Buddha's Wrathful Vajra

Jiang Ran looked at the prompt, his expression momentarily blank. It required 3 Profession points?

That worked out perfectly.

In an instant...

A Buddhist chant rang out!

His blood and qi surged to their limit, his bones and muscles chimed in unison, and his will blazed with battle intent like a Wrathful Vajra.

In this state, his physical abilities would increase exponentially, his sensitivity to pain would drop sharply, and his battle spirit would burn fiercely. He would neither fear nor retreat.

But the price was an extreme drain on his blood and qi. Once it ended, he would be left weakened.

It was a trump card.

A trump card to stake his life on in a desperate situation.

Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes. A glint of golden light flickered deep in his pupils before vanishing.

He rose and walked to the mirror.

The man in the reflection wore simple house clothes. He looked mild-mannered and refined, the kind of promising young man anyone might admire in this new era.

But only Jiang Ran knew the truth.

Beneath his skin, his blood and qi were circulating slowly.

Between his bones and muscles, his strength was quietly growing.

And deep within his consciousness, the phantom of a Wrathful Vajra stood behind him.

Nine o'clock that evening.

Haihua Food Stall.

Neon signs shimmered in the night, while the lively bustle and aroma of stir-fried food filled the whole street.

Jiang Ran had just gotten out of a taxi when he spotted a middle-aged man in a polo shirt at a table farther inside. The man smiled and waved at him.

"Xiao Jiang! Over here!"

Jiang Ran looked up, smiled, and walked over.

Old Chen was in his early forties and kept himself in good shape, with none of the paunch common at his age.

His hair was neatly combed, and he wore gold-rimmed glasses. On his wrist was a mechanical watch with no visible brand but excellent craftsmanship.

"You're early?" Jiang Ran asked as he sat across from him, glancing at the time. "Didn't we say nine-thirty?"

"I'd dare show up late when meeting other people, but how could I do that to you?" Old Chen said with a laugh as he poured him a drink. "I just finished taking care of something. Since I was passing by anyway, I came straight here."

Jiang Ran accepted the glass, shook his head with a wry smile, and didn't respond.

He had met Old Chen over a year ago.

At the time, Jiang Ran had only recently acquired the Profession Panel and was frantically trying out all kinds of professions.

Once, he had applied for a temporary coaching job at the most high-end golf club in Feng City. They hadn't planned to hire him because he was young and had no professional playing background.

As it happened, Old Chen had been there that day.

Old Chen was a lifetime member of the club. Word was that he had powerful connections, though no one could say exactly what he did. All anyone knew was that he held considerable sway in both the legitimate and underworld spheres.

He had only been passing by the practice area when he saw Jiang Ran teaching a wealthy young man who had never played before.

Half an hour later, the young man was hitting the ball consistently over a hundred yards.

Old Chen had taken an immediate interest.

Later, he sought Jiang Ran out privately. After talking with him, he discovered that the young man learned at a ridiculous pace and had a composure beyond his years.

Before long, the two had become friends.

Later on, when Jiang Ran wanted to learn shooting, Old Chen made one phone call and introduced him to Meng Xi.

The owner of that shooting club was also a younger acquaintance whom Old Chen had watched grow up.

So tonight wasn't exactly a gathering of strangers.

"How have you been lately?" Old Chen asked, picking up a peanut. "Enjoying your work as a school counselor?"

"Not bad." Jiang Ran took a sip of beer. "Though I might be done with it soon."

Old Chen raised an eyebrow. "Got something else in mind?"

"I want to switch subjects," Jiang Ran said. "Maybe teach math, or something else."

"Sure." Old Chen nodded without asking more. "I'll have a word with Principal Li at Third Middle School. You can pick whichever subject you want."

He said it casually, but Jiang Ran knew Old Chen really did have that kind of pull.

"Thanks." Jiang Ran raised his glass.

They clinked glasses.

Several plates of hot dishes arrived one after another, all specialties of the food stall.

Old Chen ate casually, nothing like those wealthy people who fussed over their surroundings.

Halfway through the meal, Old Chen suddenly lifted his plastic chair and scooted closer to Jiang Ran.

The gap between them narrowed.

He lowered his voice and asked as casually as if it had just occurred to him, "By the way, didn't you say you wanted to train in combat sports? How's that going?"

Jiang Ran paused, his chopsticks hovering over his food.

He looked up and gave Old Chen a meaningful glance.

"Pretty well," Jiang Ran said.

Old Chen nodded.

He knew how quickly Jiang Ran learned.

If Jiang Ran said it was going well, then by ordinary standards, he was probably already very good.

"Combat training's a good idea."

Old Chen took a sip of wine and gazed at the noisy street in the distance, his tone growing meaningful. "These days, everything looks peaceful, and there's more and more high-tech stuff...

But when something really happens, you'll find that no technology can match having real skills of your own."

Jiang Ran slowly set down his chopsticks.

"I understand."

Old Chen looked at him for two seconds, then suddenly smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Good. Then let's drink."

Just then...

"Uncle Chen! Jiang Ran!"

A clear female voice came from nearby.

They both turned. A young woman in a white blouse and denim shorts was walking toward them.

"Xiao Xi is here." Old Chen smiled and waved. "We've been waiting for you."

Meng Xi came over and pulled up a chair without hesitation. She first gave Old Chen a sweet smile. "Hello, Uncle Chen."

Then she turned to Jiang Ran, her eyes crinkling. "Long time no see, Coach Jiang. I heard you've been terrorizing teenagers at school lately?"

Jiang Ran chuckled. "What kind of thing is that to say?"

"Am I wrong?" Meng Xi poured herself a beer. "When you coached at my club, the number of female trainees signing up shot up by three hundred percent. I almost wanted to give you a raise, and then you turned around and quit."

Old Chen watched them with a genial smile.

Jiang Ran shook his head and got to the point. "Let's talk business. I've been thinking of returning to the club as a coach. Do you have an opening?"

Meng Xi was taken aback, then her eyes lit up. "Really? You're willing to come back?"

"Yeah."

"Of course we have a spot. You're welcome anytime!" Meng Xi answered without hesitation. "When can you start? Next week? Or..."

"Tomorrow," Jiang Ran said.

"...Tomorrow?" Meng Xi was surprised again.

"Yeah. I can start tomorrow afternoon," Jiang Ran said evenly.

"Sure." Meng Xi immediately agreed. "Tomorrow it is. I'll make your schedule myself."

She was so excited that people at the nearby tables turned to look.

Jiang Ran nodded and raised his glass. "Sorry for the trouble."

At midnight, Jiang Ran politely declined Old Chen and Meng Xi's offers to drive him home.

He walked alone down the street.

The evening breeze brushed past, carrying the chill of an autumn night.

Jiang Ran kept his hands in his hoodie pockets and walked at an unhurried pace.

Arranging the teaching job and the shooting coach position had gone just as he'd expected: both were easy to sort out.

He had expected as much.

He knew Old Chen's influence and Meng Xi's personality well.

But Old Chen's words that evening had given him something to think about.

Old Chen knew about the Abyssal Void.

Or at least, he knew part of the story.

Given Old Chen's connections and influence, it was only natural that he'd have channels to learn about it.

Some so-called truths...

Had always been meant for ordinary people alone.

Judging from the authorities' response, and the fact that Old Chen knew about it too, it was clear that many had already begun targeting the Abyssal Void and taking measures in response.

In other words...

The Abyssal Void would probably descend into chaos soon.

After all, setting aside the monsters, the Abyssal Void was like a second parallel world, containing twice the resources found in reality.

And on top of that, it held the inheritance of supernatural abilities.

Everyone would go mad for it.

Conglomerates, factions, even the Federation would pour resources into it, fighting for the opportunities within the Abyssal Void.

Chaos was inevitable.

He needed to hurry, too.

Before the chaos arrived, he had to gain enough strength to protect himself and seize the initiative.

Early the next morning.

Jiang Ran got up on time and went to school.

Zhou Wenbin, the head of discipline, was already waiting for him outside the counseling office.

"Teacher Jiang, you know that most subject-teacher positions are already filled...

Principal Li's idea is to assign you to teach Chinese to Grade 2 Class 15 for now. How does that sound?"

"That works." Jiang Ran nodded. "I have no problem with it."

Zhou Wenbin visibly relaxed. "Good. I'll have someone bring the textbooks and schedule over later. Can you start teaching tomorrow?"

"Sure."

"Excellent." Zhou Wenbin stood up and patted Jiang Ran on the shoulder. "Go ahead and pack up. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you, Director Zhou."

After Zhou Wenbin left, Jiang Ran continued packing.

He didn't mind which class he taught.

Forty minutes later, he had filled two cardboard boxes.

Jiang Ran carried them out of the counseling office and locked the door.

Several students passing through the corridor watched him curiously.

"Teacher Jiang, are you leaving?" a girl asked softly.

"I'm just moving to a different position," Jiang Ran replied with a smile. "You can still come to me if you have questions about Chinese."

"Really?" The girl's eyes lit up. "Which class will you be teaching?"

"Grade 2 Class 15."

The girl's face fell. "Oh... that class..."

Jiang Ran smiled without comment and carried the boxes toward the stairs.

After moving everything back home...

Jiang Ran didn't sit around.

After a quick lunch, he took a taxi straight to Hurricane Free Combat Gym.

It was one of the largest and best-equipped mixed martial arts gyms in Feng City, and also where Jiang Ran worked part-time as a coach.

The gym was spacious, with two floors.

The first floor was an open training area, filled with various equipment, punching bags, and a ring.

The second floor housed the private training rooms and lounge.

It was the afternoon training rush, and at least forty or fifty people were working out on the first floor.

As soon as Jiang Ran walked in, a sharp-eyed regular spotted him.

"Coach Jiang!"

A young man in his early twenties ran over excitedly. His name was Wang Kai, and he had been training with Jiang Ran for nearly half a year.

"Coach Jiang, what brings you here today? I thought you were teaching at school lately."

"I have the day off," Jiang Ran replied casually. "Thought I'd come train."

"That's great!" Wang Kai's eyes lit up. "Coach Jiang, could you show me a few moves later? I still can't get the hang of that spinning whip kick I've been practicing..."

"Sure. Warm up first."

As soon as Jiang Ran finished speaking, several other longtime members gathered around him.

"Coach Jiang, are you teaching a class today?"

At Hurricane Fighting Gym, Jiang Ran was practically a legend to them.

When he'd first arrived, he'd been a complete novice.

In just a few months, he'd become good enough to compete professionally.

Some of the gym's members who'd competed as amateurs hadn't been convinced and had challenged Jiang Ran to spar. Not one of them had lasted a minute.

The most astonishing case had been last month, when a lightweight fighter from the provincial team came to the gym for an exchange and faced off against Jiang Ran.

After three rounds, Jiang Ran won by TKO in the second.

Afterward, the fighter privately said Jiang Ran was good enough to compete in top-tier tournaments anywhere in the world.

But Jiang Ran had chosen to stay here as a part-time coach.

There were even rumors around the gym that several agents from professional clubs had approached Jiang Ran with attractive offers, but he'd turned them all down.

After exchanging greetings with everyone, Jiang Ran went to a corner by himself.

He didn't have a class today. He'd come to the fighting gym to grind skill experience.

Freestyle Fighting Lv. 8 (752/800)—he needed just 48 more experience points to level up.

Jiu-Jitsu and Taekwondo also had plenty of room for improvement.

More importantly, Jiang Ran wanted to try combining the Blood-Qi Circulation Method with fighting techniques.

Dragon-Tiger Fist's method of generating force could mobilize his blood qi. If he could incorporate that method into other fighting styles, their power would increase exponentially.

Jiang Ran stood in front of a punching bag in the most basic freestyle fighting stance.

Then he threw a punch.

Vmm...

The instant his fist struck the bag, it let out a deep, muffled boom.

The bag didn't budge.

But on the back, the leather bulged sharply, forming a distinct fist-shaped imprint.

The force of his punch had passed right through the bag.

"Still not enough..." Jiang Ran murmured.

He could tell that his blood qi hadn't flowed smoothly enough. Some of the force had dissipated as it traveled.

If he'd used the full form of Dragon-Tiger Fist, that punch would have been enough to burst the bag.

Undeterred, Jiang Ran kept trying, punch after punch.

He searched for the perfect balance.

As experience points ticked across the panel, his sweat gradually evaporated.

[Freestyle Fighting Experience +3]