Chapter 32: A New Breakthrough in Combat Skills

Nio had discussed the incident of stealing prey in detail with Bels. Aside from the main culprit, Gner, Nio also remembered the characteristics of another key figure—bald Jason.

Jason was one of the enforcers for the black mine owner and had a notorious reputation in the Shelter Valley area. Rumors said he had killed his own parents, siblings, and relatives like chickens, hanging them upside down to drain all the blood. Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough evidence, and he had plenty of money to bribe people, allowing him to stay free. He later committed several more atrocities, even earning a reputation for silencing crying children.

Now that Jason was speaking rudely in public, how could Nio just stand by?

“Your father slept with his own sister to have you. How dare you live in this world and disgust people?” Nio’s tone was calm, his words simple yet direct, hitting Jason right in the heart.

Jason stopped smiling. His eyes turned bloodshot as he glared at Nio. “Fine, you’re brave! No one will save you today!”

“Is this your duel invitation?”

“Damn your duel invitation! Come and die!” Jason roared, drawing his sword and charging at Nio. A single wrong word meant life or death.

Years ago, Jason had used drugs to reach level 5. After some effort, he managed to climb another level but couldn’t progress further. In recent years, with a more comfortable life, he had neglected training and indulged in alcohol and women, showing signs of declining strength. For a warrior under 35, this decline was rather early.

Having been in the underworld for years, Jason had learned one thing: when the wall falls, everyone pushes. One must not be cowardly. Thus, he carried an air of “getting stronger with age,” using his foul mouth to provoke others. He had been beaten by those stronger than him and also beaten those weaker. In any case, he was quite active, and many knew of this vile thug, which helped him maintain his status.

Jason’s strength attribute was rather mediocre, called Blood Fury Combat Power. Anger could increase its level. With his current rage, his strength could rise by another level, reaching 7.

Before even approaching, Jason slashed diagonally in the air, creating a cross-shaped red glow tinged with blood that flew toward Nio. Unrelenting in his attack, Jason understood the essence of being a swordsman—there was no need to consider rules, laws, or human life. It was better to end up in prison after winning than to be beaten half to death.

As for Nio, even against such an unskilled level-7 fighter, let alone professional soldiers like clawed wolves, he didn’t need to use any special abilities below level 8 to defeat them. Defeating them was actually more difficult, as Nio was still at a stage where he could only attack without controlling his power.

But today, Nio was ready to take a risk—he intended to directly break through Jason’s Combat Power attacks.

At level 4, some warriors awakened their elemental powers in advance and used them attached to their fists, feet, or weapons. Though few in number, such fighters were not entirely uncommon. However, those who dared to confront fighters at level 5 or above using their combat energy could probably be counted on one hand across the entire Aemera continent, and many of them lacked clear awareness. After all, the combat energy at level 4 was still in its infancy, far inferior in both strength and quantity compared to that of fighters at level 5 and above. Moreover, Neo wasn’t using combat energy but rather an enhancement from wind elemental power, which was even less potent than true combat energy.

In the past, Neo certainly wouldn’t have had the courage to directly confront a Blade Slash. He remembered vividly how such energy attacks had repeatedly brought him the terrifying sensation of death during his years of escape. But now, after recently splitting an anvil with a single strike, Neo had gained the conviction to break through the Blade Slash.

If the series of fierce battles during his difficult escape had tempered his combat skills, then Neo believed the more than two months of training that followed were like a period of nurturing. He felt that his combat skills were finally on the verge of a major breakthrough, like a cocoon about to burst open.

The battle last night was a sign that the cocoon was beginning to crack, while the strike that split the anvil earlier marked the true beginning of his rebirth. Ever since leaving the blacksmith’s shop, his mind had been in a strange state. Neo felt as though his will had merged with the weapon in his hand—he understood every detail of it, feeling it as if it were part of his own body. He could even clearly sense the subtle air currents as it swung through the air.

With just one glance at the sword, he could tell whether he could slice through something. This feeling filled Neo with joy and also made him realize the goal of his combat skill path: nothing in the world is beyond cutting!

As he pondered this new realm, Jason came along, and in Neo’s eyes, this guy became a test subject. Holding his battle sword, he stepped forward and swung upward—his blue blade aura remained striking even in daylight. With that strike, Jason’s Blood Cross was split in two. Yet Neo’s technique was still unskilled; although the vertical strike broke the Blood Cross, its horizontal strike still carried significant force, cutting two deep gashes in Neo’s arms, causing blood to flow profusely.

By now, Jason had lunged at him ferociously, his blood-red sword swinging down. “Kill this bastard!” Jason’s accomplices were excited, their eyes filled with bloodthirst. Several of them had participated in the previous raid on Bels’ prey—for them, killing was an extremely thrilling experience, especially scenes of blood spraying or screams, which further fueled their excitement. Of course, that was if they weren’t the ones getting hurt.

Fang Zhan was worried for Neo. He really didn’t expect Neo to act so recklessly, abandoning his wind element expertise to directly confront the Blade Slash. As a result, he was injured in just one move, and now it was too late to go save him.

As a result, Jason’s more confident close-range strike with the Blood Cross Slash was narrowly avoided by Neo. In response, Neo delivered a whip kick that Jason took full force—his waist was struck, sending him flying four meters before he crashed to the ground. Jason staggered for a few steps but didn’t fall, though his face turned a dark red, sweat beading on his forehead as he held his side. It was obvious the kick had been devastating.

Neo didn’t pursue him. After kicking, he took a bandage from a small leather bag at his belt and quickly wrapped it around his hand and mouth. In fact, he had already used his Life Pearl. Everyone’s attention was on Jason, who had been triumphant moments earlier but now suffered a sudden defeat, so no one noticed Neo’s carefully concealed actions.

“Again!” Neo shouted at Jason, holding his battle sword, clearly provoking him.

Jason’s anger grew even more; veins bulged on his forehead as he unleashed another Blood Cross Slash, then rushed at Neo. This time, the distance between them was much smaller, and the slash reached almost instantly.

Yet Neo moved his sword in quick response to Jason’s strike, cutting sideways and upward. Within the blue light barrier, the Blood Cross Slash shattered into fragments. Jason’s charge was dodged as Neo sidestepped and kicked him hard in the back, sending him flying again. This time, he couldn’t stop himself and landed face-first.

It was now clear who was stronger. Jason’s accomplices were silent, their expressions increasingly embarrassed as they stared at the scene, not knowing what to say.

Jason, however, became more determined after each setback. He got up quickly, his facial muscles trembling with rage. With a howl, he swung his sword wildly at Neo, firing waves of light blades in a rare sequence of consecutive attacks.

Whoa! Jason’s accomplices scattered. Jason was berserk—his attacks were chaotic, and those caught in the light blades would suffer badly.

The onlookers who had gathered nearby also fled, though not completely disheartened. They watched from behind the walls of the Leaky Spoon Inn or from behind nearby vehicles. Soon, they realized their worries were unnecessary.

At first, Neo barely managed to block Jason’s light blade attacks. But Jason was stubborn, refusing to back down and betting everything on his pride. Soon, he suffered several internal injuries. Still, thanks to his combat abilities, Nancy’s support, and several rounds of physical training that had strengthened his body, he could have endured these blows. In the past, even if they hadn’t killed him, they would have left him seriously injured, making it impossible for him to continue fighting.

Later, Neo’s sword became smoother in his hands. Even those seemingly easy-to-dodge attacks were met and blocked. The blue light on his sword faded until only a thin line remained, appearing weak. Yet it was this thin line that shattered every one of Jason’s light blade attacks without missing a single one.

Howl! Howl!

Fang Zhan once again rubbed his forehead. He had already figured it out—Nio was being used as a test subject by that bald guy. And that bald guy was strange too; who knew if he had been an orc in his past life? His howls were extremely unpleasant, yet those howls somehow made him even stronger!

Jason was so enraged that his body trembled uncontrollably, and his mind became somewhat unclear. Yet super anger indeed gave him more strength than ever before. The sweat seeping from his body and soaking his coat was red like blood. In this cold weather, the sweat vaporized, and a red glow flickered around his body, mixing with the sweat to create a blood-like mist—quite a unique sight.

Ahhhh… Jason’s state clearly showed that once a person reaches a certain level of fury, they lose the ability to speak. All their emotions are expressed through meaningless screams and physical actions. Jason’s arms created illusions as he swung his light blades, each strike equivalent to those of three people. The sound of the blades cutting through the air continued nonstop.

Nio also had wide eyes and let out a rare roar as he swung his battle sword, cutting through those blood-red blades. The blueish glow from the blades left straight lines in the air, creating rows of shadowy slashes. In one go, he made nearly 50 swings.

“Huh huh!” Nio’s clothes were soaked through with blood and sweat. The mixture dripped down from the edge of his leather coat with a ticking sound! Ticking! That final series of swings was truly desperate; now Nio even felt dizzy. His hand holding the sword kept shaking.

If Nio was in such a state, Jason surely wasn’t unharmed. In fact, he was in a much worse condition. In just a short while, it seemed like half of Jason’s body water had evaporated. His body was shriveled and dry, yet still drenched in sweat—a truly terrifying sight.

“Let’s go,” Nio said weakly to Fang Zhan before heading toward the Spoon Inn. His legs trembled violently, but his back remained straight.

Jason collapsed to the ground with a thud, screaming in agony. He had exhausted all his strength—way too much. Previously, he had relied on fury to hold on, but now his body could no longer bear the strain and completely collapsed.

On the terrace of the Eagle’s Nest Inn, a fat man with a huge beer belly watched the scene below with interest and said, “These two are quite interesting.”

Next to the fat man, an old man as thin as a bamboo pole but with a round face smiled seductively and said, “To be favored by the master is these two’s good fortune. I’ll go fetch them right away.”

The fat man shook his head. “I saw that guy with the Blood Fury combat ability a few days ago. His master seems noble on the surface but is actually heartless and cruel. Now that this guy is suffering more than dying and has lost his usefulness, it won’t be long before he’s thrown out. Then you can take action and offer him some incentives—surely that’ll make him completely devoted to you.”

“The master truly understands the ways of the world and is incredibly astute!”

“Hmph…” The fat man raised his eyebrows and smiled. “As for the other one! This guy is quite interesting. In his 40s, he finally realized that to stand out, one must be willing to risk everything. You might say it’s a bit late for him, but his quick understanding is quite astonishing. On the other hand, he’s just an old, dull lump—not really worth investing in. What’s most interesting is that he actually has a dark constitution, even purer than many demon generals’.”
“Then why doesn’t Lord give him a chance like he did Flavus? Given his current miserable situation, he might even be grateful.”
“No rush, no rush!” The fat man twitched the corners of his mouth and chuckled lightly. “If he had cut down that bald guy with a single strike after the fight just now, I would have given him a chance. Right now, he still lacks training. Fortunately, this place, Hylfanis, is going to be plagued by disasters soon. If he can awaken his dark powers on his own, then he’s worth investing in.”
“Then, should we leave a mark…”
“No need for that. With the Unsealing of the Pentagram, we’ll enter an era of abundant talent. These people aren’t comparable to the inferior scum we recruited before. If this guy is truly capable, fate will bring him back to us. He can’t escape—no matter how big the world is, who can really get away?”
The lollipop-shaped old man didn’t say anything this time, and soon the fat man’s expression darkened. “Except for that stubborn wolf pup!”
The atmosphere shifted instantly—the fat man went from looking simple-minded to terrifyingly fierce, his facial fat creating an almost inhuman, grotesque appearance. “Go tell Flavus to stop what he’s doing and head to Sanvest City. That little thief Victor dared to insult me—how can I let him off easy?”
“Lord, what about that black knight…”
“Have him come back too. It’s time to form our own knight order. Having Phaed catch mice isn’t the right approach. Tell him his position will be taken over by that necromancer named Eirith. Before appointing a new one, I need to teach him a lesson!”
“Understood, Lord. But letting that wolf pup get away after causing so much trouble would be too lenient.”
“You mean Eirith isn’t capable of finding and dealing with that guy?”
The old man grinned. “The overall situation naturally favors you, Lord. I’m just worried it might delay things—that guy might flee to other places…”
The fat man gritted his teeth. “Flee! Hmph! Unless he never sees that little bitch again in his life!”
“So Lord has long-term plans!”
“With the Shaman Chapter of Senogoras, Lady Dantestine has already figured out what that wolf pup has obtained. By excavating an ancient site, she found the Shaman’s writings. Before long, a Dark Shaman will appear in this land, dealing a heavy blow to those nature guardians. By then, I’ll also raise some lycans from the Ghost Tribe to play around—let the dogs bite the wolves and kill them!”
“Using poison to counter poison, dogs to bite wolves—such tactics are truly satisfying. Lord’s plans are admirable. Can we now go all out to deal with those ‘Chosen Ones’?”

“Hmm, exactly! Those brats with blood from other dimensions have awakened powers from those realms, and ordinary methods won’t be enough to control them—truly a huge problem. Use all our strength; deal with them one by one. Find a way to wipe them out all!”
“Yes, my lord!” ……
Nio never imagined he would one day end up in the same place as Serai, the leader of those dark forces who had pushed him to the brink of death several times. He also didn’t expect that despite everything, the demons still managed to obtain the Shaman’s Relic, gaining yet another sinister and powerful dark profession. Now, with so many enemies everywhere, he no longer cared about whether there were additional dark forces or not.
Though injured and exhausted, Nio was in high spirits. The fierce battle with Jason at that critical moment had firmly solidified his newly attained combat skill level. He felt he had gained a lot, and with some time to digest and strengthen it, he believed his overall combat strength could reach a new level. This would be very helpful for him to pretend to be the “Chosen One” and pursue a grand path.
The wounds on his body were treated by Fangzhan, who was quite surprised: “A lot of blood was lost, but these wounds don’t seem too serious!”
“I have werewolf blood, allowing me to use the abilities of the wolf race. Besides, they’re just superficial injuries.”
“Oh! No wonder. It seemed like both of you might get badly hurt back then. Why did you fight so desperately? Even if you’re mastering a technique, there’s no need to rush so much…” Fangzhan kept nagging, but his concern was genuine.
Nio chuckled sheepishly. In truth, he had no regrets about the previous fight. Inspiration was fleeting—if he couldn’t seize the chance, he might not get it again for a long time. Nio always preferred to take risks to seize such fleeting opportunities.
About two hours later, Nio was lying on the bed, drinking a can of chicken soup. He had planned to go back to the inn for lunch, but due to the chaos that had arisen, lunch had become this soup instead.
Soske and Weapon Warrior came to visit him, bringing greetings from Milia. They had gone to buy horses and carriages at noon and hadn’t returned to the inn yet when they heard about the widely discussed battle. Milia had specifically inquired about Jason’s background and learned that his backer was just a wealthy blacksmith with some extra money. So she sent Soske to offer some help. There were healing herbs, sick meals prepared by the cooks at the Eagle’s Nest Inn, and good news as well—Jason had been driven out of the group by that blacksmith and howled in the snow for over half an hour before being taken in by a kind stranger. But it was said that even if he recovered, he wouldn’t be able to pick up a sword again, and he might spend the rest of his life in bed, if anyone was willing to support him.
Regarding Jason’s miserable fate, Nio neither rejoiced in his misfortune nor felt sympathy for him. If the misfortune of kind people could arouse his compassion, then for someone like Jason, Nio thought he deserved it and was actually a blessing for many—especially those who had once associated with Jason, who would now be more cautious and think twice before acting recklessly.

By embroiling oneself in the underworld to the point of making others suffer immensely, one should not cry foul or complain if the same happens to oneself someday. That was the message Neo wanted to convey to those guys, and it succeeded much better than he had imagined.

After resting all night, the group set off the next day. Neo was no longer seriously injured, though his old clothes were completely unusable. He had been dressed in new clothes from head to toe. Though not high-end, they gave him a more presentable appearance. Thosk nodded in approval with a smile, “That’s much better! If you had looked like this when we met the day before yesterday, I would have paid 15 gold coins per day just to keep you around, even without you saying a word.”

Neo smiled subtly, accepting this small flattery. He knew Thosk wouldn’t say such things for no reason; likely, Thosk had heard details about yesterday’s fight from Fangzhan and was trying to ingratiate himself by offering compliments. It was clear Thosk no longer intended to keep this “great hero” around, as he wouldn’t have been so full of praise otherwise.

Still, Thosk indeed wanted to build good relations. Neo could understand that in a profession like theirs, where life and death often depended on chance encounters, it was crucial to maintain good relationships. Those who truly wanted to stay in the business paid close attention to interpersonal ties—sometimes, a small favor from someone could mean the difference between life and death. After all, compliments cost nothing, and being polite didn’t cost a thing either.

Where there’s harmony, there are always those who like to stir up trouble. Less than two miles after leaving Loushuo Valley, someone blocked their path, claiming to want to duel Neo to the death.