Guo Ming's mood was a study in extremes. You could say he'd had a rotten day.
When he learned that Zheng Yutong, the woman he'd been pursuing, was going to a branch office to deliver an appointment letter, he shamelessly followed her there. He'd been driving too fast and ended up knocking over a bus that morning.
As far as he was concerned, it was an easy situation to "handle." Sure enough, one phone call was all it took to get him off the hook. Then, just as he'd finally caught up with Zheng Yutong, he ran into a "rival."
To make matters worse, the "rival" had beaten him. How could Young Master Guo, who was used to throwing his weight around, swallow that insult? Especially when the woman he'd always wanted to pin down and "ravage" seemed to have a soft spot for that "rival." Young Master Guo snapped.
First, he called one of his father's criminal investigation captains and had him arrest the "rival." Then he forged "evidence" that Li Wei had deliberately assaulted him and sent it to the procuratorate, officially pressing charges against Li Wei.
If all went smoothly, he could first give his rival a thorough beating, preferably leaving him crippled, then send the unlucky bastard to prison. Of course, that was assuming he greased the palms of the prison officials beforehand. The man would be in for an "unforgettable" experience.
So when he stormed into the interrogation room and saw the "rival" who'd slapped him that morning, he grinned and charged forward, ready to return the slap.
But as soon as he reached the "rival," he watched in astonishment as the man snapped apart the handcuffs that had seemed so sturdy, as if they were plastic toys.
Even more astonishing was the man's "inhuman" speed. Guo Ming saw a hand flash past, and then it felt as though a steel bar had struck his left cheek. He howled and crumpled to the floor.
He'd been slapped on the right cheek that morning, and now his left cheek had taken its turn. Even Guo Ming knew he'd be unable to show his face in public for a while.
Li Wei dropped the handcuffs he'd snapped open and thought, That was close. He'd expected to break free easily, but it had taken all his strength. If he hadn't pushed Innate Skill to its limit, he wouldn't have been able to break the all-steel handcuffs.
This inner power really was an essential skill for killing, arson, and travel.
The square-faced man was the first to cry out. He stared at Li Wei, then at Guo Ming, who was sprawled on the floor and groaning. This was Director Guo's only son, and someone had slapped him right under the square-faced man's nose. If Director Guo found out, his own good days would be over.
But how had that kid broken free of the handcuffs?
Had they not been fastened properly in the first place?
Because he was too far away to see the handcuffs being snapped apart, he assumed they hadn't been secured properly. He glared at the two young officers nearby, then raised his baton and swung it at Li Wei's head.
But he soon followed in Young Master Guo's footsteps. He just took twice as many slaps. A string of sharp smacks rang out, and the square-faced man was sent flying more than two meters. Blood filled his mouth. Perhaps he choked on it, because when he coughed, at least seven or eight teeth came flying out. His mouth swelled up in an instant, like a sausage.
Even after hitting the floor, he still couldn't figure out what had happened.
It seemed he'd seen several hands flash by too quickly to make out. Then, for no reason at all, he'd been slapped over and over. The smacks were so sharp that they echoed throughout the interrogation room.
Now even a fool could tell that the young man was not to be trifled with. Young Master Guo was staring at him in shock, but the ferocity had gone out of his face. When Li Wei glared at him, he hurriedly looked away.
"Y-you dare assault a police officer!"
Perhaps it was the first time he'd ever been beaten. The square-faced man stood up with both hands cupping his swollen, red face. Maybe losing the teeth at the front had left him with a lisp, because his words came out comically garbled.
"I hit you because you deserved it. Not just you—even if that useless director of yours, his father, showed up, I'd beat him too!" Li Wei pointed at Young Master Guo, who was sprawled on the floor.
"He caused that traffic accident this morning and nearly killed an innocent old man. And what did you cops do? You're law enforcement officers, yet you perverted justice for your own ends. Just because the driver was the director's son, you planned to let the whole thing go? Scum like you call yourselves police? You abused your power for your own selfish ends and dragged me in here. If it had been someone else, you bastards might have ruined his life, then slapped some made-up charge on him and thrown the victim in prison. You can do something so vile and still call yourselves police? The fish rots from the head down. I bet that useless director of yours is no better. Now do you understand why I hit you?"
The square-faced man was struck dumb by Li Wei's string of furious rebukes. His imposing presence had completely cowed him, and he didn't dare say another word. Besides, he didn't want to lose the few teeth he had left.
"Who's causing trouble in the police station?"
A deep, thunderous voice came from outside the interrogation room. Then a brawny man, over 1.9 meters tall, strode inside.
At the sight of him, both Young Master Guo and the square-faced man smiled with delight. With their swollen faces, though, their smiles looked ridiculous.
"Captain Tie, this criminal assaulted a police officer! Hurry up and subdue him—don't let him get away!" Young Master Guo shouted.
The newcomer glanced at the square-faced man, who certainly looked as if he'd taken a savage beating. He didn't rush in, though. Instead, he studied Li Wei with interest.
Captain Tie was a pillar of the T City police force. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him the strongest fighter among all the city's police officers. Young Master Guo knew that Captain Tie had spent several years at Shaolin Temple as a boy before joining the army. He was said to be a fierce fighter. Only after leaving the army had he joined the T City police. His fighting style blended martial arts with Military Combat Fist, and he'd never lost a fight in T City. His iron-clamp hands could easily twist a steel bar into a corkscrew, and one punch could shatter more than a dozen bricks.
Now that he was here, that arrogant brat's good days were over. Young Master Guo still remembered how Captain Tie had beaten a dozen vicious kidnappers into cripples all by himself a few months ago.
"Human. Strength: 13. Agility: 7. Mental strength: 4. Stamina: 9. Threat level: average!" Li Wei stared at the brawny man in surprise.
Was this guy really an ordinary human? His physical attributes were incredible, especially his strength and stamina—they were already far beyond Li Wei's.
He hadn't entered Shadow Street or raised his basic attributes. Just by training in the real world, he'd built a body like this. This man was no ordinary person!
As Li Wei sized him up, the brawny man known as Captain Tie was also studying him.
Extremely dangerous!
That was what the instincts of a battle-hardened man told him. Li Wei was shorter than him and didn't look particularly strong, but for some reason, Tie Xuan felt that this man was dangerous.
Trust your instincts!
That was what his master had told him more than ten years ago, when he was still at Shaolin Temple. His master had given him the name Tie Xuan then, too. Tie Xuan trusted his master, so he trusted his instincts.
But he wouldn't let Li Wei leave, either. He was a police officer now, and fighting crime was his duty. Besides, he'd finally found an opponent close to his own level. It would be a shame not to fight him.
Taking a fighting stance, Tie Xuan grinned. "Friend, watch yourself!"
As soon as he spoke, he pounced like a tiger descending the mountain. His steps were steady, and his punches were fast and powerful. Before his fist even reached him, Li Wei could feel the fierce pressure of the wind stinging his cheeks.
Impressive!
The punch coming straight at him made the hairs on Li Wei's back stand on end!
He couldn't hold back now. Pushing Innate Skill to its limit, Li Wei dodged the deadly punch by turning sideways, then struck toward Tie Xuan's ribs with his open hand. He didn't use Cloud Piercing Palm, relying only on the force of his inner power and body.
But Tie Xuan was quick to react, too. He dropped one arm and barely blocked the strike. Palm met forearm with a dull thud, and they each took a step back. Li Wei realized his palm had gone numb.
Sure enough, Li Wei was weaker in raw strength. He'd lost a little in that physical clash, but he had no idea that Tie Xuan was even more shaken.
Tie Xuan's entire arm had gone numb. After all, Li Wei's strength had reached 12. On top of that, he could sense something strange about the young man facing him.
It was like his master!
Without a word, Tie Xuan adjusted his stance, stepping forward with his left foot and back with his right. Then he threw a lightning-fast roundhouse kick. That kick was his signature move. His leg was like an iron whip: not only was it incredibly fast, its range was greater than a punch's. If it connected, it could bend even a steel bar.
Li Wei clearly lacked fighting technique. All he could do was channel his inner power into his fist and punch toward the roundhouse kick. He was going to meet force with force.
As the saying went, an arm couldn't bend a leg. The power of an arm and a leg wasn't even in the same league. On the face of it, Li Wei's move was already at a disadvantage. But what happened next stunned everyone.
There was a dull thump as his fist, charged with inner power, slammed into Tie Xuan's leg. Everyone in the room heard the faint sound of a bone breaking, followed by a muffled grunt from Tie Xuan. He was knocked straight down onto the floor.
That leg seemed to no longer belong to Tie Xuan. He clearly felt some kind of "thing" travel from the young man's fist into his leg, like thousands of bone-eating ants gnawing at his skin, muscles, and bones.
"Inner power?" Tie Xuan finally understood what had felt wrong. This agonizing sensation was just like the feeling of being struck by his Shaolin master's powerful inner force.
But the young man in front of him was so young. How could he have cultivated inner power?
His master had said that producing even the most basic sea of qi in the dantian took twenty years, even for a martial arts prodigy. An ordinary person of average talent could forget about it without more than thirty years of practice—and that was with guidance from a renowned master.
Tie Xuan himself had begun practicing an inner cultivation method called Tiger Roar Iron Bone Skill the year he entered the temple. It was a secret treasure of Shaolin Temple. After more than a decade of practice, he'd only managed to sense a trace of qi. The qi had strengthened his skin, flesh, muscles, and bones. Though his sea of qi was only a thin layer, it was enough to let him dominate the mundane world.
Years of real combat experience in the army and the police had also made his fighting skills and inner power formidable. Yet even so, the young man had knocked him down with a single punch.
Tie Xuan found it hard to accept. Could this young man be even stronger than his master?
Li Wei exhaled a breath of stale air. The muscles in his arm, which had tensed as he channeled his inner power, began to relax. Only now did he realize how powerful it was. Innate Skill truly was a high-level method of inner cultivation. This was only its first level. If he cultivated it to the seventh, maybe he'd be able to knock the brawny man flat with nothing more than a breath.
The sounds of fighting in the room had drawn the attention of the other officers. Soon, a large group of them rushed in through the doorway, all holding firearms. They took in the scene and drew sharp breaths. The director's son had a face swollen like a pig's and was sprawled on the floor. The criminal investigation captain—the square-faced man—also had a pig's face. Most astonishing of all, Tie Xuan, hailed as the strongest fighter in the police force, had also been defeated.
Who was that young man?
But whoever he was, he'd have to surrender when faced with fully armed police officers.
(Here's today's third chapter, all nearly 4,000 words long! Brothers, don't be stingy with your recommendation votes. Thanks again to everyone who sent gifts. Also, An Hei wants to climb to the top of the newcomer rankings. Not sure if it's possible, but I'm counting on all you big shots to support me!)
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