Chapter 031: A Flourishing of Talent

In a narrow alleyway, Su Jingxing hurried along, scanning the walls and corners on either side for any surveillance cameras. He passed through seven or eight alleys in succession, triple-checking that there was no monitoring in place. Only then did he find a deserted corner, removed his hood, and tossed it into a trash bin.

After walking through two more alleys, he surveyed his surroundings again, making sure there were no cameras. He then stripped off his large martial artist’s uniform and likewise threw it away. He also took off his human-skin mask, slipped it into the pocket of his casual clothes, and relaxed his stride, emerging calmly from the alley.

Pretending to be Duan Feihong had always been a temporary measure, necessary only for the transaction. Now, with their first deal concluded and that identity entangled in the massacre of the Dagger Society, there was no longer any need to impersonate him. Whether or not Duan Feihong was responsible for the extermination of the Dagger Society was irrelevant to Su Jingxing.

He boarded a bus and leisurely returned to the small courtyard where he lived. Upon closing the door behind him, Su Jingxing immediately took out the cards he'd collected.

He started with the outermost one, the one obtained from Chen Xiaodao’s corpse— a skill card! Not bad, considering Chen Xiaodao had been a seventh-grade martial artist; the skills he possessed would surely be remarkable.

Su Jingxing gripped the card and extracted its information.

“Titan Blade!”

At first glance, it appeared to be a sword technique, but in reality, it was a hidden weapon skill. Throwing knives! Projectile weapons for ranged attacks.

For Su Jingxing, this was ideal, even compensating for a major weakness. Why is it that ten seventh-grade martial artists can’t defeat a single sixth-grade one? The reason lies in the sixth-grade’s access to true energy, which can be infused into martial skills and weapons, unleashing power from afar— sword aura, blade aura, fist marks, palm marks— these attacks can be projected over a dozen or several dozen meters. If a seventh-grade martial artist can’t evade, there's nothing to be done but take the hit and face death!

The same applied to Su Jingxing. No matter how powerful, if one cannot reach the enemy, how can one inflict harm? The acquisition of “Titan Blade” perfectly patched this flaw.

The only downside was that the card he’d collected contained only part of the technique. According to the information, “Titan Blade” consisted of three volumes: wielding the blade by strength, by energy, and by spirit. The card only recorded the first volume— wielding the blade by strength!

This wasn’t due to an incomplete collection, but simply because Chen Xiaodao only mastered that portion. He had only obtained the first volume himself; whether he had fully trained it was unknown.

Su Jingxing returned to his room and searched online for Chen Xiaodao’s exploits, finding that none of his public martial arts displays involved throwing knives. This left two possibilities: first, Chen Xiaodao was extremely thorough, never leaving survivors when he used his throwing knives; second, he had not yet mastered “Titan Blade.”

Su Jingxing carefully studied the details of this hidden weapon skill and found that training in “Titan Blade” was no easy feat. The word “Titan” alone spoke to its extraordinary nature. The first requirement for mastery was immense strength— something ordinary martial artists couldn’t achieve.

Great strength! Indeed, to practice “Titan Blade,” one needed tremendous physical power. Not the kind fostered by internal energy, but pure, raw bodily strength— like that of a strongman.

Most ninth-grade martial artists possess a thousand pounds of force, eighth-grade three thousand, seventh-grade ten thousand, all due to internal energy tempering the body and nourishing it. Each use of strength requires internal energy to drive it. Under these conditions, most martial artists, even if they obtained “Titan Blade,” would struggle to master it.

But Su Jingxing was different. After consuming Strength Pills, he had cultivated pure physical power, his hands alone capable of over seven thousand pounds of force. This “Titan Blade” was perfectly suited for him— even if it was only the first volume, wielding the blade by strength. Once mastered, each thrown blade would be like detonating a shell— the second meaning of “Titan.”

Of course, to achieve the effect of a blade as powerful as an explosive, one needed top-quality throwing knives. Ordinary iron knives wouldn’t suffice. Fortunately, Su Jingxing had previously acquired three such knives, though he hadn’t had a chance to use them yet. This meeting with Chen Xiaodao did not disappoint.

“Titan Blade”— exhilarating!

He unlocked the card, absorbing all the information from the first volume of “Titan Blade.” After a moment’s rest, Su Jingxing took out the other cards and examined them one by one.

Essence cards, essence cards, strength cards, internal energy cards, strength cards…

Over a hundred members of the Dagger Society had perished at their headquarters. Su Jingxing had collected nearly seventy cards. Checking them now, he found that most contained essence and strength rewards, with few internal energy cards. However, there were several skill cards.

Skills: Never Drunk!

Skills: Motorcycle Driving, Automobile Repair!

Skills: Bartending, Demolition, Makeup, Vocal Mimicry, Lockpicking!

Even “Web Design”? Amazing— truly a talented bunch.

The Dagger Society members were indeed full of hidden talents.

Su Jingxing’s lips twitched as he held the cards, until—

“Spirit Calming Card?”

“There are actually two Spirit Calming Cards?”

His eyes suddenly sparkled, amazement flooding his face.

Spirit Calming Cards, once unlocked, yielded Soul Nourishing Pills.

Soul Nourishing Pills were high-grade medicines that enhanced soul power. Last time, in the forestry town, Su Jingxing had picked up a Spirit Calming Card from the corpses of ten mountain patrol members, which had already surprised him. Now, he'd obtained two more!

“What’s going on? Under what circumstances can Spirit Calming Cards be collected?”

Reflecting on the two incidents, Su Jingxing found nothing in common besides the victims being killed. But the number of deaths was not limited to just those three. The patrol team had been slain by corpse puppets— perhaps a unique marker. The Dagger Society members, however, died at the hands of the enigmatic “Duan Feihong.” Surely one couldn’t say Duan Feihong was a corpse puppet as well? This wasn’t the wilderness, and those puppets weren’t so obedient as to only kill Dagger Society members.

Corpse puppets were controlled by the Corpse Demon Worm eggs! So far, no one had managed to control the Corpse Demon Worm.

No clues at all…

After much contemplation, Su Jingxing still couldn’t grasp the key. In the end, he had to let it go. Regardless, obtaining Spirit Calming Cards was a boon.

He unlocked them, gaining three Soul Nourishing Pills.

“Not bad— I didn’t expect Spirit Calming Cards to yield multiple pills.”

Su Jingxing smiled, swallowed one of the pills, and stored the other two for later.

After consuming the Soul Nourishing Pill, his soul power increased, making his mind inexplicably sharper, clearer, and more lucid.

As expected, the range for collecting cards expanded again. To know exactly how much, he’d have to test it at the crematorium.

The crematorium wasn’t going anywhere.

Su Jingxing didn’t rush off, but stayed home to unlock all his cards, absorbing all internal energy and skills, carefully storing the Strength Pills and Essence Pills.

After finishing everything, he headed to the crematorium cafeteria for dinner.

Afterward, he found a corpse to test his ability— sure enough, his collection range had increased by another meter. Though not as much as last time, Su Jingxing was still delighted.

That evening, he was scheduled for the late-night shift.

Su Jingxing decided to stay at the crematorium, helping his colleagues.

Near midnight, a sudden phone call came to the crematorium. Two members of the corpse collection team were requisitioned.

Su Jingxing was naturally among them.

As he quickly boarded the transport van, he asked in confusion, “Captain, what’s happening?”

“The Black Tiger Gang’s branch has been wiped out!”

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