The aura continually surged until every cell in Wang Xu's flesh and blood absorbed the energy, which was gradually depleting within him. At the same time, his mechanism, organs, and skin were undergoing metamorphosis!
The Fourth Layer of the Basic Flesh Body had already made Wang Xu's physical strength significantly surpass ordinary people, even more resilient than those of the same tier. With his physical strength combined with B-level armor, unless the opponent wields an A-level weapon and possesses more formidable martial arts, they wouldn't even dream of breaching his defense!
After half a year, Wang Xu's realm had stagnated, but he hadn't done nothing. He was accumulating, waiting for the realm to erupt. And now, it was ready to explode!
Tier Four, Middle Stage!
After breaking through the early stage bottleneck, the energy inside Wang Xu had not yet been exhausted and continued to expand until his cultivation reached perfection in the middle stage of Tier Four, stopping just a step away from the late stage.
"Phew~" Wang Xu let out a long breath and clenched his solid hand, clearly feeling the power coursing through it.
"Let's go! Continue earning points!"
......
The wilderness was silent, the dilapidated road overgrown with plants, with only the howling wind between heaven and earth.
"Gurgle!"
Suddenly, a massive serpent-like insect beast crawled over from afar, measuring three meters long. Its head was that of an insect, and beneath its slick body were several insect legs, emitting a strange sound from its mouth.
"A Tier Four Red Snake Insect Beast, should we make a move?"
Not far from the Red Snake Insect Beast, a bespectacled man holding a thermal telescope at the third-floor window of an abandoned building spotted the creature and whispered.
"A Tier Four Early-Stage Insect Beast is worth 10 points, Mid-Stage is worth 20 points, Late-Stage is worth 30 points. The Red Snake Insect Beast is indeed Tier Four Late-Stage, so we can't waste those 30 points." Next to the bespectacled man was a man with a gruesome scar across his left eye. He gestured, and two others quickly gathered.
"Owen, provide long-range support. Valen, Huo'Er, you two come with me," the scarred man instructed. "Remember, this Tier Four Red Snake Insect Beast's greatest weapon is the venom it spits from its fangs. Once it opens its mouth, Owen, hit those fangs with precision, understand?"
Owen nodded, holding a steel longbow, with even the bowstring woven from wire, indicating the incredible strength needed to draw it.
In this era, firearms no longer appealed to humans; ordinary bullets and cannons had limited effect on Insect Beasts. Launching radiation bombs would result in mutual destruction. Due to this, humans promoted the development of cold weapons, using various rare minerals.
Although hot weapons still existed, those effective against Insect Beasts required the maintenance of Cosmic Energy. Without it, they became useless. In trials, longbows were naturally chosen for long-range covers.
"Wait! Someone's approaching!" The bespectacled man suddenly spoke after the command was just given.
The group immediately sought cover, then slowly turned their heads to peek outside the window.
......
Along the way, Wang Xu hunted Insect Beasts, mostly Tier Three, only slicing off part of their bodies as they no longer interested him; Tier Three Insect Beasts provided too little energy, and it wasn't worth wasting time on devouring them.
Walking along the plant-covered road, Wang Xu soon reached an abandoned small town. Not only that, he immediately spotted the Red Snake Insect Beast crawling in the distance!
Wang Xu had seen the Red Snake Insect Beast in a guide; it was a Tier Four Late-Stage, an Insect Beast capable of spitting venom, quite troublesome. Its venom was highly corrosive, capable of eroding steel, let alone human bodies, which could kill outright!
As soon as he approached, the Red Snake Insect Beast noticed Wang Xu's presence, its pair of green insect eyes staring at him coldly and murderously.
Wang Xu became excited; another Tier Four Insect Beast, and even at the Late-Stage. If he could devour it, he could immediately break through the bottleneck and reach Tier Four Late-Stage!
Thinking of this, Wang Xu drew out the Blood Bone Giant Saber, employing the Milo Body Technique like dozens of phantoms simultaneously charging, launching an assault on the Red Snake Insect Beast!
"The man's attacking, should we wait?" the bespectacled man asked.
"Wait. Since someone is helping us, I might as well save some energy," the scarred man smirked slyly.
The group understood that the leader was waiting for the boy to kill the Red Snake Insect Beast, then make a move on the boy.
Unaware of the eyes watching him from the shadows, Wang Xu felt his strength surge as he slashed towards the Red Snake Insect Beast!
Whoosh!
The Red Snake Insect Beast was swifter than Wang Xu had anticipated, its body moved like a shadow, whooshing as it dodged Wang Xu's strike.
"Such speed!"
The Thunder Strike of the Nine-Column Thunder Saber was meant for fast attacks, and Wang Xu prided himself on his speed through the Milo Body Technique, confident he wasn't slower than any Tier Four Late-Stage person. Yet, the Red Snake Insect Beast swiftly evaded his blow, showing it was even swifter!
"Gu!" The Red Snake Insect Beast rebounded off the ground with its insect legs, leaping towards Wang Xu. Its insect mouth spewed green liquid from two sharp fangs.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Xu transformed into countless figures, then swiftly dodged, evading the strike of the Red Snake Insect Beast.
Green venom fell on the ground, eroding the covered vegetation, which instantly decayed and rotted, revealing the asphalt road beneath, which was also corroded to a pitch-black froth that bubbled disgustingly.
It can be imagined, if this venom were to land on a person, their insides would rot away!
"Damn it! This Red Snake Insect Beast is actually trying to counterattack me!" The Red Snake Insect Beast dodged Wang Xu's strike, its snake tail as thick as a barrel whipped up, and whipped fiercely towards Wang Xu's face!
In terms of speed, Wang Xu wouldn't lose to the Red Snake Insect Beast. His extremely keen reflexes made his body dodge with just a sidestep, and the Red Snake Insect Beast's tail whipped through the air, landing on the large tree behind Wang Xu, snapping it in half with a crack.
Simultaneously, Wang Xu swung the Blood Bone Giant Saber again, slashing at the Red Snake Insect Beast!
The Red Snake Insect Beast was unwilling to show weakness, its tail whipping up again with a bizarre hiss, confronting head-on!
"Hiss!" However, the Red Snake Insect Beast underestimated Wang Xu's strike's force, as he directly used the "Hundred Blades Thunder Strike," chopping out four blades in a blink, carving a ferocious scar on the snake's tail at the moment of contact.
The Red Snake Insect Beast howled in pain, opening its mouth to spit venom again, then its body, like a swimming fish, quickly fled into the distance.
Its speed, which it prided itself on, gained no advantage against Wang Xu, so naturally there was no need to fight to the death. Though Insect Beasts are dumb, their instinctual will to survive led them to temporarily flee.
Seeing this, Wang Xu dodged the venom spat by the Red Snake Insect Beast, and in just this brief moment, it was already far away, prompting Wang Xu to use his body technique to pursue.
"Hmm?"
But before he could take two steps, three people suddenly jumped out on the escape path of the Red Snake Insect Beast. One held a square shield, one a Meteor Giant Hammer, and one a Snow White Saber. The three blocked the Red Snake Insect Beast with tacit understanding, focusing their strike collectively on the scar left by Wang Xu's slash.
The Red Snake Insect Beast, enraged by the intense pain, attempted to resist, but a square shield was placed before it. No matter how it attacked, it was useless. Seizing this opportunity, the other two dealt heavy blows and slashes, and in a matter of seconds, the Red Snake Insect Beast was covered with wounds and beaten to death.
Wang Xu watched this from a distance, halted in place, his expression somber.
He had been too careless, never thinking that when he was hunting the Insect Beast, several people were secretly targeting him. If they had acted against him instead of the Red Snake Insect Beast, it would have been difficult for him to escape!
"Everyone, I discovered this Red Snake Insect Beast first. Isn't it unreasonable for you to do this?" Wang Xu said.
Upon hearing this, the scarred man laughed and said, "Reason? You're talking reason with me in a place like this? Should I call you naive or just plain stupid?"
The people in front, with golden hair and blue eyes, had a Western appearance, each taller than the last, with burly, hairy arms. Hearing these words, they all laughed loudly.
Since the remains of humanity united, there were no more national borders, and naturally, there were no differences in language. Everyone learned "Earth language," so communication wasn't an issue.
"Boss, that kid's saber seems to be an A-level weapon!" Suddenly, a surprise voice came from the scarred man's earpiece, belonging to the spectacled man Owen.
Upon hearing this, the scarred man immediately looked over at Wang Xu, his eyes filled with eager greed.
"Kid, I'll give you a chance. Leave your backpack and the saber in your hand, and I'll spare your life!" The scarred man licked his lips and said.
An A-level weapon is worth thousands of points, and rare ones more than ten thousand. Unlike Wang Xu, who had joined the Extreme Ancient Hall and received thirty thousand points gifted from the dean, an A-level weapon was a treasure worth millions to them. Even without using it, selling it for a good price could let them enjoy a good life for quite some time!
Wang Xu hesitated initially, unsure if he should engage since there were three of them, and there might be hidden threats still lurking. But once the scarred man spoke, he knew there was no avoiding it.
"Want it? Then come and get it if you can!" Wang Xu said with a sharp gaze.
"Go!" The scarred man hesitated not for a moment, and immediately, an Iron Arrow aimed at Wang Xu from afar shot out violently!
The three with the scarred man charged quickly alongside the released arrow!
As expected!
How sharp were Wang Xu's reflexes? The instant the arrow was shot, he had already sensed it and employed the Milo Body Technique, forming hundreds of phantoms. The arrow pierced through one of the phantoms, embedding itself into the ground.
Owen was surprised, his hands quick and eyes sharp, once again drawing his bow and continually shooting at Wang Xu.
Owen's accuracy wasn't bad. Several arrows blocked Wang Xu's movement, forcing him to continue advancing at the risk of taking an arrow.
Though the Iron Arrow was formidable, Wang Xu was unafraid. Clad in B-level armor, no ordinary Iron Arrow could pierce through him!
Ding! Ding! Ding!
The Iron Arrows struck Wang Xu's B-level armor, causing him no harm at all.
"Armor!" The scarred man noticed this and his eyes burned even brighter. If an A-level weapon could make them greedy, the armor was enough to drive them mad!