Chapter 124: Upgrade

"What should I do?" Zhang Chao kicked the Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat away time and again, causing it to crash into the Artifact Shield and end up battered and bleeding.

"Squeak! Squeak!" Ignoring its injuries, the Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat lunged over and over again, launching attacks without regard for its own life, which gave Zhang Chao a massive headache.

As time passed, Shuke's body was like an inflating balloon, constantly expanding.

Five minutes later, Shuke's body had doubled in size, reaching a height of 1.3 meters. Its muscles were swelling violently, and the scales on its body were stretched to the point of deformation, revealing the blue-purple veins underneath.

"Pop! Pop!" Many of Shuke's blood vessels burst one after another, spurting out jets of blood that dyed its entire body red, making it look as if it had been fished out of a Blood Pool, appearing hideous and terrifying.

Zhang Chao's expression was grave as he watched the expanding Shuke, as if he were looking at a powder keg about to explode.

What was even more terrifying was that this powder keg was alive and still constantly attacking Zhang Chao.

Zhang Chao was sweating profusely with anxiety. Facing Shuke's claws and teeth, he only dared to dodge as much as he could; if he truly couldn't avoid them, he would control his strength to just barely bat Shuke's claws away.

Every time Zhang Chao struck, he was terrified, fearing that if he used too much force, he would cause Shuke to explode instantly.

The more Zhang Chao fought, the more stifled he felt. He had never fought such a frustrating battle; despite having the strength to crush Meng Yifan and Shuke, he was held back by caution and dared not unleash his full power.

As Shuke continued to expand, Zhang Chao was forced to expand the coverage area of the Artifact Shield time and again.

The smaller the Artifact Shield, the denser the energy and the more indestructible it became; the more it was expanded, the thinner the energy at every point, and its defensive power plummeted.

Meng Yifan hacked at the Artifact Shield with his Ghost Head Blade, causing the shield to twist and deform constantly, yet with his current attack power, he still could not break through the dual defense of the Artifact Shield and the Divine Bell Cover.

Holding the Ghost Head Blade, Meng Yifan stood outside the Artifact Shield, and through his mysterious connection with Shuke, he was perfectly clear about Zhang Chao's situation.

Zhang Chao was anxious and flustered, and Meng Yifan was just as anxious; after being modified by the Ghost Head Blade's Artifact Spirit, Shuke possessed combat power comparable to a Third Grade Martial Artist.

Shuke followed Meng Yifan's orders implicitly, and Meng Yifan found it very easy to use; unless absolutely necessary, Meng Yifan really did not want to let Shuke perish together with Zhang Chao.

However, if he didn't let Shuke self-destruct, it would be difficult to kill Zhang Chao, who was protected by two layers of shields, which also made Meng Yifan feel very troubled.

"The key is to break those two protective shields." A thought stirred in Meng Yifan's mind; his current attack power was insufficient to break the Artifact Shield and the Divine Bell Cover.

However, having fought until now, killed a large number of Divine Machine Battalion soldiers, and finished off the Third Grade Martial Artist Wang Zhanbiao, Meng Yifan had already accumulated over 2,800 Experience Value, which was enough for Meng Yifan to upgrade to a Third Grade Martial Artist.

"Upgrade! Upgrade!" As Meng Yifan's mind stirred, a large chunk of his Experience Value vanished instantly. At the same time, a massive amount of pure energy appeared out of thin air within Meng Yifan's body, and his strength began to soar at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Second Grade Middle Stage Martial Artist, Second Grade High Stage Martial Artist..." Meng Yifan was incredibly excited, feeling the True Qi within his body surging constantly; his skin and muscles, nourished by this True Qi, became increasingly tough.

Once his skin and muscles were strengthened to a certain degree, Meng Yifan felt an itch in his bones, as if ants were crawling on them. This made his eyes light up, as he knew this was his True Qi beginning to temper his bones.

Although Zhang Chao was hiding inside the Artifact Shield, he was also constantly observing Meng Yifan's movements, yearning to find an opportunity to throw the Bloodthirsty Ghost Rat, which was about to explode, away. He clearly sensed that Meng Yifan's True Qi fluctuations had rapidly risen from the original Second Grade Lower Stage to Second Grade Middle Stage, and then, after a few more seconds, had damn well risen to Second Grade High Stage.

"How is this possible?" Zhang Chao was dumbfounded; he had never seen anyone whose strength could rise by several tiers in a few seconds.

"How did he do it? Could it be that he took a forbidden pill like an Explosion Pill? But even an Explosion Pill can only raise one's cultivation by one tier. This rebel's strength has already risen by two tiers, and it's still growing rapidly?" Zhang Chao was completely baffled.

An Explosion Pill is a pill taken by a Martial Artist when fighting for their life; it can temporarily raise a Martial Artist's cultivation by one tier, but the side effects of an Explosion Pill are severe, and one will enter a period of weakness afterward, unable to mobilize True Qi for a month, like a cripple.

The current situation was that Zhang Chao was facing immense danger, so Meng Yifan certainly could not have taken a forbidden pill like an Explosion Pill.

Five or six seconds later, Meng Yifan's body shook slightly, and the True Qi fluctuations on his body rose once more, directly reaching the level of a Third Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist.

This left Zhang Chao in disbelief. He carefully sensed it for a moment longer and finally confirmed that Meng Yifan had truly risen from a Second Grade Lower Stage Martial Artist to a Third Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist in just over ten seconds. Such a rate of improvement was simply unimaginably fast.

"Haha, I've become a Third Grade Martial Artist. My True Qi has surged more than fourfold, and my strength has also increased by a large margin." The True Qi in Meng Yifan's meridians, which had been like a babbling brook, was now a rushing, ceaseless river.

Meng Yifan's mind stirred, and he channeled his True Qi into his right hand. He clenched his fist violently, and with a 'pop', the air was squeezed into a loud crack. As he tightened his fist, the muscles on his arm bulged instantly, covered in blue veins like hideous little snakes, filled with explosive power.

On the Game Panel, Meng Yifan's attributes had also undergone earth-shaking changes.

Name: Meng Yifan

Race: Human

Occupation: Third Grade Lower Tier Martial Artist

Technique: Hunyuan Strength Level 3, Yellow-grade Upper-tier Technique, Proficiency (23/6000).

Skill 1: Shooting Technique Level 2 (200/1000)

Skill 2: Lingbo Microsteps (Fragment), Lightness Skill, Mysterious Grade Mid-Rank Lightness Skill, Experience Value (682/).

Strength: 225/300 (Physical strength limit for a Third Grade Martial Artist is 300)

Defense: 211/300 (Physical defense limit for a Third Grade Martial Artist is 300)

Speed: 212/300 (Physical speed limit for a Third Grade Martial Artist is 300)

Aptitude: 0.2/100

Experience Value: 42 points

Return Countdown: 359:18:32:48, 359:18:32:47...

Territory: Luolong County

"Break for me!" Meng Yifan channeled his thick True Qi into the Ghost Head Blade, causing the Ghost Head Blade to emit a constant humming sound. Then, he leaped into the air, gripped the hilt with both hands, and executed the move Force Cleaving Mount Hua, hacking fiercely at the Artifact Shield.

"Clang!" Sparks flew from the Artifact Shield, and the entire shield shook violently from the blow. The golden light on it flickered constantly, and finally, with a 'pop', the light dissipated entirely, and a gap was hacked into the Artifact Shield by the Ghost Head Blade.

"Go to hell!" Meng Yifan tapped his toes on the ground and lunged forward, the tip of the Ghost Head Blade inserting itself into that gap.

Behind the Artifact Shield was the Divine Bell Cover. Unfortunately, like the Artifact Shield, the Divine Bell Cover had been expanded significantly by Zhang Chao, and its overall defensive power had decreased.

The tip of the Ghost Head Blade pierced through like a hot knife through butter, drilling a small hole in the Divine Bell Cover as well. Then, black mist spread from the tip of the Ghost Head Blade, and the Yin Soul of Zhang Butou flew out, darting toward Zhang Chao's head with the speed of lightning.