The Iron Wire Fist at Perfection

A little over ten minutes later, Xu Feng stood in the hallway, chewing hard on half a compression biscuit. It was so tough that his jaw ached.

The backpack on his shoulders was heavy, stuffed with more than a hundred compression biscuits in different flavors. Their wrappers rustled softly against one another.

He glanced down at the opened wrapper in his hand and winced at the cost.

"A single lousy compression biscuit costs ten yuan? Damn capitalism—you win!"

Those biscuits had cost him over a thousand yuan.

He had been saving for so long, and his total savings amounted to only a little over three thousand. That one purchase had eaten up a third of it.

(The purchasing power of H Nation's currency is the same as that of present-day RMB.)

Still aching over the expense, Xu Feng went home, greeted his parents in the living room, then hurried straight to his bedroom and locked the door behind him.

A bucket of bottled water stood on the floor. A huge pile of torn-open compression biscuit wrappers lay beside it. Xu Feng sat cross-legged, and with a thought, the Attribute Panel appeared again:

[Name: Xu Feng]

[Breakthrough Points: 8]

[Iron Wire Fist: Great Accomplishment]

"Add points!"

The instant those words formed in his mind, the figure that looked exactly like him sprang into motion. It was as if someone had hit fast-forward, and it practiced each move of the Iron Wire Fist at a speed too quick for the eye to follow.

Ten times, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand!

Only after completing a full ten thousand repetitions did the figure finally finish the last move and slowly fade away.

The moment the practice ended, a crushing wave of hunger swept over him again.

Xu Feng didn't dare waste a second. He grabbed a compression biscuit with his left hand and stuffed it into his mouth, while his right hand lifted the bucket and gulped down water. The crisp crunch of chewing mingled with the loud gulps of cold water, the only sounds in the room.

Only after more than fifty compression biscuits had gone down did the hollowing hunger finally subside.

Xu Feng slowly opened his eyes. A sharp, intimidating glint flashed through them, as piercing as that of a top martial artist who had spent decades immersed in the martial arts. There was no trace left of his former frail appearance.

He looked down at his body. His arm muscles bulged, but they weren't grotesquely knotted like those of a bodybuilder. Instead, they were sleek and compact, their smooth lines promising explosive power.

Eight abdominal muscles were neatly arranged across his stomach. From his thighs to his waist, his muscles formed perfect, streamlined contours, beautiful in their strength.

Who would have thought that half an hour ago he'd been a skinny weakling who might fall over in a breeze?

"This is what a man's dreams are made of!"

Xu Feng clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within him. His face brimmed with shock and delight.

In terms of physical fitness alone, he could now rank among the very best beneath the hunters.

And with the Iron Wire Fist at Perfection...

Ordinary E-class Hunters and E-class Demonic Beasts were probably no match for him!

After all, the Iron Wire Fist was no fancy, showy routine.

Before the Dungeons descended, it had been a genuine killing art, every move vicious and aimed straight at vital points.

"Two-Character Goat-Clamping Stance!"

Xu Feng gave a low shout and planted his legs firmly. His feet rooted themselves to the floor like the roots of an ancient tree. It was the basic stance of the Iron Wire Fist.

Then his fists shot out like dragons!

They weaved and surged before him, at times striking like a猛 tiger pouncing down a mountain, accompanied by the roar of rushing wind!

At other times, they moved like a spirit snake flicking its tongue, twisting and changing with cunning agility.

He completed the entire routine in one smooth flow, as if he had devoted decades to the art and carved the essence of the Iron Wire Fist into his bones.

He drew back his fists and stood still. Looking at the Breakthrough Points reduced to zero on the Attribute Panel, Xu Feng felt a flicker of regret.

Beyond Perfection must lie a realm that truly surpassed the limits of the human body, right?

That was the realm that truly belonged to the extraordinary!

"Hunters, Demonic Beasts... With the little strength I have now, it's still nowhere near enough."

The excitement gradually faded from Xu Feng's face, and the heat in his heart slowly cooled. He regained his composure.

"Since Breakthrough Points increase after I witness a Demonic Beast's death..." His eyes flickered slightly as an idea came to him. "I'll have to find a way to make use of that from now on."

Xu Feng tapped the screen and quickly opened his phone's local Z City forum.

The forum's homepage was a chaotic jumble of all kinds of posts—

"Selling a bundle of senior-year exam prep materials. DM if interested."

"Home massage service in your area. Attractive masseuse, prices from three thousand."

"Captain Pu leads a B-class raiding team to conquer a newly appeared B-class Dungeon!"

"Double Dungeon appears in S City—only five survivors!!!"

Xu Feng quickly scrolled past the irrelevant posts, fixing his attention on several related to Dungeons.

The most prominent one was the latest update on the portal near his home:

"攻略 of the D-class Dungeon 'Octopus Nest' has been completed. Residents are advised to take note: more than a dozen E-class Octopus Monsters escaped in the chaos. The government has organized teams of Hunters to conduct a thorough search of the city's entire sewer system."

"E-class Demonic Beasts..."

Xu Feng's eyes suddenly lit up, and an uncontrollable thrill welled in his heart.

Demonic Beasts escaping wasn't especially rare. Most were low-level E- or D-class species, and relatively small in size.

Before, he would have kept his distance if he'd seen news like this. He wouldn't even have dared go near a place like the sewers.

He was terrified of dying, after all.

But things were different now.

"If I can get my hands on a decent weapon, then with my physical condition, I should be able to take on an E-class Demonic Beast one-on-one."

Xu Feng stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then considered another option.

"But before that, I should ask Dad.

"He's been in the Demonic Beast materials business for years, and he often goes into Dungeons with teams. He must have seen plenty of Hunters fighting Demonic Beasts.

"If I can go along with him, I can earn Breakthrough Points for sure without even having to fight."

Once he'd made up his mind, Xu Feng immediately stood, pushed open his bedroom door, and poked his head out to look toward the living room.

"Dad!" he called. "Do you need anyone to help out when you buy and sell Demonic Beast materials? Tomorrow's Saturday, so I want to come along and see what it's like. I might as well get an early start on the family business!"

"Get lost! What does a little kid like you know?" Xu Shan waved him away without looking up. "You're in your final year of high school. You should be studying at home, not wasting time on this nonsense.

"Just focus on getting into college. That's what matters. Don't get mixed up in the Dungeons."

"Exactly, Xiaofeng," his second uncle chimed in, his expression serious. "Don't think that your dad and I made a little money from this business without paying a price. We risked our lives for it!

"There were several times over the last few years when your dad and I nearly lost our lives in a Dungeon."

"I'll just watch from the side. I won't go in!" Xu Feng persisted, quickly adding, "I've never even seen what a Dungeon looks like..."

"Don't even think about it!" Xu Shan slapped his thigh, glaring at him with bristling anger. "Get into a good college and find a stable job. Then your old man won't have to risk his life day in and day out! Get back to your room and study! You're in your final year of high school, and you're still letting your mind wander. What kind of nonsense is that?"

Xu Feng was left speechless. He could only pull his head back in dejection and close the door with a click.

Leaning against the door, he sighed helplessly. "Looks like that plan's a dead end."

In the living room.

Xu Shan looked at the closed door and shook his head helplessly, muttering, "Is that little brat trying to give me a heart attack?"

As he spoke, he unconsciously straightened his back. A few hideous scars peeked out from beneath his clothes across his back and chest.

They were wounds he'd suffered when he went into Dungeons with raiding teams to help harvest Demonic Beast materials. The Beasts had caught him off guard with surprise attacks, and every one of those wounds had nearly killed him.

Yang Hu, Xu Feng's second uncle, was in no better shape. He had just as many scars as Xu Shan.

They knew all too well how hard it was to make a living this way. One careless mistake could mean utter ruin, so they would never let the younger generation of their family get mixed up in it.

"Come to think of it..." Yang Hu stared at the bedroom door, his brow creasing slightly. His voice carried a note of doubt. "Don't you think Xiaofeng seems a little different?

"When he was standing in the doorway just now, there was something about his bearing that reminded me a little of the Iron Wire Fist master I met years ago."

"Him?" Xu Shan scoffed, teasing him. "I think yesterday's trip into the Dungeon scared you so badly that now everyone looks like a vicious Demonic Beast to you."

"Bullshit!" Yang Hu immediately bristled, retorting with his neck stiff. "When have I ever been scared out of my wits? Yesterday, when the Demonic Beast ambushed us, I kept my cool and didn't even flinch!"

"Sure, keep telling yourself that." Xu Shan glanced sideways at him, a teasing smile on his lips. "I know exactly which pair of underwear you secretly washed last night."

"You son of a—"

Yang Hu's face turned bright red. After a long pause, he finally forced out a retort, still holding his neck stiff. "That was Demonic Beast blood! I got it on my pants by accident. It wasn't what you think!"

Xu Shan sneered and uttered two words. "Yeah, right."

Yang Hu: "(╬￣皿￣)凸"