Martial Monk

Jiang Ran listened to the words by his ear.

His heart couldn't help beating faster.

As expected, these monsters didn't exist for no reason.

And then there was the prompt on this panel...

Profession advancement, profession fusion—these were fields he'd never encountered before.

The Profession Panel was clearly far more complicated than he'd imagined.

Jiang Ran steadied his breathing.

He calmed himself down first, then didn't immediately choose yes.

Instead, he got up, gripped his tactical knife, and made another round of the bank.

After confirming there were no other living creatures inside, Jiang Ran returned to the roller shutter and listened for sounds outside.

Five minutes passed.

Aside from the occasional faint screech from far away, the street remained terrifyingly quiet.

"It's safe for now."

Only then did Jiang Ran return to the work area behind the bulletproof glass. He sat down with his back against the thickest wall.

From here, he could see the door leading to the inner corridor and watch the lobby through the bulletproof glass. It was a standard defensive position.

He took a deep breath and held the bead in his palm.

The prompt appeared in his mind again.

"Yes."

Jiang Ran gave his answer silently.

The moment he made his choice...

The bead in his palm suddenly grew scorching hot.

A stream of searing heat surged up his arm, charging toward every part of his body like a force nothing could stop.

Jiang Ran grunted, his muscles tensing all at once.

Crack... crack...

A flurry of faint pops came from his bones.

At the same time, a voice rang in his mind.

"Dragons ride the clouds; tigers ride the wind..."

"Dragon Form trains the spirit, Tiger Form trains the bones. Dragon and tiger converge..."

"Before the fist strikes, intent arrives. Before the force is released, its momentum has already risen..."

"Muscles and bones are the roots, blood and qi the fuel, will the fire... Today, I bestow upon you Dragon-Tiger Fist!"

As the final syllable fell...

The searing heat receded like a tide.

Jiang Ran slowly opened his eyes.

The world before him seemed as if it had been wiped clean.

The light was clearer, and faint sounds he'd never heard before now drilled into his ears as if amplified.

Jiang Ran instinctively clenched his fist.

His knuckles gave a faint crackle. The muscles in his arms, shoulders, abdomen, and legs felt fuller and tighter than ever before.

He'd grown stronger.

By no small amount.

Jiang Ran estimated that his physical strength and senses had improved by at least thirty or forty percent.

Within the Profession Panel system, he might have needed to raise Freestyle Fighting and other combat arts by two or three levels, along with long-term, high-intensity training, to achieve the same result.

Before he could fully take in this transformation...

A translucent, pale-blue panel appeared automatically in the upper-right corner of his vision.

[Congratulations! You have successfully unlocked the "Martial Monk" (Transcendent) profession.]

[Congratulations! You have acquired the profession's basic skill, "Dragon-Tiger Fist."]

Jiang Ran immediately focused all his attention on the newly appeared Profession Panel.

[Profession: Martial Monk Lv.1 (0/100)]

[Profession Basic Skill: Dragon-Tiger Fist Lv.1 (0/100)]

Several more slots beneath the panel were gray and locked.

"Do I need profession points to unlock them...?"

That was different from the ordinary professions he'd seen before.

But it wasn't a big problem.

The psychology skill for the Teacher profession would soon reach max level. He'd be able to unlock them naturally in a couple of days.

Jiang Ran fixed his gaze on Dragon-Tiger Fist.

This inherited art felt like a natural instinct of his body.

As if he'd practiced it thousands upon thousands of times.

If he wanted to do it, he could.

Jiang Ran stood up. He didn't need to deliberately take a stance; his feet had already spread naturally, his center of gravity sinking.

He drew a slow breath, expanding his lungs.

A faint warmth gathered in his lower abdomen.

His right fist slowly extended from beneath his ribs as his waist twisted.

At first, it moved very slowly, as if pushing through thick, viscous water.

But just as his fist was about to straighten, his hips and waist suddenly drove forward. His spine rippled like a great dragon, and his shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints popped one after another!

A roar like a dragon's cry and a tiger's growl exploded through the air in the direction of his fist!

His fist hadn't struck anything.

Yet a meter ahead, dust on an office desk burst outward in a ring with a thump.

That power...

Jiang Ran felt that if he'd thrown this punch at the monster from before...

He wouldn't have needed a gun at all.

Now that was truly transcendent!!

But before Jiang Ran could get excited, a wave of weakness swept through his body.

It was the emptiness that came after strenuous exercise, like his glycogen stores had been exhausted. A faint soreness also spread through his limbs.

"Did it consume... some kind of energy?"

Jiang Ran stopped at once and pondered.

"Looks like this world probably has things like cultivation techniques too..."

It was much like being a Mixed Martial Artist.

Boxing, Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, and the like were merely close-combat techniques.

They could help build physical fitness, but only a little.

To truly improve his physical strength...

He still had to rely on systematic conditioning.

But Jiang Ran didn't plan to set out right away.

When he'd obtained the Abyssal Void entry ticket, he'd been in an extremely heightened state.

Now several hours had passed, and he'd been through two fights.

He was in terrible shape.

He needed to rest.

Jiang Ran found a corner in the lounge. A long sofa there stood against a solid wall, and he could see the entire entrance to the lounge from where he sat.

He took compressed biscuits and water from his backpack and ate slowly. Then he placed his tactical knife within easy reach.

Finally, he checked the time on his phone.

3:47 a.m.

There were still a few hours until dawn and about twenty hours until his return.

Jiang Ran closed his eyes and slipped into a light sleep.

When he opened them again...

His phone showed 9:03 a.m.

Jiang Ran took five seconds to fully wake up, then quickly checked his surroundings.

Nothing had changed. It was safe.

There were 14 hours and 57 minutes left on the return countdown.

Jiang Ran had originally planned to use the bank as a base and explore the area slowly.

But plans had changed.

His physical abilities had now greatly improved, and he had a transcendent technique like Dragon-Tiger Fist.

There were plenty of ideas he could put to the test, plenty of guesses he could verify.

After eating half a compressed biscuit and drinking a few mouthfuls of water...

Jiang Ran got up and packed his gear.

He also found a bag in the bank, cut off the monster's most distinctive part with his tactical knife, and put it inside.

Then he shouldered his backpack and walked to the roller shutter.

He listened for half a minute. After confirming there was no movement outside, Jiang Ran carefully lifted the shutter, slipped out sideways, and restored the lock from the outside.

Sunlight spilled through the clouds. The glass windows of several shops along the street were shattered.

Here and there, dark red, dried stains marked the ground.

Clearly, the outside hadn't been as peaceful as it had sounded last night.

Just as Jiang Ran was about to leave...

Vroom...!!

The roar of a car engine suddenly thundered from the far end of the street.

Jiang Ran froze, almost thinking he'd heard wrong.

Who would dare drive so brazenly around here!?

Who was this guy's lieutenant!?

Without hesitation, he ducked into a narrow alley beside the bank.

Soon, a Mazda came speeding around the corner and raced toward him.

The driver's window was open, and someone inside was shouting.

"H-Help...! Help!!!"

But what came after was even more terrifying.

Several gray-black figures were chasing the Mazda, running madly behind it.

They were almost as fast as the car.

"He's done for."

Jiang Ran reached his conclusion at once.

With that many monsters chasing at that speed, it was only a matter of time before the car lost control.

He calmly leaned farther back, ready to wait for the farce to pass before continuing on his way.

But as the Mazda sped past the mouth of the alley where Jiang Ran was hiding...

The man behind the wheel, whether out of instinct or some other reason, happened to turn and look into the alley.

Jiang Ran happened to look at him at the same moment.

Their eyes met.

The driver's face instantly lit up with delight.

"Bro, it's me! Save me, bro!! Please!! I've got something good here!!"

His voice stretched out in the wind and quickly faded as the car sped away.

Jiang Ran stood still, a strange expression on his face.

He recognized him.

The man driving like a madman with a string of monsters on his tail was Liu San, the guy he'd tied up at the police station last night.

You had to hand it to the tomb raider—his nerve and talent for getting into trouble were second to none.

Only a few hours had passed, yet he'd not only escaped his restraints but also gotten hold of a car.

And on top of that, he'd drawn the attention of a huge pack of monsters.

Jiang Ran shook his head, dismissing the surprise.

He wasn't interested in whatever good stuff Liu San had.

No matter how good it was, you needed to be alive to get your hands on it.

Saving him meant facing more than a dozen monsters and watching out for Liu San stabbing him in the back...

That was just asking for trouble.

Jiang Ran waited patiently for a few minutes. After confirming there were no monsters nearby, he turned and quickly left through the other end of the alley.

His destination this time was a sporting goods store not far from the bank.

The store sold some unusual equipment, including compound bows and knives.

He'd bought something there once when he was learning archery.

After last night's fight, Jiang Ran understood.

Unless he had a large-caliber assault rifle or a sniper rifle, a handgun would be less effective against monsters than a compound bow.

At the very least, a bow's penetrating power and stopping force might prove remarkably effective against these thick-skinned monsters.

It was also relatively quiet.

It wouldn't attract more trouble as easily as gunfire.

Besides, Dragon-Tiger Fist still couldn't be used as a means of combat every day, so having a few weapons that felt right in his hands would be a safer bet.

A little over ten minutes later, Jiang Ran arrived at his destination.

He first picked up a black compound bow with a draw weight of 156 pounds.

Jiang Ran took it down and tested how it felt. In the past, he'd struggled just to draw a bow, but now he could shoot it at full draw without any strain.

Then he gathered the arrows and other supplies he needed.

He turned toward the display of swords on the other side and picked out a Tang Dao for slashing at medium range.

That should do it.

Taking anything else would only get in the way.

He slung the compound bow over his back and hung the quiver at a convenient spot on his waist.

He secured the Tang Dao diagonally across his back with parachute cord, then left, satisfied with his haul.

He carefully restored the lock from the outside.

But just as he finished locking the door and straightened up...

Vroom!!!

The familiar roar of a car engine approached once more.

Jiang Ran's mouth twitched.

This guy... was he a cockroach or something?

He was still alive—and had even driven around in a loop and come back!?

This time, Liu San spotted Jiang Ran from a long way off.

He leaned straight out the window and shouted excitedly at Jiang Ran, "Bro, take this!! It's really good stuff. Save me, please!!"

As he spoke, Liu San tossed the White Light Orb in his hand toward Jiang Ran.

Seeing this, Jiang Ran expressionlessly raised his bow and nocked an arrow...

He aimed at the car.