Forge a path to success.

Chapter 23 The First Appearance of a Special Skill
The moment Chu Hengkong leaped out of the swamp, the Swamp Spellcaster immediately turned and fled. He wasn't an Ascended One, nor was he possessed by a demon; his reputation was built entirely on poison and relic weapons. But his most proficient swamp traps couldn't even stop this ruthless man for a second. What use was he if he stayed here except to wait for death?

So he ran without hesitation, leaving his client and that damned million behind. His boots whistled, making him literally as fast as the wind. These were wind boots that could temporarily increase burst speed; the Swamp Spellcaster had relied on these relics to escape pursuit many times. He used the wind to escape onto the roof, determined to get completely away from this place of trouble.

But after the whistling sound, another sound followed, that of Chu Hengkong, who was close behind. He kept up with the enhanced leg strength of the relic using only his own two legs, and the tentacle whip was about to lash out.

"Go ahead and fight Bai Zhang if you dare!" The Swamp Spellcaster dodged the whip's blow in a sorry state. "I'll take you down first." Chu Hengkong quickened his pace to keep up with him. The two of them leaped from the edge of the rooftop at the same time, throwing punches in mid-air! The Swamp Spellcaster threw a desperate right punch, but his fist was entangled by Chu Hengkong's tentacles. Immediately afterward, Chu Hengkong unleashed a lightning-fast three-hit combo.

"Ugh——!"

The abdomen, chest, and philtrum—three strikes landed almost simultaneously with protruding knuckles. The swamp sorcerer was on the verge of losing consciousness, but he managed to whistle a tune on his flute, turning his footing into a swamp in an attempt to delay Chu Hengkong's advance. But Chu Hengkong's offensive was not over. After the three strikes, he used his tentacles to pull the swamp sorcerer closer, finishing him off with a knee strike in mid-air!
Saliva, stomach acid, and blood gushed from the Swamp Sorcerer's mouth, the excruciating pain nearly rupturing his nerves. He lost consciousness and fell into the swamp he had created, while Chu Hengkong used his tentacles to hook onto the security window outside the building, gracefully swinging back to the market and landing 10 meters behind Bai Zhang. Enemy intelligence flashed through his mind.

【"Hundred Palms"】

Bounty: 17 Flowing Pearls.
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He has peculiar beliefs, is bloodthirsty by nature, and is physically strong.
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It lurks in the eastern part of the central courtyard, randomly killing people with cruel methods.
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A single, skillful touch! Incredible pressure, a single, decisive blow!

He dealt the swamp sorcerer the heaviest blow, because the poisonous swamp posed a greater threat than any weapon. The final enemy was a "skillful hand," who didn't want to fight a point mass on poisonous ground.

"What fucking trash. Two spearmen couldn't even last as long as the one who used poison!"

Bai Zhang cursed as he turned around. His hands were large and rough, his skin equally coarse, and a crescent-shaped scar etched on his solid chest gave him an ominous look. This time, contrary to his usual behavior, Chu Hengkong did not close the distance. Instead, he flung two water bullets at Bai Zhang's eyes. Bai Zhang raised his palms to defend himself, and the water bullets splashed as they hit his palms, but Bai Zhang was unharmed.

"It's alright..." Hundred Palms grinned maliciously, raising his hand. "I'll still kill you!"

He slammed his palm down on the tin shed where a noodle stall was located by the roadside, and the stall collapsed with a teeth-grinding creak. The people inside screamed and fled, watching as the shed, which could have held several people, shrank layer by layer under his palm, and in the blink of an eye, it was compressed into an iron ball the size of a fist. Bai Zhang picked up the iron ball and shouted as he threw it. The iron ball grazed past Chu Hengkong, who was dodging, and smashed into the ground, creating a deep crater.

This is why Chu Hengkong didn't rush in. The intelligence report stated that this person's skillful hands possessed a near-lethal compression ability, enough to compress a person into a sphere of blood and bone. Chu Hengkong didn't intend to use this thing to test his physical strength. While dodging, he threw water bullets in response, but Bai Zhang's large palms acted like shields, blocking the water bullets. That "pressure" could also crush incoming bullets and hidden weapons. His reaction speed was far more agile than it appeared, and his defense was equally impenetrable.

"What's wrong, Chief Inspector! Is that all you've got?" Bai Zhang hurled compressed soil and metal in quick succession, followed by three more incredibly heavy projectiles that hurtled towards them with a powerful gust of wind. Chu Hengkong stopped throwing water bombs, steadied himself in a horse stance, and swung his tentacles. His silver whip struck the projectiles, but instead of splitting them as everyone expected, the tentacles stretched out like rubber bands, using the elasticity to deflect the projectiles back.

Before new stones could form, the old projectiles had already turned and flew towards him. Bai Zhang hurriedly withdrew his palm to defend, crushing three projectiles with a single strike. The exploding dirt and stones, however, obscured his vision. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Chu Hengkong sprinted forward, shooting towards Bai Zhang's back like an arrow. He intended to launch an attack from Bai Zhang's blind spot, crushing his opponent with a fatal punch.

However, Chu Hengkong's punch was a beat too slow. Only when he was behind him could he see Bai Zhang's other hand hanging down. That hand held a transparent sphere, the rear hand that had been heavily compressed by "skillful hands"... It was highly compressed air!
Bai's palm crushed the air sphere. The burst of air transformed into invisible blades, carrying momentum straight towards Chu Hengkong's face. Chu Hengkong immediately crossed his arms in defense. He felt as if he had been hit head-on by a car, the unrestrained force instantly propelling him several meters. He crashed through countless fruits and vegetables until he finally came to a stop, barely managing to strike a concrete wall.

The immense impact caused spiderweb-like cracks to appear on the wall, and the air blades slashed wounds across his arms, silver blood flowing from the tentacles. Chu Hengkong took a deep breath, compressing his muscles to forcefully stop the bleeding. Bai Zhang's laughter pierced his ears as he charged forward with his arms outstretched, as ferocious as a truck floored on its accelerator.

"I will offer your flesh and blood to the moon!" Hundred Palms laughed wildly. "Before you die, take a good look... this is what 'skillful hands' truly means!"

The crescent-shaped scar on his chest gleamed with a dark light, and ugly, fleshy bulges sprouted from both sides of his wrists. These newly grown flesh rapidly enlarged, forming yet another pair of hands. The four hands continued to multiply relentlessly, from four to eight, eight to sixteen… In the blink of an eye, the shadows of the giant hands covered the earth, the hundred hands becoming a sprawling tree, the ever-growing giant hands its branches and leaves. One hundred hands formed a net around Chu Hengkong, each hand possessing terrifying compressive power, each hand a "skillful hand"!
This is the origin of the title "Hundred Palms"—he is a powerful figure with a hundred skillful hands, and even a hundred elite soldiers would be no match for him. Chu Hengkong felt difficulty breathing as the pressure subsided; the gas within the net was decreasing, and a hundred compressed air balls were simultaneously being generated. Hundred Palms intended to blast him alive within the net, and if he dared to break through rashly, he would be the one to die in their palms.

“It’s all brute force, no skill,” Chu Hengkong said. “It’s not true dexterity.”

Even now, he still had the energy to smile, commenting on his enemy's actions like a seasoned master. The long-awaited injury had excited him, igniting his fighting spirit and allowing his martial arts instincts to overshadow his assassination skills. Chu Hengkong raised his right hand behind his back, leaning slightly forward, his left arm taut like a silver, soft sword. He thrust that soft sword straight out, aimed directly at one of the hundred palm strikes in front of him.

A bloodthirsty excitement gleamed in Bai Zhang's eyes as he anticipated the blood splattering when his tentacle was crushed. But suddenly, he felt a needle-like pain, an agony that seemed to penetrate to the bone, seizing control of his nerves and causing his hand to involuntarily turn. The half-formed air blast shattered, and the rampaging wind blades cut his own hand!
Bai Zhang stared in disbelief, catching a glimpse of Chu Hengkong's smile through his fingers. After a stealthy thrust, the tentacle retracted, followed by a barrage of cunning and deadly strikes. The attacks struck fingertips, lashed the soles of palms, and sometimes merely grazed the fingertips; but once they landed, the hand would move erratically, completely out of control. The rhythm of the compressed air bullets was utterly disrupted, the whirlwind of energy slicing through muscle, causing streaks of blood to bloom on Bai Zhang's web.

The hundred palms' attack was instantly torn apart, because the moment Chu Hengkong made his move, the enemy's body no longer belonged to him. This was true mastery, the ability to control every piece of flesh and blood within one's own body, thus allowing for the free control of others' bodies. In some legendary tales, this is called acupoint striking; in certain faiths, it is referred to as the demonic puppet hand; and in most of the dust islands of the Submerged Realm, it has a resounding and infamous reputation—

Dragon Township Boxing Technique!

"You... a martial arts practitioner from Dragon Township?!"

Crimson blood rained down, easily tearing through the intricate net of a hundred palms, who cried out in disbelief. Chu Hengkong leaped out of the net through a gap, somersaulting in mid-air behind the hundred palms. In desperation, the hundred palms abandoned the encirclement and turned, spreading their palms in front of them for protection. Chu Hengkong concentrated, preparing to kill his enemy with a powerful punch, but at that moment, his tentacles twitched excitedly. The fighting spirit excited by the battle seemed to have activated an inspiration, giving him a faint feeling of the day he ascended to immortality.

He adapted to the strange sensation, changing his stance and letting inspiration surge through his body. His right fist, about to strike, clenched into a claw, the surging energy flowing into his left arm, causing the tentacles to compress inward inch by inch. As the power reached its peak, Chu Hengkong's eyes shone like bright lamps. He exhaled sharply, his left foot stomping forward, the power from all parts of his body instantly converging, and his surging left arm transformed into a silver flash!
This was Chu Hengkong's fastest attack ever. The exploding tentacles were like indestructible spears, their tips unleashing white sonic booms. The force of the attack shattered Bai Zhang's hands, creating a bloody hole in his chest and abdomen!
Bai Zhang was blown high into the air by the raging storm, his blood splattering down to form a crimson trail. His teammates, who had been calling for help with their communicators, instinctively lowered their arms. They, along with the citizens, gazed at the man who had thrown the punch, as if looking up to a hero beyond human comprehension.

Chu Hengkong withdrew his tentacles, brushed the dust off his body, and was extremely satisfied with this ingenious move that had come from inspiration. He was pondering what to name this move when he turned around and saw Ji Huaisu leading his team to provide support.

"Wow!" The blonde girl exclaimed, her mouth agape. "Tentacle Spring Fist!"

(End of this chapter)