"Root Bone... Comprehension..."
Hong Yuan finally understood where the warmth that had surged through his bones and the clear breath that had sharpened his mind came from when the burly servant fought back.
He had gained points!
"And the so-called Flying Immortal Pool actually works a little. It isn't just a trick."
Hong Yuan thought of the thick medicinal liquid the maids had poured into the Flying Immortal Pool. One medicinal bath had raised his Root Bone by a fraction.
"Do Root Bone and Comprehension both max out at a hundred?"
His Root Bone and Comprehension had risen by only two tiny increments each, but Hong Yuan saw no reason to fret. His starting values were high.
The benefits of crossing over had already strengthened his body once. He was far sturdier than an ordinary person: with one arm, he could lift Xiao Chan, who weighed around ninety pounds, as easily as picking up a chick, with plenty of strength to spare.
Could he lift two Xiao Chans stacked together with one hand? Hong Yuan was less sure of that. But even if he could not, he reckoned he would come close.
Combined with his Qi Through All Bones talent and improved coordination, a swift punch from him had to carry at least several hundred pounds of force!
He had no way to measure it precisely, but he estimated it at no less than five or six hundred pounds.
And that was without any training or development. Besides, the strength a person could bring to bear in a real fight was nothing like what they could put into striking a stationary target.
Of course, unless the difference in strength was overwhelming, a little more or less made scant difference in a fight to the death. The best way to kill someone was with a weapon.
As for Hong Yuan's current physical abilities, leaving this unfamiliar world aside—who knew whether it held anything supernatural?—they would not have put him at the very top even in his previous life. What truly gave him formidable fighting power was the support of his two talents.
Qi Through All Bones gave him bodily coordination and swift reactions.
Clear Eyes Through the Nether gave him keen observation and the ability to anticipate an opponent's moves—
In an instant, those talents had raised a rookie who had never trained in martial arts or combat to the level of "Master Ye."
He had already surpassed the fighters of the modern world by a notch!
After all, no matter how lavishly martial arts masters and fighting experts were praised outside the ring, once they stepped into it, nearly all of them ended up throwing wild, flailing punches.
Hong Yuan glanced at the Blessed Land Dao Lord entry.
He understood everything else, but this one baffled him. As he stared at the four characters, the text before his eyes became a gray-black vortex.
One glance made him feel as though the vortex would draw in his mind. He sensed no danger at all. Instead, he urgently wanted to plunge into it.
"Now's not the time!"
Hong Yuan suppressed the urge, gripped his staff tight, and strode forward, killing intent boiling within him.
It was his first time killing someone, yet he felt little discomfort. His body was still exhilarated. In the end, what people feared about killing was not so much the act itself as its consequences.
The crack of clashing staffs rang through the hall. Yang Lie tried to reach the raised platform, but three sturdy women servants blocked him. One held a short blade, the other two staffs, and they pressed him from all sides.
Yang Lie moved like the wind, darting left and right to deny them any chance of attacking together. His staff whirled, now smashing, now chopping!
With his single staff, he held off both of theirs. The fierce force behind each collision made his heart sink.
What worried him more was the burly woman with the blade, who watched him like a venomous snake. Whenever he tried to break out, her blade stabbed in from a vicious angle. She had already drawn blood from his back, slicing through his clothes and opening a gash in his flesh.
The other two burly women paid Hong Yuan no heed. They hurried up onto the platform, fear and urgency plain on their faces.
On the platform, the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue squealed like a pig being slaughtered. "Useless! You're all useless! What do I keep you servants for? Come save me! Aaaah!"
She had stopped calling herself "Venerable Mother" or "this exalted one."
The two people in colorful robes had red-rimmed eyes. The one whose wrist the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue held could not break free and lunged to bite her hand.
But the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue was so enormously fat that, even stretching his mouth as wide as he could, he managed to bite down on only one thumb.
Crack!
Pain shot through her hand. The Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue struggled with all her might, but the man's jaws clamped around her thumb like pincers. Nothing she did could shake him loose. Hatred blazed in his eyes as he stared at her, a strange, savage grin on his face.
It was as though he meant to vent a mountain of resentment all at once.
The other robed man kept driving a sharpened wooden stick into the flesh of the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue's face, trying to force it deeper. He opened his mouth wide, ready to follow his companion's example.
Thud!
A staff struck his head with a dull blow and a sharp crack of bone. He died on the spot!
One of the burly women had climbed onto the platform and killed him with a single blow.
Nearby, a rough hand gripped the platform's edge. Its owner hauled herself up, her imposing body rising onto the platform. A cold gleam flashed in her hand as she drove a short blade into the back of the neck of the man biting the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue's thumb.
The robed man's body shuddered. At last, his strength gave out and his jaws loosened. "You old bitch..." he murmured.
He died before he could say another word.
Though the blade-wielding woman had saved the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue, terror filled her dark face. One side of the Venerable Mother's face was a bloody ruin, and her thumb had been bitten through. Only a little flesh still held it on.
"Bastards! Every one of them! Chop them all up and feed them to the dogs!" the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue howled.
It was not that Hong Yuan had been unwilling to help. All this had happened in the space of a few sentences, and he could not fly. When he looked toward the platform, the Immortal Maidens behind the six curtains were already in a panic. Someone cried, "Open the hidden doors! Hurry!"
Figures stirred behind the curtains. Hong Yuan heard a creak, as though concealed doors were being opened.
"Trying to run? You'll have to ask my staff first."
Hong Yuan's gaze turned cold.
His vision blurred. Xiao Chan, light as a colorful butterfly, appeared in his path. The seductive smile had vanished from her face. "To think I misjudged you, Young Master Hong. You're trained in fighting. But you've thrown the immortal realm into disorder and made a grave mistake. Leave at once."
"Take one more step, and you'll be doomed beyond redemption."
She held a high position in the manor because of a secret connection with the Venerable Mother of Might and Virtue. Seeing the Venerable Mother injured, she was gritting her teeth with fury.
Whoosh!
Hong Yuan was not about to hold back just because she had massaged him and washed his feet. He wasted no words and swung his staff straight down.
Xiao Chan gave a cold snort. Her colorful robes billowed as her waist bent back so far it seemed ready to snap. Her left foot held firm, nailed to the floor, while her slender right leg snapped taut and sprang up like a bowstring. Smack! Her foot shot toward the wrist of his staff hand.
Hong Yuan turned his wrist to evade the kick, lowered his body, and swept his staff across.
Xiao Chan pushed off with her left foot and spun into the air like a top. Her flowing robes fluttered like butterfly wings. Though they were fighting for their lives, her movements looked as graceful as a dance.
Even Hong Yuan was startled. This woman really was an expert!
Smack!
Xiao Chan's toe came down with uncanny precision on the soft flesh of a dead servant woman's arm. Her foot slipped. She stumbled, her body swaying.
"Ah!" A short cry escaped her. Then the shadow of a staff fell and smashed into her face.
In an instant—
Flesh flew from her pretty face and blood sprayed. The blow sent her hurtling sideways. She tumbled across the floor and did not get up.
"If you're going to fight, fight. What was all that prancing for? I almost thought you were a real expert. Who were you trying to fool?"
Hong Yuan was almost at a loss for words.
On this autumn night, a wave of hot air swept into the hall from outside. Red flames soared skyward, the commotion grew louder, and the sounds of fighting drew rapidly closer.
Thump!
A guard staggered backward into the door, perhaps kicked there by someone. A blade flashed past him. Hiss! It sliced across his throat.
Two lean, formidable figures dressed in black burst into the hall. One was around thirty, with a long, narrow face and hawklike eyes. He held a Steel Saber, blood dripping from its tip.
At the sight of the two men, Yang Lie's face lit up with delight even as he fought.
Before you continue