Chapter Twenty-Five: Pinnacle

The wilderness is perilous, and the night even more so! Yet they insisted on setting out before darkness fell, traveling through the night.

Their reasoning was simple.

It was mid to late June, the height of summer; traveling by day would be suffocatingly hot. The heat drained energy, and sweat sapped their spirits.

As the sun neared the horizon, Qin Ming and his companions finished their preparations and walked out. At the same time, other teams were also getting ready to depart.

They hadn’t even left the camp when Wang Chui suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression growing grim.

“Captain Wang, long time no see!” A group approached from the opposite direction, led by a man wearing a sly smile. “Last time you nearly lost your entire squad. I thought you’d be too frightened to venture out again, but here we are, crossing paths once more.”

“Hou Chong, I haven’t forgotten what you did!” Wang Chui snorted coldly.

“What do you mean? I don’t understand,” Hou Chong laughed. “Let me remind you, Captain Wang — last time you weren’t wiped out, but this time might be different. You could be surrounded by wild beasts and end up as their dung!”

“Well, let’s see who ends up as dung!” Wang Chui retorted without backing down.

Qin Ming’s eyes flickered with resolve.

The two teams exchanged few words, passing each other without further confrontation.

Once outside the camp, they moved at astonishing speed — more than sixty meters per second. As they raced on, Wang Chui explained his grudge with Hou Chong to Qin Ming.

“Last time we were hunting and encountered a mid-level beast commander. We meant to take it down, but Hou Chong’s Pinnacle Squad led a high-level beast commander straight to us, then made a commotion that attracted hordes of wild beasts. If not for luck and the intervention of a passing powerhouse, we would’ve been wiped out!” Wang Chui said. “Though they hid their actions well, we still figured it out.”

“My father told me something a bit different,” Qin Ming replied.

“He didn’t want you to worry! Remember this, Qin: in the wilderness, wild beasts are terrifying, but the human heart is even more so. Especially the Pinnacle Squad — given the chance, they’ll surely try to kill us. Once enmity is formed, they’ll root us out to avoid revenge. So, in the wild, never show mercy when you strike. If we get a chance against Pinnacle Squad, we must finish them off without hesitation.”

“I understand, Uncle Wang,” Qin Ming said, pausing. “Does that mean my father’s lost arm was because of them?”

“You could say that.”

In just ten minutes, they had covered more than fifty kilometers.

At this point, moving any faster was impossible.

Wild beasts were growing more numerous.

They halted.

“Qin, the red-haired boar ahead is yours,” Wang Chui said. “Only through combat can you discover your shortcomings and temper your will.”

“Remember, don’t be afraid!” Niu Piaopiao added. “This red-haired boar is just a mid-level beast soldier, equivalent to a mid-level warrior — it poses no threat to you!”

“Alright,” Qin Ming took a deep breath and stepped forward.

He wore a backpack, shield in his left hand, blade in his right — fully armed.

He studied the red-haired boar carefully.

He’d seen this beast in books, on TV, and online many times, but this was his first encounter in the flesh. As the name suggested, it was a mutated pig covered in red bristles as hard as steel, its skin like iron armor. Even its face bore scales, and two long tusks protruded from its lips.

Nearly a meter and a half tall, a single charge could overturn a war vehicle.

Seeing Qin Ming approach, the red-haired boar lunged at him.

Qin Ming narrowed his eyes, sidestepped, and his blade flashed in the crimson glow of the western sky. In one swift motion, the boar’s head flew off, blood spraying over ten meters.

“What speed!”

All were astonished.

“I specialize in the Ninefold Thunder Blade, which emphasizes speed above all!” Qin Ming returned. “The secret art says, speed is power. When speed reaches its peak, it can split mountains and shatter earth!”

Wang Chui and the others nodded; they understood this principle, but attaining true speed — and accuracy — was exceedingly difficult.

“A mid-level beast soldier, felled in a single strike. That’s dominance!” Niu Piaopiao sighed. “When I had my first wilderness fight, I faced a low-level beast soldier and struggled for ages, even getting injured. Qin, you’re clean and efficient, and your calm mindset is rare — no nervousness, no hesitation, just one decisive blow. Very good.”

“That’s the difference between mediocrity and genius!” Wang Chui laughed. “Qin, do you know your weakness?”

“Weakness?” Qin Ming asked, puzzled. “Didn’t I just take care of it with a single clean blow?”

“Being decisive doesn’t mean you’re without flaws,” Wang Chui explained. “In the wild, danger lurks at every moment. We must conserve every ounce of strength and use it where it’s needed most. When dealing with weaker beasts, we should use minimal force to kill, not just chop off their heads. Xiao Ma, show him!”

“Alright, boss!” Ma De Cao nodded, grinning at Qin Ming. “Watch closely — this is your first lesson!”

There was another red-haired boar nearby. The group ran over, and Ma De Cao quickly closed in. As the boar leapt at him, he deftly blocked and pushed with his shield, making it lose balance and exposing its weak spot. His dagger swept across the boar’s throat.

Ma De Cao darted back.

The red-haired boar collapsed, kicked twice, then lay still.

“What did you see?” Wang Chui asked.

“Weakness!”

“Exactly! Every wild beast has a weak spot — most often the eyes, ears, throat, anus, or abdomen. Like Xiao Ma just now: he used his shield to deflect and push, making the boar unstable and revealing its weakness, then finished it with a single blow. He used less than a tenth of the force you did — that’s efficiency!”

“I understand!”

“Good. Xiao Ma, teach him how to dissect the corpse and collect materials.”

“Will do, boss! Qin, beast soldiers aren’t worth much, but little by little it adds up. Still, don’t take everything — just the most valuable and compact parts.”

They taught with patience, and Qin Ming learned quickly.

He knew he lacked combat experience, so with such mentors, he was eager to absorb their lessons.

Along the way, whenever they encountered a wild beast, he took the initiative.

“The first strike decapitates, the second severs the throat, the third pierces the eye into the brain… always a killing blow, and his control grows ever more precise,” Niu Piaopiao sighed. “Boss, it took me three trips into the wilderness to reach this level, but him — how long has it been? Are we really that far behind a genius?”

“Who isn’t?” Wang Chui echoed, “By tomorrow, he’ll master everything we’ve taught, and with his strength, I may be the only one who can truly rival him!”

Yang Sanbao, Ma De Cao, and Xiong Tian’ao all smiled wryly.

As night fell, they reached their destination — County 0266. The area was almost entirely populated by beast soldiers, with few beast commanders. Wang Chui had chosen this place deliberately.

They cleared out a ruined shopping mall and settled on the fourth floor.

After eating some dry rations, Qin Ming said, “Uncle Wang, you all rest. I’ll walk around nearby for a bit.”

“Looking to keep training?”

“Yes.”

“Wild beasts are more active and dangerous at night. If you’re surrounded, even low-level ones could trap you.”

“I’ll stay close, never wander far.”

“Well… alright! Piaopiao, go to the roof and keep watch. I’ll have Xiao Ma, Xiao Xiong, and Xiao Yang cover you.”

“Uncle Wang, I—”

“If you’re grateful, just remember us when you make it big.”