Li Qingshan forced his weary body to the kitchen, rummaging through the fridge to find a piece of beef, which he tossed into a pot of boiling water.

The water bubbled furiously, steam rising into the air.

Li Qingshan stared blankly at the steam, his attention fixed on the panel.

"The body refinement progress has finally increased."

The progress had been stuck at [Body Refinement 9/100] for over ten days, but today it finally moved forward.

Of course, the progress wasn't solely due to a bottle of nutrient solution, but its effect was beyond Li Qingshan's expectations.

"A single bottle of nutrient solution can support four practice sessions."

Earlier at noon, he had discussed the effects of the nutrient solution with Yu Lei and the others. According to them, one bottle was only enough for two sessions.

"Is this what they call 'individual differences'?"

Recalling the sales girl's words from earlier, Li Qingshan quickly understood the reason.

His "The Stars Are Calling" was at the third realm, while Yu Lei and the others were only at the second, which explained the significant difference.

"But with Yu Lei and Hong Qian's low absorption efficiency, their body refinement progress hasn't fallen behind. Are they drinking the nutrient solution like water?"

Li Qingshan clicked his tongue in envy, lost in thought for a moment.

"If I could maintain one bottle of nutrient solution a day..."

Beep beep beep!

The stove timer went off, snapping Li Qingshan back to reality as the floating beef in the pot reminded him of his situation.

With only thirty thousand Star Coins left in savings, even if he converted it all into nutrient solutions, he could only buy ten more bottles.

By then, he wouldn't even be able to pay the rent!

Li Qingshan's mouth twitched as he fished out the beef, rinsed it under cold water, and gnawed on it.

After finishing the beef and taking a quick shower, Li Qingshan returned to his bedroom and lay on the bed.

"Not enough resources, then talent must make up for it!"

His gaze swept over the [Martial Arts Space] section on the panel.

With anticipation, Li Qingshan closed his eyes and focused his mind.

When he opened his eyes again,

A vast platform appeared before him.

"So this is the Martial Arts Space?" Li Qingshan curiously looked around.

Above him, there was no sky, just a void.

A faint glow seeped from the void, barely illuminating the platform's edge about 500 meters away.

The edge was curved, or rather, he stood on a circular platform with a diameter of 1000 meters.

After a brief observation, Li Qingshan spread his limbs, preparing to train.

Just then,

Roar!

A deep growl came from behind, approaching rapidly.

"Hmm?"

Li Qingshan had just turned his head when a foul wind hit him, and a gaping maw appeared right in front of him.

Splat!

Fangs clashed, and his head exploded like a watermelon.

"Damn!"

In his bedroom, Li Qingshan sat up abruptly, drenched in cold sweat.

"Langdu!"

His heart raced, eyes filled with lingering fear.

After all, he had just "died" once.

"What happened? How did Langdu appear directly? I didn't summon its projection..."

His chaotic thoughts suddenly paused.

Li Qingshan recalled the information that appeared when the [Martial Arts Space] was first unlocked.

The Martial Arts Space is a mysterious space for training, automatically recording projections of all monsters killed by him.

"Automatically recorded? So, when first recorded, the monster projection appears directly in the space?"

Thinking of this, Li Qingshan felt a headache.

Perhaps, from the panel's perspective, if he could kill it once, he could naturally kill it a second time.

Whether the monster projection appeared directly or not made no difference.

But for Li Qingshan, the difference was significant.

After all, the Langdu he killed had its limbs fixed on alloy steel plates!

"So, is this the consequence of taking shortcuts?" Li Qingshan was momentarily speechless.

To be precise, unlocking the [Martial Arts Space] today was indeed a shortcut.

The condition to unlock the [Martial Arts Space] was to kill a monster.

Without Wan Keshan's "First Lesson in Martial Arts," he wouldn't have had the chance to encounter Langdu in the short term, let alone the strength to kill it head-on.

"Strength?"

Li Qingshan muttered to himself, a fierce determination flashing in his eyes.

"If I can kill you once, I can kill you countless times. I refuse to believe otherwise."

The presence of the Langdu projection disrupted his plan to improve his technique proficiency.

To train in peace, this Langdu must die!

Li Qingshan got out of bed, went to the living room, picked up the machete leaning against the wall, and returned to the bedroom.

Gripping the handle tightly, he unsheathed the long knife and sat cross-legged on the bed, closing his eyes.

The space shifted,

Li Qingshan opened his eyes and immediately turned around, gripping the knife handle tightly.

The machete had come with him, and a pair of crimson eyes stared at him from a hundred meters away.

"Roar!"

With a roar, Langdu kicked off with its hind legs, leaping forward.

Its legs moved swiftly, covering most of the hundred-meter distance in the blink of an eye.

Li Qingshan's gaze tightened, his left foot moved back, and he turned his body sideways.

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The ferocious beast's exposed skin brushed past his eyes, and his right hand swung the machete down heavily.

As they crossed paths,

Langdu landed ten meters away, with only a minor wound on its shoulder and neck, while Li Qingshan's wrist was already numb.

After landing, Langdu's eyes shone with even more ferocity, and it leaped again, pouncing once more.

Ten meters, reached in an instant.

This time, Li Qingshan couldn't dodge, barely raising the machete to block in front of him.

Bang!

The claws struck down, a terrifying force sweeping over him.

The machete flew from his hand, and the claws pressed against his chest, crushing bones and organs...

Li Qingshan shuddered, his eyelids opening, a flash of fear in his eyes.

He had died again.

After calming down slightly, Li Qingshan carefully recalled the brief encounter.

Though it lasted only a few seconds, it was clear that Langdu's speed and strength far exceeded his current capabilities.

"So this is Langdu's true power?"

Li Qingshan's eyes darkened slightly, gripping the knife handle tightly, and began another attempt.

Giving up was not an option.

Blocking his path to training, this Langdu must die!

In the dark room, Li Qingshan sat cross-legged on the bed, gripping the machete with his right hand.

Every few seconds, his body would shudder, eyes opening with a hint of fear, only to close again.

Time passed slowly,

The frequency of his eye-opening remained almost unchanged,

But his body no longer trembled, and beneath his open eyelids, his eyes were calm and steady.

Boom!

A sonic boom echoed, deafening.

"Sky Patroler?"

Li Qingshan opened his eyes once more, quickly getting up and walking to the window.

The Sky Patroler mecha, though it patrolled various cities in the province, rarely broke the sound barrier over a city at night.

This deployment must mean an emergency.

The mecha's silhouette vanished into the night sky, leaving only ripples of air in its wake.

Li Qingshan followed the trail of air waves with his gaze.

"It seems to be in the direction of Linjiang Road?"

"Could that purple-haired woman really be an Evil God Cultist?"

The Galaxy Bar was on Linjiang Road.

With the report he submitted at noon, the Inspection Bureau would surely have the Galaxy Bar under surveillance.

"Let's hope so!"

Li Qingshan prayed briefly, withdrawing his gaze.

If his report indeed played a role, then the reward was assured.

The communicator showed no emergency notifications, indicating everything was under the Inspection Bureau's control.

Li Qingshan rubbed his temples, then sat back on the bed to begin a new attempt.