Xu Guang’s face was filled with horror and utter shock.
He was certain he had crushed Ma Wu’s throat. The tactile sensation couldn’t be faked. The throat was a vital spot for any human; having it crushed meant certain death. How could Ma Wu possibly stand up?
However, he quickly realized that something was different about Ma Wu.
Although Ma Wu stood up, his limbs constantly writhed in a joint-reversing, anti-human manner, as if he were no longer human at all.
This form inexplicably reminded Xu Guang of a creature from movies and TV shows in his past life.
A zombie!
"How is this possible?" he thought. "A Resident Evil outbreak in the Martial Arts Realm?"
His expression shifted slightly. He launched a continuous barrage of punches, wielding his pig-slaughtering knife, which transformed into a sky full of blade shadows.
Slash after slash, the rumbling sounded like rolling thunderbolts.
For some unknown reason, Ma Wu didn’t resist at all, allowing Xu Guang’s strikes to land freely on his body.
His chest caved in, his ribs snapped, followed by the bones in his legs and arms...
Xu Guang’s blade severed nearly all the bones in his body, yet despite this, he was still... alive. He squirmed on the ground like a maggot.
This completely defied the normal laws of biology. The sight made Xu Guang increasingly convinced that this was a zombie.
Relying on his formidable skills, Xu Guang emboldened himself. Though he found it bizarre, he braced himself and observed carefully. After all, Ma Wu’s limbs had already been broken. His current state posed no threat, and Xu Guang wanted to confirm exactly what this thing was.
As he observed, he gradually noticed something. Ma Wu’s condition didn’t seem to match that of a zombie. Zombies in movies were bloodthirsty, but while Ma Wu’s mouth opened and closed like a vicious wolf’s, he didn’t give off a bloodthirsty vibe. It seemed more like... pure instinct.
Suppressing his nausea, Xu Guang brought his blade down on Ma Wu’s head.
CLANG!
The skull was simply too hard. Surprisingly, the pig-slaughtering knife couldn’t cleave through it right away.
However, as if sensing some impending danger, "Ma Wu" writhed even more violently. A grotesque bulge appeared at his temple, expanding continuously from the moment it emerged.
Vigilant, Xu Guang retreated several steps, his eyes locked onto the sight.
POP.
Like a firecracker exploding inside flesh and blood, Ma Wu’s temple ruptured, sending countless splatters of blood and brain matter flying.
From within the gore, a massive worm slowly crawled out. But soon, like a fish out of water, it crawled across Ma Wu’s face, fell to the ground, and stopped moving entirely.
Xu Guang stared unblinkingly at the scene. He felt a myriad of chills rising up his spine, the cold causing goosebumps to erupt all over his skin.
"What the fuck..." he thought. "This is too disgusting."
Humans always possessed an instinctive fear of entities capable of parasitizing the human body. This was especially true since Xu Guang knew this eerie worm could actually bring Ma Wu "back to life"!
His eyes were filled with unease. He wondered where exactly this thing had spawned from and how it could be so terrifying. If everyone had this kind of creature living inside them...
He couldn’t help but shiver.
He instinctively wanted to open the Searcher to learn about this worm, but the still-incomplete progress bar left him feeling helpless.
After waiting a moment longer, Xu Guang still didn’t know if the worm was truly dead. He was also worried that someone might accidentally touch it and end up becoming a host. He picked up a rock from nearby and crushed the worm from a safe distance. He only breathed a heavy sigh of relief when nothing but disgusting slime remained.
Recalling how he had almost gone to absorb Ma Wu’s blood, he cursed inwardly.
"Fuck, if I had absorbed such tainted blood, wouldn’t I have been parasitized myself?" he thought.
Not daring to touch Ma Wu’s corpse, Xu Guang backed away repeatedly before quickly fleeing the area. He even used Introspection to scan his entire body, just in case he had inadvertently been parasitized during his fight with Ma Wu.
It wasn’t until he arrived at the Immortal Institute that he finally relaxed. The senior martial brothers who had arrived early were already bare-chested, sparring and training. Their abundant vitality seemed to faintly dispel the lingering chill, easing Xu Guang’s mind.
Xu Sanduo, looking radiant with a lustful gleam in his eyes, greeted him. "Junior Brother, why are you so late today?"
Xu Guang shook his head, not wanting to talk about it.
Xu Sanduo’s lips curled into a wicked smirk. "If you ask me, you’re just pushing yourself too hard trying to speed up your Cultivation. Your nerves are strung way too tight. You haven’t taken a wife yet, so after Master Zhao leaves later, I’ll take you to the Inner City to have some fun."
Xu Guang had long known about his senior brother’s promiscuity. Ever since the city-wide crackdown began a few days ago, causing his family to cancel their mountain hunting plans, Xu Sanduo had been frequenting the various pleasure boats of the Inner City with several wealthy senior brothers from the Institute. He had practically lost himself in the debauchery over the past few days.
This earned him Xu Guang’s quiet disdain. The man clearly had three wives at home, yet he still indulged himself so shamelessly. However, there was also an indescribable sense of envy.
"Once I take you there, you’ll understand the wonders of it. This period of chaos in the city hasn’t been completely without its perks—the prices for those services have dropped significantly." Xu Sanduo spoke with a lecherous tone.
Xu Guang frowned, but it soon made sense to him. Prices for goods in the city were skyrocketing right now. Even though order had been restored after the crackdown, the cost of living wouldn’t drop anytime soon. It stood to reason that the women on the pleasure boats had to lower their rates to attract customers.
Thinking of this, he sighed silently in his heart. He could almost imagine that on some of the struggling pleasure boats, Xu Sanduo wouldn’t even need to offer anything of high value. A bit of braised pig offal might be enough to secure the embrace of a soft, beautiful maiden.
In times of chaos, women—especially beautiful ones—were just another resource.
"Speaking of which, Junior Brother, you must still be a little virgin, right? Let me tell you, when it comes to women, it’s all about the waist..." Xu Sanduo chattered on endlessly, but he received no response from Xu Guang.
Perhaps feeling that discussing the secrets of women with a virgin was pointless, Xu Sanduo walked toward another senior brother with a lewd smile.
Xu Guang finally felt a moment of peace. If Xu Sanduo had kept talking, he feared he might not have been able to resist agreeing. Martial Artists inherently possessed vigorous vitality. With the Blood Eye continuously nourishing him with Essence Blood, Xu Guang’s desires in that regard were perhaps even stronger than Xu Sanduo’s.
Shaking his head, Xu Guang tossed those sensual thoughts from his mind. In a few more days, the Searcher would yield results. He would worry about such things after he got a wife. He turned to find his Fourth Senior Brother, Zhao Yong, and they began to spar.
[Skill: Golden Willow Step Method (Entering the Hall 30%), Gale Fist Technique (Initial Insight 80%)]
He needed to strive to push the Gale Fist Technique to the Entering the Hall level as soon as possible.
According to the Searcher’s grading system for Martial Arts Techniques, there were five levels in total: Initial Insight, Entering the Hall, Refined Skill, Mastery, and Peak of Perfection. Possessing a Skill at the Mastery level would very likely elevate his Combat Power to a higher tier.
The Combat Power Assessment System was overly complex, and Xu Guang was still slowly figuring it out, but he at least knew he wasn’t weak within the Bone Forging Realm.
At noon, two people came to visit Master Zhao. They were fully clad in Armor, wielding long sabers with Hand Crossbows hanging at their waists and Long Spears strapped to their backs. They looked as if they had just stepped off a battlefield, their bodies radiating an overwhelming Evil Qi. They were clearly serving in the military.
Old Zhao welcomed them inside quite politely, and they spoke privately about unknown matters.
When the two left, they brushed past Xu Guang. Their breath was deep and enduring, and their tremendous vitality nearly forced Xu Guang back a half step. These two were absolute powerhouses—formidable figures at least in the Refining Viscera Realm.
The function combining the Blood Eye and the Searcher to view others’ Combat Power stats was not entirely complete. Currently, he could only see the Combat Power of those within the same Realm as himself. If they were in a higher Realm, there would be no reaction.
Xu Guang didn’t stare, but his curiosity about Old Zhao’s background deepened. Nearby, some of the more knowledgeable senior brothers and sisters were discussing the identity of the two men. They speculated that they were from the Feiyun Guard.
In the afternoon, Zhao Yong found Xu Guang and whispered, "Junior Brother, Master has called for you."
"Me? Did he say what it’s about?"
Zhao Yong shook his head. "Just go. Most of the senior brothers have already gone to see him."
Hearing this, Xu Guang asked no further questions and walked toward Master Zhao’s room.
Old Zhao sat motionless with an enigmatic expression, holding a teacup that emitted tendrils of green steam. His gaze was unfocused as he pondered something unknown.
Xu Guang stood before him for a long time before Old Zhao finally reacted, saying softly, "You’re here." Pausing for a moment, Old Zhao continued, "You have achieved Skin Grinding Mastery now, so you aren’t considered weak in this city. The leaders of most minor gangs in the Outer City are only at this Realm. I wonder what your plans are for the future?"
Xu Guang looked momentarily stunned, a little confused by the question, but he guessed it probably had something to do with those two armored men from earlier.
"Practicing Martial Arts is all about talent and resources. I admit, I might have misjudged your talent. But Guang, have you ever thought about how you’ll obtain the resources you need if you want to continue your Cultivation?"
"Naturally, by using the Searcher to find ownerless items," Xu Guang thought.
Of course, he would never say that aloud. Instead, he said softly, "When my father was alive, he served in the military. He brought back some savings when he returned home. After this period passes, I plan to go hunting at Two-Arm Mountain with Sixth Senior Brother Xu Sanduo..."
Hearing this, Old Zhao nodded in approval. "That is indeed a decent path." Suddenly, he changed the subject. "But have you ever considered joining the Court’s military? The Feiyun Guard, for instance?"
Xu Guang fell silent. He had a mother at home to support; joining the army was not a good option for him.
"Master, a few months ago, my father’s old wounds flared up, and he died suddenly in his bed. My elderly mother is all alone at home. I haven’t considered joining the army."
Old Zhao was aware of Xu Guang’s family situation. Hearing this, he understood Xu Guang’s feelings and nodded, but still went on.
"Alas, Guang, you have to understand that sometimes, things don’t go the way you want them to.
"Do you know why, among all the foreign Refining Viscera Martial Artists in Feiyun City these past few years, I have been able to recruit the most disciples?"
Xu Guang asked tentatively, "Because of... the City Guard’s Mansion?"
Old Zhao didn’t deny it. "You should know about the situation across the river, right? The Feiyun Guard sent word to me. If an all-out war ever breaks out with the other side of the river, all of my disciples must enlist in the army."