Chapter 36: An Unexpected Turn, Demonic Technique

It is often said that a single word can awaken a dreamer.

Prompted by his teammate, "Heart's Desire" immediately found "Yu Meiren" in his friends list. He sent a voice message directly: "Little Yu, how is Sister Yumo leveling up so fast?"

He quickly received a reply: "Who are you? What does Sister Yumo's business have to do with you?"

Heart's Desire replied in a heartbroken tone: "Can't you even recognize my voice anymore? It's your Brother Xu."

At this very moment, on the outskirts of Xiayin Village, Yu Meiren and "Zero Point" were teamed up, grinding monsters in the area where they had previously completed their quests. There was no other choice; having finished the level 7 quests, the only way to get new ones was to grind their way to level 8.

After receiving the message from Heart's Desire, Yu Meiren immediately told Zero Point about it.

Zero Point shook her head with a soft sigh: "Even a fool can see his little crush on Yumo. It's a pity, he doesn't stand a chance."

Yu Meiren, wearing an expression that suggested she loved the drama, asked excitedly, "So how should I reply? Should I just tell him that Sister Yumo is teamed up with Chenchen?"

Zero Point couldn't help but roll her eyes at her, feigning a scolding tone: "What is that little brain of yours thinking? Men are all petty. If you tell him and he develops hostility toward Chenchen, aren't you just causing trouble for Yumo?"

"Then how am I supposed to answer?" Yu Meiren asked, wrinkling her nose in confusion.

Zero Point glared at her impatiently. "Tell the truth. Say we aren't with Yumo and don't know." She paused, then added, "If he really wants to know, tell him to ask her himself."

Yu Meiren followed Zero Point's instructions and sent the reply, but she began to wonder, "Why is he so focused on Sister Yumo's leveling speed?"

Full of suspicion, she checked Qin Yumo's basic information: "Wild," Martial Artist, level 14; Location: Can Mountain.

"Ah!" Yu Meiren let out a shriek after confirming she hadn't misread the screen. She shouted in disbelief at Zero Point, "Sister Su Yao, look at Sister Yumo! She actually leveled up to 14!"

Before Zero Point could speak, she continued, lost in her own excitement: "Level 14! How on earth is she leveling so fast? No wonder Zhao Xu is curious—I want to know, too!"

Zero Point was also quite surprised. Ignoring the excitable Yu Meiren, she began checking her friends list. After viewing the profiles for "Wild" and "Half-Love Dust," she wore a smile that suggested she had figured it out.

"Half-Love Dust," she thought to herself. "No wonder even Yumo calls you a big shot. I'm becoming more and more interested in you."

Seeing that Zero Point remained silent, Yu Meiren sent a voice message directly: "Sister Yumo, how are you leveling up so fast?"

***

On Can Mountain, north of Sifang Stronghold, two figures—a man and a woman—moved in and out among countless monsters.

The man in front was like a god of slaughter. Wherever he went, no monster could withstand a single blow from him. The woman following behind did not need to act at all; she even had her spear strapped to her back, responsible only for collecting the loot.

These two were, of course, Fu Chen and Qin Yumo, who were here grinding.

They were long past the location where they had originally come to complete their quests. The quest requirements had been met a long time ago, but Fu Chen had become completely immersed in the endless combat, no longer caring what monsters he faced.

After killing the level 11 Mad Wolves, he rushed toward the Horned Scale Snake King further ahead, and then the Wild Patrol Lynx. Eventually, Fu Chen stopped considering the monsters altogether; he killed whatever he saw.

No matter the target, Fu Chen would finish it off with a single strike of "Dragon Manifestation," then turn and rush toward the next one.

Gradually, the two drifted far from their starting point.

Qin Yumo had gone from initial worry—fearing that Fu Chen’s mental state couldn't handle such prolonged combat—to numbness, and finally, to being stunned into speechlessness. She had never known anyone who could fight monsters for nearly four hours straight without a single break.

Although she knew Fu Chen was essentially one-shotting the monsters and never had to endure a counterattack, wouldn't he feel tired from fighting so incessantly?

Just then, Qin Yumo received the message from Yu Meiren. She looked up to see Fu Chen still immersed in the fray. Not wanting to break his rhythm, she switched to the public channel, replied "Grinding," and closed the message.

Fu Chen was focused entirely on the battle. At first, he had been selective, targeting only the monsters required for the quests. Once he realized both quests were complete, he completely let himself go. After killing one monster, he would simply rush to the nearest one according to the "proximity principle."

Fu Chen couldn't remember how many monsters he had killed; he just repeated his skill attacks over and over. By the end, it had become a conditioned reflex: charge at a monster and unleash "Dragon Manifestation."

Gradually, a intuition began to form in Fu Chen's mind: the "Dragon Manifestation" skill he was using felt "off." But he couldn't put his finger on what was wrong; it felt as though something was hidden behind a veil. To grasp that feeling, he kept fighting, using the skill repeatedly.

***

By now, Fu Chen was truly reaching his limit. He couldn't help but think, "I must be exhausted and overthinking things. Fine, I'll stop after this one."

As he relaxed, his concentration wavered. He launched a "Dragon Manifestation" at a monster from a distance of over 10 meters. He assumed the skill would miss and was about to charge in to finish the monster off, but he saw a red damage number—"2339"—float above the monster's head. It let out a wail and collapsed, dead.

Fu Chen froze, blurting out, "What the hell?"

He had definitely been more than 10 meters away. By all logic, he should have been out of range for "Dragon Manifestation."

Regaining his composure, he immediately opened his skill list to check the info for "Dragon Manifestation."

[Frenzy · Dragon Manifestation (Demonic):
Unleash a swift blade of light to strike the enemy from the air, dealing physical damage equal to base physical attack plus 2211.
Attack range increased by 2 meters.
Skill Type: Active Attack
Weapon Restriction: Melee weapon, Unarmed
Casting Range: 12.0 meters
Chi Cost: 150
Prep Time: 0.2 seconds
Cast Time: 0.5 seconds
Cooldown: 6.0 seconds]

After reading the skill description, Fu Chen was stunned. "What is this? A Demonic Martial Artist skill?"

It was no wonder Fu Chen was shocked. In his previous life, after becoming a Demonic Martial Artist, the Immortal-Demonic skill books were so rare that, until he was betrayed and killed by Yang Siyao, he had only prioritized learning a few essential Demonic Martial Artist skills. He had wanted to learn the demonic version of basic attacks like "Dragon Manifestation," but he never managed to acquire it.

So, the question remained: how did a skill he never learned in his previous life suddenly upgrade itself?