Origin-Returning Finger Condensation

Wei Han was a cautious man. He'd managed to cultivate Savage Strength one step at a time by running.

As soon as he finished shouting, he made no effort to fight. He turned and fled.

He was the only one in the station with Savage Strength now. He couldn't afford to fight head-on.

While sprinting, he kept shouting about Xingyun remnants and a Jiguang Society attack, making as much noise as he could.

Unfortunately for him, he'd run into someone even better at running.

Su Yuan followed behind him but didn't immediately go for the kill.

His figure blended into the darkness, keeping close like a shadow.

He let Wei Han shout for a while, taking the opportunity to study his weaknesses.

As Wei Han fled, he kept glancing back, but couldn't see his attacker anywhere.

Seeing this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Had the attacker given up?

Su Yuan watched quietly from the shadows.

His opponent's footwork was fast, but his left shoulder drooped slightly. When he pushed off with his right leg, his hips stiffened for an instant. And whenever he turned to check behind him, his neck tilted unconsciously to the left. He might have an old injury.

Su Yuan quietly roused the force within him. Vajra Strength gathered atop his head, while Flying Star Strength condensed in his right fist.

This was his first time fighting a Martial Warrior with Savage Strength. Not knowing exactly how strong his opponent was, he decided that if he struck, he would unleash his strongest attack.

Just as Wei Han felt the chill behind him begin to fade, a rush of wind suddenly descended from above!

He looked up in horror and saw a dark figure swoop down from the shadow of the eaves like a great falcon diving through the sky!

"Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist!"

Su Yuan shouted inwardly. He raised his right fist high, and the unyielding hardness of Vajra Strength and the explosive downward momentum of Flying Star Strength crashed together. Using the force of his dive, he shot down like a meteor piercing the sun, smashing straight into Wei Han's crown!

Seeing no chance to dodge, Wei Han roared and crossed his arms above his head. He poured every bit of his Savage Strength into them—they were the hardest part of his body, tempered through training.

Fist struck arms, and a muffled, thunderous boom erupted.

Wei Han felt an irresistible force, fused with terrifying strength, punch straight through him.

His legs gave way. He crashed to his knees, cracking the bricks beneath him, as the Savage Strength gathered around his body scattered and collapsed under the blow!

His blood surged backward, and his throat turned sweet.

Su Yuan's long-prepared diving strike had failed to kill him outright.

"What kind of force is this? How can it be so overbearing? It's not Xing—" Wei Han cried out in horror, struggling to resist.

Before he could finish, a cold glint flashed in Su Yuan's eyes.

His punch had not yet run its course. Using the recoil, he suddenly thrust his forehead forward.

Horse-Head Impact!

Golden Vajra Horse-Head Strength!

Thud—squelch.

Wei Han's arms, still raised above his head and already numb with pain, were knocked completely aside by the vicious headbutt, leaving him wide open.

Su Yuan's forehead kept driving forward, slamming into the left side of Wei Han's neck, which had shifted slightly in his shock.

The horns and fangs on Su Yuan's mask sank into his flesh.

Wei Han's eyes were wide, his face frozen in disbelief, as his body slowly crumpled.

Su Yuan dragged his corpse and tossed it into the nearby sea of flames.

Then he turned and charged at the others.

"Run!"

Seeing Su Yuan's mask smeared with blood and bits of flesh, the others fled in every direction, terrified out of their wits.

Even Wei Han, a Martial Warrior with Savage Strength, had died. How could they possibly stay and wait for death?

Su Yuan first rushed into the accounts office. Some people hadn't fled at all; they were still inside, rummaging for money.

They were startled by Su Yuan, but before they could even cry out, they fell to the ground.

"Perfect. Now I don't have to search for it myself."

Su Yuan went on a merciless killing spree.

Unfortunately, there were too many people.

He couldn't kill every last witness, but he memorized the auras of all the fleeing Martial Warriors and began hunting them in the darkness.

[Slaughter: 2/1000 (Grandmaster)]

He also deliberately let a few people escape, including those who had seen him leave during the day, to mislead anyone who heard the news.

Afterward, he didn't return to the Inner City. Instead, he went back to his home on Shangning Street.

Going in and out of the Inner City now would inevitably draw the guards' attention and invite suspicion.

"I brought in more than four hundred taels this time."

After counting the money, Su Yuan didn't rest. He immediately began practicing the Origin-Returning Finger.

Now that he possessed force, training with it made his progress incredibly fast.

This finger technique had also reached the threshold of perfection.

[Origin-Returning Finger: 2000/2000 (Perfect)]

[Acquired Trait: Origin-Returning Finger Condensation]

[The fingers move through gaps in the bones; force flows between the meridians]

[Mastery of the body's acupoints and meridians. Force applied at the fingertips can travel through the gaps between bones and muscles, circulating through the meridians. It makes the finger technique's force restrained and solid, harmonizes and regulates the body's blood and qi, restores vitality, and repairs the body's foundation]

"Huh, the Trait for Origin-Returning Finger is actually its guiding principle."

It seemed this finger technique really could harmonize one's vitality. Previously, when he'd massaged Gao Mian, combining it with [Smoothing Edges] had improved her constitution.

The two worked even better together.

After thinking it over, he began at the acupoints on his head, pressing and kneading his chest, lower abdomen, inner thighs, buttocks, calves, and finally the soles of his feet...

He gave every part of his body he could reach a thorough massage.

Then he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"I got careless."

He'd just tried guiding a thread of Flying Star Strength to his fingertips with [Origin-Returning Finger Condensation]. The force had indeed grown denser, so he'd tried to guide it into his meridians as a test.

That reckless attempt had damaged his meridians quite a bit.

His meridians couldn't yet withstand the penetration of force. Back when he was at the Savage Strength stage, his force had only gathered in his skin and flesh.

That was something he could only attempt at the Vein-Splitting stage. There was no need to rush.

Still, he'd found a path to follow in his future cultivation.

As he was regulating his breathing, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

The person standing outside was none other than Jiang Yu.

The young girl looked rather frail in the night, her face full of worry.

"Xiaoyu, what brings you here?"

"Brother Yuan! Something happened at the South City Patrol Station. It was attacked by Xingyun remnants! The Chai Family couldn't find you, so they sent us to check here. I'm glad you're all right." Seeing that he was unharmed, Jiang Yu sighed in relief and lightly patted her not-so-full chest.

She gestured to the people from the Chai Family Martial Academy at the mouth of the alley, letting them know Su Yuan was safe.

The Martial Academy had also sent several people out to look for him. It seemed he carried quite a bit of weight now.

"Brother Yuan, wait here for a moment. The young master said he'd come over himself," Jiang Yu added.

Su Yuan nodded, then asked, "How has your martial training been going lately?"

At his question, Jiang Yu's cheeks flushed. She lowered her head. "I'm still no good. I tried to break through once a few days ago, but I couldn't calm my mind..."

The matter with Jiang Yu's family had been settled through the relationship between the Su brothers and her family, but Tie Niu had been injured after failing his breakthrough, and the pressure from the young master had weighed on her too. She'd still failed.

Her voice grew quieter. "Brother Yuan, I'm so useless. I want to go home so I won't hold you all back. But you have to keep working hard at your martial arts. I believe you can all break through to Savage Strength."

Although the Jiang Family hoped she would cling to the Su brothers, she felt the gap between them had grown too great, and Chai Nian wasn't willing either.

In just four short months, she'd fallen far behind. She was no longer worthy of them.

Su Yuan sighed softly.

The Chai Family was also preparing for Tie Niu's wedding, but Tie Niu was putting it off on the pretext that he needed to break through.

He had feelings for Jiang Yu.

"Don't give up so easily. You're still young. Come inside. Let me see if I can help you." Su Yuan spoke gently.

"Okay." Jiang Yu answered obediently and followed him inside.

Su Yuan fetched a pair of thin leather gloves and put them on. He pressed her acupoints to get her blood and qi flowing, then gave her some pointers on how to train her fingers.

Jiang Yu immediately felt the soreness and swelling in her fingers ease, and her blood and qi seemed to grow more vigorous. She jumped up in delight. "Brother Yuan, you're amazing!"

Su Yuan encouraged her too. "Tie Niu likes strong girls."

He continued guiding Jiang Yu's training until Chai Nian's voice came from outside the courtyard. "Su Yuan? Are you in there?"

Su Yuan told Jiang Yu to stay inside and went out alone.

Chai Nian had come with Chai Hong.

Seeing Su Yuan safe and sound, Chai Nian visibly relaxed.

"You're pretty sharp. That Patrol Office really wasn't safe. The Xingyun remnants attacked at night, and nearly all the Martial Warriors inside were killed. Only you and the others who weren't there escaped unscathed."

Hearing this, Su Yuan immediately looked grief-stricken. "That really happened? Damn those Xingyun rebels! My good brothers... We were drinking together just the other day. Wei Che, Gu Yi... They're really gone?"

"Alas. My condolences." Chai Nian offered a rare word of comfort.

Chai Hong stepped forward and put a hand on Su Yuan's shoulder, sending a thread of force into him to examine him.

Su Yuan had already gathered all the force in his body into the soles of his feet.

Besides, Chai Hong was only checking his constitution and didn't probe deeply.

Force could also be considered a kind of internal energy, and Su Yuan could control it.

"Good. Your constitution really has improved." Chai Hong's eyes lit up.

Chai Nian praised him as well. "Well done. After this incident, I plan to transfer you from the Patrol Squad. But before you're transferred, you'll have to come back to the scene with me. Let's go."

Inside the Su Family Old Residence.

Yun Xu, Ji Haoyang, Zhou Xing, and the only three remaining External Force disciples of Cloud-Striding Martial Hall were hiding there, all nursing serious injuries.

They used the Cloud-Covering Art to conceal their Blood Qi.

On the bed, Yun Yan was badly injured and coughing nonstop.

"Father." Yun Xu stayed by his bedside, eyes brimming with tears as she held his hand tightly.

Yun Yan shook his head, his voice weak. "Xu'er, I'm all right. If I rest, I can hold on a little longer. We took a huge risk to get the Cloud-Water Wolf's heart. You must use it to break through to Internal Force. From now on, Cloud-Striding Martial Hall will depend on you."

"I understand, Father. You have to hold on." Yun Xu choked back a sob.

They'd also heard the commotion outside, especially those clear shouts about Xingyun remnants.

The group exchanged glances.

After looking around for a while, Ji Haoyang said, "Someone posing as us attacked the Patrol Guard Station. I don't know if that'll draw our brothers in to help. Should we use the confusion to leave now?"

Yun Xu glanced around the empty old home of the Su Family, then looked at her gravely wounded father. After a moment's thought, she nodded.

She bent down, preparing to carry Yun Yan on her back.

Knock, knock, knock!

But then someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

Wei Xian's booming voice, edged with coldness, came through the door. "Su Yuan! Are you there?"