novelraw Chapter 356 - 331 Insider Story Part 1
Chapter 356 - 331 Insider Story Part 1
Within the Endless Courtyard.
In the rear martial arts field, Zhang Rongfang was rapidly throwing punches, each punch converging into a strange and special formation.
This move is called Cloud Flip and Rain Overturn.
It is a method in the Golden Stone Skill that maximizes the hardening of arm muscles, skin, and bones.
He couldn’t fully understand the specific principle, but it seemed that as long as different punch formations were formed, different effects on qi and blood exercise would occur.
Zuo Han mentioned that the Golden Stone Skill seemed to originate from the part about the Golden Stone Array in the Six Prosperous Moon Canon.
Several generations of Moon Kings studied natural arrays, realized the principle of stone arrays, and integrated it into the hard skills of boxing.
Eventually, it was incorporated into the Six Prosperous Moon Canon as a separate branch, which is the Golden Stone Skill.
At this moment, Zhang Rongfang activated his qi and blood, feeling that his overall qi and blood volume was nearly doubled compared to ten days ago.
In just half a month, his flesh and blood had been replenished to seventy-three, seemingly causing some marvelous transformation in his body.
This transformation was still developing, seemingly originating from the purplish-red tumor at the middle of his back.
Zhang Rongfang carefully experienced the subtlety of the Golden Stone Skill.
Although this skill seemed coarse, it was actually quite intricate inside.
Many contemporary hard skills, regardless of the cultivation technique, face one issue when practiced to the extreme.
That is the inability to defend the apertures.
Eyes, ears, mouth, nose, lower parts.
These orifices, no matter what hard skills one practiced, couldn’t be trained.
But the Golden Stone Skill offered a new method.
Obviously, many genius predecessors had racked their brains for this and offered compensatory strategies.
That is muscle control!
Zhang Rongfang recalled Zuo Han’s words when he taught him.
’The essence of the Golden Stone Skill is actually controlling flesh and blood. Flesh and blood have two forms, hard and soft.
What we need to do is push hardness to the extreme. If practiced to the utmost, where on the body is without flesh and blood? Use flesh and blood themselves as the strongest defense. That is the highest realm of hard skills.’
These words seemed obscure but actually were saying.
The body’s apertures are innate lethal points, unavoidable.
But we can train the muscles around the apertures to be extremely hard, making them shields to protect the critical points.
Zhang Rongfang agreed deeply.
He personally witnessed Old Zuo controlling his ears to press down and block the ear holes.
He also saw that Zuo Han’s eyelids were far thicker than ordinary people’s and felt abnormally hard, like touching crocodile scales.
This exaggerated extent made him....
"Hmm? What fragrance is this?"
Suddenly, a faint fragrance wafted into Zhang Rongfang’s nostrils, interrupting his training thoughts.
In the martial arts field.
He slowly withdrew his move and stopped.
Looking around.
He saw the silhouette of the maid Fuxiang approaching from outside the courtyard gate.
"Didn’t I say that no one is allowed to disturb me while I’m practicing martial arts?" Zhang Rongfang’s face darkened.
"Forgive me, Daoist, I’m not here to disturb you,"
Fuxiang’s voice was gentle, and she slowly raised her head, looking around.
"I’m here.... to take you on the road!! Surrender peacefully!!"
His tone abruptly changed.
Suddenly, he stomped the ground, like a golden eagle diving to hunt a fawn on the ground.
Bang!
The ground cracked.
Cheng Hui’s body technique was fierce, and his bare claw reached Zhang Rongfang in the blink of an eye with the Dead Silence Hand.
’Shadow Follows Form!’
This move was a killing technique Limit-Breaking Skill within the Dead Silence Hand, covering all the opponent’s calculated escape routes with its unpredictable and agile moves.
Making it unavoidable.
The Dead Silence Hand was already an outstanding martial art for ambush, assassination, and capture.
This Limit-Breaking Skill brought this feature to its peak.
Once the move was made, it was certain to capture Zhang Ying immediately, rendering him powerless to resist, and then....
Swoosh.
Cheng Hui’s vision blurred, and the move he thought was certain to hit completely missed.
The calm smile on his face suddenly froze, and an extremely ominous feeling surged in his heart.
Immediately, he retracted the move, unfolded the Golden Roc Secret Record Body Skill, and applied the Profound Shadow Iron Hand Skill in a grand and open manner, his fingers hard as iron, like blades, striking to the side.
Swoosh.
Strangely, this move missed again.
Yet Zhang Rongfang stood there with arms crossed, tilting his head slightly.
"How... how is this possible!!?" The ominous feeling in Cheng Hui’s heart grew heavier.
His mind repeatedly flashed the information about Zhang Ying.
Nothing seemed wrong!
But what on earth was happening now!? How could someone just over thirty have such martial arts body skills while cultivating Literature to the Nascent Soul Stage!?
He considered himself overwhelmingly talented, focusing entirely and first master the Golden Roc Secret Record before dual cultivating other martial arts.
Even among top geniuses and inheritors of major forces, none had reached his level of body technique speed in their thirties!?
Cheng Hui’s heart was in unrest.
His body technique accelerated more and more urgently. For a time, his shadowed speed, combined with the Dead Silence Hand, struck toward Zhang Rongfang like a violent storm.
A series of palm shadows, a series of sharp claws, even a grandmaster would move at such speed.
It could be said, at this moment, Cheng Hui, purely in terms of speed, whether movement or strike speed, had already reached the level of a mortal grandmaster.
But....
No matter how hard he tried.
He couldn’t touch Zhang Rongfang, who seemed just within reach.
Each time he attacked, Zhang Rongfang calmly moved out of the way just beforehand.
It was as if he knew in advance where Cheng Hui would strike.
This bizarre and stifling discomfort made Cheng Hui involuntarily think of a terrifying possibility.
He had seen this kind of situation before on others.
And that person was a Grandmaster!!
"No!! You’re not Zhang Ying at all! Who exactly are you!!?" He took a step back, staring at the other party in disbelief.
Zhang Rongfang couldn’t be bothered to answer his question.
"Is there more?"
"If not, then you’re useless too."
He loosened his muscles and bones.
"Although I’m already quite full, a dessert after exercise can be a nice diversion."
He could already smell a faint fragrance emanating from the other party.
It wasn’t the scent of a woman’s perfume. By now, Zhang Rongfang could clearly distinguish which was perfume, which was body scent, and which was the scent of blood and flesh.
And now, he was a hundred percent certain that the scent he smelled was the scent of blood and flesh from the other party.
"Dessert!?!?" The ominous feeling in Cheng Hui’s heart grew more pressing.
As Zhang Rongfang’s gaze swept over him, every piece of skin on his body broke out in goosebumps.
This feeling....
Never before!
Unprecedented!!!
At that moment, he stomped his foot on the ground, executing a Limit-Breaking Skill aimed at Zhang Rongfang.
This move was a feint, in actuality, he was waiting for the opponent to dodge, then taking the opportunity to advance and escape.
Thud.
What a pity.
His right hand was suddenly caught in a large palm, held tightly, unable to move.
"Your right leg exerted force, your hand was weak, trying to deceive me with a feint and then take the opportunity to run?" Zhang Rongfang calmly revealed all his intentions.
"Let go!!" Cheng Hui’s five fingers, caught, desperately clawed at the palm.
With a crack, his fingernails snapped and bled.
The opponent’s Hard Skill on hands actually far surpassed his!?
Before he could explode into an Extreme State,
Zhang Rongfang grabbed his arm and swung him like a sack heavily onto the ground.
Bam!!!
The ground trembled slightly.
Cheng Hui’s body was slammed into the ground, bones breaking in many places. His qi and blood scattered, unable to gather.
"Once."
Zhang Rongfang lifted Cheng Hui by the hair, slamming him down again.
Bam!!
The ground shook.
"Twice."
He lifted the person up again, raising him high as if in a playful gesture, while slightly moving his knee, readying a powerful upward knee strike.
"Wait!!" At this moment, Cheng Hui was too weak to resist.
In terms of both strength and speed, the gap between the two was enormous.
His speed was comparable to a mortal Grandmaster, but far inferior to a Deity-拜神 Grandmaster.
Facing the Zhang Rongfang of today, already akin to a Deity-拜神 Grandmaster, their strengths were as different as an adult and a child.
One should know, the strength of a mortal Grandmaster has never been in physical qualities.
But in technique, realm, and terrifying explosive power when combined with equipment.
Physical qualities have always seen Deity far exceed humans.
The final strike.
In Cheng Hui’s groggy mind, alarms suddenly rang.
He had a hunch that this time, even if he didn’t die, he would be utterly crippled.
No....
No!!!
He couldn’t die!!
He had struggled for so many years!! Endured so many humiliations!! How could he die here as if in a joke! Be crippled here!!?
The intense desire to survive sent countless thoughts racing crazily through his mind.
"Wait! I know where the Celestial Maiden is!"
Countless words, countless thoughts, finally converged into one sentence.
Exhale.
Zhang Rongfang halted his downward motion abruptly.
"Hmm? You know?" He thought for a moment, cautiously standing Cheng Hui upright.
Right foot stomping on the ground fiercely.
Fizz!!
Under immense strength, his toes punctured two half-meter-deep holes into the martial arts ground.
Then he shoved Cheng Hui straight into them.
Zhang Rongfang even had the time to straighten his wrinkled collar.
"The Golden Roc Secret Record Body Skill...you’re from the Golden Wing Pavilion, right? Come on, tell me properly, what do you know?"
Cheng Hui looked at the towering figure, reaching an exaggerated height of two and a half meters.
The bitterness in his heart was indescribable.
Before coming, he thought he had the absolute advantage.
In less than twenty moves, he’d ended up like this.
He hadn’t even managed to use the Extreme State.
The gap between them was far too vast.
At some moments, he even thought the opponent was a Deity-拜神 Grandmaster....
"Celestial Maiden Tong Zhang...has now broken through to Extreme Realm Grandmaster, a while ago, she was injured by the head of West Sect True Buddha Temple, Yuan Han. Now, she’s likely in Ze Province, laying low to recuperate."
He saw the opponent’s gaze once again turning dangerous and hurriedly began to say something useful.
"Ze Province....that far?" Zhang Rongfang frowned slightly.
"Yes, very far. Moreover, according to West Sect’s internal information, no one recognizes the current Celestial Maiden, with only one objective, that is revenge. She was previously injured and chased by West Sect’s Grandmaster, and now that she’s stepped into Extreme Realm Grandmaster, her first act was to seek revenge." Cheng Hui spoke rapidly.