Chapter 73

At the beginning, Xu Dong was not familiar with the Lietiger style. Each time he performed it, he needed time to feel and adjust his movements, and it took a minute to complete one attempt. Later, with the insights in his heart and repeated practice, his speed gradually increased, and he could perform it twice in a minute. As time went on, his understanding of the Tiger Pounce and Heavy Strike deepened, and he could perform it three or four times in a minute!

After three hours of continuous practice, the number of attempts was incredibly exaggerated, reaching several hundred or even thousands.

When the last bit of his physical strength was exhausted, Xu Dong collapsed on the ground, his muscles twitching and trembling, his internal organs spasming. Even moving a single finger brought about an exaggerated and terrifying pain.

His physical strength was completely drained, and his whole body ached!

Under such intense practice, all the century-old trees around him suffered. Dozens of trees, large enough for three or four people to encircle, had their bark torn and shredded, revealing the white fibers underneath, with spots of dried blood on them.

This was because, during the continuous practice, Xu Dong's ten fingers had become ulcerated, his nails separated from the flesh, and his fingertips were a bloody mess, even revealing the pale white bones. It was these bloody and flesh-covered fingers that, during the cultivation process, continuously stained and eventually solidified on the surface, creating this scene.

At first, Yangguang was surprised, then shocked, and finally, his nerves were numbed. It wasn't until Xu Dong fell to the ground with a thud that his numb expression slightly revived, muttering, "Oh! Finally can't take it anymore?"

After all his strength was exhausted, and his body was on the verge of collapse, Xu Dong calmed his mind and quietly felt the changes within his body. He was very curious to know whether the dormant power of the flesh armor would activate when the body was nutritionally deficient.

The facts proved that the power of the flesh armor remained dormant, like a meditating old monk who felt no joy or sorrow. To him, everything before his eyes was like a flower in a mirror or the moon in water, with no desire to pursue or possess. At this point, Xu Dong finally gave up. He could not mobilize this power, not even a tiny bit, as if this power did not belong to him at all.

Sighing slightly, Xu Dong quickly regained his spirit and took out the awakened item, the Siphon Worm, from his storage space, placing it on his neck. The Siphon Worm wriggled its plump little body, reluctantly biting into his carotid artery, its body glowing faintly as it began to transfer life energy to Xu Dong. Soon, the veins under Xu Dong's neck skin also emitted a faint glow, clearly showing their contours, which was quite miraculous.

As the life energy entered, Xu Dong felt as if he was being bathed in the morning sunlight, spreading throughout his body. He couldn't help but imagine that the essence of life, carried by the blood, was being pumped by the heart to all parts of his body, nourishing every inch of skin, every muscle, and every bone.

Soon, he felt that the bleeding from his ten damaged fingers had stopped, and the flesh began to regrow, forming a crust. In a short time, not only were his ten fingers intact, but his entire body was full of energy, as if he had endless strength! The only downside was that the life energy used to repair the body did not strengthen the muscles and bones. However, Xu Dong was not greedy.

The Siphon Worm, living up to its name as an awakened item, had a significant recovery effect during the awakened stage!

When Xu Dong got up again, his ten fingers were intact. Yangguang's eyes almost popped out, and he asked in a ghostly manner, "Your fingers... By Mondo, how did you do it?!"

Xu Dong ignored him and silently placed the Siphon Worm into a large tree, letting it absorb life energy, while he continued his intense training.

After hundreds or thousands of practices, Xu Dong's aura was completely different from the beginning. Although it might not have reached the level of a thousand hammerings and a hundred temperings, it had at least gained a hint of a fierce and imposing aura. Standing in an open area in the forest, he suddenly opened his mouth and roared, and it seemed as if a fierce tiger's roar echoed through the forest, shaking the surrounding leaves to fall.

His aura was fierce!

Then, he stomped his feet on the ground. Unlike before, when the leaves behind him shattered and flew, this time almost no leaves were thrown up because the force of his feet was almost entirely absorbed by the ground, with very little loss.

His strength was concentrated!

In the roar of the tiger, Xu Dong pounced with all his might, like a tiger in the forest, full of power and might!

His speed was astonishing!

His right hand spread out, fingers like claws. After hundreds or thousands of practices, the claw shape had reached perfection. At first glance, one might mistake it for a tiger's claw. Combined with the power of the pounce, the tiger claw swept down fiercely and powerfully, the five fingers tearing through the air, making a dull sound, like a heavy mountain pressing down.

The Tiger Pounce and Heavy Strike!

Rip!

A large piece of bark, along with a lot of wood fibers, was torn to shreds by Xu Dong's claw.

Yangguang was dumbfounded, and he couldn't help but try to shake Pray awake. However, before his hand could reach out, it was slapped away, followed by a cold snort, "I'm awake, no need for your concern."

Yangguang pointed at Xu Dong, his expression a bit dazed, "Just a few hours, three hours! From knowing nothing to achieving some success, it might take others two or three months, but he only needed three hours. By Mondo, just three hours!"

Pray, who rarely mocked, looked at Xu Dong with eyes full of unimaginable brilliance, "Although he didn't use the power of the flesh armor to activate the Lietiger Force, his pounce is fierce, his claws powerful, and his strength concentrated, already forming the initial tiger posture! Dong's insight is truly astonishing! Even though the Tiger Pounce and Heavy Strike lack the Lietiger Force and cannot unleash its true power, it is merely a show of strength, but with the power of the flesh, it has already reached the peak of a one-star strength-type awakened person's full attack!"

Just as both thought Xu Dong would turn to the second move, the Tiger Squat and Split Strike, he once again assumed the starting posture of the Tiger Pounce and Heavy Strike, practicing diligently. This persistent and stubborn attitude once again moved them.

Pray took a deep breath, her blood boiling from Xu Dong's madness, and she also began to practice.

Yangguang looked at Xu Dong, then glanced at Pray, his carefree expression fading. He said in a dazed tone, "There's something about Dong that makes people around him want to follow... Should I also improve my own strength?"

※※※

For the third time, after his body was completely drained of energy and restored by the life essence, Xu Dong rubbed his temples, a hint of lingering fatigue in his brows. Although his physical strength could be restored, the mental and spiritual energy he had expended could not be effectively replenished, naturally making him feel tired.

The sun was now tilting, around three or four in the afternoon. Xu Dong glanced at Pray and Yangguang and said softly, "I want to investigate the Guard Army's camp. Do you have any objections?"

The Guard Army's camp?! Yangguang, like a big cat whose tail had been stepped on, jumped up in surprise, "You can't be serious, you want to investigate the Guard Army's camp? The Guard Army is not only the defense force of Blood Helmet City but also sometimes participates in the border defense. Their overall strength is quite formidable, and even three-star or four-star awakened people dare not recklessly intrude. If you want to go to your death, I can't stop you, but it's not very decent to look at me with such hopeful and expectant eyes. I want to make it clear, I'm not going!"

Blood Helmet City is a border town, its territory bordering a neighboring country. Currently, the overall situation in the Central Continent is harmonious, and there won't be any intense conflicts or wars. However, skirmishes between border defense forces are frequent. Under the feudal system, the lords of border towns are responsible for defending their territory. The Guard Army, on one hand, handles the city's defense, and on the other hand, must always pay attention to the border, ready to support and assist the border defense forces at any time. Tested by blood and fire, their strength is naturally not lacking.

Xu Dong had been in this plane for some time and naturally knew these common facts. He only smiled faintly, "The city lord of Blood Helmet City has already set out to the Mu Hua provincial capital to participate in the tribute day, taking a large number of elite troops, including three bodyguard camps and two guard camps. I believe you know this. So, I want to ask you, with only two guard camps left in Blood Helmet City, that is, five hundred people, how can they handle the defense of the entire city-state..."

Yangguang was momentarily speechless, and even Pray fell into deep thought.

Picking up the wind-up toy from the ground and teasing it with his finger, he continued slowly, "Do you remember what the soldier said when we left the city? The city gates are closing much earlier these days. What does this mean?"

Yangguang couldn't help but squint his eyes, suddenly feeling that this man, not much older than himself, had an excellent insight that young people lacked, even grasping such a minor detail!

Pray raised her head thoughtfully, "Do you mean that the Guard Army..."

Before she could finish, Xu Dong interrupted, "So, I think it's necessary to investigate, to seize this opportunity before others notice."

Seize this opportunity? Pray couldn't help but laugh, "Dong, are you crazy? We don't need the assessment certificates, so this opportunity is optional for us!"

"No!" At this moment, Yangguang's eyes lit up, "Suppose, just suppose, we can obtain the camp commander's blessing through the camp. Then, we could acquire a large number of un-blessed assessment certificates. The difficulty of obtaining these certificates is so low, it's outrageous! Then we could sell them in large quantities! Do you know what this means?"

Yangguang's eyes seemed to turn into two shiny gold coins, "That's a lot of money, fine wine, and beautiful women, all coming in a flood!"

Just as Yangguang was speaking excitedly, the wind-up toy, enjoying Xu Dong's chin stroking, suddenly stiffened, shuddered, and started barking fiercely in a certain direction.

The next second, a tall, cold, and venomous man slowly emerged from behind a tree.

Seeing this man, the three of them felt their hearts skip a beat, a chill running up their spines, and their body hair standing on end, as if they were walking in a field and suddenly encountered a large, venomous, and colorful snake blocking their path!

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