The Blood Moon hung low, bathing the entrance to West Alley in the old district in a dark red glow, like congealed blood scabs.
The lingering chill in the air carried a cloying, deathly stillness.
Fang Gang sprinted all the way there. The newfound strength in his body made him far faster than an ordinary person, the wind howling past his ears.
But the inky-black yin line on his right arm, like a cold venomous snake, kept creeping upward. The stabbing pain and bone-deep chill constantly reminded him—time was running out!
"Cainiao Station at the entrance to West Alley in the old district... here!"
Fang Gang abruptly stopped in front of a rundown convenience store with a faded sign hanging over its entrance.
The words "Convenience Store & Cainiao Station" on the sign were blurry and indistinct.
The shop door stood half-open, and a dim incandescent bulb glowed inside.
An old man named Li, wearing a washed-out undershirt, with sparse graying hair, was dozing behind the counter while a radio played a scratchy opera tune.
"Package pickup! 8-5-666!" Fang Gang's voice carried a barely noticeable urgency.
Old Li woke with a start. His cloudy eyes swept over Fang Gang before he lazily pointed toward the mountain of parcels piled in the corner. "Find it yourself. The pile on the left starts with 8."
Fang Gang immediately pounced on the pile and rapidly rummaged through the deliveries.
The stabbing pain from the yin line on his arm made him move even faster.
"8-5-666... Found it!"
Fang Gang yanked out a flat courier envelope wrapped in cheap kraft paper. It was light as air in his hand.
Gaudy advertising was printed across the kraft-paper bag: "Complete Collection of Martial Arts Manuals! Free shipping for $1.39! Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, Nine Yin Manual, Sunflower Manual... helping you reach the pinnacle of martial arts!"
In one corner was a line of tiny print: "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill" (Proofread Illustrated Edition).
A strong stench of inferior ink mixed with the musty smell of paper rushed at him.
"A $1.39... divine skill?" Fang Gang's mouth twitched, but his eyes burned with excitement. He swiftly tore open the envelope.
A thin booklet fell out.
The cover was a cheap color print depicting a muscular monk striking a pose before a glittering golden Buddha statue, with several crooked words printed across it: "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Proofread Illustrated Edition)."
The paper was rough and yellowed, its corners curled, reeking of a roadside-stall product.
Ding! Detected the host has come into contact with a 'martial arts cultivation method': "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill" (pirated/imaginative/85% incomplete). Would you like to consume 1 Evolution Point to convert it into the 'True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Beginner Chapter)'?
The cold system prompt sounded like heavenly music!
"Convert it!" Fang Gang roared inwardly without the slightest hesitation.
Ding! Consumed 1 Evolution Point! Conversion successful! Obtained: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Beginner Chapter)! Cultivation method traits: Basic immense strength, vigorous vitality and blood, initial refinement of Dragon-Elephant Power (weak), with a weak yang attribute (some restraint against yin and evil).
A stream of profound information instantly flooded Fang Gang's mind!
It was no longer the gaudy imagined description on the cover, but a clear, concise method of tempering that pointed directly toward the source of strength!
How to circulate vitality and blood, how to temper his tendons, bones, and skin, how to sense and gather that faint trace of Dragon-Elephant Power! Though it was only the beginner chapter, it carried an ancient, weighty sense of authenticity!
Almost the moment the cultivation method's information entered him, Fang Gang felt the inky-black yin line on his arm suddenly contract!
As though it had been burned by an invisible flame!
Though it still stubbornly clung to him, the bone-clinging chill was briefly suppressed by the newly born, weak yet incomparably pure yang vitality and blood within him!
"It works!" Fang Gang was ecstatic. This $1.39 had been money well spent!
He immediately looked at the system panel:
Host: Fang Gang Realm: Skin Refining Realm (early stage), mortal → Skin Refining! Strength: 11.7 → 12.0 (beyond ordinary people) Constitution: 5.8 → 6.0 (steel sinews and iron bones) Agility: 5.9 (Agile as a Rabbit) Spirit: 1.1 (resilient) Available Evolution Points: 14.6 (15.6-1) Cultivation Method: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Beginner Chapter 0/100) Martial Skills: None Status: Yin Energy Erosion (moderate)
His realm had advanced! He had stepped from being a mortal into the first body-refining realm—the early stage of the Skin Refining Realm!
His strength and constitution had risen slightly once more! More importantly, the cultivation method slot was no longer empty!
"Upgrade the cultivation method!"
Fang Gang showed no hesitation. Looking at the remaining 14.6 Evolution Points, his eyes flashed brightly. "Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill, level up!"
Ding! Consumed 10 Evolution Points! True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill has advanced to 'Lesser Mastery' (10/500)!
Boom!
An even more violent torrent of heat than when he had previously added points to his attributes exploded within him!
This time, the heat no longer simply washed over his muscles and bones. Instead, it followed a specific path, like countless tiny scorching hammers madly pounding every inch of his skin and fascia!
A heavy, vast sense of power carrying the aura of ancient savagery emerged from the depths of his marrow!
Rip! Fang Gang's cheap T-shirt instantly burst apart, revealing the bulging lines of muscle beneath!
A faint bronze sheen appeared across his skin, as though he had been dusted with a thin layer of bronze powder!
A weak yet genuine sense of power, like the trumpeting of a giant elephant, faintly echoed around his body!
He unconsciously clenched his fist, his knuckles cracking like exploding beans! Power! More condensed, more violent power surged through his muscles!
Ding! True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Lesser Mastery)! Effect: Strength +0.5, Constitution +0.5! Dragon-Elephant Power (weak) stabilized; vitality and blood like a small furnace (increased restraint against yin and evil); skin initially toughened (can resist ordinary knife cuts).
The system panel refreshed once more:
Realm: Skin Refining Realm (middle stage)! Strength: 12.0 → 12.5 (Savage Elephant Awakening) Constitution: 6.0 → 6.5 (initial bronze skin) Cultivation Method: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Lesser Mastery 10/500) Available Evolution Points: 4.6
Middle stage of the Skin Refining Realm! His strength and constitution had risen again! His skin was as tough as cowhide!
Fang Gang could not help letting out a low roar as he punched a half-broken red brick piled beside an abandoned wall!
The brick shattered on impact, exploding into powder! His fist was completely unharmed, without even a white mark on his skin!
"Hiss..." Old Li, who had been dozing behind the counter, was fully jolted awake by the commotion. He sucked in a cold breath. Looking at Fang Gang's inhuman strength and bronze skin, his cloudy old eyes filled with shock and an indescribable trace of fear.
He instinctively shrank back, his gaze passing over Fang Gang's clenched fist before seemingly inadvertently sweeping across the inky-black yin line exposed beneath his rolled-up sleeve, which had already spread to the middle of his forearm.
Old Li's pupils suddenly constricted. It was as if he had seen something utterly terrifying. His face instantly turned deathly pale, and his lips trembled. He seemed to want to say something, but forcibly held it back, lowering his head and not daring to look again.
Immersed in the joy of his skyrocketing power, Fang Gang failed to notice Old Li's strange behavior.
Feeling the surging vitality and blood within him, along with that newly born, heavy Dragon-Elephant Power, his confidence soared as never before.
"4.6 points left..." Fang Gang looked at the "(Lesser Mastery 10/500)" after the cultivation method entry and understood that these Evolution Points were nowhere near enough to raise it to the next stage.
"Constitution! Add another 4 points to Constitution!" He made the decision at once. A stronger body was the foundation for resisting evil entities head-on!
Ding! Consumed 4 Evolution Points! Constitution +4! Current Constitution: 10.5 (Bronze Skin Iron Bones)! Realm: Skin Refining Realm (late stage)!
An even heavier warm current merged into his limbs and bones. His muscle fibers seemed to be tempered once more like hundred-forged steel, his bone density increased, and his body's defense and endurance instantly rose to a new level!
The bronze sheen on his skin became even more pronounced, faintly carrying a metallic texture.
Available Evolution Points: 0.6 Strength: 12.5 (Savage Elephant Awakening) Constitution: 10.5 (Bronze Skin Iron Bones) → late stage Skin Refining! Agility: 5.9 (Agile as a Rabbit) Spirit: 1.1 (resilient)
Feeling the surging power within him and his indestructible physique, Fang Gang's eyes flashed with savage light.
He suddenly turned his head toward the edge of the city, toward the outline of the funeral home crouching beneath the Blood Moon like a colossal beast.
The yin line on his arm seemed to sense his killing intent, sending another burst of stabbing pain, as if warning him—or provoking him.
"The thing in the funeral home..."
Fang Gang clenched his fists, his knuckles cracking with a terrifying sound. Vitality and blood surged beneath his bronze skin, accompanied by the faint sound of a deep elephant's trumpet. "Wait for me!"
He needed battle! He needed Evolution Points! More than that... he needed to completely remove this damned thing from his arm! The funeral home was his hunting ground!
Just as he turned to leave the station and return to that dangerous place, the inky-black yin line on his arm suddenly began to writhe violently without warning!
A chill far colder and more vicious than before, as though capable of freezing the soul itself, erupted from the yin line. Like countless ice needles, it viciously pierced deep into his newly strengthened, vitality-filled organs!
"Urgh!" Fang Gang grunted, cold sweat instantly beading on his forehead as his body swayed involuntarily.
This backlash from the yin line was fiercer than any before! It was resisting—or rather, Fang Gang's stronger vitality and blood had completely enraged it!
Warning! Unknown yin energy erosion has intensified! It is attacking the host's internal organs! Threat level increased! Recommendation: Immediately eliminate the source or seek a stronger yang cultivation method/energy to suppress it!
The system alarm carried an urgency unlike anything before.
Fang Gang gritted his teeth and forcibly circulated the Lesser Mastery Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill within him. His blazing vitality and blood, like furnace fire, frantically crashed against the erupting yin chill!
The two forces clashed violently inside his body, bringing tearing pain.
He stared fixedly toward the funeral home, his eyes as fierce as those of a wounded beast.
"Looks like... the main course inside can't wait any longer!"
"Perfect. I'm hungry too!"
Fang Gang did not linger any longer. Enduring the agony inside him and the clash of ice and fire, he took great strides toward the dark funeral home beneath the Blood Moon, charging forward without hesitation once again! This time, he would take the initiative!
In the night wind, the inky-black yin line on his arm looked especially vicious and eye-catching against his bronze skin.
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