Chapter 147

Xue Jin'an meant well, but Fang Heshang took it as a provocation. He forced a smile and said, "How you want me to die is up to you, Seventh Prince!"

As Monk Fang spoke, he lunged forward, gathering his strength. As soon as he finished speaking, he launched himself forward, unleashing a Dragon Claw Hand strike aimed at Xue Jin'an's throat. His first move was a deadly attack, showing no intention of stopping short of a direct confrontation.

Xue Jin'an understood; this meant to go all out and kill as many people as possible. Facing the oncoming gale, he remained unmoved and calmly completed the procedure: "Note 'Dead Man Slightly Alive' added successfully."

Xue Jin'an automatically entered combat mode. Blue flashes appeared in his black pupils. Everything in his field of vision was converted into precise numbers and entered into his mind, flowing in a data network composed of 0s and 1s.

Just as Monk Fang's dragon claw was about to seize his throat, Xue Jin'an moved. He took a step to the side, slightly turned his body, and deftly avoided the attack. Monk Fang's momentum had not subsided, and he continued to pounce from the space he had created. In the instant the two passed each other, Xue Jin'an kicked out with lightning speed, his leg whipping across Monk Fang's chest, sending him flying.

Monk Fang rolled a couple of times in the sandpit before stopping. He then lay half-prone on the ground, his eyes fixed on Xue Jin'an's direction. He exhaled a deep breath, his inner energy circulating throughout his body, causing mist to rise and eliciting gasps of disbelief.

It is said that the poor should study literature and the rich should study martial arts. The fact that Monk Fang had the idea of ​​becoming a monk and was even afraid that the temple would not accept him so he shaved his head himself shows how poor he was. Before entering the army, he had never learned any martial arts. His strong physique was all from farming and carrying bags at the dock. The military taught the soldiers basic external and internal skills, which would be considered second-rate in the martial arts world.

However, even with such a mediocre internal skill, Monk Fang had actually mastered some techniques and was able to project his internal energy outwards—this would be considered third-rate in the martial arts world. If he were to further improve his external martial art, the Dragon Claw Hand, he might even be able to reach second-rate status.

"I heard that he was suppressed by his former superior because of his talent and never got the chance to rise in the ranks. I thought it was just empty talk, but it turns out it's true. It's a pity that he got too old and it delayed him." Even Prince Zhang couldn't help but sigh.

The Third Prince frowned upon hearing this, finding it somewhat exaggerated, and scoffed, "I was better than him when I was ten years old, what kind of talent is that?"

While other princes were learning to read and write, the Third Prince was already practicing martial arts for several years, building a foundation until his bones and tendons had grown to the point where he could exert himself. Only then, under the guidance of his maternal uncle Qian Dezhong, did he begin to cultivate internal energy, thus formally entering the path of martial arts. After that, his martial arts skills improved rapidly, and by the age of ten, he could fight the martial arts master in the Imperial Study for over a hundred rounds without being at a disadvantage.

The teachers in the Imperial Study were all carefully selected, and they were all top-notch in their respective fields. The martial arts master was from the Northwest Army's Sharpshooter Battalion, and his combat strength was above first-class in the martial arts world, but not quite a grandmaster.

If you think about it carefully, the Third Prince had only been practicing internal energy cultivation for a few years when he was ten years old, which was far less than the time that Monk Fang had spent in the army. There was a difference in the quality of their internal energy cultivation, but overall, the Third Prince's talent was more outstanding, and he was probably at the same level as Cui Zui.

Zhang Shizi, who also came from the Imperial Study and could be described as both scholarly and martial, but whose martial arts skills were still a hair's breadth away from being first-rate: "..."

Prince Zhang was speechless. He wanted to retort, but the image of being beaten by this guy was still fresh in his mind, and the pain in his muscles was alerting his nerves. Although the reason he was like this was 60% due to the demands that the Seventh Prince had made in the middle, the fact that the Third Prince could make him so helpless based on those demands proved, to some extent, the Third Prince's prowess.

The way Zhang Shizi looked at the Third Prince changed. He gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and muttered resentfully, "They're all muscle-bound but brainless bastards! If they're so capable, let's compete in poetry and song. I can beat them so badly they won't even have their underwear left!"

It's not that he's incapable; it's that his talents are divided, half in martial arts and half in literature. Unlike those who only grow physically, hmph!

While the two were exchanging words, Monk Fang made another move. He left five deep holes in the sand with his five fingers, his limbs bulging with muscles and veins popping out. With a loud shout, he pounced on Xue Jin'an again.

The two exchanged blows several times in the blink of an eye. Xue Jin'an only dodged and did not attack. He was never in a hurry to move. He would only dodge lightly when the killing move was so close that he had no choice but to move. It looked like he was toying with him.

Fang the monk was provoked and his attacks became increasingly fierce, his inner force almost covering his entire body, but he still failed to hit the Seventh Prince. Moreover, he keenly sensed that the Seventh Prince's evasions were becoming more nimble and simple, with the superfluous parts being eliminated one by one.

As Monk Fang grew more agitated, his attention became even more focused. Once again, his attack was evaded. This time, Monk Fang saw clearly that the Seventh Prince's foot had moved before he could make a move, assuming a dodging stance.

"He's familiar with my movements!" The thought immediately flashed through Monk Fang's mind.

Indeed, Xue Jin'an hadn't made many moves, but he had been observing. Every action of Fang Heshang was recorded and integrated by him. When he started to predict the trajectory, it meant that he had already figured out this person and had a complete set of moves to defeat him.

However, Xue Jin'an did not act immediately. He was very kind to his personal guards and planned to wait until they had shown enough before launching a counterattack.

Just then, a very interesting accident occurred.

Xue Jin'an's prediction of Monk Fang's trajectory failed—or, to be more precise, it wasn't a failure, but rather that Monk Fang, in the middle of his attack, defied human inertia and withdrew his movement, then twisted. The angle of his upper and lower body twisting had reached the limit of human ability, infinitely close to a straight angle.

This unexpected turn of events caused Xue Jin'an to pause slightly. Of course, he quickly recovered and used his toes to turn and glide, propelling his entire body forward. Fang Heshang's ultimate attack missed its mark, grazing Xue Jin'an's face. His slightly disheveled hair trembled from the force of the punch, and his skin felt slightly hot.

Monk Fang lost his balance and fell onto the sand. He couldn't help but pound the sand and let out a low growl of resentment.

"Shall we continue?" Xue Jin'an asked, his voice tinged with a hint of anticipation that he himself didn't even realize.

Xue Jin'an became interested in this human. He wanted to disassemble his body, understand his structure, and see how he had done that just now.

"Continue!" Monk Fang slapped the ground and stood up.

“Alright.” Xue Jin’an’s dark eyes brightened slightly as he stared intently at Monk Fang, a friendly smile playing on his lips, and reminded him, “I’m about to make my move.”

"Yes!" Monk Fang responded loudly, taking a deep breath and becoming extremely vigilant.

Xue Jin'an moved. He wasn't particularly fast, but his footwork was strange. Fang Heshang stared intently at him, but Xue Jin'an disappeared before his eyes, and a hand landed on his shoulder.

Fang Heshang reacted quickly enough. He turned around and stepped back, delivering a blow. As Xue Jin'an dodged, he punched Fang Heshang in the chest. The fatal spot was attacked, and Fang Heshang opened his mouth as if suffocating. The taste of blood rushed to his throat. He was dazed for a moment and felt Xue Jin'an's hand slide down his shoulder along the muscle texture and finally grab his wrist.

"Crack"—a crisp sound, the sound of the wrist being dislocated.

Monk Fang immediately came to his senses and instinctively began to struggle, but then he heard a calm young voice say, "Wait, don't rush, I'll install it for you."

"Crack!"—another crisp sound, and the bone in his wrist was put back in place.

Monk Fang forcefully pulled his hand back and took several steps back, gripping his wrist and catching his breath before suppressing his shock and uncertainty. This time, Xue Jin'an took the initiative to attack, reminding him again before doing so, "I'm coming."

Monk Fang immediately put aside his thoughts and continued to fight. He thought it was just an accident, but he didn't expect it to be the beginning of everything.

...

The training ground fell into an unprecedented silence, with only the sharp whistling of blows and the chilling sound of bones breaking. The two fighters were locked in fierce combat, but the atmosphere grew increasingly silent and tense. Everyone stared wide-eyed, cold sweat creeping over their skin. The passing cold wind seemed to seep into their hearts, chilling their blood.

Unconsciously, they held their breath, not daring to breathe loudly. Some people's faces gradually turned red from suffocation, some closed their eyes in unbearable pain, and some hugged themselves tightly to prevent screams from bursting out of their mouths.

This is a violent aesthetic implemented unilaterally.

Xue Jin'an disassembled and reassembled every bone in Fang Heshang's body, and entered the condition of every muscle and tendon into the database... He explored the limits of Fang Heshang's body, and also found that this human's endurance was very high and his recovery ability was better than that of ordinary people. He even pulled up the human body diagram in the database for comparison and found that Fang Heshang's body was indeed completely grown according to the standard, not a bit more or less.

How amazing! This was the first time Xue Jin'an had seen such a perfect human being, and he couldn't help but play with him for a while. When he finally stopped, Fang Heshang was lying in the sandpit with a vacant look in his eyes, like a dead fish stranded on the sand, his breathing barely audible.

Although there was no blood, it seems to fit the standard of "the dead are brought back to life".

"Shall we continue?" Xue Jin'an asked again.

When Monk Fang heard his voice, he trembled. His mind had not yet returned to his body, and he was only instinctively shaking his head in refusal.

Xue Jin'an's gaze lingered on his skull, the only place that hadn't been touched. Unfortunately, as the otaku had said, one shouldn't force others to do things they don't want to do.

He said regretfully, "Okay, you're welcome to challenge me again next time. I'd be happy to."

As Xue Jin'an spoke, his smile was two pixels brighter than usual in order to express his friendliness.

The monk was so frightened that he shuddered. His spirit, which had just returned a little, flew out of his body again. His eyes lost focus, and he lay there pitifully weak and helpless.

"How tragic." Prince Zhang murmured unconsciously as he looked at the person lying there like a corpse.

"..." The Third Prince tried with difficulty to defend his Seventh Brother, "Fighting...is inevitable...um..."

Prince Zhang stared at him with dead fish eyes: "Look at those people over there and say it again with your conscience."

The third prince closed his eyes.

Xue Jin'an, having warmed up, was also feeling a bit hot. He rolled up his sleeves and tied them up, then smiled at the other guards, like the King of Hell beckoning by the River of Oblivion: "Who's next?"

The guards: "..."

They all took a step back, then two steps, then three steps—finally, one of the slower ones managed to step forward.

"Better you die than me, my friend. Rest in peace. We'll definitely offer incense for you next Ghost Festival." The others looked at him with a mixture of pity and resolute indignation.

Forced to become the next foot soldier: "..."

"You—" Xue Jin'an had just opened his mouth when he was interrupted by a flustered soldier who raised his hand. He stammered, "Your Highness, I...I...I choose the Third Prince!"

Xue Jin paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "As long as Third Brother agrees, that's fine."

The Third Prince met the pitiful soldier's gaze, and then thought of his seventh brother's cruelty just now. For once, he had a thought that saving a life was better than building a seven-story pagoda. "Okay."

Almost the instant he finished speaking, people eagerly raised their hands, shouting, "Me! Me! Me too, I choose the Third Prince!"

The remaining 198 guards all chose to abandon their commander and support the Third Prince.

Even though Xue Jin'an didn't understand human emotions, he could tell that these people avoided him like the plague. Although he didn't really care who was testing him, he was still somewhat puzzled.

"Why didn't you choose me? Do you hate me?" Xue Jin'an asked earnestly.

"No, absolutely not!!" the guards retorted hoarsely. One of them, who reacted the fastest, spoke at breakneck speed, "Sir, you're very good, you're excellent. It's us who's not good. We're more fragile. We prefer gentleness!"

He spoke in one breath, afraid that if he spoke too slowly, his respected superiors would fight them.

The Third Prince, who was being called gentle for the first time: "..."

It seems he's been taken for a fool. The Third Prince grinned maliciously and clenched his fist.

Finally, Xue Jin'an's newly formed two hundred personal guards, except for Monk Fang, all walked together, supporting each other. As for Monk Fang, he was carried away by his limbs.

Before leaving the training ground, he tremblingly reached out and grabbed Xue Jin'an's sleeve, asking with all his might, "Why didn't you use your internal energy?"

Xue Jin'an replied, "Because I don't have one."

Monk Fang froze, and it took him a while to come to his senses before he struggled to his feet. "No, this is impossible!"

Before Monk Fang could even react, his subconscious disregarded his injuries and mobilized his inner strength to attack Xue Jin'an.

The Third Prince stood directly in front of Xue Jin'an, unleashing a torrent of internal energy that not only neutralized the attack but also sent Monk Fang flying, crashing to the ground and rolling twice before stopping.

The Third Prince's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he spoke sharply, "How dare you!"

"I..." Monk Fang was hit by the backlash of internal force and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The Third Prince did not want to let him off so easily. He clenched his fists and was about to punch him when Xue Jin'an stopped him.

"Seventh brother, don't be so kind. This kind of person should be taught a lesson. He—" The Third Prince's words were stopped by a look from Xue Jin'an. He frowned in annoyance and turned his head away.

Xue Jin'an walked up to Fang Heshang, squatted down and examined his internal injuries. The situation was not serious. He said, "It is very foolish to make a move when you don't know the strength of both sides. Your strength is good and your physical data is also very interesting, but I don't need soldiers who don't follow orders."

Xue Jin'an stood up, and Fang Heshang's gaze followed him subconsciously as he raised his head.

At this point, everyone thought the matter was probably over, and the two soldiers waiting nearby were preparing to come forward and take Monk Fang away.

Xue Jin'an raised his leg and kicked Fang Heshang hard in the head from below, making him roll over. Fang Heshang was dizzy and his vision was on the verge of blurring. A drop of blood splattered onto Xue Jin'an's cheek.

In his last moments of consciousness, Monk Fang only saw that dazzling red. He heard his young superior officer say, "This is your punishment for acting without permission. I hope you remember it and don't do it again."

Then he heard his own weak voice reply, "Your subordinate... will follow your instructions."