After some thought, Yi Qiang decided not to go after Taren. While it was true that, on the surface, Ilien was a far worse matchup for the archer, the fact remained that Yi Qiang had no idea what trump cards the swordsman held.

After all, if Ilien's final attempt at resisting was terrifying enough to push Yi Qiang to the brink of death, the marksman was certainly wary of the cards Taren held.

In the worst-case scenario, he held an item that could vastly increase his speed for a short amount of time. Given that the swordsman already specialized in agility, if he could multiply that capability, even Yi Qiang would be incapable of running. At that point, he could do nothing but obediently hand over all of his badges.

As it was, Yi Qiang held no doubts he would receive the first place at the end of the first round by an overwhelming lead. After taking Ilien's badges by finding a ring on his body connected to a spatial storage and removing the items he sought from it, the marksman's badge count had shot up to 637. Of the 736 badges circulating today, Yi Qiang was only missing 99.

This monopoly seemed almost unfair until one considered Yi Qiang's overwhelming performance throughout the first round.

The entire time, he had continuously been collecting more badges at, without a doubt, the highest speed of any contestant. Nor had he lost once, meaning his hoard only grew.

Then, on the sixth day, Yi Qiang went after the primary powerhouses in the eyes of the public - the Four. Though he only received the badges from three of the Four, that was enough to establish an unbreakable advantage. After all, it was highly likely Restra, Ilien, and Elias had yet to lose once given the availability of their trump cards. Thus, they had been accumulated small fortunes of their own in badges, and Yi Qiang robbed three of them.

All of these factors resulted in the archer's incredible domination over the other contestants of the Empire Contest.

I should get as powerful as possible with these conditions. It's highly unlikely the next round will be as favorable to me as this one, and the Absolute said that the better one does in this round, the greater the advantage they will receive in the next. I have the badges down, so for the rest of the time I'm in the forest, I should focus on hunting and raising my levels. Every bit of power should help, after all.

With this new resolution in mind, Yi Qiang leaned against a tree. He still had Qi and Health to recover after that strenuous battle with Ilien.

Thankfully, with his regenerations, it took only a moment before Yi Qiang was up in the trees again, searching for beasts to hunt.

Due to his quick recovery, however, the marksman missed a calamity.

Moments after he took off, a silhouette emerged from between the bushes.

A lean, leopard-like animal with a coat of pure black sniffed the unconscious Ilien lying on the ground. Within its emerald eyes, the only container of any color other than the complete absence of light it seemed to be covered in, a trace of disinterest flashed. The leopard turned its head and sniffed the air, ears perking up instantly.

An instant of more sniffing and the leopard angled its head slightly. Piercing green eyes stared directly in the direction Yi Qiang took off and, yawning to revealed a mouthful of bloody teeth before night velvet paws began to tread.

The sun descended quickly. As the darkness reigned, Yi Qiang became more cautious.

The darkness was where the truly dangerous predators came out to play. This fact, combined with the fact that humans were far less suited to low-light environments compared to some animals, meant that the difficulty of hunting at night was much more severe than at day.

Thankfully, Yi Qiang's senses also seemed to be impacted by his Dexterity, as he noticed a marked improvement in his eyesight compared to when he started the game. Where his eyes would strain to penetrate the curtain of darkness previously, it was easily pierced now.

So, he continued to hunt beasts. The nightfall was a double-edged sword - it was far easier to find higher-level creatures when they were active, so Yi Qiang's leveling rate actually increased under the unfavorable conditions.

Halfway into the night, the marksman crouched on the ground, levying his bow at a bulky vulture tearing into a corpse. The moment he was about to let go, however, a shadowy figure leaped out from behind him.

Instincts screaming at the sniper to let go of his bow and leap to the side, Yi Qiang did precisely that.

Cold eyes watched a leopard-shaped silhouette crash through the area where the marksman crouched previously, scanning the muscled body.

I can hardly make out anything. It blends in perfectly with the darkness.

Yi Qiang stood up quickly and hastily threw a small spear at the throat of the vulture he had initially been targeting. The commotion of the surprise attack had attracted its attention, and it stood warily, brown eyes searching the darkness for signs of danger.

The lack of light made his makeshift javelin that much more apparent, but with the strength of the throw, it could only watch as the spear sank into its throat.

At least that worked. I didn't want to have to worry about two animals at once attacking me.

He directed his attention back to the situation at hand.

At the moment, the night was at its peak - the sprawling tree branches further impeded the trace amounts of light shining down from the moon, meaning his eyes had very little light with which to work.

Coupled with the leopard's coat that absorbed almost all of the light it came into contact with, Yi Qiang had no hope of seeing his enemy clearly enough to target it with his bow.

Perhaps he could focus his other senses, but from the moments Yi Qiang had already spent in battle with the leopard, he noticed the beast made no sound when it stepped on the ground with its padded feet. With hearing discounted, there was nothing Yi Qiang could rely on to detect the leopard at a distance.

As it was, the marksman's only option was to rely on his stats and summon a spear. The pole weapon's distance would allow him to stay relatively safe in melee combat with the leopard, while he was experienced enough with the spear to maneuver it skillfully in battle.

Hopefully, he would have the advantage in overall power, allowing him to fight back. As it was, he could only rely on his instincts, but if the marksman didn't have the speed to respond to them before the leopard got to him, there was nothing he could do.

His muscles slightly tensed, and his mind on edge, Yi Qiang focused.

The next attack is coming from... there.

A straightforward jab at his pouncing assailant stopped the attack in its track as the beast twisted in midair, avoiding the shining spear and landing lightly behind Yi Qiang.

By the light of his weapon, the marksman directed his polearm to follow up, the sheer speed of his movement managing to cut the leopard on its side before it leaped away into the darkness again.

Thankfully, I can see well enough with my spear to attack it with initiative. I never thought the Qi glow would help me like that.

Involuntarily, Yi Qiang furrowed his brows.

Glow... That's it!

Tapping his foot on the ground, the marksman focused his Qi and spread a thin layer of it on the forest floor. It was a delicate weaving to conserve energy, but the light of his Empyrean Qi constricted his pupils.

And, by the shine of his Qi, Yi Qiang's keen eyes caught on to the presence of the shadowy leopard, waiting in a tree to his right.

Throwing his spear at the beast, the marksman simultaneously Analyzed his opponent and summoned the bow with which he was countless times more familiar. While the leopard hopped branches to dodge it while snarling, Yi Qiang read the window that popped up.

Nightcloak Panther

Boss

Level 130

Guess it wasn't a leopard. But Level 130? That's a higher level than every animal I've Analyzed here so far. Thankfully, I've managed to counter its main advantage.

Now, just one powerful shot, and I can end the battle.

Focusing, he loaded a 10-point arrow into his bow made of 300 Qi. Harnessing the power of Dragon Marksman's Judgement, Yi Qiang released the arrow.

Faster than most of the arrows he had fired, the marksman's attack pierced through the air, heading in a straight course to pierce the panther's head.

Yi Qiang swore he saw its pupils constrict the instant before its death.

With that, one of the more powerful opponents he had met thus far perished by another arrow, leaving in its wake a circular necklace made of magically black stones.

Before he focused upon the gains of his hard-won battle, though, Yi Qiang was preoccupied by a status window popping up in front of him.

You have reached Level 100!

You have gained another skill from your class, Dragon Marksman.

Draconic Blood-Burning(Level NA)

You sacrifice the blood in your body for strength.

While active,

-10% HP per second

-All stats are doubled.

Yi Qiang's eyes widened. That could be incredible.

The price was prohibitive, but the effects of his new skill would only grow as he gained power, and it would be enough to turn the tide against a hopeless battle.

Ideally, he would never have to use it, but the marksman tucked his new skill in the back of his mind, defining its use as only the ultimate trump card. It wasn't anything he would have to devote active attention, though, as it couldn't be leveled up.

That business handled, Yi Qiang walked over to the corpse of his kill and picked up the fruits of his labor, Analyzing the necklace.

, Stones of Shadow's Fury

Epic

+40% effectiveness to Stealth skills

+20 Agility

+20 Dexterity

The necklace reminded Yi Qiang of the gear he had put off equipping because he hadn't wanted to sort through all the items he had received.

However, the marksman's reluctance had faded away. Previously, he had been constantly pressed for time with having to hunt beasts and young talents. As such, he hadn't wanted to spend the time to find out what equipment he wanted to wear and what equipment he didn't want.

However, the battle with the panther, and the previous fight against Ilien, had helped Yi Qiang realize that at any point, he needed any edge he could get. The marksman had long since learned that sometimes, there were moments when sharpening the ax delayed the cutting of wood in the long run, contrary to the popular idiom. This, however, was no longer one of those situations.

With that in mind, Yi Qiang sat down and sorted through all the equipment, spending time and energy choosing the best combination of gear that would enhance his combat strength the most.

When he finished, the marksman set out once again. The night was already fading, and he had until the end of the day to return to the original spot.

Before that, though, Yi Qiang planned on making the most of his time in the forest.