Chapter 011: Ten Years

Swish! A flash of blade light burst from Wu Anxun's waist.

Drawing his long blade, Wu Anxun did not retreat or dodge; instead, he advanced to meet the onrushing “Mei Jinju,” swinging his blade in a fierce arc.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—

The blade danced with a relentless clarity, the wind from its motion howling through the air. Wu Anxun, wielding his long blade, unleashed a seamless flurry of strikes around “Mei Jinju,” his technique impassable as a steel wall.

Under the overlapping shadows of his blade, the already mutilated body of “Mei Jinju” suffered further devastating blows.

A sickening thud—a half-severed right leg tore away, spiraling through the air before crashing to the ground.

A wet rip—the gaping abdomen was split in two, severed front and back.

With a dull thump, half a head was lopped from the neck, arcing high before landing with a heavy crash more than ten meters away.

Wet splattering sounds followed as the mutilated corpse was chopped into several pieces, scattered about the ground.

At last, Wu Anxun stopped, his face cold as he swept his gaze over the dismembered remains of “Mei Jinju” and barked, “Bring the heavy oil.”

“...Yes, yes.” The security team members, hidden in ambush around the area, snapped out of their shock, stammering their response.

He was incredible!

Though “Mei Jinju” had been crippled by heavy firepower, drastically diminishing her mobility, Wu Anxun’s swift blade, slicing her into pieces, was a sight that left everyone in awe.

Not only the members of the security team, but even Factory Chief Wang and the others were deeply stirred, their blood surging with excitement.

This was the strength of a true martial artist—the goal every resident of Geostar pursued.

With the abilities Wu Anxun displayed, no one doubted his capacity to deal with the corpse puppet that Mei Jinju had become.

Still, as a precaution and to prevent “Mei Jinju” from fleeing into the town, they had first used overwhelming firepower.

The result was perfect—“Mei Jinju” was subdued.

Now, Wu Anxun ordered his subordinates to fetch heavy oil, intending to burn “Mei Jinju's” remains.

Yet, though her body was in pieces, her mouth still moved, her fingers curled and flexed, and her limbs twitched incessantly.

She was not dead!

This unnerving sight made the security officers hesitate, instinctively backing away from the twitching remains, none daring to gather them up for burning.

Wu Anxun’s expression darkened, ready to scold them—

“I’ll do it! Leave it to me!” Su Jingxing, running over hastily, called out from a distance, “I’m a professional at handling corpses—let me take care of it!”

“Haha, that’s right, Xiao Su and Captain Gu are the most experienced with this kind of work,” Factory Chief Wang said with a broad smile to Wu Anxun. “Don’t be upset, Brother Wu. Let the experts handle what they’re good at.”

“Hmph.” Wu Anxun gave a short, dismissive grunt and said no more.

The assembled security officers and government staff gave a collective sigh of relief. All eyes turned to Su Jingxing, full of gratitude as he hurried over.

Su Jingxing, wielding a pair of oversized tongs, picked up the pieces of “Mei Jinju’s” body one by one, piling them together.

The moment all the remains were gathered—

[Companion Corpse Parasite detected. Pick up?]

There it was!

As expected, a new card was available for collection.

The “Companion Corpse Parasite” must have been the true name of this corpse puppet.

Su Jingxing paid little mind to the specifics; restraining his excitement, he silently responded “yes” in his mind.

In the next instant, a card appeared soundlessly in his pocket.

Without examining it, Su Jingxing set down the tongs, took the heavy oil pail brought by the security team, and poured it over the assembled remains of “Mei Jinju.”

Dousing complete, he retreated to the side and gestured for the officer holding a lit torch to set the remains alight.

The man nodded gratefully, flung the torch onto “Mei Jinju’s” remains—

Whoom!

A tower of flames roared skyward.

Fragmented pieces of “Mei Jinju” howled in the fire, but, unable to move, were soon reduced to ash.

Throughout the process, everyone present watched in somber silence.

For many, it was their first time seeing a corpse puppet—especially one that had once been Mei Jinju. Their feelings were complicated and heavy.

There was no doubt: in this calamity that had nearly become a disaster, Mei Jinju was the most innocent party.

All because Zhou Hongsong, emboldened by desire, had tried to force himself on her. She resisted fiercely, and he killed her in the struggle.

To escape justice, Zhou Hongsong placed her corpse in a freezer, then smuggled it to the mountains late at night and buried it in a shallow grave.

Did Zhou Hongsong know that the body would attract corpse parasite eggs?

He did.

Having confessed everything, he recounted the entire sequence of events without restraint.

After accidentally killing Mei Jinju, Zhou Hongsong, driven by a gambler’s hope, believed that with her corpse frozen in the fridge, any corpse parasite eggs would not detect her for some time. After enough time, with Mei Jinju missing, no one would connect it to him.

By then, if Mei Jinju became a corpse puppet and started killing people in the mountains, it would have nothing to do with Zhou Hongsong.

After all, he never went into the mountains.

As for those who might die as a result, Zhou Hongsong could only offer a perfunctory apology.

“Better them than me,” was his only thought—callous in the extreme.

Su Jingxing had now seen this kind of ruthless thinking firsthand.

Because of Zhou Hongsong, eleven people had died.

The mountain patrol team was wiped out; their bodies were brought to the foot of the mountain and burned to ash.

When their families received the remains, they surrounded Zhou Hongsong and beat him half to death.

His limbs—no, all five limbs—were broken.

Even if he was healed, he would be a cripple for the rest of his life.

Compared to a swift execution, letting him live in misery seemed a far more satisfying form of retribution.

Of course, none of this had anything to do with Su Jingxing.

After a day out, Su Jingxing and Gu Bo returned to Qinghe City in an empty vehicle. Along the way, Gu Bo was full of emotion, and Su Jingxing replied from time to time, though his thoughts had long since drifted from the lumber town.

His mind was fixed solely on the card in his pocket.

Finally back at the crematorium, Su Jingxing found an excuse to slip away, hurried to the back mountain, and took out the card obtained from “Mei Jinju” to examine it.

A Martial Practice Card!

It wasn’t a card for physique enhancement or invulnerability as he had imagined, nor one for super speed or agility.

Instead, this newly acquired Martial Practice Card allowed him to master martial arts manuals!

Su Jingxing had never expected such a card existed.

Once unlocked, any martial arts manual could be practiced through it—for up to ten years!

Take his “Seven Step Fist.” Practicing on his own, who knew how long it would take to reach the deepest level?

With the Martial Practice Card, that time could be shortened by ten years!

“In ten years, how far will I be able to master the ‘Seven Step Fist’?”

Taking a deep breath to steady his excitement, Su Jingxing unlocked the card.

Whoosh!

The Martial Practice Card became a ray of light, enveloping his entire body.

Suddenly, Su Jingxing’s vision brightened. Before he could react, he found himself in a vast, white expanse.

There, he was compelled to practice the “Seven Step Fist”—again and again, ceaselessly.

He felt no fatigue, no hunger or thirst, no soreness.

It was as if he had forgotten everything but the relentless pursuit of practice.

Again and again, ceaselessly.

Time slipped by.

He did not know how long had passed before the white expanse shattered, his consciousness returning to his body, and Su Jingxing finally awoke.

Opening his eyes, he saw the familiar scenery of the back mountain.

“How long... has it been?”