Infinite Fighting

With his Grandmaster Level proficiency, Zhang Ji now found practicing these martial arts to be incredibly easy.

At the very least, reaching the introductory level was not difficult.

By focusing on a single martial art, he mastered the basics of the Snake Form Fist in just five days, obtaining one Essence.

This meant that it would now only take him fifty days to fully master the Snake Form Fist.

Less than two months.

Zhang Ji did a quick calculation and figured it would take about the same amount of time as forming another Crystal for his Iron Body Skill.

It currently took him about five days to form one Crystal for his Iron Shirt Skill.

In other words, the two martial arts were of a similar tier.

Actually, in the eyes of players, combat skills of the same level were divided by a Star Level.

One to nine stars represented the strength of the martial art within that tier.

However, Zhang Ji no longer had the ability to view these stats.

He could only judge by the color of the Essences within his Limited Space.

In any case, the color of the Snake Form Fist Essence wasn’t as deep as that of the Dragon Form Fist.

After reaching the introductory level of Snake Fist, Zhang Ji’s flexibility increased dramatically. He could now even perform some advanced yoga poses.

He could easily kick his foot up behind his head.

Before, he wouldn’t have been able to do anything like that.

When attacked, Zhang Ji could also fluidly use certain techniques to neutralize and shed the force of a blow before counter-attacking with a grapple.

The offensive style of Snake Fist mostly consisted of joint locks and chokeholds.

However, it also had an explosive skill called "Viper Flicks its Tongue."

But this move was far inferior to the full-body power burst of Dragon Fist. It felt like the creator of the skill had no other options and just figured having it was better than nothing.

While practicing Snake Fist, Zhang Ji was also actively preparing for his first treasure hunt.

He had already contacted Zhou Hao and had the Sect help him arrange for a ticket.

He would head out directly on October 20th.

That treasure was probably the easiest one for him to obtain right now.

It was located in the Eastern Extreme Country, didn’t have an overly powerful monster guarding it, and retrieving it didn’t involve solving any puzzles.

’Those damn game designers and their puzzle quests,’ Zhang Ji couldn’t help but curse inwardly.

Things like "Where the sun god gazes," "Hope hides within the shadows," and "Ordinary things bring calamitous destruction"...

The clues were all incredibly abstract. If you missed a single piece of information from one NPC, you’d be completely lost.

He hadn’t solved a single one of those blasted things on his own.

He had to look up the solution for every single one.

And the worst part was, the rewards for those puzzles were always pretty good!

The hidden treasure spots in the wild that you could just fight your way through were much better.

At most, they might have a few traps and a couple of tough guardians.

He could just go in, beat them, take the item, and be done with it. Simple and straightforward.

On October 18th, Zhang Ji also reached the introductory level in the True Qi Nourishing Spirit Skill, which he had been practicing as a supplementary skill.

He was currently focused on practicing the Snake Form Fist. After his training sessions, he would use the Dragon Form Fist to refine Primordial Qi. Then, while resting at night, he would use the True Qi Nourishing Spirit Skill to expend that Primordial Qi and nourish his Spirit.

It was as if he was cultivating three skills simultaneously.

After reaching the introductory level of the True Qi Nourishing Spirit Skill, Zhang Ji felt his mind begin to work much faster, as if a great weight had been lifted from him.

He became more adept at using certain techniques and could even condense a small amount of Primordial Qi into the size of a needle and flick it out.

Zhang Ji bent his finger and gave it a light flick. A Primordial Qi Needle, glowing with a faint blue light, shot out, leaving a tiny, two-inch-deep hole in the wall.

The improvement to his Spirit attribute gave his strength a very tangible boost.

This level of control opened up the possibility of using even more techniques.

Especially that one move he developed after getting some pointers from his fight with Ma Rui.

Zhang Ji called the move [Overlapping Waves Strike].

It involved one wave after another, borrowing the opponent’s force to recoil, then springing back and adding his own strength to strike again.

Zhang Ji had also tried it on his own. He could build up the waves by himself, just by using the recoil from his own attacks.

At full power, he could stack it five times at most. Any more than that and he would pull a muscle and damage his internal organs.

That was only possible because he followed the path of Horizontal Training. A regular Martial Artist using the same technique could probably only stack it twice at most.

On October 19th, thanks to the [Qi Replenishing Pills] and his diligent training, Zhang Ji finally obtained his second Dragon Form Fist Essence.

On October 20th, with all preparations complete, Zhang Ji was ready to set out.

He took a helicopter directly from Golden Hook Mountain to the airport.

After arriving at the airport, he met Zhou Hao.

"Uncle Zhou," Zhang Ji said, greeting him respectfully.

"What’s with the sudden idea to go vacation at Gesite Lake?" Zhou Hao asked.

"I’ve been too tense lately. Now that I’ve finally broken through, I want to go and appreciate nature for a bit," Zhang Ji said.

"You’re really a Grandmaster?" Zhou Hao asked suddenly.

"Really," Zhang Ji nodded.

Zhou Hao suddenly shot a hand out toward Zhang Ji, a swift, whip-like strike with considerable force behind it.

The old Zhang Ji definitely wouldn’t have been able to react in time, but now that he had reached the introductory level of the True Qi Nourishing Spirit Skill, he could.

However, he didn’t dodge or block, instead allowing Zhou Hao’s hand to land on his shoulder.

THUM! DANG! CRASH!

The first sound was his muscles naturally tensing to absorb the force. The second was the sound of him releasing his muscles, naturally rebounding the force back to Zhou Hao.

And the third was the sound of Zhou Hao being thrown back two meters, crashing into a minivan.

"Uncle?"

Zhang Ji was dumbfounded. It was just a natural reaction. How could Zhou Hao not even handle that?

’Doesn’t he practice Snake Fist? Isn’t dissipating force his specialty?’

"Don’t worry, I’m fine!" Zhou Hao climbed to his feet, grimacing, his expression a little strained. He walked up to Zhang Ji and said, "You kid... you actually became a Grandmaster! How old even are you?"

As he spoke, Zhou Hao started to pat Zhang Ji on the shoulder, but he hesitated and pulled his hand back.

He was probably afraid of being sent flying again.

Zhou Hao was also an expert at the professional Ninth Rank.

And while the professional Ninth Rank and Grandmaster seemed to be just one rank apart, the actual difference was like heaven and earth.

It was a fundamental, qualitative change.

Since his breakthrough, Zhang Ji had only fought Ma Rui and Li Long, so he didn’t have a precise understanding of how much he had improved.

So much so that he thought his casual counter-attack would be nothing for Zhou Hao to handle.

The reality, however, was that even his casual blow was quite dangerous for Zhou Hao.

"Uncle Zhou, I’m sorry! I only broke through recently, so my control over my power isn’t good enough yet," Zhang Ji said.

Of course, the real reason was that he had misjudged both Zhou Hao’s strength and his own.

"It’s fine. This was all because I decided to test you out of the blue. But when you’re out and about, try to hold back a little. You don’t want to accidentally kill someone," Zhou Hao warned.

"I understand," Zhang Ji nodded.

"I’ve already had the items sent over. Just go to the station to pick them up when you get there," Zhou Hao said.

"Got it." Zhang Ji nodded. Just then, the boarding announcement came over the speakers. He said, "I have to board now. See you later, Uncle Zhou."

"See you!"

Zhou Hao waved.

Watching Zhang Ji’s retreating back, Zhou Hao’s expression grew a little melancholic.

He had been a genius once, too. After all, no one chosen as a direct disciple was ever lacking.

But ever since he witnessed that even a Grandmaster could be easily killed by a heat ray, he had grown disheartened.

No matter how hard you trained in martial arts, mere flesh and blood was no match for those weapons of war.

So he had instead chosen to manage the Sect’s businesses, working to expand its influence.

He felt that this was the proper path.

It wasn’t until Li Long broke through to Grandmaster at the age of twenty-five, with a chance of reaching the legendary realm of a Terrestrial Immortal, that the flame of his passion for the martial path was slightly rekindled.

But he still felt that hope was slim.

But Zhang Ji’s appearance made him feel that, within his lifetime, he might actually see the Five Elements Sect produce a Terrestrial Immortal.

"Heroes truly emerge from the young!"

Zhou Hao sighed with emotion, then suddenly made a phone call.

"Junior Brother Liu, yes, that’s right. I want a batch of Blood Cleansing Grass and some Red Snake Fruit... Don’t worry about whether I’m going to start training again. Do you think I don’t know my own chances of breaking through to Grandmaster? Just send them to me!"

...

...

「Shengling Province.」

Stepping off the plane, Zhang Ji felt a slight chill in the air.

This area was farther north, and in mid-October, it was already starting to get cold.

The temperature outside was only five degrees Celsius.

After leaving the airport, Zhang Ji picked up the necessary items from the station, then took a self-driving taxi toward the outskirts of the city.

The place he was going to was, at best, a minor tourist attraction.

Gesite Lake, located in the heart of the Shengling Mountain Range.

The lake was over a hundred kilometers long, surrounded by primeval forest, and at a considerable altitude of over three thousand meters.

But Zhang Ji was heading for an underground limestone cave near Gesite Lake.

In the game, there was a platform inside with a goblet embedded in it called the [Moonlight Cup].

It had one effect: it absorbed moonlight and converted it into Lunar Essence.

A cup of Lunar Essence could restore a significant amount of health and stamina.

Moreover, it could be used repeatedly, as long as there was moonlight.

Of course, the most important thing was that in the game, this thing was only guarded by a single D+ rank giant purple centipede.

For the current Zhang Ji, it was basically a freebie.

Soon, the taxi arrived at Zhang Ji’s destination. The area was deserted, with only a highway stretching into the distance and vast primeval forests on either side.

This was already a nature preserve.

Zhang Ji took his things from the car and headed from there into the mountain forest.

He had calculated the distance. From here to the cave was less than thirty kilometers. At his pace, even in the mountains, a round trip would only take a few hours.

That was why he hadn’t made a big fuss or even called for a helicopter directly.

Venturing deep into the forest, Zhang Ji moved with ease. He could leap seven or eight meters in a single bound, and treacherous terrain was like level ground to him.

From time to time, he would also spot some wild animals in the forest.

It seemed the Eastern Extreme Country was doing a good job with nature conservation.

In his memories, Zhang Ji knew of a B+ rank Exotic Beast in another mountain range in the Eastern Extreme Country. That thing was also guarding a treasure, but unfortunately, he couldn’t covet it for now.

Even if the Eastern Extreme Country sent its army, it was hard to say if they could retrieve the item.

Lost in these random thoughts, Zhang Ji had already traveled an unknown distance.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of flowing water. Following the sound, he found a stream.

He followed the stream upward, and it gradually turned into a massive waterfall over two hundred meters high.

Above the waterfall was Gesite Lake.

The rainy season had just ended, so the lake was overflowing, forming the waterfall here.

And the underground limestone cave Zhang Ji knew about was right nearby.