Gai Lui reeled and kicked Jin off of his blade. The strength of the golden boots pushed and Gai Jin went flying.

He landed a hundred paces away, hands clutching his chest but still standing. Gai Jin’s hands flashed and a small brown orb appeared in them.

Gai Lui’s eyes widened but before he could do anything, Gai Jin swallowed the core. Then, even as he stood, Gai Jin went limp.

And for a moment there was silence.

“I don’t get it,” an old farmer grumbled. “Can’t they just talk it out? And what was that thing he just ate?”

“A demonic core,” the immortal’s voice replied.

There were more people here now. All the cultivators within the valley had appeared, everyone watching with wide eyes and silence. They were at least a mile away, and though they should have been hurt and running from the shockwaves, if one looked around they would see no permanent damage to the landscape or the people here.

The immortal was protecting them.

Gai Lui ignored them and walked slowly to Gai Jin. Eating a demonic core was suicide, especially for a monk like him. Demonic qi was the antithesis of a monk’s. Monks like him slayed demons, so why would the boy-

Gai Jin’s eyes opened and putrid death left his skin. His body began to heal at a visible rate, cuts closed up, and old flesh dropped to the ground as new growth filled its place.

Somewhere, a haughty immortal babbled.

“The core concept of the Bloody Fist Technique is refinement, to refine the fist over through battle and pain. But Gia Jin took that idea to a whole new level. If you can refine your fists, then why not your legs, your lungs, your organs, even your dantians-”

“PREPOSTEROUS!” Gai Lui roared, turning to the immortal and staring at him even through the mile divide.

“I HAVE USED THIS TECHNIQUE FOR CENTURIES, AND WITHIN THE SECT I AM THE ONE WHO HAS MASTERED IT BEYOND ALL. IF THERE WAS SOMETHING GREATER WITHIN IT, I WOULD HAVE KNOWN.”

“No you wouldn’t,” the immortal replied, ignoring the disrespect of the outburst.

“That guy over there had to experiment with his growth. It was either that or death. You took it as it was and held it still. You probably thought, ‘What a beautiful technique. So strong and elegant. I think I’ll keep it that way,’ and went about with your life. That guy experimented, almost dying during the process, but he experimented nonetheless. He grew.”

Gai Lui didn’t get the chance to reply, as a freshly healed Gai Jin struck him in the face.

Bloody Fist Technique, Final Art, Barrage of Blood.

A torment of fists came down on Gai Lui once more. He was still in shock, surprised at Gai Jin’s consumption of a demonic core, but the pain forced him to respond quickly.

He slammed Gai Jin’s hands away with the shield and moved to stab again, this time thrusting for the head.

Gai Jin sunk, his head dodging the blade and his leg kicking out, striking his old master in the stomach.

And it hurt.

It was worse than a fist, as a kick tended to be. The legs had more muscle, more mass, and in this case, more qi.

Gai Jin had refined his body, and that included his legs. Whereas his master had covered himself with treasures, Gai Jin had turned himself into one.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

His leg was as refined as his fists. His kick was deadly. Even with the robe, Gai Lui’s body had only been enhanced, not trained. He was stronger, faster, and more deadly, but the treasure wasn’t a part of him, merely an addition.

Gai Lui ran backward and kept speeding away from Gai Jin while he gathered his thoughts. Gai Jin still couldn’t match Lui’s speed, but he trailed him. The two danced across the desert, one searching for the throat of the other.

Flashes of qi burst through the air and attacks that could level cities were traded over and over again.

The demon core had been that of a fifth rank. Gai Lui hadn’t known there were beasts that powerful within that cave. His hubris and greed had helped him ignore that possibility. But Gai Jin had known and Gai Jin had slain them.

And now he used that very same demonic qi, refined to purity deep within his dantian, as strength to carry on.

Gai Lui was not just fighting Gai Jin, but the demons Gai Jin had slain as well.

Lui was defending again, the shield being used more and more. Lui swung with his sword and the blade cut through Gai Jin’s flesh.

Jin retreated before it could reach the bone, and ate another demon core.

This time he did not go limp. Jin attacked, the demonic qi refining within his middle dantian. That, along with Gai Jin’s vast lower dantian made him a monster among the fifth ranks.

In terms of qi reserve, he was far from Gai Lui’s match. In terms of abilities, he was still even further. Gai Lui had the treasures and each had an active effect on him, from speed to enhancements, to the sword qi the emulated sword intent.

But what Gai Jin did have was himself. His own techniques and his own experience. His treasure was his body and he had been using it his whole life.

The Bleeding Monk’s Persistent Steps

It was what Gai Jin had named it. It wasn’t anything amazing, at least, not to him. All he did was circulate both the Monk’s Holy Steps and Bloody Fist Technique at the same time. The two layered over each other well and were meant to be used together at lower ranks.

The first movements of both techniques were used simultaneously by junior cultivators of the Bloody Fist Sect all the time. But as the techniques grew more powerful, the required qi grew to be too much. The techniques were powerful, but no cultivator had large enough qi reserves to use them both now.

But Gai Jin had enough now. His qi was immense, and it needed to be used. At this moment, the limitation of the Monk’s Holy Steps grew to be its benefit. The meridian pathway the technique cultivated couldn’t be used for anything besides the technique. Meaning that the pathways used for this technique couldn’t empower any other technique. The minor dantians and enhanced meridians one grew for this technique were only useful for this technique. Normally, with the amount of qi it took to circulate, that would be one of its faults.

The Monk’s Holy Steps were wasteful in that sense.

But not for the Gai Jin of now. The Gai Jin of now had enough qi to circulate both techniques, and the failure of the Monk’s Holy Steps became a boon.

The Monk’s Holy Steps were wasteful, selfish, isolated.

Gai Jin could use numerous techniques alongside it while knowing that the two would not interfere with one another.

If fighting was cooking, then techniques were ingredients. Throw strange ingredients into a pot and they would mix into something strange, but with the Monk’s Holy Steps, it was as if Gai Jin had gained another pot.

His legs were doubly enhanced now. Two techniques affected him and neither hurt the other.

Gai Lui’s eyes widened, and Gai Jin was catching up.

He swung the sword numerous times and sword qi left the blade, seeking to split Jin in two.

Jin dodged.

This was no Blossoming Sword Technique, and the blade wasn’t meant for ranged attacks.

Gai Lui was wasting his qi.

But still, Jin found himself dodging over and under the strikes. The fault of this weapon was its accuracy, not its power.

Gai Jin gained upon the man and struck again.

Jin rushed and reached Gai Lui.

First Jin took his speed, using one good punch from beneath. Lui used his shield to deflect, and Jin knew he would.

In fact, he was counting on it.

Death qi, echoing, and repulsion. That was the shield’s effect. But this time, Jin struck from the ground. He struck from the lower position, his whole body rising up to the shield, and the shield for all it tried, could not force him too deeply into the ground.

So it lifted Gai Lui up.

The boots left the ground and their power of enhancing technique was no more.

Perfect.

Gai Jin leaped, with all the power of his two techniques, jamming another demon core into his mouth.

It was a gamble, letting the death qi in his arms and the demonic qi in his dantian coagulate while maintaining The Bleeding Monk’s Persistent Steps, which were two techniques acting as one.

Yes, that was a profound gamble. But he’d lose this opportunity if he didn’t take it. Rage emptied his soul and though Gai Jin had left that demonic cave, his heart was still there.

He did not want to die, but he did not want to live either. Pride, and power, these were things his master pursued, and look at where that had gotten him.

All he had now was hatred, and he would rather die than lose that.