Night deepened. The neon lights of Jiangnan City's Lower District began to flicker, reflecting off the wet streets.
When Lin Zhiran climbed out of the sewer exit, his entire body radiated a stench of rot and blood that made people want to cover their noses. His school uniform was caked in mud and dried blood, its original color no longer discernible. He carried the rusty iron spear casually in his hand, its tip gleaming with a cold, ghostly chill under the streetlights.
On both sides of the street, a few hooligans squatting in the shadows smoking lit up when they saw someone emerge. They were just about to surround him to collect a "toll fee."
But the moment they saw Lin Zhiran clearly, the leader, a blonde-haired thug, froze.
Although the teenager looked thin and weak, those eyes...
Indifferent, dead silent, without any emotional fluctuation.
Like a lone wolf that had just eaten its fill, scanning the trash fish that dared to provoke it.
The blonde thug shuddered, swallowing the insults that were on the tip of his tongue. He even subconsciously took a step back, making way. It wasn't until Lin Zhiran had walked far away that he realized his back was soaked in cold sweat.
"Boss, isn't that just a student? Why are we afraid of him?" a lackey asked in confusion.
"You know shit!" The blonde took a fierce drag on his cigarette, his hand trembling slightly. "That look... That kid has definitely seen blood, and more than just one life. Don't mess with that kind of lunatic."
Lin Zhiran didn't care about these roadside interludes. His senses were now far sharper than ordinary people's. The malice radiating from those hooligans was as clear to him as a candle in the dark night, but as long as they didn't make a move, he had no interest in wasting time.
His current goal was clear: Old Liu's General Store.
This was a black market shop located deep in the Lower District. Although it was called a general store, it specialized in buying and selling various beast materials. Although the owner, Old Liu, was ruthless and black-hearted, his reputation was decent. Most importantly, he didn't ask about the source of the goods.
Pushing open the greasy glass door, the smell of cheap tobacco hit him in the face.
Behind the counter, a one-eyed middle-aged fat man was squinting while calculating accounts. Seeing Lin Zhiran enter, he frowned. "Student? You're in the wrong place. We don't sell stationery here."
Lin Zhiran didn't waste words. He walked straight to the counter, unslung his bulging backpack, and dumped everything inside onto the counter.
Clatter.
A few blood-stained rat pelts and some dull gray rat teeth.
"Just this junk?" Old Liu sneered, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes. "Giant Mutated Rat fur. Although the integrity is okay, it's trash. This pile is worth two hundred bucks at most."
Lin Zhiran's expression didn't change. He reached into his backpack again and slowly pulled out the last item.
Slap.
A pitch-black, glossy beast hide emitting a faint bloody scent, along with two emerald-like eyeballs and several claws sharp as knives, were slammed onto the counter.
Old Liu's casual expression froze instantly.
He sat up straight abruptly, his single eye staring dead at the black hide on the table, his breathing quickening a few notches.
"This... Is this Shadow Cat skin?"
Old Liu looked up at Lin Zhiran in disbelief, then lowered his head to carefully inspect the hide. He knew his goods. At a glance, he could tell this was an adult Shadow Cat, a Tier 1 Beast!
What shocked him even more was the integrity of the hide.
Generally speaking, hunting a speed-type beast like a Shadow Cat usually required spraying bullets or covering a large area with supernatural abilities, resulting in severe damage to the fur. But this piece of skin... aside from a tiny hole in the abdomen, was almost flawless!
"One hit kill?" Old Liu sucked in a cold breath, his voice changing pitch. "Pierced through the abdomen, penetrating the spine... What ruthless spearmanship! What precise eyesight!"
When he looked at Lin Zhiran again, the contempt in his eyes had vanished, replaced by deep apprehension.
To be able to instantly kill a Shadow Cat, known for its speed, in the narrow terrain of the sewers with a single spear thrust... This teenager's strength was definitely not as simple as it looked on the surface. Was he a core disciple from some major family out for training?
"Name a price," Lin Zhiran said, his voice hoarse.
Old Liu's eyes darted around, his initial thought of lowballing the price restrained significantly. It was better not to offend such a ruthless person if possible.
"Ahem, little brother has good skills." Old Liu switched to a smiling face, his fingers flying over the abacus. "I won't count the change for the rat materials; I'll give you three hundred. For the Shadow Cat pelt, plus the eyes and claws, the market price is around five thousand. But since your pelt has extremely high integrity, it's top-grade..."
Old Liu paused and held up one finger. "Eight thousand! This is absolutely the highest purchase price in this area."
Eight thousand.
Lin Zhiran's heart stirred slightly.
In this world, the monthly salary of an ordinary working-class person was only three or four thousand. Eight thousand was enough for him and his sister to live on for two months, and he could even buy some low-level Vitality Potions.
"Deal."
Lin Zhiran nodded.
Old Liu transferred the money efficiently. Watching Lin Zhiran's retreating back, he couldn't help but wipe the sweat from his forehead.
"Are students nowadays this terrifying? That killing intent... Tsk tsk, looks like there will be a good show at this year's College Entrance Exam."
Carrying the huge sum of eight thousand, Lin Zhiran bought a few boxes of expensive "Nourishing Qi Potions" at a roadside pharmacy before rushing home.
His so-called home was a dilapidated, small apartment in the low-rent district.
Pushing open the door, the light inside was dim, and the air was filled with a faint smell of traditional medicine.
"Brother? Is that you?"
A weak but gentle voice came from the inner room.
Lin Zhiran's expression, originally cold as iron, softened the instant he heard this voice. He walked quickly into the inner room and saw a pale girl lying on a narrow single bed.
That was his sister, Lin Qingyu.
Two years ago, his sister contracted a strange illness. Her body was weak, her Vitality was perpetually deficient, and she struggled even to walk. The hospital couldn't find the cause and could only sustain her life with expensive medicine. This was Lin Zhiran's biggest motivation for desperately wanting to become a martial artist, even after suffering endless eye-rolls at school.
Only by becoming a martial artist and earning lots and lots of money could he cure his sister and move her out of this gloomy low-rent apartment.
"Yeah, I'm back." Lin Zhiran sat on the edge of the bed and took out the potion he just bought from his pocket. "Qingyu, drink this."
Lin Qingyu looked at the beautifully packaged potion, feeling a bit distressed. "Brother, this medicine is expensive, right? I'm actually fine; you don't need to waste money..."
"Drink it." Lin Zhiran's tone allowed no refusal, but his movements were very gentle as he helped her open the cap. "I'm making money now. In the future, we'll drink this kind of medicine like water."
Watching his sister obediently drink the potion and seeing a trace of color return to her pale face, Lin Zhiran's heart finally relaxed a little.
After a simple wash and meal, Lin Qingyu fell asleep.
Lin Zhiran went alone to the narrow balcony.
Moonlight fell like water on the iron spear in his hand.
Although the harvest today was bountiful, he knew very well that this was far from enough. The Shadow Cat was only the weakest Tier 1 Beast, while the College Entrance Exam he was about to face, and those geniuses, were far more terrifying than a Shadow Cat.
"System."
With a thought, Lin Zhiran called up the status panel.
His stats had undergone earth-shaking changes, especially his Agility, which was as high as 18 points, and Strength at 12 points. This was already standard data for a Prospective Warrior.
But his gaze locked onto the line of text at the very bottom of the panel.
[Remaining Potential Points: 1]
This was a special reward for killing the Shadow Cat above his level. According to the System's explanation, Potential Points were a hundred times more precious than Free Attribute Points; they could be used to directly upgrade the realm of cultivation methods and martial arts!
In this world, the proficiency of martial arts was divided into: Beginner, Small Success, Great Success, Perfection, Precise (Micro-level), and Intent.
For an ordinary person to train a martial art to Perfection, it would take at least several years of hard work. And to comprehend "Precise" or even "Intent," that required extremely high talent and opportunity.
Lin Zhiran currently only knew the "Federation Basic Spear Eighteen Moves" taught in school.
This was the most basic, crude, mass-produced commodity.
"Although it's just basic spearmanship, the core principles never change." Lin Zhiran held the spear, recalling the profound feeling he had in the sewer today. "The first effect of the SSS-Rank Heart of the Spear God is: Instantly master any spear technique at a glance to the level of perfection."
"In that case, can I use this 1 Potential Point, combined with the Heart of the Spear God, to deduce the limit of this basic spear technique?"
He acted on his thought immediately.
Lin Zhiran assumed the starting stance of the Basic Spear Technique.
"Add points! Target: Basic Spear Eighteen Moves!"
[Ding! Consuming 1 Potential Point...] [SSS-Rank Talent 'Heart of the Spear God' resonance triggered!] [Analyzing 'Federation Basic Spear Eighteen Moves'... Analysis progress 100%...] [Deducing... Optimizing... Breaking the limit!]
Boom!
Lin Zhiran's brain felt like it exploded.
Countless golden figures danced wildly with long spears in his mind. Block, seize, stab, split, collapse, point, pierce, lift... Every basic movement was being disassembled, reassembled, stripping away all unnecessary burdens, retaining only the purest trajectory of force exertion.
The basic moves that originally seemed ordinary to him now evolved with infinite profundity.
This wasn't a simple increase in proficiency.
This was... Sublimation!
Lin Zhiran's body moved involuntarily.
On this narrow balcony, the iron spear in his hand seemed to turn into a swimming dragon. Clearly, there were no fancy moves, just the simplest straight thrusts, yet they were so fast they left afterimages in the air.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
The spear shot out like a dragon and retracted like lightning.
Every thrust was accompanied by a slight sonic boom.
If a Spear Grandmaster were here right now, their jaw would drop in shock. Because what Lin Zhiran was displaying, although still the framework of the basic spear technique, possessed a charm that completely transcended the scope of "Perfection" and reached the legendary realm of "Precise"!
Precise!
That was the realm where control over power reached the pinnacle of detail, where one unit of force could be used as ten!
After an unknown amount of time, Lin Zhiran slowly retracted his spear and stood still.
The sweat on his body had evaporated into white mist. Standing there, although he wasn't moving, he gave off a feeling of sharp exposure, as if he himself was a peerless divine spear unsheathed.
[Ding! Deduction successful!] [Congratulations Host, you have deduced the 'Federation Basic Spear Eighteen Moves' to the Transcendent Realm!] [Passive Skill Learned: Lethal Tempo (Every consecutive spear strike will be 10% faster than the previous one, stacking up to 50%!)]
Lin Zhiran looked at the new skill on the panel, the corner of his mouth curling into a fanatical arc.
Lethal Tempo!
This was something absolutely absent from the original basic spear technique; this was a divine skill unique to him!
Imagine, when his attack speed stacked up, combined with that terrifying "Absolute Armor Break"...
What kind of slaughter feast would that be?
"Phew..."
Lin Zhiran exhaled a long breath of turbid air and looked at the rising sun outside the window.
"I should go to school tomorrow."
He originally wanted to take leave directly to farm monsters in the wild, but on second thought, the school distributed free Vitality Potions to poor students every month. Although low-level, it was better than nothing. Moreover, he also needed to verify what level his current strength was at when facing those so-called "top students."
More importantly...
Since he had the perfect camouflage of an F-Rank talent, wouldn't it be a waste not to put on a show?
"Zhao Tai..."
Lin Zhiran remembered the person who humiliated him on the Awakening Platform, a trace of mockery flashing in his eyes.
"I hope your neck is a bit harder than the Shadow Cat's hide."
The teenager put away his long spear and turned back into the room.
A new storm was about to be unleashed in that seemingly peaceful campus.