Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 351 - Double Top-Tier Combat Artist

In Cassius's overlooking view, the entire black-and-white-lined city revealed something different. Threads of red lines, like willows, rose and danced toward the sky. At a glance, it was like beautiful fireworks bursting on a pitch-black curtain, evoking a breathtaking and stunning sensation.

Upon closer inspection, one would find that each red line originated from a city-dwelling citizen. They continued their usual activities, entirely unaware of the things extending from their bodies, drifting toward the sky like streamers.

If it were just one red thread, it wouldn't matter. But what if there were hundreds of thousands? Hundreds of thousands of red threads floated toward the sky, resembling a forest of kelp under the sea. Walking among them felt like strolling through a dense rainforest.

As the meteor streaked across the sky, these continuous red threads were drawn and pulled, chasing after the meteor. Their speed increased, forming a vast, awe-inspiring red tail flame.

Cassius felt an unprecedented satisfaction. Something warm continuously flowed into his body. Each portion was small, but there were so many, so very many.

He felt as if he were surrounded by a warm lake. Tens of thousands of water droplets swarmed in, squeezing toward him, all just to transfer their comforting warmth to him. It was an indulgence that could almost make one utterly addicted.

Whoosh!

The red meteor crossed the final distance. At the edge of the clouds, a hazy portal opened. The meteor whistled as it entered, and in an instant, it vanished without a trace.

Ding!

A crisp sound of shattering glass exploded by his ear and Cassius jolted awake from his haze.

He shook his head in confusion as stone dust fell from his hair, covering his face. Suddenly, a scream sounded beside his ear.

Cassius's unfocused eyes refocused. Before he could see his surroundings clearly, a heavy object whistled down from above. With a bang, it struck the top of his head with great force.

Crack!

Cassius's head was unharmed. Instead, the falling heavy object broke into two due to the collision, landing on the ground. On closer look, it was an entire balcony, crescent-shaped, at least three or four meters long and made of reinforced concrete with white ceramic tiles.

Such a large piece of structure falling would have crushed a car, but Cassius seemed unscathed. His head just buzzed a bit, slightly aching.

"What's going on?" He muttered.

After the dust from the fallen balcony settled, he finally saw the situation clearly. It turned out that when he crazily chased and crashed into the portal, his Qi entered the Gate, but his body continued to ricochet. He plowed through the entire street, crashed through four walls in succession, and slammed into a building like a human cannonball, causing it to collapse.

Now, his whole body was embedded in the wall. Understanding the situation, Cassius immediately exerted force with both hands, prying himself out of the concrete.

He glanced around and found a woman in home attire in the yard, looking his way with a face full of terror. Her arm trembled as she pointed, her face pale and lips quivering. It seemed that the scream just now came from her.

Did I almost collapse her house?

Cassius thought to himself; he didn't want to owe anyone anything. Compensating afterward would be fine; two or three times the price should be enough.

Just as this thought crossed his mind, cracking sounds came from behind, as if the building's connections were breaking.

Crack, crack, crack... Creak...

Under the moonlight, the entire three-story building suddenly tilted forward.

Collapsing and crumbling at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The woman by the yard suddenly ran over, anxiously shouting, "Tommy! Richard! Get out, get out!"

Saying that, she dashed inside without any hesitation, ignoring the collapsing house.

The cracks on the white wall to the right of the staircase expanded like a tree's roots. Metal twisted and deformed, emitting sharp sounds that made one's teeth ache. The woman rushed to the second floor, disregarding everything.

She suddenly saw her husband and child just coming out of a room. The three quickly turned to go down the stairs. However, it seemed too late. The entire building emitted a groaning sound of collapse, with stone debris falling like rain. It seemed like it would completely collapse in the next second.

Boom!

A loud noise suddenly came from outside. The entire building jolted abruptly, and the imminent collapse halted forcefully, as if someone forcibly pressed a pause button.

"Run!" The husband pulled his wife and child, quickly rushing down the stairs, escaping to the edge of the yard as fast as possible.

In their haste, they turned to look back. Under the bright moonlight, a terrifying figure three meters tall stood towering. His powerful arms spread, pressing against the second-floor wall. His stump-like feet rooted into the ground, deeply embedded.

His arms bulged with rock-like muscles, veins snaking beneath his rock-white skin like little serpents. He was holding up the collapsing building with apparent ease! The soft white moonlight draped over him like a cloak, making his broad back muscles even more defined.

The family of three had reached the street, looking back at their home. They saw the giant slowly release his right hand, clenching it tightly into a fist. His raised shoulder blades and contracting muscles traced a powerful arc as he punched!

A sound like a cannonball explosion echoed in the air.

Boom!

The three-story building that was about to collapse forward neither continued to press down nor tilted in any other direction. Instead, it was blasted apart in mid-air by a tremendous force, the shockwave roaring.

The house collapsed and fell, but no part of the structure or broken bricks flew out to cause secondary damage.

The rubble and dust only covered the core area, falling like heavy rain. They pelted the giant, either bouncing off his extremely tough skin or being shattered into powder.

From the outside, a massive black humanoid silhouette stood motionless within the dusty curtain, towering like an iron tower. Like a Golem, a giant god.

Cassius slightly lowered his head, looking at his rough hands like metal millstones. He felt an indescribable terrifying power within them. The force in his muscles beneath the skin was like a roaring tsunami. Like a flood bursting through a mountain stream, it violently surged forward.

"My bones and muscles have upgraded again!"

First, his bones seemed to be enhanced by an invisible, intangible secret force. Their surfaces became like porcelain. Qi continuously merged in, making them stronger than steel.

Compared to the gradual honing from previous Covert Martial Arts, this time it was extremely rapid. Cassius felt as if he had a new skeleton providing a strong and stable supporting frame. His body's defensive ability and resistance to blows were significantly enhanced. Whether against blunt or sharp weapons, this skeleton could well protect the vital organs within his body.

Next was his muscles. His muscle density increased again, from originally comparable to three times that of a typical combat artist to now five times. The stronger he became, the harder it was. Adding these additional two times in density was even more difficult than achieving the initial three times of a combat artist.

That was the main aspect but it wasn't only that. Other parts of his body also had comprehensive enhancements. The most notable were his heart and stomach.

The heart here referred to his human heart. That heart became strong and full of power. Although not as good as a Golem's heart, it could be called a small engine capable of instant bursts by driving rapid blood circulation.

Then there was the stomach, which also underwent a strong transformation. However, it seemed to be only halfway, not completely turning into a Golem's organ. The main change was enhanced digestion. Many things that humans originally couldn't eat could now have their nutrients absorbed and extracted. Perhaps with further evolution, Cassius could gnaw on trees, nibble on stones, and even absorb minerals from the ubiquitous soil.

Truly the best ability for survival in desperate situations. He didn't know if he'd ever use it, but it was better to be prepared.

Cassius compared his physique to a typical veteran combat artist.

Speed: B (25) → B (60)

Strength: B (25) → B (70)

Defense: B (25) → B (69)

It was an all-around enhancement. Compared to before, his speed increased by 14 points in the B-rank value. Defense increased by 15 points, and strength increased by an astonishing 20 points. All three attributes entered the realm above 60, with strength and defense even around 70!

At this moment, even without considering Qi and techniques, which combat artist would dare say they could withstand a punch of his pure strength! Even using their versatile Qi to dissipate the force, they would probably have to hastily dodge it rather than take it head-on.

Right now, Cassius could engage in life-and-death battles with top-tier combat artists by relying solely on his body. Plus, he had techniques and Qi comparable to that of top-tier combat artists.

A double top-tier combat artist!

Could he compete with Blade Demon at his peak?

Yes! Definitely!

Maybe, I can achieve a Holy Fist with my body?!

An alarming thought suddenly flashed through Cassius's mind.

If he perfected the Golem Covert Martial Arts and transformed into the dark ultimate creature, the Golem, could he perhaps rival a Holy Fist? Use a tempered body to oppose the Qi world?

Pushing his body's strength, defense, and speed beyond B (100) into A-rank. That would be Cassius's next pursuit.

Additionally, he slowly extended his right hand, and surging black Qi gushed from his palm. In the next second, the black steam continuously emanated from his skin, whistling and swirling. Cassius appeared like a giant pillar of black flame.

The released Golem Qi soared tens of meters into the sky.

"The stronger the body, the stronger the Golem Qi becomes. I can now produce a massive number of Covert Martial Arts Seeds. Even the Golem Seeds and my main body have a closer connection, with new functions..."

"Power descent—selecting an individual and injecting a large amount of Golem Qi into the Golem Seed. In case of crisis, actively stimulate the Golem Seed, allowing my separated consciousness to temporarily override their personality, thus unleashing terrifying power at different times and places..."

He collected his thoughts, his gaze becoming clear again. Stepping slowly out of the dust, Cassius suddenly looked toward the end of the dark street. There stood a silent thin figure, having appeared at some unknown time, with almost no detectable aura.

"Come out, friend." Cassius didn't know who it was, but he could feel the threat like needles on his back. For someone who had just significantly enhanced his strength to feel danger, the opponent's power level must be extremely high.

Tap, tap, tap, tap...

A series of footsteps in leather shoes approached.

A voice emerged from the darkness. "What is your relationship with him?"

The voice was very young. It had a pleasant boyish tone.

Though the tone was like that, the way he spoke carried an air of old age, like a child pretending to speak like an adult.

Gururu...

A ball rolled over on the ground.

Cassius looked down slightly. It was Jilan's head. "I think you've already noticed. I killed him and took some things."

He squinted slightly, stating the facts directly.

"It seems you're not from the Gate organization. Good, very good..." The figure replied.

Buzz, buzz, buzz...

Suddenly, a beehive-like buzzing erupted from all directions. At some point, sharp silver metal threads had spread throughout the area, surrounding Cassius like an inescapable net. The threads were anchored to rooftops, walls, the ground, ornamental trees, street lamps—everywhere.

They trembled and flickered slightly under the moonlight, like deadly and dangerous fireflies, containing terrifying strange energy. It seemed that if the opponent wished, he could slice all the buildings on this street into powder within a second.

Tap.

The leather shoes stopped. A cute boy wearing a black and white butler vest stepped out of the shadows, a bow tie at his neck. He looked entirely harmless, wearing an elegant smile. His squinted eyes were nearly closed into slits.

He was sizing up Cassius, and Cassius was also sizing him up with a peculiar gaze.

After a moment, a somewhat provocative smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Long time no see, Reaper Amos... Fifty years have passed, and you're still in this little brat form..."