Martial Dao: Peace by Force

Chapter 84: Chapter 77: A Fist to Open Heaven’s Gate, The Limit of Secret Martial Arts

”Wan Ze, you’ve gone too far!”

The man in glasses’ expression darkened. Dropping all pretense, his vital energy erupted from within him. He grabbed the warehouse’s iron door with one hand, his five fingers digging in to leave a deep Hand Seal in the metal. Then, achieving the Unity of Waist and Horse, the muscles on his arm bulged.

With a sudden wrench, he tore the door from its joints, transforming it into a makeshift blade and hurling it at Wan Ze.

The shriek was ear-splitting, the momentum tremendous.

BANG!

The bolts and hinges were savagely torn apart.

He swung the entire iron door with one hand as if it were a giant blade, flinging it fiercely at Wan Ze with enough force to split mountains and crack stone!

The iron door sliced through the air, emitting a terrifying shriek.

A direct hit would slice even a body of steel in two.

Wan Ze was already on guard; he had been on alert the moment his opponent’s vital energy erupted.

He didn’t try to block it head-on.

Instead, he pushed off the balls of his feet, his body shooting forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.

At the last possible second, just as the iron door was about to strike, he twisted his body in an uncanny way. He scraped past its sharp edge by a hair’s breadth while simultaneously snapping his right leg back, infusing his heel with Beng Jin and kicking the precise center of the door.

CLANG!!!

A deafening crash echoed.

The iron door buckled upwards, slamming violently into the warehouse’s low concrete ceiling.

Fragments of concrete and years of accumulated dust showered down from the impact point, falling like a gray rain that instantly obscured their vision.

In that instant, as the dust filled the air and everyone’s vision was blocked...

SHHH!

A faint but sharp whistle cut through the air.

The man in glasses flicked his wrist, and a black poison needle shot silently through the dust, straight for Wan Ze’s face.

The timing was impeccable, striking at the awkward moment when Wan Ze had just expended his energy and had yet to gather more.

But Wan Ze pinpointed its location by sound. His senses were now so sharp that his very skin could feel the slightest change in air currents, giving him an advance warning.

He felt a faint prickling sensation on his cheek.

With a swift shift of his feet,

He dodged with a sideways leap.

The black poison needle grazed his ear and embedded itself in a wooden crate behind him, its tail quivering madly.

The man in glasses’ eyes widened slightly. He hadn’t expected Wan Ze to dodge the needle so quickly.

Little did he know that Wan Ze’s goal wasn’t just to dodge!

As he dodged, he used the motion to build power. With a faint CRACK, the ground beneath his feet fractured as he exploded forward!

He covered the three-meter distance in an instant!

His speed tore a clear path through the swirling dust.

In the blink of an eye, he was before the man in glasses. Wan Ze’s fist became a claw, his knuckles popping loudly as he lunged for the man’s gut.

The man’s expression changed. He instantly sucked in his stomach, causing Wan Ze’s claw to find only air.

He reacted with incredible speed, his right knee shooting up like an iron pestle toward Wan Ze’s torso in an attempt to drive him back.

Wan Ze crossed his forearms and pressed down, blocking the knee strike. He successfully dispersed the force but was still pushed back half a step.

”Interesting! Haha, Wan Ze, you’re much more interesting than I imagined!”

Instead of being alarmed, the man in glasses seemed delighted. He patted down his clothes, his smile holding the playful condescension of a predator sizing up its prey. ”You’re probably a frog in a well, completely unaware of how laughable you are. In the grand scheme of things... your Dragon Eagle organization is nothing special!”

”I admit, Situ Bai is a First Generation Grandmaster, a titan in his own right. But Dragon Eagle only has him, a single competent Grandmaster, to prop up its name! The Secret Palace is different. We have five Grandmasters personally overseeing the sect, with countless resources at our disposal! If you truly want to grow stronger, break your limits, and witness a vaster world of the Martial Dao... joining the Secret Palace is your only correct choice!”

Secret Palace!

’This relentless organization again!’

Wan Ze’s body blurred. From just over two meters away, he shot forward again with a WHOOSH.

The man in glasses seemed to expect it. His smile never faltered as he swept his hands in front of him. Three longer, black poison needles appeared between his fingers, and he flicked his wrists.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The three poison needles shot out in a triangular pattern, flying even faster than before. They weren’t aimed at Wan Ze’s body, but precisely at points in the empty air half a meter to his left, right, and above him, forming an invisible, triangular cage.

Even more strangely, a nearly invisible silver thread was attached to the tail of each needle. The other ends of the threads were wound around thimbles on the man’s thumb and index fingers.

He flicked a finger.

BUZZ!

The three silver threads vibrated in unison, emitting a high-frequency hum and instantly weaving a deadly web before Wan Ze.

The silver wires rippled like a wave. With a soft SHHHT, they mercilessly shredded a stray strand of hair floating in the air.

The next moment.

The man in glasses gave his hand a sharp flick.

Pulled by the threads, the three needles deftly changed direction in mid-air, their tips simultaneously targeting the point between Wan Ze’s eyebrows, his throat, and his outstretched left wrist.

Controlled by the silver threads with the dexterity of his own fingers, the attack was impossible to defend against!

However, Wan Ze’s reaction once again exceeded the man’s expectations.

He dropped into a sudden crouch, bracing himself on the ground with one hand. He used the rebound to launch himself up, wrenching his shoulder to scoop up a handful of dust and hurl it at his opponent!

The man in glasses frowned, instinctively taking half a step back.

In that split second his vision was obscured...

A jolt of alarm shot through him.

Because in that instant, Wan Ze had appeared behind him as if from nowhere!

’How is that possible!’

’He hadn’t detected any fluctuation at all!’

’When did the kid even move?’

He didn’t have time to figure it out before Wan Ze’s fingers clenched into a fist.

And smashed down.

Iron fist, powered by Beng Jin! An explosion of force!

’Not good!’

The man in glasses felt his eye twitch violently. Wan Ze’s punch was too ferocious to block head-on. He scrambled to retreat.

But just then,

Wan Ze pressed his attack, rapidly switching techniques. His fingers hooked into a claw, his posture like a tiger descending a mountain. He lunged forward, unleashing a Tiger Cannon Fist straight at the man’s head.

This relentless barrage of killing blows was perfectly executed, giving his opponent no room to breathe!

’Who could imagine that the one pushing him to the brink had been practicing the Martial Dao for less than two months!’

And for that very reason, the man in glasses admired Wan Ze all the more.

But in the midst of a life-or-death crisis, he had no time for admiration. He retreated quickly, but he never imagined that Wan Ze had more moves up his sleeve, each more vicious than the last.

His attacks were fast, precise, and ruthless!

The man heard the whistle of air and knew it was bad, but he was a seasoned veteran who had faced countless treacherous techniques. He didn’t panic.

He swung his arm horizontally.

He threw his arm out, a web of steel wires appearing before him. His billowing sleeves crackled with sound.

The darting of the poison needles was concealed by his flapping sleeves as he sidestepped, letting Wan Ze’s punch skim past his chest.

A piercing shriek erupted.

The three poison needles curved back around, stabbing toward the back of Wan Ze’s head.

But then, suddenly!

A sharp pain shot through the man’s wrist. His pupils contracted, and for the first time, a look of utter disbelief and horror filled his eyes.

He had no idea how Wan Ze had managed to grab his wrist in that split second.

’Tele-teleportation?’

’But how is that possible!’

Wan Ze had a death grip on the wrist of the hand controlling the silver threads.

They were inches apart.

His right hand clenched into a fist!

His vital energy surged madly, roaring with the thunderous power of a raging river!

Iron Mountain Fist’s Ultimate Form: unlocked!

Divine Fist!

KILL!!!

BANG!

The punch slammed into the man’s blocking arm. The immense force was unstoppable. His large frame was sent flying, crashing into the wall!

”Your Secret Palace! You think you’re so great?”

Wan Ze roared and charged. The ground shook with each step as he lunged like a tiger uncaged, rushing the man who was now embedded in the wall.

With every step, his vital energy soared, and his strength climbed higher and higher, as if he wielded the unstoppable Dragon Elephant Power.

The man was dizzy and disoriented. Hearing the commotion, he was both shocked and enraged. His thin, gold-rimmed glasses had been sent flying long ago. He turned to see Wan Ze’s terrifying punch bearing down on him and hastily yelled, ”Wan Ze, think this through! If you kill me—”

”I’ve thought it through plenty!”

Wan Ze’s voice was drowned out by the violent booming.

A divine punch!

Tear the heavens open!

The man frantically blocked again. BANG! He felt the bones in his arms fracture as he was slammed against the wall once more.

If he hadn’t tempered his body with a Secret Technique, the violent impact would have surely splattered his brains.

”Wan Ze!”

The man roared, completely enraged now.

However much he had admired Wan Ze before, he was that much more furious now!

It was the kind of fury that made him want to grind Wan Ze’s bones to dust!

But the only response he got was—

CRACK!

Another explosive crack of flesh on flesh. Wan Ze had no intention of wasting time on words, nor would he give the man a moment’s respite.

A punch aimed for the throat, his knuckles popping like firecrackers.

His Momentum and Power rose steadily, climbing until they could go no higher.

In this state...

He pressed his attack, forcing the man to block and retreat. The man’s own momentum shattered completely!

As his opponent’s momentum collapsed, Wan Ze only fought more fiercely.

Within the span of a few breaths, the once-arrogant man was now a lamb to the slaughter, retreating again and again in a clumsy panic.

But he was already backed into a corner. In the cramped space, there was nowhere left to run.

’I’m actually... going to die by his hand!’

’He’s only been practicing for two months!’

’And I, Liu Chong, have been practicing for ten years!’

’Why!’

’How laughable! How pathetic! How utterly hateful!’

Grief and indignation filled Liu Chong’s heart. He struggled, roaring, desperately trying to break free from his hopeless predicament.

But it was all in vain!

”I started practicing martial arts for one reason and one reason only: to protect myself!”

Wan Ze’s voice was cold.

”But people like you...”

He flashed in front of Liu Chong. With a burst of power from his feet, he slammed his shoulder forward, shattering the man’s hasty block and tapping his fingertips against Liu Chong’s gut.

”Why do you always act so high and mighty?! Why are you always trying to kill me?!”

The moment the words left his lips, Wan Ze’s fingers clenched into a fist.

A sound like roaring drums, and the Beng Jin erupted.

An unstoppable force erupted in the most extreme way possible!

With a deep THUD, a sickeningly dull sound, it was as if something had exploded inside Liu Chong’s body.

This time, as if struck by an invisible sledgehammer, his feet left the ground and he was sent flying backward faster than ever before!

Once again, he smashed heavily into the wall!

BOOM!

The wall shook violently.

This time, Liu Chong did not fall. Instead, he clutched his abdomen with both hands, ”standing” on the spot in a strange posture, motionless.

With great difficulty, he managed to... raise his head.

He watched Wan Ze approach step by step, his eyes filled with disbelief and a vacant confusion.

”I never intended to make an enemy of anyone,” Wan Ze said calmly. ”But you so-called ’high and mighty’ Martial Artists are too arrogant. So arrogant you think you can decide who lives and dies, that you can drag innocent people into your bloodshed over some imaginary treasure... I wasn’t going to say all this, but it just doesn’t sit right with me if I don’t! It’ll also help you die with some understanding... So long as one’s heart is righteous, evil can never triumph!”

”Heh... heheh... To think that I, Liu Chong, after a lifetime of success... would fall to you... Such is... fate...”

The last word was as faint as a mosquito’s buzz. With his final words spoken, Liu Chong collapsed with a thud. He landed on his knees, his hands falling limply to his sides, his breath gone for good.

Wan Ze didn’t even spare him a glance. He quickly turned, strode over to Lei Ming, carefully checked his wounds, and immediately called Zhai Jia.

”I’m with Brother Lei, at...”

While he waited.

He finally took the time to search all the bodies.

He paid no mind as the limit burst of his Dragon Eagle Secret Martial Arts completed...

...

[Illustrated Guide 5: Dragon Eagle Secret Martial Arts] (High Level - Mastered)

[Effect 1: Physical Strength +0.01; Endurance +0.01; Power +0.01; Coordination +0.01]

[Effect 2: Burst Skill (During a burst, All Attributes are increased by 20% for 60 seconds)]

[Condition to reach Special Level: All Attributes must be at least 5.]