Chapter 444: Self-Created Combat Technique? At Best Grade B, Right?

"Completely worn out? Here, an Ability Recovery Pill—take one first."

Leng Yuexi stepped forward on her long, slender legs and handed over a milky-white pill.

"Thanks." Xu Jingming thanked her and swallowed the pill directly into his stomach.

The pill dissolved the instant it entered his mouth, and his nearly depleted ability began recovering at an extremely rapid pace.

"This effect... is it a seventh-grade pill?"

Xu Jingming's sword-shaped brows lifted slightly. "Sister Xi, you really didn't have to give me such a high-grade pill. Letting me recover slowly would have been fine."

A seventh-grade pill had a powerful effect; he estimated that in just over twenty minutes, his Doushen Shenlei would be full again.

But now that the beast tide had already been wiped out, there was no need for sustained ability output—swallowing an ordinary fifth-grade Recovery Pill would have been enough.

"Look at the state you're in—how could you recover without a seventh-grade pill?

Don't worry, I have plenty of seventh-grade pills on me. One or two doesn't matter at all."

Leng Yuexi waved her hand casually. "I really don't know what you're after, running around for so long.

You drained your ability dry, and in the end got nothing for it."

Xu Jingming merely smiled faintly at her words and said nothing.

80,000 ability points!

That was the harvest he had reaped from an entire afternoon of work!

"Still, speaking of it, you're really quite enduring. From 3 p. m. all the way to 7 p. m. now—

a full four hours of uninterrupted release, and your ability is only now nearly depleted..."

Leng Yuexi truly didn't know what to say.

An ordinary fifth-rank elemental ability user would already be doing well to maintain one hour of uninterrupted ability output.

Yet Xu Jingming's endurance was a full four times theirs!

"It's alright, I guess. Every time I fight, I always feel like my ability isn't enough." Xu Jingming said with a faint smile.

"You really are a fool who doesn't know the blessings you have.

Your ability volume already far exceeds ability users of the same rank. If it's still not enough, it can only mean you've mastered too many high-grade combat techniques."

Leng Yuexi scolded him with a laugh, then glanced at the time on her smart wristband and said:

"It's 7:23 p. m. now, and it'll be dark soon. We need to find a place to rest right away."

The setting sun gradually sank into Dashan, and the sky overhead had already begun to darken somewhat.

"When I was wiping out the rat tide earlier, I sensed a cave. I'll take you there—it should take about ten-plus minutes to arrive."

Xu Jingming said, musing.

Fierce beasts have the habit of moving about after dark, especially high-rank ones—a single meal fills them for a whole day.

The Kanda Wasteland at night is far more dangerous than during the day.

Besides, the two of them—one lightning-type, one elemental fire-type—using their abilities at night

would be like lighting a bright lamp on a pitch-black night where you can't see your own hand, extremely likely to draw the fierce beasts' attention.

Unless absolutely necessary, they would not choose to move at night.

"Then tell me the direction. From here on, I'll take point."

Accompanied by a crisp sword-chime, the Crimson Practice Sword circled around Leng Yuexi's body.

A scorching crimson-red flame erupted along with it.

"Let me do it instead. I've already recovered quite a bit."

Brilliant golden Lei Ting bloomed, and without waiting for Leng Yuexi's reply, Xu Jingming gripped the Flowing Cloud Golden Edge Spear.

His entire body transformed into a golden phantom, charging ahead at the forefront.

"This guy—not only is he enduring, even his recovery speed seems much faster than an ordinary ability user's."

On Bai Xi's pretty face, a hint of amazement flickered faintly.

Leng Yuexi's slender figure swayed as she, too, followed at extreme speed......

Crackle—

Crackle—

In the cave, firelight flickered. Xu Jingming and Leng Yuexi sat not far from the bonfire, resting.

To their right rear was a large pile of black ash—the cave's "original resident," a fourth-rank fierce beast.

It had been blasted straight into ash by Xu Jingming's Doushen Shenlei.

"I'll handle dinner. You rest for a bit—you've been working hard all day after all."

Leng Yuexi enthusiastically took out the piece of "tenderloin" she had cut off at noon.

"Can you manage it?" Xu Jingming expressed his doubt about this.

When they first entered the Kanda Wasteland, he had been the one in charge of roasting meat.

After Leng Yuexi watched a few times, she grew interested and tried roasting it herself several times.

The final product—well, it couldn't exactly be called hard to swallow; it could only be said that even if you fed it to a puppy, the puppy might not eat it......

"Trust me, I'm no longer the person I was back then."

Leng Yuexi also recalled that scene from back then, and her pretty face grew slightly uneasy.

Still, she stuck out her full chest and said with great stubbornness.

"Alright then, let's see what you can do, Sister Xi." Seeing this, Xu Jingming stopped objecting and nodded with a light laugh.

Then his mind stirred, and the system panel appeared in his consciousness.

【Name】: Xu Jingming

【Level】: Fifth-Rank Lower (+)

【Ability】: Doushen Shenlei (SS)

【Physique】: 9354 Qi and Blood (+)

【Spirit】: 9837 Hertz (+)

【Skills】: Spear Art (Master+), Fist Art (Master+), Lei Shen Jiang Shi (SSS-rank, Beginner+), Heart Net (SS-rank, Beginner+), Thunder Piercing Demon-Slaying Spear (S+ rank, Beginner+), Lei Shen Zhi (S+ rank, Beginner+)......

【Body Tempering】: Lei Ting Immortal Body (S-rank, Sixth Layer+)

【Spirit Refining】: Shenhe Visualization Method (SS-rank, Second Layer+)

【Ability Points】:

"230,000 ability points — I can raise my rank now."

Xu Jingming's gaze flickered slightly, but he did not immediately choose to allocate points.

He still wanted to make one last attempt; if after tonight—

He still couldn't raise the level of the Lei Ting Immortal Body, then it wouldn't be too late to allocate points and raise the level.

Thinking of this, his spatial ring flickered faintly, and an extremely thick secret manual appeared in his hand out of thin air.

The SS-rank body-tempering art *Thunder Lightning Vajra Body*!

After these many days of nonstop study every night, the 100 body-tempering art manuals had finally been researched down to this very last one.

And he was on the verge of comprehending it!

But although it was said to be 100 manuals, in truth the ones he had studied closely numbered no more than 30.

The rest he had only flipped through casually, and was already able to comprehend them.

Body-tempering arts are all interconnected — once you understand one type, body-tempering arts of the same kind require no close study.

"I've long heard that Xu Jingming has mastered several combat techniques and has extremely high comprehension. Now it seems—

Besides talent, it's also inseparable from his own effort......"

Before the bonfire, catching sight of this scene, Leng Yuexi murmured to herself.

Studying combat technique manuals is extremely taxing on the mind and spirit; most ability users would rather train their physique than study manuals.

But ever since entering the wilderness zone, Xu Jingming spent at least four or five hours on this every night.

Sometimes he even pulled an all-nighter!

This kind of perseverance is not something an ordinary ability user could manage.

"Everything he's been reading is body-tempering arts — looks like he's begun attempting to create his own combat technique.

But how difficult is it to create a high-level body-tempering art? Even now, I've only created a single A+ rank combat technique myself.

Still, creating combat techniques — the earlier the better, and it isn't a waste of time.

Speaking of which, I'm quite curious to see what rank the combat technique he creates will be.

But Xu Jingming is only 20 years old this year; given his experience—

At the very best, it should only be a B-rank combat technique......"

After a small bit of anticipation, Leng Yuexi paid no more attention to Xu Jingming. Hoisting the tenderloin, she cheerfully began her own barbecue experiment.