Chapter 21: High-Level Common Warrior

As the three troublemakers—He Qingqing and the other two—babble away, the surrounding warriors finally get a rough understanding of what had transpired. They glance at Su Hao with strange looks in their eyes. They couldn't quite believe what they were hearing and still had their doubts.

Su Hao cast a pleading look at his father, Wu Yuntian, but Wu Yuntian only furrowed his brows, lost in thought, without saying anything.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Su Hao explained, "Don't listen to Qingqing and the others. I was just lucky to kill a injured coyote. When it lunged at me, it seemed to trip over something. In that critical moment, I somehow mustered up the courage and swung my knife at it wildly. It was purely by chance that I managed to kill it."

The idea that a four or five-year-old child could single-handedly defeat a large coyote was too far-fetched for anyone to believe. But adding a bit of luck into the story made it more plausible. Killing a injured coyote purely by chance was something everyone could accept.

The warriors all seemed to agree with Su Hao's explanation.

"You're lying!" He Qingqing immediately shouted after Su Hao finished speaking.

He Jianyong quickly stepped forward, pulling He Qingqing aside, "Qingqing, stop talking. It's still dangerous around. Lu Gao, take these kids home!"

After that, he led the warriors to continue searching the village for any remaining coyotes.

....

The situation quickly blew over, but the story of Su Hao killing a green-eyed coyote on his own began to spread throughout the village. Though most believed there was some luck involved, the fact that he killed a coyotes at all still spoke volumes. Even with luck on his side, not just anyone could slay a coyotes.

Every adult green-eyed coyotes had the strength of a high-level Common martial artist, and the fact that Su Hao could kill one showed that he possessed some measure of skill himself. The name of Su Hao, the martial prodigy, soon began to circulate around the Chashan Outpost.

"Father, now that everyone at the Chashan Outpost knows I've started practicing martial arts, is that a problem?"

Su Hao was still a bit anxious afterward. The phrase "the tallest tree in the forest gets chopt down first" was not foreign to him. He knew this world was very different from his previous life—there were no well-established laws or enforcement systems here. The more talented a person was, the more likely they were to attract jealousy and danger.

Still, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief that he had passed the [Calamity] without issue. He knew he now had some degree of self-preservation, and the chances of him dying due to unforeseen events had greatly diminished.

Wu Yuntian glanced at Su Hao for a moment, then shook his head. "This is the Chashan Outpost, there's none of that nonsense here. Don't worry about it."

He then turned to Su Hao with a serious expression and asked, "Xiangwu, tell me honestly, what level are you at now?"

Su Hao wasn't entirely sure himself, so he gave his best guess: "I think my Blood Qi has reached the limit of what my body can handle. I feel like if I try to increase it further, it could harm my body."

"Really? Your Blood Qi shouldn't be growing so quickly... Could it be because of the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave]?"

Su Hao nodded, "Probably. I also feel the bottleneck in my Blood Qi density that you mentioned, but I just slightly adjusted the frequency of the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave], and the bottleneck naturally broke through."

Wu Yuntian's heart skipped a beat, and he was left speechless. The Blood Qi bottleneck that had troubled every martial artist had been easily overcome by his son with the invention of the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave].

He himself had been stuck at the high-level elite warriort stage for five years, unable to break through the limits of his Blood Qi. Usually, this kind of breakthrough only happened during intense combat.

A year ago, after hearing his son mention the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave], Wu Yuntian had felt a renewed hope. He diligently tried to find this so-called wave, but despite his efforts, he made no progress at all, leaving him feeling frustrated and defeated. Indeed, the world of geniuses was something ordinary people could never understand.

Even now, he only occasionally experimented with it, not expecting to actually find the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave].

As for Su Hao, he could only express his helplessness. The special substance known as the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave] did indeed exist, but a normal person could never perceive it.

It was similar to how everyone knew that adrenaline was secreted by the adrenal glands in response to danger, but no one could consciously detect how much adrenaline was being released. Su Hao, however, was able to identify his own [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave] thanks to the advanced analytical abilities of [Cosmic Light], his AI assistant. Unfortunately, he couldn't help anyone else do the same. It was as if he was using high-tech means to interpret a primitive concept—something Wu Yuntian couldn't understand, no matter how hard he tried.

Only if Su Hao gained a deeper understanding of Blood Qi and the [Blood Qi Enhancement Wave], and could devise a simple method to control it, would it be possible to teach others how to use it.

"Xiangwu, come with me to the yard," Wu Yuntian said as he stood up and walked outside.

Su Hao nodded and followed him.

Wu Yuntian stretched out his hand toward Su Hao. "Hit me with all your strength. Aim for my palm."

"Okay." Su Hao replied confidently. He walked up to Wu Yuntian, steadied his stance, gathered his energy, and his Blood Qi surged within him. With a powerful step forward, he unleashed a punch directly toward Wu Yuntian's palm.

"Smack∼!"

The sound of their hands colliding echoed through the yard. Wu Yuntian remained rooted to the spot, while Su Hao was forced back a few steps by the recoil.

"Father, you're amazing!" Su Hao exclaimed. He was always generous with praise, whether it was given directly or behind someone's back—except when it came to dealing with little kids.

Wu Yuntian smiled wryly and shook his head, though Su Hao didn't notice that Wu Yuntian's hand trembled slightly behind his back, still numb from Su Hao's punch.

Wu Yuntian said calmly, "Your strength has already reached the level of a high-level Common warrior."

"High-level Common warrior?" Su Hao asked, puzzled.

Wu Yuntian explained, "Yes. Martial artists are divided into five levels: Common warriors, Elite warriors, Master warriors, Grandmaster warriors, and the highest, Mystical warriors. Each level is further divided into three stages: beginner, intermediate, and high. Your current strength is at the high stage of an common warrior. I, on the other hand, am a high-level elite warrior."

Su Hao nodded in understanding. "I see. So how long does it usually take someone to become a high-level common warrior?"

Wu Yuntian sighed, "Most people can't even sense Blood Qi , so they can't become warriors at all. But if you're asking about warriors on average, it usually takes until they're around sixteen years old to reach the high level. If they get there before sixteen, they're considered talented. After sixteen, they're considered late bloomers."

Su Hao blinked in surprise and pointed at himself, "So what does that make me?"

Wu Yuntian stared at Su Hao for a long moment, unable to find the words.

After a brief silence, Wu Yuntian shifted the conversation, "Xiangwu, since you've reached this level, I don't have much to worry about anymore. You should have a good sense of your own abilities by now. Let me tell you about the path of a warriors and what you should focus on from now on."

After another pause, he added, "I don't have much more to teach you. How far you go from here depends on you."

"Got it, Father!" Su Hao nodded firmly.