Chapter 109: Dragon Emerges from the Water, Undersea Shock
Chapter 109: Chapter 109: Dragon Emerges from the Water, Undersea Shock
The moonlight was like water.
A verdant serpentine body slithered through the water, its triangular head parting the waves.
The water churned as a Green Water Python burst from the surface, lunging at the backstroking Tang Wen.
WHOOSH!
Tang Wen’s fist turned black and slammed into its head.
The Green Water Python, dazed and confused, fled into the distance.
After a long while, there was still no sign of movement.
’You three sparring partners are getting lazier and lazier.’
’What’s the use of you anymore?’
For the first half of the month, the three Green Water Pythons had attacked Tang Wen frantically every night.
For the latter half, they became sluggish, their attacks hesitant and reluctant.
They clearly understood they were no match for Tang Wen.
Now, Tang Wen had to lie on the water’s surface, feigning exhaustion,
just to lure them into attacking.
[Golden Bell Shield, Master (2987/3000)]
He was just a dozen or so points away from leveling up.
But right at this critical moment, the Green Water Pythons no longer dared to approach him.
Similarly, after a month of relentless underwater training, day and night, his Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist was also on the verge of a breakthrough.
[Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Mastery (6000/6000)]
All it needed was a little more grinding to break through.
SPLASH!
Tang Wen pushed down on the water with his feet and stood up, walking as if on solid ground.
The lake was several meters deep, yet the water only came up to his waist.
"Commander, more refugees have arrived!" a scout reported, riding up on horseback.
Tang Wen asked calmly, "Are there many of them?"
"At least a thousand, mostly women, children, and the elderly."
Tang Wen shook his head. "Report it up the chain. Send men to intercept them; don’t let them near the lake."
"Yes, sir!"
Over the past month, word had somehow gotten out. People from the surrounding mountain strongholds, villages, and other settlements—anyone who couldn’t survive—had begun gathering in the direction of Flame Camp.
When asked, they all said they knew there was a lake here.
With a lake, there was water, and with water, perhaps there was a chance to live!
In just one short month, over ten thousand people had arrived at the lake.
The lake water was crucial for the camp’s food production and the survival of countless people, so there was no way these refugees would be allowed near it.
As a last resort, ten deep wells were dug a short distance from the lake to provide them with drinking water.
But food became another major problem.
The refugees had little food, and the camp certainly wasn’t going to hand any out.
At first, people would sneak to the lake to fish almost every day.
It wasn’t just ordinary people; among them were Martial Disciples and even Martial Artists.
Without exception, they were all sent to clear new land for farming.
After that, on Tang Wen’s suggestion, the camp began to deliberately seek out the able-bodied among the refugees—the Martial Disciples and Martial Artists.
They were put to work tilling land, smithing, laboring, or hunting.
As long as they completed their tasks on time, they and their families would be given a bite to eat.
This way, the remaining ordinary people among the refugees were no longer a threat.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The water’s surface roiled as if it were boiling.
Tang Wen threw forty-five punches in a single breath.
His powerful aura surged, and the creatures in the lake all fled from this area of water.
Several days passed, and the three Green Water Pythons never appeared again, day or night.
Three more days later, through his own efforts, Tang Wen forcibly pushed his Skill Experience over the threshold.
[Golden Bell Shield, Master → Mastery (1/6000)]
[Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist, Mastery → Expert (0/12000)]
The Green Water Pythons didn’t dare show their faces, and the Water Wheels were running normally.
Tang Wen informed General Zhao and left his post at the lake.
He rode alone on Wuzhu, leading two Low-level Exotic Beast Donkeys, and headed to the Southern Wilderness.
Riding south from the Hunting Team’s encampment, Wuzhu galloped for more than half a day until a few rolling stone hills appeared before him.
"AWOOOO!"
In the distance, a Sand Wolf howled.
The stone of the hills before him was granite, incredibly hard.
This was precisely what he was looking for.
Tang Wen took off his shirt. A faint golden light flickered in his eyes as blackness spread across his skin.
His entire upper body turned pitch-black.
Even his abs looked like a large bar of chocolate.
Both in color and shape.
Tang Wen focused his mind, using Visualization to try and make the black defense spread downward.
A few seconds later, the black defense actually began to move down.
But as it did, the black defense around his shoulders and neck began to slowly fade.
He tried again and again, tirelessly.
Failure came one time after another.
’It seems half my body is the maximum, and even then...’
He looked down at his blackened lower body. From his feet up, it was pitch-black.
But it only reached his waist.
It even skipped the area between his legs.
’My vitals are unprotected? How can this be acceptable?’
Tang Wen circulated his Spiritual Power, trying to deliberately protect that area.
However, he didn’t know if it was an issue with his skin or if his Realm was insufficient.
The black defense always avoided the critical spot.
After a few more tries, he stopped experimenting.
The blackness traveled back up, all the way to the top of his neck.
No matter what he did, it wouldn’t go any higher.
’Fine! I guess my Golden Bell Shield isn’t perfected yet!’
Two fatal spots could not be effectively protected.
CLANG!
Facing the cliff face, he threw a punch.
His black fist slammed into the mountain, sending stone fragments flying. A deep fist print appeared in the hard granite wall.
He pulled his arm back, and with a RATTLE, more stone debris fell away.
Tang Wen returned to his donkeys, took out a Hundred Refinements Dagger, and looked at it with a twinge of regret. He removed the dagger’s wooden handle and wedged it into a crack in the rock face, point-out.
The dagger’s sharp blade gleamed.
One look was enough to know it could easily disembowel a man.
Tang Wen took a deep breath, his right fist turning black. "Armament Haki!"
BANG!
His fist collided head-on with the dagger.
A slight stinging sensation pricked him as the immense Fist Power crushed the dagger into a piece of scrap metal.
His fist returned to its normal color. Tang Wen examined it carefully—the skin wasn’t even broken.
He had used the Contemplation Method’s burst for that punch.
This meant that when the Golden Bell Shield covered his fist, it not only numbed the pain but also increased the fist’s durability!
Furthermore, the defense was strong enough for him to catch a blade with his bare hands when facing an enemy of the same Level!
The blackness faded completely.
Tang Wen regulated his breathing.
His gaze was calm as he looked at the mountain before him.
Years of wind and sand erosion hadn’t changed its smoothness. To the touch, it was cool and solid.
In his mind’s eye, the surface of the water trembled, creating faint ripples. The ripples grew into rolling waves, layer upon layer, until they became a monstrous tsunami that blotted out the sky...
The wind rises from the tips of the duckweed; the wave forms from the slightest ripple!
Tang Wen struck.
[Mountain-Opening Cannon Fist Fifth Form: Dragon Emerges from the Water, Undersea Shock]
BOOM!
It was as if a missile had struck the mountain, setting off a chain reaction of explosions.
His black fist, carrying a barely perceptible tremor, smashed into the stone wall.
The hard granite, as if it were made of black tofu, was instantly pierced, leaving a deep, fist-shaped hole!
Tang Wen pulled his fist from the hole and opened his palm. Countless specks of stone dust drifted away on the wind.
"So this is Vibrating Force!"
He took a moment to gauge his stamina.
The energy cost of this burst was even greater than that of the Eight-Armed Divine Fist’s burst, about three times more than a normal one.
"But the cost is worth it!"
Looking at the black hole in the rock wall, he was overcome with excitement and unleashed a continuous barrage of bursts with his fists, feet, elbows, and knees.
Shards of rock flew everywhere.
It was like a heavy cannon bombarding the mountain.
He paused briefly, then slammed his back and hips into the mountain face.
Warmth from the Contemplation Method flowed through him. Tang Wen leaned back heavily, and a huge slab of rock, unable to withstand the vibration, sheared off the mountain and slid down.
He thrust his hip to the side, unleashing Explosive Force. The thin stone wall on the side of the mountain was shattered by the impact!
"The Cannon Fist has broken through. I’m now a First-class Martial Artist!"
"I really want to find someone to fight!"
"If I were really only fifteen, hmm, I’d probably jump to the top of the mountain and shout in all directions, ’Who else dares to challenge me!’"
Muttering to himself, Tang Wen smiled.
"Awoooo," a wolf’s howl echoed, much closer than before.
Tang Wen glanced over. "A Sand Wolf Pack! Hmm, a good group of opponents."
’Now that my Fist Technique is newly accomplished, I have to test it in real combat, don’t I?’