C3 Increasing His Strength

While Mu Chenyu was busy slaying zombies, the students from Jinling Petroleum University were undergoing rapid growth amidst their fight for survival. There's truth to the old adage: practice makes perfect. In a mere three days, these college students, previously preoccupied with frivolous pursuits, had matured significantly.

Zombies, notorious for their hunger for human flesh, paradoxically presented an opportunity to alter destinies and become exceptional beings. The moment the first person vanquished a zombie and secured an evolution bead, their strength surged. It was a frenzy. A mythical treasure, once confined to the pages of fiction, had manifested in the real world. The excitement was palpable.

"Are zombies frightening?" The answer was an unequivocal yes. Yet, the ensuing chaos served as an invaluable lesson for those impulsive university students. Armed with nothing more than wooden sticks, their potential for destruction was evident.

Zombies, transformed due to some anomaly, were carriers of a virus capable of infecting others. A bite or scratch, left untreated, spelled doom: the infected would join the ranks of the undead. In this age of information overload, such knowledge was widespread.

Still, every coin has two sides. Alongside the peril, there was promise. The zombies' vital essence was encapsulated within a bead nestled in their brains, known as the evolution bead. This bead was the life force of a zombie; without it, they were rendered powerless and met their demise.

The evolution bead could enhance one's physical condition, bolstering Qi and vitality. Most crucially, it held the power to shatter human limitations and catalyze life evolution. Theoretically, with enough beads, one could ascend to divinity and achieve immortality.

Such an alluring prospect could tempt anyone. Even if the theories proved false, the promise of heightened physical prowess and life evolution was irresistible. To become a formidable martial cultivator, to live for centuries, and to leave a legacy was an enticing thought indeed.

Moreover, in these apocalyptic times, without formidable martial prowess, how could one ensure their survival? With the state of the government and its agencies uncertain, those with sinister inclinations wondered if they could now act on impulses previously restrained.

Yet, when life itself hung in the balance, all other temptations paled in comparison.

Witnessing their peers perish before their eyes, they recoiled in horror.

No one is immune to the fear of death. After all, we each have only one life to live, and once it's gone, it's gone for good.

And so it went, after the initial day when a few robust young men battled the zombies, the survivors were plunged into a bleak, apocalyptic existence.

The academy, with its four grades, had roughly a thousand students. Yet, aside from the half that turned into zombies, over three hundred were either bitten or devoured by the undead.

Fewer than two hundred remained. Over the next two days, they all huddled together in the university cafeteria, eking out an existence on the scant provisions that were left.

The once bright and airy cafeteria was now crammed with people. Groups of three or five sat together, their faces numb, their eyes—whether belonging to men or women—betrayed a lifeless gray hue, the look of utter hopelessness and despair.

In the center of the hall, a group of young men and women with somewhat healthier complexions seemed to be in heated discussion. Their voices grew louder, almost to the point of coming to blows.

A closer look revealed that the group was split into three factions.

The first was led by a towering man, standing over two meters tall, with a cadre of five or six equally burly men behind him, exuding an imposing presence.

The second group's leader was a fair-skinned, pale-faced, handsome young man with gold-rimmed glasses. He had the largest following, with over twenty or thirty individuals. They might not have been tall, but they were certainly not to be underestimated.

The final group was led by a young woman in sportswear, with a curvaceous, slender figure and a pretty face. She was flanked by a mixed group of about a dozen people.

They were in the midst of a discussion when the striking woman turned to the bespectacled young man and berated him loudly.

"Faang Jie, your people have been excessive these past few days. There's already so little left in the cafeteria, and you're squandering it. How are the others supposed to cope? And yesterday, one of your guys harassed a woman. Why didn't you intervene, huh?"

The pale-faced man, confronted with the woman's fierce rebuke, had flashbacks of unsavory moments. A flush crept over his pallor as he fixed his gaze on her, his eyes glinting with a hint of envy, yet he remained silent.

When the woman caught Faang Jie's leering gaze, she instantly knew what was on his mind. Her expression chilled, and the sword in her grip seemed to emanate a frosty intent as her aura surged powerfully.

"Faang Jie, rein in your filthy thoughts, or don't blame me for not considering the bigger picture and ending you with a single stroke of my sword," she warned, her voice icy with conviction. "Believe me, you won't stand a chance."

"Do you dare to test that theory?" she challenged.

Her words hung in the air, sending a shiver through the onlookers as the temperature seemed to plummet. The man under her steely gaze turned pale, feeling a piercing coldness lock onto him, squashing the thoughts that had just begun to form in his mind.

With a smug smirk, he retorted disdainfully, "Dong Xuetine, save your empty threats. If you're so capable, let's see who falls first. Hmph!"

"You—"

The woman, Dong Xuetine, bristled with an even colder aura, looking as if she might strike at any second.

"Enough, both of you, cut it out," interjected the towering man who had been silent until now. "We're all in the same boat here, so let's not turn on each other. Winning this squabble will only weaken us. How will we face the zombies outside then? We can't intend to cower here indefinitely like rats."

With the authoritative voice of Brother Hu breaking the tension, Faang Jie, though wary, conceded, "Since Brother Hu has spoken, I'll let it slide for now. But from here on out, Dong Xuetine, keep your nose out of my business."

"Time to go zombie hunting. Those evolution beads are quite the prize, haha!"

With that, Faang Jie, somewhat intimidated by Wang Hu's intervention, led his group past the barricade at the entrance to hunt zombies.

Dong Xuetine watched Faang Jie swagger off, frustration boiling within her. Yet, she was powerless to act and could only respond with a cold huff. She gave Wang Hu a nod of acknowledgment and then set off with her own group, evidently also on the hunt for zombies.

Wang Hu, the muscular man, felt a momentary relief as the immediate conflict dissipated. Still, he was acutely aware that this was only a temporary truce. The question was not if, but when the tensions would erupt again.

Then he took a group with him to hunt zombies.

Wang Hu, Faang Jie, and Dong Xuetine were the strongest among the survivors at Jinling Petroleum College.

Each had obtained a secret martial arts manual, and with their leadership roles as the sports team captain, student union president, and Taekwondo coach, they had significant influence and connections. Coupled with their exceptional abilities, after acquiring the manuals and slaying several zombies to collect evolution beads, their strength surged, attracting a following.

However, as time wore on and food became scarce, the darkness within them grew, leading to incidents of bullying and mistreatment of women.

Dong Xuetine, a woman herself, could not tolerate Faang Jie's followers' arrogant behavior and was compelled to intervene.

Regardless of what the other survivors were up to, Mu Chenyu was deep in cultivation in a fourth-floor dormitory. His eyes snapped open, a brilliant light shining forth. His body shook, bones crackling, muscles quivering slightly as he felt a surge of power within, bringing him a quiet sense of joy.

Yet the persistent throbbing in his left arm and leg caused him concern.

Three days had passed.

He had faced life-threatening dangers but had persevered. The memory of the mutated pet dog he encountered on the fourth floor still sent shivers down his spine.

That had been his closest brush with death.

Three days prior, Mu Chenyu had used the dormitory's barricades to eliminate over twenty zombies, but he couldn't go on like that.

The wooden door was giving way, and the pile of corpses outside was so high that their stench masked his own scent, deterring more zombies from approaching.

Left with no other option, he spent the night in cultivation before embarking on his zombie-hunting journey the next day.

Initially, his progress was smooth. Relying on nearly 500 kilograms of strength and the regulating benefits of the Horse Stance, Mu Chenyu's physical condition and senses were greatly enhanced, making him more agile and responsive.

Thus, he cleared the zombies room by room. Despite the risks, he remained unscathed. By the second day, Mu Chenyu had cleared the second and third floors, collecting nearly a hundred evolution beads and boosting his strength to about 800 kilograms, allowing him to wield immense power with a mere gesture.

Filled with hubris, he ventured onto the fourth floor on the third morning, only to encounter imminent danger.

A pet dog, as large as a calf, had eliminated all the zombies on that floor. Having consumed the evolution beads, it left nothing but corpses in its wake.

Mu Chenyu was spotted as soon as he reached the fourth floor.

The energy emanating from his flesh and blood was far more potent than that of the zombies, so a fierce battle inevitably broke out.

Mu Chenyu emerged victorious, but at a great cost—his arm and leg were shattered, a victory won at a terrible price.

However, there was a silver lining: he acquired a walnut-sized Blood Core and a secret manual titled "Eight Trigrams Saber."

The Blood Core, an energy crystal from within a mutated beast, primarily enhanced flesh and blood energy and bolstered one's Qi and blood.

In contrast to the evolution beads, which enhanced the human body's overall qualities, the Blood Core specifically amplified Qi and blood energy, offering little benefit to other bodily functions.

The "Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" manual was absorbed by the Heavenly Tome, its radiance expanding from 30 centimeters to roughly one meter, which sharpened Mu Chenyu's mental clarity and doubled his comprehension skills.

This technique was of the low-grade Yellow Rank.

Mastering it could potentially double one's strength, a truly fearsome prospect.

Subsequently, with the assistance of Hwa Xin, the hefty junior, Mu Chenyu tended to his wounds. He found a place to ingest the Blood Core and heal. Although he had mostly recovered after one night, his skeletal injuries were yet to fully mend.

Hwa Xin was someone Mu Chenyu had stumbled upon in a room on the third floor. Whether by luck or some other fortune, Hwa Xin was the sole occupant of the dormitory, untouched by the zombie onslaught. Upon Mu Chenyu's arrival, he found Hwa Xin muttering to himself and eating, determined not to die of hunger.

Of course, Hwa Xin hadn't attempted to flee like the others, largely because his weight exceeded 300 kilograms. It would indeed be a marvel if he could run.

Originally, Mu Chenyu had no intention of paying him any mind. After all, the third floor was clear of zombies, posing no threat to his safety.

But the persistent fellow, a rather portly man, had set his sights on Mu Chenyu, offering a Tang Blade forged from special steel in exchange for the chance to serve as Mu Chenyu's subordinate.

Not even the allure of an evolution bead could sway the deal.

Upon laying eyes on the Tang Blade, Mu Chenyu, who had been sorely lacking a weapon and facing great difficulty in combat, knew he couldn't pass up the opportunity. Reluctantly, he accepted the man's terms.

Four days had passed, and while his wounds were yet to fully heal, it was high time to rid the upper floors of zombies.

With that, Mu Chenyu quickly finished his breakfast, enlisted the eager fatty, and together they made their way to the fifth floor.