Chapter 14: Discovery

In the Wu family Shibao, they kept gray rock lizards as mounts.

The domesticated gray rock lizards were gentle, loyal, and formidable in combat.

When Wu Tie was young, he often played with the few domesticated gray rock lizards; those big fellows were his childhood playmates.

But ahead was a purebred wild gray rock lizard.

Its cloudy eyes emitted a grayish-yellow glow, its rough skin resembled gray stone, covered with countless tiny bumps. Its long forked tongue flicked as it crawled down from the boulder, taking small hurried steps toward Wu Tie.

The ground trembled slightly, emitting a "thud-thud" sound.

This gray rock lizard's four legs were as thick as Wu Tie's waist; it charged straight at him, and Wu Tie's body went rigid, his legs inexplicably feeling weak.

A wave of Cold Qi enveloped his heart, and Wu Tie forgot everything.

All the knowledge Lao Tie had taught him vanished completely at this moment.

He forgot everything about the gray rock lizard's hunting behavior, its weak points, and its vital spots.

His mind was a blank slate.

A white metal spider suddenly leapt from behind Wu Tie, its eyes flashing scarlet light, and Lao Tie's low, stiff voice came over: "Sidestep, thrust!"

The gray rock lizard was over five meters away from Wu Tie; its body, more than two meters long, suddenly lifted, its two foreclaws striking down one after another at Wu Tie, and its whole body slammed down heavily toward him.

The creature's pounce was so swift that its hind legs barely left the ground, exposing its huge belly entirely before Wu Tie.

Wu Tie instinctively raised his spear, and based on countless repetitions of training these past days, he thrust forward fiercely.

"Pfft"—the spear pierced the gray rock lizard's soft belly armor, went into its stomach, and exited through its back.

The gray rock lizard let out a cry of pain, its massive body sliding along the spear, and its claws slammed hard into Wu Tie.

Wu Tie let out a miserable howl, and the spear slipped from his grasp.

His left shoulder was caved in, his scapula shattered, a large area of flesh on his chest torn apart, seven or eight ribs smashed to fragments, and the broken bones drove deep into his lungs.

Blood surged up his windpipe, and Wu Tie spat out mouthfuls of blood as he collapsed heavily to the ground.

A spear protruded from the gray rock lizard's body as it stumbled toward Wu Tie, heavily pressing down on him and opening its jaws to bite his neck. It was obvious that, although not fully grown by size, this gray rock lizard already had considerable hunting experience.

Two metal spiders flew from behind Wu Tie, their sharp metallic limbs flashing with a faint cold light.

Wu Tie gripped Chiyou's Tooth in his right hand and slammed it into the gray rock lizard's eye, which was the size of a fist.

Amidst the explosion, the gray rock lizard's eye burst open, and Chiyou's Tooth drove deep into its brain, scrambling its matter into a mess.

The over-two-meter-long gray rock lizard thrashed violently on the ground; its reptilian tenacity let it roll for a full quarter hour before it finally stiffened completely.

The two metal spiders lunged over, just as before, clamping left and right onto Wu Tie's long hair and dragging him back to the Ancient God Troop Camp.

Soaking in the milky translucent fluid inside the crystal ball, Wu Tie endured the itch from his wounds while Lao Tie berated him until he was drenched in scolding.

He faltered in battle.

He lost his composure in battle.

When the gray rock lizard lunged, a spear thrust upward at a three‑inch angle would pierce its heart exactly; merely angling the body slightly would dodge its pounce, allowing a flawless, unharmed kill of this big fellow.

Wu Tie did not attack the vital point nor sidestep; instead he assumed a stance of mutual destruction, meeting the lizard head‑on.

Even if Lao Tie had not transmitted that instruction via the metal spiders, Wu Tie would not have made that straight thrust; he would have been gravely injured by the gray rock lizard, and if the healthy lizard pinned him down, he would likely have been done for.

The light curtain lit up.

Lao Tie continued his tirade, spouting all sorts of bizarre, profanity‑free, roundabout insults, though no one knew where he'd learned them.

In the light curtain, the "battle process" of Wu Tie and the gray rock lizard was replayed.

Lao Tie began analyzing Wu Tie's mistakes, explaining what the correct choice should have been.

In the light curtain, Wu Tie's figure moved along with Lao Tie's narration, nimbly weaving through mushroom patches and fern groves, his spear dancing skillfully; within a short quarter hour, the Wu Tie in the light curtain killed the gray rock lizard perfectly in six different ways.

Or, in mobile combat, continually draining the gray rock lizard's stamina.

Or, in a head‑on fight, delivering a thunder‑blow to annihilate it outright.

Or, by using the terrain, luring the gray rock lizard into a trap to restrict its movements, then easily piercing its skull.

……

Wu Tie quietly soaked in the crystal ball, eyes wide, carefully watching every move of that "Wu Tie" in the light curtain.

Once again, he narrowly escaped death.

Death is the best catalyst, forging battle experience bit by bit into Wu Tie's bones and merging it into his soul.

Three days later, Wu Tie, having gnawed off a small section of the gray rock lizard's tail, left the Ancient God Troop Camp once again.

The two metal spiders followed him openly, and Lao Tie clearly told Wu Tie that these spider‑shaped "miscellaneous energy puppets" had no energy cores; all their power relied on the Ancient God Troop Camp transmitting energy remotely.

Therefore, these metal spiders can only roam within ten li of the Ancient God Troop Camp.

In other words, if Wu Tie suffered serious injury far from the Ancient God Troop Camp and could not return on his own, he would be doomed.

On this outing, Wu Tie successfully ambushed and killed nine plump ground rats, each weighing about thirty catties; from this haul he gained over two hundred catties of meat.

Elated, Wu Tie carried his spoils back toward the Ancient God Troop Camp when an iron‑toothed poison rat silently approached from his rear‑left, succeeded in a sneak attack, bit his calf, and injected a large amount of toxin into his body.

Wu Tie's body went numb; he staggered forward two steps, then his vision darkened and he collapsed to the ground.

When he awoke again, Wu Tie was once more soaking in the crystal ball, and Lao Tie's familiar scolding still rang in his ears.

After scolding for a full quarter hour, the huge skull formed from the Ancient God Troop Camp suddenly bumped Lao Tie; his tirade cut off abruptly, a large and a small metal skull's eyes locked, their gazes flickering for a moment, and Lao Tie's voice suddenly turned extremely strange.

"That's right, Grandfather me… I forgot to get him a full set of armor."

"Is this my fault as Grandfather? When have I ever needed armor? Didn't you also forget to remind me?"

"This… can't be blamed on me."

"I'm just a medical‑type Ancient God Troop… hah, medical‑type, who would think about these things?" Lao Tie's tone swung wildly, the blood light in his eyes flashing rapidly, making Wu Tie feel glare.

The iron‑toothed poison rat's venom was not strong; the wound it inflicted was merely tiny. After soaking in the crystal ball for a while, Wu Tie slipped out of it.

Electric sparks flickered on the ceiling, and the metallic ceiling rippled like water, forming a vortex.

With a "thud," a set of white clothing fell from the ceiling vortex.

"Put it on…… See what you've become. A grown man, running around bare-assed won't do." Four metal spiders lifted Lao Tie over to Wu Tie's side, Lao Tie gave the order as if nothing were wrong.

These days, Wu Tie, who had only been covering his modesty with fern leaves, hastily grabbed the clothes and fumbled to put them on.

The clothing was very soft, cool to the touch, yet pleasantly warm when worn. Moreover, Wu Tie could not tell what material it was made of—it was not any plant fiber he knew, but seemed to be a seamless, integrally molded whole.

Once on, the clothing adjusted its size to fit snugly against Wu Tie's body, almost like a second skin.

"All right, weapons, armor, and basic combat skills." Lao Tie said satisfied: "Now you are a qualified rookie warrior. So go out and fight, fight bravely and passionately, lad!"

"So… just like the spear technique before, you also forgot to give me a set of armor?" Wu Tie glared at Lao Tie, a bit annoyed.

This guy, he doesn't seem reliable.

What does it mean, "now Wu Tie is a qualified rookie"? Who was it that let the "unqualified" Wu Tie go out hunting before?

Lao Tie fell silent, Blood Light flickering wildly in his eyes.

The next moment, he erupted.

"Don't forget, Lao Tie's eyes are always on you. If you get successfully ambushed by these little trash again, I'll make you know what hellish austerity is!" Lao Tie roared loudly, his volume several times higher than usual.

Streaks of pale blue electric arcs continuously spewed from Lao Tie's big teeth, striking Wu Tie's unprotected head heavily.

Wu Tie's hair stood on end, sparks flying between the strands; he shrieked and stumbled out of the Ancient God Soldier Camp.

This time out hunting, Wu Tie successfully caught a small rock python.

The rock python was over five meters long and weighed about a hundred catties. Wu Tie happily shouldered it back to the Ancient God Soldier Camp; on the way he killed two attacking iron-toothed poison rats, but while handling them a deadly black widow spider landed on his shoulder.

Wu Tie's form-fitting armor blocked the black widow's attack; the spider was easily killed by a metal spider, and when Wu Tie returned to the Ancient God Soldier Camp, he was greeted with another tirade from Lao Tie.

Immediately after, Wu Tie endured several days of a life worse than death.

Because Wu Tie had been successfully ambushed by the black widow spider, Lao Tie punished him by making him sprint around a metal hall until he was utterly exhausted, unable to move his fingers each day.

Afterwards he would be stuffed into a crystal ball, after a slight recovery of strength, he would then continuously perform the basic spear techniques following the movements of the figures in the light curtain.

Thrust, sweep…

Sweep, thrust…

A thousand times, ten thousand times…… likewise to the point of utter exhaustion, after expending the last bit of strength he collapsed to the ground.

After being subjected to the harsh punishment for seven days, Wu Tie left the Ancient God Soldier Camp again.

He crashed headfirst into a gray rock lizard about four meters long, nearly adult. It was obvious that there should be a sizable population of gray rock lizards near the Ancient God Soldier Camp.

Two metal spiders bounced along behind Wu Tie, Lao Tie's harsh rebukes continually emanating from within the spiders.

Amid Lao Tie's frenzied scolding, Wu Tie became considerably calmer.

He waved his long spear, nimbly circling the massive gray rock lizard, striking its weak points over and over.

After half an hour of skirmishing, the gray rock lizard, having lost too much blood, was pierced through the heart by Wu Tie's spear.

Wu Tie excitedly shouted to the heavens; the twitching gray rock lizard sprang up violently and slapped him away with a fierce blow, sending him flying several meters.

The form-fitting armor's defense was strong; the gray rock lizard's claws scraped it, sending up a shower of sparks, yet not a single mark appeared on the armor.

Wu Tie, having been flung, was unfortunate: he slammed his head into a large stone, breaking his neck and leaving a large depression on his skull.

The two metal spiders dragged Wu Tie back at full speed, and he was again immersed in the crystal ball.

This time, Wu Tie was greeted with nonstop frenzied training for half a month, plus a fixed fifteen-minute electric shock each day.

After half a month, Wu Tie, whose aura had become much sharper, left the Ancient God Soldier Camp again.

……

Constantly going out to hunt, constantly returning, constantly being punished by Lao Tie for various mistakes.

After arriving at the Ancient God Soldier Camp for one and a half months, Wu Tie finally gathered a thousand catties of beast flesh and blood; he eagerly stuffed them into the pharmaceutical apparatus, after a brief wait he obtained the second Foundation Establishment elixir.

He took off his form-fitting armor, gulped down the Foundation Establishment elixir, the light curtain lit up, and to a soft, sweet female voice Wu Tie began performing the Foundation Establishment form move by move.

Over the past one and a half months, Wu Tie has also been practicing the Foundation Establishment form without interruption each day.

However, without the aid of the Foundation Establishment elixir, his solo practice was ineffective; after more than a month he had managed to add only a single extra form.

After taking the Foundation Establishment elixir, Wu Tie felt as if his whole body were being baked in a furnace; he easily broke through the recent bottleneck, and the Foundation Establishment form progressed smoothly to the 149th move.

Sweat poured from his whole body like rain, and his breath carried a faint foul odor.

The second Foundation Establishment elixir's potency was far greater than the first's.

The first Foundation Establishment elixir merely supplemented Wu Tie's innate weakness, restoring his constitution to normal; the second, combined with the Foundation Establishment form, let him stride boldly toward the "transcendent" realm.

With a few "crack" sounds, Wu Tie's calm face suddenly twisted.

All his joints were rapidly writhing; in just half an hour his height shot up by more than an inch.

The essence refined from the full thousand catties of flesh and blood permeated his entire body; combined with the Foundation Establishment form, Wu Tie continually drew some strange energy from the air, constantly tempering and remaking his physique. With ample nutrition as backing, his frame rapidly grew stronger.

A hazy light poured down from the ceiling, shining upon Wu Tie.

A flash of Blood Light passed through Lao Tie's eyes as he glanced at the Ancient God Soldier Camp beside him.

The Ancient God Soldier Camp's eyes flickered with a dim light, and it began communicating with Lao Tie.

The light curtain lit up, revealing Wu Tie's translucent figure within; his whole body was filled with a layer of hazy, balanced white light, except for his head, where a cluster of piercing golden light flickered.

The brightness of that golden light was at least a hundred times greater than the white light suffusing his entire body.

"Talent… divine ability?" Lao Tie opened his mouth, two rows of metal teeth flashing with a faint dim light: "Grandpa me, my luck is this good?"