Forge a path to success.

Chapter 97 The remnants of the real weapon
The light shield shattered in an instant, and the tentacles tightened around Ji Huaisu's neck, retracting swiftly like chains. Chu Hengkong's demeanor was as cold as a machine; his first move was a killing blow aimed at severing life. As the tentacles retracted, he brought his right hand together like a blade, unleashing a hand-blade strike with the shortest possible distance—a strike that would pierce Ji Huaisu's heart!

A powerful surge of energy burst forth, creating a layer of colorless "qi" on Chu Hengkong's right arm. As his hand-blade thrust forward, a vacuum formed within a meter of him, the energy striking Ji Huaisu's clothing before his fingertips could react. The energy blade collided with light, a faint, opposing force. A new light shield formed before the hand-blade, its light rapidly expanding, like an airbag that propelled both of them away!

Chu Hengkong adjusted his posture in mid-air and landed quickly, swinging his tentacles in an attempt to smash his enemy away. Ji Huaisu's hand surged with shadow energy, and a dagger-shaped shadow blade slashed at the tentacle. The tentacle withdrew from its neck and shrank away; without unbreakable bones, it would be impossible to withstand this strike.

The retracting tentacles suddenly stiffened and froze in mid-air. Ji Huaisu lightly touched the shadow of one of the tentacles with her toes. Her fingertips brushed against her neck, which was red from being strangled, and then stopped in front of her T-shirt, which was stretched high.

My partner's gaze was quite hurtful, as if he were looking at a bag of garbage.

"Start the match here... Hey Kong, weren't you the kind of guy who would take advantage of the situation to get physical during sparring sessions?"

"........."

Chu Hengkong, with his crimson eyes, paused for a second, then broke free from his Shadow Step and lunged forward. His movements were as unpredictable as a snake, making it difficult for Ji Huaisu to catch his shadow. She simply transformed her Shadow Blade into a handy greatsword and countered with a wide-range slash. Chu Hengkong fell diagonally as his sword struck, dodging the attack at an angle almost touching the ground.

He pulled out a tentacle and coiled it towards Ji Huaisu's ankle. Fueled by his inner energy, the strike combined the speed of a thunder whip with the sharpness of a heavenly spear, blasting a hole in the protective light shield once more. Seeing the tentacle successfully entangle his left foot, Ji Huaisu flicked his finger at the light shield. The shield instantly disintegrated, turning into shimmering fragments of light that scattered in all directions. These fragments formed square, slender "light plates" that surged towards Chu Hengkong, binding him tightly from head to toe.

Discipline Seal - Shattered Light Shackles.

Ji Huaisu moved her fingers swiftly, drawing a magic circle in mid-air that resembled a lock. She shrunk the shadow blade into a black "key." Once the key was locked, the seal was immediately completed, and those who violated the precepts would never be able to break free.

However, the Shadow Blade Key could not be locked, the sealing array was severely distorted as if it had been bent from the inside, and the Shattered Light Shackles trembled violently.

Ji Huaisu gasped, "Damn, I'm really going to lose this arm wrestling match..."

With a loud bang, her seal shattered from the inside!
The shattered light scattered like needles, illuminating the bizarre figure crawling on the ground. Chu Hengkong braced himself with one hand on the ground, his flickering crimson eyes tracing two ghostly trails. He crouched low, exerted his strength, and charged forward like a cannonball, approaching his enemy in the shortest and most efficient way. His speed was beyond imagination; Ji Huaisu didn't even hear the sound barrier before being struck.

When she was struck, the world was utterly silent, without a sound. She couldn't even feel the assassin's heartbeat or breath. A Thousand Autumns of Qi. She realized that her opponent had activated a secret technique at the start of the battle, which explained the unnatural surge in speed.

Then the silence vanished in an instant, and the shattering sound barrier assaulted her eardrums. She was blasted away head-on, leaving a crater three meters in radius in the temple wall. Chu Hengkong stopped after the successful impact to prevent being attacked again by getting too close. He braced himself up with one hand and performed a one-handed somersault like an acrobat to get closer.

His eyes darted around like cameras, locking onto every light source in the environment. Any potential shadowy spots were kept out of the enemy's attack range, and his free tentacles gathered power during this process. As he rose, the Heavenly Spear was ready to fire, its tip aimed at Ji Huaisu's brow. But a chill ran through Chu Hengkong's left arm; a massive, mountain-like black block of ice appeared out of thin air, and his tentacles were frozen solid.

The contact during the previous impact... a trap set using that opportunity...

Black ice stretched through the air, freezing his right hand as well. Then, golden flames appeared behind him, carrying a fierce and warm power. His shadow lengthened in the light, and Ji Huaisu's shadow blade shot out, piercing the shadow's shoulder. A blossom of blood erupted on Chu Hengkong's left shoulder; the attack had bypassed his strong bone defenses, causing him injury.

Ji Huaisu leaped out of the pit, taking the opportunity to subdue the assassin and straddle him. Chu Hengkong's hands were both frozen solid, but he suddenly raised his head and bit the other's neck. The two rolled on the ground, switching positions. In this contest of strength, he had the advantage; his sharp teeth could tear blood vessels and airways in an instant.

Her partner's voice was filled with anger as she brought her sword and shield closer.

"If this makes you happy, then keep biting!"

Vande, watching from the sidelines, was dumbfounded. The entire exchange had only lasted a few seconds. It wasn't until now that it recovered and hurriedly jumped forward, shouting, "Stop! Stop!!"

The crimson in Chu Hengkong's eyes began to fade, and he immediately relaxed all his strength. Ji Huaisu took the opportunity to roll back to the top. He let go, looking at his indifferent reflection in his purple eyes. Bloody teeth marks remained on the girl's beautiful neck.

“…I’m sorry,” the assassin sighed softly, “I tried my best to suppress it.”

“I know, but playing so badly isn’t like you,” Ji Huaisu grinned. “Pull down your collar.”

He did as she said, bewildered, and the girl bit down hard, leaving a deeper bite mark on his neck. Chu Hengkong grimaced; this was arguably the most difficult test of the day—he had to completely remove the protective layer of his hard bones and soften his muscles, otherwise her little teeth wouldn't be able to bite through at all.

Ji Huaisu raised his head, his delighted expression causing him to hallucinate a swaying tail.

“We’re even now.” She poked someone’s chest. “Don’t suddenly become this strong next time, understand?”

"Alright," the assassin said helplessly. "I'll do as you say, Captain."

Van der crept to the front door, hoisted himself up with a rope, and began pretending to be a harmless teru teru bozu (a type of doll). The two coughed awkwardly a few times, then stood up and straightened themselves. Chu Hengkong tried to lighten the mood: "At first... that was due to the influence of my strong bones, not my intention..." Ji Huaisu was shocked: "Your bones have sexual desires?!"

"..."

Chu Hengkong desperately wanted to strangle his past self, but his partner's line of thinking, as always, exceeded his expectations. Ji Huaisu clutched the wound on her neck, her eyes filled with horrified horror: "So you bit me because your bones had an appetite..."

"no!"

The blonde girl jumped back several times: "Holy crap, that's even scarier! You bit me because of lust? Ah Kong, do you have such a perverted taste?!"

Chu Hengkong silently covered his face, suddenly understanding the feelings of Fan De, who had voluntarily gone AFK. The Eye Demon Sunny Doll spun around, its eyes filled with melancholy: "From that day on, Chu Hengkong earned the title of 'Lustful Beast'..."

"I'm going to throw you out."

"Look at your ugly face! Is this how you treat your brothers?" Van der was heartbroken.

Chu Hengkong's eyes were indifferent: "It's Immortal Machine's idea to do this."

"This bone structure is so flexible! Now it's showing signs of killing intent again!"

After rambling on for a while, he felt much better. The chilling killing intent dissipated, and his humanity returned vividly to his body. The steel worm that had been clinging to his back was gone, but he knew the real machine had simply retreated back into its skeleton, waiting for its next opportunity to strike.

Whether it was a lingering effect of the previous fierce battle or a necessary price to pay for the transformation into a true machine, he felt a faint killing intent ever since the transformation ceremony ended. When there were few people around, he could control it, but as more creatures gathered, the machine's killing impulse surged, turning his vision crimson.

This desire is particularly strong in the presence of certain creatures. When facing Ji Huaisu, Ji Qiufeng, and Youyou, it takes a great deal of effort just to restrain himself from attacking. When facing Jie An and Qi Su, his killing intent is no different from that of an ordinary person. As for the strange fellow Fan De, he is somewhere in between. Even Zhen Xie seems to hesitate whether to seriously kill him or just kick him aside.

The feeling of constantly suppressing his murderous intent is unpleasant. If this continues, he'll eventually lose control...

“You usually live too much like a real machine. Now, it’s hard to tell at a glance whether you’ve really been infected or just in a bad mood.” Ji Huaisu waved his hand at him. “Are you feeling better now that you’ve vented?”

"Much better, thank you." Chu Hengkong flexed his right hand. "The last move was good, almost at the next level?"

"I'm also diligently cultivating, if it weren't for the lack of channels, I would have reached level 3 long ago." Ji Huaisu took out her communicator, "Cook, bring some gauze! I have a minor abrasion."

Before long, Jie An brought over Qi Su, who was still lifeless. His eyes scanned the identical wounds, and he clicked his tongue in amazement: "Wow, this test is really intense! The test results seem to be very credible! What level is the Chief Inspector at now?"

Ji Huaisu patted himself with gauze and gave a professional assessment: "An absolute top performer. From now on, you can write 'This side faces the enemy' on the back of his coat. He can crush enemies of the same level with just his back-to-back iron-mountain lean."

"Compared to you?"

"It depends on the situation. If I use all my opening moves, I have a better chance of winning. If I don't kill him in the first wave, he wins. The 'One Qi for a Thousand Autumns' technique is too far-fetched; we can't win a protracted battle."

This comment is quite objective. Ji Huaisu, as the Shadow, has no shortage of decisive moves; Shadow Blade Assault and Dust Break are both instantaneous, high-damage game-changers. Chu Hengkong, on the other hand, specializes in prolonged battles. With the help of One Qi for a Thousand Autumns, he grows stronger as long as he has enough energy, and given enough time, he can wear down anyone.

Jie An knew this girl wouldn't use serious matters to spite someone, so he was quite shocked: "That chief detective is really incredibly powerful. This iron is stronger than any other clerk of the same rank, right?"

Upon hearing this, Vande became interested, broke free from the rope, and jumped down: "That's more than that. His hard-earned achievements speak for themselves; he's a true outsider, even among legends, he's in the highest tier!"

This assertion drew everyone's attention. Chu Hengkong almost thought he had returned to his hometown's animation forum: "There are even gradations within the same homogeneous point?"

"Nonsense, of course it exists. Otherwise, how would I know how powerful the Immortal Machine is, and how would I dare to say that you, Chu Hengkong, are awesome?" Vande waved his tentacles. "The major forces of Thousand Dust Island have been fighting from ancient times to the present Candlelight Era, and they have long established a set of standards that are applicable to all islands based on their battle records. You have no common sense and don't know, but your female colleague knows it very well."

Ji Huaisu blinked: "...What standard?"

Vande was startled at the sight, then overjoyed. He hopped onto the cart, beaming with excitement: "Good, good, good! We've met some country folk this time! Bring paper and pen! Today I'll show you all something amazing. I, Grandpa Vande, will give you a lecture on the profound art of animal fighting!"

(End of this chapter)