Chapter 17 - 12: Breaking the Limit
The faint light of early morning trickled stingily through the cracks of the manhole cover high above, barely illuminating the murky sewage at Lin Yi’s feet.
He stood on the cold, slick maintenance platform. After a frantic night of hunting, the heavy exhaustion from overexerting his body finally washed over him like a cold tide, drowning his adrenalized nerve endings.
His eyelids felt like they were filled with lead, each blink an immense effort.
His brain felt like it was full of paste, his thoughts sluggish and thick.
Even the surging Qi and Blood within him, which had already climbed to 9.82, now seemed to stagnate, its flow tinged with a hint of weariness.
’This is my limit... I have to rest!’
Lin Yi shook his head hard, trying to dispel the sleepiness that threatened to drag him into an abyss.
Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to rally and began climbing the rust-spotted metal ladder, using both his hands and feet.
He pushed open the heavy, cast-iron manhole cover.
The cool air, unique to a city morning, rushed into his nostrils, instantly washing away the nauseating stench of the sewer.
Sunlight broke through the clouds and fell on his face, bringing with it a long-missed warmth.
Lin Yi breathed it in greedily, feeling a bit more alive.
He quickly scanned his surroundings. After confirming no one was around, he strained to move the manhole cover back into place.
The Mosquito Avatar had already received its orders. The moment he pushed the cover, it transformed into a nearly imperceptible black thread and flew silently into the clouds high above, tailing him from a distance to avoid any potential detection from the ground.
Lin Yi walked quickly toward his apartment complex.
On the way, he bought two steamers of buns and ate them as he walked.
By now, the entrance to the complex had returned to its usual quiet.
The smell of disinfectant sprayed by the Health Department hadn’t fully dissipated, lingering faintly on the morning breeze.
The Public Security Bureau hadn’t conducted a second search. They had only left behind the brand-new Demon Qi detector, which flickered silently with a faint indicator light next to the guard booth—like a cold, electronic eye, warily scrutinizing every soul that passed.
Lin Yi’s steps were unsteady as he entered the building, forcing himself to climb all the way back to the eighth floor.
He pushed open the familiar green iron door.
He locked the door behind him and tossed his heavy backpack onto the cold cement floor with a dull THUD.
He didn’t even have the energy to sort through his filth-covered spoils, let alone take off his mud-caked rain boots.
An intense wave of drowsiness, like a succession of ocean waves, crashed against the ramparts of his consciousness.
Acting almost on instinct, he staggered and dove for the old sofa, his body collapsing heavily into its sagging cushions.
Just a second before his consciousness completely sank into darkness, a thought stirred in his mind.
Under his control, the Mosquito Avatar found a hidden place to conceal itself.
He and the Mosquito Avatar shared the same soul. If he fell into a deep sleep and the avatar somehow fell asleep too, it would be dangerous.
...
He slept like the dead.
When his internal clock finally woke him, the gentle morning light outside his window had transformed into the scorching, sweltering heat of the afternoon.
Lin Yi opened his eyes, his gaze focusing on the peeling ceiling.
After a moment of grogginess, the memories of last night’s frantic hunt—and the idea to exploit a bug, born from his extreme excitement—flooded his mind with perfect clarity.
He shot up!
The exhaustion was completely gone, his muscles and bones thrumming with an unprecedented sense of power.
A Qi and Blood value of 9.82!
He was only 0.18 away from the threshold of a Martial Artist!
The thought made his heart pound violently, and the blood seemed to surge faster through his veins.
He got up and stretched. He didn’t even bother going to the bathroom to wash off the filth. After dumping all the rat tails from his backpack onto the floor, he grabbed his tools and left the complex again.
He returned to the same manhole cover as before.
He waited for the Mosquito Avatar to fly over and meet him.
Once again, he entered the filthy, muddy sewer.
This time, Lin Yi didn’t go hunting.
He looked at the Mosquito Avatar in his palm, his eyes glinting with determination and anticipation.
’Let’s do this! It’s time to test my theory!’
BUZZ!
Inside the quiet sewer, the faint but exceptionally clear sound of beating wings echoed.
Under his control, the Mosquito Avatar activated instantly!
Almost as soon as the thought formed, Lin Yi felt a tiny, sharp pain in his left bicep.
He looked down.
The Mosquito Avatar’s proboscis, glinting with a sinister, cold light, was already buried deep in his skin!
’So this is what it feels like to have my blood sucked by the Mosquito Avatar?’
Lin Yi’s body tensed abruptly!
It wasn’t because of the pain. Under the effect of [Paralysis LV2], the sensation was minuscule.
It was because of...
a bizarre, indescribable tearing sensation that seemed to originate from the level of his very soul!
It was as if he were simultaneously the victim, sensing the weakness as his own Qi and Blood was rapidly drained, and the predator, clearly feeling every minute motion as the avatar’s proboscis pierced, sucked, and drew out the rich essence of his Qi and Blood!
Sucking his own blood!
A dual perception!
This experience was more than ten times more intense and bizarre than when he had merely touched the avatar before!
"Ugh!"
Lin Yi couldn’t help but grunt, his forehead instantly beading with cold sweat.
The disorienting sensation of his soul being violently split in two, only to converge again within the same body, almost caused his Spirit to shatter.
He forced himself to steady his mind.
He focused his will and tried to control the avatar, commanding it to feed the small stream of Qi and Blood essence it had just drawn from his main body back to him through their mysterious connection!
BUZZ!
Instantly.
Lin Yi clearly felt his body, which had weakened slightly from the loss of Qi and Blood, recover as the new energy was injected back into it.
[Qi and Blood -0.05!]
[Qi and Blood +0.05!]
[Bloodsucking Experience Points +1!]
[Qi and Blood -0.05!]
[Qi and Blood +0.05!]
[Bloodsucking Experience Points +1!]
More importantly,
during the process of sucking and feeding back, there was no significant loss of Qi and Blood.
Or rather, the loss was minuscule—down to the fourth, fifth, or even sixth decimal place.
’This is an acceptable price!’
’The loop is established!’
’I can grind the proficiency of the Bloodsucking Skill!’
A smile bloomed on Lin Yi’s face. He couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.
"I’m sucking my own blood!"
"I’m a genius! How did I even manage to find a bug like this?!"
[Qi and Blood -0.05!]
[Qi and Blood +0.05!]
[Bloodsucking Experience Points +1!]
The Qi and Blood cycled back and forth between his main body and the avatar.
Meanwhile, the proficiency of his Bloodsucking Skill skyrocketed.
[Bloodsucking LV2 (199/200) → Bloodsucking LV3!]
[Bloodsucking LV3 (299/300) → Bloodsucking LV4!]
The level-up notifications sounded in his mind like a rapid drumbeat.
With each level up, he could feel the Mosquito Avatar’s proboscis become more refined, its sucking speed and efficiency improving.
His sense of control over this power also grew clearer.
Time flowed by silently in the quiet of the sewer.
Lin Yi became like a precision machine, ignoring all the discomforts of his environment and throwing himself wholeheartedly into this trial of self-cultivation.
Finally—
[Bloodsucking Experience Points +1!]
[Bloodsucking LV10 (999/1000) → Bloodsucking LV10 (1000/1000)!]
[Skill [Bloodsucking] detected at max Level. Limit break conditions met!]
[Initiate limit break for skill [Bloodsucking]?]
’Limit break?!’
Lin Yi’s Spirit jolted, and he snapped out of his mechanical loop.
An indescribably powerful premonition seized him.
’The Bloodsucking Skill can actually break past its current limit?’
’Will I get an even more powerful effect after breaking the limit?’
Lin Yi didn’t hesitate for a second.
’Yes! Initiate the limit break now!’
He issued the command with firm intent.
[Skill [Bloodsucking LV10 (1000/1000)] beginning limit break...]
[Limit break successful!]
[Bloodsucking (First Limit Break)]: Your proboscis has broken through mortal limits and now possesses a more fundamental power of plunder. In addition to pure Qi and Blood essence, you can now attempt to draw out specific items of Origin contained within a target’s body.
’Draw out... specific items of Origin?’
Lin Yi stared intently at the skill description, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it would burst from his chest!
Qi and Blood was the manifestation of life energy, the foundation of a Martial Artist’s power.
But items of Origin...
This pointed to a much deeper level of power!
’Talent?’
’Bloodline power?’
’Spirit Origin?’
’Or even... fragments of certain Rules?’
’Or like that mysterious "dirty thing" that was on Luo Qian?’
This evolutionary path completely exceeded his initial expectations!
’This is no longer just a simple tool for a blood bank. It’s a key to the core mysteries of life itself!’
Moreover, Lin Yi keenly noticed one more thing—
’First Limit Break? Does that mean there can be a second? A third?’
Unfortunately,
there was no longer a proficiency bar displayed after the Bloodsucking Skill.
Lin Yi tried again, continuing to use the Mosquito Avatar to suck his own blood, but he could no longer increase its proficiency.
This meant that this first limit break was likely the highest realm the Mosquito Avatar could currently achieve.
’Perhaps I need to meet other conditions to perform a second limit break?’
Lin Yi didn’t understand it now, but he wasn’t in a hurry to find out. He would learn eventually.
Right now, he was filled with a powerful curiosity and the urge to test it out.
He couldn’t wait to find a target to experiment on.
Without a second thought, Lin Yi took his Mosquito Avatar and headed deeper into the sewer.
’Tremble, you sewer rats!’
’Let me have a good long drink!’