The Darkest Night

The night was deep.

Thick clouds obscured even the moonlight. The drizzling rain had stopped, leaving the streets muddy. Cars occasionally sped by, splashing pedestrians on the roadside with mud.

Whenever pedestrians prepared to curse, they could only see the taillights of the departing cars.

Liu Tian put away the gem he had completely absorbed and looked at the "6" behind Origin Point on his status panel with satisfaction, feeling a slight sense of contentment.

Ever since he first broke through to Martial Artist by using his points, proving the power of effort, Liu Tian had been saving his Origin Points without using them.

The first reason was the rarity of Origin Points, and the second was that there was nothing he needed Origin Points for at the moment.

Under Tian Dao's training, Liu Tian had been growing stronger step by step. Although it wasn't as fast as using points, it wasn't slow either. He hadn't encountered any bottlenecks along the way, nor were there any areas that particularly required extra effort.

Furthermore, whether he used his points now or later, Liu Tian's intuition told him that the increase in power should theoretically be the same. It was more cost-effective to save his points for when his progress slowed down, rather than using them while he could still advance steadily.

Moreover, Liu Tian's current channels for obtaining Origin Energy were limited. Even if he used all his points, he might not be able to break through to Fighter. Even if he did break through to Fighter, at best he would be on par with a walking, self-propelled, automatic rifle. Thus, there was no need to force himself to use points now.

After all, he had just taken the second step out of the three: Novice, Martial Artist, and Fighter. The long road had just begun, so how could he rush forward recklessly?

Senior Brother Bai Cinan, he doesn't look like a good person, but he's quite generous.

Liu Tian walked towards home, thinking about Bai Cinan, whom he had just met.

Without a doubt, he was a strong, strong, strong man.

That pure Dominating Thought, that clear Killing Intent. When Bai Cinan appeared before him, Liu Tian felt as if his life and death were completely beyond his control.

To reach that level, measured purely in Origin Points, it would require at least a hundred points or more.

But why? Why, upon seeing him, did he feel not only fear and excitement?

A goddamn urge to fight him, to defeat him, to completely devour him.

It was so intense, as if instinct was telling him that if he could defeat Bai Cinan, if he could completely devour him, then he would become stronger, he would achieve a goddamn complete evolution.

This was also why Liu Tian left in such a hurry. Unlike Tian Dao and Bai Cinan, who had already advanced to Fighter and could control their will, if this feeling continued to surge, Liu Tian would find it very, very difficult to control himself from attacking Bai Cinan.

Even though he understood that with his current strength, it would be suicide...

Is it because of the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao? Then why don't I have this feeling towards Master?

Liu Tian pondered in his heart, but before he could come up with an answer, an unexpected accident interrupted his thoughts.

In an era without ubiquitous surveillance cameras, even though electricity had gradually become widespread, the deep night still served as the best cover for darkness.

According to incomplete statistics, nearly ninety percent of the incidents in the Hundred Flowers Kingdom occurred at night.

Because of this, although the Hundred Flowers Kingdom had been promoting a city that never sleeps, it had never managed to develop.

No matter how wild or crazy the young people were, they would return home before ten o'clock at night. However, this did not mean that it was safe before ten o'clock.

If the situation was unusual, one could still easily fall victim to the current circumstances.

In a gloomy alley, two burly men were carrying a struggling sack. From Liu Tian's perspective, with his sharp eyesight, even though it was dark, he could still see the voluptuous figure protruding from the sack through the faint light. It was clearly a woman.

The thugs were quite well-trained. One carried the front of the sack, and the other held the back. Their footsteps were swift and quiet as they shuttled through alley after alley, using the darkness to move towards a predetermined location.

Kidnapping?

A not unfamiliar word appeared in Liu Tian's mind.

This was an industry with a long history. Countless predecessors had literally shed blood and sweat in this industry, forging ahead one after another, with the vast majority meeting a violent end.

Initially, due to the war, a large number of people were conscripted, and such incidents plummeted. However, once the war ended, thugs who had received training were released back into society. Coupled with the recent years of international turmoil, many people went bankrupt and lost their jobs, causing this ancient industry to flourish like never before.

This was also one of the reasons why Liu Yun initially didn't stop Liu Tian from learning martial arts – at least he could gain the strength to protect himself.

Although some people joked that ten years of martial arts training were not as good as a finger's touch, Liu Yun, who had truly witnessed the prowess of martial artists, knew that often, martial artists didn't need to be faster than bullets; they just needed to be faster than ordinary people.

What should I do?

Liu Tian didn't have a mobile phone, and using a phone booth to call the police seemed ineffective.

Although those who were kidnapped were usually from well-off families, so the efficiency of police deployment would be significantly faster than normal, with the police response efficiency of this era, even with a slight improvement, reporting it would only mean that the police had been notified.

Should I help? Or should I turn a blind eye to avoid trouble?

Although when he discovered the situation, he instinctively used the knowledge taught by Tian Dao to conceal his presence and followed them, Liu Tian hadn't actually decided whether to intervene. He had merely reacted instinctively to gain the initiative.

The alleys gradually became more numerous, abandoned buildings were everywhere, and the electric lights that were once common became increasingly scarce. As Liu Tian hesitated and dithered, the thugs had, at some point, left the bustling urban area and were gradually approaching the slums.

Knowing he could no longer hesitate, Liu Tian seized an opportunity and acted decisively, following his instincts.

Once he made up his mind, as a Martial Artist, Liu Tian's actions matched his thoughts. He immediately unleashed a killing move – the goddamn Two Dragons Emerge from the Sea!

Danger!

As Liu Tian suddenly attacked, the clearly well-trained thugs reacted quickly. They let go of the sack and reached for their waists.

But unfortunately, the characteristic of Martial Artists acting as soon as they think provided too much of an advantage in this surprise attack. Moreover, it was a case of the prepared against the unprepared. For mere thugs of ordinary skill, their hands had only just touched the metal objects that gave them a sense of security when they were struck hard in the head with a fist.

The powerful blow caused their heads to spin with a crisp cracking sound. Their fronts became their backs, and their backs became their fronts. Blood spurted from their twisted necks, and both men died on the spot from this single blow.