Defeated again and again, beaten down again and again, Jiang Jie developed faster reactions and gained more combat experience.
Previously, his lightness skill, Water Walking, could only be used to run across water. Now, however, he could use it in actual combat, his steps light and strongly rhythmic.
His Pegasus Meteor Finger also grew more flexible, responding to his every whim. His understanding of the human body's acupuncture points deepened as well. Although he still could not understand them all, he could at least identify some key points clearly without striking the wrong ones.
The humans of this world had almost exactly the same acupuncture points as humans on Earth, with little difference. A true martial arts master could observe and sense even a completely unfamiliar creature, figuring out its physical characteristics and acupuncture point distribution in an extremely short time. Finger techniques would remain effective.
Of course, Jiang Jie was still far from that level.
But he had the gaming pod!
Although the gaming pod had no spare energy to scan other people, it had at least scanned Jiang Jie. From his physical condition, it could extrapolate the bodily structures and acupuncture point distributions of most humans. Even these little monks' acupuncture points had been forcibly made identical to those of humans in World of Warcraft!
Eight hours later, with the gaming pod's energy nearly exhausted, Jiang Jie finally managed to immobilize both little monks and stood there panting.
If the little monks of Child Hall were already this formidable, how powerful would Shaolin Temple's Eighteen Bronze Men Formation, Five Hundred Arhats Formation, and other, higher-level Monks be?
He wondered whether there was a sweeping monk in the Scripture Pavilion. Could he blow apart a mountain with one punch? Or cut off a river's flow?
At that moment, Jiang Jie felt that his burden was heavy and his road long, but his future was bright and glorious!
"Host, you're mentally exhausted now. Rest here. Don't worry. When the gaming pod runs out of energy, I'll wake you using a special method." Xiao Feng's gentle, considerate service pleased Jiang Jie so much that, for a fleeting instant, he almost thought Xiao Feng was actually pretty nice.
Yet two hours later, when a piercing shriek jolted him awake, he really wanted to slap himself:
You actually thought a lunatic was nice. Are you sick in the head?
It was late at night, and all was quiet.
Jiang Jie felt refreshed, so he switched off the light, then rumpled the quilt on the bed and wrapped it around pillows and other things, making it look very much as though someone were sleeping there.
"Mm, now I'll hide under the bed. If anyone dares come after me, I can come out from underneath and ambush them! Let them taste my Pegasus Meteor Finger!" Jiang Jie rubbed his chin with his left hand and nodded slightly, giving his own brilliant idea a thumbs-up.
"Really? What's Pegasus Meteor Finger? Some children's make-believe skill?" Someone actually answered, and the voice came from behind him. He could even feel the other person's fragrant breath blowing against his neck, sending a chill through him!
Immediately afterward, a gust rushed toward him!
"Ugh... fuck!" Jiang Jie's heart clenched. Before he could react at all, severe pain struck the back of his head, leaving him dizzy.
A rogue!
Sap!
The intruder was a full-fledged rogue!
"Lordaeron's foremost genius, a junior member acknowledged by Master Onias, the hope of the Assassins' Order? Sorry, but your life ends here. You can die now!" The voice was cold and icy, carrying killing intent.
The next moment, he felt a warm, soft beauty in his arms... no, a warm, soft young woman was actually holding him tightly. He was in her arms. Then a sharp dagger reached around in front and sliced his neck, coming just a fraction short of severing his windpipe.
Just that fraction!
The Black Tortoise Longevity Art circulated automatically within him. His continuously cycling internal energy gave him considerable resistance, so the rogue's Sap had not left him completely stunned. He still had a little ability to resist.
Thus, as the dagger pressed against his neck and was about to slit his throat, Jiang Jie held his fingers together like a sword and accurately struck the wrist of the rogue's right hand-the one slitting his throat!
Pegasus Meteor Finger!
The next moment,
The rogue felt a tingling numbness in her left hand and could exert no strength through it at all. "Now it's my turn!"
Jiang Jie's right hand clamped around her wrist. He swiftly seized the dagger, then struck again, his two fingers hitting acupuncture points on her chest.
Mm, very soft. A female rogue.
Struck by Pegasus Meteor Finger a second time, the female rogue's frail body was completely unable to resist. More importantly, she had not thought to resist at the time. Who could have imagined that a single finger could immobilize her?
That was why ignorance was the original sin. The disparity in information had caused the female rogue's defeat.
"You lady rogue, your intelligence gathering wasn't up to scratch... all right, even if Garona came, she couldn't have gathered the information either. Who could possibly know my trump cards?" Jiang Jie sneered, looking at the female rogue lying rigid and motionless on the floor, her lovely eyes glaring fiercely at him, and shook his head slightly.
"Talk. Who sent you? Baron Soroson?" Jiang Jie sneered and used the female rogue's dagger to lift away her veil, gesturing with it over her pretty face. "With a face this pretty, isn't being a rogue a waste? Someone as good-looking as you should be warming a bed!"
Warming a bed!
The female rogue's eyes widened like pigeon's eggs. A shadow instantly fell over her heart, and she instinctively tried to cover her chest with her hands.
Unfortunately, she could not move at all.
"Pervert! Shameless! Vulgar! Despicable! You disgrace the rogue profession! If you dare touch me, we won't let you get away with it!" The female rogue ground her teeth. Fortunately, her mouth still worked.
"You? Who are 'you'? Baron Soroson's subordinates?" Jiang Jie continued questioning her, intensely curious.
"You despicable, shameless, vulgar, filthy, disgusting little thief! ￥...&*￥%%..." The female rogue remained stubbornly defiant, refusing to give in and cursing nonstop. Jiang Jie was helpless.
"Insulting me? I'm an upright little flower of the motherland with an impeccable background. You're slandering me, you know? Forget it, forget it. You wouldn't understand even if I told you. Since you're slandering me, I'll show you!" Jiang Jie leaned over and struck her twice more, making certain that the female rogue had completely lost the ability to resist, then searched all over her body.
Don't get the wrong idea. Jiang Jie was a proper gentleman. How could he possibly grope her casually?
This was called looting equipment!
Soon, besides the pair of daggers already in his hands, Jiang Jie found three bottles of poison and a money pouch.
He opened it, and his eyes instantly lit up!
"Twelve gold coins! This must be everything you own, right? Sure enough, murderers and arsonists wear belts of gold, while those who build bridges and repair roads die without even a body left! Looting corpses... no, looting bodies really pays!" Jiang Jie beamed.
He had just been worrying about where to get money, and now someone had delivered it right to his door!
The female rogue felt an urge to bite Jiang Jie to death!
Bang!
The door opened, and two guards hurried inside upon hearing the noise.
"Perfect timing. She's yours." Jiang Jie shrugged helplessly and thought, Princess Calia told you to protect me. Why did you insist on standing outside the door? Couldn't one of you watch the window? So unprofessional!
The next moment, Jiang Jie felt dizzy and collapsed to the floor.
Paralyzing poison!
Her dagger had been coated in paralyzing poison, and fucking potent stuff at that!
Was that necessary against a nobody like me? Potent paralyzing poison is expensive, you know! One bottle costs several gold coins, you know? Doesn't that hurt your wallet?
Jiang Jie fainted on the floor.
At the very last instant, through his haze, he seemed to see Miles's old face and could not help inwardly complaining once again:
Miles, did you come to laugh at me? Lordaeron's security is terrible. One-star review!