Chapter 13: The Unexpected

[Notification: Acquired "Raccoon Claw Technique" (Common) martial arts skill essence *1, which can be extracted into the Limit Space for storage.]

"Extract!"

In the next moment, within the Limit Space, a pristine white martial arts skill essence appeared.

Its size was roughly three times that of an "Iron Cloth Shirt" skill essence.

"Ten days to obtain one essence, let's see how it performs," Zhang Ji muttered.

He then took the essence back out and applied it to himself.

His palms subtly transformed, becoming more slender and symmetrical.

His nails protruded slightly—not excessively, just a bit sharper in the center—and their color shifted to resemble some kind of jade, crystal-clear and translucent. The flesh on his fingers and palms also hardened somewhat.

Lightly dragging his nails across leather, Zhang Ji found he could tear it effortlessly, easier than scissors.

He then executed the technique, and before long, the wooden post was covered in claw marks.

Zhang Ji recalled his previous fight with Hong Kang and how his "Eagle Claw Technique" performed.

Comparatively, though both were claw techniques, the "Eagle Claw" emphasized penetration, while the "Raccoon Claw" seemed to focus more on tearing, controlling, and pressing, incorporating certain palm techniques as well.

Thus, the "Raccoon Claw" was not merely a finger-claw skill but included palm techniques.

No wonder it took three times longer to cultivate one essence compared to the "Iron Cloth Shirt."

As for the effect?

Zhang Ji was fairly satisfied.

Simply put, if "Iron Cloth Shirt" was the entry-level and "Raccoon Claw" also entry-level, the former would suffer a crushing defeat.

After a brief rest and a shower, Zhang Ji turned on the television and ordered a roast duck rice meal.

Soon, the meal was delivered.

"Master Zhang, your meal and drinks," the delivery boy said as he wheeled over the cart.

"Put it there," Zhang Ji waved him off.

After the delivery boy left, Zhang Ji picked up the food and savored it slowly, never taking his eyes off the television.

The TV, which he had gotten from Yu City, was large enough to cover most of a wall—bigger even than the largest screen in Kui City.

At that moment, the program was about emerging technologies.

Armored soldiers casually kicked iron crates weighing hundreds of pounds flying through the air and carried thousand-pound loads with ease.

Soldiers who had lost limbs enhanced with prosthetics showed increased strength.

Miniature batteries that could last six months on a single charge.

Supersonic drones, inexpensive electromagnetic cannons firing shells at over Mach 10.

Self-guided grenades hurtling toward enemies at hundreds of meters per second before detonating.

...

After finishing his meal, the program ended.

He had never played this version of the game before.

He started playing only from the version where the Saint King Battle had already occurred.

He only knew about this version from background stories and other players.

From what he understood, in the initial version of "Supreme Fighting," martial artists had not yet become the core of society.

In simple terms, the true masters were either old or living in hiding, still training.

Outside, technology had advanced rapidly—surpassing imagination in just a few decades.

Society needed stability, and under the influence of the state machinery, most martial artists were gradually marginalized, with various factions targeted and eliminated.

This was good for ordinary people but marked a "Dark Age" for martial artists.

Yet it was in this Dark Age that five Saint Kings were born.

Saint Kings were officially classified as A-level fighters.

They could effortlessly move at supersonic speeds and deliver strikes causing terrifying destruction over hundreds of meters.

Even at the center of a nuclear blast, they could escape alive.

One person alone could pose a tremendous threat to an entire nation.

Countries relying on technological weaponry could not inflict effective harm on them.

Therefore, they were called Saint Kings, the supreme beings of the Origin Star.

Zhang Ji turned off the TV and calculated the time.

There were at least five years left until the Saint King Battle.

How fast was his cultivation progressing?

With his current resources, he could reach around C-level in a year.

In five years, at best, he could achieve C-level, fifth stage—still not reaching B-level, let alone A-level.

However, there were many shortcuts in this world.

As mentioned before, "Supreme Fighting" integrated many elements.

There were treasures to gather in the wild, genetic modification, alchemical enhancements, and a dungeon system accessible to players.

Of course, these dungeons weren't called dungeons here but "Ruins Realms," implying remnants of shattered worlds from the last era.

According to official descriptions, these were fragments of worlds destroyed in the previous epoch, some even containing living beings and connections to the current world.

Within these world fragments lay many treasures that could help one take shortcuts.

The only uncertainty was that these dungeon entrances appeared mostly at random.

There were a few trial dungeons open for entry, but those appeared only after the Saint King version and were controlled by private forces.

Just as he was pondering this, Zhang Ji’s phone rang.

In this place, only the Five-Form Sect could use communication devices.

Zhang Ji answered, and Master Quan’s voice came through.

"Bell City, five days."

Brief and to the point, Master Quan hung up immediately.

Zhang Ji dressed quickly and prepared to depart.

The Five-Form Sect was the fastest way to leave Shanli Island.

Only those without criminal status could leave smoothly and enter the outside world to obtain what they desired.

Moreover, his cultivation resources came from the Five-Form Sect.

The herbs for "Raccoon Claw" could only support him for ten more days; if he wanted to continue training this skill, he would have to get resources from the Five-Form Sect—he didn’t know where else to find them.

What puzzled him was that he vaguely remembered that Shanli Island was later governed by the Eastern Extreme Kingdom without any sign of the Five-Form Sect.

No, the sect simply didn’t exist.

Given the current scale of the Five-Form Sect, if it still existed, he would surely know.

After all, he had played multiple accounts and even remembered the small martial arts schools of the Eastern Extreme Kingdom clearly—how could he not be aware of a sect with C-level fighters?

So, it seemed the Five-Form Sect had either transformed or...

Zhang Ji didn’t dwell on it.

He resolved to stay alert and retreat if necessary.

He would not place faith in any organization or person.

The only thing he believed in was his own strength!

Without wasting much time, Zhang Ji called Kui Ye and the others for a meeting.

After confirming that Bell City was not a tough nut to crack, they prepared to set off.

Descending from the building, the group moved quickly.

As they passed through the crowd, people greeted Zhang Ji just as they had greeted Kui Ye before.

"Master Zhang!"

"Hello, Master Zhang!"

This starkly contrasted with his initial destitute arrival.

Suddenly, Zhang Ji saw a boy carrying a basin full of clothes heading toward the laundry.

That boy was Gu Jie.

He waved, and someone approached.

"Go find out about his situation. We'll wait in the car," Zhang Ji instructed.

"Yes, Master Zhang."

The young man quickly left.

Zhang Ji and the others got into the car.

After a while, the young man returned and reported.

Gu Jie's mother was now making a living by washing clothes.

Gu Jie was helping her.

Their main customers were the women of Cat Street.

Zhang Ji closed his eyes slightly, as if pondering.

Suddenly he said, "Have someone set up a unified laundry room and appoint that woman, Mu Duo, to manage it."

His order was quickly carried out.

Here, the strong ruled by decree.

Small matters were executed simply and swiftly.

This was Zhang Ji’s way of taking care of Gu Ming’s wife and son.

"Missing women?" Kui Ye asked.

He was unaware of the history between Zhang Ji and Gu Ming and assumed Zhang Ji was interested in Mu Duo.

"Heh!" Zhang Ji scoffed disdainfully. "Let's go!"

The vehicle started and sped away.

Zhang Ji gazed out the window, his eyes deep and contemplative.

So many past lessons lay before him: once emotions interfere, total defeat follows.

He would not allow a woman to become his stumbling block—even as a mere plaything, it was too troublesome.

With so little time to grow stronger, and still wanting to savor roast duck rice, how could he waste time on meaningless feelings?

Helping Mu Duo was merely a courtesy for Gu Ming’s past care.

...

"Boom! Bang!"

"Damn, rocket launchers? Where did Shanli Island get these?"

"Dodge!"

What had seemed like a soft target turned out to be surprising.

Bell City’s forces wielded not only conventional firearms but also high-explosive grenades and small rocket launchers.

Fortunately, their numbers were few, and Zhang Ji avoided most attacks.

Only two casualties—no major issues.

"Crack!"

Snapping the neck of the man who launched the rocket, Zhang Ji stood amidst a pile of corpses, his expression somewhat dazed.

This was the closest he had ever come to death.

He had been blown off his feet and slammed against a wall by the blast wave from over ten meters away.

His body bore many scratches from metal fragments.

That was with a 20% strength "Iron Cloth Shirt"; had Kui Ye been in front, he might have died on the spot.

Ringing in his ears persisted, with pain at the center of his hearing.

Zhang Ji thought he had taken technological weapons seriously enough.

But clearly, this time he had nearly been overwhelmed.

"Iron Cloth Shirt" could block ordinary bullets, but with this kind of weapon, his current skill was far from sufficient.

Kui Ye and the others arrived after assessing the situation.

"How are you all?" Zhang Ji asked.

Kui Ye and the others opened their mouths, but Zhang Ji’s ears still rang, so he didn’t hear clearly.

He only understood that he had become the main target and that they were mostly uninjured.

"Let’s go, plant the flag!" Zhang Ji ordered.

Kui Ye and the others nodded.

Zhang Ji took a few steps forward, then turned back, aimed his gun at the corpse whose neck he had snapped, and pulled the trigger.

"Rat-a-tat-tat!"

He was genuinely angry and shaken.

Everyone else was using rifles and pistols, but this guy brought an RPG.

After emptying a clip into the corpse’s chest and head, reducing them to mush, Zhang Ji casually tossed the gun to a subordinate and turned toward the tall building.

"Ugh! Bad luck!"

[End of pages 1-3]