly observed the two men’s recovery, she felt completely at ease. He was clearly conducting some kind of experiment.

In the afternoon, Feng San Niang took out some food and shared it with the two of them.

The White Tiger and the Thunder Rock Crocodile Turtle had paired up to hunt, only returning after eating their fill.

It was worth noting that as Exotic Beasts at the Peak of Fifth Grade, they were not fond of eating raw meat.

In the White Tiger Tribe or Ganshan City, someone always cooked food for the White Tigers.

As for the Thunder Rock Crocodile Turtle, though no one looked after it, it also liked to use its lightning to cook its prey before eating.

This was a sign that their intelligence had reached a certain level.

「Half a day passed.」

Tang Wen frowned.

The red, self-healing glow on the “Fifth-Grade Zombie” had weakened.

‘But his leg hasn’t grown back yet!’

‘Forget the leg…’

‘Even the ear I deliberately blew off has only grown back as a lump of new flesh.’

Hu Yun noticed the change. She quickly finished her roast meat, which was sprinkled with plum powder, and walked over. “The body of a Fifth-Grade Powerhouse isn’t that easy to restore. Even if that leg grew back right now, would it really have the same strength as before?”

Tang Wen paused. He had to admit, that was true.

‘I can’t believe I overlooked such simple logic.’

“You’re right. But I’ve made an even more important discovery.”

“What is it?” His words didn’t just capture Hu Yun’s attention; the others looked over as well.

Tang Wen didn’t keep them in suspense. “Their Recovery Ability probably doesn’t come from within themselves. It comes from a power that shares their origin. Otherwise, recovering from injuries this quickly wouldn’t just consume stamina and energy. It would burn through their Life Force at an alarming rate. But…”

He crouched down and rapped his knuckles on the “Fifth-Grade Zombie’s” rock-hard muscles a few times.

“Their bodies haven’t weakened from the exertion. The toughness of their flesh, the fluctuations of their auras—none of it has diminished in the slightest.”

Understanding his line of reasoning, Hu Yun said:

“You mean to say the Huang Family stored this Recovery Ability inside their bodies.”

Tang Wen nodded. “This is a rather mature development method.”

His explanation made sense, which made Hu Yun all the more eager.

‘A method mature enough to produce Fifth-Grade experts.’

‘As the only Saintess candidate in the tribe and a high-ranking member of the White Tiger Tribe, I can’t possibly allow such a method to remain at large!’

The thought that the members of the Huang Family orchestrating all this might be nearby…

…made her even more restless. She proposed, “We’ll be more efficient if we split up to search. I’ll take one White Tiger, and the rest will stay with you. White Tigers have a unique roar they can use to contact each other from dozens of miles away.”

Tang Wen was noncommittal, but Hu Niannian said, “That could work, but if they have a Fifth Grade Exotic Beast with them, it might hear our roars.”

Tang Wen and Feng San Niang exchanged a look. They, for one, had never heard that the Huang Family possessed a Fifth Grade Exotic Beast.

Even if they did, it was unlikely to have followed them into the Thunder Jade Mine unless it was a Thunder Department Exotic Beast.

But Tang Wen hesitated.

“Nothing is foolproof,” Hu Yun said, growing impatient.

Without realizing it, she had stopped acting so independently, seeking Tang Wen’s approval before taking action.

Tang Wen smiled. “There you go again, getting impatient.”

“We can split up, but we should avoid having the White Tigers contact each other directly as much as possible.”

“The Huang Family is under immense pressure just trying to make a move on me here.”

“They might not be prepared for other things, but they must have countermeasures for the abilities the White Tigers possess.”

“Then what? We can’t just contact each other by Entering the Dream, can we?”

The Dream-Entering Letter Paper that was standard issue for the White Tiger Race was clearly not a suitable option right now.

Tang Wen already had a suitable alternative. He pointed to the sky. “Use the thunder.”

Drawing the thunder.

“Whenever you show up, the thunderclouds always pay you special attention, and the lightning that strikes you is purple. Draw a few consecutive bolts, and I’ll immediately have Hu Niannian enter a dream to contact you.”

“Over here, I have the Thunder Rock Crocodile Turtle. The lightning that reflects off its shell is different from ordinary lightning. When you see it, do the same and have your White Tiger enter a dream.”

“Alright. But what if it’s an emergency?”

“Then, of course, have the White Tigers contact each other directly with their roars.”

This particular roar of the White Tigers was like ultrasound or infrasound—inaudible to humans, but not necessarily to Exotic Beasts.

Having settled the details, Hu Yun departed, taking a White Tiger that had transformed into a cat and turning invisible.

Tang Wen no longer held back against the two “Fifth-Grade Zombies.”

‘Since I can’t keep them around as experience farms to be harvested whenever I want, why bother being polite?’

‘They’re one-time use anyway. Better to get it over with.’

His Experience Points for the Night Divine Fist surged.

Tang Wen meticulously blasted his opponents to pieces.

He made sure never to shatter in one blow what he could break in two.

His meticulousness paid off.

[Visualization Martial Arts, Night Divine Fist, Expert (5,039/12,000)]

The Experience Points broke the 5,000 mark, accounting for over 40% of the total needed.

The progress with his Night Divine Fist once again spurred the awakening of his Dark Ability.

[Extraordinary Ability: Dark (Awakening Progress… → 85.13%)]

‘It went up by two percentage points?’

‘That’s double the increase I got when the progress bar passed the 20% mark.’

Tang Wen raised his eyebrows, a look of pleasant surprise in his eyes.

‘At this rate, when I break past 60%, 80%, and 100%, the corresponding increases will be 3%, 4%, and 5%.’

‘A full awakening is within reach!’

He suddenly understood Hu Yun’s urgency to find her targets. He, too, was now eager to find the rest of the Huang Family’s “Fifth-Grade Zombies.”

‘They aren’t assassins!’

‘They’re just experience point pi?atas, here to deliver themselves to me.’

BANG!

The instant he blew the Fifth-Grade Zombie’s head apart…

…dozens of miles away, a man in black robes abruptly lifted his head. He stared in Tang Wen’s direction. “He’s dead?”

“My lord, who died?” another robed figure asked curiously.

“Don’t ask unnecessary questions. I am going to Enter the Dream.”

“Yes, my lord. I will guard you.”

The leading robed figure took out a shard of bone. He lit a piece of rhinoceros horn with a flame, then held the bone shard over it, slowly roasting it.

The bone shard ignited, releasing a cloud of red smoke.

Surrounded by the red mist, the robed man fell into a deep slumber.

To be precise, he was entering the final memories of his two fallen comrades.

His vision went black, then flashed red, as if a crimson veil had been drawn over his eyes.

The robed man, Huang the Ninth, was not surprised. Their power came from the Blood Pool.

‘It was only normal for memories preserved by the Blood Pool to be tinged with red.’

Huang the Ninth narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

BOOM!

His vision blurred, and the entire scene exploded.

‘He died from having his head smashed in?’

Huang the Ninth’s eyes snapped open.

He pieced together the fragmented scenes he had just witnessed.

First, the two of them had been killed by someone after exhausting the “Bloodline” power within them.

And the one who killed them was, shockingly, Tang Wen.

Huang the Ninth was aghast. ‘Could Tang Wen be a Fifth-Grade expert?’

‘How are we supposed to kill him?’

‘No.’

‘Calm down.’

He knew the scene he had witnessed was from the last few minutes of his subordinate’s life.

The fact that his subordinate’s “Bloodline” was depleted meant he had endured a grueling battle.

His lack of resistance before Tang Wen killed him meant he had already lost the ability to fight back.

Tang Wen wasn’t a Fifth-Grade; he had used a Shocking Fist of over ten times the normal power. This was consistent with the information they had received earlier.

…

After analyzing all the information, he regained his composure.

‘Tang Wen isn’t so terrifying after all. The guardians at his side must be all but spent!’