The blood moon was crimson, and the yin wind cut to the bone.
Fang Gang raced toward the funeral home's massive, tomb-like silhouette like an arrow loosed from its bow.
Inside him, the minor mastery True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill circulated madly. His qi and blood burned like a small furnace, fiercely clashing with the bone-chilling cold erupting from the ink-black line on his arm. Waves of tearing pain assaulted him.
"Hiss... ha..." Fang Gang gritted his teeth. The sweat that had just seeped out was instantly evaporated into white vapor by the scorching qi and blood on his skin.
There was not the slightest hint of retreat in his eyes, only the ferocious gleam of rage.
"Get the hell... back!" he growled. With a surge of will, dragon-elephant power mixed with boundless qi and blood and slammed viciously into the rampaging chill!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
It was like pouring boiling oil onto snow! The cold that had seeped deep into his organs was forcibly suppressed and scorched!
The black line writhed violently, its color seeming to fade slightly as its spread was temporarily halted.
The pain lessened somewhat, and Fang Gang's spirits rose!
It works! The stronger I become, the better I can suppress it! The thought was like a shot of adrenaline.
He needed more Evolution Points! More power!
The funeral home's gates stood wide open like the pitch-black maw of a giant beast.
An even denser wave of cold, deathly yin energy washed over him, mixed with formaldehyde and a faint... scent of blood?
Without slowing, Fang Gang charged into the main building's corridor like a cannonball.
The ghastly white emergency lights made the hallway seem full of flickering ghosts. The silence was terrifying; only his heavy footsteps and heartbeat echoed through it.
Huff... inhale...
That strange breathing—slow, cold, and sticky—came again from deep within the morgue!
This time, the sound seemed... faintly mocking? As though it were waiting for its prey to walk into the trap.
Warning! Detected high-density yin energy aggregation reaction (Fierce Ghost-level/Green Zombie-level)! Threat level: C! Extremely dangerous! Detected activity from multiple low-level yin energy aggregates (Grudge-level)! Threat level: E!
The system's warnings were cold and piercing.
Fang Gang stopped at the morgue door. The metal handle was icy to the touch.
He took a deep breath, suppressing his surging qi and blood and the stabbing pain in his arm. His gaze was as sharp as a blade.
"Fierce Ghost-level... Green Zombie-level..." He licked his slightly cracked lips. Rather than fear, he felt an intense fighting spirit and... hunger rise within him! The temptation of Evolution Points!
"Let's start with the appetizers!"
He violently shoved open the morgue door!
Cold deathly yin energy poured out like a tide! Under the morgue's ghastly white lights, the scene inside was even stranger than before!
More than a dozen blurred, twisted humanoid outlines formed from dense black mist drifted and writhed aimlessly between the cold corpse drawers.
They let out meaningless hissing sounds, greedily absorbing the yin energy leaking through the air and... traces of faint bloodlust!
They were the remnants left behind after that white zombie puppet had been blown apart!
These were the Grudge Aggregates mentioned by the system! And there were a lot of them!
Fang Gang's appearance was like dripping cold water into a calm—deathly still—pan of hot oil!
Hiss—!
More than a dozen masses of grudging black mist simultaneously released sharp shrieks filled with greed and malice!
They instantly abandoned the scraps they had been absorbing and, like a school of piranhas scenting blood, crazily lunged at the "feast" by the doorway that radiated vigorous qi and blood! Black mist churned, and the yin wind howled miserably!
"Just what I wanted!" The ferocious light in Fang Gang's eyes flared! Rather than retreat, he stepped forward. His bronze-colored skin shone with a cold metallic gleam beneath the lights!
Facing the first ghostly black mist that lunged at him, he made no attempt to evade!
That Grudge Aggregate slammed hard into Fang Gang's chest!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—!
It was like cold water splashing into boiling oil! The dense black mist instantly gave off a piercing burning sound!
At Fang Gang's chest, the minor mastery True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill activated on its own, and his blazing Qi and Blood Furnace roared into motion!
It was as though the Grudge Aggregate had crashed into a wall of red-hot iron. It let out an incomparably shrill scream as its black mist visibly thinned and dispersed!
"Die!" Fang Gang's right fist shot out like a cannonball! The terrifying strength of 2.5 times that of an ordinary person, mixed with the heaviness of dragon-elephant power and the supreme yang force of his qi and blood, smashed without flourish into the thinned black mist's core!
It was like puncturing a torn sack filled with ashes! The Grudge Aggregate did not even have time to scream before it completely collapsed into a few wisps of green smoke!
Ding! Killed 'Grudge Aggregate'! Evolution Points +5! Absorbed trace yin energy, converted to Evolution Points +0.1! Current Evolution Points: 5.7!
The system prompt was like the most wonderful war drum!
"Awesome!" Fang Gang growled, feeling the absolute crushing dominance brought by his power! His body moved like the wind, Agile as a Rabbit!
Within the cramped morgue, he turned into a fierce bronze afterimage!
Bang! A punch flew out! Another Grudge Aggregate wailed and dispersed!
Thud! A sweeping kick lashed out! Black mist tore apart like rotten cloth!
Crack! His elbow struck backward! The ghost creature sneaking up behind him instantly shattered!
His movements were simple, direct, and brutal! There was no technique at all, only absolute suppression through strength and speed!
The defense of Bronze Skin Iron Bones allowed him to withstand the Grudge Aggregates' bites and clawing without injury, while his blazing qi and blood were their natural nemesis!
Every blow of his fists and legs was accompanied by the Grudge Aggregates' shrill screams and the system's pleasant notification chimes!
Ding! Killed... Evolution Points +5!... +0.1! Ding! Killed... Evolution Points +5!... +0.1! ...
In barely a dozen seconds!
The more than a dozen masses of grudging black mist drifting through the morgue had been completely wiped out! The air was filled with green smoke and the scorched stench of burning.
Fang Gang stood amid the wreckage, breathing lightly. White heat steamed from his bronze-colored skin, a sign that his qi and blood were circulating at high speed. He brought up his panel:
Host: Fang Gang Realm: Skin Refining Realm (Late Stage) Strength: 12.5 (Savage Elephant Awakening) Constitution: 10.5 (Bronze Skin Iron Bones) Agility: 5.9 (Agile as a Rabbit) Spirit: 1.1 (Tenacious) Available Evolution Points: 15.7 + ? (Just now, he killed about 12 Grudge Aggregates. 12*5 = 60 base points, plus the absorbed traces, about 0.1*12 = 1.2 points, for approximately 61.2 points gained! Current total: 5.7 + 61.2 = **66.9 points!) Cultivation Method: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Minor Mastery 10/500) Martial Skill: None Status: Yin Energy Erosion (Moderate—temporarily suppressed)
66.9 points! Fang Gang's heart began to pound wildly! A fortune unlike anything he had ever had before!
"Upgrade the cultivation method!" Without hesitation, he locked his will onto the Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill. "Push it for me!"
Ding! Consumed 500 Evolution Points! True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill upgraded to 'Major Mastery' (0/1000)!
Boom—!!!
A torrent of power far more violent, profound, and ancient than any before exploded inside Fang Gang!
It was no longer a warm current, but like an ancient giant elephant awakening within every inch of his flesh, blood, and bones!
His muscles and bones rang in unison, producing a deep rumble like thunder!
The bronze gleam on his skin instantly deepened and solidified, as though he had truly been cast in bronze!
His muscles bulged, and their lines became even more terrifying, filled with explosive power!
A heavy, majestic dragon-elephant phantom carrying the momentum to crush all things flashed behind him before vanishing!
Ding! True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Major Mastery)! Effect: Strength +1.0! Constitution +1.0! Dragon-Elephant Power (Stabilized), Qi and Blood Furnace (Vigorous, greatly enhanced suppression against yin and evil entities), skin as tough as bronze hide (able to withstand slashes from sharp weapons)! Realm increased: Skin Refining Realm (Perfection)!
The system panel refreshed instantly:
Realm: Skin Refining Realm (Perfection)! Strength: 12.5 → 13.5 (Savage Elephant Power) Constitution: 10.5 → 11.5 (Bronze Skin Mastery) Cultivation Method: True Dragon-Elephant Prajna Skill (Major Mastery 0/1000) Available Evolution Points: 66.9 - 500 = 166.9? (Calculation error! It should be 66.9 - 500 = a negative value? System correction: upgrading the cultivation method requires 500 points, but 66.9 ＜ 500. Unable to upgrade! Notice: Insufficient Evolution Points!)
Fang Gang's ecstatic expression froze instantly!
"Fuck! Not enough?!" He nearly cursed aloud.
Looking at the 66.9 available Evolution Points on the panel, the glaring "Minor Mastery 10/500" behind the cultivation method, and the 500 points required to reach Major Mastery, the enormous gap made him feel so frustrated he could vomit blood.
He had gotten so carried away with killing that he had forgotten to do the math!
Huff... inhale...
Just then, the cold, sticky breathing deep in the morgue, carrying that mocking rhythm, abruptly grew heavier!
It was as though it had been enraged by Fang Gang's slaughter of the Grudge Aggregates and the sudden eruption of his powerful qi and blood!
Thud... thud... thud...
Heavy footsteps, like a giant hammer striking the ground, came step by step from the darkest corner of the morgue, accompanied by the piercing scrape of metal dragging across the floor! Each step made the ground tremble faintly!
A far more terrifying and violent cold pressure, thick with corpse stench and blood, swept over him like a tsunami!
The lights began flashing violently, flickering on and off! The temperature in the morgue plunged to freezing!
Warning! Target locked! 'Corpse Puppet (Green Zombie-level)' has appeared! Threat level: C+! Extremely dangerous!
The system alarm pierced his eardrums!
Fang Gang abruptly looked up, his pupils contracting! From the depths of the darkness, a tall, burly, terrifying figure with dark green skin and dense green fur emerged step by step, dragging a rusted, bloodstained... massive fire axe!
Its eyes were two hollow pits burning with savage green flames!
Its target was Fang Gang!
A green zombie! And it had a weapon!
"Damn it! The main course is here!" There was not the slightest fear in Fang Gang's eyes. Instead, an even fiercer fighting spirit and greed blazed within them! 66.9 points were not enough? Then he would use this thing's life to make up the difference!
Every muscle in his body tensed. Beneath his bronze skin, qi and blood surged like mighty rivers, letting out a deep roar! His newly stabilized Savage Elephant Power roared through every limb and bone!
"Roar—!" The green zombie let out an earth-shaking roar, spewing foul corpse qi!
It suddenly swung the heavy fire axe, bringing a terrifying shriek that tore through the air as it cleaved down toward Fang Gang's head!
The axe blade flickered with the cold light of death beneath the ghastly white lamps!
Fang Gang neither retreated nor yielded. Bronze Skin Mastery at Skin Refining Realm perfection gave him the confidence to meet it head-on!
With a low roar, he clenched his right fist. The strength of 3.5 times that of an ordinary person, mixed with supreme yang qi and blood, met the descending giant axe as he threw a savage punch!
"Break for me...!"
Just as fist and axe were about to collide—
"Who's in there? Are you still alive?! Special Affairs Bureau! Chen Tao!" A rough, anxious shout, accompanied by chaotic footsteps, suddenly came from the corridor outside the morgue!
Immediately afterward, a blinding beam from a powerful flashlight shot in through the doorway, illuminating Fang Gang's gleaming bronze... bald head!
And his fierce figure as he threw a punch straight at the giant axe!
At the doorway, a chubby man in a black combat uniform held a yellow talisman in his hand. His face was covered in anxious sweat. Seeing this scene, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, and he blurted out:
"Holy shit?! You're using your fist to take on a green zombie's axe? Brother... your muscles are more useful than my talismans?!"
Before you continue