The resplendent Jiang Estate.Inside the villa's training ground.
Fang Xing had been here a few times before to work part-time alongside Liu Wei. Unfortunately, he'd never run into Bai Lianyi again.Maybe that one encounter had just been pure coincidence.
Still, Fang Xing was more than happy to take jobs from Gu Yun.
After all, Uncle Gu might not be on the same level as Xia Long, but even his occasional pointers were far better than trying to figure things out alone.Not to mention, there was a perfect sparring partner here.
Bang! Bang!
Two blurred figures crossed paths again and again in the open yard, silver-white gauntlets clashing against a wooden practice blade, filling the air with sharp, rapid cracks.
After a long bout, Gu Yun halted, flicking her wooden blade aside."No way. You've improved so fast! It's only been how long? Even with my gravity suit turned on, I still can't beat you…"
She narrowed her eyes, looking like a sly little fox."My dad's teaching can't be that good… Wait—no way. If he were that amazing, he'd already be a paid instructor or private coach instead of patrolling the streets for scraps every day. C'mon, let's go again! I'll switch the gravity suit off this time!"
"I'm still a couple of years older than you… and that's a high-end training suit. You should keep it on," Fang Xing replied, feeling a twinge of shame.
He was two or three years older, yet could only fight her to a draw when she had her gravity doubled.
Still not enough… Why can't I just add more points to my stats panel? One-star review!
"No. If I can't beat you, how am I supposed to lose without killing, to tame the demon blade's nature? The gravity suit has to come off…"
Clearly she couldn't hear his grumbling thoughts, answering instead with a deadly serious look.
To train the Demon Blade, she needed an opponent weaker than herself—someone she could easily hold in the balance between life and death—so that at the most dangerous moment, she could deliberately hold back the killing blow and subdue the blade's murderous will.
Reaching the "Taming the Demon" stage of the Demon Blade was extremely rare. Once achieved, the path to mastering the Ghost God Blade would be nearly wide-open.
Rumor even had it that taming the demon blade could help comprehend several other dark-path sword intents.
Otherwise, Uncle Gu wouldn't have chosen this particular style for his daughter, nor poured so many resources into it.
After their sparring and banter, Fang Xing bid Gu Yun farewell and left the Jiang Estate.
Shame Uncle Gu wasn't around this time… no guidance today.
Taking a mag-lev train through the city center, he stared at the neon-lit nightlife flashing past the windows, silently resolving to head back to his "doghouse" and keep training.
Now that his Great Dragon Pile had advanced a stage, he could see why it was considered the perfect foundation skill for a skin-and-flesh realm martial artist—the daily progress was startling.
All he needed was time and sweat to rapidly raise his martial realm.
Let's see how Gu Yun handles me then!
And at school… I could show off just enough to impress Xia Long. Who knows? Might even snag a scholarship.
Fang Xing was feeling quite pleased with himself.
"Happiness Garden Residential Stop. Please remain seated or hold on, and exit in an orderly fashion…"
The smooth, rounded tones of the train's AI echoed in his ears.
Fang Xing stepped off and started toward his apartment complex.
Suddenly—
BOOM!
An explosion tore through the night!
"Huh? What the hell—?"
He froze in place, stunned. But his martial training kicked in—he quickly switched his beginner-grade nano-armor to full-coverage mode.
After the shockwave came the blast of fire and searing heat.
He turned toward the source—
A ball of fire erupted in the distance, thick black smoke churning upward.
Steel-and-concrete buildings shattered, mechanical wreckage flew in every direction… and here and there, horrifyingly, pieces of human remains.
For an instant, the world seemed to hit pause—then everything started moving at once again.
Shouts, screams, curses filled the air.
BANG!
Before he could process it, a massive impact slammed into him, sending him flying.
"What—"
His chest tightened, though luckily there wasn't much pain. Looking down, he saw a chunk of concrete the size of a human head drop at his feet.
"A slab from the blast?"
With that speed and force… there was no way he could have blocked it. If not for the armor, he'd already be dead.
Fang Xing's mind reeled.
In his previous life as an overworked corporate grunt, he'd been through hardships—but never something like this, balanced on the knife-edge of life and death.Even the body's original owner had no such memories.
"Hel… help…"
A groan came from nearby.
He turned mechanically and saw a young man half-reclining on the ground, several steel rods punched straight through his chest—a clear victim of the blast.
"I—"
Fang Xing stepped forward, instinctively reaching to help—then saw that the man's lower body was simply gone.
No saving him…
No—if I could get him into a medical pod right now, replace his entire lower half with bionic or mechanical parts… maybe, just maybe—
His mind spun through possibilities, but before he could act, a piercing sound cut through the air.
—Chiii! Chiii!
Like a swarm of insects shrieking all at once… or a dozen strange instruments exploding inside his skull.
Through the smoke and flames, faint shapes emerged.
Even through the haze, he could make out a massive form, three to four meters tall, with faceted insect-like eyes and mandibles.
No—
Even its blurred, indistinct outline carried a strange, alluring curve, making him want to look closer, to study, to see more, to know more…
"That's… a servant of an Outer God?"
Don't look! Don't look!
Thank the heavens for the smoke—he hadn't seen the creature's strange sigils clearly. That would've been far worse.
He ducked his head and sprinted in the opposite direction, just like the textbooks taught.
One last glance showed the half-bodied youth was already dead.
That sound… a sonic attack?
I'm fine—armor even covers my ears. Ordinary martial artists could probably endure it with just minor injuries… but for someone already critically wounded, it's instant death.
Fang Xing had never before felt so sharply how fragile life could be.
Whoosh!
He accelerated wildly, his body blurring into afterimages.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Overhead, sonic booms cracked the air.
Looking up, he spotted missile trails blazing toward the monster—and several human figures flying against the blast winds straight toward it.
"Martial Masters!"
"Professionals!" someone in the fleeing crowd shouted in relief.
Fang Xing kept running, fists clenched tight.
"I…"
Everything—his excitement at gaining his cheat-like ability, his small pride at advancing in boxing and Great Dragon Pile—all shattered in that moment.
"I swear… I'm taking my fate into my own hands!"
"This… this helplessness—I'll never feel it again!"
…
Ten minutes later, Fang Xing reached his school.
Xia Long was standing at the gate like a stern dean, leaning on a massive sword, his gaze fixed toward the direction Fang Xing had fled from.
"Get to your classroom. You know where the school's shelter is—wait for further instructions."
His tone left no room for argument.
Fang Xing nodded. He knew well—nowhere nearby was safer than Yucai High School.Not only did it have over a dozen teachers above the Fourth Martial Realm, it also had a top-grade shelter said to withstand even an upper-tier servant for more than forty-eight hours.
The campus was buzzing with anxious energy, but order still held.
He scanned the crowd and spotted Liu Wei among the gathered students.
"Check the Maple Leaf City official site! It's posted!"
No one was in the mood for small talk—until a sudden scream cut through the air.
Everyone pulled out their devices and loaded the city site.
[Upper-tier Servant 'Moon Insect Beast' Eliminated!][Air Raid Alert Lifted! Imaginary Space Tunnel Closed!][Rescue operations underway. Remain calm. If you encounter anyone showing signs of mental instability, contact local security immediately.]
The time stamp—just seconds ago.
Fang Xing's eyes narrowed.
The Outer Gods were mortal enemies of the Blue Star Federation. Their war had raged for centuries.These gods held dominion over Imaginary Space, able to open void tunnels that bypassed the Federation's heavily fortified interstellar bastion lines, allowing their servants to drop straight into core Federation star systems.
Even though the Federation intercepted 99.99% of such attacks, a few always slipped through.Tonight's attack was one of those rare cases.
An upper-tier servant, huh?
That's winning-the-lottery odds… The original owner lived sixteen years without a single incident.
Should I move?Wait… given the "lightning never strikes twice" principle, maybe Happiness Garden Apartments is the safest place now…
He scrolled down and saw the site's background had turned black and white.
Casualties so far: 134 dead, 528 critically injured. Mental contamination under evaluation.In the battle to swiftly kill the Moon Insect Beast, Professionals 'Lin Jia' and 'Gu Renwang' have fallen…
Fang Xing froze.
"…Gu Renwang?"
Seeing the photo, he immediately thought of Gu Yun.
That Gu family man…
The man who didn't make much money but wanted the best for his daughter.The man who'd given him advice more than once.
Now just a black-and-white memorial portrait.
"…Fate…"
Fang Xing pressed his lips together, his right hand closing into empty air.
But no matter how hard he grasped, he caught nothing.
(End of Chapter)