Chapter 84: Panel Upgrade, The Dark Horse Strikes
Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Panel Upgrade, The Dark Horse Strikes
Thrust, pierce, entangle, point, parry, flourish.
For three consecutive days, Tang Wen familiarized himself with the basic moves of the Spear Technique.
He could now try to channel his Visualization Power through the long spear.
It wasn’t that he wanted to practice the spear, but that he sought to broaden his understanding through analogy.
Unlike people such as Zhou Bing, who had undergone Martial Arts Training since childhood and dabbled in all sorts of weapons, Tang Wen had only formally studied one weapon skill since he began his own training: Sword Skill.
And it was the simplest Sword Skill at that.
He lacked the fundamentals, the basic understanding of weaponry.
HUMMM!
The long spear trembled lightly, its tip a blur of afterimages as it tapped against a giant boulder.
CH-CH-CH!
Following a series of sharp cracks, the boulder, as if it were nothing more than soft tofu, was riddled with a row of spear holes half a meter deep.
A glance at the spearhead showed it was completely unscathed.
The Contemplation Method, the Spear Technique’s explosive force.
Tang Wen’s understanding of Visualization Power had reached a new level.
His Sword Skill was fierce and uninhibited; as long as he was fast enough, he could overwhelm any enemy.
But the Spear Technique was refined and agile, with many variations in its Power. By learning through analogy, Tang Wen’s mastery over Power was greatly enhanced.
He thrust the long spear into the hard, gravelly ground.
He took out a cobblestone and tried again.
Visualize, then throw.
As he released it, Tang Wen added a touch of Spiral Force.
With a HUM.
The moment it left his hand, the cobblestone flew no more than a few meters before breaking the sound barrier with a deafening CRACK.
Tang Wen’s eyes lit up. ’This is the right path!’
He visualized again, threw, and added even more Spiral Force.
BOOM!
The air exploded. The cobblestone smashed into a boulder twenty meters away, which burst apart violently, releasing the faint smell of something scorched.
"The power really has increased. And it’s more practical now."
The cobblestone broke the sound barrier the instant it was thrown, and as it hit the boulder, a faint glimmer of fire even appeared.
Tang Wen aimed at a distant stone wall and launched another projectile. FWOOSH!
A stream of fire, like a beam of light.
Only then did the roar of its passage arrive.
He understood this was a sign of its speed far exceeding that of sound.
The cobblestone, like a meteor from the heavens, slammed into the stone wall trailing flames.
After the tremendous impact, the entire mountain trembled slightly, sending countless clouds of dust into the air.
[Flying Locust Stone, Expert → Grandmaster (101/18000)]
Tang Wen’s tense spirit relaxed, and he couldn’t help but let out a long cry.
Flying Locust Stone, Grandmaster Realm.
’I did it!’
An endless stream of information flooded his mind, and an image arose in his thoughts.
Inside a pitch-black volcano, the great earth trembled and magma churned. The pressure within the mountain reached its peak. Suddenly, a piece of Obsidian fell. A surge of heat propelled the Obsidian upward in a spiraling trajectory.
FWOOM!
Like a high-pressure rifle firing, the initial commotion was small, but the black stone shot straight into the sky. It pierced the clouds, finally transforming into a streak of seven-colored fire.
Tang Wen snapped back to reality, his face a mask of astonishment.
’Just now... what was that?’
’A Visualization Image?’
’The Visualization Image for Flying Locust Stone?’
’No, it seems like it could also be applied to my Fist Technique...’
He lowered his shoulders and sank into a horse stance. Entering a state of meditative Visualization, he pictured the Obsidian soaring into the sky.
A current of heat flowed down from the top of his head, suffusing his body and channeling into his right arm.
FWOOM!
He threw a ferocious punch.
A rolling wave of air exploded from his fist, blasting toward the mountainside.
The airwave struck without a sound, kicking up only a cloud of dust and smoke.
When the dust settled, Tang Wen stepped forward to look. The fist imprint was over a meter deep.
Even though he had thrown the punch himself, he couldn’t help but be flabbergasted.
And yet, the first thought that popped into his head was—
’With this kind of explosive power, I wonder if other Martial Artists can achieve it. It seems my own Double-layered Scale Armor isn’t a sure thing anymore!’
’When I get the chance, I have to get a piece of Inner Armor with higher Defense Power.’
’The Bone Armor of an Earth Beast is decent, but a Martial Artist can still cut through it. It’s not safe enough...’
Just then, a message from the Experience Panel popped up, interrupting his scattered thoughts:
[A Skill has broken through to the Grandmaster Level.]
[Panel upgrade commencing...]
[Upgrade initiated... Estimated time remaining: 23h 59m 51s...]
The Panel is upgrading!!!
A great weight was lifted from Tang Wen’s heart.
The Panel was the foundation of his Martial Arts; if something went wrong with it, his very roots would be severed.
’I wonder what will change after the upgrade.’
Tang Wen let his thoughts wander as he made his way to the top of a mountain spring. He drank his fill, then took out a towel, wet it, and wiped himself down before finding a sheltered spot to rest.
’The wilderness is great in every way, except for the damn wind and sand.’
As dusk fell, Tang Wen’s eyes snapped open. Something was approaching the pool, its movements very light.
It sounded like a deer or some other lightweight animal.
’I just finished the last of the sheep leg. Whatever this is, big or small, as long as it’s edible, it’ll do.’
Tang Wen reached for a length of steel cable, fashioned it into a loop, and prepared to capture it alive.
He peeked around a rock.
And froze. A tall black horse!
It was abnormally large!
’This is...?’
Tang Wen blinked.
THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD-THUD!
The black horse was extremely vigilant. The moment it saw Tang Wen, it whirled around and fled at a speed far greater than that of an ordinary horse.
In the blink of an eye, the black horse was kicking up dust, its four hooves carrying it over a thousand meters away.
Tang Wen was stunned. ’This isn’t just a matter of being "a bit faster" than a normal horse!’
’It’s faster than most Exotic Beasts!’
’This horse is an Exotic Beast!’
A sharp glint shone in Tang Wen’s eyes.
He couldn’t afford to pay attention to his bag. His feet erupted with several bursts of power, and he shot forward like a cannonball in hot pursuit.
As he drew closer, he could see that the horse’s entire body was pitch-black, its coat as glossy and bright as silk, with the sole exception of its four hooves, which were as white as snow.
’Wuyun Ta Xue?’
’Or Wuzhu?’
Tang Wen was thrilled. What man wasn’t born with an immense interest in creatures that could be ridden and tamed?
’This horse is mine!’
’Not even the Jade Emperor himself could stop me.’
One pursued, one fled. In the blink of an eye, the two of them crossed several barren hills.
The black horse’s speed didn’t falter, like a bolt of black lightning.
’This horse is really sharp.’
’It didn’t even care what my strength level was; it just turned and fled.’
’It doesn’t seem like a cowardly Low-level Exotic Beast, either.’
’But if it were a High-level Exotic Beast, the aura I’m giving off is just that of an ordinary Martial Artist.’
’Would it really need to run away from me?’
’So, it’s a Middle-level Exotic Beast?’
Tang Wen broke into a sprint, going all out. His speed was in no way inferior to the fleet-footed black horse.
He was a little surprised himself. ’In terms of speed, isn’t this comparable to a supercar from my past life?’
’If mounts had tiers, wouldn’t this Exotic Beast horse be the equivalent of a supercar?’
’And a limited edition one at that!’
The black horse’s speed began to drop.
’Is its stamina giving out?’
Tang Wen first felt a surge of joy, followed by a sigh.
Joy, because he was about to succeed. A sigh, because if its stamina was already failing, it was probably just a Middle-level Exotic Beast after all.
NEIGH!
The black horse suddenly looked back, a black light glinting in its eyes.
"Fuck!"
’Something’s wrong!’
Tang Wen cursed. A black cloud suddenly enveloped his feet, making the ground so slippery he couldn’t stay upright.
Carried by immense inertia, he went skidding forward with a WHOOSH.
NEIGH!
The black horse let out a triumphant neigh, then turned and galloped toward the hills.
"Dammit!"
Tang Wen protected his head with his hands as he tumbled and rolled away with a CRASH.
Fortunately, his Constitution was formidable and he was wearing Scale Armor, so he was largely unharmed.
But being looked down on by a horse was a huge blow to his pride.
"Ptui!"
Tang Wen spat out a mouthful of sand and gravel, then roared at the black horse’s retreating figure, "Run! You think you can get away?"
AWOOOO!
He had just finished cursing when his expression changed. ’That cunning horse!’
’It led me right into the territory of the Sand Wolves.’
He wasn’t afraid of ordinary Sand Wolves, of course. He wasn’t even afraid of a Sand Wolf King.
But a Sand Wolf Pack often had two Wolf Kings, a male and a female.
Their combined strength was even greater than that of a typical High-level Exotic Beast.
’I can’t be that unlucky, can I?’
’Did I run right into the Wolf Kings?’
In the blink of an eye, a large pack of Sand Wolves had surrounded him.
Tang Wen sighed and shot a venomous glare in the direction the black horse had fled.
He turned and fired three cobblestones into his surroundings, sending sparks flying everywhere.
The Sand Wolves had come quickly, but they fled even faster.
However, Tang Wen noticed that seven or eight calf-sized Sand Wolves had not retreated, but had merely spread out.
Their blood-red eyes glinted as they faced off against Tang Wen, completely unafraid of the sparks caused by his Flying Locust Stone.
Without a doubt, the strength of these Sand Wolves was approaching, or had even reached, the level of High-level Exotic Beasts.
"Trouble!"
Then, a Silver Wolf revealed itself. The moment their eyes met, Tang Wen sensed a trace of danger.
’If it were one-on-one, I might be interested in giving it a try.’
But not now. Power erupted from his feet, and after a few quick turns, he rapidly departed.
’It’s not that I’m a coward. They’re the ones who don’t play by the rules of martial virtue, trying to gang up on me.’
On his way back, Tang Wen searched for the black horse’s tracks, but unfortunately, the wind was strong that night. A gust of wind and sand was all it took to cover up any trace of it.
Feeling regretful, he encountered two Black Rock Sheep on his way back. He captured them alive as he went, bringing them all the way back to the Inner City.