Chapter 004: A Great Harvest from Defeating the Boss!
Xiao Yang swept through the entire village, clearing out every ordinary demonized person before finally arriving at the BOSS building at the village’s center. By now, the silver in his hand had reached 399 taels, meaning he’d slain 399 ordinary demonized people. Each battle not only increased Xiao Yang’s strength, but more importantly, honed his combat experience.
Now, Xiao Yang was a martial artist with rich fighting experience; killing ordinary demonized people was as effortless as slicing through paper—a single sword strike for each, nothing more than a flick of his wrist.
Gazing at the imposing mansion ahead, excitement gleamed in Xiao Yang’s eyes, revealing a fierce fighting spirit. Anyone who’s played games knows that the rewards from defeating a BOSS far surpass those gained from slaying lesser monsters.
Xiao Yang was eager to see what spoils awaited him after vanquishing the leader of the demonized villagers.
He stepped forward, passed through the gate, and entered the estate’s courtyard.
As soon as Xiao Yang set foot inside, the demonized leader emerged from the main hall.
“An enemy has invaded—destroy the intruder!” the leader shouted, then leapt onto the roof, arms crossed, glaring down at Xiao Yang.
Xiao Yang planted his iron sword into the ground, looking up calmly at the demonized leader. The entire village’s demonized people had been wiped out by him—no reinforcements would come.
After a moment, not a single demonized person appeared from anywhere in the village.
With his current strength, leaping onto the rooftop posed no difficulty, but Xiao Yang preferred to face the leader on the ground.
“All the demonized villagers have been cleared out. Come down and fight me yourself!” Xiao Yang called, waving his hand at the leader.
Seeing no allies coming to his aid, the demonized leader scowled and shouted again, “Minions, destroy him!”
A flurry of footsteps echoed from inside the house.
Soon, a squad of demonized people burst forth—ten in total.
“More demonized people? Are these elite monsters?” Xiao Yang raised an eyebrow. It was clear these ten were taller and stronger than the ones he’d fought before.
The ten elite demonized people fanned out in a line, rushing Xiao Yang in a coordinated assault.
Xiao Yang sprang into action, crossing ten meters in a single stride, charging directly at the rightmost elite demonized person.
These elites, whether in speed or strength, surpassed the ordinary demonized people—but compared to Xiao Yang, they were sorely lacking.
In just two steps, Xiao Yang reached the rightmost foe.
A flash of swordlight, swift as lightning—a head soared.
The rightmost elite demonized person fell, dead.
The next elite lunged at him, but Xiao Yang avoided prolonged engagement, moving quickly to evade encirclement—a lone pair of fists could not withstand four hands.
His speed, to these elites, was almost supernatural—sometimes near, sometimes far. They couldn’t even touch the hem of his garments.
By contrast, every sword strike from Xiao Yang was lethal.
In just two minutes, all ten elite demonized people perished beneath his blade.
From start to finish, not one managed to touch even the edge of his robe.
The bodies vanished, leaving behind ten pieces of silver—larger than those dropped by ordinary demonized people.
But the energy released upon their demise was no different; it barely enhanced Xiao Yang’s strength.
It seemed that, for Xiao Yang, now a postnatal martial artist, neither elite nor ordinary demonized people could pose much challenge. With the level gap, the experience gained from killing them was sharply reduced.
“Living one, I will kill you myself—you shall have no grave,” the demonized leader declared coldly as the last elite fell. He leaped down from the roof, striking at Xiao Yang.
This palm strike, delivered from above with the momentum of his descent, was formidable.
Even if Xiao Yang could pierce the leader with a sword, should he be struck by that palm, grave injury would follow.
With a tap of his toe, Xiao Yang retreated explosively, choosing to avoid the brunt of the attack.
The leader’s palm missed, and he landed smoothly, immediately launching forward with a speed even greater than Xiao Yang’s, striking again.
A ghastly pale palm filled Xiao Yang’s vision, expanding rapidly and closing in within a blink.
Such speed!
A fierce glint flashed in Xiao Yang’s eyes—this blow lacked the downward momentum and was less potent than the last. Instead of dodging sideways, he swung his sword as he retreated.
If the leader’s palm continued forward, the sword would slice it off.
Swordlight flashed, cutting through.
But suddenly, the pale palm transformed, splitting into dozens, all striking at Xiao Yang.
His sword sliced through the overlapping shadows, but hit nothing.
“Damn!” Xiao Yang realized his peril.
In the next instant, a palm smashed into his chest.
With a resounding crash, Xiao Yang felt his chest cave in; his organs were tossed about, and his body flew backwards like a kite with its string cut.
One strike, and he was gravely wounded.
The leader pressed forward, swift as a specter, closing in instantly.
Just as Xiao Yang landed, another pale palm descended.
Bang—
The palm struck his face, shattering his head.
Xiao Yang died!
“So strong!” was the only thought Xiao Yang had before death.
He could sense that the leader’s cultivation matched his own—both were postnatal martial artists in the Qi Perception realm.
Yet the leader’s actual strength far surpassed his.
Soon, Xiao Yang found himself back in the initial wooden hut.
Sweat poured from his brow, but his expression was calm—after several deaths, he was slowly growing accustomed.
“Martial arts—the leader’s palm technique is definitely martial arts!” Xiao Yang murmured, eyes burning with desire.
The leader’s cultivation was equal to his own, but his superiority lay in practicing martial arts, whereas Xiao Yang had none.
“If I kill the leader, maybe his martial arts will drop as loot!”
Xiao Yang was expectant—if he could bring martial arts from the Transdimensional World into reality, the value would be immeasurable.
In the real world, one had to enter a martial arts university to receive martial arts inheritance.
If Xiao Yang could gain martial arts from the Transdimensional World, he could become strong without relying on anyone else or any organization.
After a moment of calm reflection, Xiao Yang left the hut and ran swiftly toward the central BOSS house in the village.
He would fight again!
The leader was indeed much stronger, but Xiao Yang possessed a tremendous advantage.
Resurrection!
Each time he died, he would revive at the entry point, then return to battle.
His combat experience would grow with every fight, and each time, Xiao Yang would risk everything to injure the leader.
Even if the leader had self-healing abilities, Xiao Yang guessed this would consume energy.
As long as he kept fighting, round after round, he could wear the leader down to death!
Of course, the price was continual, relentless death.
Each death was a terror.
But for martial arts, Xiao Yang resolved to risk it all.
His time in the Transdimensional World was limited, but if he could gain martial arts and bring them back, he could continue cultivation in reality.
He opened his character screen—the time remaining in the Transdimensional World was visible.
Three days, one hour, twenty-three minutes, forty-seven seconds.
He’d already spent over three days, beginning the fourth.
His money would last four hours in the real world, four days in the Transdimensional World.
That meant about twenty-two and a half hours before he would have to leave.
Xiao Yang made up his mind—to defeat the demonized leader within these twenty-two and a half hours.
He quickly arrived at the BOSS mansion; the leader was pacing in the courtyard.
The battle broke out swiftly.
The result was unchanged; the leader’s palm technique with overlapping shadows was overwhelming, and Xiao Yang soon died.
Resurrect!
Fight again!
Killed once more!
Resurrect again!
Fight again!
Killed again!
…
Each time he revived in the wooden hut, Xiao Yang recovered fully, bursting with energy, rushing back to the center to resume battle.
He benefited from the proximity to the resurrection point, enabling repeated rapid engagements—the leader had little time to recover.
After many fights, Xiao Yang’s combat experience improved rapidly.
Even without martial arts, his swordplay grew sharper and faster; his cultivation remained unchanged, but his battle power steadily increased.
As the battles mounted, Xiao Yang could withstand the leader’s attacks for longer and longer.
At last…
In one contest, before Xiao Yang was slain, he managed to stab the leader’s body with his sword.
The blade sliced flesh—black blood spattered.
Upon revival, Xiao Yang sprinted straight to the BOSS mansion.
The leader was wounded now; Xiao Yang seized the opportunity, minimizing the leader’s recovery time.
Arriving at the mansion, the fight erupted.
Xiao Yang continued to die repeatedly at the leader’s hands.
But each time, he left a wound on the leader.
This cycle continued again and again.
Although the leader’s injuries would be healed before every fight, after a while, Xiao Yang noticed the leader’s strength was gradually declining.
Clearly, the method was working—the leader could heal wounds, but not fully restore his stamina or energy.
The leader’s strength diminished with each battle.
Xiao Yang, however, revived each time with full vigor, his skills ever sharper, his courage ever greater.
After countless battles, finally, in a life-or-death clash, Xiao Yang struck first, severing the leader’s head with a single sword.
The head flew—the leader fell dead. The palm strike lost its force, landing harmlessly on Xiao Yang.
Clutching his iron sword tightly, Xiao Yang’s eyes shone with excitement and joy.
After hundreds of battles and deaths, he had finally conquered the leader!
Soon, the leader’s corpse dissipated, transforming into a stream of energy entering Xiao Yang’s body.
He felt a warm surge—his strength increased noticeably.
The slight cultivation boost was trivial; what mattered was the loot.
To Xiao Yang’s disappointment, only five large silver ingots dropped.
He picked them up and stored them—fifty taels added.
No martial arts manuals or secret techniques—Xiao Yang was deeply disappointed. After all his effort and repeated terrifying deaths, all he got was fifty taels?
Such paltry rewards didn’t justify his expenditure.
He opened his character screen to check the time.
Three days, fifteen hours, twenty-nine minutes, fifty-five seconds.
He’d spent fourteen whole hours fighting, dying and reviving, battling ceaselessly.
“Damn, what a rip-off.” Xiao Yang shook his head in frustration, gathering the silver dropped by the ten elite demonized people—each piece weighed two taels.
Character screen information:
Name: Xiao Yang
Silver: 469 taels
Class: Transdimensional Traveler
Cultivation: Postnatal Martial Artist (Qi Perception Realm)
Techniques: None
Martial Arts: None
Items: Iron Sword *1
Staring at the ‘None’ beside his techniques and martial arts, Xiao Yang frowned.
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration brightened his eyes.
He recalled playing online games before—sometimes a BOSS wouldn’t drop loot, but in such cases, there were usually treasure chests in the BOSS area.
Opening treasure chests could yield valuable items.
Looking at the grand mansion ahead, Xiao Yang was reinvigorated and raced inside.
On the weapon rack in the main hall, he found a refined steel sword.
In the study, he discovered two martial arts manuals—Phantom Palm and Phantom Step.
In a side room, he found a map.
Xiao Yang burst out laughing with delight.
Indeed, defeating a BOSS brought great rewards.
The refined steel sword, weighing ten pounds, gleamed coldly—clearly superior to the ordinary iron sword, enhancing Xiao Yang’s power and presence.
Phantom Palm was evidently the palm technique used by the demonized leader; as for Phantom Step, the leader’s speed surpassed Xiao Yang’s, likely due to training in this art.
The map depicted the nearby region, with a central city named Cloud River City.
Around Cloud River City, several villages, peaks, and other locations were marked.
One village, named Gai Family Village, was circled—this must be the one Xiao Yang occupied.
With this map, he was no longer wandering blindly.
However, it was only a regional map of Cloud River City; regarding the entire Transdimensional World, Xiao Yang remained ignorant—this area was but a speck.
“Ding! Martial Art: Phantom Palm—learn?”
“Ding! Martial Art: Phantom Step—learn?”
As Xiao Yang touched the manuals, prompts sounded in his mind.
“Learn!” He answered without hesitation.
“Ding! You have mastered Phantom Palm!”
“Ding! You have mastered Phantom Step!”
With the prompts, information surged into his mind.
It was Phantom Palm and Phantom Step—Xiao Yang felt as if he’d practiced them many times, a familiar sensation allowing immediate execution.
Phantom Palm!
He tried it at once—his internal energy circulated rapidly, and his palm struck out, displaying seven or eight overlapping palm prints.
Compared to the leader’s mastery, his own was far inferior—he’d just reached the entry level.
Apparently, learning from a manual grants only basic proficiency; to achieve higher mastery, more personal effort is required.
Phantom Step!
Xiao Yang’s figure flickered, leaving an afterimage—his speed increased slightly, still not matching the leader’s, also just entry level.
He opened his character screen.
Eight hours remained before leaving the Transdimensional World.
Name: Xiao Yang
Silver: 469 taels
Class: Transdimensional Traveler
Cultivation: Postnatal Martial Artist (Qi Perception Realm)
Techniques: None
Martial Arts: Phantom Palm (Entry, upgradeable with 100 taels), Phantom Step (Entry, upgradeable with 100 taels)
Items: Iron Sword *1, Refined Steel Sword *1
Looking at his character info, Xiao Yang’s eyes shone.
Silver was indeed valuable—spending silver could directly enhance martial arts mastery.
Without hesitation, Xiao Yang spent 200 taels, upgrading Phantom Palm and Phantom Step each by one level.
He opened the screen again:
Name: Xiao Yang
Silver: 269 taels
Class: Transdimensional Traveler
Cultivation: Postnatal Martial Artist (Qi Perception Realm)
Techniques: None
Martial Arts: Phantom Palm (Minor Mastery, upgradeable with 1,000 taels), Phantom Step (Minor Mastery, upgradeable with 1,000 taels)
Items: Iron Sword *1, Refined Steel Sword *1
Seeing this, Xiao Yang valued silver more than ever.
In over three days in the Transdimensional World, he’d only earned a little over 400 taels—now spent half in an instant.
Further martial arts upgrades would cost thousands—so to improve quickly, he needed to earn more.
Xiao Yang opened the map, gazing at Cloud River City.
Monster hunting yielded little silver—only four hundred taels in days. But Cloud River City was a major metropolis; perhaps there were better ways to earn quickly.
From his gaming experience, aside from treasure hunting, completing NPC quests usually earned money fastest.
Gai Family Village was full of demonized people—Cloud River City should have normal NPCs.
Xiao Yang stepped outside, leaped onto the roof, and used the map to identify the direction of Cloud River City.
The map was only a foot square—Gai Family Village lay at the lower right.
To the left was Sky Cloud Mountain; to the right, Demon Cloud Ridge. South was blank; to reach Cloud River City at the center, he needed to head north after leaving the village.
He’d first cross Black Wind Forest between Sky Cloud Mountain and Demon Cloud Ridge, then arrive at Green Ox Town, then on to Cloud River City.
The names on the map—Gai Family Village, Black Wind Forest, Green Ox Town, Cloud River City—were adjacent, seemingly close.
But walking, Xiao Yang discovered the area was vast.
He marched along the main road for over an hour before reaching Black Wind Forest.
Upon arrival, the sky grew darker; ahead lay a stretch of black trees, endless to the eye.
Along the way, occasional beast roars echoed from Sky Cloud Mountain and Demon Cloud Ridge, reminding Xiao Yang that traveling the wilderness was perilous—he remained cautious.
Entering Black Wind Forest, his vigilance heightened.
This place was over an hour from Gai Family Village; he must not die again, or else… traveling alone for an hour would be unbearably tedious.
Inside, the black trees towered, the light dimmed—visibility was less than fifty meters.
A main road cut through the forest; as long as Xiao Yang followed it, he wouldn’t get lost.
Wind rustled the trees, and from the depths came wolf howls.
Suddenly, Xiao Yang halted.
With a thought, the refined steel sword appeared in his hand.
Even after learning Phantom Palm, Xiao Yang felt weapons were still preferable against beasts.
Palm techniques suited duels; against animals, blades were deadlier.
As a postnatal martial artist, his perception far exceeded ordinary people—Xiao Yang sensed something was watching him.
He looked toward the woods on his right.
From behind a black tree, a shadow emerged.
A demonized creature!
Above its head, Xiao Yang saw faintly glowing words.
The shadow approached him, step by step.
As it drew closer, he saw it was a giant wolf, its entire body pitch-black, eyes radiating dark energy like the demonized villagers.
The black aura was intense, much stronger than ordinary demonized people, almost matching the leader.
This was a beast dangerous even to postnatal martial artists—in earthly terms, a ranked monster.
The demonized black wolf glared at Xiao Yang, baring its fangs, stalking him with a crouched, ready-to-attack posture, as if poised to strike.
While Xiao Yang watched the wolf ahead, another demonized black wolf silently emerged from behind, closing in.
Thirty meters!
Twenty meters!
Ten meters!
When the rear wolf was just ten meters away, the one in front bristled, howling fiercely and leaping forward.
It seemed ready to attack, but the leap was merely a feint.
The real killer move came from behind.
Both wolves lunged at Xiao Yang simultaneously, sharp claws aimed at his head.
A cold smile played on Xiao Yang’s lips.
He’d sensed the rear wolf long ago—he was merely pretending not to notice.
Phantom Step!
His figure flickered, easily evading the wolves’ attack.
At the same instant, he swung his sword.
Swordlight flashed—blood sprayed.
A wolf’s head fell to the ground.
The refined steel sword was indeed sharp; the black wolf’s neck was much thicker than a human’s, but still severed in one strike.
Of course, the main factor was Xiao Yang’s strength—combined with the sword’s sharpness, he could decapitate with a single blow.
The demonized black wolf died, its body turning into a stream of energy that infused Xiao Yang, warming him and boosting his strength—a significant effect, nearly matching the leader’s.
After the body vanished, no silver dropped, but a shining crystal appeared.
Xiao Yang ignored it for now, focusing on the wolf ahead, using Phantom Step to leave an afterimage as he charged.
The surviving wolf, enraged by its companion’s death, attacked with renewed ferocity.
Man and wolf crossed paths.
The wolf’s claws struck only Xiao Yang’s afterimage, while his refined steel sword sliced off one of its legs.
Crippled, the wolf was no match for Xiao Yang.
Another swift strike—wolf’s head fell.
After battling the leader over a hundred times, Xiao Yang’s combat experience was abundant; now, with minor mastery of Phantom Step, his speed was vastly improved, making quick work of these demonized wolves.
He picked up the shining crystal, and a wave of information entered his mind.
Beast Crystal: Can be absorbed to enhance cultivation.
A precious item for cultivation.
Xiao Yang was delighted—the energy from the wolf’s death had already significantly boosted his cultivation, and the beast crystal was an additional enhancement. Killing demonized black wolves was like double training.
Black Wind Forest’s wolves posed no threat; for Xiao Yang, this place was a treasure trove for rapid cultivation.
He put off Cloud River City and wandered the forest, hunting wolves and improving his abilities.
One after another, demonized black wolves fell; Xiao Yang accumulated beast crystals.
Time slipped by unnoticed.
Before he could explore the entire forest, the scenery abruptly changed—everything became chaotic.
Time was up.
Xiao Yang left the Transdimensional World and appeared in his own room.