Progress

With a thought, two Origin Points vanished. The martial arts level on the panel blurred, and a flood of memories surged in. Countless memories of training were carved into his muscles in an instant. At the same time, a tingling sensation came from the stump of his right arm. Cells formed, blood vessels fused, and his severed arm quietly reconnected, as if it had never been cut off.

But there was a problem. Why had this martial arts upgrade cost only two Origin Points?

Could Liu Tian's sudden insight really have saved him that many Origin Points?

The answer was obvious!

What Liu Tian had upgraded wasn't Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, but a different martial art—Shadow Seeking Dragon Step.

At this moment, the Add Points Panel showed that Shadow Seeking Dragon Step had been forcibly raised by one level. Since most of its special effects had been replaced by those of Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, Liu Tian had spent only two Origin Points, despite having no foundation in it and needing to heal his severed arm at the same time.

And that wasn't the end!

Add!

Again!

Again! Add! Add! Add!

As Liu Tian willed it, another eight Origin Points vanished in an instant.

In a daze, Liu Tian felt as though he had spent decades practicing in remote mountains, in the snow, in swamps, and on cliff edges. He had endured wind and rain, drifted through hardship, and finally, on a night of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning, broken through to the highest realm its creator could reach. With footwork alone, he had surpassed the realm of a fighter.

His body crackled in several places. With nothing but telekinesis, Liu Tian grew nearly five centimeters taller. His once-robust frame became streamlined, and he looked lighter and more graceful.

The faint white, serrated battle pattern on his face disappeared in an instant. In its place appeared a strange pattern centered between his brows, like an eagle spreading its wings and soaring.

And now, the special effects of Shadow Seeking Dragon Step had changed as well.

Shadow Seeking Dragon Step: Level 7, Special Effects: Light Body (Level 5), Afterimage.

Can be extrapolated, can be fused.

Perhaps because he had reached the highest realm of its creator, the old upgrade button had changed to "Extrapolate."

Although the level gap was clearly large, the difficulty and the parts of the body it trained were different. Even with only six Origin Points left, Liu Tian could still take it one step further.

After reaching the creator's realm, he could still take another step toward an even higher peak.

Then, onward!

Without much hesitation, Liu Tian focused his attention once more.

As the last six Origin Points disappeared, he followed the martial art's founding principles and took another step upward. A brand-new special effect was born, one the creator himself had never possessed.

Shadow Seeking Dragon Step: Level 8, Special Effects: Light Body (Level 6), Illusionary Body.

Can be extrapolated and can be fused.

The buttons for extrapolating and fusing vanished again, and a sudden understanding filled Liu Tian's heart.

Following that instinct, he lightly stepped forward. There was no sound—not even the whisper of wind.

Silent and soundless, in the blink of an eye, Liu Tian crossed nearly ten meters. When he turned back, an afterimage remained where he had stood, visible only to intelligent beings. It slowly faded.

It was the image left behind by the Aura he exuded as he moved. Though it couldn't affect anything, it was enough to leave behind an afterimage that looked real.

Though no camera could capture this afterimage, it was more than enough to make every intelligent life form mistake it for the real thing.

This meant that if Liu Tian wished, his enemies might not even be able to touch his shadow in battle. They would be utterly lost in the blurred boundary between reality and illusion.

With power like this, if he also had a decent divine weapon, Liu Tian was certain he could hack that pervert who called himself Snake to death without letting him touch so much as the hem of his clothes.

Shadow Seeking Dragon Step had only one special effect, yet it had been enough to enter Tian Dao's sights. This third-rate Secret Martial Art had finally revealed its terrifying power after Liu Tian broke through to the fighter realm.

At this point, Liu Tian's sheer speed had even surpassed Tian Dao's.

After all, Tian Dao had only cultivated this footwork to the fighter realm.

Although Heavenly Martial Killing Dao was comprehensive, it couldn't match martial arts devoted to a single specialty in that particular field.

"Liu Tian!" A loud shout came from behind him. It was Second Uncle Liu Zhengde's voice, mixed with several other unfamiliar voices.

Clearly, in order to find Liu Tian and eliminate the hidden threat, Liu Zhengde had personally led a team up the mountain to search.

Wasting no more time, Liu Tian lightly stepped backward and sped away, leaving a string of half-real, half-false afterimages behind him.

In another unremarkable little manor, Snake, having just escaped from battle, lay on a hospital bed.

With medical treatment, the help of Blue Dream Company's most advanced personal medical equipment, Snake's own formidable physique, and the healer's superb skills, Snake's condition soon stabilized. Demonic Martial Arts practitioners were different from ordinary people, after all.

His injuries weren't completely healed, but at least he was out of danger. Even with the medicine supplied by Blue Dream Company, however, he wouldn't be able to use his martial arts for the next few days.

"How could there be an expert here who could threaten you?" After the tense emergency surgery ended, the man questioned his strongest fighter. "Who did this to you? How did you end up so badly hurt?"

"I was careless." The aftereffects of his brain injury were still flaring up. Snake kept his eyes closed, unwilling to look at the blurred world, and answered, "He didn't look like much, but he was ruthless. He was willing to get hurt just to seize that fleeting opportunity. No wonder he practices Heavenly Martial Killing Dao. No wonder he's Tian Dao's disciple."

"Liu Tian injured you?" This short yet interminable day hadn't been wasted. The man quickly pulled up the names of the only two Heavenly Martial Killing Dao practitioners in the records. Bai Cinan and Tian Dao couldn't have been responsible, so that left only Liu Tian.

"I didn't expect someone who hadn't even come of age to have such strength—and such decisiveness. A promising talent, but born in the wrong place. He'll never get the chance to grow up." After hearing Snake's account of the fight, the man said coldly, "Ox and Tiger will arrive the day after tomorrow. Snake, don't go out for the next few days. Rest and recover. You must be healed when the operation begins in six days."

"Don't worry. I won't die. As long as I have enough medicine and food, recovering won't be difficult. I'll personally settle this debt in six days!" Snake licked his lips. "He'll be my finest specimen. Without exception."

"I hope so." The man spoke with the same calm confidence and air of assured victory, despite suffering one setback after another. Having long been beaten down by failure, he was used to unexpected complications cropping up in his plans.

This time, there had been plenty of unforeseen incidents, but nothing had slipped beyond his control. Everything was still in hand.

Liu Tian, who had only gotten this far thanks to Snake's carelessness and his own sudden ruthlessness, had no chance of derailing the man's overall plan.

"Six days." Looking at the calendar by the bed and the group of people on it, all beaming brightly, the man wondered what lay on his mind. "Everything will be settled in six days. And this time, I won't lose."