BANG!
The enormous, over-two-meter-tall body crashed heavily to the ground. In an instant, a dull, tremendous thud sent a tremor through the entire building.
The ground couldn’t withstand the ferocious impact. Countless cracks spread out from the point of collision, and shattered rubble flew into the air.
The rumbling crash drew the attention of nearby residents.
"The hell?! Who’s making all this noise so early in the morning? Tearing down the house?!"
A window on the first floor slammed open. A burly, tattooed man with a shaved head leaned out, cursing as he glared outside.
The next second, his cursing stopped dead.
His eyes widened as he saw a monster over two meters tall climbing out of a crater. The monster slowly turned its head, and its blood-red eyes met his.
For a moment, the tattooed man thought he was seeing things.
A shiver ran down his spine. SLAM! He hurriedly shut the window, as if that could keep the monster out.
Following that, the entire building fell into an eerie silence, as if everyone was holding their breath.
"ROAR!"
On the ground, the man, now bleeding, threw his head back and let out a furious, crazed roar.
He ignored the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
He ignored his displaced Five Viscera and Six Bowels.
Having entered the Divinity Transformation state, he seemed to have forgotten the pain. His crimson eyes held nothing but savage killing intent.
He moved abruptly.
A massive hand, thicker than an average person’s thigh, shot out fiercely. The five fingers formed a claw, letting out a sharp whistle as it tore through the air, grabbing viciously for Wan Ze’s arm.
His speed and Power were several times greater than before!
He hysterically wanted to tear Wan Ze to shreds!
SWISH!
Wan Ze sank his stance slightly. Instead of retreating, he advanced, driving a knee upward like a cannonball firing from its chamber, smashing it hard against the man’s jaw.
The immense force compressed his carotid artery and nerves. A sweet taste filled the man’s throat, his vision went black, and for a moment, he was dizzy from lack of oxygen.
The hand that had just grabbed Wan Ze loosened its grip instinctively.
In that instant, Wan Ze slid away diagonally.
"ROAR!" The man shook his head, the dizziness fading. He roared and lunged again. The muscles in his right arm bulged to their limit as he attacked, his hand like the gaping maw of a crocodile, recklessly clawing for Wan Ze’s head once more.
His moves had lost all form; he was relying purely on brute force!
Wan Ze neither dodged nor evaded.
After charging out of his home, he had maxed out All Attributes.
The Thunderbolt Breathing Technique operated at high speed, his qi and blood roaring.
His own muscles were bulging in a state of ferocious power, but compared to the man’s madness, he actually seemed much smaller.
Facing this claw, Wan Ze dropped his shoulder and elbow, twisting his body for a punch that, though thrown second, landed first.
BANG!
The man’s arm was struck on a pressure point, and it froze mid-air.
The next second, Wan Ze was like a fierce tiger bursting from its cage, ramming his whole body into his opponent’s wide-open chest.
THUD!
The man grunted, knocked off his feet and sent flying toward the woods to the Northwest.
The woods weren’t large, just about twenty-odd trees in total. Further on was the community’s man-made lake.
On the other side of the lake, beyond a two-meter-high wall, was a busy main road with endless traffic.
The two of them tumbled into the woods, sending splintered wood, sand, and stones flying, kicking up dust everywhere.
"Cough, cough... Why is your Divinity Transformation different from mine?" The man knelt on one knee, coughing up several mouthfuls of black blood mixed with organ fragments, his brow furrowed in confusion. "Or is this not Divinity Transformation?"
He couldn’t understand. Wan Ze clearly hadn’t undergone a physical mutation like his own, yet his speed, Power, and defensive capabilities were all absurdly high.
He couldn’t accept such a reality.
"If it’s not Divinity Transformation, how could you possibly unleash such immense Power?"
"Heh!"
"I don’t believe it!"
A vicious light erupted once more from the man’s crimson eyes. He lunged abruptly, his whole body seeming to transform into a great crocodile as he charged at the nearby Wan Ze. His right hand locked onto Wan Ze’s head, and the air swirled violently in an instant.
Wan Ze swiftly twisted his body, pressed down on his waist, and channeled his power.
He unhesitatingly threw the Divine Fist of the Iron Mountain Fist technique!
Fist met arm.
With a BANG, the Beng Jin shot into the man’s body, shaking him and sending his qi and blood into turmoil. With another flick of his hand, Wan Ze broke free from his attack range.
Instant Flash.
Clone Deception.
A kick on the ground, Unity of Waist and Horse.
Then, he unleashed a Continuous Fist, his muscles and bones trembling, his momentum like a rainbow.
From the moment he charged down from the apartment, he had completely gained the upper hand!
Iron Mountain Fist was a basic Fist Technique.
But the Divine Fist was its killing move.
Combined with Beng Jin, it was ferocious and explosive, best at breaking defenses and inflicting internal injuries.
The man had already fallen from the sixth floor and suffered serious internal injuries. Now, after taking so many of Wan Ze’s punches in succession, the qi and blood in his body were long out of control.
By this point, he was actually starting to feel afraid.
But...
’Retreat?’
’With this ravaged body of mine, even if I escape, how many more days can I live?’
’But if I don’t retreat...’
’Getting beaten to death by Wan Ze would be ten thousand times more painful than ending it myself.’
"Why!"
"Why does Heaven insist on treating me this way!"
"I! Re! Fuse! To! Accept! This!"
The man roared hoarsely, crossing his right arm to protect his chest, but Wan Ze kicked it aside. Before he could react, Wan Ze’s second and third punches rained down!
The man felt all the Power in his body drain away, and his swollen form began to shrink.
His Divinity Transformation state had been forcefully beaten out of him!
CRACK!
Having lost the Effect of Divinity Transformation, the man took the two punches. His throat was completely crushed, along with his entire spine... his neck collapsed completely.
His last gaze was fixed on Wan Ze’s face... as his body flew backward uncontrollably.
He wanted to say something but could no longer make a sound. Amidst a splash of dust, he fell completely silent.
He was dead.
Even at the moment of his death... Wan Ze didn’t know his name.
But it didn’t matter anymore.
Thinking of his sister, Wan Ze ignored the corpse and quickly moved to return home.
Just then, however, a police car rushed out and cut him off. The people in the car glanced at the corpse in the distance, their expressions changing in alarm.
An old and a young man jumped out of the car. The younger one immediately drew his gun.
"D-don’t move! Hands up!"
Wan Ze paused but didn’t turn his head. "I’m a Martial Artist from the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall. I was just attacked at home by unknown Martial Artists and was forced to fight back. Both have been executed. Inform your superiors immediately and lock down the scene. Be quick."
The young officer, intimidated by his aura, was both shocked and scared. He stood trembling, gun raised.
Seeing Wan Ze walk toward him, he was so frightened he almost fired by accident.
But suddenly, the older officer beside him disarmed him. "Are you crazy? You have a death wish?! Can’t you see what the hell happened at this scene? This isn’t something a normal person could do! If he wanted to kill us, your gun would be useless."
The young man froze, at a loss.
The old officer didn’t return the gun. With a stern face, he ordered, "Contact headquarters and report the situation... Quick! Also, notify the Dragon Eagle Martial Arts Hall..."
As he spoke, he looked thoughtfully in the direction Wan Ze had gone.
...
Xiaoyu had been hiding in Wan Ze’s room. Only when Wan Ze appeared did she peek out from under the blanket and dive into his arms, trembling with fear.
Wan Ze patted her gently and called Zhai Jia. "...Brother Jia, I received a house call from some people from the Secret Palace... Two of them... Yeah, things got a little messy. I need your help... Okay, I’ll wait for you."
The call ended.
Cradling Xiaoyu, he then called Situ Bai. "...Master, it was the Secret Palace... I don’t know their identities, but one of them used something called ’Divinity Transformation.’ He became neither human nor ghost, and he was really strong..."
As soon as he heard "Divinity Transformation," Situ Bai immediately grew serious. "I’m coming over personally."
Wan Ze put down the phone.
He patted Xiaoyu’s shoulder while pondering his next steps.
Not long after, the old police officer from before came upstairs and knocked on the door to ask some questions.
Wan Ze told Xiaoyu to stay put, then pulled a cloth over the corpse in the living room.
Their eyes met.
The old officer’s gaze toward Wan Ze was filled with reverence. "...Can you tell me who the other party was?"
Wan Ze looked at him. "Have you heard of the Secret Palace?"
The officer froze, his expression changing.
Soon, Zhai Jia arrived with people from the Police Headquarters. The military’s involvement was actually a relief to the police department. Dealing with Secret Palace Assassins... that was a hot potato they were not equipped to handle.
The two bodies were quickly removed, and they went door-to-door to ensure everyone’s silence... The cover story was a film crew shooting a scene, believe it or not.
Wan Xiaoyu left with Wan Ze. Their belongings were temporarily moved to the Dragon Eagle Inn. There was a lot of stuff, and Wan Ze only felt at ease after watching over it himself... After all, his entire fortune was there!
As they were leaving, Wan Ze thought, ’His parents, who are still at work, probably don’t know yet... that their home is gone.’
But who could have imagined it?
Everything was fine when they left for work in the morning, and by evening, their home would be gone.
Anyone would be confused.
What a headache!!!!
Wan Ze rubbed his forehead.
"What’s wrong?" Zhai Jia asked with concern, thinking he was injured.
Wan Ze sighed lightly. "I still haven’t figured out how to explain this to my family."
His parents always thought he practiced martial arts just to stay fit. How could they imagine something like this would happen... The life-and-death struggles of Martial Artists were, after all, a world away from ordinary people.
"Leave it to me," Zhai Jia said, suddenly patting him on the shoulder.
Seeing no other choice, Wan Ze accepted. "Have you seen the body?" he asked.
"I have, but Master is still examining it... I really didn’t expect that bastard Jie Zhengyang to have a trick like this up his sleeve!" Zhai Jia said with a sigh.
Wan Ze, however, was stunned. "Who? Jie Zhengyang?"
"Huh? You didn’t know?" Zhai Jia was dumbfounded.
Wan Ze nodded.
His face darkened as he seemed to figure something out.
Zhai Jia’s mouth twitched. "Wait, you two fought for so long, and he didn’t even say who he was? What’s wrong with that guy?"
"There’s definitely something wrong with him." Wan Ze was speechless.
If the man really was Jie Zhengyang, then he understood why he hated him to the bone.
After all, his son had also died at his hands.
’I was too soft.’
Now he had personally sent the father and son to their reunion.
Wan Ze pushed those thoughts aside and said grimly, "This guy broke out of prison last night and found my home today. He has powerful backing. Senior Brother, you have to help me investigate who else had a hand in this."
"Don’t worry. The moment I saw Jie Zhengyang’s body, I told Brother Yu. An investigation is already underway." Zhai Jia also sneered. "Last time we arrested Jie Zhengyang, it’s no wonder some people jumped out... Looking at it now, they’re all cut from the same cloth."
"But be careful. We don’t know how many of these people have undergone Divinity Transformation... It might be connected to that research institute."
Hearing this, Zhai Jia’s expression turned grave. "From the moment we caught Jie Zhengyang, we never expected the two sides to be so closely connected. And we certainly didn’t expect that bastard Jie Zhengyang was one of their test subjects! They’re a bunch of lunatics! You’re right, we have to be careful. For all we know, the ones we’ve caught are just in a dormant state. We need to draw their blood and check them out."
The two of them left quickly.
A suite at the inn was left for Wan Ze. His belongings were neatly arranged. Aside from a few changes of clothes, the rest was Wan Ze’s personal stash of money.
"Brother, we don’t have a home anymore," Xiaoyu’s voice drifted over.
Wan Ze looked at her. "Yeah. We’ll have to be wanderers from now on."
"Why do we have to be wanderers? You could just buy a castle."
"You want to be a castle princess that badly?"
"No, Brother, I think you’re a prince! You should live in a castle!" Xiaoyu said with a straight face.
Wan Ze paused, then suddenly said, "Shouldn’t it be a king who lives in a castle?"
"Then you’d have to wait for Dad to die, and I don’t want Dad to die so soon."
"..."
’Wow, such a filial daughter.’
He decisively ended the topic.
Wan Ze ignored her, but after a moment’s hesitation, Xiaoyu sidled up to him again. "Brother, am I still your most, most favorite sister?"
Wan Ze rolled his eyes at her. "Just spit it out!"
Xiaoyu fidgeted for a bit before asking in a small voice, "Did you... awaken?"
Before Wan Ze could answer, she suddenly got very nervous. "Brother, you’re not really going to turn into a red-head, are you? That would be so ugly!"
Wan Ze: "..."
’Great. I just had to ask.’