36: Chapter 36 Ability Fusion, Unlocks [Moonwalk]

After leaving that five-person mercenary squad, three days had passed quietly.

During these three days, Su Chen had completely transformed into a Shinigami on the outskirts of the D-Rank Wilderness Area.

"Puff!"

In the dim, ruined alleyway, a black afterimage darted back like lightning. A thick-backed iron blade, devoid of a sharpened edge, was wrapped in a mysterious black luster as it easily sliced through the hard skull of a "Corroded Armor Hound."

Foul-smelling blood sprayed in a fan shape onto the moss-covered wall.

Su Chen landed steadily, flicking the bloodstains off his iron blade. At his feet lay the corpses of a dozen Corroded Armor Hounds, all killed with a single strike.

"Ding! Killed an exotic beast carrying the aura of the Abyss, obtained [origin points + 16]."

"Ding! Obtained [origin points + 14]..."

The System's mechanical voice rang out in his mind one after another. Su Chen ignored it, skillfully using his dagger to pry out several high-quality crystal cores and tossing them into the rucksack on his back.

During these three days of high-intensity hunting, Su Chen specifically targeted those low-level and mid-level exotic beasts that traveled in packs. Relying on his Two-Tomoe Sharingan, which granted him absolute insight to ignore fog and see through energy flows, he was like a fish in water among these ruins.

More importantly, through these hundreds of sword draws and dashes, his explosive use of [Soru] and the hardening of his [Armament Haki] had reached a point of mastery. He no longer needed to think consciously; his muscles had formed an almost perfect instinctual memory.

Su Chen walked to a broken wall and summoned the System panel.

[Host: Su Chen]

[Current origin points balance: 2856]

Looking at the figure that had broken through the 2,800-point mark on the panel, a flash of satisfaction appeared in the eyes beneath his mask. Most of this was due to the abyssal heritage he had absorbed while ransacking the Blood Axe Gang's vault a few days ago.

He put away his iron blade and looked up toward the front of the abandoned city.

As he ventured deeper, the terrain and landscape of the D-Rank Wilderness Area began to change significantly. Around him, there were no longer low-rise bungalows, but skyscrapers that were easily fifty or sixty stories high. Thick, mutated abyssal vines were interwoven like a web between the buildings.

"The terrain is becoming increasingly three-dimensional."

Su Chen frowned slightly. Over these three days, he had realized a fatal flaw in his combat System.

Although the speed of [Soru] was comparable to teleportation, its underlying logic relied on his feet continuously kicking off the ground to generate explosive reaction force. Once his feet left the ground, or if there was no solid entity to provide a leverage point, this divine skill would be completely paralyzed.

In this world of high martial arts, the sky had always been the exclusive Domain of the strong. Only when one reached the Realm of Grandmaster, with Qi and blood as vast as the sea, could one achieve "external projection of Qi and blood to form wings" and realize short-term flight. And flying-type exotic beasts, relying on their natural air superiority, had always been the greatest nightmare for wilderness hunters.

"I must make up for this lack of aerial combat maneuverability."

Su Chen's train of thought was extremely clear, and he summoned the System store in his mind without hesitation.

His gaze locked directly onto the Pirate Zone, specifically the icon for the mid-air suspension divine skill in the Six Powers skill tree.

[Six Powers: Moon Walk: A variant technique applied from Soru. By using extremely powerful leg strength to kick the air, it generates strong suspension force. Allows for free movement and trajectory changes in mid-air. Required origin points for exchange: 800.]

"Exchange." Su Chen issued the command.

"Ding! 800 origin points deducted. Current balance: 2056."

[Six Powers: Moon Walk] exchange successful! Warning! Detected that the host's current foot bone and Achilles tendon strength cannot withstand the extreme reaction force generated by kicking the air. Commencing high-dimensional remodeling!

The System prompt had just finished.

A sharp, tearing sensation suddenly surged from the ankles and Achilles tendons of Su Chen's legs!

It felt as if an invisible blade had instantly sliced through his bones and muscles. Su Chen let out a muffled groan, dropped to one knee, and gritted his teeth tightly.

But this excruciating pain lasted for only three short seconds!

The next moment, a scalding, high-dimensional Origin energy, filled with vitality and explosive power, poured crazily into the gaps of the torn bones like a bursting flood. The shattered bone powder was forcibly fused, compressed, and reshaped under the nourishment of this energy!

The pain receded as quickly as a tide, replaced by an unprecedented sense of lightness and a refreshing feeling of destructive explosive power.

"Hoo—"

Su Chen stood up. He tried rotating his ankles, and a faint humming sound, like the tight meshing of mechanical gears, came from between his bones.

"Remodeling complete, the efficiency is much higher than last time."

Su Chen walked to the edge of an abandoned building that looked like a cliff. In front of him was a bottomless abyss-like rift.

Without any running start, he leaned forward and stepped directly off the edge of the rooftop.

A sense of weightlessness instantly enveloped his entire body. Just as his body was about to fall, Su Chen bent his right knee, tensed his sole to the limit, and kicked hard into the empty air below!

"Bang—!!!"

A deafening air-explosion sound boomed over the empty rift!

This sound was exactly like a heavy iron hammer smashing hard against a solid concrete wall!

An incredible miracle occurred. Su Chen's downward momentum was instantly checked, and a violent reaction force exploded from the soles of his feet, directly lifting his entire body into the air!

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Su Chen's left and right feet alternated kicking in the void. Each kick caused a visible white air-wave skirt to explode in the air. His body seemed to be climbing invisible stairs, ascending continuously in mid-air!

Just as Su Chen was immersed in the thrill of flying through the air.

From deep within the thick clouds above his head, a shrill, piercing eagle cry suddenly rang out without warning!

"Screech—!"

A massive black shadow broke through the clouds, circling in mid-air with suffocating, violent pressure.

It was a massive, second-tier Peak mutated raptor with a wingspan of over seven meters—the "Gale Giant Eagle"!

Its golden, inverted triangular eagle eyes flashed with cruel light, locking firmly onto Su Chen in mid-air.

The giant eagle was extremely cunning and did not come close for melee combat. It violently flapped its seven-meter-long iron wings.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

A dozen large, tangible Wind Blades, several meters long and shimmering with dazzling cyan light, turned into a deadly rain that poured down toward Su Chen!

Each Wind Blade contained terrifying cutting power that approached the Peak of a Martial Artist.

"Trying to kite me in the sky?"

Not only did Su Chen not descend to find cover, but a mocking sneer curled the corners of his mouth beneath the mask.

His eyes instantly turned into scarlet single-tomoe!

"Bang, bang, bang!"

The air-explosion sounds were like dense war drums! Su Chen deployed the [Kami-e] dodging technique in mid-air, combined with the extreme explosion of [Moonwalk], his body was like a weightless piece of black paper among the rain of Wind Blades, twisting and turning at incredible angles!

The Wind Blades grazed his cloak, but not only was he unscathed, he actually charged straight into the sky against the violent rain of Wind Blades, leaving behind a "Z"-shaped black afterimage!

A flicker of shock, a first in its life, flashed through the giant eagle's golden pupils.

Its simple mutated brain could not understand how this human, without wings or the ability to form wings from Qi and blood, had managed to fly right in front of it step by step!

The humiliation of having its territory invaded ignited the giant eagle's ferocity. It violently folded its wings, extended its steel-like claws capable of crushing a tank, and grabbed down at the approaching Su Chen!

"Six Powers: Iron Body!"

Su Chen did not dodge or evade in mid-air, and the muscles in his left shoulder instantly tightened.

"Armament Haki: Hardening!"

A mysterious black metallic luster covered his left shoulder in the blink of an eye.

"Clang—!!!"

The giant eagle's indestructible claws grabbed hard onto Su Chen's shoulder, sparking with dazzling flashes. Not only did it fail to tear his flesh, but the huge recoil force actually made the giant eagle's claws go numb!

Taking advantage of the giant eagle's brief stiffness after exhausting its strength.

Su Chen's right hand shot out like a poisonous dragon emerging from its cave. His five fingers, covered in mysterious black Armament Haki, were like an unshakable hydraulic iron clamp, locking tightly onto the Root of the giant eagle's right wing!

"Get down!"

Su Chen let out a violent, low shout.

While in mid-air, he twisted his waist with explosive force! He perfectly superimposed his entire body's muscular strength, the weight of his fifty-pound iron blade, and the high-density mass of his Armament Haki!

He abandoned the suspension support of [Moonwalk].

His entire body turned into a black meteorite of astonishing mass, dragging the desperately struggling and shrilly screeching Gale Giant Eagle with one hand, plunging crazily from a height of two hundred meters toward the ruined streets below!

Faster and faster!

"Boom—!!!"

A heaven-shaking, deafening sound, like the explosion of a small nuclear bomb, erupted on the streets of the abandoned city!

The earth trembled painfully, and mud and rocks swept in all directions like a tsunami.

The dust settled.

A terrifying meteorite crater with a diameter of over ten meters appeared in the center of the street.

That arrogant, second-tier Peak Gale Giant Eagle had been smashed alive into the hard concrete rubble. Its entire body's bones were shattered inch by inch, its internal organs sprayed out from its beak, and it died on the spot.

And above its gruesome corpse.

Su Chen slowly straightened up and casually patted the dust off his black cloak. Because he had double protection as a buffer, he was unscathed.

"Ding! Killed an exotic beast carrying the aura of the Abyss [Gale Giant Eagle], obtained [origin points + 180]!"

Su Chen drew his dagger and skillfully pried out the wind-element crystal core.

He raised his head, glanced at the gray, gloomy sky that had returned to silence, and said with an indifferent tone: "Flying exotic beast? Nothing special."

The sky was no longer his restricted zone.