Origin-Returning Finger Condensation

Wei Han was a cautious man; he had only managed to cultivate his Savage Strength step by step by knowing when to run.

The moment he finished shouting, he did not linger to fight, turning on his heel to flee.

He was the only practitioner of Savage Strength within the bureau at the moment; he could not afford a head-on confrontation.

As he sprinted, he continued to bellow that there were remnants of Xingyun and that the Jiguang Society was under attack, determined to make as much noise as possible.

Unfortunately, he had encountered someone even better at running.

Su Yuan trailed behind him, not yet delivering the killing blow.

He merged his figure into the darkness, clinging to the man like a shadow.

He allowed the man to shout for a while longer, using the time to observe his flaws.

As Wei Han fled, he glanced back repeatedly, yet he could see no trace of his attacker.

Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief: Did he retreat?

Su Yuan watched quietly from the shadows.

Though the man's footwork was fast, his left shoulder dipped slightly, and there was a momentary hesitation in his hip when his right leg pushed off the ground. When he turned to guard, his neck tilted unconsciously to the left—he likely had an old injury.

He quietly mobilized the force within his body, gathering Golden Vajra Strength at his crown and condensing Flying Star Strength into his right fist.

This was his first time fighting a practitioner of Savage Strength, and not knowing the exact extent of the man's power, he decided to lead with his strongest strike.

Just as Wei Han felt the chill behind him recede, he suddenly sensed a rush of wind pressure descending from above!

He looked up in terror, only to see a black silhouette like a great hawk sweeping through the air, plummeting from the shadows of the eaves!

"Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist!"

Su Yuan shouted inwardly, his right fist held high. The unyielding rigidity of the Golden Vajra Strength and the explosive, downward momentum of the Flying Star Strength merged in a thunderous union. Borrowing the force of his dive, he struck like a meteor piercing the sun, aiming straight for the crown of Wei Han's head!

Seeing that he could not dodge in time, Wei Han could only let out a wild roar, crossing his arms above his head. He poured every ounce of his Savage Strength into his arms—the parts of his body he had tempered to be the hardest.

Fist and arms collided, exploding with a sound like a muffled thunderclap.

Wei Han felt an irresistible, massive force mixed with terrifying power surge into his body.

His legs went weak and he crashed to his knees, shattering the bricks beneath him. The Savage Strength he had gathered was smashed into disarray by this single punch!

His blood surged in reverse, and he tasted sweetness in his throat.

Su Yuan's long-prepared aerial strike had failed to kill him instantly.

"What kind of force is this? How can it be so tyrannical? This isn't Xing—" Wei Han was struck with absolute horror, his voice rasping as he tried to resist.

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

His momentum unspent, he used the force of the rebound to slam his forehead forward.

Horse-Head Impact!

Golden Vajra Horse-Head Strength!

Bang—squelch.

Wei Han's arms, already aching and on the verge of snapping as he held them over his head, were completely knocked aside by this vicious headbutt, leaving his vitals wide open.

Su Yuan's forehead, its momentum undiminished, slammed heavily into the left side of Wei Han's neck, which had tilted slightly due to his terror.

The horns and fangs on the mask pierced deep into his flesh.

Wei Han's eyes widened, a look of incredulous shock frozen on his face as his body slowly slumped to the ground.

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

He then turned and lunged toward the remaining men.

"Run!"

Seeing Su Yuan's mask stained with blood and gore, the men were scared out of their wits and scattered in all directions.

If even Wei Han, with his Savage Strength, was dead, how could they dare to stay and wait for death?

Su Yuan first charged into the accounting room, where a few men were still hiding, rummaging through the money.

The man was startled by Su Yuan, but he fell to the ground before he could even make a sound.

"Perfect, saves me the trouble of searching."

Su Yuan began his slaughter, showing no mercy.

Unfortunately, there were too many of them.

He could not silence them all, but he memorized the aura of every fleeing martial artist, beginning his hunt in the darkness.

[Slaughter: 2/1000 (Great Success)]

He also deliberately let a few go—those who had seen him leave during the day—to use them to spread misleading information.

Afterward, he did not return to the Inner City, but instead went back to his home on Shangning Street.

Entering the Inner City at this hour would inevitably draw the attention of the guards and only increase suspicion.

"This haul amounts to over four hundred taels."

After counting the money, Su Yuan did not rest, immediately beginning to practice the Origin-Returning Finger.

Now that he possessed internal strength, using it to hone his technique allowed for rapid progress.

This finger technique had also reached the threshold of perfection.

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

[Obtained Trait: Origin-Returning Finger Condensation]

[Finger travels through bone gaps, strength flows between veins]

[Mastery of the body's acupuncture points allows strength to be channeled through the gaps in bones and tendons, circulating through the meridians; this causes the finger technique's force to become restrained and solid, harmonizing and smoothing the body's qi and blood, restoring vitality, and repairing the origin.]

"So, the trait of the Origin-Returning Finger is actually its core essence."

It seemed this technique truly could harmonize vitality; his previous massages for Gao Mian, combined with [Smoothing Edges], were what had improved her constitution.

The two worked even better in tandem.

He thought for a moment, then used both hands to press and knead his body, starting from the acupuncture points on his head, moving down to his chest, lower abdomen, inner thighs, buttocks, and calves, all the way to the soles of his feet...

He covered every reachable part of his body, giving himself a full massage.

Shortly after, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Too careless."

He had just attempted to channel a sliver of Flying Star Strength into his fingertips using [Origin-Returning Finger Condensation]. The force had indeed become more concentrated, but when he tried to guide that strength into his meridians to test it, the result was disastrous.

This reckless act caused significant damage to his meridians.

His current meridians could not yet withstand the infiltration of internal strength; the strength from his Savage Strength phase was still gathered only within his skin and flesh.

That was a feat only those at the Vein Splitting realm could attempt; he could not rush it.

Still, it had pointed out a path for his future cultivation.

Just as he was regulating his breath, a knock sounded at the courtyard gate.

Standing outside was none other than Jiang Yu.

The young girl looked somewhat frail in the night air, her face etched with anxiety.

"Xiao Yu, why are you here?"

"Brother Yuan! Something happened at the South City Patrol Station; it was attacked by remnants of Xingyun! The Chai family couldn't find you, so they sent us to check on this place. I'm glad you're safe." Seeing he was unharmed, Jiang Yu let out a sigh of relief and lightly patted her modest chest.

She signaled to the people from the Chai Family Martial Academy at the mouth of the alley that Su Yuan was safe.

The academy had sent several people out to search for him; it seemed he carried significant weight now.

"Brother Yuan, please wait here. The Young Master said he is coming over personally," Jiang Yu added.

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

At these words, Jiang Yu's cheeks flushed, and she lowered her head. "I'm still not making it. I tried to break through the barrier a few days ago, but my mind was restless..."

The issues with Jiang Yu's family had been resolved thanks to the relationship between the two Su brothers, but with Tie Niu's failed breakthrough and injury, along with the pressure from the Young Master's side, she had failed as well.

Her voice grew softer. "Brother Yuan, I'm too useless. I want to go home so I don't drag you all down. But you must train hard; I believe you can all break through the Savage Strength phase."

Although the Jiang family hoped she would cling tightly to the Su brothers, she felt the gap between them had grown too wide, and Chai Nian was not willing to keep her on.

In just four short months, she had been left far behind, completely unworthy of them.

Su Yuan sighed softly.

The Chai family was also preparing for Tie Niu's marriage, though Tie Niu was stalling by using his breakthrough as an excuse.

He did have feelings for Jiang Yu.

"Do not speak of giving up so easily. You are still young. Come inside; let me see if I can help you," Su Yuan said warmly.

"Mm." Jiang Yu responded obediently and followed him into the house.

Su Yuan fetched a pair of thin leather gloves, put them on, and pressed her acupuncture points to stimulate her blood flow, also offering guidance on finger-strengthening techniques.

Jiang Yu felt her previously sore and swollen fingers instantly loosen, and her blood energy grew more vigorous. She jumped up in surprise, "Brother Yuan, you're amazing!"

Su Yuan encouraged her, "The kind of girl Tie Niu likes is a strong one."

He continued to guide Jiang Yu in her training until the voice of Chai Nian drifted in from outside the courtyard: "Su Yuan? Are you inside?"

Su Yuan told Jiang Yu to stay in the room and went out alone.

Chai Nian and Chai Hong had actually come together.

Seeing that Su Yuan was unharmed, Chai Nian's expression relaxed.

"You were quite alert. That patrol station was indeed unsafe. The Xingyun remnants launched a night raid; almost all the martial artists at the station died. Only those of you who weren't there escaped the disaster."

Upon hearing this, Su Yuan's face filled with grief and indignation. "Such a thing happened? Those damned Xingyun rebels! My good brothers... we were just drinking together earlier. Wei Che, Gu Yi... are they really gone?"

"Sigh, my condolences," Chai Nian said, offering a rare word of comfort.

Chai Hong stepped forward then, placing a hand on Su Yuan's shoulder, a surge of internal strength penetrating his body to investigate.

Su Yuan had long since gathered the force throughout his body into the soles of his feet.

The other party was only checking his bone structure and did not probe any deeper.

Internal force could be considered a type of internal qi, which he was capable of manipulating.

"Very good, your bone structure has indeed improved." A glint appeared in Chai Hong's eyes.

Chai Nian also praised, "Well done. After this incident, I intend to transfer you back from the Patrol Squad. However, before that, you must accompany me back to the scene. Let's go."

Inside the Su Family Old Residence.

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

They used the Cloud-Covering Art to mask their life force.

On the bed, Yun Yan was severely wounded, coughing incessantly.

"Father." Yun Xu kept watch by the bedside, tears in her eyes as she gripped his hand tightly.

Yun Yan shook his head, his voice weak, "Xu'er, Father is fine. After a rest, I will be able to hold on for a few more days. You must use this Cloud-Water Wolf heart to break through to the Internal Force realm. The future of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall will depend on you."

"Daughter understands. Father, you must hold on." Yun Xu choked back a sob.

They had also heard the commotion outside, especially those distinct mentions of "remnants of the Cloud-Striding Martial Hall."

The group exchanged glances.

After scouting the area, Ji Haoyang said, "Someone disguised themselves as us to attack the Patrol Guard Station. I wonder if our brothers will come to our aid. Should we take advantage of this chaos to leave?"

Yun Xu glanced at Su Yuan's empty old residence, then looked at her severely injured father. After a moment of deliberation, she nodded.

She leaned over, preparing to carry Yun Yan on her back.

Thud, thud, thud!

The courtyard gate was knocked upon.

Wei Xian's booming and slightly cold voice pierced through the door panels: "Su Yuan! Are you in?"