Chapter 31

Hao Qi got up early in the morning, went to the mountain stream to freshen up, and then caught several plump plateau fish in the stream. These fish did not have small bones but rather large bones inside, and their flesh was tender and smooth. He simply roasted them over the still-burning campfire, and even with just a little salt, the taste was so good it could make one swallow their tongue. It was pure wild flavor, completely free from any modern industrial pollution, and certainly not artificially farmed. The quality of the meat could easily surpass all the fish species on Earth from his previous life.

After breakfast, Hao Qi did not rush to set off. He leisurely brewed a cup of tea, gazing at the clear and refreshing plateau, and watching the rising sun. His mood was still excellent, and the cool breeze of late summer and early autumn made him feel very refreshed. Recalling the roasted fish and sipping the clear tea, the experience was indescribable, and one could not truly understand such enjoyment without experiencing it firsthand.

After slowly finishing the cup of tea, Hao Qi got up to prepare. He packed his bag, luggage, and tent, then extinguished the campfire and buried the bones. About half an hour later, Hao Qi finally put on his backpack, waved goodbye to the temporary shelter, and smiled to himself. Without looking back, he began to climb the plateau.

This was a vast plateau grassland area, part of the territory of the Ying Kingdom. However, it was sparsely populated, with only a few concentrated human settlements at the edges of the plateau grassland, which were government-developed rare mineral extraction points. Apart from these, the rest of the area was almost uninhabited, with only wild animals. Hao Qi walked from morning to afternoon and had already reached the foot of the snow mountain, but he still found no trace of human activity.

Hao Qi was not concerned, but what did worry him was that he had been looking for various possible natural treasures or potentially dangerous and fierce animals along the way, but found none. Although there were many wild animals on the plateau, they were mostly within the normal range, which made Hao Qi somewhat disappointed.

However, the disappointment was not unexpected. Just like the Inner Strength Realm, which had only a one in ten thousand chance of appearing in a society where everyone practiced martial arts, even though the physical attributes of wild animals were much stronger than those of humans, they were not naturally trained, did not know how to channel their bloodline, and had no systematic experience in bursting inner strength. In the martial arts novels Hao Qi read in his previous life, animals were often described as far surpassing humans in physical training, which made him want to laugh. Without even considering other factors, just in terms of summarizing and generalizing experience, humans far surpassed any non-intelligent life. Therefore, in this world, even if some animals possessed inner strength, it would only be a very small probability, perhaps one in a million, ten million, or even a hundred million. It was impossible for an entire species to systematically possess extraordinary powers, or inner strength, as seen in some fantasy novels. This was not only impossible but also unscientific, unless the species had evolved to a semi-energy form at the genetic level. Otherwise, the probability of generating inner strength would be much lower than that of humans!

Since this was the case, Hao Qi did not plan to linger in the area. He decided to camp on the snow mountain today!

Yes, Hao Qi did not plan to camp in the plateau grassland area. Although these places were comfortable, with moderate temperatures, few insects, dry and comfortable conditions, and abundant wildlife to catch and eat, camping here would be as easy as playing in a tourist destination for someone at the Inner Strength Realm like Hao Qi.

However, Hao Qi's goal was to travel the world. If he wanted comfort, he could live in a bustling city. Although he did not mind enjoying the best things, eating the best food, and staying in the best places when he could, his purpose was not just to enjoy comfort and material things. It was also about spiritual enjoyment, and camping at the top of the snow mountain was part of his spiritual enjoyment!

Thinking this, Hao Qi did not hesitate and immediately began to climb. It was around 2 or 3 PM. To be precise, the distance from the foot of the mountain to the top was not far. From Hao Qi's perspective, it was only about 3 to 4 kilometers vertically. Although it was towering and majestic, this distance, if placed on flat ground, would take Hao Qi less than a minute to run. The real challenge was the height and steepness, combined with the wind, snow, and steep cliffs. If a normal person were to climb, it would take several days to reach the top.

But with inner strength...

Yes, inner strength. Hao Qi estimated that his current strength, speed, physical fitness, explosive power, and other basic human attributes were already a few levels higher than the Pre-Inner Strength Realm, even without using inner strength. If he used inner strength, his physical fitness would be about one and a half times that of the Pre-Inner Strength Realm, and about four to five times that of a normal person!

Do not think that one and a half times or four to five times seems weak. After all, this is the Inner Strength Realm, and the comparison is with ordinary adult males. It may seem weak, but strength is a multi-faceted manifestation. For example, the subtle control of strength, whether one knows combat techniques, psychological resilience, the efficiency of using one's strength, defensive equipment, offensive weapons, and so on, all of these are manifestations of one's strength.

However, basic attributes are different. Generally, the basic attributes of each adult male do not differ much. Even athletes and martial artists, their physical fitness is at most a few levels higher than that of adult males, and even less than one time. Those special forces soldiers, boxers, wrestlers, and strongmen in the military, although their physical fitness seems to far exceed that of ordinary people, they are mostly just well-trained muscles and the efficient use of muscle strength. From the perspective of human basic attributes, the improvement is not significant, as it is limited by biology. Unless there is a change at the genetic level or a transcendence of the physical body, using energy other than the heat and sugar in the human body to drive the evolution of the physical body, human physical fitness is a framework, and this framework can only be larger or smaller, but it cannot transcend.

But if a person's basic physical fitness is twice that of an ordinary person, then with a little training, plus some efficient use of strength and a few combat techniques, this person would be a weakened version of a superhuman in the real world, or in Hao Qi's previous world. They could walk on walls, cut heads like grass, dodge bullets, and even perform some incredible feats, such as dripping water through stone or turning iron into mud. This is the combat power of a person whose basic physical fitness is twice that of an ordinary person, and they could easily take down a hundred strong men.

In fact, this is what is meant by "high three points, high to the extreme," which refers to the high basic physical fitness.

If Hao Qi used inner strength, his physical fitness would be four to five times that of an ordinary person. What does this mean? Simply put, an ordinary person who has not trained can easily jump two meters. A person with physical fitness five times that of an ordinary person, without any training, can easily jump ten meters. If trained and with martial arts techniques and local strengthening by inner strength, they could jump 40 to 50 meters.

This applies to long jump, high jump, strength, speed, and even nerve reaction and vitality. Such a person is no longer human but a higher-level life form with human genes, a human body, and human flesh, but with an additional energy circulation system. Such a life form could easily enter and exit an army of hundreds of thousands, take the head of a general from an army of a million, and kill and leave without a trace. Even in the 21st century of Hao Qi's previous life, such a person could dominate a country with their own strength and face a modern technological army with bare hands, as long as they were cautious, they would have no life-threatening danger, unless it was a nuclear attack, even a dense missile attack could be easily avoided. Such a life form is extremely powerful!

This is why the Inner Strength Realm has such a high status in this world. There is no other reason, only strength!

Hao Qi was now climbing a snow mountain. This area was on a plateau, and at the end of the plateau was a continuous range of snow mountains. This was a mountain range, and although it was not as vast as the Himalayas in his previous life, it was still extensive. Hao Qi did not plan to cross this mountain range in a day or two to reach the Bai Cao Kingdom.

If Hao Qi's climb were to be placed in his previous life, it would be quite astonishing. He had no climbing tools, only a thin single-layered shirt, and he climbed using his hands. He could climb several meters at a time, and no steep slope or bend could hinder him. In just a few hours, before nightfall, Hao Qi had already reached the top of the mountain. The top of the mountain was only about ten square meters, and the strong wind and thick snow made Hao Qi feel a bit cold, but with a little inner strength, his body was warm, and the temperature was not a problem, only the wind...

Hao Qi looked around the top of the mountain for a moment, then smiled and placed his backpack in the center of the mountain top. He took a deep breath and immediately used his inner strength to punch the ground. The sound of his fists hitting the ground echoed, and the thick snow was blown away by the wind from his punches. After a few punches, the thick ice layer underneath was shattered, and the frozen soil beneath the ice layer was also broken into mud and rock. Hao Qi's fists, wrapped in inner strength, only turned slightly red, without breaking the skin.

After a hundred punches, Hao Qi roared loudly, and his fists instantly turned into palms. From his palms, a Buddhist mark was released, and the immense power of the Prajna Palm completely exploded on the frozen soil. With a loud bang, it was as if an explosion had occurred, creating a pit about one meter deep and one and a half to two meters wide.

Hao Qi stopped his fists and nodded at the pit, planning to jump into the pit to further process this shelter. Suddenly, a loud noise came from the bottom of the mountain. Hao Qi quickly ran to the edge of the mountain top and looked down, seeing a large amount of snow rolling down. The snow kept rolling and growing, and it was clear that an avalanche was happening.

Hao Qi watched with interest. He had never seen a real avalanche, not even on the internet or TV in his previous life. Since he was not in danger, he could not help but watch the entire scene. However, at this moment, Hao Qi's eyes suddenly narrowed. He saw a black dot in the snow, which was a person, running frantically down the mountain.

But how could a person run faster than an avalanche? Moreover, from the speed and movements, Hao Qi was sure this person was not at the Inner Strength Realm. In an avalanche, even a Pre-Inner Strength Realm person would face great danger. If this person was buried by the avalanche, they would surely die!

Hao Qi immediately roared, and his inner strength surged, completely enveloping his body. Without hesitation, he jumped off the mountain top.

This was his responsibility!

He thought the mountain was uninhabited, so he could watch the avalanche and experience the thrill of survival. But if there were other climbers, he would be responsible for their deaths. He did not have the twisted mentality of enjoying others' deaths. Good and evil must be repaid, and this was his belief. Since this person was in danger due to the avalanche, he had to risk his life to save them. Otherwise...

He would feel guilty!