Refining the Beast King's Fangs in the Sahara
Crunch. Crunch.
I stood motionless atop the endless sea of sand stretching beyond the horizon.
I had traveled far from the nearest city. No matter which way I looked or how widely I spread my senses, nothing living registered.
“This should be far enough.”
I loosened my body with a few light stretches.
“If I unleashed the latter-half techniques in the middle of a village, it would cause absolute chaos, wouldn’t it?”
I swung my fist lightly wrapped in internal energy.
BOOM!
A portion of the dune was gouged out by the shockwave. This was merely from releasing my energy. If I rampaged with proper ganggi-based techniques, an entire city would be reduced to rubble.
“Of course I have it. But there’s no need to train while suffering unnecessarily.”
A vast desert lay before me—an ideal environment for unrestrained training.
“Ask me anything.”
“Even so, it’s still a step below true martial arts.”
The latter half of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts possessed far greater power than the first half. Every technique was built on the premise of ganggi manipulation. Mixing body techniques with Explosive Demon Energy was only possible thanks to my unique ability, Devour. Normally it would require profound enlightenment—something on the level of aura or an aura blade.
“Unless the body technique itself were of a higher grade.”
Come to think of it, perhaps I could incorporate body techniques with Dragon’s Wings as well. Martial arts were extensions of my hands and feet, making them difficult to wield through wings, but the idea was worth testing in real combat.
“Enough stray thoughts.”
I exhaled deeply, expelling every lingering distraction. At the same time, I meticulously reviewed the new techniques that had surfaced upon reaching the sixth star of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts.
It was a martial art I had learned before my regression. However, because it was bound to the Tower system, past memories alone were insufficient. That was why I had waited until my proficiency reached the sixth star. Moreover, the latter-half techniques demanded physical capabilities that surpassed mortal limits. Only recently had I satisfied the conditions on both fronts.
“Time to focus.”
The internal energy of the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method surged over my forearms. Vivid black energy rose clearly above my skin. The ganggi, sharper than any peerless treasured blade, no longer took the form of a fist.
It was a sword gang.
A single blade manifested through flesh itself.
The latter half of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts operated on the principle of likening the body to various weapons. The arms were blades. The legs were staffs. While the first half maximized raw physical ability, the latter half used energy manipulation to transcend all limits and specifications.
I swung the blade manifested along my forearm with everything I had.
The flow of wind was shoved aside by the sword’s trajectory. The resulting storm shook the entire desert region. The power carried within the blade gang did not stop at merely tangling the air.
KWAAAAAANG!
The instant a sand dune was swallowed by the shadow of my blade, a massive explosion hurled countless tons of sand into the sky. The grains caught in the airflow scattered in every direction, birthing an unexpected sandstorm.
I wrapped my entire body in the power of Polar Night.
Tatata-tang!
Countless sand particles bounced off me. If I hadn’t protected myself, it would have stung like hell.
“It still wasn’t a perfect execution.”
Tsk.
I clicked my tongue. The first technique of the latter half—Yellow Dragon Fang. Had I performed it properly, the dune would have been carved into a long, clean furrow rather than simply blasted apart.
“If I had maintained the blade gang properly, it would have sliced instead of exploding.”
The ganggi shimmering along my right arm formed a blue blade. It gleamed sharply, yet the edge trembled ever so slightly. A portion of the energy had leaked because I failed to perfectly capture the technique’s fundamental nature of ‘cutting.’
Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts proficiency has increased.
1.3% → 3.2%
That was a rather generous evaluation. It fell short of my pre-regression standards, but the system seemed to consider my Yellow Dragon Fang quite well executed.
Whoosh! Whooosh!
After repeating the motion several times, roughly a third of my internal energy was depleted. I used the True Yeouiju’s ability to convert mana into internal energy. The spent qi recovered rapidly. With each repetition, the trembling edge of my blade grew steadier.
“It’s something I’ve done before. It’d be strange if I couldn’t manage it.”
I grumbled briefly and dispelled the blade gang. I couldn’t linger on the first technique forever. Anything I lacked could be supplemented in real combat.
The next technique was the axe method.
“The method of energy manipulation is completely different.”
Black internal energy swirled at the center of my palm, spinning faster and wider until it manifested as a half-moon axe blade. The axe traced a massive arc following my hand’s movement.
THUDUDUDU!
A long line was carved into the desert, followed by a chain of explosions.
“This one’s easier than I expected.”
The second technique of the latter half, Taotie Horn, felt far more natural than Yellow Dragon Fang. Perhaps I had grown accustomed to ganggi manipulation. Or maybe it was because the operating principle was ‘release’ rather than ‘cutting.’ At this rate, I would master it faster than the first technique.
“Hehehe. Nice.”
With Nyx’s sigh as background music, I immersed myself completely in training.
* * *
Energy swirled violently. The desert trembled without pause. The storm born from the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts grew larger and larger until it had completely overturned the entire region.
Nyx’s assessment echoed in my ears.
Qilin Slaughter
Ganggi tinged with faint lightning aimed at the sky. I extended my left hand like a spear shaft, fingers perfectly aligned to form a blade. The moment I released the energy coiled around my hand and forearm—
KRRRRRRR!
With a sound like thunder, the energy surged upward. A massive hole opened in the clouds. It would be more accurate to say the aftershock of the ganggi had reached the heavens rather than the technique itself.
After all, the range of a martial technique couldn’t possibly exceed a thousand meters.
“That’s half of them done.”
“My body can’t handle any more.”
My hands and feet were trembling. I had executed the latter-half techniques of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts in rapid succession. The fatigue I hadn’t felt since remodeling my body with the Rainbow Flashing Stone had finally reared its head.
The sunlight that had blanketed the world began to fade, giving way to Nyx’s domain of night. I had moved without rest for half a day. Whenever my dantian ran dry, I immediately used the True Yeouiju to replenish my strength.
“Ugh… I’m sore all over.”
The area below my solar plexus ached as if it had been beaten. That was where the dantian resided. Internal energy was far more sensitive than mana. Although I had constantly refilled the deficit with the True Yeouiju, the sheer volume had begun to destabilize the Asura Demon Spirit Heart Method.
It was a good thing I had reached the pinnacle before regressing. Otherwise, I might have suffered qi deviation while converting mana.
“Sometimes you have to push yourself.”
The Klyphoth forces that had taken root in Algeria were far larger than I had anticipated after only a single day of observation. There was no downside to mastering my strongest martial art, even if it meant overexerting myself.
“Adapting to my new abilities was more urgent. The latter half of the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts is a path I’ve already walked once.”
It had merely been a lower priority. I reviewed the techniques I had practiced over the past half-day once more.
13th form — Yellow Dragon Fang. Sword technique. A vertical slash that cuts down the enemy.
14th form — Taotie Horn. Axe technique. Releases ganggi in the direction of the swing to crush multiple foes.
…
18th form — Qilin Slaughter. Spear technique. Uses both arms as a spear shaft, rotates internal energy, and releases it from the fingertips to pierce the enemy.
The latter-half techniques were vastly more powerful than the first half. The downside was that they required intense concentration every time until I grew fully accustomed to them. Even with my pre-regression experience, my current body and proficiency were still lacking.
Riiiiing~♬ Riiiiiing~♬
The rugged satellite phone rang loudly. Well, color me impressed. It still had signal in the middle of a sandstorm. I was beginning to suspect it wasn’t purely mechanical but incorporated some form of demonic engineering.
“Hello.”
“M-Mister… Yu…? The signal…”
The voice kept cutting out. It was a miracle the call had connected at all. I raised my right hand. The black blade gang that now felt far more stable than before swept outward in a grand arc.
Shuk!
The sandstorm was sliced apart by the power of the blade. The abnormal weather that had engulfed the desert vanished in an instant. The process should have produced a deafening roar, yet Yellow Dragon Fang had erased even that sound completely.
“Can you hear me now?”
“Mister Yu, where exactly are you that the signal is this terrible?”
“The Sahara Desert.”
“I didn’t realize you had personal business in the desert.”
I simply chuckled. I was curious what kind of face she would make if I told her I had come all the way to Algeria just to train martial arts.
“I’ve located the missing people.”
“Any chance it’s a trap?”
“Not zero, but I’d say it’s low.”
“They wouldn’t have had enough time to prepare anything elaborate.”
“The boss said he will be heading there personally, so you may continue tracking other leads.”
Oh? So Pygmalion himself was taking the field. It hadn’t been that long since I gave him Galatea’s blueprints, yet he was already marching onto the battlefield. Interpreting those schematics should have taken considerable time on its own.
“He’s really pushing himself.”
“Hehe. The boss asked me to convey his gratitude to you, Mister Yu.”
With Harap Serapel and the Gaag-Shebla faction now working together, the upgraded puppet legion was desperately needed. I nodded.
“Understood. Keep tracking that side. I’ll continue operating alone.”
If John Doe, leader of the Black Network, was moving personally, there would be no gaps in their work. I would leave the human sacrifices being performed by the Gaag-Shebla faction to them. My job was to destroy the formation array established in Algeria.
“Good luck.”
“You too.”
After ending the call, I looked up at the sky. Thanks to my previous slash that had even parted the clouds, the scorching sunlight poured directly onto my skin without filter.
“This should be enough.”
No matter what variables appeared, I was confident I could win by deploying both the Hundred Beasts Emperor Martial Arts and Dragon’s Wings.