Martial Soul

When Fang Han returned home, the rain had already stopped.

After changing clothes and putting away and hiding tonight's gear, he lay down on the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

It was not until the next morning that the commotion outside the courtyard woke him.

Yawning, Fang Han pushed open the door and stepped outside, only to see his mother, Chen Cui, standing at the courtyard gate and talking to Auntie Wang next door.

Fang Han walked over and stood by the gate, where he heard the neighbors discussing how Zhou Dabao had been killed by an enemy last night.

"Did you hear Zhou Dabao is dead?"

"Yeah! Someone killed him last night. Not one of his lackeys got away either!"

"Exactly, exactly. I heard even his house was burned to the ground."

"With rain that heavy last night, his house still burned down?"

"Heaven finally opened its eyes. That beast committed every evil under the sun—he finally got what was coming to him."

Listening to his mother and the neighbors talk.

Fang Han showed a trace of surprise on the surface, but his heart was calm as still water.

He had cleaned up thoroughly last night and left behind no clues. Besides, the rain had been so heavy.

Even if the Dragon King Gang wanted to investigate who had killed Zhou Dabao, it would be difficult for them to find any clues at the scene.

After breakfast at home, Fang Han went out as usual.

When he arrived at the martial arts hall, he still practiced his fists in the corner of the training grounds. With Zhou Dabao no longer threatening him, he felt somewhat more relaxed and completely immersed himself in round after round of boxing.

At the end of the day, Fang Han checked the Panel again. The Gale-Breaking Fist proficiency had risen directly from [97/500] to [143/500].

He had practiced his fists forty-six times today!

With only the martial arts hall's Blood-Qi Soup supporting him, his training efficiency had improved noticeably.

Aside from the increase in boxing proficiency.

Fang Han also noticed that after he had practiced his fists a hundred times, a new prompt appeared on the Panel:

[One Hundred Rounds of Boxing]

[Rising Talent Boost: Comprehension increased by 1 point]

Now, looking at the full Panel:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: Twenty-three]

[Physique: Inferior (Can Cultivate)]

[Comprehension: 99]

[Realm: None]

[Martial Arts: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 143/500, entry]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regress), Rising Talent (Comprehension Increase)]

His comprehension had already reached 99 points!

Fang Han stared at the comprehension entry, and for no apparent reason, a thread of anticipation rose in his heart.

What would happen when his comprehension reached 100 points?

He did not know the answer.

But instinctively, he felt that would be a crucial threshold...

Night came.

Fang Han went alone to the back mountain and continued practicing his fists in a clearing in the woods.

Before practicing this time, he took out the wooden box from his chest, bit off less than half of the Solomon's Seal inside, chewed it up, and swallowed it.

Then he took out the porcelain bottle, removed a Blood-Qi Pill, and swallowed it in one gulp.

This time, he wanted to see what would happen if he consumed Solomon's Seal and a Blood-Qi Pill at the same time.

Once the Solomon's Seal and Blood-Qi Pill entered his stomach, the medicinal power contained within quickly transformed into two scorching currents of warmth. They burst apart in his lower abdomen and rushed swiftly through his limbs and bones.

At this very moment.

Fang Han felt as if his entire body were on fire.

Every inch of muscle, bone, and tendon was scoured by the warm medicinal currents. They burned fiercely, carrying pain close to being scorched alive.

"Am I going to nourish myself to death...?"

Fang Han no longer felt comfortable. On the contrary, he began to feel rather miserable.

Without hesitating, he quickly adjusted his breathing, assumed the opening stance of the Gale-Breaking Fist, and began grinding through round after round of the boxing art like a madman.

This was different from before.

With the dual boost of medicinal power, Fang Han seemed tireless.

After completing one round of Gale-Breaking Fist, he barely paused to rest before immediately flowing into the opening stance again.

Ten rounds...

Twenty rounds...

Fifty rounds...

By the time he finally stopped, the first light of dawn had already spilled over the treetops in the eastern mountains.

He had truly ground through the Gale-Breaking Fist all night!

Fang Han looked at the proficiency on the Panel. It had now reached an astonishing [233/500]!

In other words.

He had practiced the Gale-Breaking Fist ninety times in a single night!

Even Fang Han himself was startled.

The effects of Solomon's Seal combined with a Blood-Qi Pill were terrifying indeed!

Just as he was about to put away the Panel, it suddenly refreshed with another new prompt:

[One Hundred Rounds of Boxing]

[Rising Talent Boost: Comprehension increased by 1 point]

Hmm?

Fang Han was somewhat surprised. This Panel could actually delay its prompts.

Looking at the comprehension entry again, his comprehension had reached 100 points.

One hundred!

Before Fang Han could even begin to anticipate what changes might occur.

In an instant, a lucid, ethereal, and remarkably spiritual aura erupted from his mind!

Like a violent gale, it swept away the chaotic mist within his mind, making his thoughts incomparably clear.

Especially regarding the Gale-Breaking Fist he had just finished practicing, he suddenly gained a deeper understanding.

He gained entirely new insights into some of the killing moves, deceptive moves, and strange moves among the twelve forms of the boxing art!

Fang Han could not help practicing the Gale-Breaking Fist once more.

Gale-Breaking Fist Proficiency +1

"The power of my punches increased by more than double, damn..."

Feeling that the Gale-Breaking Fist had clearly become stronger, Fang Han could not help drawing in a sharp breath. He secretly marveled that increased comprehension could actually make his boxing art more formidable.

Then, he suddenly thought of the Nine Flood Dragon Palms that had dropped from Zhou Dabao last night.

Finding a stone to sit on, Fang Han took out the palm art manual and began flipping through it.

He had been busy cleaning up and fleeing last night, then had gone straight to sleep once he got home. He had not had time to examine this palm art closely.

"I heard people mention in my memories that Qiu Haiyou, the leader of the Dragon King Gang, carved out a fearsome reputation in the Outer City through a palm art.

There's a good chance that what Qiu Haiyou practices is this Nine Flood Dragon Palms!

I wonder which audacious fool secretly copied it down, only for it to end up in Zhou Dabao's hands?"

After recognizing that this copy of the Nine Flood Dragon Palms was handwritten.

Fang Han carefully read it page by page and memorized the entire palm art. Then, he directly used a firestarter to burn the manual into ashes.

This thing was far too hot to handle. If it were found on him, it would certainly bring down a disaster of monstrous proportions!

If Qiu Haiyou, the leader of the Dragon King Gang, found out, then with Fang Han's current strength, even ten lives would not be enough to survive a single palm from him.

Even if he practiced it, he had to do so in secret and keep it as a trump card. Unless driven into a corner with no way out, he absolutely could not use it.

Having understood the key to it all.

Fang Han closed his eyes and recalled the first form of the Nine Flood Dragon Palms in his mind: Flood Dragon Emerges from the Abyss.

The movements of Flood Dragon Emerges from the Abyss appeared in his mind, clearer than they had been on paper—a complete transformation from a two-dimensional animation into a three-dimensional one.

The imagined "Fang Han," dressed in a gray training uniform, began repeatedly practicing the Nine Flood Dragon Palms in his mind like an emotionless puppet on strings.

Moreover, each repetition was more precise than the last, every round coming closer to perfection!

Fang Han was dumbfounded!

Holy shit! This was insanely awesome!

What kind of ability was this?

A term from his memories of his previous life immediately came to mind, one that matched this ability perfectly—Baki Hanma's "Demon Brain"!

Its talent was the ability to simulate cultivation in one's mind, perfecting moves before putting them into practice.

It was the mark of a true genius, one in ten thousand.

Fang Han curled his lip. "Demon Brain" was an ugly name. It needed changing; he had to give it a new name himself.

"How about I call you 'Martial Soul' from now on?"

Martial Soul!

Since it could simulate martial arts training in his mind, it was equivalent to a martial artist possessing a second soul!

Martial Soul was a fine name, an excellent name—one could say it fit like a glove.

Having gained the Martial Soul ability, Fang Han was in high spirits. He looked forward even more eagerly to seeing what new changes Martial Soul would undergo when his comprehension broke through 100 points next time.