Infinite Fighting

Zhang Ji took a drone from his backpack, sent it into the air, and began searching for the grotto’s location.

Before this, he had already checked the satellite map and was certain this was the right area. However, he wasn’t sure if the grotto was actually here.

After all, he had played a later version of the game.

Soon, the drone relayed a bird’s-eye view to Zhang Ji.

He began matching what he saw to his memories from the game.

Many things were different from the game, especially the density of the trees. There were many large trees here that definitely hadn’t existed in his memory.

Before long, Zhang Ji found a small canyon near a waterfall. Only a small stream flowed out from it, and its entrance looked rather narrow.

"Moonlight Creek Valley. I found it!"

That was its name on the game’s map.

Zhang Ji put away the drone, shouldered his backpack, and hurried toward the location.

In less than five minutes, he arrived at the entrance to Moonlight Creek Valley.

It had looked narrow from the drone’s perspective, but in reality, it was wide enough for at least one truck to pass through.

The sky had already grown dim. Zhang Ji turned on his light and stepped inside.

He proceeded with caution.

After all, he was exploring an unknown place.

Frankly, he would have preferred to use the power of the Five Elements Sect to help him retrieve the item, but he felt it would be too difficult to explain and would only lead to trouble.

But even so, he didn’t fully trust the Sect.

’A Sect has so many people. How could they all be of one mind?’

’What if one of them was blinded by greed and kept the item for themselves? It would never end up in my hands.’

’That would be a real headache for me.’

’So, for important things, it’s best to do them myself whenever possible and not rely on others.’

As Zhang Ji walked through the valley, he could only hear the gurgling of water. Following the stream, he felt like he was starting to walk in circles.

Zhang Ji frowned. ’A maze? I don’t remember this place being a maze!’

He took a navigator from his backpack and checked his route.

’I’m not going in circles... I’m walking in a spiral.’

As if he had realized something, Zhang Ji continued forward.

He lost track of how long he’d been walking. When Zhang Ji pulled out his phone to check, it was already eleven at night.

He was starting to feel like turning back.

Just then, Zhang Ji vaguely saw a beam of light up ahead.

He quickened his pace, heading rapidly toward the light.

Before long, he saw the source of the light.

Zhang Ji was now beneath Gesite Lake.

Moonlight shone down through the clear lake, gathering into a single beam. It was focused through a massive natural crystal before finally converging on a stone platform.

To be precise, it converged inside a cup on the stone platform.

The cup was only the size of a baby’s fist, set in a recess on the stone platform. Its entire body was golden and carved with exquisite patterns. A blue gemstone was set into each of its two sides. As the moonlight shone on the blue gems, drops of a faintly glowing liquid slowly accumulated inside the cup.

That liquid was the Essence of the Moon.

A full cup could instantly restore half a C-Class fighter’s health and fully replenish their spirit bar.

Suppressing his excitement, Zhang Ji glanced around but didn’t see the Exotic Beast that was supposed to be guarding the place.

He guessed it had most likely gone out to hunt.

’This is reality, not a game,’ he thought. ’Even an Exotic Beast needs to eat. It can’t just wait at a treasure spot 24/7 for a player to come challenge it.’

Zhang Ji strode forward, leaped onto the three-meter-high stone platform, and reached for the cup.

Suddenly, he heard the whistling of wind.

’I fucking knew it!’

Zhang Ji spun around and threw a punch.

BANG! RUMBLE!

After a loud crash, it was Zhang Ji who went flying.

There, below the stone platform, illuminated by the moonlight, coiled a giant, purplish-black centipede over six meters long. Its mandibles were as thick as ox horns, and its body was wider than three men combined.

Zhang Ji had been slammed into the cave wall, shattering a number of rocks on impact.

However, Zhang Ji himself was unharmed.

Instead, a sunken fist print had appeared on the centipede’s head, and a strange liquid oozed from it.

The great centipede lowered its head, extended a feeler-like tongue, and began to lap at the Essence of the Moon in the cup. The moment it drank, its injury visibly began to heal.

Of course, Zhang Ji wasn’t about to just watch it heal.

Tossing his backpack aside, Zhang Ji fully channeled his power, and a series of sharp cracks echoed from within his body.

Like a spring coiled to its absolute limit, he suddenly burst forth.

TWANG!

BOOM!

The great centipede was struck by Zhang Ji’s sudden charge, knocked away from the stone platform, and sent flying backward.

"Did I fucking say you could drink that? Putting your mouth all over it! Don’t you know it’s mine now?" Zhang Ji stood on the platform, cracking his knuckles. He beckoned to the giant centipede. "Come on. Let’s see how strong you really are!"

HISSSSSS!

The giant centipede reared up its upper body, hissing at Zhang Ji with warning and rage.

WHOOSH!

With its thousand legs churning, the centipede shot forward, its great mandibles snapping at Zhang Ji.

Zhang Ji activated his Breathing Skill. His body began to glow with a metallic luster, making him look like a man of iron under the moonlight.

Dipping his head slightly, Zhang Ji evaded the bite and thrust out with his palms.

THUD!

His palms felt as if they had struck solid steel, only managing to knock the mutant centipede slightly aside.

The centipede’s overall power was only D+, but its defense and strength were definitely approaching C-Class.

As Zhang Ji knocked its upper body away, the centipede’s tail swept toward him.

BANG!

Zhang Ji took the blow on his shoulder, sliding back some distance. His custom hiking boots scraped against the stone platform, carving a long gash into its surface.

"That’s got a kick. First time I’ve heard of a centipede doing a tail whip!"

Zhang Ji quipped as a humming sound emanated from his body, and he charged forward again.

The centipede scurried up the cave wall and leaped at Zhang Ji.

In an instant, they clashed.

The next moment, Zhang Ji punched its head aside, grabbed one of the jointed legs beneath it, and yanked with all his might.

RRRIP!

Flesh, blood, and strange fluids were torn away.

The creature looked massive, but against a true Grandmaster Level expert, it was still hopelessly outmatched.

HISSSSSS!

The centipede shrieked in pain.

Zhang Ji pressed his advantage, stomping a kick into its abdomen and leaving a deep crater.

The centipede was clearly afraid now and turned to flee.

"Trying to escape?!"

Zhang Ji grabbed its tail and yanked hard.

BANG! RUMBLE!

Zhang Ji swung the centipede and slammed it against the cave wall, sending a shower of rubble down.

In its agony, it whipped around and bit at Zhang Ji.

Zhang Ji shot his hands out, grabbing each of its massive mandibles.

The ox-horn-like mandibles were strong enough to snap steel, but they couldn’t close at all against Zhang Ji’s arms.

GRIND! GRIND! GRIND!

Zhang Ji’s muscles groaned, sounding like springs being compressed.

HUMMMMM!

Once he had gathered enough power, Zhang Ji released the control over his muscles, unleashing the full force of his arms.

CRACK! RRRIP!

The great centipede’s mandibles were torn clean off, taking chunks of flesh from its head with them.

Reeling from the pain, its body curled into a ball, and it writhed on the ground in a disgusting display.

Zhang Ji strode forward, aimed for the joint connecting its head to its body, and stomped down hard.

CRACK!

His foot crushed its exoskeleton. Disgusting liquid spurted out, and with its nerves severed, its thrashing instantly slowed.

However, the liquid only looked disgusting; it was actually harmless, and even beneficial.

In fact, this centipede was non-venomous.

It had been consuming the Essence of the Moon for so long that it had mutated, and was no longer an ordinary poisonous creature.

The energy from the Essence of the Moon had accumulated in its body. In the game, roasting and eating it would restore a lot of health and spirit.

Of course, that was in the game. Zhang Ji wasn’t sure about reality.

He planned to get the cup, then take a bit of the centipede’s meat to have it analyzed before he considered eating it.

Zhang Ji walked over to the cup. This time, nothing stood in his way.

He took hold of the cup and gave it a slight twist. The base quickly came loose from its recess, and with a gentle pull, he removed it.

The cup still held a small amount of the Essence of the Moon. Zhang Ji sniffed it; it was odorless.

After a moment’s thought, Zhang Ji took a small sip.

A cool, stimulating sensation shot down his throat, straight to his spine, and then spread through his head, making Zhang Ji shiver involuntarily.

But that was followed by a feeling of exhilaration that washed over his entire body.

It felt as if he had been restored to his peak condition.

It was similar to an Essence Pill, but much more potent. It even seemed to restore his Spirit.

"What a treasure!" Zhang Ji said, his face alight with joy.

Then, Zhang Ji drank the rest in one go.

The Essence of the Moon could only be held by this specific cup; it would dissipate if poured out.

So Zhang Ji had no choice but to drink it all, as he couldn’t take it with him.

After drinking the rest of the Essence of the Moon, Zhang Ji felt completely restored, even overflowing with energy.

He tucked the cup away safely. Just as he was wondering which part of the centipede’s meat to take, his ears twitched. He heard the sound of rushing water.

It was growing louder and more intense.

He looked into the depths of the grotto with a puzzled expression.

The next instant, Zhang Ji realized something was wrong.

Forgetting about the centipede, he quickly slung on his backpack and sprinted back the way he had come.

But his running speed was no match for the rushing water.

RUUUUMMMBLE!

The violent torrent smashed against the cave walls, creating a deafening roar.

Horror filled Zhang Ji’s expression.

’This part definitely wasn’t in the game!’

’I get flooded just for taking a cup?’

Zhang Ji ran faster and faster, but ultimately, he couldn’t outrun the surging torrent.

In an instant, the force of the pent-up water slammed into Zhang Ji, throwing him against one of the cave walls.

Then the current swept back, slamming him against the opposite wall.

Unable to find any purchase, Zhang Ji was tossed back and forth, repeatedly slamming into the walls. Under such conditions, he could barely even breathe.

If his Horizontal Training Power hadn’t been so strong, he would have been deader than dead.

BANG! BANG! SMASH!

Zhang Ji was thrown against the cave walls again and again, occasionally smashing into protruding rocks. He could only shield his head to avoid serious injury.

Pain coursed through his body, and breathing became increasingly difficult. In the narrower sections of the passage, he was completely submerged, unable to surface for air.

’If this keeps up, I’m dead for sure!’ Zhang Ji thought.

’I was really too careless this time, I trusted the game’s information too much.’

’Did breaking through to the Grandmaster realm make me arrogant?’

’But who the fuck could have guessed that in reality, there’d be a trap like this behind the cup?’

Calming himself, Zhang Ji began to think of a solution. The next moment, he stopped resisting and let the current carry him.

HUMMMMM!

His body struck the cave wall and, like a rubber ball, he ricocheted off the impact, carried outward by the flow.

’I’m not hurt! This is working!’

Elated, Zhang Ji continued to use the Overlapping Waves technique.

HUMMM! HUMMM! HUMMM!

Gradually, Zhang Ji felt as if he were merging with the current, becoming a part of the water itself.

Suddenly, an image surfaced in his mind.

It was the image of a waterfall crashing down.

It was the Visualization Image for the Flowing Water Sect’s martial art, "Waterfall’s Descent."

Zhang Ji felt it—he had an epiphany!

The next moment, the water around him seemed to obey his will, carrying him swiftly downstream.

About ten minutes later, Zhang Ji was washed out of a ravine.

A current gently rolled him onto the bank.

Lying on the ground, the first thing Zhang Ji did was pat his pocket. The cup was still there.

Then he began to laugh. The joy of securing the treasure, combined with the relief of surviving a near-death experience, was irrepressible.

"HAHAHAHA! I really am a fucking genius!!!"