Chapter 68: Bronze Warrior

The many events of the day had caused his mood to fluctuate greatly. After going through numerous trials, Rod finally understood—understood life and death, understood separation, understood… Although his understanding was still shallow, it was sufficient. This mental advancement allowed Rod to break through his bottleneck instantly, and his strength followed suit.

With his elements saturated, he launched a direct attack after some preparation, breaking through that faint barrier. In an instant, the meridians he had previously opened were connected by combat energy, turning his entire body into a complex river with combat energy flowing through it. As all his meridians were filled with internal energy, Rod stepped beyond the realm of advanced warriors and entered a brand new realm—the second stage of warriors: the Bronze Warrior realm! Reaching this stage meant he was not far from becoming a Silver Warrior or a Gold Warrior.

It should be noted that the bottleneck Rod had just broken through was considered one of the most difficult in a warrior’s training path—the bottleneck from the first stage to the second!

On this continent, as long as anyone was willing to work hard, they could train to become an advanced warrior. Thus, the number of advanced warriors could be said to be abundant. But why did the number of warriors at the Bronze Warrior stage, above advanced warriors, drop so sharply?

The reason was simple. To break through from the first stage to the second, hard work was necessary, but talent was the most important factor. After talent came opportunity! Many people, lacking talent and opportunities, could only remain trapped in the ranks of ordinary advanced warriors for life.

“Huh…” Exhaling a puff of air, he felt refreshed. Opening his eyes, he looked at the vast sky—it was already dawn, with a faint glow appearing in the sky.

He hadn’t expected his training to take so long. With a wry smile, he glanced around and saw Bit, Ada, and Chelly watching him closely not far away.

“Did I wake you up?” Rod asked with a wry smile as he looked at them.

“You broke through? Tsk tsk tsk… What good luck. So that’s it? Bronze Warrior! Hey, I wonder when I’ll be able to reach that level!”

With a sigh, Bit slowly got up and walked toward Rod. As a peak Advanced Warrior, he was no less talented—entering the ranks of Advanced Warriors at just sixteen was a clear indication of his innate ability. After all, most people usually reached this level at eighteen! Reaching this stage at such a young age showed he had decent aptitude. He might not be a genius, but he was definitely above average. Yet, after three years, at nineteen, he was still among the Advanced Warriors—what he lacked was opportunity!

“Keep working hard; that day will come soon!” Rod said soothingly with a slight smile.

The resentment and discomfort from before had diminished significantly. Entering the rank of Bronze Warrior and uncovering new paths for cultivation helped suppress his inner distress for now.

Reaching the rank of Bronze Warrior at seventeen, not even eighteen, was quite impressive. Even those from the renowned First Academy, the Holy Light Academy, probably weren’t much better than him.

Of course, such aptitude could be considered top-tier. But what no one realized was that it had taken Rod less than half a year from starting his cultivation to reach the rank of Bronze Warrior. Achieving such results in half a year? If others knew, they would surely call him a genius. Looking through history, there were very few who had achieved more than Rod.

After some small talk, Rod slowly stood up and stretched deeply. Now full of energy and free from his earlier fatigue, he shouted loudly, channeling his internal energy. Following the new techniques he had just unlocked, he activated his combat energy. Instantly, a faint blue-gray layer of combat energy emanated from his body, covering it like armor! The emergence of combat energy was the most basic sign of being a Bronze Warrior. In an instant, Rod illuminated the dim surroundings like a firefly.

Although the level of combat energy output was still low and barely provided any protective effect, he was quite satisfied. Since he had reached this stage, everything else was only a matter of time. Moreover, Rod believed he could reach that higher level soon—he had to, as there were many things waiting for him to handle.

For example, uncovering the origins of the Golden Eagle, avenging his team leader, and finding out who had attempted to assassinate him earlier. Everything needed to be clarified. And none of this could be accomplished without the right strength as a foundation.

“Roar…” A rough roar sounded, instantly making Rod and the others tense.

He quickly drew his internal energy back into his body. In just a short while, most of his internal energy had been depleted. With a bitter smile, he hurriedly looked around.
“What’s going on?” Rod asked in confusion, turning to look at Ada and the others behind him.
“Monster beasts!” Those two simple words instantly changed everyone’s expression as they all grew serious. What kind of place was this? How could they have encountered monster beasts? A question arose in their minds.
“I think I know where we are. Isn’t there a Monster Beast Forest two hundred miles south of the capital? If I’m not mistaken, this must be that place!”
With a bitter smile, Ada stood up, pulling at the corners of her mouth.
That’s right. Last night, in a hurry, they ran straight ahead without checking their direction and ended up lost. Now, if their calculations were correct, they had run about fifty to sixty kilometers. Adding that to the original distance of nearly two hundred kilometers from the capital, they had arrived at the location of the Monster Beast Forest—and they had already entered it.
“We’re in big trouble!” It was Bit’s voice. At that moment, he drew his long sword, his eyes fixed like icy blades on Rod’s side.
Rod quickly turned to look. Somehow, about ten meters to his side, there stood a group of brownish-black monster beasts that resembled wild boars. Their bodies were brownish-black, with rows of spiky hairs on their backs arranged neatly like blades. Two long tusks dripped with saliva as they breathed heavily—the sounds they had heard earlier came from them.
“Damn it! Toothsword Beasts!”
With a low growl, Ada cursed fiercely.
Toothsword Beasts. Almost simultaneously, Bit and Chelly also said the same thing. Weren’t these the brutal and bloody Toothsword Beasts, one of the most hated monster beasts?
Although they weren’t very powerful—just high-level monster beasts—they were naturally social creatures. Once they attacked, there would be far more than just one or two of them; it would be a whole group. Just like now—standing in front of them was a group of twelve Toothsword Beasts!

These creatures not only have no value—killing one won’t earn even five silver coins—but they are also extremely difficult to deal with. They possess strong defenses that are hard to break through, and their powerful attacks can easily cause harm. Even skilled warriors find it tough to handle them, which is why Toothsword Beasts are despised and loathed by people. Useless as they are, they can still be sold for meat, and their tendency to live in groups makes them even more troublesome. All these reasons mean that no hunters, adventurers, or mercenaries want to encounter them. A group of Toothsword Beasts surrounded the people, staring at them hungrily. Having set out early in the morning, they encountered this group right away, and their bloodthirst had been stirred, while their hungry stomachs urged them to eliminate these humans immediately.