Chapter 406

The dark corridor was filled with a storm of projectiles.

Poisoned needles, poison darts, shuriken, throwing knives—the types were as varied as they were deadly.

It was hard to imagine where Tang Shiyan’s slender body could possibly hide so many weapons.

Is she storing them in a subspace?

It wasn’t impossible—after all, he carried plenty of sand in his own subspace.

Jae-on opened his own subspace and unleashed his sand.

Shhhhhh!

A wall of sand rose before him.

Thup-thup-thup-thup!

Countless projectiles slammed into the barrier, but the thick sand wall held firm.

“Tch!”

Tang Shiyan’s lips twisted in frustration.

Her signature attack had been blocked far too easily.

It was an ancient assassination art passed down in her clan—Rain of Flowers Across the Sky.

A technique to overwhelm and annihilate the enemy by scattering dozens, even hundreds, of weapons at once.

Once driven to extinction by the rise of firearms, the old assassination arts had been revived spectacularly in the age of Awakened.

In such a cramped space, the power of Rain of Flowers Across the Sky was absolute—there was nowhere to dodge.

But once a wall cut off the space, even hundreds of weapons became useless.

Still, it was too soon for her to despair.

Tang Shiyan had her partner—Sou Qian.

Sou Qian rammed his shoulder into the sand wall.

BOOM!

With an explosion, the sand wall burst apart like a mine.

It was a destructive technique known as Exploding Annihilation Strike.

Sparks—snap!

Lightning flickered across Sou Qian’s entire body.

Jae-on found it amusing.

The phenomenon on Sou Qian’s body was typical of a magic-type Awakened manifesting their ability, yet his actual fighting style was that of a martial-type Awakened.

Not a combination commonly seen in Neo Seoul.

Martial arts, is it?

Among Awakened in old China, there had occasionally been such cases—someone who had trained martial arts for years, only to awaken with a magic-type ability.

In such cases, they would apply the magical ability to their martial arts training.

Sou Qian had mastered a style called Exploding Annihilation Wild-Breaking Fist.

Before his awakening, it was a pitiful martial art.

Despite its grandiose name, it lacked real power.

One of his ancestors who had learned it before the Great Collapse was utterly defeated by a fighter trained in kickboxing and jiu-jitsu.

He hadn’t even managed a decent counterattack—just flailed his arms like a butterfly’s wings before being beaten senseless.

Live, on broadcast.

The humiliation was so great that his ancestor could never raise his head again, and the family art became a laughingstock.

No one spoke the name Exploding Annihilation Wild-Breaking Fist afterward.

Even the Sōu family themselves regarded it as a disgrace. Yet somehow, the art survived and was eventually passed down to Sou Qian.

That worthless martial art transformed once Sou Qian awakened.

He had gained lightning-element magic.

Sou Qian fused it into his Exploding Annihilation Wild-Breaking Fist.

The result was the sight before Jae-on now.

Swish!

Sou Qian kicked off the ground and charged.

His eyes blazed, his shoulders tensed, lightning flashing over his body.

It was the same Bàomiègào technique that had just shattered the sand wall.

Jae-on fired a Fire Missile at the oncoming Sou Qian.

Boom-boom-boom!

But the missiles struck the lightning swirling around Sou Qian’s body and dissipated.

He broke through the barrage and slammed Bàomiègào toward Jae-on.

KWA-BOOM!

The blast sent Jae-on flying backward. Tang Shiyan immediately followed up, launching another volley of weapons.

Shhhhhh!

The projectiles filled the corridor.

“This is the end.”

“Got you.”

Both shouted at once, confident of victory.

No matter how great Jae-on’s abilities, his body was still human.

A human could be cut by a blade, pierced by a projectile.

They were certain he wouldn’t survive this combined assault—

But Jae-on’s response defied expectation.

Whoosh!

Before him appeared a wall of intermingled blue and white flames.

A shield of fire—Fire Shield.

Thup-thup-thup!

Every projectile Tang Shiyan had thrown melted on contact.

“Tch! So you refuse to die quietly, eh?”

Sou Qian bit his lip and hurled himself forward again—

Unleashing the next form of Exploding Annihilation Wild-Breaking Fist: Heaven-Crashing Strike.

A simple step forward and punch, but with terrifying power behind it.

The distance between them was about ten meters.

Invisible energy flew through the air, laced with lightning.

An attack strong enough to pierce thirty centimeters of steel.

Sou Qian was certain Jae-on couldn’t block it—his “frail” sand-user’s body wasn’t up to the task.

You’ll have to dodge…

Shhhhhh!

Tang Shiyan preemptively filled the likely escape path with projectiles.

This was Cheonrajimang, a fire-net of weapons.

Unlike her previous throws, these were designed to explode on impact—crafted using all the skills of the Shadow City.

They were difficult to make and rare in number—her last resort for life-or-death opponents.

It was a perfectly calculated attack. She was certain Jae-on could not avoid it.

“Hah!”

But then her eyes flew wide.

Jae-on’s choice was not to dodge—but to meet Heaven-Crashing Strike head-on.

“You’re insane! You dare to face me in direct combat?” Sou Qian roared, enraged.

It was an insult to challenge a martial artist like this.

There’s a saying—a praying mantis cannot stop a rolling cart.

To Sou Qian, Jae-on was the mantis, about to be crushed.

BOOM!

“Kuhhh!”

But in the instant their fists collided, the one screaming was Sou Qian.

Crunch!

His knuckles shattered, his elbow popped from its joint.

Jae-on’s punch was stronger.

People often underestimated his physical ability, but his body and combat skills were more formidable than most martial-type Awakened—honed by brutal training under Deiodon, and eight years of wandering the desert alone.

It wasn’t as old or storied as Exploding Annihilation Wild-Breaking Fist, but it was a complete system.

And with the overpowered Inferno Gauntlet, there was no reason he would lose to Sou Qian.

“Wuqian!”

Seeing his partner in peril, Tang Shiyan launched more weapons—

But Jae-on fired Fire Rain at her instead.

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Her projectiles exploded midair in a burst of flame. Jae-on didn’t even glance at her.

His target had always been Sou Qian.

He charged in.

“Insolent!”

Enraged at being met head-on, Sou Qian unleashed his ultimate technique—Exploding Annihilation Thunder Strike.

Lightning-laced fists sought Jae-on’s life—but Jae-on answered with Sand Vipers.

Boom-boom-boom!

Dozens of vipers bit into the attack, dissolving it.

“Coward!”

Sou Qian’s eyes trembled with fury.

He considered it disgraceful to use sand in a “sacred duel” of martial artists.

Jae-on ignored him.

Cowardly? So what?

Victory was all that mattered—and why would a sand user be “cowardly” for using sand?

Sou Qian himself mixed martial arts and magic, yet called him dishonorable? Laughable.

BAM!

Jae-on’s fist slammed into Sou Qian’s chest.

Thanks to a defensive technique, he avoided mortal injury, but the shock was still severe.

He tried to disengage, but Jae-on wouldn’t let him.

Bam! Thud!

Fists and kicks pounded him like a drum. He tried to counter, but Jae-on broke each form mid-motion.

Too much wasted movement…

In just a few exchanges, Jae-on had found the flaw—like most ancient martial arts, it had too many unnecessary motions to generate power.

Modern styles had stripped away such excess for efficiency.

Without his lightning magic, Sou Qian’s Exploding Annihilation Wild-Breaking Fist was no threat. Even with it—it still wasn’t.

Bam! Bam! Bam!

Jae-on’s strikes rained down. Sou Qian’s counters failed to deal meaningful damage, his lightning dissipating harmlessly against hastily-summoned sand.

“This can’t be happening… can’t be…”

He muttered in disbelief, like a man trapped in a nightmare.

Never had he imagined losing in martial arts to a sand user.

Tang Shiyan was equally shaken.

She wanted to throw weapons to save him, but Jae-on was too close—she might hit Sou Qian herself.

That moment of hesitation sealed his fate.

Jae-on’s hand whipped out, seizing Sou Qian’s face.

His eyes went wide—and the Inferno Gauntlet erupted in white flames.

BOOM!

“Aaaargh!”

Sou Qian crumpled. Half his face melted, his hair burned away, one eye dissolved into jelly.

“You—!”

Thud!

Before he could rise, Jae-on’s other fist punched into his chest—up to the wrist.

When he withdrew it, he held Sou Qian’s still-beating heart.

The martial artist stared at it with his remaining eye—then toppled backward.

“As I thought—you transplanted a beast’s heart.”

Its shape and mana were nothing like a human’s.

Like Ma Guangliang before him, Sou Qian had received a monster’s heart.

If left alive, he would have gone berserk. That was why Jae-on had ripped it out.

Crunch!

The heart burst in his grip.

“You… demon!”

Tang Shiyan screamed, her body swelling—

Rip! Rip!

Her clothes tore as two extra arms sprouted from each side of her torso—six in total.

Jae-on stared blankly.

“What are you, an ant—?”

“Shut it!”

She roared and unleashed a hail of weapons from all six hands.

Whizz-whizz-whizz!

The storm of blades filled the air—

And Jae-on dove straight into it without hesitation.