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"Ha!!" Xin yelled out with fervor as he sheathed his fist in blue energy and shot it forward on the face of a furred monster.
His punch connected at the monster's chin, though didn't manage to break it apart, it managed to effectively stop its motion as its brain rocked inside its skull.
With the opportunity made by himself, Xin grabbed the monster's shoulder and held it tightly in place as he bent his other hand inward and drove his elbow at the creature's open and defenseless neck, creating a cracking sound as the furred monster's head became limp.
In just a few seconds, Xin managed to kill the pesky creature bare-handedly with efficient movements. disregarding the monster's thick fur defense that could nullify both sharp attacks and blunt attacks from most of the D-ranked regulars.
If Xin only used regular punches and kicks, even by targeting lethal areas, he would have taken much more time than just a few seconds, but with a proper technique, he could make a quick work of the furred monster.
Even in the tower with the existence of shinsu, martial arts and other combat techniques were still deadly since having high shinsu resistance didn't mean that they would have equally high physical resistance, and even having high physical resistance also didn't mean that the weak parts of their anatomy weren't vulnerable anymore.
That was why the creature instantly dropped when Xin smashed his elbow on its neck. Had Xin launched a punch or whipped his leg, he probably wouldn't be able to break its neckbone with its thick fur cushioning his attack.
This was simple, an elbow is much stronger than a punch or a kick.
Although its power was less than a hard kick, its concentrated point of contact and the strong and high bone density made its lethality much greater as it could easily pierce any defense, just like what had been performed by Xin.
Close to Xin, there were a few more corpses of the same furred monster scattered on the ground. As he was done with his business, Xin relaxed his body and looked toward his teammates.
Liu Guanyi was standing colly with his back against the wall as corpses of the same monster littered around him. They all had a single similarity, a single fist-like depression on their bodies, indicating that a punch was all that he needed to take care of the thick-furred monsters.
Xin still felt that Liu Guanyi was holding a lot, however.
From his observation of his weight training, Liu Guanyi was already far ahead of him, and with some calculations, Xin presumed that if Liu Guanyi wished so, he could blow up those monsters into a pulp with his attacks, such an unbelievable power for a mere D-ranked regular!
Thinking about it, Xin felt a lot of gratitude for Liu Guanyi for taking him in under his wing. Not only he had basically saved his life, but he also guided him to the path to power as he trained him in martial arts and taught him many fundamental, yet essential skills to survive till the top of the tower.
The improvement of combat skills and basic skills aside, what could be said as more important or at least equally important aspect was the improvement as an individual. Concerning this, Xin had greatly advanced in many ways more than one.
First off, Xin wasn't as clueless and naïve as before. Now, after living for years under Liu Guanyi's tutelage, he knew that Liu Guanyi didn't save him and pass down his knowledge to him for free.
This, however, Xin didn't mind it at all as Xin had owed him so much that even if Liu Guanyi never implied that to him, he would still try his all to return his favor.
Furthermore, Liu Guanyi never treated him badly, unlike a certain princess of Zahard who sometimes mocked and teased him though never seriously.
Xin wasn't an ungrateful person, he was originally just a poor boy who had grown without any familial love and only scorn. Even so, he didn't particularly hate his family even after joining Liu Guanyi's journey. Xin knew how to repay the favor and intend to return it fully with the interests.
Xin knew that without Liu Guanyi's help, he probably would have long been dead or even if he managed to survive thus far, he would barely be able to do anything. The tower wasn't the place for the weak, be it weak in mind or strength.
Climbing the tower was very dangerous as the lethality rate of the regulars was more than eighty percent. Xin could progress smoothly was only because he was being carried by Liu Guanyi and Adori who were unparalleled in their ranks.
Also, Xin had become more experienced and broadened his mind. He had seen some of Liu Guanyi's and Adori's true strength when they trained and sparred together, and it was… mind-blowing.
He had never seen anyone more talented than them during his time in the Tu Perie family branch's residence.
Previously, Xin often asked himself. 'Why do they still train very hard even though they know that they are unmatched? Isn't that just wasting their time that they can use for other things? Many other people don't even work as hard even though they are absolutely weaker than them.'
Now, however, Xin had known better.
What he saw was merely a fraction of the tower. He was only living in a pond and regarded the apex predator of the pond as the greatest, that was his family.
After gaining experience in more than a decade in a tiring and dangerous journey in the middle area, he had come to realize and understand that because he had always been living in the pond, his sight couldn't see far beyond what he regarded as common sense.
He finally understood why Adori and Liu Guanyi trained very hard even if they were unmatched.
The tower was incredibly vast even vaster than the ocean, the big floating castle Xin had come from was only one of many branch headquarters of the Tu Perie family, it was nothing in the grand scale of the tower.
They trained because their sights were never set on those small places, no… their eyes were always fixated on the top of the tower!
Liu Guanyi opened his hand, showing a pocket watch. "You are faster for one and one-third of a second. Xin, you are improving quite well. Just continue to polish your techniques for a few decades and you will become a deadly opponent even among the Rankers."
Closing his pocket watch, Liu Guanyi looked at Xin. "Now, let's go and meet up with princess Adori."