My Cultivation Techniques Upgrade Automatically

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: You All Just Stay Here and Don’t Move

Waiting was just part of the process.

Fortunately, he didn’t see any ridiculous options like ”Recharge to Skip Queue,” ”Watch Ad to Accelerate,” or ”Invite New User to Open Dual-Channel Point Allocation.”

Wu Chen let out a slight sigh of relief. After all, even if he had to queue, adding points to a few Martial Arts would take thirty or forty minutes at most.

And this accumulation of thirty or forty minutes was a goal that most other people pursued their entire lives. He had nothing to be dissatisfied about.

”However...”

His expression grew grim as he discovered another major problem.

”My Martial Arts realm didn’t increase!”

On the panel, his realm was still stuck at the First Layer of the Flesh Refining Realm.

From the entry-level ’Grappling Claw’ to its Minor Achievement, the realm column hadn’t changed at all.

It didn’t change after Minor Achievement was complete, either.

Wu Chen patiently waited for this finger art to reach Great Success and for the point allocation to finish, then for the ’Iron Shoulder Charge’ to begin its own allocation.

His Martial Arts realm still showed no change whatsoever.

The lack of advancement in his realm left Wu Chen feeling extremely insecure.

He calmed himself and carefully assessed his condition, realizing things weren’t so simple.

’The stamina I used up fighting Sun Sheng and his lackeys was restored after the Martial Arts leveled up, just like usual.’

’Even though my realm didn’t increase, that doesn’t mean these Martial Arts are useless. At least my Qi Power is still increasing.’

’It’s just that this increase in Qi Power is far less than back in the Body Tempering Realm, when every advancement would grant me over a hundred pounds of strength.’

’Now, a single one of these Martial Arts gives me a discounted increase, only about sixty or seventy pounds of Qi Power.’

After some introspection, Wu Chen found the reason.

The Martial Arts he had obtained from the Body Tempering Realm Martial Artists were too superficial, mere rudimentary skills, and couldn’t advance his Flesh Refining Realm.

To put it simply: they weren’t compatible with the current version.

If he wanted to raise his realm, he would need more profound Martial Arts.

Only then could he temper the flesh and blood beneath his skin and make progress in his Martial Arts realm.

Wu Chen glanced at the remaining Martial Arts manuals in his hand. Only the ’Red Sand Palm’ at the very bottom seemed slightly thicker.

Perhaps it could raise his realm by another layer.

However, Wu Chen wasn’t in a hurry to flip through the ’Red Sand Palm’ manual. Instead, he continued going through them in order.

After all, increasing his Qi Power was not a waste of effort.

It was like a small spring; many drops make a puddle, which can gather into a stream, a river, and then an ocean.

With persistence and perseverance, even a tiny spring could erupt with monstrous waves.

’Six basic Martial Arts... that adds up to over four hundred pounds of Qi Power.’

’When facing an enemy, an extra hundred pounds of strength provides a visible advantage. An extra two hundred pounds, and you can dominate them.’

’With over three hundred pounds, wouldn’t I be invincible among those of the same realm?!’

’With four hundred pounds, I might even stand a chance against an opponent one realm higher than me!’

Wu Chen’s eyes burned with fervor.

The reason he could exchange dozens of blows with Sun Sheng and still have the strength left to kill him was because his Qi Power had been superior.

He naturally understood the benefits of greater Qi Power.

Brute force trumps all technique!

A single strike shatters a thousand methods!

Let the winds blow from every direction; I will shatter them all with a single punch!

The three men who had been furtively watching Wu Chen from the side breathed a small sigh of relief when they saw he had stopped flipping through the books for a while.

’Is memorizing two Martial Arts his limit?’

’Looks like this guy isn’t a genius after all!’

’He almost shattered my martial heart!’

Just as they finished grumbling these thoughts, the sound of rustling pages once again reached their ears, accompanied by Wu Chen’s ravenous expression.

That wasn’t the sound of flipping pages; it was the sound of a slap to their faces!

For a moment, they were speechless.

Soon, Wu Chen finished flipping through the last manual, ’Red Sand Palm’.

The manuals had lost their value to him, so he unhesitatingly tossed them to the others to pass around.

This made the three men look at each other in bewilderment again. After all, Wu Chen was escorting them south to escape the famine precisely because they had given him their Martial Arts.

Not only had they gotten their Martial Arts manuals back, but they had also received an extra one—they could even study Sun Sheng’s famous ultimate technique.

Moreover, Wu Chen’s unhurried pace made it clear he intended to continue fulfilling his duty and protecting them on their journey south.

They had absolutely hit the jackpot.

What they didn’t know was that Wu Chen not only shared the Martial Arts with them but also intended to use the experience he gained from allocating points to guide them in these arts.

After all, in his eyes, it was a small effort.

The more everyone’s Martial Arts improved, the greater his own chances of reaching their destination alive.

However, before he could speak, he was interrupted by a long, drawn-out sound from the distance, like the howl of a wolf.

AWOOOOO!—

The howl was powerful and resonant, its sound traveling from far to near, piercing the open wilderness and washing over the entire procession of refugees, causing everyone’s breath to catch in their throats.

The refugees looked back and saw a writhing black shadow moving toward them at extreme speed.

”It’s Demon Corpses!”

”Run! Run for your lives!”

”...”

The crowd of refugees panicked, surging forward frantically to get away from the pursuing horde of Demon Corpses.

Their will to survive had made them reckless. They only cared about rushing forward, knocking over those in front of them.

Some even deliberately tripped the people ahead of them, just to make the Demon Corpses pause for a moment to feed, creating more time for themselves to escape.

Crowding, trampling, wailing, crying...

Before the Demon Corpses even arrived, more than a dozen people had been trampled to death, and the stench of death spread through the crowd.

Wu Chen and his group, who were at the very front, didn’t rush to flee. They stood their ground, watching the black dots on the plains grow larger as they rapidly approached, coalescing into a great blot of thick ink.

This inky blot stormed into the village where the refugees had just been resting. They had been drawn by the scent of a Flesh Refining Realm expert’s flesh and blood.

As they rushed into the village, walls crumbled and houses collapsed, and it was instantly reduced to ruins.

But it didn’t take long for the Demon Corpses to devour Sun Sheng’s body. Then, with a terrifying, rumbling tread, they began chasing after the fleeing refugees.

Wu Chen still didn’t move. He gave them a rough glance, counting the number of Demon Corpses.

He was surprised to find that in just one night, the horde of Demon Corpses—from which he had already killed several—had not decreased in number, but had instead grown.

Their numbers had reached a terrifying ninety, nearly a hundred!

They had more than doubled!

’Was it because I killed a few yesterday and intimidated them, so they called for more backup?’

Wu Chen’s expression was thoughtful, but a flicker of unconcealable excitement suddenly flashed in his eyes, and his grip on his scabbard tightened.

”Brother Wu, let’s not wait! We have to run!”

”There are so many of them! It’s terrifying!”

”It doesn’t matter if we can’t outrun the Demon Corpses, as long as we can outrun most of the other people...”

The three men who had joined Wu Chen’s group were already trembling. Seeing that Wu Chen wasn’t moving, they urged him to flee for his life.

But since Wu Chen didn’t react, they didn’t dare to act on their own.

It was unclear whether it was fear or the trembling of the earth that made them unsteady, but their bodies shivered uncontrollably, looking as if they might collapse at any moment.

Although they weren’t weak, each possessing the strength of the sixth or seventh layer of the Body Tempering Realm...

...in a one-on-one fight with a Demon Corpse, even without their former stamina, they could still kill two or three if they went all out.

But now they were facing a charge of nearly a hundred Demon Corpses, a force that could devour them without leaving a single scrap behind.

The three men had lost all will to fight, their teeth chattering with a continuous CLACK-CLACK-CLACK.

Their eyes darted back and forth between Wu Chen and the approaching Demon Corpse horde, awaiting instructions from their leader.

But in a daze, Wu Chen’s figure vanished from their sight.

”This...”

Just as they thought Wu Chen had broken his promise and fled without a word...

...they saw a figure moving against the tide of the fleeing crowd, steel blade in hand, striding forward.

”Is he insane?!”

Someone screamed, their pupils contracting sharply. ”What... what is he doing! Does he intend to slay the demons alone?”

”Does that matter? What’s important is, what do we do?” someone asked, their voice trembling on the verge of tears.

”What do we do? Heaven only knows!” Another man threw up his hands, giving up all resistance.

With the protection of a Flesh Refining Realm expert like Wu Chen, the three of them had thought escaping south was just a matter of time.

But now, not only was Wu Chen not leading their escape, he was acting as if he’d lost his mind, walking toward the oncoming Demon Corpse horde. They had no idea what he was planning.

The men were truly at a loss, anxious and terrified.

Just as the men were in a state of utter confusion, not knowing whether to advance or retreat, or what to do at all...

A clear voice drifted into their ears:

”You three, stand here and don’t move.”

”I’m going to slaughter these beasts!”

The three men finally got confirmation of their fears from Wu Chen’s own mouth, but they felt no happiness.

Their expressions grew even more desperate, their faces turning ashen, like men on the verge of death.