Even falling leaves and drifting petals can wound.

Chen Jue gazed at the panel displaying the substantial proficiency gains, unable to suppress a sense of awe. In his eyes, leveling up skills through actual combat felt much like grinding monsters in a game. Compared to the fur armor of small rodents, the scavenger’s hardened bone carapace was clearly maxed out. Hunting them was as challenging as mowing down triple wolves, river crabs, or teaming up to take down the early-game dragon—the difference was stark.

How much experience could one gain from a minor creature? Only pioneering a boss yields a hefty reward.

Thus, seeing the riverbed crawling with scavengers, Chen Jue’s excitement soared. He had stumbled into the boss’s lair, with experience points scattered everywhere, ripe for the taking.

Yet, his companions weren’t mere spectators. Witnessing Chen Jue’s astonishing dart-throwing prowess, these well-equipped, pay-to-win enthusiasts refused to be outdone, each unleashing their own skills.

Since they couldn’t match Chen Jue in technique, they turned to their gear. Ordinary clay pellets and steel balls couldn’t penetrate the scavenger’s maxed armor, so they switched to sharp, custom fish darts. Traditional bows failed, so they brought out compound bows and high-poundage custom hand crossbows, equipped with powered assist devices—one arrow could pierce steel plates!

Arrows shifted from wooden practice shafts to custom high-carbon steel and fiberglass, fitted with armor-piercing heads—the power was truly formidable.

Who cared about bosses? No matter how thick the armor, one pay-to-win arrow would shoot right through!

“Brothers, charge!”
“We can’t let Absolute Skill Guy claim all these scavengers for himself!”

With a raucous cheer, the group spread out along the riverbank, each fighting for their share.

“They’re fighting over monsters?”
“Looks like I need to hurry!”

Seeing this, Chen Jue muttered inwardly, picked up his retrieved short sword-dart, and continued hunting targets—each throw earning another +300 proficiency.

As the riverbank grew ever more lively, a remarkable scene unfolded: a masked technical master single-handedly dueling these wealthy, pay-to-win hunters. Darts, bolts, and fish spears swept the river in wild volleys, the whistling of projectiles and the vibration of bowstrings intertwining along the shore.

Onlookers, caught up in the collective hunt, felt their blood surge. Each time a scavenger was struck and hauled ashore, cheers erupted from the crowd.

Photos were snapped, videos recorded, posts made to social media, and some even borrowed gear for a taste of the action. All in all, the event was a resounding success.

...

The hunting lasted for over an hour. The riverbed was now a mixture of mud and blood, and a dredging excavator arrived to clean up the aftermath.

The gathering spot on the bank became the place to tally the spoils and record individual achievements.

Rows upon rows of scavenger corpses covered the ground. Despite the fishy stench in the air, nothing could dampen the group’s enthusiasm.

The commotion was so great that, as the event neared its end, even Hangzhou’s television station sent reporters to cover it.

Cameras and microphones were set up, and a locally made banner was unfurled, instantly elevating the hastily constructed meeting point.

After all, the scavenger was a notorious invasive species. Whenever one appeared in a river, the local aquatic life would suffer catastrophic extinction.

Anyone voluntarily organizing a cleanup was performing a great service, easily landing on the local trending lists.

“I hereby declare this event concluded!”
“A total of 562 scavengers have been cleared—everyone did an incredible job!”
“First place goes to Absolute Skill Guy with 102, second to Xiaobei with 56, and third...” Guo Shao, now dressed in clean outdoor gear, stood tall before the TV cameras.

He hadn’t expected that a casually organized offline event would attract Hangzhou TV’s attention!

If he sent a clip of the interview to his family group, even his parents—who had always opposed his club activities—might change their minds.

As for Chen Jue, still masked, he stood aloof in the crowd like a master from another world, listening to Guo Shao’s banter before the cameras. He quietly opened his evolving attribute panel.

During the intense boss-hunting spree, his “Thrown Weapon Mastery” had finally advanced from Level 5.

——————
[Ding~]
[Proficiency reached 100%. Skill level capped.]
[Thrown Weapon Mastery Lv5 → (Perfected)]
[You have reached the pinnacle of human technique in launching thrown weapons. Any weapon in your hands can achieve maximum lethality; your dexterity has greatly increased, and your hand and forearm strength have seen a slight boost; you now possess unique insights and understanding in this art, sufficient to found your own school among humankind and propagate your mastery.]
[+0.01 Strength Attribute]
[+0.02 Free Attribute]
——————
[Ding~]
[By closely observing the scavenger’s behavioral habits, your understanding of this omnivorous catfish’s anatomy and movement has deepened. When targeting it with thrown weapons again, you will more easily discover its carapace’s weak points.]
[Title acquired: Scavenger Fish Hunter]
...

[Title Effect: Enables you to swiftly detect traces of fish activity in complex aquatic environments, identify their weaknesses, and hunt them down.]
[Title Description: Thanks to those who released me... May your merits shine endlessly. In your next life, may you accumulate a little more mischief for me!]
——————

As the unfamiliar muscle memory settled in, Chen Jue felt his comprehension of thrown weapon techniques rise to a new height.

“Who would’ve thought that Level 6 is already perfected?”

“Level 0 is novice, 1 is beginner, 2 is proficient, 3 is amateur, 4 is professional, 5 is master, and beyond that, one forms their own school?”

Reflecting on the panel’s prompts and his recent experiences, Chen Jue pondered the skill’s progression system.

...

After the interview, having received the 8,888 prize for first place and taken photos with his group, Chen Jue seized the moment to slip away as the event dispersed, heading to his distant domestic car.

After a morning spent hunting, caked in riverbed mud and scavenger stench, and with everyone nauseated from crowding together, the group agreed to skip lunch and disbanded on the spot.

Before leaving, Wang Wei—who had been helping his wealthy benefactor with equipment—glanced at Chen Jue’s retreating figure. He couldn’t shake the feeling that this masked influencer looked strangely familiar.

“Could it be that I’ve seen this Absolute Skill Guy online before?” Wang Wei wondered, then climbed into a Lamborghini and sped away with his patron.

Meanwhile, Chen Jue drove back to Wangyang Apartments, stripped off his filthy clothes, and enjoyed a hot shower.

During a break, while sneaking out to Jiang University’s cafeteria for lunch, he casually plucked a leaf drifting down from a tree.

Autumn and winter mingled, trees withering and flourishing. Across campus, leaves turned yellow and red, carpeting the ground.

Holding a stiff, yellow-green leaf, Chen Jue felt an itch in his fingers.

He glanced up for a target, and as another yellow leaf floated down from a nearby tree, his wrist flicked. The perfected “Thrown Weapon Mastery” came into force.

The leaf pinched between his fingers shot out at high speed, slicing the drifting leaf cleanly in two mid-air. The remaining force, sharp as a blade, drove the leaf horizontally into a distant crack in the dry tree bark.

Witnessing this spectacle, Chen Jue’s mouth fell open. Even he couldn’t help but exclaim, “Damn, that’s abstract!”

The perfected thrown weapon mastery was truly terrifying—like the martial arts in novels, imbued with inner power, brought to life.

Yet Chen Jue knew he possessed no mystical energy; it was pure muscle, honed through relentless training and mastery, that enabled him to wield leaves and petals with deadly force.

Seeing the power a single leaf held after his throw, inspiration flashed in his mind. He realized his next “Absolute Skill” video would have some fresh material to share.