Chapter 268: Loneliness is not bitter

Nong Lei has loved fighting since he was a child.

He has more passion for fighting than his peers.

After finishing the few farm chores, Nong Lei would think about how to utilize the terrain, how to bluff, how to oppress the enemy, and how to make use of his own flexible advantages.

He made a wooden man that imitated the human body and used it as an imaginary enemy to practice fighting.

When we were young, this kind of thing would be popular among many children.

As we get older, there are fewer and fewer friends who fight with us. When we have some free time, we go to till the soil and farm, or find a job in the city, or even lie on the edge of the field to bask in the sun.

Everyone said, "Nonglei, you should wake up."

"You can't get into the seminary, and you can't join the city guards. So farm hard, save some money, get married, and stop having these nonsense thoughts."

Nonglei never made it through the seminary exams.

He was born sick, often coughing, and occasionally having chest pains, so his father generally didn't let him do heavy farm work, just hoping that he could stay healthy.

Therefore, Nong Lei was freer and more relaxed than other farm kids of the same age. He had plenty of time to run in the fields, practice boxing and hone his fighting skills - at least he thought so.

Nong Lei targeted the martial arts master Yan Jiu.

He firmly believed that he would become a martial artist, and then began to travel the world, fighting against all kinds of extraordinary beings and monsters, and also fighting for life and death.

But the death of his father put the heavy burden of reality on his shoulders.

Nong Lei had to be busy in the fields every day like other farmers. The heavy farm work made him have no time to think about anything else for a long time.

Just like what others said, all he had in mind was to save more money, fix the thatched house that always leaked when it rained, have enough money to buy some wine, marry a woman, and live like this.

Only when he has free time, he will play wooden figures.

This kind of happiness is simple and pure.

As the intensity of field work increased, Nong Lei began to cough up blood frequently. He spent all his savings on treatment, but was told by the doctor that the disease was difficult to cure and might recur at any time.

At this time, Crystal City began recruiting people, saying that they were looking for someone to take care of the rose garden.

Nong Lei carried the wooden man over.

In the new city, he started all over again.

Nonglei fixed the wooden man outside the broken hut. He was never alone because he was always fighting with the wooden man. In the eyes of many people, he was a weirdo.

On his first trip out of the city, he was attacked by the killing locusts.

Nong Lei did not run away immediately. Instead, he used a wooden stick he carried with him and successfully killed six locusts.

The whole fighting process had been practiced hundreds of times when he was fighting the wooden man in the farmyard. When he looked at the dead insects under his feet, his body could not help but tremble.

Worth it.

The years of practice are worth it.

Nong Lei clenched his fists.

His actions immediately met with crazy retaliation from the locusts, and eventually, Nong Lei was seriously injured and died in the Crystal City.

After becoming a ghost warrior, Nong Lei launched revenge on the locust swarm.

Many years later, Nong Lei had become a well-known locust killer in Crystal City. If anyone needed to pass through a locust-infested area, they would always want to hire him as a bodyguard.

After killing the 10,000th killer locust, Nong Lei let go of the grudge.

There was no point in continuing to kill. He was too familiar with the locust swarms, and the repetitive and monotonous battles could no longer bring him any progress.

He needs a new opponent.

So Nong Lei once again set out on his journey, carrying the wooden man on his back, and he arrived at the gate of the Martial Arts Association in Yancheng. Now he could finally hold his head high, become a member of this place, and fulfill his promise in the past.

The new era has arrived quietly, but it has changed many things.

Nong Lei once sparred with a middle-aged martial arts monk in Crystal City.

The opponent was quite strong and it was difficult for him to win.

"You are strong."

After the martial monk stopped, he said, "You should become an armorer, wear the latest double-fortress armor, and equip yourself with a sophisticated weapon. You will be much stronger than you are now."

Nong Lei said that he wanted to become a martial arts practitioner.

Monk Wu did not object, but asked him: "What is the fastest way to kill a transcendent?"

Nong Lei thought carefully and said, "Set a trap and attack them unexpectedly."

The other party shook his head: "It is a black rose."

"The Killer Black Rose is a forbidden weapon cultivated by Apostle Master Pinkman. It is also the strongest variety of extraordinary rose at present. As long as the killer mode is turned on, the Black Rose can instantly kill the enemy within ten steps."

Monk Wu picked up a branch and pointed it lightly towards the farm camp.

"Just like that, you're dead."

Nong Lei was shocked: "Is it impossible to resist?"

"Don't think about competing with Black Rose in reaction speed."

The other party said seriously: "The killer Black Rose can detect you when you stare at it. You can only see its shadow, but you cannot judge its true position. It will accurately pierce the target's heart or brain and kill it with one blow."

The warrior monk dropped the branch and said self-deprecatingly: "No matter how strong a warrior monk is, without sophisticated equipment, his body cannot resist the deadly attack of the black rose. This is the current situation."

"The traditional path of martial arts practitioners is far behind."

"At least in this era, the armored warrior is the stronger path."

"Young man, listen to the advice, eat your fill, and become a soldier."

Nonglei just said, "I want to try."

Compared to the Twin Cities at the center of the world, Crystal City is still a remote place, everything is still relatively slow, and many changes are delayed, so the great changes of the times cannot be seen yet.

But after arriving in Yancheng, the base camp of the martial arts monks, Nong Lei finally realized why the martial arts monks said that.

There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!

An ordinary soldier could fight on equal terms with the farm baseman, who was just a 20-year-old young man who was only a soldier for the first year.

The young man relies on the latest double-fortress armor, tempered sword and folding shield.

There is no need to mention the Double City Armor, which is well-known and is itself synonymous with strong defense.

The Tempered Sword is an excellent iron sword with fire element attached to it. It is sharp and tough, and also has burning damage.

The Hundred Fold Shield is forged from the finest copper ingots, has excellent resistance to impact, and is attached with earth elements, which can greatly reduce damage.

The biggest reason for the popularity of these pieces of equipment among armored soldiers was the invention of the steam furnace, which greatly reduced the manpower required for forging and smelting, leading to a massive surge in sophisticated equipment.

Nong Lei couldn't help but be confused.

Is it true that the individual's extreme practice of life and death is meaningless? After a brief doubt, he reassured himself.

Absolutely not.

Nong Lei observed in Yancheng that the armored soldiers here were indeed extremely powerful, but most of them did not have rich combat experience, and they could not deter potential criminals and extraordinary people just by relying on their reputation.

If they were caught in a skirmish and unable to wear armor, they would be extremely vulnerable.

In comparison, martial practitioners have no such worries at all.

Because the path of a martial arts practitioner is to constantly challenge their limits, to regard attacks and dangers as commonplace, and to fight with bare hands.

The advantages and disadvantages of the two extraordinary paths have not changed.

Armored soldiers are easy to train, and the stronger their equipment, the stronger they are. However, their individual combat capabilities and encounter combat are relatively weak.

There are few martial monks in number, they do not rely on props, and their individual comprehensive abilities are strong, but when they are besieged they will fall into danger due to their style of challenging their limits.

Nowadays, the requirements for martial arts practitioners have become extremely relaxed, and as long as you demonstrate your ability, you can register.

After Nong Lei registered as a martial arts practitioner, he walked out of the association's dilapidated gate. The dilapidation and desolation inside were even worse than he had imagined.

He stood on the street in Yancheng.

The streets were filled with citizens dressed in various costumes, chatting with each other.

The armored soldiers, holding swords and shields, marched in neat steps, patrolling on the stone road with a clattering sound.

There were hissing sounds coming from the city one after another, and a layer of damp white mist lingered on the streets. The gas furnaces were working non-stop, like the beating heart of the city.

Nong Lei couldn't help but think.

If it were Mr. Shiohisa, what would he do? Can a fist of flesh and blood still compete with a body of steel?

Just as he was in a trance, a voice suddenly sounded beside him.

"Mr. Nong Lei, are you interested in participating in an event?"

The speaker was a tall, thin man wearing a bright, well-fitting green coat, holding a silver cane and wearing a wide-brimmed black hat whose brim completely concealed his features.

"This event is called the Martial Arts Tournament. Only unarmed superhumans can participate. All superhumans who meet the requirements from all over the world will be invited. The final winner will receive a special reward from the God."

Nong Lei was stunned: "Martial Arts Conference? Who are you?"

"I'm just a messenger."

The other party pressed down the brim of his hat and said, "If you are interested, please prepare well in the next few days and gather your strength. The conference will start in a month. I hope you can achieve good results."

After saying that, he turned and left, disappearing in a few steps.

Nong Lei couldn't see how the other party left.

After a moment, his heart began to burn again.

Martial artists from all over the world gather together to determine who is the strongest.

Just thinking about this made him itch to punch something and his whole body was filled with strength.

I wish all readers a happy Year of the Rabbit and everything goes well~

(End of this chapter)