Whitehair’s features were smashed to a pulp by Instructor, and his face, already unbearable to look at, became even more twisted under the devouring flesh ability of the golden burial shroud. He screamed madly, his already hideous face contorting further.

Whitehair was, of course, unwilling to let his life end like this. He lifted his left leg and unleashed a fierce spinning kick.

If I took that hit, I believe at least seventeen or eighteen of my bones would be broken. Even with the golden burial shroud’s ability, there’d be no time to heal such a severe injury. Although I absolutely didn’t want to take that blow, the gap in strength between me and Whitehair was so great that I had no right to resist, and not even the ability to dodge.

At that life-or-death moment, the Middle-aged Man who had taught me seven stances suddenly made his move.

Middle-aged Man’s movements were lightning-fast, almost on par with Whitehair. In a single, almost miraculous step, he appeared at my side. With a light touch of his hand, Whitehair’s fierce spinning kick was diverted, and his foot slammed into the ground instead, shattering a large section of the concrete floor.

That kick from Whitehair was a desperate counterattack, and he used too much force. Although he cracked a huge section of the floor, the rebound force from the ground made him let out another miserable scream. One of his legs twisted limply into several strange angles. Who knows how many pieces it broke into—he could no longer stand, and collapsed to the ground in a heap.

At that critical moment, I squeezed out nearly all my potential, and the golden burial shroud’s devouring flesh ability was pushed to its limit. Whitehair screamed continuously as the skin all over his body withered at a speed visible to the naked eye. Although Whitehair still wanted to fight back, under the golden burial shroud’s devouring flesh ability, he never got another chance. He struggled for just over ten seconds before his body went limp and lifeless, completely losing all signs of life.

Suddenly, I felt the golden burial shroud tremble violently. Besides a surge of warmth flooding into my body, there was also something strange forcibly pulled out of Whitehair’s body by the golden burial shroud. I didn’t know if this thing was dangerous, so I quickly sent a mental command for the golden burial shroud to intercept and keep it.

After Middle-aged Man made his move, he did nothing more. He shot me a cold glance, then silently retreated to his spot by the wall.

Instructor also showed no reaction to this sudden fight. He simply gave Middle-aged Man a deep look, then pushed the food cart away at a leisurely pace, as if nothing had happened.

Chapter 11: Clear Hierarchies

The others looked at Middle-aged Man with wary expressions. Probably everyone thought that the reason Whitehair died so horribly was because of this mysterious Middle-aged Man’s intervention. Only I and that Middle-aged Man knew the real reason.

I sat down heavily on the ground, gasping for breath. I had barely exerted any strength in the fight just now—just blocked one of Whitehair’s punches—but I felt as exhausted as if I’d run a marathon back and forth, unable to move even a finger. My arms ached, itched, felt sore and numb all at once—that was the golden burial shroud’s ability repairing my injuries.

For a while, my mind was blank. Only after a long time did a strange thought suddenly pop up: “Does Whitehair count as the first person I’ve ever killed?” Although I barely did anything in the fight with Whitehair, it drained me mentally. I just went through the motions for the rest of the training, since I couldn’t count on Instructor’s dinner anyway.

That night, back in my room, I ordered twice as much food as usual. While filling my stomach, I began to study the golden burial shroud.

I slowly unwrapped the golden burial shroud from my wrist. It used to be only thirty centimeters long, but now it was over fifty. After these two days of training, I gradually realized that the reason I’d improved so quickly was at least half because of this thing.

If it weren’t for being in such a brutal place as the dark training camp, I might not have understood the golden burial shroud’s use so quickly.

What it actually seizes isn’t blood and flesh, but—vitality!

The living have more vitality than the dead. The newly dead have more than those who’ve been dead a while. If someone’s been dead for over half an hour, their vitality is almost zero, and the golden burial shroud won’t even bother.

The blood and flesh devoured by the golden burial shroud is ultimately converted into the purest vitality.

Most of this stolen vitality is used to nourish itself, and a smaller portion is given to me. The vitality the golden burial shroud grants me is partly used to heal my body, and partly to enhance my constitution.

Now, compared to when I first arrived at the dark training camp, I’m at least twice as strong. Speed, strength, agility, reflexes, jumping ability—all have increased. Without the golden burial shroud’s vitality boost, there’s no way I could have improved so quickly. No training method could make someone’s physical abilities leap forward so much in just two days.

I think I understand why Rocky would fall out with Edward Bennett over this thing.

Something that can steal an enemy’s vitality and strengthen oneself—its value can’t be overstated. If it were me, I’d fall out with Edward Bennett too.

“Edward Bennett must not have known the golden burial shroud had this ability when he let me have it. No matter if he’ll want it back in the future, at least for now, this thing can help me!”