Chapter 40: The Encounter
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Yang Tian was also releasing his frustrations at the same time by practicing his fist form.
Phew!
Looking at his red and swollen hands after the practice, Yang Tian took a long exhale and felt much better.
Three days later.
While moving forward in the forest at great speed, Feng Da smelled blood. He twitched his nose and ran toward the source of the smell.
About ten minutes later, Feng Da finally found where the smell of blood came from.
When he got there, he only saw the skin of a giant white python.
He could immediately tell that the python had been hunted down by someone. Since its head was poisonous, other Monsters did not devour it and left it untouched. In the middle of the snake’s head was an opening that had been cut open.
Feng Da frowned when he saw that because the snake was clearly a Grade Four Monster.
“Didn’t expect this kid’s progress to be so fast! I’m afraid he will have already become a Class Five Warrior when I find him!” Feng Da mumbled to himself.
Zhou Dadao told Feng Da before that Yang Tian had a Grade Five Beast Core. Since Yang Tian killed a Grade Four mutant python, he would very likely be turning into a Grade Four Warrior very soon. Given some time, a few more fights with the Monsters, on top of taking the Grade Five Beast Core…
Feng Da almost panicked while thinking about it.
The only sense of relief for Feng Da was that in such an environment, Yang Tian could never have Combat Skills comparable to him even if Yang Tian upgraded rapidly. Only with superior Combat Skills could a Warrior perform at his best.
However, Feng Da forgot that Combat Skills were created by humans. If others could create Combat Skills, why not Yang Tian?
Feng Da looked around the forest around him, knowing that he was getting closer and closer to Yang Tian. He had a feeling that he could find him in another ten days.
The intuition of a Warrior was nothing short of incredible. The reason Feng Da could get close to Yang Tian was simple because he relied on his intuition.
If it was not for that, to find a person in a forest a few hundred kilometers in diameter was no different from finding a needle in a haystack. He could not have found Yang Tian’s traces in such a short time otherwise.
As for Yang Tian, he was roughly 40 kilometers away from Feng Da then.
To avoid being in the looming drizzle, Yang Tian found a huge dead tree and killed an ungraded Black Bear. He cut off its flesh and started eating it raw.
That was something that he learned after being tailed for a period of time by Zhou Dadao’s group. If he were to start a fire in the forest, the smoke could easily be seen in the day. There would not be such a problem at night, but he was just too hungry.
Even a transmutated body needed nutrition. The Beast Core could not replace the nutritional value of food.
Drago normally preferred grilled meat, but he had no choice but to share raw flesh with Yang Tian.
Yang Tian was disgusted by raw meat in the beginning but it became easier after he got used to it. These Monsters did not have parasites in their bodies, and were hence, very hygienic. Eating them raw was extremely nutritious too. A Transhuman’s physical quality also guaranteed that Yang Tian would not feel sick.
It was the end of October, and even though the area was in the subtropics, temperature still dropped very low at night. After they were full, Yang Tian waited till nightfall and sent the little dragon to check out the surroundings. After he made sure there were no traces of Monsters and humans, he made a fire and toasted the bear skin that he ripped off to dry it. He then took off his clothes and covered himself with the skin.
Drago did not mind the dirtiness of Yang Tian’s body and curled into his chest.
The light rain that did not stop too long ago came pouring down again. Yang Tian put out the fire, crawled into the tree hole, and fell deep asleep.
After an uneventful night, Yang Tian took off the bear skin after he woke up. He put his clothes back on, folded the bear skin and tied it up with a vine. He picked up his saber and the bear skin, and continued with his way forward.
Yang Tian was already in the depths of the Danger Zone and was only a little more than a hundred kilometers away from the heart of it.
Yang Tian had heard that in the heart of the Danger Zone, there existed Monsters that were of Grade Seven or higher. Class Seven, and even Class Eight Warriors did not usually dare to enter.
As for Class Nine Warriors…
Every time a Class Nine Warrior emerged, he would disappear. According to rumors, they went to a mysterious place.
Up to that point, there were no Class Nine Warriors and above appearing before people’s eyes.
It was a mysterious phenomenon that nobody understood except for Class Nine Warriors themselves. 3
Such stories that were close to myths only appeared in Yang Tian’s mind briefly; he stopped thinking of them very quickly.
Yang Tian was a Class Four Warrior then but he did not learn Combat Skills that were more powerful.
Lightning Sword and Thunder Fist were Combat Skills for Class Two Warriors, and it was still sufficient when he was Class Three. However, as soon as he reached Class Four, he suddenly realized that these two Combat Skills simply could not help him unleash his full potential.
Yang Tian was not sure how much longer he had to stay in the Danger Zone but he did know that facing a Warrior Bounty, many high-classed Warriors would look for him, wishing to take his head in exchange for reward money. The only reason that there were not many of them around was because most of them were still on their way. The reason that people from Shenwei Military Academy could get there sooner was because they had a navigator, and that navigator was Zhou Dadao.
“Drago, if there’s no other way, I guess I’ll have to invent my own Combat Skills…” said Yang Tian, sounding a little unconfident.
He knew that inventing a set of Combat Skill was no easy task. It would have to be put into practice, and required the meticulous calculations of high tech equipment. A person who could invent Combat Skills had to be highly gifted.
Just like any martial arts out there, Combat Skills was not created by one person. The first person might have had a few moves that were passed down through generations. In that process, the later generations kept on experimenting and continuously adding on or cutting out moves until it reached perfection in the end.
“Squeak squeak squeak…”
At that moment, Drago jumped off Yang Tian’s shoulder and landed on the ground, waving his claws nonstop.
The little dragon’s claws were moving so fast that they became broken shadows.
“You’re asking me to learn your claw form?” Yang Tian laughed while scratching his head.
“That’s right,” Drago told Yang Tian before continuing, “You can learn to swing your claws. At a speed like this, you could break anything that’s hard.”
Yang Tian was not able to learn that move. Not to mention he was not equipped with claws that hard.
During his free time, Yang Tian would study Drago’s claws and he realized that they were incredibly sharp. When he tried to cut the claws’ tips with his saber that was made of YT alloy, he could not break them. The most he could do was leave a very light mark on it.
Besides the tip of the claws, the entire surface of its claws were covered with dense scales that formed strong protection. If they were hit by the alloy saber, they would most probably still be intact.
Although he could not learn Drago’s ultimate skills, Yang Tian was inspired by it.
There was a saying that went, ‘Only speed is impenetrable1.’
The Lightning Sword was really fast as well, but there were single forms within a set and Yang Tian could not perform at his top speed when using them.
What if he did not use these forms and just swung aimlessly at enemies?
That was not going to work because formless attack was a type of form as well, and there were too many openings and it was too repetitive.
He was deep in thoughts as he walked, thinking of how he could create his own Combat Skills-one that could become increasingly powerful and went hand-in-hand with the upgrading of his levels.
“Power… Speed… The skills that could best exert these two aspects using a weapon or fists…”
Yang Tian was deep in his thoughts for a few consecutive days. His pace had naturally decreased.
By the fifth day, a not-so-tall man stood before Yang Tian.
Feng Da finally caught up to Yang Tian.
Looking at the silver-white chain around the waist, short hair, and his unmemorable face, Yang Tian frowned.
3 s