Invincible Turtle Fist

"The recent behavior of the fierce beasts has truly been abnormal..."

In the living room, Gu Yuanzheng leaned back against the sofa, taking a deep breath with a melancholy expression on his face.

"Could it be that I am truly destined to emerge from retirement once again!"

He crossed his hands behind his head, gazing at the chandelier on the ceiling at a forty-five-degree angle, as if the entirety of his lost martial arts world resided there.

Gu Yuan turned his head silently to look at his mother, Shangguan Yi, beside him.

Shangguan Yi supported her forehead with one hand, pressing her fingers firmly into her temples.

"Indeed."

Shangguan Yi stood up from the sofa, casting a condescending glance at her husband, who was still immersed in his "lonely master" persona.

"If the people from the Destiny Bureau hadn't stopped you, you would have been out there last time. Keep fantasizing; I'm going to sleep."

With that, Shangguan Yi walked toward the bedroom without looking back, leaving the father and son behind with a resolute silhouette.

As Gu Yuan listened to his father, his mind began to race.

The abnormal gathering of fierce beasts... this was definitely not a good sign.

Recently, due to the Fusion Sect, the Destiny Bureau had been short-handed in every defense zone. With the fierce beasts outside the city becoming unusually active at such a critical juncture, could there be a connection between the two?

Could it be... that those lunatics from the Fusion Sect were pulling the strings in the shadows? Did they want to artificially incite a large-scale beast tide outside the city to assault humanity's defensive lines?

"Do you not believe me either, my dear son?"

A voice interrupted Gu Yuan's thoughts.

Gu Yuan immediately gathered his wits, walking toward his room while answering dismissively without looking back.

"Haha, Dad, of course I believe in you! I believe in you more than anyone else in the world! I'm going back to my room to rest now; you should get some sleep too, Dad."

Before his words had even faded, he had already slipped into his room.

Seeing that both of them had vanished, Gu Yuanzheng stood alone in the center of the living room. He clenched his hands into fists and began to swing them wildly at the air, muttering to himself.

He unleashed a series of strikes that were completely devoid of technique, yet whistled with force.

The wind from his punches howled!

"Bang!"

One punch landed squarely on the clothes rack nearby.

With a loud clatter, several pieces of freshly dried laundry fell to the floor.

"Behold my Invincible Turtle Fist..."

"Gu Yuanzheng, are you having another episode? It's the middle of the night—are you trying to tear the house down? If you're going to act out, go outside and do it!"

Shangguan Yi's voice, suppressed with anger, traveled precisely into Gu Yuanzheng's ears from the bedroom.

The living room fell silent instantly.

Early the next morning, Gu Yuan arrived at the downtown martial arts gym right on time.

Many students were already inside, performing their basic training.

The Fusion Sect, mysterious Warlocks, the abnormal fierce beasts outside the city...

Gu Yuan sat on a bench in the lounge area, his mind still replaying the series of events from the past few days.

"Oh my, isn't that Gu Yuan?"

A loud, somewhat flamboyant voice came from the gym entrance, instantly breaking his train of thought.

Gu Yuan looked up.

He saw a young man with bright yellow hair strutting in.

He wore a thick silver necklace around his neck, his shoulders swaying with every step as if he were terrified that someone might fail to notice him.

Above his head floated the tag: [Takeoff Expert].

One could only say that they were cousins indeed; even their tags were remarkably similar.

Following behind him was Zhang Yining, who wore a buzz cut and a look of utter helplessness.

The students training nearby stopped what they were doing, glancing sideways at the gaudily styled blonde youth as if looking at a rare animal.

Some covered their mouths to giggle, while others shook their heads in speechlessness, clearly shocked by such an aesthetic.

Watching this familiar yet strange figure, Gu Yuan couldn't help but laugh. He raised his right hand and waved it in the air.

"Brother Tian, your transformation... is truly something else."

The blonde youth was none other than Zhang Tian.

Seeing Gu Yuan, Zhang Tian's eyes lit up. He walked over quickly and reached up to flick his pride and joy: his side-swept bangs.

"How is it? My new hairstyle—is it handsome?"

As he spoke, Zhang Tian spun around in a flashy circle, then stopped abruptly, hands on his hips, striking a classic pose to show off his biceps.

"This is the latest style I went all the way to the provincial capital to get done by the head stylist, Tony! Let me tell you, this is absolutely at the cutting edge of fashion in our martial arts world!"

This guy is still the same as ever.

"Tsk tsk tsk, a man really does change with every passing year."

"We haven't seen each other for just a few months, and this look of yours, Brother Tian... well, it's truly one of a kind, radiating dominance."

Zhang Tian lifted his chin smugly, leaned in toward Gu Yuan, and plopped down right next to him.

"That's right! But come to think of it, how are you getting more handsome by the day, Gu Yuan?"

At this moment, Zhang Yining also stepped out from behind Zhang Tian.

He took two steps forward and stared at Gu Yuan.

"Damn, Old Gu, how did you get even fairer!"

Zhang Yining pointed a finger at him.

"Your skin is better than the girls in our class! Did you secretly go for a glow-up? Hurry up and teach me, how exactly did you do it!"

Gu Yuan leaned forward slightly, moved close to Zhang Yining's ear, and lowered his voice.

"The secret to becoming handsome... is to stop staying up all night!"

Zhang Yining froze for a second.

Then, he suddenly realized what he meant and curled his lip.

He waved his hands repeatedly, wearing an expression that screamed "I don't believe a word of it," and took two steps back.

"Go on, go on, I don't believe you! You definitely have some other secret recipe!"

"Smack!"

Zhang Tian slapped Zhang Yining on the back of the head.

"Alright, enough with the useless chatter."

Zhang Tian turned his head, locking his gaze back onto Gu Yuan.

He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Gu Yuan, I've heard that you've made huge progress recently!"

"Since I'm back on break, today, let me, a top student from the Martial Arts University, personally test your cultivation results!"

As expected, this is the Zhang Tian I know.

The same familiar vibe.

Gu Yuan leaned back against the chair with a chuckle, spreading his hands.

"No problem at all, Brother Tian."

He stood up from the bench and casually loosened his wrists and ankles.

"But Brother Tian, when we spar in a moment, you really must be careful!"

Gu Yuan put on an extremely earnest expression, as if he were offering advice from the bottom of his heart.

To Zhang Tian's ears, however, these words took on a different meaning.

Zhang Tian threw his head back and laughed twice, rocking back and forth.

"Hahahaha! Oh, Gu Yuan, you're still as funny as ever! As a dignified Martial Arts University student who has officially become a martial artist, could I really be injured by a high schooler like you? You're looking down on me too much!"

Zhang Tian turned around and strode toward the standard-sized ring in the center of the training ground.

"Let me tell you, a normal Blood Tempering Realm practitioner—let alone fighting me—even if I stood here without moving and let you hit me with your fists and feet, you'd barely be able to scratch me. That's the gap between us, get it?"

Before his voice had even faded, Zhang Tian braced his hands on the edge of the ring and vaulted onto the platform with a clean, fluid motion.