Dragon Coiling Like a Roaming Dragon

On Saturday morning, Gao Wu went home to rest as usual.

Mainly because he would be cultivating together with Song Mingyue that night. It would be too late and inconvenient to go home and disturb Grandpa, so he could only return in the morning instead.

He bought some fruit and high-grade meat on the way. Grandpa was in poor health, yet lived frugally and could not bear to spend on food or clothing. Now that Gao Wu was capable, he naturally had to show some filial devotion.

After lunch, Grandpa grew interested in seeing how far Gao Wu had progressed with the Dragon-Roaming Sword. Gao Wu could only draw his sword and perform a full set of Dragon-Roaming Sword techniques on the spot.

All ten doses of Flying Squirrel Serum had been injected, raising his agility to nine points. That meant his neural reaction speed was five times that of an ordinary person.

As one of the five most basic human attributes, agility was not merely neural reaction speed. It also included physical coordination, muscular explosiveness, and many other aspects.

Gao Wu's powerful physique in the past had actually come from highly developed slow-twitch muscle fibers, giving him tremendous endurance. The increase in agility, meanwhile, strengthened his fast-twitch muscle fibers.

Under normal circumstances, a person's muscle mass was limited. Only one of slow-twitch and fast-twitch muscle fibers could be exceptionally powerful.

Through injecting serum, Gao Wu had strengthened tens of millions of skeletal muscle fibers, giving his muscles both extraordinary endurance and terrifying explosive power.

Agility had always been Gao Wu's greatest weakness. Now, with nine points of agility nearly on par with his strength, his combat power had finally undergone a substantive breakthrough.

Even though his strength had not increased, his punching force had now reached fifteen hundred kilograms.

During this period, he had also been integrating the strength within and without his body through sword practice, gradually gaining control over his explosively increased agility. His Dragon-Roaming Sword had likewise advanced greatly.

Before Grandpa, Gao Wu still had to hold back thirty percent of his strength.

Recently, he had continuously injected serum, and all four of his basic attributes—physique, strength, speed, and spirit—had improved enormously.

Every change was plainly reflected in his body. He had grown four centimeters taller and gained nearly twenty kilograms.

Most of that increase was in muscle and bone density, while his build had remained much the same. Still, such obvious changes could not be hidden even from ordinary people, much less from Grandpa.

Gao Wu felt somewhat ashamed as well. Grandpa had earnestly warned him, yet he had turned around and injected all kinds of serum.

But the Boundless Merit Book was far too private. He truly had no way to share it with anyone.

The Flying Squirrel Serum acted directly on the nervous system. While it dramatically increased his agility, it also made his body somewhat difficult to control.

Practicing swordsmanship had produced a very obvious effect. With the sword as his center, he integrated his inner and outer strength and quickly adapted to the tremendous changes in his body.

Before Grandpa, he felt both the tension of facing an examination and the excitement of wanting to show Grandpa what he had achieved.

With the longsword in hand, Gao Wu's heart quickly settled. All distracting thoughts burst apart and drifted away like pierced bubbles, vanishing without a trace.

Seeing Gao Wu calm and focused, Grandpa nodded slightly as well. The moment he held a sword, his mind naturally gathered; this degree of focus meant he had already entered the gate of swordsmanship.

As the sword thrust straight ahead, its edge gave a sharp whistle through the air. Gao Wu moved with the sword, practicing the Dragon-Roaming Sword in the courtyard.

After more than thirty days and nights of sword practice, coupled with Song Mingyue's meticulous guidance, Gao Wu had long since reached the proficient realm in the Dragon-Roaming Sword.

Though the Dragon-Roaming Sword had only four foundational forms, each could transform into sixteen variations, making a total of sixty-four sword moves.

At that moment, Gao Wu held back thirty percent of his strength. As he wielded the sword, his agile and nimble figure carried an added measure of ease. He truly possessed the flavor of a body like a roaming dragon, a sword stirring wind and thunder.

Grandpa watched silently from the side. He had seen who knew how many experts in his lifetime, and in terms of swordsmanship alone, Gao Wu naturally did not rank among them.

The issue was that Gao Wu had strong sinews and bones, as well as a nimble body. In strength and speed, he surpassed ordinary people by four or five times. As his sword danced, it swept up a sheet of cold light.

If it had been an ordinary person, they would truly have seen only the sword light and not the man. At the Martial Artist level, such swordsmanship was already quite impressive.

Sensing Grandpa's appreciation, Gao Wu truly relaxed, and even his sword became light and obedient.

As he practiced each move and form, everything became increasingly smooth and natural. Some subtle details he had never been able to use before now emerged on their own, and his entire body entered a wondrous state.

The sword moved with his hand, the sword moved with his body, the sword moved with his heart. At this moment, sword and man seemed to become a single whole.

After Gao Wu performed all sixty-four sword moves, he sheathed his sword and stood solemnly. The flowing sword light abruptly ceased, and the sword's whistle scattered away. Yet Gao Wu felt refreshed and unrestrained; the sword had stopped, but his heart had not.

There was no need to look at the Boundless Merit Book. Gao Wu was certain that the Dragon-Roaming Sword had advanced another level, reaching the mastery realm!

His heart was full of joy as well. At last, through his own efforts, he had raised the realm of his swordsmanship...

"Very good." Grandpa had always demanded much from Gao Wu, yet this time he gave him a rare word of praise.

At Gao Wu's age, he truly had been far inferior to him in every regard. It was simply that Gao Wu had progressed far too quickly! He had clearly used serum, and more than one kind at that.

Thinking of this, Grandpa could not help but sigh softly. Gao Wu looked cheerful and easygoing, but he had very firm ideas of his own. Now that he was eighteen and an adult, Grandpa could not force him to listen anymore.

The world of Martial Artists was exceedingly cruel, but the world was connected to the Otherworld. No one knew what the future would bring.

Living as an ordinary person might not guarantee a long life either. At least with powerful martial strength, one could protect oneself. His wish that peace and safety were blessings might simply mean that he had grown old!

The key was that Gao Wu was brimming with vitality and showed no obvious mutation from the drugs. His physical condition was clearly excellent.

Some people were born with exceptionally strong drug resistance. That too was a powerful talent! Perhaps Gao Wu had truly found a path suited to him.

Gao Wu also knew that his drastic changes could not be hidden from Grandpa. He returned his sword to its sheath and stood before him with a smile on his face, though it was a somewhat guilty smile, slightly unnatural.

"I'm old..." Grandpa did not criticize Gao Wu, merely sighing involuntarily.

Looking at Grandpa's deeply drooping eye corners and the large patches of dark age spots on his face, the words of comfort rising to Gao Wu's lips were swallowed back down.

In truth, Grandpa had looked like this four years ago. Back then, however, Gao Wu had felt only awe and fear toward him.

Only today did Gao Wu realize that Grandpa truly was old. Even the straight back he held could not conceal the decayed air of age around him.

By calculation, Grandpa was only eighty years old, which was not especially old for a Warrior.

It was simply that he had suffered severe injuries in the past, leaving his bodily functions somewhat worse than even those of ordinary healthy elderly people his age.

Gao Wu felt ashamed. All this time, he had thought only of himself and forgotten to care about Grandpa's condition... Once he got the Xuetao Cup prize money, he would ask Song Mingyue to help him buy some high-grade serum for Grandpa.

Grandpa smiled at Gao Wu. "When people grow old, they lose their hot blood and courage. All they want is steadiness and peace."

Before Gao Wu could speak, Grandpa continued, "The path of a Martial Artist is cruel, but it is also splendid. Since you have made your choice, do not regret it and do not hesitate..."

Gao Wu nodded solemnly. He understood what Grandpa meant.

Injecting serum and advancing with fierce determination was a shortcut, but it carried enormous risks. Grandpa had clearly seen his problem, yet still expressed support for him. Gao Wu felt deeply moved and somewhat ashamed.

Grandpa said, "You are stronger now than Qingjun was back then. You simply do not have enough Martial Dao Points. If you can reach the top four in the Xuetao Cup, I'll ask around again. Getting into Anjing University should not be much of a problem."

"It shouldn't be a problem." Gao Wu was in excellent physical condition, and his confidence was overflowing as well.

"There will be soldiers from the Aurora Legion participating in the Xuetao Cup. These military Advanced Martial Artists have all undergone biochemical modification surgery—such as having their bones filled with nano liquid-metal particles, or having the keratin layer of their skin scaled. These technological modifications greatly increase physical strength and can even resist small-caliber rifle fire."

Grandpa said, "There are also other similar body-enhancement modification surgeries that can turn the human body into a formidable weapon. Only fists and feet may be used in the arena, so they hold a tremendous advantage. You must still be cautious."

Song Mingyue had mentioned these circumstances as well, even using all kinds of data to demonstrate the power of biochemically modified people.

Gao Wu had been prepared for this. His physique was formidable, and he also possessed the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Incantation, which could rapidly restore his strength. From a certain perspective, he greatly countered those biochemically modified Martial Artists.

He replied, "Don't worry, Grandpa. I'll handle it carefully."

"Oh, right. Several more people have gone missing in the old district lately. I asked a friend in the Supervision Bureau, and he said there have been quite a few missing-person cases throughout the Nine Counties and One City recently. They suspect the Ten Thousand Gods Cult is behind it."

Grandpa said seriously, "The Ten Thousand Gods Cult is hateful, but no one knows how many experts they have. You are just a minor Martial Artist. If anything happens, the first thing you do is call the police. Do not try to show off!"

"I understand." Gao Wu agreed readily. He knew his own limits very well. Doing good was one thing, but he would not blindly throw his own life away.

Besides, he was basically always at school, and when he went out, it was during the day. It was unlikely that he would run into those madmen who believed in alien gods...