Bright Force

Inside the Western Mansion, secretly established by the Black Dragon Water Stronghold within the Ocean City concession.

The main hall was deathly silent, the suffocating air thick with the cloying stench of blood mingled with the scent of cigar tobacco.

Duan Hu, the second-in-command of the Black Dragon Water Bandits, strode in from outside, his face ashen. He walked straight to the leather sofa with the crushed steel frame, lowered his head, and cupped his fists.

"Chief, I've investigated it."

Duan Hu gritted his teeth, his eyes brimming with malice. "On that iron ship at Soul-Falling Gorge, the one who truly took the Young Chief's life was A-Kuan, the personal bodyguard and instructor by the side of the Gu Family patriarch! Gu Yanzhi, the eldest young master of the Gu Family, was also on the fast boat, personally overseeing the operation."

Duan Hai, sitting in the shadows, snapped his eyes open, his gaze bloodshot and terrifying.

"Gu Yanzhi... A-Kuan..."

Duan Hai's thick fists cracked as he clenched them, the violent Bright Force and Blood-Qi surging throughout his body.

But he did not lose his reason.

Fujita Shoichi's icy warning still echoed in his ears.

The Gu Family were the local tyrants of Ocean City and an indispensable link in the "Grand Plan" of the Kwantung Army. Gu Yanzhi was the sole heir of the Gu Family, and A-Kuan was Gu Wanshan's right-hand man. If these two were to die at the hands of the Black Dragon Water Stronghold at this stage, it would inevitably invite a brutal crackdown from the Japanese.

For the sake of the big picture, he could not touch these two main targets right now!

"Bang!"

Duan Hai smashed his palm onto the rosewood tea table in front of him, sending wood splinters flying.

"My son's life cannot be lost in the river for nothing!" Duan Hai suddenly raised his head. "I heard that on the deck, it was a Gu Family guard at the late stage of Lianli who blocked my son's retreat, giving A-Kuan the chance to strike?"

"Yes." Duan Hu nodded heavily. "That kid is named Lu Zhen, an Inner Sect disciple of the Iron Arm Martial Arts Hall in the south of the city. If he hadn't interfered, even if the Young Chief couldn't win, he would have definitely escaped unscathed by diving into the water!"

"Good, very good!"

Duan Hai laughed in extreme rage, the centipede-like scar on his face twisting like a living thing. "I can't touch Gu Wanshan for the time being, but surely I can kill a lowly martial arts hall brat?!"

He stood up abruptly.

"Take the most elite brothers from the hall. Go and slaughter that kid for me! Be quick and clean about it."

Murderous intent surged in Duan Hu's eyes as he cupped his fists heavily. "Rest assured, Chief!"

Winter rain pattered incessantly against the bluestone slabs of Pig Cage Alley.

The cold wind howled, yet it could not penetrate the cramped, dilapidated wooden shack deep within the alley.

Inside, the hearth fire had long since gone out.

But if anyone were to push the door open at this moment, they would be forced to retreat three steps by the scorching heat radiating from the room, as if it were being roasted by a raging fire.

Lu Zhen sat cross-legged on the hardwood bed, his bare upper body drenched in sweat.

[Lu Zhen (30 years old)]

[Physique: Copper Skin Iron Bone Lv.4 (2400/3000)]

[General Experience: 615 points]

Over the past five days, he had practiced tirelessly day and night. Coupled with consuming Red Scale Treasure Fish and Century-Old Mountain Ginseng as his daily meals, this money-burning consumption, combined with the system's daily triple settlement, had finally pushed his physique experience to 2400 points.

And in his hands, he held exactly the 600-plus points of general experience he had saved up over these days.

Just enough to fill the final gap!

Lu Zhen stared at the panel, a scorching brilliance erupting in his eyes. He did not hesitate for a second.

"Add points, Physique!"

"Hum—!"

The 600 points of general experience transformed into a brilliant stream of light, instantly pouring into the physique column. The progress bar representing Lv.4 maxed out and shattered with a roar!

[Physique level increased!]

[Physique: Blood-Qi Like a Furnace Lv.5 (0/10000)]

[Blood-Qi Like a Furnace: The Blood-Qi within the body is as vigorous as fire, immune to cold and heat, with infinite energy!]

"Boom!"

An unprecedented, terrifying wave of heat surged from his dantian, sweeping wildly through his limbs and bones.

His "Copper Skin Iron Bone," which had previously shimmered with a dark, metallic luster, now faintly revealed a layer of dark red blood-light under this shocking temperature.

This was no longer merely the toughness of skin and flesh; his internal Blood-Qi had reached its peak, truly becoming like a roaring furnace!

The damp, cold air of the rainy night was evaporated into white mist the moment it came within three feet of his body by this majestic, masculine Blood-Qi.

At the same time, a marvelous qualitative change occurred.

Lu Zhen had already pushed himself to the absolute limit of the late stage of Lianli by relying on his two Lv.4 martial arts. All he lacked for Bright Force was that ethereal "internal strengthening of the organs."

And now, this Lv.5 "Blood-Qi Like a Furnace" physique directly granted him a heaven-defying martial arts foundation that was "one in a thousand," or perhaps even "one in ten thousand" in this world!

Under the scouring of this violent, inexhaustible Blood-Qi that acted like a furnace, the threshold of Bright Force—which had blocked countless martial artists like a natural chasm—felt as fragile as paper.

"Snap... Boom!"

That surging torrent of blood-energy naturally broke through the shackles of muscle and bone, penetrating the internal organs with the force of a bamboo being split.

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Strengthening the internal organs!

Under the nourishment of the blood-energy, the internal organs underwent a rapid transformation, becoming as strong as steel.

His heart acted like a steam pump running at maximum capacity, driving an endless stream of internal force into every inch of his blood vessels!

He had broken through!

At the end of Lianli, one step across, and it was Bright Force!

He slowly stood up, feeling this body that had been reborn.

When an ordinary martial artist steps into the early stage of Bright Force, the limit of a single arm is five thousand catties of force.

But Lu Zhen was different; his heaven-defying Lv.5 physique forcibly added a terrifying two thousand catties on top of that five-thousand-catty base!

"Seven thousand catties in one arm..."

Lu Zhen clenched his right fist and threw a punch casually into the empty air before him.

"Crack—Boom!"

The air let out a groan of unbearable strain, actually being blasted apart by this single punch!

A visible white shockwave surged out from his fist, turning into a fierce gale that instantly shredded the paper of a wooden window a dozen feet away.

Force projected outward, blood-energy like a barrier!

Lu Zhen retracted his fist and looked down at his large-knuckled hands. In his mind, he couldn't help but recall the scene on the river at Soul-Falling Gorge, where A-Kuan, the instructor of the Gu Family, had descended like a god of war and shattered the Young Master of Water Bandits with a single terrifying strike.

That punch had once made him deeply feel his own insignificance and powerlessness.

Yet, this punch he had just thrown casually, whether in pure strength or the domineering nature of the blood-energy, was actually even more formidable than that of the Gu Family instructor!

Seven or eight blocks away from Pig Cage Alley, inside a secluded Western-style detached mansion.

Outside the window, the cold rain fell incessantly, but inside, a precious fireplace was lit, filling the room with warmth.

Duan Hu, the Second Master, leaned back on a velvet sofa, looking coldly at the three men in black standing before him.

These three were all death-sworn warriors carefully selected from the halls of the Black Dragon Water Stronghold, all at the late stage of Lianli, their hands stained with blood and radiating a heavy, murderous aura.

"Pig Cage Alley, the dilapidated shack at the very end."

"The target is named Lu Zhen. That kid is just at the late stage of Lianli."

His gaze swept over the three of them: "You three are all top-tier experts among the late stage, and you are brothers-in-arms who have spent years licking blood from the blade. The three of you joining forces to kill a martial arts school bumpkin who just broke through is more than enough."

"Rest assured, Second Master." The leader of the men spoke in a hoarse voice, cupping his hands to accept the order.

"Go, and keep it clean."

Duan Hu waved his hand dismissively. Watching the three push the door open and vanish into the rainy night, he cast the matter completely to the back of his mind.

Three elite killers who treated human life like grass going to hunt down a martial artist of the same level—there was no way they could fail.

He stood up, unbuttoned his collar, and listening to the faint, decadent music of a gramophone drifting from the second-floor bedroom, a lewd smile curled at the corners of his mouth as he strode up the spiral staircase.

Up there, a popular dancer was waiting for him to vent his lust.