Apocalypse: Grinding EXP through Hunting

Famished, his stomach growling, Tang Wen climbed out of the secret underground chamber.

At the entrance to the courtyard, he saw a three-tiered food box.

It was two in the afternoon, two hours past lunchtime, and the food was a bit cold.

Opening the food box, he found it packed with meat—several pounds of it—while the vegetarian dishes were pitifully few.

Looking around, he only saw a single plate of pickled cucumbers.

Hmm, what’s this?

Tang Wen took out a piece of white paper that had been folded into a square:

"If your seclusion is not urgent, please come to the General’s Mansion as soon as possible. Miss Bai has an important matter to discuss."

"Miss Bai? She’s still here? What important matter could she possibly have to discuss with me?"

Tang Wen shook his head and ate, deciding to pretend he hadn’t seen it.

His last trip out, where he encountered an Extraordinary, had been quite a shock.

Miss Bai’s "important matter" didn’t sound like something he could easily brush off, so it was best to just ignore it.

After finishing his meal, he put the plates and chopsticks back in the food box, refolded the note, and placed it back inside as well.

His message was clear: ’This has nothing to do with me. Find someone else.’

’Are you kidding me? I’m just starting to get a feel for stacking the Power of my Shocking Fist. I don’t have time for your trivial affairs.’

The next day, Bai You Ruo and two other women arrived at the Royal Palace.

Qian Dong looked troubled. "That boy Tang Wen is a genius. He might be at a critical moment in his Cultivation."

"Really?"

Qian Dong spread his hands.

"Sigh! I guess we’ll wait a few more days then."

A hint of resignation appeared on Bai You Ruo’s valiant, pretty face.

They were only cooperating with Flame Camp, and Tang Wen was her savior.

She was anxious, but what could she do?

Of course, all she could do was wait for him!

Amidst the booming vibrations in the secret chamber, three days passed in a flash.

To avoid being disturbed, Tang Wen ate only one meal a day and deliberately changed his mealtime to the evening.

And so, he once again found a folded piece of white paper in the food box.

"Time is of the essence. Commander Tang Wen, could you please come out of seclusion for a discussion as soon as possible?"

The handwriting was elegant, and a pen had even been thoughtfully placed inside the food box.

"What on earth is this about?"

But no matter what it was, for Miss Bai to wait for him so humbly...

It probably wasn’t anything good.

’How can a woman be allowed to disturb my heart for Martial Arts?’

With the beauty not right in front of him, there was no direct temptation, so Tang Wen remained quite resolute.

After eating, he casually wrote: "I am in the middle of comprehending the ultimate Fist Form of the Cannon Fist and have made some progress. I cannot come out of seclusion. If Miss Bai has business, she can go to the General’s Mansion."

Entering the secret chamber, Tang Wen forgot all about the matter and continued to ponder how to stack the Vibrating Force.

A few days later, he discovered the most efficient training method.

First, he used the Eight Vajra Techniques to enter the Selfless Realm.

Then, relying on the super-intuition granted by the Selfless Realm, he would comprehend the "Shocking Fist stack"!

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

It was as if a heavy-duty pile driver was ramming the earth.

Above the secret chamber was a house built of brick and stone.

For days, the house had been constantly shaking, dust filling the air inside. A building that should have lasted ten years had been vibrated into a hazardous structure.

The results of his training were immediate.

Although he hadn’t mastered this Fist Technique yet, his experience points were soaring.

[Visualization Martial Arts, Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Expert (2,178/12,000)]

In just a few days, he had broken the two-thousand-point mark.

Tang Wen had a vague premonition that it wouldn’t be long before he had a breakthrough with the final form of the Cannon Fist.

’So, no one is getting me out of seclusion these next few days!’

Time loses all meaning in secluded cultivation.

He ate when hungry and slept when tired.

The rest of the time, he trained.

Time flew by. Lost in his training, he couldn’t tell day from night.

Meanwhile, Bai You Ruo was like an ant on a hot pan; every day felt like a year.

Just as she finally couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to go to the Royal Palace to find Tang Wen...

Suddenly, someone came to inform her, "The Queen invites you!"

「Royal Palace, Side Hall.」

When the women saw each other, they were all momentarily stunned.

The Queen, in a fiery red dress, was bright and captivating.

Zhou Bing, in white, was aloof and as coldly beautiful as a plum blossom.

Bai You Ruo, dressed in plain clothes, immediately felt a pang of regret. ’I should have had a few outfits custom-made.’

Zhou Bing was also surprised by her beauty and bearing.

After exchanging pleasantries, the Queen asked,

"Miss Bai, you wish to invite Tang Wen to Ganshan City?"

"Not just that, Her Majesty the Queen. After the matter in Ganshan City is settled, I also hope that Tang Wen can nominally join the Bai Family. The addition of a genius would be very beneficial to us."

"This?" The Queen frowned.

"Absolutely not! He is my fiancé. I do not agree." Zhou Bing frowned. She had thought this young lady from out of town would just borrow Tang Wen for a while.

She never expected the other party would try to poach him permanently!

"You must be Commander Zhou, correct? As beautiful and charming as they say. How about this: I’ll add a bottle of Protective Marrow Liquid as compensation for you."

"Protective Marrow Liquid! Done!" the Queen declared, slapping the table decisively.

"No!" Zhou Bing was shocked. ’What is this? Is my fiancé only worth a single bottle of Protective Marrow Liquid?’

"Miss Bai, it’s settled then." The Queen pulled Zhou Bing aside. "Don’t be willful. Once you become an Extraordinary, you can follow Tang Wen wherever he goes. Who could possibly steal him from you then?"

"This...?" Zhou Bing was bewildered. The logic was sound, but...

’Why does it feel like I’m selling my husband for personal gain?’

A smile flashed in Bai You Ruo’s eyes, but it vanished in an instant. "Then I must ask Her Majesty the Queen and Commander Zhou to have Tang Wen come out of seclusion as soon as possible."

"Tang Wen is in seclusion again?"

Bai You Ruo shook her head helplessly. "He went into seclusion right after arriving at the camp and hasn’t come out since."

Zhou Bing felt a little better. ’Hmph! And here I was thinking she was some powerful vixen!’

’Turns out she has barely even seen Tang Wen’s face.’

’I’ll just take the Protective Marrow Liquid and give it to Tang Wen later.’

She no longer voiced any objections.

The Queen’s eyes darted slightly. "Is that so! That boy really is a seclusion fanatic. He usually only comes out once every few months."

Bai You Ruo heard the unspoken request for more compensation and preemptively said, "I have already given my Spiritual Meditation Method to General Zhou."

"Er..." The Queen nodded. "Then wait a few more days. Once Tang Wen comes out, you can head to Ganshan City immediately."

Still have to wait?

Bai You Ruo was displeased. "Only after I get what I need from Ganshan City can I return to White Stone City. And only after I return to White Stone City can the things I promised—the factory for producing canned goods, the high-efficiency farms, even fertilizer, Firearms, deep wells, a brewery, and so on—be sent over as soon as possible!"

"A brewery?"

"That’s right! All you need is to plant barley to brew it."

At the mention of alcohol, the Queen could no longer sit still. "Bing’Er, go hurry Tang Wen along."

Zhou Bing said, "Mm," her face expressionless. ’So what if you’re from a big faction? Does having power and technology make you so great?’ she thought.

Fearing she would ruin things, Bai You Ruo quickly said to the Queen, "Commander Tang Wen is comprehending the final form of the Cannon Fist. It would be better if you went to guide him."

’How does she know that?’

Zhou Bing raised an eyebrow.

"Very well. I’ll go today." The only thing on the Queen’s mind was the word "brewery."

Bai You Ruo breathed a sigh of relief. ’Hmph, this Queen of Flame Camp is much easier to deal with than her two generals.’

[Visualization Martial Arts, Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Expert (2,903/12,000)]

The experience bar was almost a quarter full.

Tang Wen walked out of the secret underground chamber and went to the door to get his meal.

He opened the door to a face of devastating beauty. Dressed in fiery red, she had the air of both a young, sophisticated wife and an innocent upperclassman.

He was stunned. "Auntie, er, Her Majesty the Queen, why are you the one bringing me my food?"

"I’ve come to guide you in your Cultivation."

Striding forward on the long legs beneath her red dress, the Queen handed him the food box and walked into the courtyard.

Tang Wen wolfed down his meal and eagerly led the Queen into the secret underground chamber.

The Queen wrinkled her nose. ’It smells of sweat.’

"Come on, perform a set of fists. Let me see how far your comprehension of the Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist has come."

Tang Wen dragged over the battered metal training dummy.

He executed a combo.

He finished with a Shocking Fist.

With a BUZZ, the metal training dummy was embedded deep into the wall.

The wall trembled.

The Queen immediately frowned.

"Not good!"

Just as she finished speaking, there was a deafening RUMBLE.

The house above the secret chamber collapsed.

"This...? I’ll go up and push the rubble aside."

The Queen looked at him with a complicated expression. "Don’t worry about the house for now; someone will surely come to deal with it. I never thought you’d reach such a level with your Fist Technique at your age. You were only a tiny bit behind where I was back then."

As she spoke, the Queen extended a finger as fair as White Jade, gesturing a distance of about a handspan.

The gesture implied that the gap between him and her younger self was actually quite large.

Tang Wen didn’t believe her. "Her Majesty the Queen is truly formidable! So you also comprehended the Shocking Fist at sixteen!"

Sixteen?

Shocking Fist?

’You little brat!’

The Queen’s eyes narrowed, and her fists clenched involuntarily.