Fang Shuwen clenched his teeth and roared inwardly, Absorb! Absorb it all!
The light screen rippled violently like water. The five pieces of Ghost Jade in his palm all made a dense series of cracking sounds, like ice breaking under immense pressure.
In an instant, an even colder energy surged into Fang Shuwen's body.
But this time,
the moment the energy entered Fang Shuwen's body, some invisible force wrapped around and absorbed it. It didn't affect him at all.
Before long, words flashed before his eyes.
[Abnormal energy absorption complete.] [Skill points gained: 37]
Thirty-seven points!
A full thirty-seven!
Fang Shuwen hadn't even had time to rejoice,
when the footsteps behind him were already right on his heels.
"Found you, you little brat!"
The man's low, hoarse voice came from the other side of the ruins, tinged with the mockery of a cat playing with a mouse.
Fang Shuwen's eyes snapped open. By the moonlight, he made out where the man was.
Less than ten paces away.
With the man's strength, that was close enough to attack!
The man was coming around from behind a half-collapsed low wall.
"Go on, run! Why'd you stop? Think you can get away?"
"If you want to live, come back with me like a good boy!"
The man sneered and bent his knees slightly.
Then he pushed off hard and lunged at Fang Shuwen.
Fang Shuwen's pupils contracted.
He drew a deep breath, quickly reaching his left hand into his clothes and pulling out the familiar paper packet.
Lime powder.
Ever since he'd used the stuff, he'd kept some on him.
He hadn't expected it to come in handy so soon.
He flung it up, and the packet burst open between them.
White powder billowed like fog, forming a blinding white screen beneath the moonlight.
"Cheap trick!"
The man snorted and instinctively narrowed his eyes.
Even so, his hands didn't falter as he struck at Fang Shuwen.
Seeing this, Fang Shuwen drew a deep breath.
He didn't turn to flee. Instead, he closed in, his right fist snapping out from his waist.
Soaring Snake Fist.
Snake Fang Thrust!
His fist cut through the air along the most treacherous arc, blocking the man's attack.
He put all his strength into that punch.
The man's eyes were irritated, but he was still a Bright Force martial artist. His instinct for danger far surpassed an ordinary person's.
He actually changed his move mid-strike, catching Fang Shuwen's punch with his forearm.
"Thud!"
The muffled impact erupted through the ruins.
Fang Shuwen felt as though he'd punched an iron plate. The recoil shot up his arm, leaving his entire right arm numb.
He retreated three steps, each one leaving a shallow pit in the gravel.
The man also took a step back.
A purplish bruise in the shape of a fist marked his forearm, and the bone throbbed faintly.
"Three-Sound Bone Crack? Just short of Bright Force?"
"Now that's some strength!"
The man shook his arm, surprise creeping into his voice, though contempt was even more evident.
"An ordinary, down-and-out kid who trained at a martial arts school for only half a month, and you've already reached this level!"
"Looks like Section Chief Lin's instincts were right. You're the one he's looking for!"
Before his words had even faded,
he pushed off the ground, launching himself like a cannonball.
This time, he held nothing back.
Fang Shuwen's pupils contracted sharply.
He knew that with his current strength, he had less than a three-in-ten chance of taking on a Bright Force martial artist head-on.
"The difference between Three-Sound Bone Crack and Bright Force is beyond your imagination."
"If you don't want to die, get on your knees and beg for mercy!"
The man's threat reached his ears, but Fang Shuwen didn't answer. His eyes fell on the light screen.
[Skill points: 37]
The plus sign beside Soaring Snake Fist was already lit.
[Upgrade the technique "Soaring Snake Fist"?]
Fang Shuwen drew a deep breath and roared inwardly with all his strength:
Upgrade! Upgrade it now!
The instant the thought landed,
the world before Fang Shuwen's eyes seemed to change color. The enormous serpent coiled in the void appeared once more.
But this time, it didn't look down at him or pounce.
It merged with him.
The serpent's body became a streak of dark green light that poured into Fang Shuwen's brow, then ran down his spine, exploding at every vertebra.
Bone cracks.
Not one or two, not three.
A dense string of explosions, like firecrackers on New Year's Eve, like rapid gunfire on a battlefield.
From his tailbone to his neck.
Every bone exploded with sound, every joint shifted and reformed.
Fang Shuwen's body began to tremble violently. It wasn't from pain, but from the transformation taking place deep within him.
Muscle fibers tore and grew anew; sinews widened and strengthened.
Dark bluish-green patterns surfaced on his skin, the sign of his blood and vital energy surging to their limit.
At the same time,
countless images surfaced in his mind.
They weren't demonstrations or moves.
The essence of Soaring Snake Fist had never been its moves, but the way it unleashed force.
The Soaring Snake Fist he'd practiced before had the form, but not the spirit.
But now,
with the skill points driving it forward, the paper barrier between him and understanding was smashed through.
At last, he understood Three-Sound Unity.
It wasn't three sounds ringing at once, but one sound.
Feet, waist, shoulders.
The three separate bone cracks fused into a single sound.
It burst from the soles of his feet, climbed his spine, and surged into his fist.
His strength was no longer scattered. It was unified.
Fang Shuwen snapped his eyes open.
A vertical pattern like a serpent's pupil flickered in his eyes, then vanished.
Even the arm that had nearly gone numb from the earlier blow was now brimming with strength.
He clenched his fist.
Crack.
A sharp sound.
It wasn't the sound of his joints, but the explosive crack of air compressed by force gathered to its limit.
Then,
Fang Shuwen looked up at the Bright Force martial artist rushing toward him.
Beneath the moonlight,
the boy's lips curled into a meaningful smile.
The man's steps suddenly halted.
His pupils contracted, and an inexplicable chill ran down his spine.
But at that moment, he had no time to think.
He was in midair and couldn't change his move.
He steeled himself and threw a vicious punch.
Before his fist even reached Fang Shuwen, the wind from it made Fang Shuwen's face sting.
Now!
Fang Shuwen sprang forward, his spine erupting with a muffled boom.
His right fist shot out from his waist in the straightest possible line, the force of his whole body combining with the torque of his twisting spine.
His punch blasted out, tearing the air apart.
The shrill shock wave nearly burst their eardrums.
The gray-clothed man's pupils contracted. The boy's punch was far stronger than he'd imagined.
Their fists collided in midair.
"Bang!"
The shock wave exploded. The gray-clothed man's arm went numb, and he staggered half a step backward, disbelief filling his eyes.
But Fang Shuwen gave him no chance to catch his breath.
His next punch was already there. Snake Fang Thrust cut along an arc, slicing in from the left at a treacherous angle, straight for the temple.
The gray-clothed man blocked in a panic. His forearm cracked with a sharp, piercing sound.
Then another punch, and another...
Fang Shuwen's fists poured down like a torrential rain. He struck while his opponent was down, giving him no chance to react.
The gray-clothed man retreated again and again, every step leaving a footprint an inch deep in the flagstones, but Fang Shuwen's fists stayed fixed on his vital points.
On the eighth punch,
Fang Shuwen broke through the gray-clothed man's guard and struck him squarely in the chest.
Amid the muffled crack of breaking ribs,
the gray-clothed man's body flew backward like a kite with its strings cut, crashing through half a low wall. Dust billowed—and then he lay still.