Chapter 17: Chapter 17: Freak Appraisal Technique
At noon in Z City, on the hill behind Midtown High School, a figure moved ceaselessly through the trees.
After his morning classes, Fang Can had gone straight to a deserted spot after school to continue diligently practicing the Tiger’s Roar Eighty-Eight Forms.
The arsenic, of which he could only get one pellet a day in the Otherworld, became abundant the moment he returned. His stock jumped to over seventy pellets, and he had successfully achieved "arsenic freedom."
Besides, with the real world as his home base, he could have this non-complex substance produced at will, as long as he could afford it.
For the next three days, as long as he wasn’t forcibly transported away, he would have enough arsenic to use as if it were meals.
As Fang Can practiced his martial arts over and over in the small grove, he began to ponder.
’A single pellet of arsenic can only sustain "genius mode" for an hour. Theoretically, the remaining seventy-two pellets are enough for a three-day trial.’
’But as my strength increases, the arsenic’s effect on my body is diminishing. The power of "genius mode" will gradually fade until my body develops an immunity to it.’
’At the same time, as my physical constitution improves, my digestive system is also getting stronger.’
’The original one-hour digestion time will probably shorten until, one day, the arsenic will dissolve the moment it enters my mouth. I’ll definitely need to find something stronger and more lethal in the future.’
As these thoughts flashed through his mind, Fang Can’s movements didn’t falter. He circulated his Cultivation Technique again and again, increasing his strength bit by bit, as much as he could.
Meanwhile, on the other side of Z City, inside a small house.
A beautiful young woman in ancient attire was currently holding her sword, pointing it at a bruised and swollen modern man before her.
Shortly after arriving in this world, she had been wandering about when she happened upon a would-be mugger in an alley. She had promptly beaten him up, hoping to get some information out of him.
Inside the room, the man trembled in fear, kowtowing repeatedly. "Great Esper, I beg you, please have mercy and let me go! I’ll never do it again!"
Seeing his pathetic state, the young woman’s brow furrowed. "I didn’t spare you so I could listen to this," she demanded. "And I’m not some ’esper.’ Now, I want to know where this place is."
’Where is this place?’ The man was stunned for a moment before replying, "This is... my house."
"Still playing dumb, are you?" The young woman flicked her arm, and a sharp Sword Qi shot out, slicing the wooden table before her in two.
"I’m asking what country this is, who the strongest Martial Artist is and what their Realm is, and why these contraptions are so... novel."
As she spoke, the young woman’s gaze swept over the room’s furnishings, which were things even she had never encountered before.
But a moment later, her expression turned sharp. She sensed a large group of people stealthily approaching from several dozen meters away.
’When was I exposed?’ the young woman wondered.
But this was clearly not the time for contemplation. With a loud BANG, the shut solid steel security door was blasted open. A young man with a body cam on his shoulder walked in from outside.
"Let me introduce myself. My name is Li Qing’an, a Prefecture-level esper from the New Country’s Dragon Group. Cooperate, and this will be..."
Before he could finish speaking, a terrifying pressure emanated from the young woman.
"Did I give you permission to speak?"
It was a pure, oppressive aura, enough to drive an ordinary person mad in an instant.
If Fang Can had been there, he would have immediately recognized that this pressure was similar to Steward Gu’s.
Except the young woman’s aura was dozens, even hundreds, of times more terrifying in magnitude. It was absolutely not something an ordinary person’s will could withstand.
In a near instant, all the surrounding guards who had snuck in lost consciousness under the pressure of her terrifying aura.
The man who called himself a Prefecture-level esper fared slightly better; his knees just instinctively buckled, forcing him to the ground, his eyes completely glazed over.
In just a single moment of confrontation, everyone at the scene was taken down.
The body cam was recording the operation for command headquarters in real time, and this scene immediately sent the personnel there into a panic.
Seeing this, the analysts grew tense and immediately made a report:
"Prefecture-level esper ’Flame God’ has lost combat capability. In addition to incredible physical prowess and a reactive force field, the target has demonstrated multiple other abilities, including energy and psychic attacks. Requesting backup immediately."
The information was quickly reported up the chain of command, reaching the scar-faced man at Dragon Group headquarters in less than half a minute.
"Oh, so this is the ’martial arts’ the people from the Otherworld talk about? This display... is she at the Transcendent Body or Heaven-Ascending Road Realm?"
"This martial arts cultivation is much more balanced than superpowers, which can only develop along their own specialized tracks."
The scar-faced man pondered for a moment before speaking slowly, "Who are the city-level or higher espers stationed near Z City?"
"There’s Cloud Concealing Hero, Rotten King, and the Holy Separator. Oh, and Splicer is there too!" the operator replied.
"Then send Splicer. He’s a good fit for this situation. Remember, I want her captured alive," the scar-faced man said nonchalantly, but was met with silence from the other end.
"What is it?"
The operator replied cautiously, "We just received word. Rotten King is already on his way there."
"If he wants to go, let him. He can handle it."
He cut the connection, and a screen in front of him instantly lit up, displaying the face of the old man from the Dragon Hideout Base.
"Elder Yang, what is it?" the scar-faced man asked, folding his hands.
"Leader Ji, I need you to take a look at the research report on the person from the Otherworld," the old man said with a serious expression, his tone utterly respectful.
The Dragon Group was the New Country’s largest organization of espers, and the scar-faced man, Ji Donglai, was its highest-ranking leader—one of the most powerful people in the entire nation.
Furthermore, no one publicly knew what the scar-faced man’s ability was, because virtually everyone who had ever seen him make a move was now dead.
"Oh? There’s a report already?" A hint of surprise appeared on Ji Donglai’s face.
"Yes. We used the Prized Object Appraisal Art on that Martial Artist with the Transcendent Body," Elder Yang explained.
The so-called Prized Object Appraisal Art, short for Prized and Valuable Items Appraisal Art, was a special-type superpower that could only be used once a day to directly appraise the composition of a person or object.
On something like a vase, for example, an appraisal would reveal its composition, origin, structure, and even its creator.
The more ordinary the object, the more detailed the information gained; conversely, the more extraordinary, the more abstract the results.
As Elder Yang transferred the document, Ji Donglai calmly opened the file and began to read.
At the top of the file was a picture of a long-haired man bound in thick titanium alloy chains, trapped within a pure-white, sealed room.
Name: Pei Xing
Realm: Transcendent Body
Degree of Flesh Alteration: 73.87%
Cultivation Technique: Five Elements Leap Insertion Skill
Martial Skill: Myriad Aspects Form-Intent Fist
Composition: Flesh Memeplex, Humanoid Wishing Machine
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