It was past 1 a.m.
From his spot in the corner of the arena, Bai Chen could still see the scholars working under the harsh lamplight.
He rubbed his temples, half amused, half helpless.
"Don't these people ever get tired? They've been at it for ten hours straight…"
But fatigue didn't exist in their eyes — only unshakable, childlike fascination.
They were recording more than just data about the Basarios ecology.
They were chronicling the birth of a myth — a living taboo that would never again be replicated.
Bai Chen didn't bother disturbing them. Instead, he found a quiet corner and crossed his legs, beginning his own late-night training.
After half a month of daily practice, he had fully mastered the Sword Master's breathing techniques, evolving his own Ki Blade Flow into something greater:
a Rarity 7 Skill — "Qi Empowerment."
He could now freely activate the Sword Master's combat techniques — Qi Manifestation and Qi Hardening.
By his estimation, entering the basic Qi Manifestation state raised all his attributes by roughly 20 percent.
But Qi Hardening…
That was another story entirely. No matter how he tried, he couldn't yet grasp it.
He took a deep breath, feeling the internal streams of energy running through him like rivers of molten life.
And then—he activated Qi Manifestation.
There was no gentle transition, no rising tension — just a burst.
Dark crimson energy flared up around him like wildfire, rippling across his frame. His hair fluttered in the unseen currents, his body thrumming with raw vitality.
He stood, throwing two punches into the air.
Thwack!Thwack!
The air itself cracked beneath his blows.
The Golden Lion — Rajang — had entered this state by awakening its lightning.
Bai Chen's own manifestation triggered something similar: the dormant dragon energy coursing through his veins.
He couldn't release it yet, not like Rajang could, but its presence still empowered his body.
"Simplified Qi Manifestation is fairly easy to control," he murmured. "And since my body's stronger than the average hunter's… I can push it harder."
He raised the output.
The crimson aura surged half a meter higher, roaring faintly around him.
His eyes burned with twin rings of gold within black-red sclera, the contrast sharp and unsettling.
Lines of glowing scarlet traced across his skin — veins of power that pulsed brighter the longer he sustained it.
He threw another punch forward.
Boom!
The impact cracked like thunder.
Every cell in his body screamed awake — his strength, speed, and resilience now 40 percent higher than normal.
He gauged the limit.
At moderate output, he could sustain high-intensity combat for 30 minutes.
At this extreme output, maybe 15 minutes — tops.
"Ten to fifteen minutes at full burn… and if I stack Qi Hardening on top, it'll drop even lower."
Before the scholars could notice, Bai Chen released the state, the aura fading into wisps.
He exhaled slowly.
"Endurance is a real problem… but at least I've got my golden cheat."
He opened his system interface and reviewed his gains.
Capturing Anjanath had rewarded him 50,000 Skill XP and a Rarity 6 Skill Stone.
Capturing Zinogre: 1,000 Skill XP and one random Skill Stone.
Capturing Nargacuga and Rathian: 2,500 Skill XP total and another random stone.
So far, he'd captured three Rank-5 monsters. The rewards weren't fixed, but the pattern was clear: around 1,000–1,500 Skill XP plus a random enhancement stone.
The two random stones he'd rolled were… disappointing — one Rarity 2, one Rarity 1.
Barely worth mentioning.
Still, the numbers added up.
Even after spending 17,000 XP to raise Titan's Body to Master rank, he had over 64,000 Skill XP left in reserve.
He hadn't slacked off either.
Every day — outside battle and his meager two hours of sleep — he'd been training relentlessly, honing minor skills like Focus Boost, Rapid Guard, and Quick Step.
His major skills were monsters in their own right.
For instance, his Master-level Titan's Body now required a staggering 87,500 XP to reach Grandmaster rank — far beyond what he could afford.
Still, after a brief thought, he poured 17,000 XP into his Qi Empowerment, raising it to Master level as well.
Originally, when Nature's Force hit Master, he'd downgraded Qi Blade Flow to a secondary skill — something to maintain casually.
But now?
Now that he'd learned Qi Empowerment, it had reclaimed its throne as a top-tier core ability.
Qi Manifestation and Qi Hardening weren't just flashy techniques — they enhanced stamina, endurance, and combat efficiency across the board.
They were the foundation of survival.
When the upgrade settled, Bai Chen activated his power again.
This time, his energy flowed more smoothly, more steadily.
In standard Qi Manifestation, he could now sustain an hour of peak combat.
In the Extreme Manifestation state, thirty minutes of full-throttle devastation.
But Qi Hardening… still eluded him.
No amount of training points could unlock that. Only comprehension could.
He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Three master-level skills now. At least I can take on a territory boss if I have to."
He knew himself better than anyone.
The Commander might think he could easily crush a regional apex, but Bai Chen knew his own limits.
When he'd "disciplined" the forty-level Zinogre, he'd only been level 35 himself — and he'd barely managed it thanks to rare-grade techniques and raw adaptability.
After upgrading Zinogre's own abilities, though, their strength had evened out — a fifty-fifty match, at best.
And even with that, Zinogre's odds against true map rulers — those level 45 and above monsters — were no better than twenty percent.
This was Monster Hunter, not a sparring tournament.
There were no "friendly duels" — only survival.
Even with his hybrid systems, Bai Chen couldn't expect to skip whole tiers of power.
He chuckled softly.
"Still… I'm level thirty-seven now. With Zinogre and Nergigante backing me, taking down the Lagiacrus isn't impossible."
He glanced at his untouched XP reserves and smiled faintly.
"Once I burn through the rest of these points, my odds will go up even higher."
The moonlight glimmered across the arena's stone floor as his aura flickered briefly again — a red flame dancing in the dark.
The next battle would test whether his Extreme Qi Manifestation could truly live up to its
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