Start with push-ups to gain experience

Xu Hao felt a chill run down his spine.

Muscle memory developed from years of street life is faster than the brain's reaction time.

He didn't even turn his head, swallowing the gasp that was about to escape his throat.

Almost at the same instant his palm landed, he slumped down from his horse and stepped outward with his right foot.

Immediately afterwards, he reached up with his left hand, his five fingers suddenly extending to grab the wrist that was resting on his shoulder.

It is extremely cold to the touch.

The feeling wasn't like gripping flesh; it was more like holding a bone that had just been pulled out of an ice hole.

Without thinking too much, Xu Hao slammed his right foot into the ground and twisted his waist and hips.

He slammed his back into the other person's arms, and using the momentum, he grabbed the cold arm with both hands and twisted his upper body forward.

"boom!"

With a standard over-the-shoulder throw, a heavy body passed over Xu Hao's head and fell directly behind him, landing on the muddy ground outside the ancestral hall.

Xu Hao quickly turned around, raised his fists, and fixed his gaze on the dark figure lying on the ground.

By the dim moonlight, he could see the face clearly.

It was the village keeper who arrived half a month earlier than him!

At this moment, the man's neck was bent at an odd angle to one side due to the violent impact.

If an ordinary person had been hit like that, their cervical spine would have been fractured, and there would have been no chance of survival.

However, the body on the ground did not even have a chance to struggle or cushion the impact.

He was like a puppet controlled by strings, his waist bent upwards and his legs standing straight up.

The twisted neck emitted a chilling "crackling" sound, and then slowly twisted back to its original position on its own.

He stared intently at Xu Hao with a pair of cloudy, greenish eyes and a stiff, mask-like smile on his lips.

Immediately afterwards, the opponent spread his arms wide, bent his ten fingers into claws, and with a gust of bloody wind, rushed straight at Xu Hao's face.

Xu Hao's eyes twitched suddenly, and a sense of panic welled up in his heart.

Is this even human?
Faced with the oncoming claws, he did not choose to fight them head-on.

With his eyes fixed on the other person's drooping shoulder, Xu Hao pushed off with his left foot and slid half a step to the right.

This is a very practical sliding step dodging technique in boxing.

The other person's sharp fingernails almost grazed the tip of his nose, sending a chill down his spine.

In the instant he dodged the attack, Xu Hao tucked in his chest and abdomen, shifting his entire body weight onto his right leg.

The counterattack begins.

He suddenly exerted force in his waist and hips, causing his upper body to twist violently to the left.

His right fist shot out from his waist with a whistling sound, striking the lower edge of the opponent's right ribs from below at an extremely tricky angle.

Liver-Exploding Fist!
This is a deadly move that Xu Hao has summarized from countless life-or-death battles on the street.

The liver is surrounded by a rich network of nerve plexuses. If it is hit hard, the vagus nerve will produce a violent rejection reaction, instantly cutting off the blood supply.

Even a strong man weighing 200 pounds would collapse on the spot, losing all fighting ability.

Xu Hao's father was a Sanda coach, and he was exposed to various fighting techniques from a young age.

Although he's not good at studying, he's more than capable of handling close-quarters combat in the street.

"boom!"

The dull thud echoed through the empty alleyway.

Xu Hao's right fist sank solidly into his opponent's right ribs.

The immense impact even dented the black cotton-padded coat.

He had assumed the other person would collapse in pain, clutching their stomach, like those street thugs he used to see.

But Xu Hao miscalculated.

The sensation of the fist returning was like hitting an old, worn-out tire.

There was no feedback of muscle spasms, no muffled groans of pain, and the other person didn't even sway their body.

The man slowly lowered his head, glanced at the fist that had struck his ribs, and his smile remained stiff and unchanged.

Then, he suddenly opened his mouth wide, revealing his blackened gums, and bit down on Xu Hao's neck.

In the dim light, one could even see a reddish-brown centipede coiled in the other's throat, wriggling with the opening and closing of its jaws.

Holy crap!

Xu Hao felt a chill run down his spine.

Physical attacks were completely ineffective.

This body seemed to be controlled by some unknown evil entity, and it couldn't feel any pain at all.

In a panic, Xu Hao hurriedly pulled back his right arm and crossed his hands in front of him to protect himself.

At the same time, he kicked the opponent's knee joint with his right foot, using the reaction force to take three big steps back and create distance.

The village guard, who looked like a zombie, only took two steps back before opening his arms again and lunging at him.

At this moment, Xu Hao's back was already pressed against the earthen wall on the other side.

As the foul-smelling mouth drew closer, he steeled himself.

Since ordinary punches and kicks are useless, then let's try the techniques that the boss taught me!

Xu Hao suddenly planted his legs into a horse stance, his mind instantly sinking down, mobilizing the power that he had been nurturing within his body.

Since he started practicing the "Great Sun Burning Body Technique" every day as instructed by his boss, he has not only become more energetic, but his blood and qi have also become more abundant.

Once applied to fists and feet, it can unleash devastating power.

At this moment, the blazing blood and qi that had been dormant deep within his dantian exploded with a roar, driven by his will.

A surge of scalding warmth rushed into his right arm along his meridians.

The already rugged muscle lines swelled even more under the infusion of true energy.

Even through his coat, you could see a faint, dark red glow emanating from his entire right arm.

The surrounding damp and cold air evaporated instantly upon encountering this domineering heat, emitting a faint hissing sound.

"Die!"

Xu Hao roared inwardly, advancing instead of retreating.

He stomped his right foot forward heavily, crushing a blue brick.

With his right fist brimming with fiery true energy, he struck straight at the heart of the enemy, landing a powerful blow on the chest of the oncoming village guard.

"laugh--"

Like a red-hot iron thrown into snow.

Xu Hao's fist easily burned through the black cotton-padded jacket on his opponent's body, and the scorching true energy, like a raging fire dragon, directly penetrated the body.

The body that had seemed indestructible was struck by this punch, and its interior emitted a dense cracking sound like popping beans.

A strong, acrid smell instantly filled the air.

The village guards let out a piercing scream.

A charred mark appeared on his chest, and his entire body was blasted away, crashing heavily into a mud pit some distance away. He twitched a few times and then lay still.

A centipede, about the thickness of a little finger and covered in a reddish-brown hard shell, slowly crawled out from deep in his throat and then burrowed into the soil.

Xu Hao withdrew his fist, panting heavily.

He stared at the corpse on the ground, his brow furrowed, unable to understand why the person, who was perfectly fine yesterday, had become such a grotesque figure today.

At this moment, the dark red halo on his right arm gradually subsided, but his palm still retained an astonishingly high temperature.

The "Great Sun Burning Body Technique" is indeed powerful in combat, but this commotion has also completely exposed his location.

"Who's outside?!"

In the courtyard of the ancestral hall, Manager Wu's voice suddenly rang out.

Immediately afterwards, a series of footsteps approached the gate.

Xu Hao's heart tightened; he knew he couldn't delay any longer.

He then turned and rushed into the narrow alley next to him, taking advantage of the darkness to run wildly.

His physical abilities far surpassed those of ordinary people, and he ran extremely fast, leaping four or five meters with each stride. However, after running just two intersections, he realized something was wrong.

The fog outside the courtyard had become quite thick at some point.

Grayish-white mist seeped out from the ground and cracks in the walls, like expanding soft walls that quickly swallowed the street behind him.

Visibility is decreasing rapidly, from an initial dozen meters to just two or three meters.

Finally, even the ground beneath their feet became blurry and indistinct.

Xu Hao tried hard to recall the patrol routes of the past two days, attempting to find the main road leading to the village entrance.

Now that we've found Jiang Chen's trail, our top priority is to escape and get the intelligence to our boss as soon as possible.

With his view obstructed, he thought for a moment and then simply reached out and groped his way forward along the walls of the surrounding houses.

"Turn left, then walk fifty steps forward, there should be a dead tree..."

Xu Hao silently recited it in his mind.

But when he counted to fifty, all he touched was a pile of moss-covered broken bricks and tiles, not a dead tree at all.

He gritted his teeth, turned around, changed direction, and continued walking by feel, but all he could see ahead was an endless mass of dark fog.

The surroundings were eerily quiet.

The thick fog seemed to block out all sound.

He could only hear his own heavy breathing and the sound of his shoes pounding in the mud.

After running for a full ten minutes, Xu Hao finally stopped.

He was holding his knees, panting heavily.

Sweat, like soybeans, rolled down his cheeks from his forehead.

Xu Hao got lost.

The roads in the village, shrouded in thick fog, seemed to come alive, constantly changing their orientation.

The alley was supposed to be straight, but at the end it turned into a dead end.

The place that should have been the exit led us back to the area around that abandoned ancestral hall.

He couldn't find the way out of Guhuai Village, nor could he find the dilapidated single dormitory.

Just as he straightened up, preparing to continue exploring.

Suddenly, two eerie green lights appeared deep within the thick fog ahead.

Xu Hao's heart skipped a beat, and he instantly clenched his fists, circulating his inner energy once again.

Immediately afterwards, next to those two green lights, a second pair, then a third pair, lit up...

Those were eyes that emitted a ghostly green light, but they looked particularly eerie in the grayish-white mist.

They were like will-o'-the-wisps floating in mid-air, slowly spreading outwards and eventually forming an encirclement.

Amidst the swirling fog, a dozen or so village guards, dressed in black cotton-padded coats, slowly emerged with stiff steps.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized; even the range of their leg lifts and steps was almost identical.

Each person wore a strange smile, their eyes empty yet filled with chilling malice.

Instead of rushing to attack, they proceeded cautiously, trapping Xu Hao in a narrow alley.

Xu Hao took a half step back, his back pressed tightly against the cold brick wall.

As the monster drew ever closer and he felt the growing chill around him, he couldn't help but grit his teeth.

Having spent over a decade on the streets, he knew all too well that the more afraid you were when surrounded, the faster you would die.

The fear lingered in his heart for only a few seconds before being completely dispelled by a surge of anger.

"Fuck you!"

Xu Hao spat angrily onto the ground, the veins on his neck bulging.

Then he clenched his fists and slammed them together in front of his chest, making a crisp popping sound from his knuckles.

The muscles, which had been stiff from tension, relaxed completely at this moment, allowing them to enter a pure fighting state.

"You really think I'm a pushover? Back in the day, I fought my way from Jiangbei to Jiangdong with just my fists. Even a stray dog ​​would avoid me! Today, I'll practice on you bunch of inhuman freaks!"

When he was forced into a corner with no way to retreat, Xu Hao's inherent recklessness was completely unleashed.

No matter what kind of demons or monsters they are, they dare to rush up and bite off a piece of flesh.

Before he finished speaking, Xu Hao took the initiative.

He slammed his right foot against the wall, and using the recoil, he charged into the crowd like an enraged cheetah.

The body is operating at full speed without reservation.

The intense internal energy coursed through his limbs and bones, turning his fists, elbows, and knees into deadly weapons.

The village guard at the front reached out his arms to hug him.

Xu Hao ducked and dodged to the side, bending his right arm and delivering a vicious Muay Thai elbow strike that landed heavily on his opponent's temple.

"Crack!"

The man's head was dented by the immense force and intense heat.

A burnt smell rose up as the corpse fell straight to the ground.

But the remaining monsters knew nothing of fear.

The fall of their companion spurred them on, and three or four village guards rushed forward at the same time, swarming around them.

Xu Hao dodged a sharp claw that was reaching for his throat, grabbed the opponent's wrist with his left hand and twisted it downwards, while simultaneously raising his right knee.

An extremely violent knee strike landed heavily on the sternum of the person directly in front of him.

With a muffled cracking sound as the sternum shattered, intense heat surged in, burning the man's internal organs into a charred mess.

However, the number of the other side was too large.

Xu Hao had just kicked someone away when a tearing pain shot through his back.

scoff-

A village guard appeared behind him without his noticing, and his sharp fingernails tore open his coat, leaving five deep, bone-revealing gashes on his back.

"Go away!"

Xu Hao cried out in pain, his ferocity flaring up.

He simply abandoned defense and adopted a reckless fighting style.

He suddenly turned around, letting another monster's teeth bite his left arm.

His right hand transformed into a razor blade, glowing with a blazing red light, and slashed fiercely at the carotid artery of the person behind him.

They actually cut open half of the other person's neck, and the scorched flesh instantly turned up and burned.

The battle became extremely fierce.

With his extensive street fighting experience and powerful internal energy protecting him, Xu Hao managed to tear a bloody path through the encirclement.

Every punch and kick was accompanied by the cracking sound of bones breaking.

However, these monsters are tireless and fearless of pain.

Even with their legs broken, they would crawl on the ground, trying to bite Xu Hao's calves with their teeth.

Time passed second by second.

Although the Great Sun Burning Body Technique is extremely powerful, it consumes a great deal of mental and physical energy.

Xu Hao's breathing became heavy, like a bellows, and the speed of his punches visibly slowed down.

The intense heat and blood in his dantian began to deplete, and the dark red aura on his fist flickered and was about to go out.

He was breathing heavily when he kicked over a village guard who was rushing at him. He staggered back two steps and leaned against the earthen wall to keep himself from falling.

His coat was now just tattered rags, covered in scratches and bite marks, and blood dripped continuously from his arms into the mud.

His inner energy was almost depleted, and even lifting his arm felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

The fog continued to swirl around them, and the remaining seven or eight village guards slowly approached once more.

Just as Xu Hao gritted his teeth, preparing to squeeze out the last bit of true energy for a desperate struggle.

The thick fog behind them suddenly churned to both sides, eerily parting to create a passage. (End of Chapter)