My Mosquito Clones Are on a Killing Spree

Chapter 22: Chapter 17: Talented Martial Artist

The Martial Dao on Blue Star was still in its nascent stages of development.

At present, Martial Artists had only one path of Cultivation: cultivating Qi and Blood, tempering their muscles and bones, and pushing their physical strength to the ultimate limit.

Therefore, the current Martial Dao could be called the Martial Dao of Qi and Blood.

Aside from the Cultivation of Qi and Blood, no other aspects were involved.

It was just like in the web novels Lin Yi often read in his past life, where the saying went, ’Spirit is king.’ The powerful protagonists in those novels were invariably masters of Spiritual Power.

But in this world...

A Spirit-based Cultivation system had yet to be created!

Or rather, no one had dug up a Cultivation Skill for Spiritual Power from the tombs of Pre-Qin Qi Cultivators yet!

So.

As a result, the Martial Dao’s development of the human body was still incomplete.

The understanding of the human body’s mysteries was also very limited.

Take Spiritual Essence, for example...

If a Martial Artist who purely cultivated Qi and Blood was like an unyielding, heavy-armored warrior on the battlefield who relied solely on brute force to conquer cities, then Spiritual Essence was the path of a Mage—one who controlled the elements, summoned wind and rain, and triumphed with strange energies. It could also be called a superpower.

Unfortunately.

In this era where the Martial Dao was just beginning to rise, humanity’s understanding of Spiritual Essence was also severely lacking.

How to awaken it?

How to cultivate it?

Everything was a complete unknown!

More importantly...

Spiritual Essence was not distributed fairly among the human population.

Some people were blessed by the heavens, exceptionally gifted, and might possess two or even three types of Spiritual Essence in their bodies.

Others were less fortunate and had no Spiritual Essence at all.

And even for those who did have Spiritual Essence, without a method for its Cultivation, they might never awaken it in their entire lives.

As for those who possessed Spiritual Essence and could spontaneously awaken it through sheer chance... these children of fortune, blessed with immense luck, were truly one-in-a-million existences!

These lucky few were called ’Spiritual Essence Martial Artists,’ also known as ’Talented Martial Artists’!

They were the darlings favored by the heavens.

A long time ago, official statistics showed that for roughly every ten thousand ordinary people, there would be one person who possessed Spiritual Essence.

And out of a hundred of these people, only one would awaken their Spiritual Essence on their own.

In other words, only one Talented Martial Artist would appear for every one million people!

This just showed how rare Talented Martial Artists were!

’Have I joined the ranks of the one-in-a-million and become a Talented Martial Artist?’

Lin Yi subconsciously raised his hand, his fingertips gently tracing the bridge of his nose. It felt cool to the touch.

An unprecedented torrent of scents, extremely subtle yet incredibly clear, rushed into his nasal cavity, as if his nose was sorting the very pheromones in the air.

Even without his eyes, he could clearly ’see’ his surroundings just by relying on his nose, constructing an image from the different scents.

This was clearly an unprecedented experience.

’But this ”Spiritual Nose”... what’s its deal, anyway?’

A sense of absurdity rose in his heart.

Aside from making his sense of smell abnormally sharp, like the most sensitive hound, allowing him to capture the faintest changes in scent in the air, it seemed... to have no other use?

It was a purely supportive type of Spiritual Essence.

Not a combat-type Spiritual Essence.

Without the crucial guidance of a Spiritual Essence Cultivation Skill, this seemingly strange ability was, at best, just a minor trick for auxiliary perception.

On a battlefield of life-and-death struggles and brutal, close-quarters combat, it couldn’t provide a substantial leap in combat power, much less help him overwhelm powerful enemies.

’Oh well, it’s a Spiritual Essence I got for free. There’s nothing to be dissatisfied about.’

Lin Yi was quite philosophical about it.

Can’t look a gift horse in the mouth!

...

On the battlefield, the Mosquito Avatar clung to the Rat Demon like a maggot on a bone. Its sharp, hook-like claws dug deep into the demon’s coarse skin, and its entire body was latched tightly onto the upper half of the Rat Demon’s face.

Its steel-needle-like proboscis was firmly embedded in the Rat Demon’s eyeball, continuously draining its Qi and Blood.

The Rat Demon’s enormous body twitched and convulsed as it struggled violently, but the force of its resistance was rapidly weakening as its life slipped away.

Although the Rat Demon constantly swatted at the Mosquito Avatar’s body with its claws, having lost so much Qi and Blood, its strikes clearly lacked the force to cause any harm.

All it could do was add some proficiency to the Mosquito Avatar’s un-upgraded [Iron Body] skill.

[Qi and Blood +0.1!]

[Iron Body Proficiency +1!]

[Qi and Blood +0.1!]

[Iron Body Proficiency +1!]

However, back in his safe corner, the situation inside Lin Yi’s main body was entirely different.

The pure Qi and Blood fed back from the avatar flowed into him like a warm current, but it couldn’t remain in his body for long.

He could clearly feel the constantly surging Qi and Blood rush through his meridians for a moment before dissipating uncontrollably, like sand slipping through his fingers.

[Qi and Blood]: 10.12/10.0.

[Qi and Blood]: 10.0/10.0.

The realm of a peak Martial Disciple was like an invisible shackle.

His body had been tempered to the absolute limit of its current level; the maximum amount of Qi and Blood it could contain was 10.0.

It was like a wooden bucket already filled to the brim. No matter how much more water was poured in, the excess could only overflow from the edges, unable to increase the total amount by even a fraction.

His priority right now was not to increase his Qi and Blood, but to...

Break through!

Become a Martial Artist!

Lin Yi understood this with perfect clarity.

A so-called Martial Artist was one who transitioned from simply cultivating Qi and Blood to the deeper level of Bone Tempering and Body Refining, seeking a complete metamorphosis to make their body even stronger.

There were 206 bones in the body. Successfully completing the Refinement of just one bone meant stepping into the hallowed halls of a First-Grade Martial Artist.

There were two conditions to become a Martial Artist—

First, one’s Qi and Blood must reach the peak of 10.0.

After all, Martial Artists used Qi and Blood as their foundation, and Bone Tempering also required Qi and Blood.

If one’s own Qi and Blood was insufficient, and its replenishment couldn’t keep up with consumption during Bone Tempering, the consequences would be unthinkable. At best, the Bone Tempering would fail and one’s foundation would be damaged; at worst, it could lead to disability or even death.

Therefore, the school strictly stipulated that only those whose Qi and Blood met the standard were permitted to begin Bone Tempering and break through to become a Martial Artist.

Second, one needed a specialized Bone Tempering Skill.

’My Qi and Blood has reached 10.0, the limit for a Martial Disciple,’ Lin Yi thought. ’I can apply to the school for a Bone Tempering Skill during class tomorrow.’

Just then.

”SKREEE... GAK...”

The Rat Demon’s shrill, desperate shriek came to an abrupt end.

As the Mosquito Avatar continued to drain its Qi and Blood, the Rat Demon’s once-bloated, massive body collapsed at a speed visible to the naked eye. Its tough fur sagged and caved in, and its bulging blood vessels rapidly shriveled.

In just a few seconds, this fearsome First-Grade Rat Demon was reduced to a giant skeleton wrapped in dark red fur!

The battle was over!

Lin Yi took a deep breath, stepped out from the shadows where he had been hiding, and entered the Rat Demon’s lair, his gaze falling upon the huge, desiccated corpse.

This was the real prize!

A Demon Beast’s entire body was a treasure trove.

Its bones could be used as materials for Artifact Refining.

Its flesh and blood were filled with Spiritual Qi, making them top-grade materials for either medicinal cuisine or Alchemy, and they fetched a high price.

Unfortunately...

This Rat Demon had been drained too thoroughly!

Not a drop of its blood essence or flesh essence remained, leaving behind nothing but a worthless, withered husk.

Worse, without the nourishment of Qi and Blood, its bones had also become exceptionally brittle, like rotten wood that would crumble at a touch. Its fur had lost its resilience, becoming coarse and dull.

The massive corpse before him had become a pile of useless junk.

Lin Yi walked over, crouched down, and cut off the thick, whip-like rat tail, stuffing it into his backpack.

At this moment, his three backpacks were already stuffed full of loot and couldn’t hold anything more.

”Phew...” Lin Yi looked up at his communicator. ”It’s already noon. Time to head back.”

A strong sense of fatigue washed over him. He yawned and decided to end the day’s hunt.

Unless he ran into another First-Grade Demon Beast, the Mosquito Avatar couldn’t gain Experience Points from killing ordinary beasts.

And since he himself was stuck at the limit of a Martial Disciple, unable to break through, he couldn’t absorb any more Qi and Blood either.

Moreover, hunting ordinary beasts wouldn’t provide any Qi and Blood feedback.

The only value in staying here would be to let the Mosquito Avatar continue increasing the proficiency of its few skills.

’I should head back first.’

Lin Yi shouldered the heavy backpacks, his steps somewhat labored as he trudged through the sticky, filthy sewage, making his way through the cramped and oppressive sewer tunnels.

The sound of dripping water was exceptionally clear in the dead silence.

After rounding a few bends, suddenly!

He stopped dead in his tracks, as if nailed to the spot by an invisible force.

His expression turned incredibly grim!

An icy chill shot up his spine in an instant, and every muscle in his body tensed!

In the Mosquito Avatar’s Tracking-enhanced senses, a life aura as vibrant as a torch was hiding in the darkness, quietly approaching him.

It was clearly filled with hostility!

And with the ability of his Spiritual Nose, he clearly smelled—

The scent of a person!

Someone was here!

Closing in on him in the darkness!

A First-Grade Martial Artist!