Chapter 10

"Zhen'er, spirit medicines are different from spirit pills. Repeated consumption can lead to resistance. Your current strength has reached a bottleneck, and you need more brutal training to further enhance your power."

"Father, if there were spirit pills, could we infinitely increase our strength?"

"Theoretically, yes."

"Then it would be great if we had spirit pills. Father, you've given me many spirit medicines, but why haven't you given me a single spirit pill?"

"Spirit pills are not ordinary things. Even the lowest-grade spirit pill is more than ten times more expensive than a spirit medicine. Only alchemists can refine them, but alchemists are extremely rare. There are no alchemists in Pingyang County. When Father was in his prime, I bought some spirit pills, but now they are all gone. Zhen'er, in the future, you can only rely on your own efforts for cultivation."

"Don't worry, Father. I won't let you down. I've already broken through the limits of my physical body, so there's nothing I can't accomplish. Even with just one year, I have the confidence to catch up with Luo Yu. Next year, I will definitely defeat him and win first place."

"In three months, your strength increased by three thousand pounds, but that was because I gave you many spirit medicines. The subsequent cultivation will be very difficult. Staying within the family, your strength will hardly improve. You need to experience the stimulation of life and death to continue to unlock your potential. Zhen'er, starting tomorrow, you will leave the Luo residence and head to the outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains to fight beast monsters, drink their blood, and eat their flesh. Only then will you have a chance to catch up with Luo Yu."

"Cangmang Mountains? Fight beast monsters? Drink their blood and eat their flesh? Alright, I'll go tomorrow."

...

Three months passed, and Luo Ning didn't take the words from the elders' meeting to heart. He gave Luo Zhen many more spirit medicines, causing Luo Zhen's strength to surge by over three thousand pounds in three months.

Luo Zhen's current strength has already exceeded seven thousand pounds.

Repeated consumption of spirit medicines can lead to resistance, with effects diminishing by half each time, so relying solely on spirit medicines to enhance strength is impossible.

Even if Luo Ning could use the family's resources to cultivate Luo Zhen, he could only cause a short-term surge in strength, not sustain it long-term.

As someone who has been through it, Luo Ning deeply understands that flowers grown in a greenhouse have little potential. Only by experiencing the laws of nature can one truly become a great person.

Although letting Luo Zhen go out to train carries some risks, it is a necessary part of the cultivation path.

The next morning, Luo Zhen bid farewell to Luo Ning and Jing Ting, and left the Luo residence.

"Luo Zhen brother, be careful out there...!" Jing Ting saw him off at the gate, waving her hand at his back.

If Luo Zhen hadn't fallen from his pedestal and still maintained his status as a prodigy, people who were against the Luo family would likely have ill intentions toward him.

But now, Luo Zhen has long since transformed from a genius to a waste, and no one pays attention to him anymore.

The outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains are over two thousand miles from the Luo family. Riding a fast horse, Luo Zhen arrived in two days.

Upon entering the mountains, Luo Zhen immediately felt a sense of ancient wilderness. The air carried a faint, unfamiliar aura, different from the areas where humans live.

It's the aura of beast monsters, indicating that this is a suitable place for them to live.

The Cangmang Mountains are not limited to Pingyang County; they are a famous mountain range in Jiangyue City, stretching for thousands of miles, filled with countless beast monsters. Even cultivators at the Dao Fetus stage face great danger when entering the Cangmang Mountains, with a high risk of death.

The deeper parts of the Cangmang Mountains are even more perilous, with even Soul Guiding stage experts hesitant to enter.

As for True Qi stage warriors, they can fight beast monsters that have developed auras, but can only survive in the outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains.

The outskirts of the Cangmang Mountains are inhabited by unranked beast monsters, whose strength is comparable to True Qi stage warriors. Ranked beast monsters, even at the first rank, are extremely terrifying, comparable to Dao Fetus stage cultivators who can fly and teleport.

Unranked beast monsters are divided into four levels: Level 1 beast monsters have strength below twenty thousand pounds, Level 2 beast monsters have strength below fifty thousand pounds, Level 3 beast monsters have strength below one hundred thousand pounds, and Level 4 beast monsters have strength above one hundred thousand pounds.

Beast monsters are naturally stronger than humans, and those that have developed auras are even stronger than True Qi stage warriors of the same level.

True Qi stage warriors, at the first level of Qi Sensing, have strength ranging from five thousand to ten thousand pounds, while the weakest beast monsters have strength above ten thousand pounds.

Luo Zhen's strength is only a little over seven thousand pounds, making him pitifully weak to beast monsters. However, with top-tier martial arts, he is not afraid of Level 1 beast monsters and can only move around the outermost part of the Cangmang Mountains.

Over several days, Luo Zhen encountered over ten beast monsters, all of which he killed without much trouble.

With the power of the Threefold Wave technique, his strength triples, making Level 1 beast monsters almost no threat. After killing over ten beast monsters, he only had some scratches on his arms and legs, but his body remained unharmed.

He drank the blood and ate the flesh of beast monsters every day, which slightly increased his strength. The scratches on his arms and legs healed overnight. The two healing spirit medicines given to him by Luo Ning were still unused.

On the seventh day, Luo Zhen encountered trouble.

He faced a Level 2 beast monster—a Firetail Leopard.

The Firetail Leopard, over two meters long, had a fiery red tail and, as a leopard-type beast monster, possessed incredible speed.

In the forest clearing, a man and a leopard were engaged in a fierce battle. Luo Zhen's fists struck in all directions, while a fiery shadow darted around him, circling and occasionally lunging to claw at him.

Fortunately, although the Firetail Leopard was fast, its strength was the weakest among Level 2 beast monsters, just over twenty thousand pounds. Luo Zhen, using the Threefold Wave technique, could barely match it.

After a short while, the leopard's claws struck Luo Zhen's shoulder.

Although Luo Zhen dodged in time and deflected much of the force, deep claw marks still appeared, and blood flowed out.

This was due to his hardened body from physical cultivation. If a True Qi stage warrior with the same strength were hit by the Firetail Leopard, their entire shoulder would likely be shattered.

With the same strength, physical cultivation provides much better defense than True Qi cultivation.

As the leopard's claws struck, Luo Zhen also landed two punches, but neither hit vital points. Due to the need to defend against the leopard's claws, he couldn't deliver much force, causing little damage to the Firetail Leopard.

"This won't work. Even if my physical strength is stronger than a True Qi stage warrior of the same level, I can't last long and will be worn down by the Firetail Leopard."

Luo Zhen was anxious, quickly thinking of a solution. Although it was his first time facing a life-or-death situation, he remained calm, thanks to his unshaken mindset.

"I need to hit the Firetail Leopard's vital points and finish it off in one strike. I have healing spirit medicines, so I can take the risk."

Suddenly, Luo Zhen pulled out a white spirit medicine from his pocket, swallowed it, and then spread his arms wide, leaving himself open.

Seeing Luo Zhen abandon his defense, the Firetail Leopard pounced, aiming to kill.

"Die—Threefold Wave!"

Luo Zhen roared, not blocking with his arms but slightly turning his body to minimize the damage. His fists, however, unleashed their maximum power, striking the Firetail Leopard's head.

Bang—

The sound of impact echoed as both attacks hit simultaneously.

Luo Zhen's chest was clawed, and although he turned his body to avoid the full force, he still received deep wounds, even breaking some bones.

Luo Zhen spat out blood and was thrown backward by the force.

Blood gushed from his chest, staining his clothes. At that moment, a faint light flashed on his chest.

Under his clothes, a small tripod glowed briefly, the very tripod given to him by his father, Luo Ning.

The Firetail Leopard suffered even more, its head critically injured by a punch with over twenty thousand pounds of force.

While still in the air, Luo Zhen swallowed the healing spirit medicine in his mouth. Despite his severe injuries, he landed and immediately sprang up, charging at the Firetail Leopard.

Having finally hit the Firetail Leopard's vital points and inflicted serious injuries, Luo Zhen had to finish it off in one go.

Otherwise, if it survived, it would be much harder to kill, and he would be in greater danger.

Luo Zhen quickly leaped up, mounted the Firetail Leopard's neck, and wildly punched its injured head, forgetting his own pain. His fists rained down like a storm.

Before long, the Firetail Leopard's head was shattered, and blood splattered.

"Enough...! Enough...! It's dead...!"

Suddenly, an old voice echoed in Luo Zhen's ear.

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