Chapter 183: Transcendent, Dragon Hunter |
The Gobi Desert in the early morning was very quiet.
The air still carried a chill. Du Yu, carrying two spears, walked at the front of the team.
Arriving three hundred meters from the destination, he pulled a bottle from his chest. This was the Fat-tailed Scorpion venom he had collected yesterday. He evenly coated the spearheads with the venom.
Yuan Ming said, "Instructor Du, we'll wait for you to come back for lunch."
Qin Ziwu said, "Instructor, you have so much experience killing raptors, you'll definitely succeed."
Qin Ziwen interrupted them, "Shut up, all of you. Stop jinxing it. Du Yu, self-preservation is the first priority. If it really doesn't work out, we can try again."
Not far away, Du Yu's lips curled into a faint smile, his gaze firm. "Understood."
Inside a cave in the canyon, a Desert Raptor of immense size was curled up, resting.
In this part of the Gobi, it wasn't at the absolute top of the food chain, but it was undoubtedly in the upper echelons.
It warily raised its head, its eyes turning fierce.
Arching its back, it crawled out of the cave, stepped outside, stretched its body, and stared down at the human not far away.
There were no extra greetings, no pre-battle intimidation. Like a sharp arrow, it charged forward without hesitation.
Du Yu planted one spear in the ground, retreating half a step.
He thrust the other spear in his hand forward.
The spear embedded in the ground and the one in his hand formed two consecutive spear formations, one in front, one behind.
The Desert Raptor's speed was unimaginably fast. Its massive body became a blur skimming the ground during its charge.
Du Yu's pupils contracted slightly.
The spear he had thrust changed its move at the last moment, shifting from a thrust to a sweeping strike, accurately smashing into the raptor's front claw on its charging path.
Thud!
A tremendous force traveled up the spear shaft. Du Yu's palms went numb from the impact. Using the momentum, he slid backward.
The raptor's forward charge was blocked. It let out a low, rumbling snarl, the ferocity in its eyes intensifying. It leaped into the air, opening its bloody maw, carrying a foul, fishy wind as it aimed to bite down on Du Yu's head.
"Kill!"
A sharp glint flashed in Du Yu's eyes. Gripping the spear with both hands, he executed an upward thrust toward the sky.
The spear followed the path of the raptor's open maw, piercing upward from below, directly penetrating deep into its skull!
Thwump!
The spear pierced through the raptor's upper palate and nasal bridge, the tip emerging completely. Blood gushed wildly!
The Desert Raptor's body stiffened. Its massive form, carried by inertia, crashed into Du Yu.
The sleeve of Du Yu's left arm instantly shredded. Three wounds deep enough to show bone burst open. The entire man was smashed away by the immense force, landing heavily on the sandy ground.
The Desert Raptor stumbled forward several steps before finally collapsing with a crash. The fierce light in its eyes rapidly faded, turning dull and gray.
On its body surface, two cards gradually materialized.
Lying on the ground, Du Yu looked up at the sky, only his chest rising and falling.
"Du Yu!"
Qin Ziwen hurried forward, helping Du Yu up.
Du Yu pushed himself to his feet, no joy on his face, only the calmness after a great battle.
"Drink some water first." Qin Ziwen took out the Healing Spring water and poured it for Du Yu to drink.
"My lord, there's still the final step." Du Yu walked to the Desert Raptor's corpse, cut open its neck. Blood sprayed out like a high-pressure water jet, thoroughly drenching Du Yu.
Du Yu closed his eyes, sitting on the spot. His skin flushed red, his entire body burning like a ball of flame.
He raised his arm, as if sensing something.
The others gathered around, staring intently at Du Yu.
They waited until Du Yu opened his eyes himself.
"My lord, I feel as if I've broken through a lock." Du Yu lifted his arm and threw a jab.
The punch whistled through the air, carrying a sharp, cutting wind.
Not one of the three present with maxed-out star-rated constitutions could clearly see the movement.
A flash of shock passed through Cao Biansheng's eyes. He could confirm that the speed and power displayed by Instructor Du's punch just now had already exceeded his own limits, clearly rising to another level entirely.
"Anything else?" Qin Ziwen asked.
"Besides that, I feel... there's this." Du Yu pondered, then began to try.
Soon, his skin grew redder and redder. Blood vessels surfaced on his skin. From a distance, the dark red vessels looked like dense, demonic patterns. Qin Ziwen, who was supporting him, could feel Du Yu's body temperature rising.
Du Yu said, "In this state, my physical fitness receives a further boost. There should be some other changes besides that, but it's been too short a time. I need time to confirm."
Qin Ziwen cast Insight on Du Yu.
【Transcendent · Dragon Hunter · Human (Du Yu): ☆☆☆☆★】: Level 2 Hunting Intuition, Level 1 Blood Boil, Level 1 Dragon Blood Warrior
The changes Du Yu mentioned needing time to confirm were likely the newly added Hunting Intuition.
Qin Ziwen was curious. "How many of your former selves do you think you could handle in a fight now?"
Du Yu thought seriously. "That depends on whether it's consecutive battles or simultaneous combat. If it's consecutive battles, I could probably handle four or five. If it's simultaneous combat, two or three is probably the limit."
"So few?" Cao Biansheng was somewhat disappointed. He felt Instructor Du's improvement didn't quite match the effort he had put in.
Du Yu could understand Cao Biansheng's thought. He said calmly, "I'm talking about myself before the breakthrough. If we're just talking about raw strength, even five of my former selves combined wouldn't match it. But now, the one lying here is it."
"Moreover, after breaking through the human limit, I can feel that the lock that was restraining me has been broken. This has let me see the path ahead." Du Yu raised his head. What he feared most was not being able to see the road ahead.
As long as there is a road, it can be walked.
Qin Ziwu asked curiously, "So, can you solo a Tarbosaurus now?"
Du Yu pondered, seriously considering the feasibility.
He spoke, "If one can secure two out of three advantages, favorable timing, advantageous terrain, and human harmony, there might be hope."
Qin Ziwen understood now. He knew Du Yu.
Du Yu wasn't the type to boast. If something was possible, he'd say so. If not, he'd deny it.
When asked the same question before, Du Yu had always denied it.
Du Yu stood up and retrieved the cards floating above the corpse.
【Enhancement Card】Animal Constitution Enhancement Card (One Star) *1, 【Building Card】Level 1 Blacksmith
These two major drops yielded quite a few enhancement cards: one Human Constitution Enhancement Card and two Animal Constitution Enhancement Cards.
The Mongolian Horse was in for a treat.
Afterwards, everyone worked together to drag the Desert Raptor's corpse back.
Luo Gang and Zou Jianghe greeted them outside the door. "Completed?"
"Completed." After Du Yu's breakthrough, Qin Ziwen was in a good mood, a smile playing on his lips.
These past few days, Qin Ziwen had been frantically searching for lone Desert Raptors. Luo Gang and Zou Jianghe had seen it all. So when Zou Jianghe learned the information about this Desert Raptor, he directly told Qin Ziwen, buying a favor.
Qin Ziwen had to acknowledge this favor. So he didn't hide it, directly telling the two the secret they had been anticipating. "This is the breakthrough task ritual for transcending human limits using the Breakthrough Card."
Amidst their complex emotions, he explained the effects of the Breakthrough Card to them.
"So, in the end, when you choose your task, choosing the right task is the most important."
Zou Jianghe was stunned. Was this second-tier task something a human could accomplish?
And the most damn terrifying thing was, he actually managed to complete it?!