Chapter 218 - 216: A Night of the Fish-Dragon Dance (9)

Chapter 218: Chapter 216: A Night of the Fish-Dragon Dance (9)

The second time he appeared under Li Tong’s name, Fu Juemin slipped into "character" much faster and more naturally.

What disappointed him slightly, however, was that no one in the crowd recognized him. He had to announce his own name.

"You... you’re Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong!" versus "I am Demon Elephant Ji Shaotong."

Hearing the same words from someone else’s mouth, as opposed to his own, made for a massive difference in prestige.

Fu Juemin stood in the middle of the field, lost in casual thought. After a few seconds of silence, several people suddenly burst into action!

Two of them fled the area at top speed, but the last one was bolder. His figure shot toward Li Huaisuang; he was actually trying to snatch a prize from the jaws of danger.

Fu Juemin narrowed his eyes. The stone slabs beneath his feet cracked as he lunged forward in a flash.

With his [Attack] stat as high as 40, even a typical Gratitude Sensing Realm Martial Artist couldn’t necessarily match his speed when he unleashed his full power.

He crossed the dozen-meter distance in an instant and casually threw out a palm strike...

BANG!

The Tongxuan Martial Artist who’d dreamed of grabbing Li Huaisuang and escaping went down without a sound. Fu Juemin’s palm strike shattered his Protective Qi Membrane and blew away the better part of his shoulder!

As the man let out a bloodcurdling scream, bloody foam spattered onto Fu Juemin, landing on his face. Thanks to his Pure Body, the blood congealed into beads that slowly trickled down.

Just then, the dark clouds obscuring the crescent moon parted. Cold moonlight spilled down, falling across Fu Juemin’s face in a play of light and shadow that revealed a chillingly grim expression.

Seeing this, the faces of the few remaining Tongxuan Realm Jianghu Wanderers turned pale. All hope was lost, and they began to slowly back away.

WHOOSH—

A cold wind whipped up, and from the darkness, a figure in a silver robe shot forth, wrapped in a cold glint of light.

Fu Juemin felt a slight prickling sensation between his brows. He looked closer and saw it was the silver-robed old man from Toad Palace. The man had abandoned his own fight and was now charging straight for him.

"Excellent!"

Far from being alarmed, Fu Juemin was delighted. The corners of his mouth curved upward.

On the cold, hard features of Li Tong’s face, the smile twisted into a savage grin.

He stood his ground, not even attempting to dodge, simply raising a hand to snatch the sword tip lunging for his face.

BANG!

The tip of the silver-robed old man’s Longsword struck the center of Fu Juemin’s palm with perfect accuracy, only to be stopped dead by a viscous, unseen force. The entire blade instantly bent into an arc!

Fu Juemin’s fingers closed slightly. With a flick of his wrist, he pushed the Longsword aside, his arm striking toward the old man like a great python.

They were only inches apart, and his hand was nearly upon him, yet the silver-robed old man’s body seemed boneless. He suddenly "slid" out from under Fu Juemin’s Palm Momentum.

"Taisu Moon Shadow!"

Amidst the whistling wind, the old man’s sharp, sinister voice rang out.

He began to circle Fu Juemin, his wrist a blur. In the space of a few breaths, he had stabbed out hundreds, if not thousands, of afterimages with his sword!

In an instant, Fu Juemin was completely surrounded by innumerable bolts of silver light. Hissing, they tore through the air and rained down upon his body.

As the old man’s strikes and circling grew faster, the flashes of his blade began to merge, threatening to form a solid, silver wheel of light...

ROAR—

A sudden roar that tore through the air, like that of a dragon or an elephant, shattered the "silver disc" just as it was about to form!

BOOM!

Fu Juemin struck out with his palm, the terrifying pressure instantly compressing and crushing the air before him!

The silver-robed old man, who had been furiously attacking him, was sent flying backward by the palm strike. When he steadied himself several meters away and got a clear look at Fu Juemin, his pupils contracted. "That’s impossible?!" he blurted out.

BAM!—

An overwhelming aura erupted from Fu Juemin’s body. In the center of his chest, a "Black Flower" began to bloom.

Of the Five Phases Poison Seed of the Five Poisonous Creatures, three phases were now open.

When Fu Juemin had assumed Li Tong’s appearance, he had shed his Western suit, leaving his upper body bare, wearing only a pair of special-made black satin trousers.

Now, his ivory-white muscles were a mass of gnarled coils. Under the moonlight, his body seemed coated in a murky gray halo several fingers thick, and he radiated a terrifying aura that distorted the very air around him!

"That soft, womanly Swordsmanship... it’s not even enough to scratch an itch!"

Fu Juemin casually brushed non-existent dust from his body, his eyes glinting fiercely as his face broke into a savage grin.

The exposed skin of his upper body was fair and completely unmarked. The silver-robed old man had stabbed at him countless times, yet had failed to leave so much as a red welt.

No wonder his opponent was so shocked.

Fu Juemin had spoken casually, but he was unaware that he had just struck a nerve.

The Swordsmanship the old man used was, in fact, a style designed for female Martial Artists. His expression darkened, and his face turned ugly. The thin sword in his hand hummed, but he didn’t press the attack. Instead, he snorted coldly toward a battle not far away.

"Are you going to come help or not?"

Hearing the old man’s call, the two modified humans who had been furiously assaulting the Instructor and the Young Master broke off their attack without a word and charged toward Fu Juemin.

The pressure on the Instructor, who had been in a precarious situation, vanished. He let out a long sigh of relief.

Seeing that all the Gratitude Level masters on the field were now heading for Fu Juemin, a flicker of light crossed his eyes. He slowly retracted his long staff, showing no intention of lending a hand.

Fu Juemin’s attention, however, was now focused entirely on the opponents before him.

He narrowed his eyes, sizing up the two modified humans approaching from his left and right. A faint, peculiar feeling rose within him.

He recognized the one on the left, the modified human dressed like a gentleman from the Western World. He’d fought fiercely against the people from Toad Palace before; he hadn’t expected they would now be on the same side.

Of the two, one seemed to be built for speed and agility, while the other was clearly a power-based tank. One straightforward, one unorthodox, they complemented each other well.

Fu Juemin didn’t sense much of a Demon Fiend aura on them. ’It seems they’re a different type of modification from that batch of half-finished Demon Fiend experiments under Luo Zhengxiong,’ he mused.

The modifications these two had undergone were more inclined toward precise, cold, and efficient steam and machinery. Their transformations were purer, and clearly more complete and mature.

WHOOSH—

While he was pondering, the modified human with the "Steel Body" had already closed in. It raised an enormous iron fist that had a dull metallic sheen and threw a punch at him.

BAM!

The moment the punch was thrown, a great cloud of hot white steam erupted from the opponent’s elbow and shoulder joints, creating immense propulsive thrust!

Curious to test the power of these mechanical modifications, Fu Juemin didn’t use any techniques and met the attack with a punch of his own.

BOOM—!

Fist of flesh met fist of iron, producing a massive, muffled boom. A wave of white steam exploded outward. Fu Juemin’s body trembled slightly, and he was involuntarily forced back half a step.

A flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.

He hadn’t used any techniques or his Talent, relying only on the basic strength granted by his Iron Body Great Success.

But even with a full 40 points in [Attack], he had been faintly overpowered in a direct clash of pure strength...

’The power of this technology truly can’t be underestimated. No wonder they can stand on par with Gratitude Sensing Realm Martial Artists!’

"Heh heh..."

Seeing Fu Juemin retreat, the silver-robed old man let out a sneer. With a flick of his Longsword, he sent a flash of blade light and immediately closed in again.

At the same time, the Bone Blade in the Western gentleman’s hand began to hum. It sliced through the air, whistling as it aimed for the vital spot on Fu Juemin’s neck.

Fu Juemin took a deep breath, and the Black Flower on his chest bloomed wider!

The Fourth of the Five Poison Phases: Snake Form, activate!

VMMMM—

As the Snake Demon Soul entered his body, his Qi and Blood began to boil, and the halo of Vitality around him instantly shifted from gray to black.

At the same time, he activated [Soft Bone]. His already abnormally brawny physique swelled, growing another size larger!

On his majestic, elephant-like frame, muscles bulged and veins popped. Formless masses of energy expanded outward. Against the backdrop of his jet-black Vitality, the surrounding air distorted into what looked like plumes of formless, burning black flames!

Fu Juemin suddenly raised his arm, his fingers Sealing. Channeling the power of [Soft Bone] and the terrifying Force granted by the Five Poisonous Creatures, he unleashed a strike from the Infinite Seal Technique!

In that instant, the air before him seemed to stagnate and compress, forming an intangible, formless, yet impossibly heavy "Inky Grinding Disc" that bore down on the three opponents.

"Three pieces of trash standing together... and you think you’re hot stuff again?"

Amidst a distorted, sinister shriek that tore through the air, seeming to rise from the very depths of the earth, Fu Juemin struck out with his palm.

His terrifying Palm Momentum crushed the Bone Blade of the man who looked like a gentleman from the Western World. With a few sharp CRACKS, it continued on without reservation, slamming into the steel-bodied man behind him.

The latter’s eyes flashed crimson. A low growl rumbled in his throat as a red light suddenly flared on his chest, and he met Fu Juemin’s Seal Palm with a punch of his own.

THUD!

A tremendous, muffled impact.

It was a deep, heavy sound, yet it had an indescribable quality, like the strange texture of collapsing metal.

The two disproportionately sized arms locked in a brief stalemate mid-air.

Then...

CREAK... SCREEECH...

Accompanied by a cringe-inducing symphony of squeezing, twisting, and groaning metal, the steel-bodied man’s arm began to collapse inward and deform, irresistibly, inch by inch, like a melting wax figure!

A twisted metal skeleton and vein-like tubing burst through the mangled exterior, splattering unknown viscous fluids and fine sparks in every direction!

By the time the arm had been crushed into a flat "iron discus," the Palm Momentum of Fu Juemin’s strike, containing the ultimate Force of the Infinite Seal, finally erupted completely!

BANG—

With a colossal, utterly muffled bang, the steel-bodied man’s entire frame convulsed violently. Immediately after, huge plumes of thick, white-hot, high-pressure steam burst from the numerous joints and seams all over his body!

A piercing shriek of depressurizing steam shot skyward, as if he would completely lose control and disintegrate at any second...