At the headquarters of the Black Hawk Special Forces, Liu Yianfei sat alone in his office. His gaze lingered on an old photograph placed on the desk—a picture of a young woman whose eyes brimmed with love as she looked at the daughter cradled in her arms.
"Cough, cough."
He didn't know how much time had passed when the air began to change and his body showed symptoms, deteriorating.
Liu Yianfei retrieved medicine from his drawer—white pills in a glazed ceramic bottle. Each pill was packed with the pressure of Grade 4 medicinal herbs. When he flicked one into his mouth, his injuries soon eased.
The young man sighed. He looked at the bottle with fewer than ten pills remaining. These medicines were the work of Grandmaster Lu Qing, who was somewhere unknown in the world now.
Just then, Lin Jing opened the door with an alarmed expression. Liu Yianfei was surprised—he'd never seen this subordinate rush like this before.
"General, this is bad!"
"What happened?"
The young man sipped his tea to warm his body. Lin Jing's next sentence nearly made Liu Yianfei spit it out.
"There are reports that Grandmaster Han Junpo took his people to cause trouble for Grandmaster Bai at her residence..."
"Why does this sound like gangsters brawling?"
Liu Yianfei sighed and held his temples. Why would the supreme existence of this era go cause trouble for another supreme existence at their home like a gang fight?
"Grandmaster Han Junpo brought along Martial Masters under his command, including Han Longyi."
"That young man who's a 9th-stage Martial Master?"
"Yes..."
Lin Jing confirmed. This matter seemed big enough to become a regional-level problem. The combat power of one Grandmaster equaled a small army. If two of them fought, that area would become a battlefield dangerous to ordinary people.
"Contact the Field Marshal first. Close off the entire area within a one-kilometer radius. Recall all Black Hawk unit members in the city. We'll launch an interception operation."
Liu Yianfei stood up and gave decisive orders. This matter required thorough preparation to prevent serious mistakes.
"Yes, sir!"
Lin Jing received the order. Within moments, chaos erupted throughout the Black Hawk unit...
.
.
.
After giving orders, Liu Yianfei himself rushed toward the scene. The qi power of a Grandmaster-level surged through the entire army. Liu Yianfei's body leaped through the air and shot toward his destination at maximum speed.
Before long, he could see the seaside. He slowed down, sensing something abnormal.
Wasn't it too quiet?
A battle between Grandmasters couldn't possibly be this calm.
And this was a sudden clash. Even the well-prepared duel between Eastern King Ma Fufeng and Sword Master Zheng Renyi had destroyed the surrounding area in swaths.
Liu Yianfei noticed a group of people gathered at the side of Bai Fanxian's house. He didn't hesitate to shoot toward them.
"What happened?"
Liu Yianfei looked at the group in confusion. They weren't even practitioners. Yet the fact that they only showed slight surprise upon seeing him meant they must know something about the cultivation world.
And the outfits they wore were strange.
This looked like...
...construction worker uniforms?
No wonder Liu Yianfei thought so. Each of them wore work uniforms that were both snug and easy to move in, along with bright orange safety vests and hard hats that everyone wore.
Not far from that point, he found someone familiar. It was Huang Zihuan, who sensed his presence and approached.
"General? Hello."
"Hello, Butler Huang."
Liu Yianfei looked at Huang Zihuan's condition with surprise. His Heaven Sense could feel that the qi power had grown much stronger since the last time they met. The old man's body also showed traces of recent combat.
"Does the General have business here?"
After learning about this general's circumstances, Uncle Huang felt quite sympathetic and treated him well.
"There are reports that Grandmaster Han came here."
Liu Yianfei turned to survey the surroundings.
"Or were the reports wrong?"
Uncle Huang understood immediately. He laughed with meaningful undertones.
"Grandmaster Han really did come here."
"But Grandmaster Bai already took care of him and sent him packing."
Inside the house, Bai Fanxian was somewhat troubled. Since returning, once Tang Yeye—who had been cultivating and digesting today's medicinal herbs without knowing what happened—learned the truth, the child just kept crying while hugging Hui'er tightly and refusing to let go.
Hui'er smiled awkwardly, not knowing what to do.
"Yeye, let go of me first, okay?"
Hui'er tried to pry off Tang Yeye's clingy hands from her back. Tang Yeye wouldn't relent, though. She raised her tear-filled face to look up. Her eyes were red and swollen, with small teardrops flowing from the corners.
"Big Sister Hui'er... is it true you can't cultivate anymore?"
Tang Yeye asked with a sorrowful voice.
Bai Fanxian answered that question for both children.
"It's still not certain... perhaps we just need more time to find the cause."
The beautiful young woman looked at the two girls hugging each other with a feeling she couldn't help but find endearing.
"Then... then I won't cultivate either. I'll wait to cultivate together with Big Sister Hui'er."
Tang Yeye shook her head back and forth. Bai Fanxian looked at the relationship between these two children with surprise.
Hui'er frowned upon hearing that, though. She pried Tang Yeye's hands off, then stared into her little sister's big round eyes.
"No. Yeye must continue cultivating."
"B-but Big Sister Hui'er..."
"My lady said she'll teach me techniques instead. So I'll become strong too. If Yeye doesn't work hard, I'll leave you behind."
Hui'er spoke. She didn't want this little sister—whom she'd met not long ago but had become extremely close with—to lose her life's opportunity because of her.
Tang Yeye stopped sobbing. The child turned to look at her lady, who nodded in confirmation. She finally accepted it.
"Sniff... then until, until Big Sister Hui'er becomes strong, Yeye will protect Big Sister Hui'er myself!"
Both Hui'er and Bai Fanxian couldn't help but smile with affection upon hearing this. That was just Tang Yeye's nature. When she loved and trusted someone, she loved that person deeply and expressed her emotions with the utmost sincerity.
"Okay... so Yeye must become stronger to protect me, alright?"
The two children hugged each other tightly again. The chaotic events of this day caused the lady of the house to begin forming certain thoughts.
The next morning, Uncle Huang came to report that General Liu Yianfei had stopped by before returning. Nothing else special had happened. Bai Fanxian stood in the front yard that the construction company hired by the Tang family had helped repair until it was completely back to normal.
She turned to look at Hui'er, whose eyes sparkled. She knew this child had woken up at dawn and sat waiting at the entrance with excitement.
Today was the first day she would teach "Supreme Fist Arts" to Hui'er.
Uncle Huang himself also watched from the side with interest. Except for Tang Yeye, who was separated to practice her qi at the beach. Right now, everyone in the house had gathered here.
In truth, this technique wasn't hers.
Bai Fanxian, the supreme existence of that era at only 25 years old, couldn't possibly have had free time to create movement and combat techniques.
Just spending time concocting medicinal herbs, experimenting with medicines, and cultivating already consumed nearly all her daily life.
The "Supreme Fist Arts" technique was something she'd received as repayment for helping treat a certain exalted existence. Since that person had no successors, he gave it to Bai Fanxian.
That exalted existence was called "One Fist Above Gods."
With just one movement, he could subdue Transcendent-level practitioners—what some called Divine-level—cultivators.
Their stories were sometimes retold as legends. The legends of gods in both West and East all had foundations from Transcendent-level (Divine-level) existences in ancient times.
One Fist Above Gods was an existence incomparably superior to others at the same level.
He went to challenge Transcendent-level existences one after another, building his reputation by defeating them with just a few techniques.
Despite being that strong, he ended up losing to a young woman who wasn't even twenty years old at the time. A complete and utter defeat.
This made the two of them begin associating as companions of different ages. Bai Fanxian helped treat the old man's injuries, so One Fist Above Gods didn't mind teaching his fist arts to Bai Fanxian.
Perhaps it was simply that he wanted to know—if the young woman who defeated him received the technique hailed as "the ultimate of technique-based arts," how much stronger would she become?
His action led to the birth of a "Semi-Immortal existence." Bai Fanxian, who was at the peak of the Transcendent level, became incomparably powerful. Certain principles of Supreme Fist Arts allowed her to reach a level no one had ever reached before.
"Huang Zihuan, come here."
Bai Fanxian turned to call the elderly butler, who approached with surprise.
"Attack me with your full power."
Bai Fanxian stood still. Huang Zihuan realized she wanted him to be a practice partner for Hui'er to observe.
The old man began circulating his qi. He gathered qi power to both fists until they resembled flames burning on his hands. He looked at his lady intently. Even though he couldn't sense her qi power, her strength was certainly genuine.
"I won't use qi."
Bai Fanxian didn't take a stance. She waited for Huang Zihuan to attack.
"I'll begin now."
Uncle Huang gave the signal. His body shot toward Bai Fanxian with bullet-like speed. After staying with Bai Fanxian for just a few weeks, his power foundation had skyrocketed. His fist drew back and swung straight in.
"Huh?"
Uncle Huang looked at what happened in bewilderment.
In just a blink when he wasn't aware, his body had already been sent flying backward in a heap.
The eyes of a 5th-stage Martial Master couldn't see Bai Fanxian's movement at all.
"Supreme is the essential meaning. You must cut away all unnecessary movements."
Bai Fanxian turned to Hui'er and explained.
"Every movement must have meaning. The transfer of power and weight is the essence of all actions. Even the smallest movement of the body must result in great force. Not only must you understand your own body, but understand your opponent's body as well."
"The principles of Supreme Fist Arts are only that. It is the ultimate truth. If you comprehend Supreme Arts, then only Supreme Arts can fight against you with techniques."
"Whether you can understand... that depends entirely on you, Hui'er..."