Translator: Cinder Translations
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Boom!!
Under the mist, inside the Extreme Martial Arts Hall, several faceless figures were knocked out, smashing through glass and walls.
A masked man was grabbed by the neck and lifted into the air by a single arm.
Crack!
The sound of bones breaking echoed, and the masked man died.
The riotous black soldier ants controlled the faceless figures to attack, but in response,
Chen Feng lowered his eyelids, his palms coming together at his waist.
A deep red light rapidly grew, resembling flickering flames.
Whoosh!!!
Flame Pillar!
In an instant, amidst the sounds of Boom Boom Boom, the bodies of all the faceless figures exploded, and the black soldier ants that were shot out evaporated into dust.
Step!
Withdrawing his hand, Chen Feng took a step forward.
He exhaled a deep breath, very satisfied with the cleanup effect of this move.
In an instant, grayish light masses gathered around, and his perception skill level increased.
[Perception LV3: 61/100]
"Not bad."
He retracted his gaze and looked at the two faint blue light masses floating before him.
Raising his hand, the remaining memories quickly surged in.
The sky was dark, and a mist covered the entire Qinggang City.
Countless pairs of eyes, either ghostly green or blood-red, appeared, and a heavy atmosphere quietly spread.
"Look at that!"
Someone shouted in surprise, and everyone in the scene looked.
It was a gigantic vertical pupil, golden all over, radiating an aura of authority.
Upon closer inspection, the surrounding mist stirred, revealing a long body.
It was a gigantic black dragon, entirely black.
Boom!!
A massive breath descended from the sky, the scene shattered, and everything was pulled back.
Chen Feng's gaze flickered, and he was momentarily dazed.
He knew this was probably the legendary black dragon, a disaster-level creature often mentioned in the diaries and other memory fragments.
Rubbing his head and taking a moment to recover,
He extended his palm again.
After several seconds,
He sighed in regret, still unable to find the visualization diagram for the Extreme Martial Arts' true intent formula.
He then went through the entire Martial Arts Hall, collecting eight Limit Breaking Light Orbs.
Additionally, he took the incomplete iron book that recorded the second-level martial arts techniques of the Extreme Fist.
[Metal Essence +1!]
[Metal Essence +1!]
[Metal Essence +1!]
After more than ten seconds, with a crack, the iron book shattered into pieces.
[Steel Bone LV2: 87/100]
"Almost there."
A bronze hue grew in his palms, and Chen Feng felt the hardness of his steel bones increase once again.
It had surpassed the range of regular Silver-grade, and if he could break through,
"It will definitely rival Gold-grade!"
Suppressing his thoughts, he immediately left the Martial Arts Hall and headed for the next location.
The dim sky felt oppressive, but his strong will kept him unusually calm.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, a violent wind blew, shaking the surrounding building windows.
His senses tingled, and Chen Feng's pupils contracted as he quickly dodged into a nearby building.
Whoosh!!
The fierce wind continued, and standing at the corner of the building, Chen Feng looked up.
A creature with a wingspan of nearly ten meters flew overhead.
It looked like a giant eagle, its feathers as black as iron, with a sharp golden beak.
Its claws were like iron hooks, tucked behind its body.
Every time it spread its wings, it caused a gust of wind, shaking the buildings slightly, as if caught in a hurricane.
"What kind of creature is this?"
With a serious expression, Chen Feng could feel the creature's immense power, even stronger than the Shield Golem and the Giant Rage Bear, slightly stronger.
It was definitely at the Gold-grade level, or at least at the fourth-tier level described in the bronze scroll.
Shaking his head, unsure, he watched as the giant eagle creature continued to soar, gradually disappearing into the dark mist to the north.
Whoosh!
A white paper was blown toward him. Chen Feng instinctively sensed it and saw the contents.
"Hmm?"
His gaze sharpened, and he moved forward to grab it.
Looking down, several lines of text appeared.
"Damn it, this Abyss Secret Realm is ridiculous."
"Accidentally entered a Serpent Spirit Secret Realm, almost lost my life."
The exaggerated tone, and the handwriting seemed familiar.
Chen Feng couldn't help but think of a young man named Wang Yu.
"Been chased for days. Turns out it's because I'm an outsider, the secret realm rejects me. No wonder those people could always find me."
"Luckily, my luck is good, I survived and got two Serpent Crystal Fruits. Great stuff, can break through again."
"But the natives in this Serpent Spirit Secret Realm are really stupid. They're all humans, and yet they worship the Serpent Spirits, a bunch of pitiful creatures."
The text abruptly stopped, and Chen Feng furrowed his brows.
A Serpent Spirit Secret Realm?
This person has been there?
Did this person really enter?
The thought flashed, and his previous suspicions became more intense, as if validated.
The Evil God Cult, and the so-called secret realms, truly seemed to be connected in some way to this dream world.
Immediately, he glanced at the diary again.
Rejection, pursuit, Serpent Spirit Fruit—these key phrases were sharply captured by him. He now had a rough understanding of some key points about entering the secret realm.
Without hesitation, he decided to keep this page of the diary and put it in his bag.
The night was eerily quiet. After a brief moment of silence, Chen Feng continued his walk.
Regardless of whether it was coincidence or not, the information inside this diary was indeed useful to him.
With his thoughts settled, new ideas emerged.
---
"The Evil God Cult?"
In the quiet room during the day.
Upon hearing Chen Feng's request, Cao Tong looked somewhat surprised.
"Hmm, I want to learn about this," Chen Feng replied.
"Especially anything related to the Serpent Spirit Sect. The more detailed, the better."
Chen Feng found an excuse, and Cao Tong, deep in thought, did not question it further.
He nodded and agreed to prepare and gather the relevant information.
"By the way, what happened with those three true disciples of the Pine Crane Sect?"
Chen Feng took a sip of tea and asked.
These were hostages they had left behind. Pine Crane Sect shouldn't have been silent about them.
"According to Senior Sister Wu and the others, two true intention-level disciples from Pine Crane Sect came early this morning, personally visiting the Sect Master," Cao Tong said, having already planned to tell Chen Feng about it. "There was an argument, followed by a fight. They claimed they wanted to spar with the Sect Master, but Little Master Uncle heard about it and returned to the sect last night."
"It seems like they reached some sort of agreement. In any case, the three true disciples of Pine Crane Sect were taken away."
"Also, something else happened."
Cao Tong deliberately paused, and Chen Feng became interested.
"What happened?"
"The kid who was identified the other day, Jiang Yuan, suddenly died the night before at the Pine Crane Sect's gates," Cao Tong said.
Chen Feng furrowed his brows at this unexpected news.
"It was suspicious, so there was some disagreement within Pine Crane Sect. Some say it was our doing, others think a third party might be involved."
"Anyway, this whole thing is strange."
Cao Tong scratched his head, unsure of the cause. Chen Feng pondered, feeling that there might be a conspiracy targeting the Flame Tiger Sect.
Several guesses came to his mind, but before he could think further, there was a knock at the door, interrupting his thoughts.
"Senior Brother, someone is looking for you."
Chen Feng raised an eyebrow and immediately expanded his senses.
The visitor was quickly identified.
"Wang Hanwen?"
A bit surprised, he followed his senses and saw a young girl with thick glasses sitting in the waiting area on the first floor of the Martial Arts Hall.
She wore a gray wool coat, denim jeans, and flat shoes.
Beside her were several bags of nutritional supplements, including a large box of SuperMan-brand energy bars.
He guessed her intentions and checked his phone.
Sure enough, he had set his message notifications on silent for Wang Hanwen on the previous conversation, so he hadn't noticed her messages.
There were several inquiries, all expressing gratitude and asking where he was or if they could grab a meal together.
After a moment's thought, he opened the chat box and asked Lin Hao.
[Lin Hao: Hehe, how did you know it was me who said that?]
[No choice, she came looking for the club directly. She's been asking for days. Seems sincere.]
Chen Feng shook his head and gained some understanding of Wang Hanwen's personality.
She was a bit stubborn—if he hadn't agreed to meet her, she probably would have kept showing up.
"Let her in."
He turned off his phone and told the disciple who had come to ask.
"Yes, Senior Brother."
The disciple quickly went downstairs. After a short while, with the sound of footsteps, Wang Hanwen appeared, struggling to carry boxes of gifts.
She still looked mostly nervous and uneasy, with a slight blush on her face.
"Chen... Chen Feng."
She heard the title of "Senior Brother" and didn't know what else to say.
"Take a seat."
Chen Feng instructed someone to serve tea, and then he stood up to take the gifts from her. "Thank you."
"No, no, I should be the one thanking you. You've saved me twice already."
Wang Hanwen, still feeling uneasy, took the tea while constantly expressing her gratitude.
Chen Feng nodded lightly, handling the situation briefly. Cao Tong, leaving the room, struggled to hold back laughter, thinking this side of Chen Feng was rather rare.
"You're really amazing. I heard from the others that you're a Senior Brother now."
"Don't worry, I won't gossip in the student group. After all, you're so low-key."
Wang Hanwen chatted on, but as the conversation went on, her voice grew softer, and she could tell that Chen Feng wasn't too interested in continuing the chat.
"Well, I'll be going now. Thank you, Chen Feng."
"Hmm."
Chen Feng stood up and saw her to the door.
"Good luck. You'll definitely become even stronger."
The girl in the gray coat suddenly turned back, and then, her face flushed red as she quickly left.
There was a moment of silence.
Chen Feng took one last look at the blue sky.
A flock of birds flew south.
But one black bird detached from the group, rising higher and higher, crossing the sky.
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Bang!!
Two days later.
Inside the training room of the Martial Arts Hall, the sound of sticks striking flesh echoed in dull thuds.
The relentless blows continued for more than an hour.
Eventually, over a dozen core disciples, their limbs sore and numb, and in unbearable pain, began to leave one by one.
Chen Feng said a word of encouragement and finished the training.
[Bronze Statue Technique: Bronze Bones (89%) +]
He glanced at the skill bar in his panel. His muscular, half-naked body barely moved, but it was coated in a Bronze sheen, as hard as bronze or iron.
Looking down, Chen Feng inspected his progress on other techniques.
[Crimson Tiger Force: Burning Mountain (41%) +]
[Ten Thousand Temperings: Hundred Tempered (46%) +]
The four Extreme Martial Arts breakdowns had only increased the Burning Mountain progress by 40%.
As for the Ten Thousand Temperings, its speed had slowed as well.
[Extreme Martial Arts: 2]
[Limit Breaking Points: 4]
Two days of dream realm sweeps had yielded average results. After using up the Ten Thousand Temperings boost, only four Limit Breaking light orbs remained.
"Breaking through true intent is my current top priority. These two Extreme Martial Arts should be kept for the Crimson Tiger Force," he thought.
"As for the Limit Breaking Points…"
After a moment's consideration, Chen Feng refocused his attention on the Bronze Statue Technique.
He had originally planned to rely on hitting training combined with special medicines to break through.
But unfortunately, perhaps due to resistance, the progress on the Bronze Statue Technique had gradually slowed down.
Also, with the Martial Arts Tournament approaching, he had to leave soon to handle related matters.
So...
"There's no reason to hesitate."
Enhance!
Buzz!
The last four Limit Breaking orbs disappeared, and countless insights flooded in.
The pain from the repeated steel rod strikes, the sweat pouring down in the cold autumn wind.
All the strength surged inward, bones and muscles subtly transforming.
Until, finally...
[Bronze Statue Technique: Bronze Statue!]
Crack, crack, crack!
In the instant of the breakthrough, the bones inside Chen Feng's body made an odd noise.
His body didn't change in size, but it felt as though some force was compressing his bones, making them denser and more solid.
In that moment, his four-dimensional attributes automatically appeared, and all the numbers began to rise.
[Strength: 22.7 → 24.5]
[Agility: 20.8 → 22.0]
[Constitution: 28.8 → 31.3]
[Will: 24.1 → 25.6]
"7 points of attribute increase."
Chen Feng clenched his fist tightly, feeling a satisfying crack in his bones.
He could clearly feel that his constitution had grown significantly stronger.
Even in a normal state, his strength now rivaled Silver-grade, no less than a genetically modified human.
Thanks to this, along with the Steel Bone talent.
Even though the Bronze Statue Technique wasn't particularly focused on strength, it still added an additional 500 kilograms of raw power to him.
A punch could now deliver 2.5 tons of force.
If he activated the Giant Tiger form or used his Explosive Fist…
It would reach nearly 10 tons!!
This was already close to the limit for most True Intent level practitioners.
"There's also... the rebound force."
With his eyes closed and focusing, Chen Feng sensed a mysterious new feeling in his body.
His bones were made of ancient bronze, tinged with a subtle dark gold hue.
Typically, a perfected Bronze Statue Technique would have a maximum rebound force of 30%.
However, due to the enhancement from the Steel Bone talent, he had 40%!
Chen Feng felt an inexplicable sense of powerful confidence.
If an ordinary practitioner of the first or second level of Strengthened Realm were to fight him…
Even if he didn't fight back, he could still injure them with sheer rebound force, wearing them down to death!
Crack!
He stretched and adapted to the changes.
The sounds of his bones cracking echoed. Chen Feng had never felt so confident and powerful.
Buzz, buzz!
Just then, his phone vibrated, indicating a new message.
His senses were sharp, and he immediately looked toward the outside of the Martial Arts Hall.
A black business car from Feichi Motors was parked quietly by the roadside. His master, Li Tong, was seated in the back, resting with his eyes closed.
Xu Tingxiao, who had returned to the mountain gate, was also in the car, occasionally glancing toward the Martial Arts Hall.
The four true disciples, Lin Xiaoyun and Zhao Jushan, both got out of the car at the same time. One wore a floral qipao with a long skirt, the other a gray sleeveless sweatshirt, towering and muscular.
Many of the Martial Arts Hall disciples were confused but still approached respectfully.
Chen Feng immediately understood, and without hesitation, he put on a fitting black T-shirt and threw on a jacket.
Step!
He walked out of the quiet room, heading toward the door of the Martial Arts Hall, greeted by respectful calls from the disciples.
"This road won't be too peaceful."
"The banner of the Flame Tiger Sect... will rely on you."
He didn't know when, but Third Master Uncle had appeared, dressed in a gray ancient-style robe, standing at the entrance.
With his thin face and cloudy eyes, their gazes met. Behind Chen Feng, the illusory image of the Red Tiger loomed, as if in response to the faint glimmer of expectation in the vertical pupil.
Chen Feng stopped for a moment and nodded silently.
"Good."
With that, he passed by the two true disciples' respectful salutations, stepped into the car, and sat beside Master Li Tong.
"Are you ready?"
"Leave it to me."
(End of the Chapter)
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