Blood-Boiling Worm

"You..."

Kun's right hand trembled as he pointed at Wu Heng, but he collapsed before he could finish his sentence.

"Such fine cloth armor—it should be worn by me!"

Wu Heng stepped forward and used his Siphon ability, storing the remains into his Life Box. He harvested seven throwing darts, two skins, two mobile phones, and one set of cloth armor.

The walls of the container house had been shredded into a sieve by bullets; a layer of fine dust shook loose from the floor as streaks of sunlight filtered through.

Wu Heng endured the dust to enter, disguising himself as Kun once more. Raghav's appearance was still far too conspicuous in the Red Moon Federation.

He followed the trail of rubble and grass, heading deeper toward the abandoned buildings to track Cai Xueli.

Kun's phone was unlocked via fingerprint, which Wu Heng bypassed using his own index finger.

He tapped on a red chat app called "Qianxun," the mainstream communication platform in the Red Moon Federation.

The first line was a news push from a public account, while the second was a cute avatar of a pink cartoon cat holding a lollipop, labeled "Lili."

[September 12, 14:25]

Lili: "Is it worth it, Second Senior Brother? To turn against Father just to fight for the spot to be someone's dog!"

Kun: "It is!"

Kun: "Where is the item hidden? Give it to me."

[September 23, 7:41]

Lili: "Are you going to kill me, Second Senior Brother?"

Kun: "That dart could have hit your thigh or your heart, Lili. Give me the item, or I'll go kill Zhao Xu and the old man!"

Lili: "You hurt me!"

Kun: "Give me the item, and I'll let you stab me twice. We're both at the human limit now, and the old man can't beat me."

Lili: "Are you really so heartless? Father is old, and I can't bear to see him act as a scapegoat. Since you want it so badly, promise me that once you get the item, you'll reconcile with Father and apologize. You owe him that."

Kun: "Fine, I promise."

Lili: "Alright then. Tomorrow at 15:00, West Suburb Green Lianfang Abandoned Park, Building 4. I'll be waiting."

The chat history ended there. Wu Heng checked the building numbers nearby and walked toward the abandoned structure ahead.

He felt a sense of relief; this Lili was not some Tower Guardian. Yet, Wu Heng was curious—what kind of item could make two people at the peak of human capability fight like this?

He urgently needed to understand the true face of this world: what kind of powerhouses existed, what powers they wielded, and what dangers lurked!

Currently, he knew nothing, and he felt truly unsettled.

Cai Xueli was squatting in the dilapidated lobby on the first floor of Building 4, lost in a daze, not even observing her surroundings.

It wasn't until Wu Heng approached that she heard footsteps and turned around in a panic.

"Second Senior Brother, you're here!"

Cai Xueli's expression was conflicted and somber.

"Whether I should be here or not, I've come. Don't say so much—where is the item, Lili?"

Wu Heng tried to mimic Kun's tone.

"You can't go back on what you promised me. Give me your word, and I'll give you the item."

Cai Xueli looked at him with distrust, though her expression was mostly one of helplessness.

She never imagined that their once-harmonious martial arts school, where the five of them had grown up together like siblings, would end up like this.

The Eldest and Third Senior Brothers had both died on the path to becoming "dogs."

The Second Senior Brother and their father had clearly both reached the ultimate human limit in martial arts, yet they were still brawling over a death-trap quota.

Recalling the beautiful times when their father led the five of them in practicing boxing, she only wished for her family to live together in peace and harmony.

"Go back on my word? I, Kun, never break a promise."

Wu Heng was now only curious about what could drive a master and disciple to such lengths.

"Take it, then. The Blood-Boiling Worm is in the box."

Cai Xueli pulled out a silver metal box the size of a palm, which had several ventilation holes on it.

"Is it really a Blood-Boiling Worm? How can I be sure?"

Wu Heng took the box, completely bewildered. What even was a Blood-Boiling Worm? The master and his two disciples were killing each other over a bug?

But not wanting to reveal his identity, he asked in a roundabout way.

Cai Xueli seemed anxious at his words, fearing the Second Senior Brother was trying to renege, and hurriedly said:

"Second Senior Brother, you promised to go see Father with me. Once you swallow the Blood-Boiling Worm, it will attach to your stomach, providing a 20% increase in muscle efficiency and continuously repairing hidden injuries. You'll know once you swallow it."

Just an increase in muscle efficiency and the repair of hidden injuries?

After hearing this, Wu Heng looked at the Blood-Boiling Worm in his hand, speechless. What a piece of trash.

When he had first transformed into a Cursed Disciple, he was already able to forcibly break through his brain's limitations, approaching 100% muscle efficiency indefinitely.

It was just unnecessary to disable his muscle damage limit every time, only to end up shattering his own body with a single punch.

This Blood-Boiling Worm was completely useless to him; there wasn't a single hidden injury in his body.

To turn against others for something like this—Wu Heng felt that even that piece of cloth armor was far more useful than this thing.

He pondered for a moment; when this girl was chatting with Kun, she kept talking about being a dog, acting like a dog.

What did it mean to be a dog, and whose dog were they going to be?

It seemed that whoever used the Blood-Boiling Worm, whether it was A-Kun or his master, had to go and be a dog.

This "dog" certainly wasn't for ordinary people, as they had already reached the limits of the human body, and with the Blood-Boiling Worm, they could exceed that limit by ten percent.

Could it be some Tower Guardian organization, the faction of a Tower Lord, or some other power?

Wu Heng admitted that he was unwilling to take risks.

Who knew if someone in that organization possessed the ability to see through disguises?

His Skin Graft was merely a fusion ability that altered his appearance; it could not change his internal nature.

Wu Heng thought it over and decided the best method was to let A-Kun's master be the so-called "dog."

He would then use the identity of A-Kun or the young man from earlier to probe their master for information about the organization behind them; keeping a layer of separation made it much safer.

This was also an opportunity to understand the world. Having figured this out, Wu Heng tossed the box toward Cai Xueli.

"Eh?"

Cai Xueli caught it instinctively, letting out a sound of confusion, completely bewildered.

"I suddenly realized, it's the old man's lifelong dream. I'm still young, so I'll let him have the opportunity first!"

Wu Heng spouted a random lie.

"Really, Second Senior Brother, you..."

Cai Xueli found it hard to believe. Just a second ago, they were ready to fight to the death, and the next, he had suddenly given up. Was this what they called an epiphany, a prodigal son returning?

"Then will you come back to the Red Pine Martial Arts Hall with me? You promised to reconcile with Father. Anyway, I gave you the Blood-Boiling Worm; it was you who didn't want it."

Cai Xueli was left completely baffled by Wu Heng.

"I have other matters to attend to. You take the Blood-Boiling Worm back to your father first. Once I'm done with these things in a couple of days, I'll contact you via Qianxun to return to the hall."

As Wu Heng spoke, he turned and left; there was nothing useful left here.

Even if it was just using the martial arts hall as a buffer to make initial contact with the deeper powers of this world, Wu Heng intended to finish this plot world first and make himself stronger before doing anything else.

Returning home, his mother sent a Qianxun message saying she had gone shopping with Aunt Zhang.

Sitting in his bedroom, he felt it was becoming somewhat inconvenient. If he went into a dungeon one day and his mother knocked on the door to find him gone, only for him to suddenly reappear later, it would be hard to explain.

Therefore, he considered finding a secure, secret base specifically for entering the Lighthouse once this plot concluded.

Locking his bedroom door, he connected to the Lighthouse Mark. Space twisted and shifted, and he arrived at the Lighthouse Plaza.

Can I apply for a reservation for next Tuesday's follow-up reading!