Iron-Headed A Xing

Better no books at all than to believe everything they said.

As an experienced archmage, Old Man naturally wouldn't blindly trust some account written by an unknown person at an unknown time.

To deal with that eerie entity, Old Man worked until the early hours.

The next day.

4:30 a.m.

Lying in bed, barely awake and questioning his life choices, Jiang Xiang remembered that he needed to upgrade his card.

Wake up!

How can you sleep at your age?!

Cold water splashed against Jiang Xiang's face.

"Ugh, I desperately need an upgrade to my physique. At this rate, I feel like I'm going to drop dead."

"Deep Blue, advance the Ah Xing card!"

Jiang Xiang took out the unique Buddhist scripture that had been recognized yesterday.

He selected the Special Incarnation Card, Ah Xing.

Then he chose to advance it.

A streak of silver light flashed across the card.

[Special Incarnation Card--Iron-Headed A Xing]

[Rank: C]

[Special effect: Can advance using special items. Current advancement paths-Beggar Su/Wei Xiaobao/Buddha's Palm Sing]

[Skills: Great Strength Vajra Leg, singing...]

[Description: Shaolin kung fu is great... really great...]

"Now... transform!"

Jiang Xiang's appearance changed.

His short hair reached his ears. He wore a sleeveless burgundy shirt and a slightly shabby pair of trousers, with one trouser leg rolled up and a battered pair of sneakers on his feet.

Jiang Xiang checked himself in the mirror and clenched his fists.

"Awesome!"

"Wow, even the voice is a perfect match."

Jiang Xiang bent down and pushed lightly off the floor, shooting to the other side of the room.

He gave the dumbbells he used for workouts a few light kicks.

Visible dents appeared in them.

The corner of Jiang Xiang's mouth twitched.

This Great Strength Vajra Leg really packs a punch.

Jiang Xiang had exercised regularly since childhood.

After realizing that he was in the dangerous world of American comics, Jiang Xiang worked even harder to keep fit. Even after obtaining his cheat, he hadn't slacked off.

Over the past year, Jiang Xiang had developed a particular passion for martial arts, combat sports, and boxing.

His maternal grandfather had even hired several professional trainers and boxers to help Jiang Xiang build a foundation.

Jiang Xiang was very pleased with the power of the Great Strength Vajra Leg.

"With this Iron Fist technique, I can push the script a little harder. I can be a bit bolder with this Restart Foundation scenario."

Jiang Xiang tossed the Rooster Talisman, bouncing it in his palm.

Next, he needed to start getting accustomed to the Iron-Headed A Xing card.

Old Man took a cautious approach, first making repeated sweeps of the surrounding streets to see whether he could set up any hidden measures.

"Demons and monsters, begone-" Old Man cast a spell at a pillar. "Perhaps it's time for Jiang Xiang to learn magic."

Old Man kept rubbing his lower back, bending left and then right.

"Aiya! My poor old back!"

Old Man took out a dried lizard, with a red cord hanging around his neck.

Several thin talismans were wrapped around the red cord.

He held the dried lizard in his left hand and carried a bag in his right, with a small pouch fastened at his waist.

These were the fruits of Old Man's all-night preparations.

Bang-bang-

Gunshots rang out inside the house.

Old Man sprang into a large tree outside the yard, frowning.

The tree's thick foliage easily concealed Old Man.

"That man put up talismans yesterday. Conservatively speaking, they should have lasted two or three days without any trouble. If he knew to get talismans, he shouldn't have been so easily bewitched. Why are they fighting today? And one more thing, there was that protective barrier."

"What a nuisance."

Under normal circumstances, things would indeed have gone as Old Man expected. Never mind two or three days; even five or six would have been reasonable.

If the paper talismans were replaced promptly, they could have lasted even longer.

But in New York, normal circumstances were hard to come by.

Not many people had known about John's wife's funeral, but it hadn't exactly been a secret, either.

A few days earlier, his good friend Ron had come to visit and offer some comfort.

But while Ron was there comforting him, he happened to see his "wife."

Back from the dead?

A faked death?

Either answer left Ron feeling uneasy.

He then called the police, but the New York officers hardly believed such an absurd report. They dismissed it as a prank and ignored it.

There was no story without coincidence.

Ron's wife, Lynn, had a good friend named Laura, and Laura had a half-bald boyfriend named Coulson.

Enter Phil Coulson, the starter village chief.

The two friends had brought it up while chatting during a shopping trip.

Naturally, gossip only grew more exaggerated in the telling.

Later, when Coulson heard his girlfriend's vivid account, he grew a little suspicious, outlandish as it sounded.

Looking into it in his spare time wouldn't take much effort.

When he did, he discovered that Ron had actually been telling the truth.

The man's dead wife really had come back to life!

Coulson immediately reported it to Director Nick Fury.

And so, a whole host of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. mobilized!

As the biggest meddler around, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division certainly didn't disappoint.

Fierce gunfire erupted in rapid succession.

At Coulson's command over the radio, several fully equipped agents entered the yard and began searching cautiously.

Coulson leaned against one of the pillars supporting the roof in the yard.

"Sir, what kind of monster is this?!"

A young agent shouted the question at Coulson.

"I don't know. Agent, carry out your orders."

Coulson looked calm on the surface, but inwardly, he was bitterly regretting this.

He had originally thought this was merely a case of resurrection or some unusual method of faking death.

He had never expected a surprise quite this big!

The "wife's" attacks had littered the entire yard with rubble and wreckage, leaving Coulson and his men few places to hide.

Coulson scanned the yard, searching for somewhere they could maneuver.

The "wife" herself wasn't frightening. In a head-on fight, Coulson could even keep her pinned down.

The real problem was how she appeared and vanished without warning.

She would suddenly emerge from nowhere and stab someone. Even Coulson, a veteran of countless battles, felt a chill of fear. This monster was more terrifying than a battlefield.

Worst of all, the "wife" seemed to grow stronger with every agent she killed!

"Sir, by the pool!"

"Watch out!"

Crack-

A knife slashed across the throat of the agent standing by the pool, and he clutched his neck in agony.

Coulson watched with anguish in his eyes.

After all, he had led the team into action without investigating thoroughly enough.

This was his mistake!

Now only Coulson and the agent beside him remained.

"Demons and monsters, begone-demons and monsters, begone-"

Old Man hopped on one leg, a bunch of bellflowers tucked behind his left ear and the dried lizard gripped tightly in his left hand.

"Demons and monsters, begone-demons and monsters, begone-"

Old Man had originally intended to destroy this Wraith completely.

But Coulson had brought a team over and fed it so many kills.

The Wraith had grown stronger, and Old Man needed more time to prepare.

"Demons and monsters, begone-demons and monsters, begone-"

Spell after spell struck the "wife."

She began shedding her hair, her entire body turning deathly pale as she gradually lost her human shape.

"Aaaah!"

With a great howl, she tried to flee.

Crack-

She slammed into the magic formation Old Man had set up in advance.

"Aah!"

She hurled herself frantically against the formation.

"Demons and monsters, begone-"

Old Man attacked her relentlessly.

Although he knew he probably couldn't destroy her, he still tried to drain as much of her power as possible.