But I, still with my eyes closed, slowly approached them—completely unaffected by the dust. My hands shot out like lightning, as sudden as a cicada's wings, grabbing their necks and slamming their heads together with a resounding thud.
Two muffled groans followed, and then they collapsed limply to the ground…
I frowned slightly. In martial arts, there's a state of mind akin to "removing dust from a pearl," a mind like a pearl cleansed of dust, shining brightly. With only a cultivated sixth sense, one can run freely in pitch-black darkness, moving as freely as in daylight, without the confusion of being obscured.
Having reached the state of "removing dust from a pearl," even if someone is aiming a sniper rifle a thousand meters away, one remains unaffected by the surrounding noise, instantly sensing deadly danger.
This was many times more advanced than the previous level, "Falling Leaves and Cicada's Alert."
However, what puzzled me was that martial artists who could cultivate internal strength generally possessed the mental state of mind required for "Falling Leaves and Cicada's Alert," but these three lacked both. Furthermore, their martial arts experience was probably only at an amateur level in Taekwondo.
Could these people really cultivate internal strength?
The only remaining man among the four, the one wearing sunglasses, saw the stones fly and dust billow in a flash, followed by several loud bangs and his companion's painful groans. It took him a while to realize what had happened. He threw down his sunglasses, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Ever since receiving this power from the boss, any ordinary person had become as fragile as a broken tile under their fists and feet, easily breaking bones and tendons. They had once thought that so-called superhumans were nothing more than this.
But now, someone the boss claimed might be a superhuman had defeated them in less than thirty seconds. The difference in their abilities was probably no less than the difference between ordinary people and them!
A sudden surge of intense fear overwhelmed him; his legs trembled uncontrollably, and he retreated involuntarily—so this was how terrifying superhumans were.
"Pat, pat..." Accompanied by soft footsteps, the seemingly ordinary young man emerged from the dust as if taking a stroll.
His taut nerves snapped instantly. He turned to run as if he'd seen a ghost, but suddenly a gust of wind howled, followed by a numbness in his back. He froze, tripped over his own feet, and collapsed to the ground with a thud.
…
I flicked a pebble, striking a key acupoint on his back, causing him to fall. I then approached him and crouched down.
Although the man was dazed and disoriented from the fall, he possessed a foundation in internal energy and hadn't fainted. His fierce expression was gone, replaced by a cowardly timidity. Dust and tears mingled together, making him look incredibly dirty and pathetic.
"Please...please...don't...don't...kill me..." the man pleaded, tears streaming down his face, almost washing away the dust.
"Where did you get your hidden strength? Tell me and I'll let you go."
The man, as if grasping at a straw, blurted out everything he knew.
It turned out their hidden strength wasn't acquired through arduous practice, but rather implanted by their boss through some kind of miraculous surgery—
And this boss wasn't Xu Pengxuan, but someone else, seemingly surnamed Luo.
However, this boss surnamed Luo seemed to have a good relationship with Xu Pengxuan, so they currently regarded Xu Pengxuan as their boss.
After hearing his words, I frowned deeply. As far as I knew, there were no shortcuts in martial arts; one had to progress step by step, from cultivating inner strength to manifest strength, hidden strength, and neutralizing strength…
Each step was the culmination of countless drops of sweat and effort.
And that boss surnamed Luo could grant someone internal strength with just a simple surgery—it's unbelievable!
However, at this moment, I couldn't think of any way to do it. I'd put it aside for now; finding Yu Tang was the most important thing.
I pointed my fingers like a knife and pressed them against the back of the man's neck, instantly stopping his whimpering. He collapsed limply.
Then, after a moment's thought, I decided I shouldn't let these people continue to possess powers that weren't theirs.
I pressed my fingers on several meridian points and his dantian, channeling internal energy into him. Even in his unconscious state, the man groaned, and his internal strength vanished instantly…
I then repeated the process on the others, and then continued walking out of the passage.
For some reason, the more I walked, the more I felt a sense of déjà vu. It hadn't bothered me when I was with Shen Weiwei, but now, walking alone, this feeling was creeping in. My temples throbbed slightly, and I felt a strange unease.
Suddenly, as I reached a corner, that feeling of déjà vu reached its peak. I stopped, staring at an exhaust fan on the other side. A thought flashed through my mind.
"A secret passage?"
The thought had barely crossed my mind when the full view of Yu Tang's room that I had just seen suddenly reappeared… There seemed to be a secret passage here, leading directly to Yu Tang's room?
This strange thought made me chuckle. How could that be?
I was certain I had never been here before, so how could I possibly know about a secret passage…
Although I mentally dismissed it, a deeper conviction lingered within me, a strange feeling that made my heart pound.
Try it… it wouldn't hurt.
Walking to the exhaust vent, I channeled my energy, and a wisp of dust rose. Several screws spun and shot out, clattering against the metal bars as they fell to the ground. I peered inside and was immediately stunned.
Not only was there a narrow passage wide enough for one person to bend over and pass through, but it was also exactly the same as the image that had flashed through my mind.
"What's going on..." I muttered, clutching my temples, feeling a throbbing pain in my brain, a pain far more intense than ever before.
"Ah!" I gritted my teeth, struggling to endure the dizziness, until the familiar image in my mind began to fade, and the pain gradually subsided.
Actually, the feeling only lingered in my mind for a short time, but the needle-like pain was so intense that it left a deep impression.
Although some doubts still lingered in my mind, the thought of Yu Tang made it worth the effort. Otherwise, the time spent searching for her would likely have been enough for someone to take her away. With this thought in mind, I leaped up and plunged into the secret passage…
The passage wasn't long; after several twists and turns, I reached my destination. A lattice of light shone in from the front. I quietly crept forward and peeked out.
—Sure enough, it was the room I had just seen.
On the still messy and damp rose-colored bed, only a beautiful, snow-white body lay sprawled, her long black hair cascading down her back, a faint blush lingering on her pretty face, her eyes closed, as if she had fallen into a deep sleep…
And throughout the room, there was no sound from Xu Pengxuan. I listened carefully to the sounds around me, and after confirming there were no ambushes, I opened the window and leaped out, then walked to the bed.
I finally got to see Yu Tang up close, after seven long years. She had truly blossomed into a graceful and slender woman, her skin as smooth as snow, like the finest porcelain, without a single flaw. Her figure was long and elegant, with exquisite curves from head to toe…
I had always known that Yu Tang and Xue Tang had fair skin, like her sister's, a complexion like unsheathed ivory, or like curdled cheese, with a faint rosy undertone, making her appear even more translucent and delicate, like a perfect yet vibrant porcelain doll.
I held my breath, because—Yu Tang's naked body looked so much like eighteen-year-old Xue Tang. While not exactly identical, the resemblance was at least seven or eight parts.
Thinking of my innocent and romantic first night with Xue Tang, and now…
I could only manage a bitter smile. Between Yu Tang's long, fair, and slender thighs on the bed was a pool of wet, sticky semen, like yogurt spilled directly onto the bed. However, the aphrodisiac scent that filled the room—like a newly decaying orchid, like a ripe melon, mixed with the tangy musky fragrance of a young girl's genitals—reminded me that the girl before me was not Xue Tang, but Yu Tang, who had just been passionately intimate with another man.
I should have only regarded her as a younger sister, but for some reason, a strong, strange melancholy welled up in my heart, as if a precious treasure had been snatched away and wantonly played with in front of me, making my heart tremble involuntarily.
After calming down a bit, I bent down and hugged Yu Tang. Her naked, snow-white skin was smooth as jade, yet undeniably firm and elastic, while the cool, sticky sweat on her skin added to its delicate smoothness.
"Mmm~" As soon as I picked Yu Tang up, she let out a soft "Mmm," her curled eyelashes fluttered slightly, and then her beautiful, watery eyes slowly opened.