Lin Ye played two more matches in [Competitive Battle].
One win, one loss.
[Ding! Daily Quest: Grinding Teeth and Sucking Blood (5/5) has been completed!]
[Reward: EXP +50, Free Attribute Points +0.5.]
With the final daily quest reward secured, Lin Ye's virtual battle session for the day came to an end.
He logged out of the Martial Peak platform without a moment's hesitation.
His consciousness returned to his body. The room was still silent.
Lin Ye stood up, recalling the details of his fight with Lone Wolf as he reviewed it. He then assumed a stance in the cramped room, trying to imitate the sensation and optimize the flow of his Qi and Blood, concentrating its power into a single point.
However, the moment he tried to mobilize the power of his Qi and Blood, it shot out of his control like a wild horse breaking free.
It rampaged through his meridians, making it impossible to concentrate it precisely. Most of the energy dissipated uncontrollably, even causing a stuffy feeling in his chest.
-11!
Lin Ye saw a red damage number appear above him.
It seemed that in this world, practicing recklessly could indeed trigger the legendary 'Qi deviation'.
It wasn't an issue with his martial arts or technique.
Lin Ye finally identified the root of the problem—
It was his Cultivation Technique.
Lin Ye glanced at the 100,000 Federation Coins in his personal account.
'I wonder what kind of Cultivation Technique this much money can buy.'
'I'll go to school tomorrow and ask Mr. Chen.'
Once his mind was made up, Lin Ye couldn't sit still any longer.
'If my training is inefficient, then I'll go level up!'
He quickly changed into a durable and inconspicuous dark tracksuit.
Then, he silently opened his door, confirmed that his mother and sister were fast asleep, and slipped out, disappearing into the night.
「Half an hour later.」
The outskirts of the ruined city.
The night wind stirred up dust, carrying a mixed scent of rusted metal and decay.
Lin Ye's figure moved through the shadows of the crumbling ruins like a ghost melting into the darkness.
His gaze swept over the swarms of mutated rats and a few scattered mutated cats roaming the rubble.
Without exception, the numbers representing their levels above their heads had all turned gray.
Killing gray-level targets yielded very little EXP, and the life force his Soul Furnace could absorb was negligible.
To him, these monsters were no longer of any value.
Lin Ye didn't linger, continuing deeper into the ruined city.
He skirted around the lairs of several large mutated beasts and soon arrived at the area he had been frequenting lately.
The monsters here were generally around LV5.
Stealth, search, kill.
Lin Ye's movements were like a precise program that had been run thousands upon thousands of times.
He always played it safe, only hunting monsters at his level or one level below. He never even bothered to look twice at those a level higher.
Caution is the key to a long life.
This was his ironclad rule for surviving in the ruined city.
But sometimes, the unexpected arrives first.
Just as Lin Ye spotted three iron-armored lizards sleeping soundly in a cluster and was about to make his move...
A sharp gust of wind shot toward him from a blind spot behind him!
The piercing, terrifying presence exploded right against the back of his neck!
Lin Ye's pupils contracted violently!
No time to turn, no time to block!
The next moment, a cold sensation spread from his back, followed by an explosive, tearing pain!
Lin Ye let out a muffled grunt as the immense force of the pounce sent him flying forward uncontrollably.
He didn't panic. The instant he lost his balance, he went with the momentum and rolled on the ground, absorbing most of the impact.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he pushed off hard with his legs and fled madly into the labyrinthine alleyways of the ruins ahead!
'I've been ambushed!'
Lin Ye glanced at his Life Value.
That single swipe had cost him over ninety points of health.
If his health bar hadn't been so thick, dropping below half his total health would have caused the system to register him as critically injured.
His movement would have been impaired.
'The monster that ambushed me must be several levels higher than me.'
Lin Ye didn't even think of looking back. There was only one word in his mind.
Run!
Over the past two weeks, Lin Ye had basically memorized the layout of the ruined city's outskirts. He twisted and turned through the narrow alleyways, constantly changing direction.
The sounds of pursuit—heavy footsteps and furious roars—followed close behind. Several times, the vicious wind from its claws grazed his body.
After a full ten-minute sprint, he gradually felt the commotion behind him die down until it disappeared completely.
He didn't stop immediately, instead dashing a bit further before ducking into a gutted residential building, where he finally dared to stop and gasp for air.
He looked back.
In the shadows of a distant pile of abandoned vehicles, he saw a fleeting flash of fiery orange-red.
And a blurry silhouette.
It looked like a feline, perhaps a panther, but its size was already comparable to a Siberian tiger.
[LV8, Mutated Black Panther]!
A chill ran down Lin Ye's spine.
'Three levels higher than me. No wonder its attack power is so absurd.'
Lin Ye had no idea why a black panther would appear in the ruined city.
'Maybe it slipped in from outside the walls.'
'Or maybe it escaped from the zoo after the city was abandoned.'
He didn't dwell on it. In any case, he had now marked this Mutated Black Panther.
As Lin Ye fully disengaged from combat, the [Healing out of combat] passive was triggered.
The claw mark on his back, so deep the bone was almost visible, healed at a speed visible to the naked eye within seconds. It vanished completely, leaving not even a scar.
Lin Ye let out a long breath.
'I got greedy just now.'
'In my pursuit of efficiency, trying to kill those three LV5 iron-armored lizards as quickly as possible, I made far more noise than usual. That's what attracted the monster roaming this area.'
He didn't go out right away, waiting quietly in place for another ten-plus minutes. Only after confirming the Mutated Black Panther was truly gone did he emerge from the shadows again.
This time, Lin Ye was more cautious than ever before.
Time flew by in a series of silent hunts.
「2:50 AM.」
As the last monster died under Lin Ye's staff, he received a level-up notification from the system.
[Ding! Congratulations, Host! Your level has increased to LV6!]
[Ding! Host's level has reached LV6!]
[Advancement Quest: Goblin Warrior has been issued!]
[Quest Description: Goblins always get their revenge! Goblins never forget a grudge! Tempered by the flames of battle, the weak Goblin grunt has finally earned the right to ascend to a higher rank.]
[You are no longer the cannon fodder who can only cheer from the sidelines of the battlefield. It is time to prove your worth to the great Goblin King and become a glorious Goblin Warrior!]
[Quest Requirements: Kill the LV8 Mutated Black Panther, defeat the adventurer "Lone Wolf".]
[Quest Reward: Racial template upgraded to Goblin Warrior, growth rate for All Attributes increased, new Phase 1 skills unlocked.]