Chapter 155: Poisonous Hand

It was indeed a dark history that could not be taken seriously. A single rumor going around could not prove anything.

So Fang Jing did not pay much attention to it either, and shifted his focus to studying the “Outer Demon Gate” secret scroll he had obtained.

The diagrams and annotations on the scroll were written in code. Fortunately, Kuki Muen taught him everything he knew, explaining and instructing him specifically, so Fang Jing was able to decipher it.

The Outer Demon Gate secret manual recorded the ingenious ideas of Ancestor Genzo, as well as the “Demonic Implant Secret Art” he created. This so-called Demonic Implant Secret Art consisted of over ten different modification methods, each with different directions and effects.

Some of the methods in the Demonic Implant Secret Art involved transforming limbs into sturdy prosthetics, equipped with various murder weapons, hidden weapons, gunpowder, and mechanisms.

Others specialized in using eerie sorcery and poison techniques to refine a living person into an invulnerable “poisoned person.”

But that was not all. The most terrifying modification method in the Demonic Implant Secret Art was to hunt down hybrids born from the union of “Nocturnal Species” and humans, replacing their internal organs with those of the hybrids. As long as the surgery was successful, one could gain the power of the Nocturnal Species.

The Demonic Implant Secret Art also contained many bizarre concepts. Some were just impractical ideas, utterly absurd, and the conditions required were too difficult to achieve, making verification impossible.

“Among my disciples, the one named Shishidōmaru—he should still be alive, right?”

“Yes, his physique is truly special. An ordinary person struck by my fists and kicks would either die or be crippled, yet he fully recovered within just a few days. It’s truly unbelievable…”

“Shishidōmaru is no ordinary person. He is a ‘hybrid.’ His mother was a peasant woman from a small village in Vietnam. One day, she was kidnapped by a demonic creature in the mountains called a ‘Rock Ape.’ Months later, she was found returning to the village, pregnant.”

Shishidōmaru had the bloodline of the “Nocturnal Species” in his veins. From birth, he exhibited traits different from ordinary people. Because of his origins, he was ostracized by the village.

When Kuki Muen found Shishidōmaru as a child, he was only twelve years old. However, during a violent rampage, he single-handedly killed all the villagers, turning the village into a river of blood. It happened one night when the crazed Shishidōmaru attacked the villagers. Everyone in the village, regardless of gender or age, was brutally slaughtered. Even his own mother did not escape; the only exceptions were him and his sister.

“Nocturnal ‘hybrids’ are extremely rare. Shishidōmaru is an exception. He himself is excellent experimental material. Do not casually kill him.”

Kuki continued, “The Demonic Implant Secret Art is too ahead of its time. The Ancestor was a rare genius, his thinking beyond imagination. He could conceive and imagine what others could not, so turning these fantasies into reality is highly difficult.”

However, the reference value of the Demonic Implant Secret Art should not be overlooked.

Kuki Muen taught Fang Jing everything he had comprehended from the Demonic Implant Secret Art: the “Poisonous Hand Fist.”

At this point, he also regarded this young man as his successor.

Indeed, he had had many disciples in the past, but those so-called “disciples” had always been treated as tools by him.

Only Fang Jing was seen differently. That is why, before his death, Kuki Muen did not hold back but earnestly taught him.

(Kume Nansho might have been a good person, but precisely because he was a good person, he could never understand my thinking… But Nishizuka Tsukasa is different. Although he was a disciple taught by Kume, he can completely grasp my ideas.)

Before his death, Kuki Muen finally could not help but laugh.

“Sorry, senior brother! The path Nishizuka will ultimately choose will likely be the same as mine.”

But this would not be a smooth road; it would only be a treacherous path filled with thorns. Blood, fire, and endless white bones would accompany those who walked this path, becoming a usual scenery for them.

—

In the end, he personally ended Kuki Muen’s life.

This was another wish of Kuki Muen’s. For a proud martial artist like him, dying by his own hand was far better than struggling and waiting for the flame of life to slowly extinguish.

After Kuki Muen died, he obtained a new Fate Grade from this man.

“‘Sparrow Severity’ Fate Grade… Is this the Fate Grade that Kuki Muen possessed?”

“Sparrow Severity”—this was the new Fate Grade he acquired.

In his consciousness, this Fate Grade continuously rotated, emitting a faint purple glow.

This Fate Grade was extremely special. Its characteristic was that it gave Fang Jing two new traits. The first was “Toxin Resistance.” The annotation for this trait was: enhances the individual’s immunity to toxin damage.

The second was “Immunity Enhancement.” This second trait provided a specialized boost to the individual’s immune function, improving the immunity and regenerative capabilities of organs damaged by trauma.

“This is an unexpected gain. But this Fate Grade might have some connection to Kuki Muen himself…”

Kuki Muen’s own physique was quite special. He was different from ordinary people; he had two Esoteric Energy Pores, and his physical strength was almost on par with his own.

This was also the first peak-level martial artist Fang Jing had encountered whose strength surpassed that of ordinary people.

Kuki Muen’s strength, speed, and stamina were all likely above 6 points, with some attributes approaching around 7 points. It was precisely because of this that he overpowered Kume Nansho and won the duel.

As for their teacher Kume Nansho, according to Kuki Muen, thirty years ago should have been his peak period, with strength comparable to Kuki Muen’s current level.

But after so many years, Kume Nansho’s physical condition had declined. This is a problem all martial artists face: as one ages, physical strength wanes, stamina cannot be maintained, and combat power drops to only about thirty to forty percent of what it was in youth.

Kume Nansho was skilled in qigong, adept at nurturing his vital energy. This allowed him, at such an advanced age, to barely maintain seventy percent of his physical condition, enabling him to fight Kuki Muen to the death.

If it were aging martial artists like Funatsu, Shishina, or Kamoda, they might have been killed by Kuki Muen in just a few exchanges.

This wasn’t due to a huge gap in skill, but rather because martial artists of the same level, one in their prime and the other in an unavoidable decline, would clearly result in a predictable outcome.

“Aging is the great enemy of martial artists. But besides aging, we face another fearsome foe: the individual’s ceiling…”

Kuki Muen told him that at his current age, there was still some room for improvement, but not much. After progressing a bit further, Fang Jing would also encounter his own “ceiling.”

“This ceiling exists entirely because we are human. Among humans, there are indeed exceptional individuals like you and me, but when physical ability reaches its limit, we hit a barrier.”

This barrier is the limit of individual physical function. Fang Jing himself had once deduced that the potential limit of the human body—meaning the values for strength, speed, and stamina—would not exceed “10.”

This was originally his own conclusion. But according to Kuki Muen’s statement, he had reached this conclusion based on his own standards. However, it couldn’t be said that his own thinking was wrong.

His standards differed from those of ordinary people, which was also due to his unique physique.

But Kuki Muen predicted that he would eventually hit this ceiling.

“However, when we use the ‘Esoteric Energy Pores,’ our power almost escalates to another level…”

“That is the temporary boost gained by fully unleashing the body’s power, not a level that can theoretically be maintained.”

Regarding the “Inner Ghost Gate,” Kuki Muen had also conducted human experiments. Using advanced hospital equipment, he recorded the physical characteristics of ordinary people who opened the “Inner Ghost Gate.” During the process of using the Esoteric Energy Pores, he discovered that the mitochondria in their body cells had increased significantly, reaching four to five times that of ordinary people.

“Mitochondria in muscle cells cause oxygen from respiration to react with hydrogen from food, converting it into energy. However, typically, there aren’t many mitochondria inside human cells. But after opening the ‘Inner Ghost Gate,’ various tissues and organs in the human body, including cells, enter a state of accelerated energy production…”

But this came at the cost of the body’s “liberation.” After fifteen minutes, an ordinary person’s metabolism would start to malfunction. After half an hour, organ failure and collapse would be unavoidable, and death would only be a matter of time.

“Aging and the inherent limitations of the human body are bottlenecks that cannot be overcome. You need to find a solution on your own…”

Kuki Muen continued with a grim expression, “Of course, you might not find a solution, and in the end, you might transform into the same fate as me and the first generation.”

Fang Jing did not comment on this, but a sharp light appeared in his eyes.

—

“Among the methods of the Outer Demon Gate’s Demonic Implant Secret Art, the only one useful to me is this ‘poisoned person’ cultivation method. Kuki Muen even improved upon it, creating the so-called ‘Poisonous Hand Fist.'”

This special martial art, Poisonous Hand Fist, was also practiced very differently from ordinary martial arts.

This technique was adapted from the “poisoned person” cultivation method in the Demonic Implant Secret Art and was an extremely cruel and bizarre skill.

“Poisonous Hand Fist is divided into two different training methods, internal and external. But before starting the training, certain preparations must be made…”

Fang Jing was alone in the warehouse. He quietly opened a notebook. Over the past few days, while studying the Demonic Implant methods of the Outer Demon Gate, he had been slowly recording and compiling his notes.

Based on his own understanding, the training process for Poisonous Hand Fist was not difficult, but to succeed, one’s physique had to be highly compatible with this secret method.

“Simply put, this compatibility refers to the individual’s immunity, allowing the body to contain certain toxins.”

Indeed, this sounded incredible, but Kuki Muen, through his own experiments, had proven that this theory of his held some weight.

Thinking of this, Fang Jing’s eyes flashed. He opened a bamboo basket in front of him, reached inside, and grabbed a grass snake.

The grass snake was about the length of his forearm. Startled by Fang Jing’s grip, it opened its mouth and hissed.

Fang Jing also suddenly opened his mouth, bit the snake’s head, and with a crunch, bit it off.

“Pah!”

He spat out the snake’s head, then opened his mouth and swallowed the entire snake, consuming it.