Dao Fruit

Yaoguang stood less than 1.8 meters tall. Before the 2.3-meter-tall demon, he looked like a young girl facing a hulking brute. Yet he drew his sword without hesitation and charged straight at the mountain of flesh. With power bursting from beneath his feet, strength coursed through his entire body, launching him forward like a bolt loosed from a crossbow. As he surged ahead with broad strides, the massive demon roared with equal excitement and launched into a charge of its own. Its gigantic frame bore down like an avalanche of flesh. At the sight, Yaoguang's bones and sinews sang in unison. The pent-up force within him surged and compounded layer upon layer, pouring entirely into the sword in his hand. With an arm steady to the absolute extreme, he gripped the razor-sharp short sword. At that moment, a faint, almost imperceptible white ripple seemed to stir around the blade's tip as he thrust directly toward the hulking mountain of flesh... Just as their charging forms were about to collide, the demon let out a low growl. Its right hand, already partially monstrous, mutated violently into a thick, fleshy paw that swatted down directly at Yaoguang's thrusting blade. Even though the thrust could pierce the thick paw, the demon's colossal bulk and terrifying weight meant the ensuing head-on impact would certainly send Yaoguang flying, inflicting grievous injury in an instant. In a flash of sparks and lightning— At the split second before impact, Yaoguang violently shifted sideways, evading a charge capable of shattering reinforced walls to dust. One man, one monster... They brushed past each other. Yaoguang could clearly smell the warm, sickening stench wafting from the creature! Yet at the very instant their bodies were about to clear each other, Yaoguang snapped his sword into a sharp turn, pivoting from a thrust into a horizontal slash that slammed heavily against the demon's massive flank. Against any other martial artist, such a strike could theoretically tear their body open. At worst, it might have cleaved them clean in two. Yet against this demon... *Skrrrt!* A dull, grating screech echoed. Though the sharp blade tore into the demon's flesh, it felt as if it had struck solid stone, unable to bite deep. Moreover, as the edge penetrated, an overwhelmingly powerful recoil surged back through the hands gripping the sword. Under the violent jarring and drag of opposing forces, the blade was nearly ripped from his grasp. Yaoguang's expression tightened. Yet his adjustment was decisive to the extreme. In an instant, the heavy cleave meant to sever the demon gave way to a fluid sweep that rode along the contour of its flesh. *Chhh!* The short sword swept free, trailing a spray of crimson blood. Far from dealing a lethal blow, however, the shed blood only stoked the demon's savage ferocity. "Roar!" With a low roar, the beast's demonic traits became even more pronounced. Its massive bulk twisted around to pursue him, and its gigantic arm swung out like a solid steel pipe whirled with full force, smashing violently in his direction. At the critical moment, Yaoguang used the short sword in his hand as a pivot to twist midair! As his body inverted, he released his grip on the flying short sword. Just before that, the leg about to pass the demon— his right leg, to be precise—had already drawn back. As the released blade hung suspended in the air, about to plummet under inertia, his bent right leg snapped straight, kicking out squarely against the pommel. *Bang!* Under that kick, the sword shot forth like an arrow loosed from a bowstring, tearing through the air with an ear-piercing shriek. Before the demon could even react, the blade drove into its skull, piercing clean through. A lethal strike! *Squelch!* The bare blade, unencumbered by a scabbard, pierced through the monster's skull and plunged halfway into the wall ahead with unabated momentum. Only then did Yaoguang, carried by the momentum of his charge and the midair spin, touch down on the floor. Having inverted midair, he had lacked the time to adjust his center of gravity; upon landing, he staggered back three paces before barely steadying himself. Ahead of him, the demon's 2.3-meter-tall mountain of flesh surged forward two paces on its own momentum before crashing heavily onto the ground. Four meters in front of him, the hilt of the short sword buried halfway into the wall still hummed with faint vibration, rustling down showers of concrete dust and chips. "Whew!" Yaoguang exhaled a long breath. He blew out the hot wave generated by the violent churning of his blood and qi. He cast a glance at the dozens of human corpses still hanging throughout the room like cured meats... Men and women alike. In the end, he remained silent. He then walked over to the wall and pulled the embedded sword free. It had to be said, a sword costing several hundred thousand was indeed worth every cent. Even after plunging halfway into concrete, it showed no noticeable damage. Still, proper maintenance once he returned would be unavoidable. "Two left," he muttered. With a flick of his right hand, he shook off the clinging dust and blood. Holding the sword in one hand, he pushed open the iron door, closed it behind him, walked through the torture chamber, and opened the door on the opposite side. Inside the room... There were still iron cages, row upon row, containing hundreds of numb, despairing people. Yaoguang said nothing. He simply pulled the door shut. He did not want them to see the horrors inside the demon's chamber. Even though... what they had already endured was likely enough to have shattered their minds. Having closed the door, he did not unlock the cages to set them free either. Instead, as if nothing had happened, he walked out of the room, climbed the stairs, and exited the basement. Just then, a guard pushed the entrance door open and stepped inside. Perhaps he was coming to relieve the basement guard? Or perhaps two guards had been stationed here to begin with. Regardless, it no longer mattered. The instant their eyes met, Yaoguang snapped the man's neck without missing a beat, then gently carried the corpse back down the stairs. With a weapon at hand, the intent to kill arises naturally! Let alone for a Grandmaster, whose entire body served as a lethal instrument from head to toe. When a Grandmaster harbored killing intent, ordinary men were nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter before him—unless he was encircled by an organized military unit of company size or greater. Closing the stairwell door behind him, Yaoguang slipped into an empty room and vaulted out through the window. He made straight for the location of the second demon. Midway there, Yaoguang paused slightly. Within his spiritual world, the branch representing [Martial Artist], having absorbed the experience from [Demon Hunting], had finally grown to its utmost peak. Beyond granting some experience and techniques for fighting above his rank, it had at last blossomed and borne fruit. With this, the third rank of Grandmaster was completely perfected, every detail filled in, flawless and whole. Had he completed his cultivation of the third rank according to these insights, he would have become the strongest Grandmaster alive. However... Yaoguang felt no compulsion to chase arbitrary extremes. Nor did he nurse ambitions of slaying a Martial Saint while still a Grandmaster. As long as his foundation was solid, he would break through without hesitation when the time came. Thus, the technical details granted by perfecting the third rank were secondary; what truly mattered was the third Dao Fruit that had condensed. A Dao Fruit was the physical manifestation of a cultivator's pinnacle understanding and mastery of a given realm. "The first two Dao Fruits: one is Formless, concealing weapons upon the body; the second is Perception, discerning anomalies. As for this third Dao Fruit..." Soon, the Dao Fruit was plucked, dissolving into streaks of starlight that illuminated his spiritual world. As the starlight bathed him, countless memories from his time as a third-rank Grandmaster surfaced one after another. Painstaking cultivation, slaughtering demons, life-and-death clashes... Most of them walked the path of bloody combat. For only upon reaching the Grandmaster stage could one battle demons with any assurance of survival. Such ordeals had forged a wealth of combat mastery. That rich combat experience, woven together with the Grandmaster realm's insights, comprehension, and enlightenment, ultimately coalesced into the Dao Fruit secret technique of the third-rank Grandmaster! The sole secret technique meant for direct combat. Star Ignition. Man possesses seven great apertures, mirroring the stars of the nine heavens. With each star ignited, the body's latent potential would be stimulated, erupting with power far exceeding ordinary limits. This was not merely a secret technique, but a forbidden art! A desperate art of gambling one's life! A technique of absolute slaughter! Yet... this was precisely the art Yaoguang needed right now!