Dark Energy

Jiang Tian was taken aback.

Then the handsome face went completely cold.

"Kid, are you going to break all four of your limbs yourself, or do I have to do it?"

Xiao Shan drew closer, sneering as he clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.

Jiang Tian's expression remained blank. His voice was calm. "Who sent you? Zhang Qingfeng?"

"Since you won't do it yourself, I'll handle it!"

Xiao Shan couldn't be bothered to waste words. He took a sudden step forward, his body shooting toward Jiang Tian like an arrow loosed from a bow.

His blood and qi surged, every muscle in his arm tensing until the sleeve gave a faint ripping sound.

"Mountain Opening Fist!"

He was absolutely certain this punch would cripple the kid.

His fist howled through the air, aimed straight at Jiang Tian's face.

Yet the instant it was only a foot from Jiang Tian's chest—

Jiang Tian vanished.

Yes, vanished.

He disappeared from Xiao Shan's sight as if he'd been erased from thin air.

Xiao Shan's pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.

Something was wrong.

Very wrong.

Hadn't this kid only just joined the Martial Arts Hall?

How could he be this fast?

Before the thought could even settle in his mind, a tiger's roar exploded beside his ear.

"Roar—!"

The sound made his eardrums ache, as if a real tiger were roaring right beside his ear.

Then a force as immense as an avalanche slammed into his chest.

"Crack—"

The crisp, rapid snaps of breaking bones sounded like a bundle of dry sticks being crushed beneath someone's foot.

Xiao Shan was sent flying as if he'd been struck by a battering ram. His body hurtled uncontrollably through the air, traced an arc, and crashed hard onto the ground. He rolled twice before finally coming to a stop.

"Argh—!!"

His agonized wails echoed through the alley.

Xiao Shan spat blood. His chest caved in, and four or five ribs had broken. Several jagged bone fragments had even pierced his lungs; every breath came with a wet, hissing sound.

He trembled all over with pain, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.

Before he could recover, a large foot came down hard on the back of his hand.

"Crack, crack, crack—"

The foot ground back and forth with merciless force.

The bones in his hand shattered inch by inch, from his fingers to his palm, breaking into fragments.

"Ahhhhhh—!"

Xiao Shan's screams rose another pitch. His body curled up like a shrimp, his face smeared with snot and tears.

Jiang Tian looked down at him, his expression icy. "Was it Zhang Qingfeng?"

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Xiao Shan was in so much pain he could hardly keep from passing out. How could he dare hide anything? He spilled the whole story like beans from a bamboo tube: how Zhang Qingfeng had found him, how they'd negotiated the price, and how he'd described Jiang Tian's sister-in-law. He left out not a single word.

"Spare me..." He lay on the ground like a beaten dog, looking up at Jiang Tian in desperate pleading. "This was all Zhang Qingfeng's idea. I had nothing to do with it! I have money. I'll give you all my silver, and all my Blood Vitality Pills too. Just spare my life!"

"Spare your life?"

Jiang Tian smiled.

"Sure. I'll let you take one step."

A flash of delight crossed Xiao Shan's face, though a vicious glint flickered in his eyes.

After suffering such serious injuries, he'd make Jiang Tian pay, no matter the cost.

Jiang Tian's expression was indifferent. "Go on, then. Why aren't you leaving?"

"Of course! I'm leaving! I'll go right now!"

Xiao Shan forced himself to his feet. His bones creaked all over, and blood dripped from the corner of his mouth onto the flagstones.

Grimacing, he turned around and took a step.

"Thud."

A dull sound rang out.

It was as if someone had smashed the back of Xiao Shan's head with a brick. His head lurched downward, his vision began to darken, and the whole world seemed to slowly close its curtains.

As his consciousness faded, he heard a voice.

"I said you could take one step. Why didn't you listen?"

Jiang Tian shook the blood from his hand, his gaze sweeping indifferently over Xiao Shan's corpse.

"Zhang Qingfeng..."

He was seized by the urge to charge straight to the Zhang Family and kill Zhang Qingfeng.

But reason told him he couldn't—not yet.

In his predecessor's memories, Zhang Qingfeng had once mentioned that his family supported an aging Dark Energy martial artist.

The man didn't usually fight, but if someone came to the house to kill, that would be another matter.

"Dark Energy, huh..."

Jiang Tian clenched his fist. His knuckles creaked.

He searched Xiao Shan and found a few pieces of broken silver, amounting to no more than seven or eight taels.

A penniless wretch.

The next day, before dawn, Jiang Tian arrived at the Martial Arts Hall.

A full hour earlier than usual.

He trained his fists. Trained his fists. And trained his fists some more.

[Beep! You possess an Innate Martial Bone and Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +9!]

[Beep! You possess an Innate Martial Bone and Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +9!]

[Beep! You possess an Innate Martial Bone and Superb Comprehension! Five Animals Creation Play +9!]

With every punch, the blood and qi inside him surged like a tide, then swiftly ebbed away.

After an intense stretch of training, Jiang Tian felt the blood and qi in his body begin to run dry, as if something had drained it all away.

He took out the Blood Vitality Pill he'd collected from Yuan Long that morning and swallowed it in one gulp.

The medicine's power spread through his stomach. A warm current flowed into his limbs and bones, replenishing his depleted blood and qi.

But one pill clearly wasn't enough.

By lunchtime, his reserves were nearly empty again.

The Martial Arts Hall's lunch had more meat than usual today, but for Jiang Tian's current needs, it was a drop in the bucket.

He had just picked up his bowl when Li Batian came over carrying a food box.

Jiang Tian was slightly taken aback.

Hadn't he ignored Li Batian's lackey yesterday? Why was the man still coming around?

Why did some people insist on pressing their warm faces against a cold backside?

Still, that portion of food wasn't enough for him anyway.

"Junior Brother Jiang, I brought you some food today. Give it a try." Li Batian smiled, then added meaningfully,

"Today's food is a lot better than yesterday's."

Jiang Tian gave him an honest, simple smile. "Then I won't stand on ceremony."

He took the food box and lifted the lid. A familiar medicinal aroma wafted out.

On top of the food lay three smooth, round pills: Blood Vitality Pills.

"Now that's something."

Jiang Tian smacked his lips and glanced up at Li Batian's face. Suddenly, he found it much more agreeable.

If someone was eager to give him silver, he naturally wouldn't refuse.

He picked up the three Blood Vitality Pills with his chopsticks and swallowed them in one gulp.

The three pills replenished his blood and qi at once, like a parched riverbed welcoming a torrential downpour.

"Refreshing! That's the stuff!" Jiang Tian's eyes lit up, and his spirits soared.

"Hahaha!" Li Batian edged closer with a hearty laugh. "I'm glad you like them, Junior Brother Jiang. How about I bring you some every day for the next few days?"

"Sure."

Jiang Tian answered without hesitation, lowering his head to shovel in his food, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Four days later.

Night had fallen over the Jiang Family's residence.

Moonlight spilled like water across the figure darting and wheeling through the courtyard.

Jiang Tian's movements shifted constantly. One moment he was a fierce tiger descending the mountain, unstoppable in his might; the next, a nimble deer leaping over a stream, light and swift; then a bird cutting through wind and rain, elusive and unpredictable...

The five forms flowed into one another, seamless and natural.

[Beep! You have cultivated Five Animals Creation Play to the Great Mastery level!]

The moment the panel appeared, Jiang Tian's vision suddenly blurred.

In a trance, he saw a white-fronted tiger with round pupils.

Trapped in a cramped iron cage, it could barely turn around.

The tiger was emaciated, all skin and bones, lying listlessly on the ground like a sick cat on the verge of death.

Yet its slit pupils—

Shone brightly.

It was waiting.

Waiting for its moment.

The moment to deliver a fatal blow.

The image dissolved like a bubble, and the system panel abruptly appeared.

[Host: Jiang Tian]

[Lifespan: 16/17]

[Realm: Dark Energy]

[Martial Arts: Five Animals Creation Play (Great Mastery) (1+/500)]

[Traits: Innate Martial Bone (Purple) (446+/5000), Superb Comprehension (Purple) (1+/5000)]

[Momentum: Tiger in a Cage]