Chapter 176 – Thank You

“Die!”

The Bear Man’s face twisted with ferocity as he swung his fist, his steel-like arm tearing through the air with a fierce whooshing sound.

Lu Yuan squinted slightly, seemingly ignoring the incoming punch.

He remained calm, casually reaching out his hand.

An invisible aura suddenly spread from him, and the bright yellow light of his inner strength flickered like fire.

A massive white crane mimicked his motion…

lv2 [Spirit Crane Technique: Mistaken Plucking of Immortal Orchid]!

lv1 [Spirit Crane True Intent]!

Accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, the Bear Man barely saw Lu Yuan’s hand move before an unstoppable force penetrated him, striking first despite him attacking!

“Boom “

The Bear Man was momentarily lifted off the ground, his eyes bulging and his chest caving in.

Lu Yuan’s five fingers gripped his chest tightly, pushing him back with force, and then slammed him to the ground with a resounding “crash.”

Lu Yuan released his grip.

Expressionless, he retracted his hand and clenched his fist.

The towering figure, over two meters tall, drew back like a great bow, gathering inner strength into his fist.

The invisible white crane gathered power, its beak as sharp as an arrow.

lv2 [Spirit Crane Technique: Crane Shadow Float]!

The bow was fully drawn. He struck!

“Boom!”

The punch landed heavily on the Bear Man’s chest, causing his limbs to reflexively jerk upward.

The white stone bricks beneath shattered and turned over, faintly revealing a layer of some unknown metal…

As the Bear Man staggered and struggled to get up from the ground, Lu Yuan’s eyes flashed with brilliance, and he leaped several meters into the air, spinning around to deliver a kick.

Dragon Tail Sweep!

Although it was merely a simple imitation of You Long’s move from memory, without fully understanding or unlocking it, the power of the kick was still immense. It struck the Bear Man’s head, sending him flying like a rubber ball…

Crushing!

Completely and utterly crushing!

In his Second Rank Transformation’s ultimate exertion state, Lu Yuan’s instantaneous boxing power exceeded twenty tons!

Coupled with the boost from his inner strength and the True Intent’s enhancement on his killer move’s effect, the power of every move he unleashed surpassed thirty, even forty tons!

The Bear Man could hardly fight back under his relentless assault.

Both being Level A+, the Bear Man’s strength seemed significantly weaker compared to You Long…

“No.”

Lu Yuan calmly walked step by step toward the Bear Man, who was lying on the ground.

“It’s because I’m too strong.”

“Moreover, the Bear Man being rated as Level A+… doesn’t seem to be because of his combat abilities.”

The Bear Man’s instantaneous explosive power didn’t exceed ten tons, his speed wasn’t fast, and his combat skills were average…

But in one aspect, he far surpassed You Long. “

He was nearly immortal! Or rather, extremely hard to kill.

From the moment the battle started, it was a one-sided massacre.

Lu Yuan treated the Bear Man like a punching bag.

He experimented with a series of crane style killer moves and mixed Dragon sect and crane style killer moves on him.

If it were You Long, he would have been beaten into a pulp by now, dead beyond any doubt.

Yet the Bear Man remained standing.

His vitality seemed extraordinarily resilient, or perhaps…

“Adaptive capability?”

Lu Yuan pondered as he felt the omnipresent pressure around him.

He had almost completely adapted to this twenty times gravity environment.

His constitution was monstrous, his Five Viscera nearly immortal.

After unlocking the Second Rank Transformation, the twenty times gravity had minimal impact on him.

And with the protection of True Intent…

Yes.

True Intent also had an effect on resisting the pressure of gravity.

Lu Yuan speculated that the enhancement might be due to the willpower aspect, allowing his body to “ignore” external pressure to a significant extent.

Moreover, Lu Yuan noticed that under the influence of gravity…

His True Intent seemed to become more solidified.

The enhancement for his moves had roughly increased by about ten percent?!

“External pressure has a significant tempering effect on a martial artist’s spirit and will. The improvement of True Intent isn’t surprising.

Perhaps this is the path forward for Ancient Martial Arts after reaching the True Intent level. Continuously refining True Intent until…”

Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered as a new idea began to take shape in his mind.

“Tap—”

Lu Yuan walked up to the Bear Man.

The Bear Man lay on the ground like a pile of mud.

Almost all his bones had been shattered by Lu Yuan.

Compared to his initial image of steel and iron…

He now resembled a statue that had been beaten to a pulp.

Yet… his life signs were still strong.

“You…”

The Bear Man’s half-sunken face lay on the ground as he struggled to open one eye, staring fiercely at Lu Yuan.

His eye was filled with shock, fear, and deep-seated hatred.

“…Monster.”

Lu Yuan stared at him steadily, his sharp perception clearly sensing the injuries within the Bear Man slowly healing.

With a sigh, he said, “Same to you. You said what I was thinking.”

Ancient martial arts couldn’t compare to modification after all.

When it came to Level A+, the differences became even more apparent.

It wasn’t just about combat strength; it was evident in every aspect…

Lu Yuan bent down and picked up the Bear Man as if lifting a limp, broken sack.

Step by step, he walked toward the door.

The task involving the Bear Man should be considered complete.

But Lu Yuan wasn’t planning to leave just yet.

The Bear Man still had some use—

He was the “remote control” for the gravitational field, and Lu Yuan intended to use him to control the gravity levels.

The gravitational field was extremely beneficial for Lu Yuan’s martial arts cultivation.

Under twenty times gravity, the Three Body Training Techniques on his [Martial Artist] panel seemed to be progressing at an incredible pace, as if on steroids.

After just one fight, the experience points for [Ten Thousand Refined Body], [Steel Bones], and [Spirit Crane Body] had all increased significantly.

And this was just the effect of twenty times gravity.

If he could stay in an environment with fifty times, seventy times, or even a hundred times gravity for a long period…

What kind of growth speed would he achieve then?

Lu Yuan was very much looking forward to it. He had already made up his mind.

For the remaining ten days of this new blood assessment, he would spend all his time in this gravitational field.

Compared to the gravitational field, the last Level S task seemed less important.

He would stay here. When the Bear Man’s injuries healed, he would just beat him down again.

This way, he could aid in his body training, accumulate [Martial Artist] professional experience, and research the mysteries of the Bear Man’s constitution.

It’s achieving three things at once.

“After breaking the limit on intelligence points, I feel much smarter…”

Lu Yuan was pleased as he thought this, carrying the Bear Man to a spot five meters away from the door.

He took another step forward.

“Buzz”

The hemispherical devices on the room floor glowed brighter, increasing the pressure on Lu Yuan.

Thirty times gravity.

Lu Yuan showed no reaction, merely focusing on his [Martial Artist] panel.

He saw the experience points for the Three Body Training Techniques start to increase.

He took another step forward.

Forty times gravity.

The experience points for the Three Body Training Techniques increased faster.

Another step.

Fifty times gravity.

Sixty times gravity.

Seventy times…

Eighty times…

When he was just under two meters away from the door, Lu Yuan felt the gravitational force in the field reach approximately one hundred times.

Under this gravity, Lu Yuan felt significant pressure.

His heartbeat slowed, blood flow decelerated, thoughts became sluggish, muscles naturally tensed, and his bones creaked…

Even breathing… became heavy.

At this point, the experience points for the Three Body Training Techniques on his [Martial Artist] panel were nearly at the upgrade threshold.

Lu Yuan’s Spirit Crane True Intent was also compressed to an extreme.

The massive, intangible white crane was now about half its original size.

But it was vivid and lifelike, with even the feathers on the crane being discernible.

“Almost there…”

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, feeling that this gravity level was nearing the limit of his constitution.

He decided to cultivate at this level for now and continue forward once he adapted.

“Thud!”

Lu Yuan released his grip, dropping the Bear Man to the ground.

Under one hundred times gravity, the Bear Man’s body weighed several tons!

He was indeed very heavy.

The sound of him hitting the ground was like a massive object falling, causing the floor to tremble slightly.

The already limp Bear Man was completely turned into a puddle of mush from the impact.

Yet… he still hadn’t died.

Fortunately, he was still alive.

Lu Yuan glanced at the Bear Man, sensing that he was still alive, and decided to ignore him.

However, at that moment, the Bear Man’s deformed mouth seemed to move slightly, producing a faint sound.

“Hmm?”

Lu Yuan frowned, looking at the Bear Man at his feet.

From the Bear Man’s remaining eye, he seemed to catch a glimpse of… joy?!

“What did you say?”

Lu Yuan slowly bent down, placing his hands on the ground, and quietly looked at the Bear Man in front of him.

The Bear Man’s mouth continued moving, but the sound became increasingly faint.

Lu Yuan squinted his eyes, focusing on the Bear Man’s mouth, letting his Mental Power spread out slightly…

Again and again…

Finally, he “read” what the Bear Man was trying to say.

He was saying—

“Thank you.”

“Whoosh—”

Instinctively, Lu Yuan raised his hand, producing a tearing sound in the air despite the hundredfold gravity.

But Lu Yuan’s eyes flickered, and his raised right fist hesitated to come down.

The Bear Man below seemed to grin, though it was a hideous smile.

From his barely recognizable mouth, he slowly expelled a crystalline core that was flashing with red light.

Then, his entire body began to melt like water.

In a highly improbable manner, he quickly flowed out of the white stone brick area and into the entryway region.

Instantly, the pressure lightened.

The melted form rapidly seeped into the ground, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Lu Yuan was momentarily stunned, and by the time he reacted and tried to grab the Bear Man…

The crystalline core left by the Bear Man suddenly emitted an intense red light.

Lu Yuan’s pupils contracted sharply, and he felt an unprecedented and terrifying pressure suddenly press down on him!

“Boom!”

The massive gravitational field seemed to collapse inward significantly.

A large amount of white powder rose like smoke and dust, obscuring the view inside the room.

Time passed second by second.

After a few seconds.

Within the not-yet-dissipated white dust, a figure brimming with primal ferocity suddenly surged out.

With a “thud,” the figure landed steadily on the ground.

Long black hair cascaded wildly down the back, reaching the waist.

The skin and flesh of the entire body undulated like waves.

On the reddish skin, scarlet veins spread densely from the heart, covering the entire chest and abdomen.

They extended to the back, intertwining with the twisted muscles…

Forming a large, strange, yet oddly beautiful pattern.

It looked like the half-closed eye of a beast.

Or perhaps a blood-red lotus bud waiting to bloom…

“Beep beep beep “

The task wristwatch on Lu Yuan’s wrist, which remained unbroken under the terrifying gravity, emitted urgent notification sounds.

Lu Yuan didn’t look at it.

With the state of lv1 [Undefeated Instinct] enhancing him, his eyes, seemingly filled with some primal demonic power, stared intently at the ground beneath his feet.

He muttered under his breath, “I need to get… the Bear Man back…”

…