The Skulls' fortified parking garage was a concrete behemoth, a multi-story relic of a more prosperous age, now transformed into a brutalist fortress.
Crude barricades of wrecked vehicles and scrap metal blocked the lower entrances.
Armed lookouts, their faces hardened by Crimson Dream and malice, patrolled the upper ramps and broken windows, their silhouettes stark against the dim, flickering lights within.
The entire structure pulsed with a chaotic, violent energy that Lâm Minh's Qi Sense registered as a throbbing wound in the city's fabric.
Lâm Minh approached under the deepest cover of night, moving like a vengeful spirit.
His Shadow Step, enhanced by his Peak Qi Refining cultivation, allowed him to slip past the outer perimeter patrols with an almost supernatural ease.
He wasn't just hiding in shadows; he was becoming one with them.
He reached the base of the garage, his heart a steady drum against his ribs, his mind a cold, calculating machine processing every detail of his surroundings.
He knew a frontal assault was suicide.
He needed a way in that was unexpected, unguarded.
He recalled the layout from his previous surveillance.
There was a disused service shaft on the western side, mostly sealed but with a ventilation grate near the top that looked… potentially compromised.
Reaching it required scaling a sheer concrete wall nearly three stories high.
For the old Lâm Minh, it would have been impossible.
For the current Lâm Minh, at Peak Qi Refining, it was a daunting but achievable challenge.
Infusing his hands and feet with Qi for enhanced grip, he began to climb, finding purchase on tiny imperfections in the concrete, moving with a fluid, spider-like grace.
It was a slow, painstaking ascent, every muscle screaming in protest, but the thought of Cường and Tuấn spurred him on.
He reached the ventilation grate.
As he suspected, it was rusted and loosely secured.
A few moments of careful work with the tip of his crowbar, and it came away with a soft groan of tortured metal.
The shaft beyond was dark, narrow, and reeked of stale air and rat droppings.
Perfect.
He slipped inside, his body contorting to fit the cramped space.
He descended soundlessly, his Qi Sense probing ahead.
The shaft led down several levels, eventually opening into what seemed to be a storage area on the third floor – Breaker's presumed command level.
He emerged into a dimly lit, cluttered room filled with stolen goods and discarded equipment.
He could hear the muffled sounds of harsh laughter, shouts, and something else… a rhythmic, sickening thud, followed by a pained groan.
Cường and Tuấn.
They were close.
Lâm Minh moved with deadly purpose, his crowbar held ready, its surface shimmering faintly with infused Qi.
He used Shadow Step to navigate the corridors, bypassing several patrolling Skulls who were either too drunk, too high on Crimson Dream, or too complacent to notice the phantom in their midst.
The sounds of torture grew louder, leading him to a large, open area that had once been a vehicle maintenance bay.
The scene that greeted him made his blood boil.
Cường and Tuấn were chained to metal support pillars, their bodies bruised and bloodied, their faces contorted in agony.
Breaker, a mountain of a man with a shaved head and a cruel, leering face, stood before them, a heavy, bloodstained metal pipe in his hand.
Several of his top lieutenants, their expressions a mixture of sadistic glee and drug-fueled excitement, looked on.
"Still not talking, eh?" Breaker snarled, his voice a gravelly roar.
He swung the pipe again, connecting with Cường's already battered ribs.
Cường gasped, spitting blood, but his eyes, though filled with pain, still held a spark of defiance.
"Go… to… hell… Breaker," Cường choked out.
Breaker laughed, a harsh, ugly sound.
"Oh, you'll be going there soon enough, friend. But you'll tell me who hit my stash house first. Was it you two, working with that little shit Feng? Or some other crew thinkin' they can mess with the Skulls?"
Tuấn, hanging limply from his chains, lifted his head, his one good eye focusing on Breaker with pure hatred.
"We… know… nothing."
"Stubborn bastards," Breaker growled.
He turned to one of his lieutenants.
"Heat up the brands. Let's see if a little fire loosens their tongues."
Lâm Minh knew he was out of time.
This was it.
No more stealth.
He took a deep breath, focused his Qi, and then he moved.
He exploded from the shadows like a thunderclap, utilizing a burst of Shadow Step not for concealment, but for blinding speed.
He was a dark blur, his crowbar a silver streak.
The Skulls, caught completely by surprise, had no time to react.
His first target was the lieutenant heading for the branding irons.
Lâm Minh's crowbar, infused with the full force of his Peak Qi Refining and imbued with concussive Qi, slammed into the man's side.
There was a sickening crunch of breaking ribs, and the Skull flew several feet, crashing into a pile of crates, instantly unconscious.
"WHAT THE—?!" Breaker roared, spinning around, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Lâm Minh didn't pause.
He flowed towards the next closest Skull, a hulking brute reaching for a crude machine pistol.
A precise thrust of the crowbar, aimed at the man's exposed throat, delivered with Qi-enhanced speed and power.
The Skull gurgled, clutching his neck, and collapsed.
Chaos erupted.
The remaining Skulls, about six of them, fumbled for their weapons, shouting in alarm and confusion.
Lâm Minh was a whirlwind of focused destruction.
He moved with a speed and precision that was utterly inhuman.
His crowbar became an extension of his will, each blow delivered with devastating force and accuracy.
He parried a wild swing from a machete, the impact jarring his arm but not breaking his stride, and countered with a disabling blow to the attacker's knee.
He ducked under a clumsy lunge, using his agility to his advantage, and brought the crowbar down on the Skull's head.
Two more went down in a matter of seconds, either unconscious or too injured to continue fighting.
Cường and Tuấn, despite their pain, watched in stunned disbelief as Lâm Minh single-handedly tore through their captors.
This wasn't the quiet, capable kid they knew.
This was a demon, a god of war.
Breaker, recovering from his initial shock, let out a furious bellow.
"KILL HIM! KILL THAT LITTLE BASTARD!" He discarded the metal pipe and drew a massive, wicked-looking combat axe from a sheath on his back.
His aura flared with the chaotic energy of Crimson Dream, his eyes turning bloodshot, his muscles bulging unnaturally.
He was clearly a frequent user, his strength artificially, and dangerously, enhanced.
Lâm Minh knew Breaker was his main threat.
The remaining two Skulls were trying to flank him, but they were hesitant, unnerved by the brutal efficiency with which he had dispatched their comrades.
He needed to create an opening, to even the odds.
He focused his Qi, and with a sharp exhalation, unleashed his Cleansing Flame.
A jet of intensely white fire, hotter than any mundane flame, erupted from his outstretched hand, aimed not at Breaker, but at a nearby pile of oily rags and discarded fuel cans.
The rags ignited instantly, and with a whoosh, a wall of fire erupted between Lâm Minh and two of the advancing Skulls, cutting them off and throwing the maintenance bay into a flickering, chaotic light.
The sudden inferno startled everyone, including Breaker.
Lâm Minh used that momentary distraction.
He launched one of his tranquilizer darts at the nearest of the two remaining unengaged Skulls.
The dart struck true, and the man stumbled, his eyes glazing over, before collapsing.
Now it was just him, Breaker, and one other Skull lieutenant who was warily circling, looking for an opening.
"You… who the hell ARE you?" Breaker roared, his face contorted with rage and a dawning, fearful respect.
He was powerful, enhanced by Crimson Dream, but Lâm Minh's speed, skill, and inexplicable fire powers were something else entirely.
"Just someone who doesn't like bullies," Lâm Minh replied, his voice dangerously calm.
He shifted his stance, his crowbar held ready.
The firelight danced in his eyes, making him look even more menacing.
This was the critical moment.
He was outnumbered, facing a drug-enhanced behemoth and his lieutenant.
His Qi was depleting rapidly from the intense combat and the use of Cleansing Flame.
He needed to end this quickly.
And then, he felt it.
A surge of new energy, a resonance deep within his soul.
The desperate fight, the will to protect his comrades, the extreme exertion… it was pushing him to a new limit.
His Spiritual Root, the Heaven Tier (Stage 1 Unsealed) that had been at 95% progress towards unsealing Stage 2, suddenly flared.
[System Alert: Extreme combat conditions and host's unwavering will have triggered a catalyst!]
[Spiritual Root: Heaven Tier (Sealed – Stage 1) is attempting to break through to Stage 2 (Unsealed)!]
[Host is on the verge of Foundation Establishment (Foundation Establishment) breakthrough! Warning: Uncontrolled breakthrough during combat is highly dangerous!]
A wave of power, far greater than anything he had felt before, washed through him.
It was agonizing, exhilarating.
His vision blurred for a moment, his Dantian felt like it was about to explode, but then, clarity.
A new level of perception, a deeper connection to the ambient Qi of the world.
This is it! he thought, a wild, almost desperate hope surging through him. Foundation Establishment!
The remaining Skull lieutenant, seeing Lâm Minh momentarily falter, seized the opportunity and charged, a rusty metal bar raised high.
Lâm Minh, even as the chaotic energies of his impending breakthrough surged within him, reacted on pure instinct.
He moved with a speed that was truly terrifying, his crowbar a blur.
The Skull's attack was met not with a parry, but with an overwhelming offensive.
The crowbar, now glowing with an almost blinding white light from the sheer concentration of his evolving Qi, shattered the metal bar and continued its trajectory, striking the Skull with irresistible force.
The man flew backwards as if hit by a truck, his armor (if he'd had any) utterly useless.
Now, it was just Lâm Minh and Breaker.
Breaker, witnessing this new display of power, actually took a step back, his drug-fueled confidence wavering.
"What… what ARE you?" he stammered, his voice losing its earlier bluster.
Lâm Minh didn't answer.
He was fighting not just Breaker, but also the raging storm of energy within him, trying to guide his uncontrolled breakthrough.
He felt his bones creaking, his muscles tearing and reforming at an accelerated rate.
This was Foundation Establishment – the Qi wasn't just in his Dantian anymore; it was flooding his entire body, tempering it, reforging it.
He lunged at Breaker, his movements no longer just fast, but imbued with a terrifying, raw power.
His crowbar, now practically a weapon of legend in this low-level conflict, met Breaker's massive axe.
The clang of metal on metal was deafening.
Sparks flew. Breaker, despite his Crimson Dream-enhanced strength, was forced back, his arms trembling from the impact.
He couldn't believe the strength of this kid.
Lâm Minh pressed his attack, a relentless barrage of blows, each one stronger than the last as his Foundation Establishment transformation progressed.
He was fighting on instinct, his body moving with a deadly grace he hadn't possessed moments before.
Finally, with a desperate roar, Breaker swung his axe in a wide, reckless arc.
Lâm Minh, instead of dodging, met it head-on. His crowbar, now practically incandescent with Qi, didn't just block the axe; it shattered the thick metal blade, sending shards flying.
Breaker stared in horror at the broken haft of his axe, then at Lâm Minh, who stood before him, radiating an aura of terrifying power, his eyes glowing faintly in the firelight.
"It's over, Breaker," Lâm Minh said, his voice deeper, resonant with his newfound strength.
Before Breaker could react, Lâm Minh delivered a final, devastating blow with his crowbar to the side of Breaker's head.
The drug-enhanced giant crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut, crashing to the ground, unconscious.
Silence descended upon the maintenance bay, broken only by the crackling of the fire Lâm Minh had started, the pained groans of Cường and Tuấn, and Lâm Minh's own ragged breathing as he fought to control the final stages of his Foundation Establishment breakthrough.
He had done it. He had stormed the Skulls' stronghold, defeated their leader, and saved his comrades.
And in the crucible of that desperate battle, he had achieved a breakthrough he desperately needed.
He was no longer just Qi Refining.
He was Foundation Establishment.
A new level of power, a new beginning.
But as he looked at the carnage around him, he knew this victory had come at a high price, and the consequences would be far-reaching.