training

"Hyah!" In front of the wooden stake, Anthony let out a fierce shout as he threw a punch. Bang! In an instant, the wooden stake shattered into fragments.

Dawn calmly remarked, "Master, in terms of physics, this is a phenomenon of kinetic energy transfer. You need to allocate your energy properly, instead of being like a brute who mindlessly destroys objects in front of you."

"Alright, let's do it again!" Anthony nodded. Soon, a pristine wooden stake slowly rose from the ground in front of him.

"Power distribution, control of force, harm internally without showing it externally," Anthony silently recited, then unleashed another punch. However, this time, he deliberately concentrated the force to an extremely fine point and explosively compressed the power in his fist!

"Hyah!" This punch lacked the overwhelming vigor of the previous punches. On the contrary, the air around didn't seem to change much, giving the impression of a gentle breeze. Yet, the speed of the punch was so fast that it was nearly invisible. A crisp sound rang out. On the surface of the wooden stake, a crack the size of a fingertip appeared, while on the other side of the stake, a large hole the size of a bowl erupted like a jet.

"Not bad, Master. Please refine your control over the force even more and keep up the effort," Dawn said calmly.

"Understood!" Anthony's spirits were uplifted.

Although this punch hadn't achieved the desired effect, it helped him understand the key to releasing power. Thinking this through, Anthony took a deep breath, gathered his strength again, and then swiftly punched. In terms of controlling the force, he continued to compress it, making it penetrate like a sewing needle without leaving a trace.

"Go!" A loud explosion resounded. His gaze shook violently. Wood chips sprayed from the back of the wooden stake, and on the front side, there was only a hole the size of a pencil tip. "This time, the damage to the surface is smaller, but not yet sufficient. Once more!" Anthony thought to himself, and he replaced the wooden stake for another round of punches.

He lost track of how many punches he had thrown, until Dawn spoke again, "Enhancement time is over, Master. Please stop the training."

Anthony paused, looking at the countdown timer on the wall display. The two hours had already reached zero. "So fast?" he mumbled, easing his stance.

Certainly, the gains from this round of enhancements were enormous. "System, open my profile."

[Host]: Anthony

[Gender]: Male

[Age]: 23

[Level]: Fourth Stage of Later Heaven, First Stage Awakener

[Spirit]: 0.4 (Enhances combat power by 40%)

[Intelligence]: 23.5 (Normal human baseline is 1)

[Strength]: 77.8 (Normal human baseline is 1)

[Agility]: 41.6 (Normal human baseline is 1)

[Spiritual Power]: 30.3 (Normal human baseline is 1)

[Virus Resistance]: 3.1 (Immune to First Stage Mutant and lower common zombie viruses at level 1)

[Abilities]: Creation (Awakening Level: 199.0%)

[Skills]: Qi Absorption Technique, Hard Qigong, Meditation, Two-Stack Force, Swimming (Advanced), Apocalypse Body Movement, Combat (Advanced)

[Overall Combat Power]: 173.2

"My strength has reached 7,780 catty, well beyond the First Stage Mutants. My speed is still slightly lacking at only 291.2."

Anthony analyzed his profile silently. After breaking through the threshold of 30 in the spiritual attribute, he had a faint feeling that he had touched some sort of barrier, yet couldn't break through. This inexplicable feeling of being stuck frustrated him. Looking at his awakening level, 199%, an increase of four percentage points, could he awaken again at 200%? Or perhaps reach the level of a Second Stage Awakener? Anthony wasn't sure; he knew very little about Second Stage Awakeners, only that their physical attributes might be ten times those of a First Stage Awakener. Thinking of this, the scene of his battle with the giant zombie from yesterday flashed in his mind.

That creature's body was covered in bone spurs, resembling a First Stage Slayer to some extent but not entirely. Its head features were closer to a Reaper's, and its physical qualities were a fusion of a Shredder and a Slayer.

Most importantly, at that time, his strength, amplified by both meditation and his Spirit attribute, had reached 7,569 catty. With the addition of Two-Stack Force, he had unleashed an astonishing 15,138 catty of force. However, even with this tremendous power, his arm was easily broken. This suggested that the zombie was definitely of a Second Stage or higher. Making an inference, a First Stage Shredder's strength was 1.8 tons, or 3,600 catty. If that zombie was a Second Stage, its strength would be around 36,000 catty, or at least 18 tons. Considering his defense was reinforced by First Stage Venom Armor and enhanced Hard Qigong, even if the zombie's strength was twice his, it shouldn't have been able to shatter his arm. This implies that the zombie's strength was at least five times his own, equivalent to 37 tons.

"37 tons of strength!" Anthony couldn't help but shudder at the thought. His current strength was 7,780 catty, boosted to 14,004 catty with the aid of meditation and his Spirit attribute. When combined with the Two-Stack Force, he could unleash 14 tons of strength.

"Still a long way to go," Anthony concluded with a deep sigh. However, if he were to encounter that giant zombie again now, he was confident he could escape. The Second Stage Venom Armor's defense was no joke, and the Second Stage Tang Sword wouldn't break so easily either. If he did meet that creature again, he might even manage to inflict a few wounds.

"Never mind, better to be cautious for now." Anthony shook his head, suppressing the urge to confront the giant zombie, and headed downstairs to the transformation chamber.

Although his gains from yesterday weren't substantial, he had still managed to harvest 100 regular zombie crystals, 98 mutant zombie crystals, and a Level A Shredder crystal. Combined with the haul Dash and the others had obtained, he now had a total of 300 zombie crystals, 150 mutant zombie crystals, and 4 Level A Mutant crystals.

Inside the transformation chamber, Anthony threw all the zombie crystals into the transformation furnace.

Energy Points +3900!

Energy Points +9750!

Energy Points +7800!

"Remaining Energy Points: 79,492.3." Glancing at the remaining energy points, Anthony's mind stirred, and he murmured, "Open the base shop!"

"Permanent Goods:

First-Level Apocalypse Pistol Rounds (20 energy points/round) [Capable of penetrating First Stage Mutants.]

First-Level Sniper Rifle Rounds (50 energy points/round)

First-Level Genetic Enhancement Potion (100 energy points): After consumption, attributes increase by 1 point, with some virus resistance. [Remaining time: 74:38:27]

Shop Section:

Second-Level Apocalypse Warrior (5000 energy points): [Strength comparable to a Second Stage Awakener, mindless, 100% loyalty, requires only 100 energy points daily for life maintenance.]

Second-Level Apocalypse Laser Gun (2000 energy points): [Capable of penetrating Second Stage Mutants. Second-Level Apocalypse Laser Gun Energy Cubes (500 energy points/cube), each cube provides 10 shots.]

Second-Level Apocalypse Anomaly Box (50,000 energy points): [After use, can automatically acquire an anomaly.]

Refresh Time: 2:13:05"

The items purchased yesterday in the shop section had all turned gray and were unclickable, leaving only three items for purchase. To be honest, facing a Second Stage zombie, the Second-Level Apocalypse Warrior was quite underwhelming. Thus, Anthony believed the power level of the Second-Level Apocalypse Warrior in the shop was probably on the lower end of the Second Stage spectrum.

As for the Second-Level Apocalypse Laser Gun, its power was sufficient, but upon closer consideration, a problem emerged. An ordinary person wielding a Second-Level Apocalypse Laser Gun could potentially kill a Second Stage Mutant, but their dynamic vision and reaction speed wouldn't match that of a Second Stage Mutant. Therefore, even with such a weapon, the result of facing a Second Stage Mutant would likely still be death.

However, in Anthony's hands, the weapon could be exceptionally useful. Lastly, there was the Second-Level Apocalypse Anomaly Box. Anthony had never encountered this item before, but aside from its potential power, the price alone made him hesitate.

After some thought, Anthony decided, "Purchase the Second-Level Apocalypse Warrior, Second-Level Apocalypse Laser Gun, and Second-Level Apocalypse Anomaly Box."

"Ding! Do you wish to spend 57,000 energy points to make the purchase?" the system prompted.

"Yes, purchase!" Anthony nodded.

"Ding! Purchase successful. Items will be transported within a two-meter radius of the host. Please check carefully.

"Second-Level Apocalypse Laser Gun Energy Cube (500 energy points/cube) has been added to the permanent goods section. Welcome to purchase.

Mechanical sounds followed. His vision was instantly blinded by a dazzling white light.