Four stars flew before him, and suddenly paired up, crossing into an irregular cross. A ring of light appeared around the cross, which quickly transformed into a door, with the cross-shaped mark floating on its surface.

  “Small body, lofty ambition, Southern Cross, the gate of arduous cultivation.”

  Below the cross, sixteen characters emitted a faint glow, appearing on the door.

  “So this is the secret of the bronze token?” Jason Clark muttered to himself, staring blankly at the cross before him, which was radiating a hazy light, lost in thought.

  After five years, he had finally deciphered the secret of the bronze token!

  But what exactly was this thing?

  He stared dazedly at the sparkling cross for a long time, but Jason Clark still couldn’t figure out what this thing was for.

  Suddenly, a faint gray figure slowly emerged from within the door.

  The gray figure bore a striking resemblance to Jason Clark.

  “Hey, who are you?” Jason Clark tried calling out.

  The gray figure seemed not to hear, and suddenly began to demonstrate basic martial arts: basic fist techniques, basic palm techniques, basic lightness skills, basic hidden weapons, basic swordsmanship. Jason Clark felt an indescribably strange sensation, as if he were practicing in front of a mirror.

  There weren’t many moves in the basic martial arts, so the demonstration was quick. When the last move ended and Jason Clark thought it was over, the gray figure suddenly slapped with its left palm—[Parry]—then followed with three lightning-fast [Shuffling Steps], leaping into the air, twisting its waist midair to punch—[Thrusting Fist]!

  He hadn’t noticed it during yesterday’s sparring, but seeing it with his own eyes now, he could feel a murderous aura rushing straight at him!

  What a powerful move!

  Jason Clark was a bit stunned. Such a formidable move—was it really something he himself had performed?

  Comprehended basic killing move: [Reverse Fist Kill]!

  A line of blood-red characters floated above the gray figure’s head.

  Jason Clark shuddered and blurted out, “Killing move…”

  A killing move!

  A move he had accidentally come up with turned out to be a killing move!

  Jason Clark felt a bit lost.

  After all, he’d hung around Ande Academy for five years—he knew what a killing move was.

  A so-called killing move is an advanced technique derived from fully grasping the essence of a martial art, with power far surpassing ordinary moves of that art. Generally, the power of a killing move is equivalent to a technique one tier higher. However, its energy consumption is less than that of a third-tier technique.

  Therefore, the pursuit of killing moves has always been one of people’s goals.

  In theory, any martial art can give rise to a killing move, but in reality, many martial arts have none. The requirements for comprehending a killing move are extremely strict: one must fully grasp the essence of the art, and often, a stroke of luck is needed.

  Although killing moves sound impressive, after a brief daze, Jason Clark remained quite calm. Few people would waste time on low-tier martial arts, let alone basic ones.

  Soul General Cards allow people to quickly learn new martial arts. As long as one’s finances are decent, most of their time is spent cultivating inner techniques.

  Only with enough true power can one use higher-tier Soul General Cards, which also means learning higher-tier martial arts.

  After finishing the demonstration, the gray figure stood motionless, like a wooden dummy.

  Jason Clark curled his lip, unimpressed. Not much better than me, huh.

  The gray figure seemed to sense Jason Clark’s thoughts, its body trembling. A gray foot stepped out from the cross-shaped door.

  What’s this…

  Jason Clark was stunned by this surreal scene. In that moment, the gray figure had already stepped down from the door.

  The gray figure suddenly raised its head, its gaze sharp and fierce as lightning.

  Hmm?

  Jason Clark, like a wild beast, instantly sensed the other’s hostility, the hairs on his back standing on end. His waist quickly lowered, his steps shifted, his body leaned slightly forward, and his hands were poised.

  The gray figure’s movements mirrored his exactly.

  Jason Clark had been in countless fights and immediately understood—there was no escaping this one!

  He narrowed his eyes, not only unafraid but even a little excited. His thinking was simple: the gray figure was clearly the secret of the bronze token, and he’d have to knock it down to truly unlock the token’s secret.

  Come on, then!

  I’ve waited five years for this day!

  Jason Clark licked his lips, suddenly pushing off with his feet. His whole body shot forward like a leopard, charging at the gray figure with lightning speed.

  The gray figure charged as well.

  The distance between them was already short.

  [Thrusting Fist] versus [Thrusting Fist]

  A powerful impact came from his fist, and Jason Clark’s forward momentum was halted. He opened his eyes wide in surprise—what a strong thrusting fist.

  He’d fought Amory several times; Amory’s thrusting fist was also forceful, but compared to this one, it felt completely different. The gray figure’s punch was full of explosive power.

  Their fists and feet moved at astonishing speed, blow for blow, the sounds of impact as dense as a rainstorm.

  [Basic Fist Technique], [Basic Swordsmanship], [Basic Hidden Weapons], [Basic Lightness Skill], [Basic Palm Technique]

  The five basic martial arts were constantly being broken down, clashing, and countering each other at an incredible pace.