Chapter 172: Synthesis
Chapter 172: Synthesis
It sounded unbelievable, but in reality, it was very similar to techniques like “listening to energy.”
It just rose to the realm of swordplay.
A swordsman who had mastered this skill to the extreme could make the right judgment the moment they crossed blades, block the opponent’s sword, and use the counter-sword technique of the Immovable Wisdom Mysterious Style to kill their enemy in the instant of their clash.
Even with their eyes closed, just by the touch of swords, they could sense the opponent’s sword momentum. This was the “Mind’s Eye” divine skill that only those who had cultivated the counter-sword technique to a very high level could achieve.
“This skill is quite good. It could be extended to unarmed fist techniques!”
Applying what he learned, after Fang Jing comprehended the “Illusionless Mind’s Eye,” he realized this secret method had areas where it could be expanded.
However, next, he did not stop at the Immovable Wisdom Mysterious Style but began to study sword styles from other schools.
Even within the city, there were many small schools. Through introductions from Professor Shinonome himself, Fang Jing visited three schools for “exchange.” He went to three schools in total: the Nenshin Jikishu Style, the Namikane Style, and the Kominori Style.
After learning the basic techniques of these three schools, he used his own skill to master their sword styles.
And he also gained some new benefits from these three schools. For example, from the sub-skills of the Nenshin Jikishu Style, he mastered an ultimate technique called “Remnant Dragon Return.”
And after studying the Namikane Style, he obtained “Lingering Step.”
Although the Kominori Style did not provide any direct bonuses, it deepened his understanding of ancient sword styles. This little-known school had a history even longer than the Immovable Wisdom Mysterious Style. The Kominori Style still preserved the essence of an ancient style called “Armored Warrior Swordplay,” which was the skill of fighting with a sword while wearing armor. Ancient sword styles were passed down through generations, evolving through history. Martial arts always changed in different eras. The Kominori Style was like a living fossil that Fang Jing could use for reference and understanding.
All of these could enrich his “framework.” It was like foundation stones; the stronger they were, the higher and larger the future building would be.
“…It’s almost complete!”
His recent seclusion had also made great progress.
Regarding this, the data on his Fate Grade showed it very clearly.
Name: Nishizuka Tsukasa
Age: 17
Occupation: Primary Fate Devourer
Fate Hue: Bronze
Strength Attribute: 9.8
Physique Attribute: 10
Speed Attribute: 9.6
Stamina Attribute: 2.8
Mind Attribute: 2.3
Finally, his values had reached an incredibly exaggerated level.
He sat deep inside the warehouse, cross-legged on the floor.
Examining his body, Fang Jing could feel that his physical strength had reached an unbelievable level.
Moreover, last time when he went to Bunokura and killed people, he collected a lot of Miscellaneous Fate. Most of the absorbed Miscellaneous Fate was taken in by the “Yuan Armor” Fate Grade, causing the purple film generated by “Yuan Armor” to grow inside his body, covering more than half of it.
Another Fate Grade, “Fierce Wrath,” also absorbed a small amount, and it was unclear what kind of change it was brewing.
All his organs, limbs, and bones had grown stronger through repeated enhancements, and his physique had even reached a limit.
Yes, Fang Jing now felt the limit of a human being.
His physique had stopped at 10 points.
After reaching this number, no matter how much he strengthened his skills, his physique did not increase at all.
Fang Jing thought this might be the “ceiling” of the human body’s limit that Kuki had mentioned.
He strongly suspected that soon, his Strength and Speed attributes would also be restricted and unable to improve further.
Sitting cross-legged on the ground, he exhaled from his lungs, opening his mouth and releasing a stream of air. It was like a sudden gust sweeping across the ground, blowing up the dust.
“I never thought… the human body really has a limit. But since the Inner Ghost Gate can unlock the body’s latent potential, it means the limit can actually be broken. I just haven’t found the right method yet.”
He straightened up and stood, feeling immensely stronger compared to before.
“With the Three Core Attributes approaching the human limit, combined with the boost from the ‘Inner Ghost Gate,’ it can indeed unleash extraordinary power.”
Since he couldn’t use skills to add points, Fang Jing had to change his original plan.
He first looked at his current Physique attribute.
“As my physique improves, my tolerance for enhancement naturally increases. It seems necessary to continue strengthening the ‘Secret Luo Hand’…”
The only things he truly had to rely on now were the “Inner Ghost Gate” and the “Secret Luo Hand.”
The Inner Ghost Gate could forcibly develop potential, causing his Strength, Speed, and Physique attributes to surge.
The Secret Luo Hand was an important trump card for dealing with supernatural forces like the Corpse Hound.
“Next, let’s try again to see if I can raise the Secret Luo Hand to the fifth level…”
He invested Growth Value into the Secret Luo Hand skill slot again.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle! A strange sound came from the air.
Fang Jing also unwrapped the bandages on his hands. Thick black smoke rose from his skin, like swirling fog bands wrapping around his hands.
The cadaveric patches on his hands began to change, spreading and expanding up his arms.
His palms also gradually swelled to a larger size than before, and the skin surface developed thick keratin layers.
The patterns of the cadaveric patches became more pronounced.
An abnormal “heat flow” under the skin boiled fiercely along with his blood.
Fang Jing felt a slight pain in his forehead. He stopped and rubbed his forehead.
He knew the Secret Luo Hand had reached the fifth level, but he felt the changes in the fifth level were not significant.
“But it used a full 20 points. This isn’t what I expected…”
The Secret Luo Hand did not meet his original hopes.
The fifth level Secret Luo Hand was only slightly stronger than before.
Just as Fang Jing grew suspicious, the skill slot suddenly changed.
The Secret Luo Hand skill bar became blurry.
Pop, a prompt appeared.
“Compatible items found. Do you wish to synthesize ‘Secret Luo Hand’ with ‘Amami-ryu Ancient Karate’!”
Two options, “YES” and “NO,” appeared afterward.
Fang Jing was also stunned for a moment. It took him a while to realize what this meant.
“The Secret Luo Hand can merge with the Amami-ryu Ancient Karate?!”
This was something he had never thought of before. He always believed these skills could be upgraded separately, but now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
“Synthesize!”
Without much thought, he directly chose to synthesize the two.
The moment synthesis occurred, Fang Jing, without noticing, started bleeding from his nose. He wiped the blood, closed his eyes, and focused on the skill slot. A new skill appeared.
The original Secret Luo Hand and Amami-ryu Ancient Karate became blurry and then vanished.
“Seal of the Asura Hand, Ultimate Meaning, achieved.”
Fang Jing uttered these words softly. He saw this in the skill slot. By synthesizing the Secret Luo Hand with the Amami-ryu Ancient Karate, he unintentionally merged them into a new skill named “Seal of the Asura Hand.”
He raised his right hand. The entire arm’s skin turned pale, like a corpse’s arm. Only one circle of cadaveric patch patterns remained brightly colored, flickering faintly in the dark.
The moment he raised his hand, a strange fragrance wafted into his nose. A black “spark” appeared in his palm and began burning.
“The power of the Cadaveric Toxin condensed into a flame-like substance.”
He had prepared a large mirror in front of him. When he looked into the mirror, he could see a strange sight.
In the mirror, his arm showed no abnormal changes, but above his palm, the air swayed like steam. It felt like the heat island effect, where the air distorts due to high temperature.
Fang Jing cupped his palm and thrust it forward. With a “boom,” along with the black flame in his palm, a large mass of black firelight shot out from his hand. It flew three meters before the surging toxic flames violently swirled.
The moment he struck, he also activated the Cadaveric Toxin power. Instantly, this force swept outward like radiation energy.
Fang Jing could not fully control this outburst of Cadaveric Toxin Cursed Power. But when he calmed down, he found nothing unusual in the room.
The toxic flame was not real fire but the Cadaveric Toxin mimicking the properties of flame. It was completely different from actual fire.
This toxic flame could not harm any physical objects.
“It came fast and left fast!”
He looked down and saw some dead insects on the ground. Probably, they were bugs that accidentally touched the “toxic flame” when it erupted.
(So that means… the real killing power of the toxic flame is limited to living beings?)
He couldn’t help but speculate.
…
After a series of experiments, Fang Jing’s original guess was confirmed.
The “Seal of the Asura Hand,” created by merging two skills, counted as a new skill.
The Seal of the Asura Hand had an even more unusual attack method.
Fang Jing discovered he could condense the Cadaveric Toxin into a flame-like substance and attack with it.
When released at full power, it could reach up to five meters.
But under normal circumstances, he still needed to get close and release the Cadaveric Toxin with his hands.
The toxic flame form of the Cadaveric Toxin seemed to have different changes in power compared to before.
After testing several times on the Corpse Hound Demar, Fang Jing understood the effect of the “toxic flame” released by the “Seal of the Asura Hand” on Corpse Hounds.
The toxic flame formed from Cadaveric Toxin still couldn’t kill a Corpse Hound, but it suppressed their regeneration ability more fiercely.
Moreover, the toxic flame could cause persistent damage. Basically, if the toxic flame wasn’t removed, the damage would continue. If the toxic flame was strong enough, it could render a Corpse Hound immobile and temporarily nullify its regeneration, putting it into a “pseudo-death” state.
Also, the toxic flame’s damage to living beings wasn’t just physical destruction. It was like a curse that “extinguished” the vitality of living organisms.
Fang Jing realized this when he released the toxic flame on ordinary lab animals. The essence of the toxic flame was likely a potent curse formed from Cadaveric Toxin. The moment the curse landed on a living being, it would continuously erase that being’s “vitality.”
He came to this conclusion because during the experiment, when he touched a small animal affected by the toxic flame with his finger, the burning toxic flame was absorbed by his palm instead. Moreover, from this toxic flame, he received a trace of something similar to Essence Qi.
It was a trace of vitality that had been swallowed, erased, and stripped away by the toxic flame, which was then drawn back into his own body.