Lion's Majesty

Night. Yu Xian sat outside his tent, bathing in the moonlight. Past midnight, dark clouds gradually obscured the moon, and a thin layer of mist rose from the ground. Seeing that he could no longer bathe in moonlight, Yu Xian slipped his phone into his pocket, kicked up into a handstand, and began doing handstand push-ups. Having joined the Evil-Slaying Squad under Qilin, in theory he was no longer hunted by the Blood Clan, which meant he was safe. Moreover, as a vampire, his lifespan was endless. As long as he dutifully soaked up the sun, he truly could live like a salty fish. The problem was that while his name read backward sounded like "salty fish," he was not actually someone who craved a life of leisure. Over the past two days, he had been constantly pondering how he should live the rest of his life, and what he should live for. Because his father had died of illness, he was terrified of death. Yet precisely because of that fear, he cherished life more than anyone. The scenes at school—classmates who had studied diligently, classmates who loved to fool around, classmates who were shy and quiet, classmates who were warm and cheerful—all had ended up as mangled corpses in the end. The terror lingering on their faces, the tear streaks faintly visible through the blood and grime, were branded deep into his heart. After reading through so many case files, he seemed to see heroic souls silently guarding the ordinary lives of the people; he saw young lives falling one after another in pools of blood. Why had Jin Sheng trusted him unconditionally? Because predecessors had paid with their lives to teach hard lessons, paving the road for him. In the end, he found his answer. He wanted to become a beacon of light. He wanted to dispel the fear in everyone's hearts. He wanted to protect the smiles on everyone's faces. That required tremendous power. And so, he had to become stronger, stronger, and even stronger! "...1,005... 1,007... 1,010... 1,020..." Supported by only a single finger, Yu Xian rapidly pumped out handstand push-ups. Just then, Jin Sheng returned from outside, carrying several rats that were larger than adult village dogs. He stopped in his tracks and watched Yu Xian. When Yu Xian switched hands to continue, Jin Sheng stepped forward and invited, "Want to head over there... and spar a bit?" As he spoke, he pointed behind him toward the school's sports field. "Is this team coaching?" Yu Xian's eyes lit up, and he asked with a smile. Jin Sheng smiled faintly. "You could say that. Up for it?" "Of course." Yu Xian immediately flipped down onto his feet and dusted off his hands. Handing the rat monsters to the soldiers to dispose of, Jin Sheng walked into the school grounds alongside Yu Xian. The two put some distance between themselves on the sports field. Jin Sheng said, "I'll restrict my power to the Insect rank. Come on." "Watch out, then, Captain," Yu Xian said with a nod. Both of his hands flicked at once, sending a flurry of silver threads shooting toward Jin Sheng. Standing his ground with fingers cloaked in golden light, Jin Sheng flicked at the silver threads with impeccable timing just as they drew near, effortlessly parrying every last strand in an instant. "Are those finger motions necessary? They're far too obvious," Jin Sheng asked curiously, watching the fingers Yu Xian used to manipulate the silver threads. Controlling the threads to loop around and thrust their sharp tips toward Jin Sheng, Yu Xian replied at the same time, "It makes them easier to control. Plus, threads shot from different parts of the body vary in flexibility. Threads from my fingertips are the most agile, followed by palms, then wrists, forearms, elbows, and upper arms. Threads shot from anywhere else are pretty hard to control." Because the Silver Blood in his body was limited, he naturally had to concentrate it in the most agile parts. That was also why losing his right arm to Zhou Tai had slashed his combat effectiveness so drastically. Between agile threads and clumsy ones, the difference in battle was vast. "That's purely due to a lack of proficiency. I've seen Marcus use the same ability. He commanded silver threads with endless variation, making them impossible to guard against. He could even coat his entire body to form silver armor—far beyond what you can do right now." Jin Sheng effortlessly evaded the silver thread strikes, speaking casually as he dodged. Yu Xian's eyes shone. A vampire's physical defenses were indeed not high. If he could weave silver threads into armor, it truly would provide decent protection. Perhaps he could learn how to knit sweaters later; theoretically, the two should be fairly similar. For now, though, the top priority was forcing Jin Sheng to go on the offensive. So far, Jin Sheng had done nothing but defend, parrying every attack with a single finger. Facing Jin Sheng... Although the pressure was not as suffocating as it had been against Zhou Tai, he could clearly feel the immense gulf between them in practical combat experience. Yu Xian continued to attack from various angles, trying to breach Jin Sheng's defense, but it was as if Jin Sheng had eyes in the back of his head; no matter what angle he attacked from, he was parried with ease. Realizing that pressing the assault would only waste stamina, Yu Xian promptly recalled all the silver threads. After a moment's thought, he wrapped the threads around his hands to form a crude pair of silver gauntlets. Then, he charged at Jin Sheng. Whether in ranged combat or close-quarters fighting, he wanted to learn as much as possible from him. "Not a bad idea," Jin Sheng said with a faint smile as he watched Yu Xian rush forward. Then he turned serious, a faint golden light appearing in the palms of his hands. Facing Yu Xian's punches, he intercepted them easily with his open palms. The two exchanged blows repeatedly across the sports field, though every exchange ended with Jin Sheng tapping a single finger against Yu Xian's forehead. "Have you studied martial arts?" Jin Sheng asked as they traded blows. Yu Xian answered honestly, "I learned some stuff online, but it doesn't seem very useful." "Combat techniques on the internet are meant for dealing with ordinary people. We possess transcendent power; strikes targeting many of those weak points simply don't work on us, which gives you the illusion that they're useless. You have an endless lifespan, so you should absorb everything you can. As for skill, it's just a matter of grinding over time—you'll get there eventually," Jin Sheng said with a laugh. In fact, through their spar, he had keenly sensed the massive difference between Yu Xian and an ordinary vampire. For an ordinary vampire, their strength during the first hundred years after turning was truly mediocre. Bullying regular humans was fine, but compared to most Transcendents, they were practically weaklings. That was the price of immortality. Yet what about Yu Xian? The force behind each of his punches was absurdly heavy, feeling like the head-on charge of a rhinoceros. To put it simply, Yu Xian's strength and speed had already reached the lower tier of the Ant rank. He didn't seem like a freshly turned vampire at all; instead, he was like one of those old monsters who had lived for two or three centuries. "All right, I have a clear enough idea of your strength. Watch yourself now," Jin Sheng said with a slight smile after blocking Yu Xian's jab. Danger! The hairs all over Yu Xian's body stood on end in an instant, and he sprang backward immediately. Yet it was as if Jin Sheng had predicted his every move; the moment Yu Xian retreated, Jin Sheng closed in just as fast, keeping the distance between them from opening up at all. Then Jin Sheng threw a rapid flurry of punches. Even though Yu Xian saw the fists coming, he was utterly powerless to block them. Punch after punch. Finally, an uppercut from Jin Sheng launched Yu Xian into midair. "Tiger Form Fist secret art: Lion's Majesty!" Jin Sheng called out. In midair, golden motes burst out from inside Yu Xian's body, coalescing into a massive golden lion that slammed Yu Xian toward the ground with a single swat of its paw. With a resounding crash, Yu Xian slammed heavily into the dirt, his bones shattered across his entire body, unable to move a muscle.