Chapter 11: Switching to Martial Master: Innate Armor

It was just as the night market opened, the square filled with crowds.

Couples holding hands, married pairs linked arms, vendors and customers haggling over goods.

An ordinary day, until the rainbow-colored light phenomenon appeared.

Everyone stared in astonishment, took photos; some opened apps to upload the spectacle online.

But soon, the internet was flooded with information about the rainbow light.

As if this anomaly had occurred across the entire nation—and even globally.

These massive anomalies sparked intense public debate.

A hint of panic began to spread.

Yet, before long, a cold mechanical voice echoed.

Those around him rapidly turned into rotting, stinking corpses.

“Brother Xing, you… ah! Don’t come closer!”

“Xinxin, what’s wrong? Mommy’s scared.”

“You dare bite me? Here’s a slap!”

Screams, cries of terror, breakdowns, strikes, bites, and running footsteps erupted all around the square.

Fang Shi arrived at the scene in half a minute and saw this chaos.

His heart remained utterly still—he had witnessed too many tragedies in his past life.

This was merely child’s play; later, when order collapsed and the strong devoured the weak, far darker scenes were commonplace.

To avoid sinking into this, one must grow stronger.

Strong enough to be unbeatable, strong enough to sweep away all.

In truth, the apocalypse game had just descended; level-1 corpses had not yet fully transformed—they were essentially defective.

Aside from scaring people, their stats were nearly identical to what they were before transformation.

Any normal person, if they mustered courage, could easily defeat brainless corpses.

After all, these corpses weren’t infectious like in movies or games—they only looked similar.

Fang Shi’s target wasn’t scattered corpses, but a group clustered at the square’s center.

They gathered together; survivors saw them and trembled with fear, daring not to provoke them.

But Fang Shi felt no fear.

Corpses turned from elderly people—how high could their stats possibly be?

With the combat skills honed over three years in the apocalypse and his current abundant physical strength, he could give it a try; if he couldn’t hold out, he’d just run.

Perhaps because the elderly had weak constitutions, almost no survivors remained after the law transformation.

From afar, he saw about thirty corpses, reeking of decay, grotesque and terrifying, staggering across the square.

But no matter how disgusting or ferocious, to Fang Shi they were little cuties.

One level-1 corpse gave 10 experience points; just ten of them would let him unlock a combat class.

“Thud.”

He pressed his toes against the ground, breathed slowly, and walked steadily toward the corpse group.

Even though pressed for time, he maintained his rhythm to avoid wasting stamina.

The corpse group, sensing the scent of the living, shuffled toward Fang Shi like broken engines, emitting low growls and creaking joint sounds.

The apocalypse game had only just descended for one minute; the corpses’ appearances had long lost all human resemblance, their bodies highly decayed, as if dead for years.

Fang Shi felt relief—he had passed the law transformation, just as he had before his rebirth; otherwise, he’d already be one of them.

He wondered what the legendary powerhouse meant by “law”—perhaps he’d uncover its truth in this life.

“Roar.”

The first corpse closed in, its claws slashing through the air with a foul stench.

Fang Shi’s eyes flashed with cold light; he swung his cleaver.

“Squelch.”

Like a butcher dissecting an ox, the blade slid cleanly along the corpse’s neck muscles—no resistance except at the cervical vertebrae gap.

He strode forward without looking back,

swiftly moving toward the next corpse.

Aged muscles, porous bones—no challenge at all to Fang Shi.

Moreover, corpses had one major weakness: sluggish movement.

After all, the apocalypse game still held a glimmer of hope: newly born corpses, if one overcame fear, could be easily soloed—even the frail could set traps to lure and kill them.

Fang Shi moved like a dancer among the corpses, wielding his blade in graceful arcs.

Black blood and severed heads adorned this beautiful dance of death.

…

“Weak point attack triggered.”

“Weak point attack successfully executed, dealing 10 points of fatal damage.”

“Target dead.”

“Soul energy extracted. You gained 10 experience points, 1 survival point.”

“Through consecutive combat, you gained partial information on Weak Point Insight.”

…

“Target dead.”

“Through consecutive combat, you gained partial information on Light Blade Weapon Mastery.”

…

“Target dead.”

“Through consecutive combat, you gained partial information on Intuitive Evasion.”

…

The battle was easier than expected; his high 19 Perception granted Fang Shi exceptional danger awareness and keen insight.

He always sensed and dodged the corpses’ claws and bites in time—even before danger arrived.

Thanks to his high insight and vast combat experience, he easily spotted corpses’ flaws and weaknesses, delivering fatal strikes.

When he accumulated 100 experience points, a stream of data flashed through his mind.

“Do you wish to spend 100 experience points to unlock a combat class?”

Fang Shi had no second choice.

“Unlock.”

The instant he chose, the moving wind halted, the corpses’ bites froze, and the entire world fell still.

Then, all light vanished; Fang Shi’s vision turned pitch black. He looked down—his own body was dark too, merging seamlessly with the surroundings.

Yet in his perception, it was not darkness at all—he saw countless specks of light, radiating chaotic, mesmerizing hues.

Invisible, intangible, yet undeniably real—smaller than atomic neutrons, yet infinitely grand, paradoxical, pervading all space and time like an ocean.

“Is this the world’s true nature? The primal ocean the legends spoke of—the source of the Dao?”

Perhaps because his Perception reached 19, what he perceived now was clearer and more abundant than before his rebirth.

“Zzzt.”

A current surged from Fang Shi’s mind, coursing through his limbs and organs, alternating between cold and hot, like countless ants crawling over him, yet also as soothing as a warm bath.

A strange sensation—painful enough to cry out, yet comfortingly pleasant.

“Unlocking combat class… combat class template integrating.”

“You have successfully unlocked the combat class template.”

“Please select your combat class.”

A stream of data flashed; detailed information on every class instantly appeared in Fang Shi’s mind, outlining each class’s strengths and weaknesses.

As for his choice, he had already planned it—he’d pick the same class as in his past life, rather than an unfamiliar one.

“【Martial Master: For the true martial artist, martial arts transcend battlefield combat—it is a way of life, a spiritual discipline, a state of mind.】”

“You selected Martial Master. Template integrating and replacing.”

“You have advanced to level-1 Martial Master.”

“You gained (4 + Intelligence (14-10)/2) × 4 + 4 (Versatile) = 28 skill points.”

“Your HP increased by 8 + Constitution (12-10)/2 = 9 points.”

“You gained the class specializations: Gale Combo I, Unarmed Attack I, Steel Bones I.”

“【Gale Combo I】: You can attack enemies at a faster rate. (Attack speed +1)”

“【Unarmed Attack I】: You gain a bonus when attacking unarmed. (Damage +1, Accuracy +1)”

“【Steel Bones I】: Through rigorous training, your bones have hardened, increasing your resistance to blunt force. (Physical defense +1)”

“As a level-1 Martial Master, you may choose one personal specialization and one class specialization.”

The maximum level for your class skills equals 3 + character level; Fang Shi’s skills from his reborn life were already maxed—and far beyond.

Skill points couldn’t be saved; reluctantly, Fang Shi randomly spent them on a pile of skills.

For his personal specialization, his goal was clear: as a reborn, he had no shortage of offensive skills, so he focused on one.

“【Resilience I】: Harsh environments or prolonged exertion won’t easily fatigue you. Gain +4 bonus on relevant Constitution checks. (Endurance cap +20%)”

This specialization simply meant he could better endure hunger, thirst, exhaustion, and weakness, maintaining combat effectiveness even under such conditions.

What does this mean?

In this end-of-the-world environment, lack of food is nothing unusual; what’s more terrifying is sometimes facing pursuit and mob attacks by monsters.

This is when 【Resilience I】 comes into play: players who maintain a certain level of combat ability often manage to escape death, even turning the tables in desperate situations.

As for his profession specialty, Fang Shi chose 【Crush Punch I】, which has a significant effect when facing enemies with high defense.

“【Crush Punch I】: Deliver a powerful straight punch that penetrates the enemy’s organs. (Armor Penetration +1)”

“As the first player to unlock the Combat Profession Template, you may draw one additional specialty.”

“Draw an additional specialty?”

Indeed, the first player to unlock the Combat Profession Template receives corresponding rewards.

If not for the apocalypse game’s arrival, when all global firearms and electronic devices had already failed.

Add to that the fact that most people didn’t understand the situation, and even the few clever ones reacted too slowly, wasting the crucial first few minutes.

These two first-place rewards would never go to Fang Shi.

“The End-of-the-World Game seems to encourage rapid player evolution—has anyone become the first to level up? Has anyone become the first to advance?”

“No wonder the strong of my past life remained dominant—with such rich rewards, leading from the start means staying ahead at every step. I must claim every first.”

Thinking this, Fang Shi answered in his mind: Draw specialty.

Instantly, a circular disc emitting a hazy glow appeared in his mind, about one meter in diameter, made of neither metal nor jade, appearing mysterious and unfathomable.

The disc was divided into countless tiny segments, their number indeterminable; each segment resembled a thin line, inscribed with intricate runes, each representing a different specialty.

A white-gold needle hovered at the twelve o’clock position.

Fang Shi was still planning to examine it when the needle on the disc began spinning rapidly.

Then, not only did the needle spin—the entire disc spun as well.

There was no chance to see where the needle stopped, brimming with the aura of random fate.

With a “ding,” the disc and needle halted. A white symbol from the sector the needle pointed to flew out and merged into Fang Shi’s body.

“You have acquired the racial trait 【Natural Armor I】”

“【Natural Armor I】!”

Fang Shi instantly became excited—this specialty usually only appeared among other races; humans did not possess it.

Who would have thought the extra draw could pull something like this? If he’d drawn a specialty that directly boosted stats, wouldn’t that have been even better?

“【Natural Armor I】: Physical Defense +1.”