It was midnight, and the yellow moon hung high.
Chen Ku quietly climbed over the wall into his own courtyard. He listened to the snoring of his mother and the old woman in the next house, as well as Hu Zi's light snoring, reassured that his family knew nothing of his nighttime visit to the black market.
He flipped onto the bed and took a deep breath. He replayed the moments he had pushed Xie Gouzi into Crocodile Bay.
The first time killing someone... it was surprisingly simple and effortless...
Chen Ku's heart was in turmoil; after all, he had killed someone.
But he quickly firmed his resolve. Nonsense, if he didn't die, was I supposed to?
After all, if he hadn't acted, he would have been finished.
At this moment, Chen Ku thought:
I'm too inexperienced. Even though I have the Skinny Dog Transformation, I forgot to activate it when I left the house. I have some sense for counter-surveillance, but it's far from enough. Otherwise, I would have known much earlier that Xie Gouzi was following me. This shows a lack of thoroughness in my actions. I must change this...
If Xie Gouzi hadn't followed him all the way, figured out his tracks and behavior, developed the malicious intent to report him, and then been detected by the Transformation Diagram... Chen Ku shuddered to think what his fate would have been.
In the future, I must nip such things in the bud.
Since he had already decided to walk a dangerous path, his own life and safety were paramount.
Just like with this Xie Gouzi, I must strike first!
Chen Ku's thoughts began to wander.
Since Xie Gouzi was sent by Huang Ba to track me, this person, Huang Ba, has already made his move! Today he sends someone to follow me, tomorrow he'll dare to kill me! I have to strike first!
After killing someone, Chen Ku's mentality had undergone a subtle shift.
But how to kill him? He has at least seven or eight hooligans under him. It would be irrational for me to attack his home directly. Whether I can take on seven or eight men is debatable, and even if I could, causing such a fatal disturbance would only attract the constables. The best way is to ambush him, assassinate him, so no one suspects me.
Chen Ku immediately thought of mandrake Drugs and Soul Lost Grass.
He then shook his head.
Poisoning leaves too many traces; any Coroner could detect it. It's best to do it like I did with Xie Gouzi today: push him off a cliff, destroy the body and erase all evidence, making it impossible for anyone to trace it back to me.
Thinking of Xie Gou.
Chen Ku looked at the Transformation Diagram.
After killing Xie Gou, he hadn't expected to also receive Evil Qi.
This was his first time killing a person and acquiring human Evil Qi.
[Xie Gou (Wild Beast Level Evil Qi)]
[Ordinary Human]
[Can be invested in the Transformation Diagram, occupying a chart position]
[Alternatively, you can choose to elevate the Skinny Dog Transformation level]
Chen Ku looked at Xie Gou's Evil Qi.
What's the use of making a ruffian his main transformation? The man didn't even know any Martial Arts, making him the most useless kind of ordinary person, with absolutely no potential for advancement. Worse than a dog.
With a breath, he directly invested it into the Skinny Dog Transformation, converting it into Evil Qi nourishment to elevate the Skinny Dog Transformation's level.
WHOOSH!
Accompanied by a burning sensation, another part of the Skinny Dog Diagram lit up.
[The Diagram Master is likely to obtain 'Skinny Dog Skin']
[Skinny Dog Skin: Resistant to cold, averse to heat]
Chen Ku exhaled.
A power of mixed quality.
If it solely resisted cold, it would indeed be a good ability, perhaps allowing him to go bare-chested in deep winter without feeling the chill. But the added aversion to heat made it another weakness.
However, Chen Ku's focus was on the line of text beneath the Skinny Dog Transformation.
[Requires another Evil Qi of the same level to advance Skinny Dog Transformation to the 'Shape-Shifted' level.]
Shape Shifting, Shape-Shifted.
The difference of a single character.
From the literal meaning alone, he wondered:
Could it be that I could completely turn into a dog? If so...
Chen Ku imagined, Then I could stage Huang Ba being bitten to death by a dog.
I still need one more source of Evil Qi at the same level.
「The next day.」
Chen Ku didn't rush to Crocodile Bay but stayed at home to study the "Earth Art Fist."
This fist technique was also called Dog Fist.
It contained eight or nine moves, but the most crucial killing move was actually just one:
Yellow Dog Peeing!
After studying the explanation of how to execute the kick and apply force, Chen Ku increasingly marveled at how insidious and vicious this killing move was.
The key to Yellow Dog Peeing lies in squatting and contracting the body. It relies on sheer surprise, combining a sudden surge of force into one. The intent to kill is hidden within; motionless until the moment of attack, blood must be drawn upon moving. The book says this move's key lies in a single Incantation: 'Exhibit Bundle One Life Perish'.
Extending the leg, retracting the leg. This motion was obscure and untraceable, catching the opponent completely off-guard. The kick shot out silently, swift as lightning, directly at the heart.
Isn't this just a combination of Shadowless Kick and Heart-piercing Leg?
Chen Ku planned to practice this move first, as a trump card.
Continuing to read, he discovered something.
The Fist Manual says that, according to proficiency level, any Martial Arts or Fist Technique can be divided into four stages: entry-level, Minor Achievement, great achievement, and Perfection.
This hidden leg technique, Yellow Dog Peeing, is the most refined killing move in the entire Fist Technique. Someone with ordinary Talent would need at least five years of practice to reach great achievement, and at least ten years of immersion to attain Perfection. And the four marks of the entry-level, Minor Achievement, great achievement, and Perfection stages are respectively: generating wind, no wind, creating a sound, and no sound.
The 'wind' was the rush of air from the leg, and the 'sound' was a sonic boom.
Kicking with leg wind was entry-level. Concealing the leg wind while the force remained was Minor Achievement. Kicking with a sonic boom was great achievement. Concealing all sound while the force remained unchanged was Perfection.
Chen Ku pondered and went to the small hill behind his house, intending to test the power of this move.
His current explosive power of five hundred jin was derived from the Skinny Dog's leg strength.
He immediately activated the Shape Shifting state, contemplating the essence of how Yellow Dog Peeing unleashed its power.
WHOOSH!
The leg wind howled!
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
With the explosive pouncing power of the Skinny Dog Transformation, which covered four zhang in a single leap...
BUZZ... CRACK!!!
After a dozen kicks, one of them actually produced a series of sharp CRACKLING sounds in the air!
This kick, as swift as lightning and as forceful as thunder, landed on a locust tree the size of a bowl.
CRACK!
The kick directly snapped a tree as thick as an adult's thigh.
But he also grumbled to himself that the trees on this hillside weren't his; they belonged to Guo Xiangshen from the village. He'd better leave quickly, or there would be trouble.
However,
Leg Wind Burst? In the Skinny Dog Transformation state, I've reached great achievement with Yellow Dog Peeing right from the start?!
Chen Ku was astonished and delighted.
He then looked down at the large locust tree that had been snapped in half by his kick.
He thought to himself, If this kick were to hit Huang Ba squarely in the chest, it should be able to kill him.
Instantly possessing such a lethal move, Chen Ku felt much more at ease.
The only downside is that the Realm of this trump card comes from the augmentation of the Skinny Dog Transformation. It disappears when the transformation is deactivated. I need to quickly make this Realm my own, to achieve what the Fist Manual calls 'practicing as if possessed by a spirit.' It has to truly become mine; once integrated, it can never be lost.
Possessing such a trump card, Chen Ku felt much more confident venturing into the mountains. He almost wished a wild wolf would suddenly appear so he could test his leg technique.
Over the next three or four days, Chen Ku went out to purchase supplies. His daily routine involved traversing the mountain forests, gathering herbs, and scouting Crocodile Bay, trying to figure out a way to obtain the Treasured Medicine. He also practiced his Martial Arts every morning and evening, working to fully assimilate the Realm granted by the Skinny Dog Transformation.
「Elsewhere.」
"Where's Xie Gouzi? I haven't seen him for four or five days!"
"Didn't Boss Ba send him to watch Chen Ku? He's hardly been seen since."
"Could he have earned some money and skipped town?"
At their gathering spot in the ruined temple, these ruffians belatedly realized that Xie Gouzi had been missing for four or five days.
Huang Ba frowned. "How can a grown man just disappear?!"
His first thought was that this rascal Xie Gouzi had found something valuable at the Chen Family's place, pocketed it, and fled.