Points wasn’t a waste.

He immediately switched his target, choosing the Half-Star Level Wild Boar King—a beast with the abilities of Copper Skin and Iron Bones and Strong Power. This was the same behemoth that had been killed by the Ghost-faced Spider!

He configured the simulation based on the information he had been given before.

A moment later, after 100 Points were deducted, he found himself back in a mountain forest.

A hundred meters away, a Wild Boar King the size of a full-grown ox glared at him, its eyes filled with savage ferocity.

Its dense, coarse, black-and-gray fur, like pine needles, combined with a pair of sharp, thirty-to-forty-centimeter-long tusks, made for a frightening sight.

Just then, the Wild Boar King lowered its head and scraped its tusks against the ground, carving several gouges into the earth as it let out a low grunt—a clear warning.

’I might not have been able to beat that thing with the Sound Wave Ability, but you think I can’t handle you?’

’Head-on, I’ve got my Body Technique to get in close or to dodge!’

He thrust his Tang Blade into the ground, deciding to test the waters with his fists and palms first. Fueled by the lingering rage from being utterly dominated in the last round, he charged at the Wild Boar King.

The Wild Boar King let out a low roar, its massive nostrils snorting two jets of hot air. It pawed at the ground with its hooves and lowered its head. Its bell-like eyes stared down the two-legged beast charging toward it, and then it charged as well. The ground thundered—THUD THUD THUD—as it ran, kicking up clods of dirt.

As the Wild Boar King attacked, its passive Strong Power Ability activated automatically. Its muscles seemed to swell, and the power behind its charge grew even more formidable.

To Cheng Zongyang, the beast’s immense size made it look like a small, moving black mountain, and an overwhelming sense of pressure washed over him.

Though he had resolved to meet it head-on, he wasn’t arrogant enough to clash directly with its tusks and its incredibly hard head.

So, at the last possible second, he executed the Wind-Stepping Step, gracefully shifting to the left just before impact.

The Wild Boar King’s massive size made it clumsy; it couldn’t move or turn with any agility.

He dodged its front and moved to its flank. Planting his right foot, he ground to a halt and then pushed off, closing the distance in an instant. Dirt flying, he shot forward like a cannonball toward the Wild Boar King’s belly. He channeled all his power into his fist.

THUD!

His fist slammed into the Wild Boar King’s bulging belly, but the impact was oddly muffled. The single blow made Cheng Zongyang’s expression change. He immediately used the Wind-Stepping Step to leap back, narrowly avoiding the sharp tusks as the boar twisted its head to gore him.

’So tough!’ Cheng Zongyang thought, putting distance between them as his brow furrowed.

’That punch contained nearly all of my power. A normal adult boar would be on the ground squealing in agony, I might have even punched right through its stomach!’

’But this Wild Boar King’s defense is so strong... It felt like punching a non-Newtonian fluid. The force was just dispersed!’

’I could feel the solid impact, but the power behind it was completely absorbed. It’s not doing much damage to the target at all!’

The sensation left him rather speechless.

’Is this the effect of its Copper Skin and Iron Bones? Or is it just the boar’s natural defense? Or maybe it just has too much fat?’

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Cheng Zongyang continued to evade the Wild Boar King’s counterattacks. He constantly used the Wind-Stepping Step to reposition himself before striking again.

He focused his attacks on the Wild Boar King’s belly and hindquarters. Whenever a counterattack seemed risky, he would pull back, refusing to engage it head-on. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

After a few minutes of this, the Wild Boar King seemed to realize it was being led around by the nose. It stopped chasing Cheng Zongyang and simply stood its ground, waiting. It would only counterattack when he came in for a close-range strike.

Cheng Zongyang wasn’t worried. Since his fists and feet couldn’t break through its defense, he would switch from fists to a Palm Technique.

This was a perfect opportunity to practice his Great Strength Vajra Palm!

He used the speed from his Wind-Stepping Step to nimbly dodge the boar’s goring attacks, then unleashed the moves of the Great Strength Vajra Palm on the Wild Boar King.

He hadn’t even reached the Beginner level with it yet, but this was the perfect way to train!

He had the Cultivation method and techniques for the Great Strength Vajra Palm, and now he had this thick-skinned behemoth for a sparring partner. It was a golden opportunity to kill multiple birds with one stone, and he wasn’t about to pass it up!

’Using a simulated creature to train my Martial Arts and Cultivation Techniques! This is one of the best ways to use the Cultivation Room!’

And so, for the next ten minutes, the Wild Boar King served as Cheng Zongyang’s personal training dummy.

This was far better than practicing the moves one by one on his own! The efficiency was higher by leaps and bounds.

When the ten minutes were up, the environment didn’t change, but the red-eyed Wild Boar King, which had been charging at Cheng Zongyang with its tusks, simply vanished.

A moment later, a prompt appeared:

——

[Cultivation complete. Wind-Stepping Step proficiency +10. Great Strength Vajra Palm proficiency +20.]

——

Cheng Zongyang smiled when he saw the prompt.

’This level of efficiency in just ten minutes... It was definitely worth it!’

He could absolutely use this relatively clumsy Wild Boar King to practice several of his Martial Arts!

So, Cheng Zongyang wasted no more time. Now that he had a working strategy, he continued his Cultivation in the same manner.

This time, he set the duration for 300 minutes!

x 10 = 3,000 Points!

’Five hours. I’ll be done just in time to head home at dawn!’

Points -3,000

Remaining: 5,309

「The night passed just like that.」

In the morning, as the Wild Boar King—which Cheng Zongyang had used as a training dummy all night—vanished, Cheng Zongyang reluctantly ended his practice, still feeling like he could have gone on for longer.

His Tang Blade could damage the Wild Boar King, but his fists and feet could not. On the other hand, his opponent couldn’t keep up with his agile footwork.

Thus, he had spent nearly the entire night practicing with his bare hands, only occasionally mixing in his Basic Saber Technique.