Over the next week, Victor Shaw maintained an intense monster-hunting routine.
He left before dawn every day and only returned late at night.
The slums in District D's eastern zone became his main hunting ground. It was a place crowded with the homeless, and monsters frequently appeared there.
"Fourth one."
Victor withdrew his Bajiquan stance and looked at the fallen Wolf-level monster.
It resembled a lizard, its body covered in green scales.
Name: Victor Shaw
Skill: Bajiquan (Dark Force 99%)
Constitution: 4.8
Combat Power: 492
The system panel updated silently.
Victor could feel the subtle transformation within his body. His mastery of dark force was nearing its limit, and every muscle carried explosive strength.
The most obvious change was simple.
Against ordinary Wolf-level monsters, he now needed only a single punch.
Three nights later, at an abandoned construction site, Victor encountered his strongest opponent of the week, a Tiger-level insect monster.
It had a triangular, mantis-like head, scythe-shaped forelimbs, and a metallic shell covering its back. Its six compound eyes glowed with a cruel red light.
The battle ended faster than expected.
Victor only used two moves.
The first, a rising hammer strike, shattered its left forelimb. The second, a drilling punch, pierced through its hardened mouthparts and blasted straight through its head.
"Too weak. This level of Tiger-class isn't enough."
His strength had advanced again.
If he claimed second place among Tiger-level fighters, no one would dare claim first.
Still, something had changed recently.
Monsters in District D seemed to have been mostly cleared out. Encounters became rare.
With no targets left, Victor spent his time training alone in the Blizzard Group's gym.
The heavy barbell rose and fell repeatedly in his hands. Sweat slid down his sharply defined muscles, dripping onto the floor with soft, rhythmic taps.
"Ha!"
Victor finished his final bench press set and let the barbell drop back onto the rack with a heavy clang.
He grabbed a towel and wiped his sweat, catching sight of Mountain Ape standing at the doorway. The man's eyes were filled with both admiration and unwillingness to accept defeat.
"Victor, spar with me."
Mountain Ape stepped in, his voice firm.
He knew he would probably still lose. But compared to the humiliation of being knocked out in one hit by the Faceless One, this meant nothing.
Victor understood his desire to grow stronger.
He nodded, and the two moved to the center of the training area.
"Stop before injury," Victor said calmly.
The moment they exchanged blows, Victor frowned slightly.
Mountain Ape's movements were wild and unstructured. His attacks were wide and powerful, but full of openings.
Victor deliberately held back most of his strength, using only basic techniques to neutralize the attacks.
Smack!
With a simple upward block, Mountain Ape was forced back three steps.
"Again!"
Unwilling to accept defeat, Mountain Ape charged once more.
Victor shifted slightly and tapped his chest with a light collapsing punch. There was barely any force behind it, yet the big man stumbled back five or six steps.
After dozens of exchanges, Mountain Ape was drenched in sweat, bent over with his hands on his knees, gasping heavily.
"Enough… I give up!"
His shirt clung tightly to his muscular frame, soaked through.
Victor stopped and tossed him a bottle of water.
Mountain Ape grabbed it and gulped down more than half in one go, panting as he spoke.
"You've gotten stronger again, Victor. Before, I could at least exchange a few moves with you. Now you can beat me without trying!"
Victor shook his head.
"It's because you're not training your technique every day like I am."
Mountain Ape wiped his sweat, half convinced, half doubtful.
"Really? What kind of martial art is this? It's insanely strong."
"Bajiquan. It's fierce and explosive. Every move carries overwhelming force. Each strike is like a mountain crashing down, like a river surging forward. It focuses on close-range combat, delivering power deep into the bones."
"Bajiquan…"
Mountain Ape muttered, eyes lighting up.
"No wonder it's so strong. Where did you learn it?"
Victor paused.
This was a martial art from his previous life, something that did not exist in this world.
He gave a simple answer.
"It's a family tradition."
Mountain Ape immediately fell silent.
In their world, a "family tradition" meant something sacred. It was not something outsiders could easily learn.
But then Victor said something that stunned him completely.
"Want to learn? I can teach you."
Mountain Ape's eyes widened.
"No, Victor. I really want to learn, but this is your family technique. I shouldn't…"
Victor waved it off casually.
"It doesn't matter. I plan to pass this on to more people in the future."
"Really?"
Mountain Ape's voice rose with excitement.
"Really."
From that day on, the training room became a Bajiquan classroom.
Victor patiently started from the basics.
"First, the foundational stance. This builds your base."
He demonstrated the posture. It looked simple, but it radiated strength, leaving Mountain Ape in awe.
As word spread, other members of the Blizzard Group gradually joined in.
At first, they only watched out of curiosity. Soon, they couldn't help but imitate the movements.
"Relax your shoulders. Lower your waist."
Victor adjusted Mountain Ape's posture with his hands.
"Power starts from the ground. Don't rely only on your arms."
The room filled with shouts and the rhythm of footsteps.
Victor soon realized something.
Teaching others deepened his own understanding of Bajiquan.
Techniques that had once been instinct now had to be explained clearly. Movements ingrained in his body had to be broken down into their simplest forms for beginners.
He was now just one step away from the next level.
Transformation.
This stage was far from simple.
It required the seamless conversion between visible and hidden force. Strength and softness had to shift in an instant.
Every part of the body had to become a weapon, from hair to toes, capable of releasing power at will.
It was a realm that could only be reached through relentless refinement.
A month passed.
After their helplessness against the Faceless One, the team's desire to grow stronger surged to an unprecedented level. Everyone trained Bajiquan with dedication.
Blizzard stood quietly at the edge of the training area, arms crossed.
Her gaze swept across every member, all of them drenched in sweat.
Their improvement was obvious.
She remembered the results from last week's evaluations, their physical stats had skyrocketed. A sense of pride rose within her.
As the leader, nothing made her happier than seeing her team grow stronger.
That night, a thought suddenly came to her.
"Maybe we should go out and relax for a bit."
They had trained hard for so long. It was time for a break.
The next morning, sunlight streamed into the training room.
Blizzard and Lily walked in one after the other. The rest of the team was already warming up.
Lily waved a stack of colorful tickets, her face glowing with excitement.
"Everyone! Great news! I got discounted tickets for a seaside resort. Three days and two nights by the beach!"
The group froze for a moment.
Then the room exploded with cheers.
"That's awesome, Lily!"
"Finally, a vacation!"
"I'm going to soak up the sun!"
Excitement filled the air as everyone celebrated.