Chapter 229: Arrivals
Chapter 229: Arrivals
The explosion sound stayed silent for several seconds before it boomed out.
With the thunderous noise, a crimson light shot out like a spear piercing through everything. It blasted in a straight line.
This was a destructive power that crushed everything like dry branches. The force impacted the fifty-meter straight path from where he’d just stood. Trees, grass, and soil were completely destroyed, leaving a bare, straight line. A long crack split the ground open.
This was Fang Jing’s newly gained power – the Anomalous Martial Art: Extinction Wheel Fist, centered on his Fate Grade.
He clearly understood that his newly acquired technique completely transcended ordinary martial arts. It belonged to the realm of anomalous martial paths.
“This move,” he murmured, “it’s even stronger than I imagined!”
Even Fang Jing himself felt a jolt of surprise.
He knew this technique was powerful. “Annihilation Wheel Fist” was the true core of the Primal Rage Resonance Field, a skill intrinsically linked to the Primal Rage Beast itself.
“Rage Blood Aura” formed the base ability, generating scorching energy through the power of anger. The Primal Rage Resonance Field created by the “Primal Rage Heart” concentrated and integrated this power. But the “Anomalous Martial Art: Extinction Wheel Fist” was the critical piece that unleashed this force.
The move’s essence lay in explosively merging Fang Jing’s own stamina, endurance, burst power with the destructive energy condensed by the Primal Rage Resonance Field.
His own fist power fused with the destructive force of the resonance field. This unreserved amalgamation unleashed everything within a single inch. The final effect wasn’t merely additive; it was exponentially more devastating.
His strike generated pulverizing force.
The colossal five-fingered monster vanished!
Only Hirskawa Tsurutada, revealed in his true form, thudded powerlessly to his knees on the ground.
He still couldn’t comprehend the nature of the attack he’d faced.
It wasn’t the power of the “Clan”!
“Th-this isn’t ‘Curse Entanglement’!” he gasped.
He fixed his gloomy gaze upon Fang Jing, now a distorted giant. His eyes turned unnervingly deep.
“You… you’re not from the ‘Clan’ at all.”
No. This absolutely wasn’t the “Curse Entanglement Power” of a Clan Psychic.
This man before him commanded a far more bizarre and unknown power.
Even more terrifying were his insane speed, endurance, and burst power.
A trace of fear and dread finally seeped into Hirakawa Tsurutada’s tone. He was scared.
“Exactly. But it’s more than enough to crush trash like you.”
In the next instant, a sonic boom pierced the air, shockwaves ripping outward in all directions. The cause of these air tremors was undeniably his fist.
A shockwave of bloody energy pulsed outwards.
The “Annihilation Wheel Fist” erupted with an eye-searing crimson light. The fist slammed without reserve into Hirakawa Tsurutada’s face.
Hirakawa Tsurutada, in that moment, unleashed his “Curse Entanglement” power. His flesh and blood transformed into a strange, muddy substance, granting him the “Trait” of immunity to death.
The strength of the Clan lay precisely here. Their “Deathless Trait” alone placed them far above ordinary mortals.
But in that split second, the power of “Curse Entanglement” failed to protect Hirakawa Tsurutada.
The instant the fist met his face, violent tremors spread from the point of impact to every inch of Hirakawa Tsurutada’s space. Simultaneously, the Resonance Field “locked down” his range of movement, while also unleashing a powerful invasive energy that corroded his mind and spirit.
This was a dual assault, physical and spiritual. Hirakawa Tsurutada screamed. He flew backward violently, tumbling across the ground like a broken ragdoll. He crashed and rolled far away before slowly stopping.
Fang Jing wouldn’t stop now.
He took a ferocious breath, roared, and his muscles rippled intensely. His fists encased in the resonance field’s energy, he charged after the falling form.
Punch after punch hammered Hirakawa Tsurutada’s body, pounding it into a pulpy mass.
Desperately, Hirakawa Tsurutada kept transforming his internal organs, bones, and muscles into part of the “Yellow Spring Marsh”. If he stopped, a single blow might instantly destroy him.
He realized with terror that the resonance field could “lock” his “Curse Entanglement·Yellow Spring Marsh,” preventing its interaction with the physical world. Furthermore, Fang Jing’s sheer destructive power vastly exceeded his expectations.
This was a classic enemy counter to his own abilities.
Though his own awakened talent was recent, his mastery of “Yellow Spring Marsh” had advanced rapidly. He knew his strengths and weaknesses well.
— Compared to ordinary Espers with Curse Entanglement, his “Yellow Spring Marsh” possessed incredibly versatile combat capabilities.
Yet… his opponent’s speed surpassed his. He couldn’t effectively pin him down, forced into this purely defensive struggle.
— By transforming into a muddy entity and utilizing the secret art “Puppet Mud Body,” he could ignore most physical attacks and wield the abilities to corrode, absorb, and devour.
Yet… his enemy’s brute force could shatter his “Puppet Mud Body” with a single punch. Close-quarters curses and secret arts proved useless.
— His Deathless Trait rendered him immune to most worldly damage. In terms of inherent quality, it was comparable to the Curse Entanglement of the Hidden Assembly’s Twelve Clans, proof of his superior bloodline.
Yet… the red light radiating from his opponent suppressed his Curse Entanglement effects, severely restricting his power.
Yes, these were the racing thoughts in Hirakawa Tsurutada’s mind.
But in reality, Fang Jing wouldn’t waste time discussing such things.
After the first punch landed came the second, the third, fourth, fifth… all the way to the twelfth.
Fang Jing’s right fist connected solidly. The Annihilation Wheel Fist reached its zenith. Hirakawa Tsurutada plummeted like a meteor.
Trees nearby snapped. The earth convulsed violently from an explosive impact, sending out waves of air.
Strong! Fierce! Savage!
This was the essence of Fang Jing’s assault. He gave his foe zero chance. Every attack employed full force.
Hirakawa Tsurutada’s critical error started right at the beginning: he underestimated his opponent, harboring carelessness.
Fang Jing noticed this instantly and exploited it ruthlessly.
Before the dazed Hirakawa Tsurutada could even recover, a colossal shadow descended from above.
It crashed down with crushing force.
Two massive, ash-pale feet slammed directly onto his head.
Horrific power stomped his body down. Bone and flesh burst out. His entire head was stomped into his chest cavity, flattening him like meat paste against the earth.
The ground caved in, forming a terrifying pit. Dirt, stones, shredded grass, and endless dust rose in rippling waves.
Strike fast, with overwhelming force!
Fang Jing had moved from the very start, going all out like a lion pouncing on a rabbit.
“I…”
His final flicker of consciousness surfaced. In the next instant, his body collapsed with a loud boom. Turning to dust, it scattered – ashes to ashes, dirt to dirt – landing and fragmenting into a swirling gray mist.
“Is this the power of the Clan?!” A cold smirk touched Fang Jing’s lips.
“…Just this?” He spat out the words, dripping with contempt.
——————————
After killing Hirakawa Tsurutada, he also gained a new Fate Grade.
Fate Grade “Tenacity”.
It sounded unremarkable, and in essence, it was indeed unremarkable.
(Fate Fragment: Tenacity)
(You are a firm and unyielding person. Maintain this mindset; smooth sailing will come your day.)
Hmph! This was likely just like… those consolation prizes in games you sometimes get from draws or gift packs. Kinda useless.
Had he known, he might not have hit so hard. Now he couldn’t even get a live prisoner for questioning.
He let out an involuntary sigh.
Hirakawa Tsurutada probably hadn’t acted alone. From his words, he seemed backed by another group.
“This is…”
He widened his eyes. Amidst the scattered gray ash that was Hirakawa Tsurutada’s remains, a small metallic object shimmered into view.
“A metal cylinder.”
Fang Jing picked it up. It felt compact.
It was a silver-gilded metal tube, its surface etched with decorative floral patterns.
The cylinder wasn’t large, sealed at both ends. Shaking it produced a sound, like a small stone trapped inside.
He had no idea what it was for. It contained no trace of Yin Energy. Still, he pocketed it.
Hirakawa Tsurutada had turned to ash, yet this item survived. That alone proved it wasn’t ordinary.
“Hirakawa Tsurutada came here for some kind of ‘plan’. I don’t know exactly what they wanted,” Fang Jing considered, “but chances are, that group is an Esper organization.”
He had quite thoroughly ruined their scheme. Becoming their enemy in the future was unavoidable.
But Fang Jing also knew their plan involved using an entire city’s populace as cannon fodder. He couldn’t just stand by.
Thinking about facing an entire Esper group alone though, even with his increased strength, made him feel uneasy. A flicker of worry remained.
Perhaps it was time to connect more with forces within the Esper world. Staying isolated and fighting alone felt increasingly untenable.
“Hirakawa Tsurutada mentioned one of their main goals seemed to be opposing the power of the Clan,” he recalled. “If I can connect with the Clan Espers, maybe I can leverage that…”
He returned to the dense woods. Finding the still-unconscious Maeda Girl, he gently placed her under a large tree. Then he resumed his search through the area known as the “Unknowing Forest”.
Fang Jing reasoned that Hirakawa Tsurutada might have used this place as a base.
Or perhaps this “base” was actually a trap.
Except… he likely hadn’t been the intended target.
He searched the entire “Unknowing Forest” meticulously. Unexpectedly, he found something else strange.
“A box!” he exclaimed.
There, perched atop an incongruously large, dark rock deep within the forest, sat an ancient-looking box.
“Looks like something’s carved on the rock… red lines?”
He reached out and lifted the box. Closely examining the patterns beneath, his brow furrowed. The intricate lines carved into the rock centered around its peak. Dense, cryptic symbols he couldn’t decipher.
“Don’t touch that!” a sharp voice commanded suddenly.
“And… who exactly are you?!”
Fang Jing spun around. A duo, a man and a woman, had emerged from the thick woods.
Both wore expressions of extreme tension and seriousness. They fixed identical, hostile stares upon Fang Jing.
“Are you the one who set up this ‘Ritual’?” the man demanded, his voice tight.
“Don’t move it!” the woman added sharply. “Or we won’t hold back!”