The Demon with Holy Radiance-Chapter 58: A Real Man Should Shine and Burn with Boundless Radiance
After picking all the black bugs off his body, Yang An went to the bathing room to wash up. He put his Stone Egg Armor back on, changed into a clean set of clothes, and felt utterly refreshed.
"Come on, let’s practice!"
Out in the open space, he beckoned to a few Corpse Slaves with his finger.
These things felt no fear and quickly approached at Yang An’s command.
Of course, Yang An didn’t call for Fugui. He might need Fugui later to take any damaged Corpse Slaves to his Eighth Senior Brother for repairs.
Sensing a major change in his physical condition, Yang An decided not to use any Mana or Techniques this time. He would rely solely on his Body Technique combined with his Physical Power.
He was now confident he could shatter their skulls with a single punch using only his Physical Power.
The Corpse Slaves obediently took their stances, surrounded Yang An, and then rushed him all at once.
Although the Corpse Slaves were fast, Yang An’s reactions were faster. He immediately used the Cloud-Stepping Technique, slipping out of their encirclement with an uncanny Body Technique in an instant and appearing behind one of them.
The Corpse Slave was slow to react and didn’t even notice that Yang An had already evaded their attack.
Yang An clenched his fist and immediately unleashed his full strength, punching the Corpse Slave in the back.
He didn’t use any Mana in this punch, relying entirely on his body’s strength. But when his fist hit the Corpse Slave, it felt like striking an iron plate.
DONG!
The Corpse Slave staggered from the blow, crashing into the others and knocking several of them to the ground.
But it quickly got back up, its two gray-white eyeballs staring at Yang An as if filled with confusion.
The corner of Yang An’s mouth twitched as he rubbed his fist, looking at the Corpse Slave in astonishment.
His entire arm had gone numb from that one punch, yet the Corpse Slave was completely unharmed, merely knocked back a short distance.
Their bodies had been modified by his Eighth Senior Brother to be incredibly tough, as if they had skin of copper and bones of iron. He couldn’t even break through their defense with his Physical Power alone.
’After eating so much and gaining so many benefits, I thought my physical condition must have improved by leaps and bounds. I figured I should at least be able to contend with a Corpse Slave without relying on Mana, right?’
But as it turned out, he had overestimated himself.
His body had gotten a bit sturdier and was no longer as scrawny as before. His Physical Power was also much greater, even giving him the illusion that he was bursting with strength.
But when it came to fighting these things that were neither human nor ghost with his pure flesh-and-blood body, it was still not enough.
With just one punch, Yang An immediately saw the result: the gap between their physical bodies was immense. There was simply no comparison when relying on Physical Power alone.
’A body of flesh and blood is just that in the end—too fragile.’
"Stop!"
He immediately called a halt to the contest. The few Corpse Slaves that were about to charge him again instantly stopped in place at the command, standing like motionless wooden posts as they all turned to look at him.
Although they had no Spiritual Wisdom, they seemed confused as to why Yang An had suddenly stopped the fight.
"Dismissed. All of you, dismissed."
Yang An waved his hand, ordering them to withdraw, then walked back to his room, feeling a bit dejected.
He felt like he’d taken a blow. The confidence that had just been swelling within him vanished in an instant, and his enthusiasm along with it.
’Seriously! Why did I have to try punching them? I was just asking for humiliation!’
’A real man should shine brightly and radiate heat, a dazzling light! A light that keeps all darkness at bay, leaving it nowhere to hide!’
’It seems my previous decision was right. If I can attack from a distance, I should never engage in close combat. If I can stay far away, I shouldn’t get too close. I can’t let these things get near me.’
’This world has too many strange and bizarre things. One wrong move and you could fall into a trap, not even knowing how you died.’
’And my body is so fragile. Without using Mana, I can’t even break through a Corpse Slave’s defense.’
’If I ran into someone stronger, getting that close would be like serving myself up on a platter. It’s no different from suicide.’
’Forget it. I’d better go back and focus on condensing my Mana. Raising my Cultivation Level and integrating more Dao of Destiny Techniques is more practical than anything else.’
’Also, I still haven’t learned the Three Vein Beast Transformation Technique. I need to find some time to study it; it’ll definitely be useful in the future.’
He remembered his Second Senior Brother saying that after the apprenticeship ceremony, the old guy would probably send him out to handle matters. That should be happening any day now.
Although there was always an unsettling atmosphere in the Life Crane Sect, he had at least enjoyed a rare period of peace recently.
Once he left Corpse Saliva Valley without enough strength to protect himself, he would probably be on edge all the time again.
...
Two days passed in the blink of an eye.
Early that morning, a tall woman dressed in tight-fitting black clothes arrived at the door of Yang An’s residence.
Her eyes seemed to be covered by a layer of red gauze. Only upon closer inspection would one realize it was a mass of countless fine blood vessels, through which one could even see the blood flowing.
The visitor was none other than Elder Life Crane’s twelfth disciple, Wen Yin.
"Is Junior Brother Thirteen here?"
Seeing several Corpse Slaves guarding the door, it was clear that this Junior Brother Thirteen was busy with something and didn’t want to be disturbed. So, Wen Yin simply called out loudly toward the residence.
Inside the residence, Yang An had just finished his cultivation a quarter of an hour ago. He was stretching his limbs while calculating. He figured he probably only needed a few more days to condense the Mana in his acupoints until they were full. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦
’I can’t believe I’m about to break through again so soon after reaching the Middle Stage of Fake Food. But I still haven’t found my third Dao of Destiny Technique.’
Just then, Yang An suddenly heard an unfamiliar woman’s voice from outside.
She called him Junior Brother, so she must be one of the old guy’s disciples, a Senior Sister. Yang An immediately pushed open the door and walked out.
The old guy only had two female disciples. One was the woman he had seen when he first arrived, named You Hong’Er, the old guy’s third disciple.
The other was ranked twelfth. He had caught a glimpse of this Senior Sister at the apprenticeship ceremony in the Golden Sun Pavilion, but he didn’t know her name.
When he walked out of his residence and saw this Senior Sister standing with her side to him, he was taken aback. He hadn’t gotten a good look at her in the Golden Sun Pavilion, but seeing her up close now, she was quite stunning at first glance.
But then he saw the dense, exposed blood vessels on her face, and he couldn’t help but be startled.
’So this Senior Sister is actually blind?’
But then he remembered that none of his other sect-mates were normal, so having a blind Senior Sister among them wasn’t all that surprising.
Besides, you couldn’t tell anything just from her appearance. This world had many strange and mysterious Techniques. Even if she was blind, it didn’t necessarily mean she couldn’t see.
Therefore, Yang An didn’t let it affect his manners. He immediately clasped his fist in a salute.
"Greetings, Senior Sister. May I ask why you’ve come?"
Yang An greeted her first, though he already had a feeling about why this Twelfth Senior Sister had come looking for him.
If he wasn’t mistaken, the old guy was probably sending him out to work.
Hearing Yang An’s voice, Wen Yin reacted immediately, adjusting her position to turn and face him, clasping her fist in return.
"Two days ago, Master ordered me to go to Yulan City. There’s a matter that needs to be handled, and he requires you, Junior Brother, to assist. We must set off now without delay."
"Since it is Master’s command, I will naturally obey. Thank you for taking the trouble, Senior Sister!"
Yang An nodded and immediately accepted.
’Just as Second Senior Brother said. The apprenticeship ceremony was only two days ago, and the old guy is already sending me out.’
’Still, it’s not so bad for now. He’s not sending me out alone, but with an experienced disciple.’
’He probably wants me to get familiar with how to handle these matters first, and then he’ll start sending me out by myself.’
’That’s good, too. Familiarity aside, at least if we run into danger, the two of us can watch each other’s backs.’
Thinking this, Yang An couldn’t help but glance lightly at his Senior Sister.
’These disciples of the old guy... they should understand the meaning of mutual aid between fellow sect members... right?’
