I Can See Experience Points

His Dantian was like a small sun, constantly radiating scorching Qi Force.

The air within a few yards of him had even begun to distort.

It was a clear sign of just how ferocious the burning sensation wracking He Xiaotian’s body truly was.

’The Experience Points system is totally broken. And I even spent a hundred Experience Points to perfect the `Fire-refined Golden Body` manual. There’s absolutely no way something went wrong and caused me to suffer a cultivation deviation.’

’While this is a little unexpected, I can still handle it for now.’

’I’ll sneak over in a bit and see if there’s an opportunity to be had.’

’If not, I’ll get a ride home immediately, ask my cousin for the online seller’s contact info, and find out what the hell is going on.’

’After all, the manual came from that seller. The claim that he knows nothing about it? Not even a ghost would believe that.’

’Good thing this place isn’t far from the Pu River. As long as I can get past the checkpoint set up by the "traffic cops," I’ll be able to cool off.’

He Xiaotian walked out of the alley, lugging two large iron hammers.

In the moonlight, he noticed he seemed to have grown taller again.

He used to be about 6’1", which was considered tall for a normal person.

’But now I’m at least 6’7"? What the hell?’

He would tower over any crowd.

Then he looked down at his physique. ’What!’

His body was a mass of knotted, rippling muscle. He looked just like one of those demonic muscle-men from the comics.

’My arms are as thick as a normal person’s thighs!’

’Of course, I’m not counting those stick-thin people.’

If his clothes hadn’t been so loose, his bulging muscles would have ripped them to shreds.

What really stunned him, though, was that his shoes had burst at the seams.

So, He Xiaotian had no choice but to walk barefoot.

It wasn’t a huge issue. His skin was so tough that walking on a path of knives might not even scratch him.

Qiao sat in his customized car, still sulking.

The only silver lining was that the masked man who’d run off seemed to be a good person.

But he swore that the next time they met, he would teach He Xiaotian a harsh lesson.

’How dare he make a fool of me in front of all my subordinates? Do I have no dignity?!’

DING!

Qiao picked up his phone. It was a video from Lei Yang.

BOOM!! BOOM!!

The thirty-second clip contained only two massive booms.

GULP.

He stared at the video, at the BMW folded in half and the cratered road, and swallowed hard. ’Is that the masked man?’

’You’ve got to be kidding me!’

Qiao glanced around furtively before breathing a sigh of relief.

’Let’s just forget about what happened tonight.’

’Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like I’m scared of those two big, barbed iron hammers. It’s... it’s a reward for the masked man for getting rid of a public menace.’

SWOOSH!!

In the pitch-black night, something seemed to flash past.

He rolled down the window and stuck his head out, looking around.

’Was I just seeing things?’

’Why did it feel like someone carrying... something... just zipped past my car with a WHOOSH?’

"Xiaowang, Xiaowang."

"Captain, what is it?" At Qiao’s call, one of the "traffic cops" ran over to ask.

"Have the cameras been rolling this whole time?"

"Yes, sir."

"Pull it up. I want to see it."

A minute later, Qiao fell silent as he watched the footage. It had to be slowed down tenfold just to make out the image.

A behemoth of a man, over six and a half feet tall with his clothes stretched taut, sprinting past while shouldering two iron hammers.

The gilded X on his chest and the familiar mask on his face instantly reminded him of the guy who had offered to show him a magic trick.

It had only been a short while.

’How the hell did you get so damn strong?’

’Even steroids don’t work this fast!’

DING!

Lei Yang pulled out his phone. It was a video from Qiao.

"What is this guy doing...?"

He trailed off mid-sentence, unable to continue.

He stood frozen to the spot, as if struck by lightning.

"Captain, what’s..."

A male and a female team member walked over, talking, but just like Lei Yang, they trailed off mid-sentence.

The phone was replaying a video clip. The footage, which captured less than a second of real-time, was slowed down tenfold to stretch over ten seconds.

It showed a muscular giant, hammers in both hands, flashing past the "traffic cops".

"Is... is that the masked man? How did he turn into a nearly seven-foot-tall beast?"

SMACK!

The woman slapped the man on the back of the head. "Is that really what you’re focusing on?!"

"Dude, look closer."

"Look at how terrifyingly fast he is!"

"Why would he suddenly barge into the restricted area?" Lei Yang wondered, frowning.

"What else could it be? The bounty money, probably. I can’t think of any other reason," the man said, rubbing the back of his head with a wounded expression. "Besides, Captain, this is something we just report up the chain. We’re just the grunts. All we have to do is follow orders. Instead of worrying about him, we should just meet up with the others and find out what this mission is even about."

"No need to ask. I’ll tell you," Lei Yang said. "We’re looking for a fish."

"A fish?"

Lei Yang nodded. "That’s right. A fish. Department 037 found traces of it, and our job is to take it out. Simple, right? The upper reaches of the Pu River are going to be dammed off, and then hundreds of unconventional experts will head down to the riverbed.

"The higher-ups are furious that it escaped from the Dragon-Locking Pillar, has been lurking in the river causing trouble for months, and has capsized several fishing boats. Now that they’ve freed up the manpower, eliminating this monster is the top priority."

"Captain, if we don’t go meet up now, we’re going to be late," the woman reminded him. "The city Cleaners have very strict discipline."

"Let’s go. When we get there, I’ll report to the Director about this ’hammer man.’ I’m sure he’ll pique the Director’s interest. He might even try to recruit him personally. It would be a great way to strengthen the Cleaners."

As he finished speaking, the three of them disappeared from the riverbank, heading downstream along the Pu River.

From a corner not far away, He Xiaotian emerged, shouldering his two iron hammers.

’Dragon-Locking Pillar? Damming the river? Looking for a fish? Don’t tell me it’s a fish monster?’

The Dragon-Locking Pillar, in particular, was famous in Shanghai.

’Weird things started happening six months ago. Could there be a netherworld fissure under the Nine Dragon Pillar? And the fish monster escaped from it? If that’s the case... doesn’t that mean killing this thing will earn me a ton of Experience Points!’