Chapter 12: The Raccoon Claw Technique

After Zhang Ji and his group planted the Five Forms Sect’s flag in Yu District, Lord Quan made contact.

“You completed the objective within the deadline, well done,” Lord Quan’s voice came through the phone. “You may make one request; as long as it’s not excessive, it will be granted.”

“Can you arrange for me to leave Shanli Island? Not as a criminal,” Zhang Ji cautiously asked.

Since his arrival on the island, he had been tacitly branded a criminal.

“That’s not difficult. In fact, you’re no longer considered one. Those serving the Five Forms Sect are not criminals. However, your official status will need to be formalized after you return,” Lord Quan explained.

“What is the purpose of the Five Forms Sect?” Zhang Ji and Master Kui had their suspicions but wanted confirmation firsthand.

“To unify and end the chaos here,” Lord Quan said. “Shanli Island has been in turmoil for too long. The current rulers want to restore order. If you continue to assist, your contributions will not be overlooked.”

“Understood,” Zhang Ji replied. “I want to learn a martial art, preferably one focused on offensive techniques.”

Lord Quan fell silent for a moment, then said, “Someone will deliver it to you.”

The call ended there.

...

At the same time, on Lord Quan’s side.

A tall, heroic young man with long hair, about 1.9 meters tall, was practicing punches and kicks on a spacious training ground.

Each move was accompanied by a sharp crackling sound.

At the end of a sequence, he struck a metal target weighing hundreds of kilograms with a palm strike, sending it flying dozens of meters away.

“A Long, your primal energy has thickened considerably,” Lord Quan said as he approached with his cane.

Li Long shook his head. “Simply increasing primal energy is meaningless. None of those old masters’ skills are weak.”

“The Qianshan Sect has also arrived; we need to move faster,” Lord Quan said.

“Qianshan Sect!” Li Long’s eyes flashed coldly.

Over half a year ago, he had broken through to the Grandmaster level, becoming the youngest Grandmaster in the history of the Five Forms Sect, gaining great acclaim.

However, the elders of Qianshan Sect set a trap for him, causing him to accidentally kill a foolish young noble with a special status at a banquet.

It was a minor incident, but with Qianshan’s machinations behind the scenes, he was forced to temporarily lay low on Shanli Island.

“Don’t be impulsive; it’s not so simple,” Lord Quan said. “Times have changed. The Qianshan Sect is just a tool of those in power. You’re still young. As long as you master the Five Forms Unity, we’ll be the ones with the real voice.”

Hearing this, Li Long closed his eyes slightly and restrained the hostility in his gaze.

“Was Elder Wang just speaking to the new recruits?” Li Long inquired.

“Yes, although their strength is only third-rate, they handle tasks efficiently,” Lord Quan replied.

“In this place, being third-rate is already acceptable. He wants a martial art?” Li Long asked.

“Yes, something with prominent offensive capabilities. There aren’t many who want to learn martial arts these days,” Lord Quan sighed.

Nowadays, battles were fought with exoskeleton suits, drones swarming the skies, missiles, and tracking grenades flying everywhere.

Training in martial arts for over a decade or two was far less effective than wearing armor after half a month of preparation.

Martial artists could also wear armor, and they were stronger than non-martial artists in it.

But it was meaningless because there was no hand-to-hand combat on the battlefield.

Those in armor rarely entered actual combat.

Great power military drills mostly focused on attrition.

Only robots and drones fought; real humans were rarely deployed.

Today, only professional fighters of the fifth level or above could be effective on formal battlefields.

Only Grandmasters could control small-scale situations without deploying heavy weaponry.

Thus, the cost-effectiveness of practicing martial arts was steadily declining.

...

“How about giving him ‘Raccoon Claw Technique’?” Li Long suggested.

“But that’s the foundational martial art for Five Forms disciples...” Lord Quan hesitated.

“Then just register his name and prepare the necessary training materials for him. Treat him the same as a Five Forms disciple,” Li Long said firmly.

Lord Quan could only nod. Although he was an elder, Li Long was the sect’s designated heir—to inherit the tradition.

The future of the Five Forms Sect was destined to be decided by Li Long.

Soon, Lord Quan dispatched someone to prepare the materials.

Once ready, they attached it to a drone and sent it to Kui District.

“That kid got lucky,” Lord Quan muttered.

Though the Raccoon Claw Technique was a simplified foundational form derived from Leopard and Tiger Fist styles, it contained secrets of Grandmaster-level martial arts.

It far surpassed ordinary third-rate martial arts. When mastered, it was enough to rival top-tier third-rate fighters.

In today’s Eastern Extreme Nation, it would qualify as a professional third-stage fighter’s skill.

That’s why Lord Quan felt it was a great favor to Zhang Ji.

...

“‘Raccoon Claw Technique’?” Zhang Ji watched the instructional video on the tablet, curiosity flickering in his eyes.

The instructor was a middle-aged man wearing a gray mandarin jacket.

He demonstrated the technique’s devastating power. With one swipe of the claw, thick metal plates gained deep scratches.

If that struck a person, it would pierce the chest and lungs.

“Five Forms actually gave you this? I heard it’s one of their basic disciple martial arts!” Master Kui exclaimed in surprise.

“Why don’t you come take a look yourself?” Zhang Ji suggested.

“No, it says only you are allowed to see it. If I watch, and Five Forms investigates later, both of us would be in trouble,” Kui shook his head.

“Stupid rules,” Zhang Ji commented.

To protect their status and interests, long-term possessiveness without development allowed others who advanced to easily crush those who stagnated.

In the later versions he knew, none of the Five Great Saint Kings originated from Eastern Extreme Nation.

Originally, in the starting version, Eastern Extreme Nation ranked among the top three powers on the origin planet.

But after the Saint King Wars, it became just an ordinary country.

It couldn’t even break into the top ten in national strength.

Despite a rich heritage of historical martial arts and combat knowledge, this factionalism was so toxic that the nation never developed.

Apparently, in the starting version, players born here had to apprentice and join a sect to learn any martial arts.

After mastering one sect’s skills, learning another required betraying the original sect or abandoning their previous martial arts.

It was simply foolish—very foolish!

Though some players who enjoyed role-playing were quite happy with that.

Then Zhang Ji took out all the materials and medicines needed for practice and began inspecting them.

“Bone-Tempering Flower, Qi-Replenishing Powder, Qilin Armor...” Master Kui, somewhat knowledgeable, recognized these and his expression shifted.

“Are these expensive?” Zhang Ji asked.

“Even with money, you can’t buy them. They’re cultivated exclusively by the great sects. Selling these would fetch at least half a million, enough to buy a hundred square meters in a second-tier city,” Kui said.

“That means housing here is pretty cheap,” Zhang Ji laughed, thinking of something.

“It’s not cheap anymore,” Kui shook his head. “An ordinary person couldn’t afford it even after working ten years without eating or drinking.”

At that moment, Zhang Ji suddenly realized something.

The currency exchange rate in Eastern Extreme Nation might differ from the country he was from before crossing over.

Therefore, the purchasing power of 500,000 wasn’t weak.

That day, Zhang Ji attempted to practice the Raccoon Claw Technique.

He had to self-learn from the video, including how to use the medicines.

Overall, it was not difficult; the moves and breathing techniques could be learned directly.

The medicines were pre-prepared; he only needed to measure and mix them accordingly.

The initial practice involved spreading the fingers of both palms, hanging weights on each claw, and repeatedly moving them with breathing cycles, attacking leather until the fingertips became numb and painful before applying the medicine and repeating to strengthen finger strength.

With the added combat essence of “Iron Cloth,” the effect was not obvious.

After all, both were part of the True Self style and Body Strengthening school’s combat skills, sharing some synergy.

Zhang Ji stored the essence of “Iron Cloth” combat skills and reverted to an ordinary body, then practiced again, which showed clearer results.

In less than half an hour, his ten fingertips felt numb and fatigued.

Applying the secret medicine quickly alleviated the numbness and pain, replaced by a warm, swelling sensation with a slight itch.

The Raccoon Claw Technique was clearly much harder to master than Iron Cloth.

After five full days, Zhang Ji still had not produced a single essence.

At this time, Lord Quan sent Zhang Ji a new mission.

Capture a new district.

This time, the deadline was even tighter—only ten days.

After investigating, Zhang Ji and Master Kui went to work.

Half a day later.

Amidst a hail of bullets and gunfire, Zhang Ji single-handedly crushed several enemy main forces.

The district’s leader died inside a loader.

He thought the machine would protect him, but Zhang Ji’s fists were unstoppable.

Zhang Ji also used the newly learned Raccoon Claw Technique once.

A single scratch tore off a large patch of scalp—showing some promise.

However, he was still some distance from obtaining his first skill essence.

After subduing the locals, Zhang Ji took the Five Forms Sect’s flag from the vehicle and climbed to the rooftop of the highest building to plant and secure it.

“This is ridiculous. Is this really considered taking control?” Zhang Ji sneered.

“It’s actually quite effective,” Master Kui puffed on his cigar. “Look at the people below. Anyone disobedient?”

“All the disobedient have been smashed. Isn’t that obvious?” Zhang Ji said.

In other places, this rough style of rule wouldn’t work completely.

But here on Shanli Island, the rules had always been like this.

The strong ruled all, the weak accepted subjugation.

Thus, this crude method of governance was sufficient to maintain order.