Based on the different levels of exertion, Lu Yuan divided his state into three stages.

The first was his normal state, similar to his current condition. He had a Basic Punch Strength of two tons, and activating a Special Burst for a strength increase of three times or less did not cause significant physical changes. At most, there were only localized changes to his body.

Immediately following this, Lu Yuan focused his mind.

The muscles of his well-proportioned, fair-skinned body quickly began to swell. His 1.88-meter-tall figure stretched to 1.95 meters. His skin turned cyan-black, and large, earthworm-like blue veins emerged beneath it. The muscles all over his body looked as if they were cast from iron.

In this state, the Special Burst Lu Yuan could mobilize could achieve a power increase of five to six times. His instantaneous Fist Strength exceeded 12 tons.

This was considered a genuine first-stage transformation.

"CRACKLE—"

With a turn of Lu Yuan's will, the invisible shackles on his body fell away. The unseen barrier between humankind and the heavens and earth shattered.

His already robust frame grew even taller, shooting up from 1.95 meters to 2.12 meters. The bones throughout his body made sounds like turning gears, yet his swelling muscles began to shrink. The masses of muscle, like bundled steel bars, then twisted. The bulging blue veins vanished, replaced by crimson blood vessels that flowed smoothly beneath his skin. His cyan-black skin turned a light red, and his body temperature rose substantially. It felt as if molten lava surged within him, the very air around him distorting from the intense heat.

"HEH—"

Lu Yuan opened his mouth, exhaling a visible plume of hot air. His long black hair, tied at the nape of his neck, seemed to lengthen further, cascading over his shoulders and stirring without a breeze.

His eyes blazed as he threw a fierce punch towards the river's surface.

"HUFF—"

The moment he exerted his strength, the blood vessels and muscles on his back rapidly grew and spread, blossoming like a flower. Under the moonlight, a transparent, distorted ripple seemed to extend from Lu Yuan's fist, followed by a large ring of white mist that rapidly expanded outwards. Accompanied by a loud POP, like an explosion, a small waterspout erupted on the nearby river surface.

Second Transformation! My physique, after one Break the Limit, has been fully excavated by the Ultimate Outburst. The power increase is more than tenfold, and my instantaneous Fist Strength exceeds twenty tons... I can even deliver a terrifying punch that breaks the sound barrier!

Facing the river, Lu Yuan resembled a humanoid Ferocious Beast, breathing heavily, his breath hot.

Then, a bright yellow light from his Ten Thousand Refining Crane Bone Strength began to appear on his arms and hands. Vast amounts of black Death Qi materialized out of nowhere, surrounding him.

This is the ultimate third-stage transformation. In this state, I can combine Vigor and Death Qi to launch an attack even more terrifying than breaking the sound barrier. And I can also use my ultimate trump card, the Super Kill—Netherworld River Notification of Death!

"HUFF—"

Lu Yuan exhaled deeply, his body slowly returning to its normal state.

It was a three-stage transformation. Each unlocked stage brought a rather dramatic improvement to his combat strength. Lu Yuan wasn't even sure how much his combat power had skyrocketed in his ultimate third-stage transformation.

I've finally got some real trump cards. Now I can dare to speak louder when I'm out and about...

Reflecting on this, Lu Yuan began to gather the spoils of war he had obtained from Calophis, which he had left on the pebble beach.

Calophis's position in the Crow God Sect was probably not low. The Death Qi Nodules he had left behind couldn't even be called Death Qi Nodules; they should be termed Death Qi crystals. They were entirely crystalline, pitch-black and translucent, resembling top-grade black diamonds under the moonlight.

Lu Yuan casually picked one up, pinching it between his fingers and applying a bit of force. With a CRACK, a large amount of pure Death Qi gushed out. One after another, Lu Yuan slowly crushed all the Death Qi crystals. At the same time, his eyes were fixed on the [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] panel, watching the level of [Circulation of Death Qi] shoot up.

When he had crushed all twenty-odd Death Qi crystals, Lu Yuan's [Circulation of Death Qi], originally Lv. 5, had risen to... Lv. 8!

Experience Points (234/12,800)!

Although he had somewhat anticipated this, Lu Yuan still felt surprised and delighted.

Lv. 8!

Damn it, my [Fighter] panel doesn't even have a Lv. 8 skill yet! Even though it's just a basic skill... this is Extraordinary! A Lv. 8 Extraordinary skill!

Does the [Circulation of Death Qi] skill even have a level cap? The source of a [Death Teller]'s strength is Death Qi; the more Death Qi one can control, the stronger one becomes!

Lu Yuan attempted to activate his now Lv. 8 [Circulation of Death Qi]. Instantly, a large patch of black fog appeared out of thin air on the riverbank. He saw two fish suddenly surface belly-up before him with a GLOOP sound. Startled, he hastily dispersed the skill.

I guess I'm almost at Calophis's level now. Lu Yuan's heart pounded, his excitement palpable. Does that mean I can fly too?

Theoretically, the amount of Death Qi he currently possessed should enable him to fly. It was just that his primary focus had been on the [Fighter] panel. The skill upgrades on the [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] panel relied entirely on consuming Experience Pills. Although it leveled up incredibly fast, his proficiency in using Death Qi was still in a primitive stage, like slash-and-burn agriculture.

There's no legacy or guidance in this area either; I can only rely on my own research and exploration... Fortunately, my comprehension is good, and I'm reasonably smart. Lu Yuan comforted himself.

If his skill in applying Death Qi could reach Calophis's level, his overall combat power would undergo another qualitative leap.

Mulling things over, Lu Yuan's gaze finally fell upon the last Red Bead. This Red Bead, similar to the others he had absorbed, looked like a blood-red crow's eyeball. However, it was the largest he had ever seen, with a diameter of a full four centimeters.

A super-sized Experience Pill!

With anticipation, Lu Yuan lightly pinched the Red Bead. A dark red, viscous fluid flowed out and was completely absorbed by Lu Yuan's skin, leaving no trace. Instantly, the class Experience Points for [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] skyrocketed.

It was originally Lv. 4 (123/800 Experience Points).

By the time it stopped, it had jumped to Lv. 5 (1,508/1,600 Experience Points).

He was just a little short of reaching Lv. 6. It had provided almost two full levels' worth of Experience Points.

Counting the Experience Points from [Circulation of Death Qi] and the [Fighter] panel, killing Calophis was like hitting a massive jackpot! This feels amazing! Lu Yuan thought with delight. Leveling up [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] had earned him another attribute point and a skill point.

The eagerly awaited point allocation phase had arrived.

Lu Yuan first tried to add the attribute point to his Physique. However, he received a prompt: [Insufficient Attribute Points]?!

After one Break the Limit, two attribute points are required to increase a Basic Attribute by one point! This was unexpected, yet perfectly reasonable. If allocating points after a Break the Limit were as easy as before, its effects wouldn't be so significant.

Then... Lu Yuan thought for a moment and, as usual, decided to add the point to Intelligence. Adding to Agility might have been a better choice, as Lu Yuan's Agility was already at 18 points. Just two more points, and it would reach 20, the threshold for a Break the Limit. But Lu Yuan was still practicing several body tempering techniques. If he could improve his Agility through training, he didn't want to waste attribute points on it. Intelligence, however, couldn't be improved through training.

His Intelligence increased to 18, and the 'spring of inspiration' in his mind expanded further. The strength of his Spiritual Power increased, and his detection range expanded from over twenty meters to about thirty-five meters.

Without dwelling on the other changes, Lu Yuan proceeded to allocate his skill point.

The allocation of this skill point was quite straightforward. On the [Death Teller (Extraordinary)] class panel, the advanced skill branching from [Circulation of Death Qi] had long been indicated as unlockable. He hadn't dared to gamble during his fight with Calophis, but now there was nothing to worry about.

He used the skill point.

Immediately, a brand-new Death Teller skill appeared—

[Junior Professional Skill: Netherworld Clothing Lv. 1 (0/100)]

「...」

RAT-TAT-TAT—

BANG! BANG! BANG!

In the Consciousness Space, Lu Yuan was enveloped in a dense cloud of Death Qi. Zhou Ling stood expressionlessly about ten meters away, twin black semi-automatic pistols in hand, firing a barrage of bullets at him. Shiny brass casings clattered to the ground like rain, as if they were free. But as the bullets entered the Death Qi, they vanished as if sinking into a muddy swamp, only occasionally making a faint CLINK.

After firing for a while and realizing her attacks were ineffective against Lu Yuan, Zhou Ling flipped her hands, tossing the semi-automatic pistols aside. She then drew two slightly smaller energy guns from her thighs.

WHOOSH—

A thumb-thick blue energy beam struck Lu Yuan in an instant. This time, the Death Qi around him rippled, and his body swayed slightly, but his expression remained unchanged.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A torrent of energy beams rained down, causing the Death Qi to churn like fog. The previously motionless Lu Yuan suddenly sprang into action, lunging ferociously at Zhou Ling. The dense Death Qi surrounding him spread out rapidly like a dark shroud, attempting to envelop her.

The next second—BOOM!

A huge mushroom cloud erupted within the space, billowing flames accompanied by dense smoke. After a moment, a figure slowly emerged from it. Lu Yuan, maintaining his normal physique, appeared elegant and composed. Not even the hem of his clothes was dirtied or wrinkled. However, the Death Qi that had been surrounding him was now much thinner. And covering his body was a striking new layer: a black, semi-transparent film.

Netherworld Clothing!

I finally forced out Zhou Ling's mushroom cloud. However... Lu Yuan frowned, muttering to himself, This mushroom cloud looks impressive, but its actual destructive power isn't that great...

PATTER, PATTER—

Faint sounds came from the flames behind him. Lu Yuan shook his head and directly exited the Consciousness Space. They had both taken the mushroom cloud head-on, almost face to face. Since even Zhou Ling herself hadn't been killed by the blast, the true destructive power of that bomb... was self-evident.

「...」

"PHEW—"

Opening his eyes, Lu Yuan found himself in his familiar small bedroom. He stood up from his desk and picked up a pair of scissors that had been lying on it for some time. He walked over to the full-length mirror on his wardrobe and began to cut his own hair.

Perhaps because his physique had undergone a Break the Limit and its potential had been deeply excavated by the Ultimate Outburst, certain growth hormones had been stimulated; his hair was growing with astonishing speed. Worried it would be hard to explain if he went out, Lu Yuan decided to trim it a bit himself. The strands of hair that had grown after his Break the Limit were much tougher. Even with his relatively sharp scissors, cutting them produced a noticeable snagging sensation. Luckily, Lu Yuan was strong enough.

SNIP, SNIP—

As Lu Yuan cut his hair, he recalled the process of testing the defensive capabilities of his [Netherworld Clothing].

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