The first two rounds of the combat trial ended uneventfully for Li Lang. He had already been doing similar tasks when testing out his poisons on the Qi beasts. The task that came after hunting the Spiral Stags was simply to hunt several Crimson Simians.

With the strength of approximately a third stage Energy Gatherer, they weren’t much physically stronger than the Spiral Stags. However, they were definitely more threatening. This was due to their relatively superior intelligence and traveling in larger troops. They employed group tactics that wore down their enemies.

While they were smarter, it also worked against them in this case. Those who relied on wits meant they had duller instincts. Li Lang’s current skill set didn't include any notable skills besides the Veiling Shroud technique.

It was an unusual technique for someone who was so young to practice. It lacked the power and flashiness the younger generation preferred. In return, the utility of the Qi art was unquestionable. The smokescreen it produced effectively neutralized the simians’ coordination as they primarily relied on their sight. With their most vital skill in teamwork dealt with, Li Lang could easily dispatch them one by one.

Having completed the first two rounds, Li Lang expected the next one to move up in difficulty, facing Qi beasts comparable to middle-stage Energy Gatherers. His expectations were betrayed in short order.

Li Lang wore a frown as he stared at the lights that formed his new instructions.

“Hunt down the Shock Tortoise and retrieve its shell.”

The new task was unexpected due to the sudden increase in the strength of his opponent. He had been warned by his companions before, but it was still unsettling to go from hunting down third stage Qi beasts to fifth stage. Based on the recounting by his friends, it was becoming more and more obvious that something capable of thought monitored everyone during their trials.

Otherwise, it wouldn’t be able to provide such targeted rewards or customize the task at hand.

Li Lang was not too excited about this new round of the martial trial. It wasn’t because he expected a hard fight, but instead, the species he hunted.

Shock Tortoises were solitary creatures. This meant he would only attain one shell. He wanted to have Ruby take a sample as he had been doing. Hunting another Shock Tortoise was always an option, but these solitary beasts weren’t easy to find. It would affect his evaluation unless he got lucky.

Also, the tortoises were huge. Just their shell were several sizes larger than a king-sized bed. It would prove difficult to carry two shells out of the rugged terrain of the forest due to their bulkiness alone.

Having accepted the new task, Li Lang could only head out. He didn’t forget to grumble, but in his mind, he had to come to terms with giving up on the specimen.

The trials confiscated the materials he hunted once he completed his mission. It would disappear the moment he set foot in any of the rooms with a sword in the middle. At first, he panicked for a second, thinking it was Ruby’s doing, but it seemed like there were other things out in the world that could replicate a similar feat.

None of the other cultivators had made a fuss about it because it was similar to how space rings worked. It may be on another scale as it managed to store items in such a wide area, but the function was familiar enough to the common cultivator.

With his reward on the line, Li Lang soon dove straight back into the forest.

He hadn’t seen a Shock Tortoise in person before, so he had to pay careful attention to his surroundings. The tortoises were known to dig part of its body underground as it sunbathed. It made them increasingly hard to find.

It was at moments like this that Li Lang wished he had a radar scanner or something of that sort to do the searching for him.

Hmm, I heard there are radar-like Qi arts starting from the upper stages of Energy Gathering. I just need to be able to manipulate my Qi from range to train in these must-have abilities.

The hunt always put Li Lang on edge, as he couldn’t rely on the warding talisman to prevent ambushes anymore. If he did so, all the Qi beasts would run far away from him.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Thankfully, Li Lang managed to find a Shock Tortoise just before the sky began to darken.

The fight was uneventful, as Li Lang never resorted to typical methods. Tortoise-type Qi beasts were often feared for their defensive capabilities. Many cultivators proud of their strength would strive to break apart the shell. The more agile fighters preferred precise strikes in the gaps.

Either way, the Shock Tortoises weren’t easy opponents. They were often idle when at rest, but once they got into a confrontation, the beasts moved at surprising speeds. It went without saying that it wasn’t easy to land a powerful or precise blow on fast-moving targets.

However, in Li Lang’s case, the fight went about the same as his experimental sessions. Li Lang only focused on targeting the flesh of the tortoise, stabbing out his spear whenever he had the chance. His power or precision wasn’t anything special, so it only resulted in shallow wounds.

Li Lang did not mind. He knew he wasn’t a talented fighter; he preferred to be in his lab more. Nevertheless, he was able to dominate the tortoise throughout the entire encounter due to the poisons he had made.

He used the most potent poison he had made and administered it by using his spear. The tiny cuts added up as more poison seeped in. Consistent with his tests, the effects of the poison depended greatly on the difference in cultivation level between him and the target. As he was only one stage above the Shock Tortoise, it only managed to slow down its movements.

Still, that made all the difference. That was because it allowed Li Lang to land more blows. More blows meant more poison, creating a positive feedback loop for the tortoise. It was whittled down and there wasn’t anything it could do about it.

It allowed Li Lang to focus on observing its reaction and measure the results of his poisons. It was the first time he used it against a relatively more powerful subject. He even had the leeway to try other types of poisons, but the effects were the same. It only slowed down the victim, without any other effects he had expected.

The consistency of the results allowed him to let out a sigh of relief. He wouldn’t have to prolong the fight any longer to observe any new phenomenon.

Now, to get the shell off…

The harvesting task was not a pretty sight. It was wet, smelly, and mushy.

After spending a whole hour, Li Lang finally managed to separate its shell from the rest of the body.

Staring down at the body, he watched as it faded out of existence. Ruby had taken in the rest of the remains. The corpse had a lot of useful information to analyze pertaining to the poison. It was only when Li Lang understood what it did that he could work to improve it.

Qi added too many variables to the equation, so he wanted every sample he could get.

The tortoise soon joined the backlog for the auto-analyzer, and Li Lang swiftly returned once more.

When he heard what the next task was, he swiftly decided to give up for now. He didn’t believe he should put himself in mortal danger just to pass another round. He preferred a steady pace. The next task directly went against that.

It asked him to hunt down a pair of Steel Sparrows, that were peak middle-stage of Energy Gathering Qi beasts.

Li Lang’s skill set didn’t match well against their fast-flying targets, and the fight would be filled with danger. The risk was just not worth it, as he considered the implications of being injured. The pocket realm didn’t care for the wounded. Those who were recovering simply lost trial points as they idled each day.

He believed it was a purposefully enacted system to discourage reckless behavior. That was why Li Lang decided he wouldn’t push his limits when he still had a decent leeway.

“I will give up here,” Li Lang muttered.

A moment later, the familiar bright light overtook the room before presenting Li Lang with his next prize.

He had set his goals before even starting the trial. For combat, he wasn’t too worried about it, as he was lacking too much in that department. However, there were two techniques he preferred. One was anything relating to poison. He believed it wasn’t likely to get a manual specializing in that. It simply wasn’t compatible with a combat trial.

The other was a type of specialized martial art. With the newly customized spear that he got Long Yi to make, it wouldn’t do if he didn’t have any techniques to properly wield it.

The only current offensive martial art he knew was a kick. It was about time to expand that arsenal, and what better way than to secure a spear technique?

It only took a moment for Li Lang to skim the new cultivation manual in hand to know he had gotten precisely what he wanted. The Gliding Coil Spear Art was a comprehensive manual that didn’t include just one move. It had various stances and movements on how to wield a spear.

Interesting. I never got the chance to encounter such comprehensive martial arts before. This could give me some ideas on how to get started on creating my own techniques.

As a biodefense expert, Li Lang had ample knowledge of the human body and its limits. That didn’t mean he could compile a martial art from it, though. He needed to peruse many techniques and explore their mechanics before he was ready for that. Even then, it would be a lot of trial and error.

In the meantime, Li Lang was happy enough to focus on learning his new Spear Art.

If I do well, I wonder if I can get a martial intent like that Liang Po guy did. He did say he attained his intent by simply mastering the sword…No, I’m getting ahead of myself. Don’t get distracted, Li Lang. Copy the manual over into Ruby first!