Joyful Laughter

Situ Xuan's finger bones collided hard with the metal shell, erupting in a harsh screech of grinding metal. Instead of retreating, he grinned ferociously and pressed the attack, his arms rotating like battle axes as he unleashed two heavy punches toward the puppet's head!

North Star Hundred Rending Fists!

His punch speed surged, his fists blurring into indistinct afterimages, each strike landing with precision on the puppet's joint connections.

Although the film of soul power dispersed the impact, the relentless barrage of heavy blows caused the puppet's mechanical skeleton to emit an unbearable, creaking groan.

Without the enhancement of Secret Acupoints, the techniques of Fist of the North Star were difficult to fully manifest, but wasn't that exactly what made it so exhilarating?!

"Useless."

Long Xiuyuan watched coldly from the sidelines. "Without a fatal weakness, ordinary attacks cannot crush it."

Situ Xuan ignored him entirely. His right leg suddenly swept low, and as the puppet instinctively raised its knee to block, he abruptly shifted his stance, driving his knee upward—

North Star Dragon Strikes Tiger!

"BOOM!"

This knee strike slammed solidly into the puppet's abdomen, causing the metal shell to cave in by an inch as the film of soul power fluctuated violently.

The puppet stumbled backward, but its electronic eyes immediately recalibrated, and its arms swept out like guillotine blades!

Situ Xuan dodged to the side, his body sliding past the puppet's arm like a fish in water. Simultaneously, he brought his right fingers together into a cone, and with a piercing whistle of displaced air, he thrust them directly into the puppet's ribs—

North Star Downfall Finger!

"SHING!"

The fingertip, which should have been aimed at the Baihui point, thrust forward instantly.

The moment it pierced the film of soul power, the muscles in Situ Xuan's fingertips vibrated at a high frequency, actually tearing a momentary gap in the film!

The puppet's mechanical ribs were gouged by the strike, but almost simultaneously, its left fist smashed toward Situ Xuan's temple like a cannonball!

At the critical moment, Situ Xuan's left hand rose like lightning, his palm bracing against the puppet's fist. Using the momentum to lean back, he launched his legs into the air, wrapping them around the puppet's neck—

North Star Muscle-Manipulating Free-Form Kick!

"CRACK!"

His legs locked onto the puppet's neck like iron pincers. The muscles in his waist and abdomen erupted with terrifying torsional force, actually lifting the puppet—weighing several hundred kilograms—clean off the ground and slamming it down hard!

"BOOM—!"

The thunderous sound of the metal body colliding with the floor made the entire Training Room hum. But the puppet's combat program showed no lag; the moment it hit the ground, it sprang up, its right leg cleaving toward Situ Xuan's chest like a battle axe!

Situ Xuan crossed his arms to block, but the heavy kick sent him sliding back several meters, carving two deep furrows into the floor. His arms were bruised and purple, but the fighting spirit in his eyes burned even brighter.

"Is this your family's martial art?"

Long Xiuyuan's voice sounded flatly.

Situ Xuan spat out a mouthful of blood, a savage grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. He slowly assumed a peculiar stance—left fist pulled to his waist, right arm extended as if grasping the moon, legs slightly bent like a bowstring.

"Oh?"

Long Xiuyuan raised an eyebrow. "A new move?"

"No, it's an old one..."

Situ Xuan whispered. The breathing rhythm in his chest changed abruptly, and the sound of his blood rushing could be heard clearly. "It's just that... I never had the chance to use it before!"

Before the words had even faded, his figure suddenly blurred!

In that instant, Situ Xuan's speed exploded! Every step he took left cracked footprints on the ground, his fist driving toward the puppet's chest with a shrill, pressurized wind.

The puppet hurriedly raised its arms to block, only to see Situ Xuan's punch path take a bizarre, sudden turn—

North Star Soft Rending Slash!

The seemingly rigid, powerful straight punch suddenly transformed into a supple palm-blade mid-air, cutting into the blind spot of the puppet's defense and hacking heavily into its throat! The film of soul power fluctuated violently, the puppet's head snapped back uncontrollably, and a stream of garbled data flashed through its electronic eyes.

Situ Xuan seized this fleeting opening, his right leg whipping toward the puppet's knee joint—

"CRACK!"

The armor at the metal joint finally shattered. The puppet's form wavered, but its combat program immediately adjusted its center of gravity, and its fists counterattacked like a rainstorm!

"BANG BANG BANG—!"

Situ Xuan did not dodge or retreat; he actually matched the puppet blow for blow at the same speed!

The intensity of the combat forced him to roar involuntarily!

Every one of his punches precisely intercepted the puppet's attacks, and sparks from the colliding fists exploded continuously between them.

"Not bad."

Long Xiuyuan's voice came through.

Situ Xuan's pupils constricted. He suddenly stepped back and leaned away, the puppet's fist grazing his nose, while his right palm shot out like a viper, his five fingers forming a claw to lock onto the puppet's wrist—

North Star Steel Rending Grip!

"CREAK—!"

Amidst the teeth-grinding sound of twisting metal, Situ Xuan actually crushed the puppet's wrist joint into a mangled mess with his bare hands!

The soul power membrane flickered frantically, yet it could not fully neutralize this terrifying grip.

The puppet's right arm functionality dropped by 30% instantly, but it immediately slammed its left fist toward the face of Situ Xuan!

Situ Xuan tilted his head to dodge, the wind of the punch stinging his cheeks, while his left knee had already rammed into the puppet's chest and abdomen like a battering ram--

"Boom!"

This strike finally caused the soul power membrane to briefly collapse! A sharp glint flashed in Situ Xuan's eyes, his muscles compressing to their limit like springs, and then--

North Star Hundred-Cracking Kick!

"Bang bang bang bang--!"

His legs turned into a blur of afterimages, landing twenty-seven kicks in a mere three seconds, all striking the exact same spot on the puppet's chest!

The soul power membrane finally could not withstand such high-frequency strikes and shattered like a bubble!

"Final strike--!"

Situ Xuan roared, pulling his right fist back to his waist as the strength of his entire body surged into this punch like a converging river. His fist tip even glowed with a dark red shimmer due to high-speed friction--

North Star Face-Breaking Fist!

"BOOM--!!!"

The fist pierced through the Soul Guidance Core in the puppet's chest, and metal fragments exploded like fireworks.

The Black Iron Puppet's crimson electronic eyes flickered twice before finally extinguishing completely, and it collapsed to the ground with a loud "clang."

The Training Room fell into dead silence, with only the sound of Situ Xuan's heavy panting echoing within.

His right fist was a bloody mess, and his forearm was covered in bruises, but the burning intensity in his eyes had not diminished in the slightest.

Long Xiuyuan walked over slowly, his gray-blue eyes bottomless, "You won."

Situ Xuan pulled at the corner of his mouth: "It... hasn't fallen apart yet."

"But the core has been destroyed."

Long Xiuyuan kicked the scrapped puppet: "By the training standards of the East Sea Legion, this counts as 'end of training'."

Only then did Situ Xuan relax his tensed muscles, and the soreness from the intense exercise surged over him like a tide. He looked down at his trembling hands and suddenly let out a low chuckle: "Satisfying."

Long Xiuyuan stared at him for a few seconds before suddenly tossing him a towel: "Starting tomorrow, two extra hours of training every night."

Situ Xuan caught the towel and raised an eyebrow: "Still fighting puppets?"

"No." Long Xiuyuan turned and walked toward the door, the sound of his military boots hitting the floor exceptionally clear, "You're fighting me."

The moment the door closed, Situ Xuan's smile widened, the craving madness within him making him laugh out loud.

"Hahahaha!"

After a long while, he looked down at his scarred, battered fist and whispered to himself: "Now that's more like it."