Returning to the Mysterious Era

Chapter 93 - A Surge of Power

Five minutes later, the Shadow Demon was tied to the only chair in the warehouse. To prevent any kind of accidents from happening, Cassius broke its limbs completely and stuffed its mouth with a cloth.

Cassius discovered, through his experimentation, that the Shadow Demon couldn't communicate. The Shadow Demon wouldn't reveal anything about its origins or any details about its rules. It wasn't that it wasn't unwilling, but it was more like it didn't know.

It was a killing machine designed to act instinctively once manifested. Its sole purpose was to kill Cassius, its host. Shooting another look at the terrified Shadow Demon, Cassius lit a kerosene lamp nearby, crossed his arms, and leaned against the wall.

The Shadow Demon couldn't disclose the information Cassius wanted, but after his recent experiment, Cassius had already gained some intel.

First, intangibility. Nobody could interfere in a fight between the Shadow Demon and its host. If external forces tried to help the host, the Shadow Demon would become intangible. It was like what happened earlier: the gang leader's bullets passed through the Shadow Demon's body like it was made of air. The only person who could touch the Shadow Demon was the host and only the host could harm it.

Second, the Shadow Demon would automatically eliminate external factors and attack anyone interfering in the Shadow Demon and host's battle. That was what happened when the Shadow Demon drew its gun and shot at those eight gang members earlier. This meant that if anyone tried to interfere in Cassius and the Shadow Demon's battle, they would likely be attacked by both.

Third, the Shadow Demon could replicate weapons. This part was pretty obvious.

Fourth, the Shadow Demon could only replicate combat techniques from the owner's memories, but would not be able to perfectly replicate Cassius's personality, nor access his other memories.

Fifth, the Shadow Demon wouldn't run away in the middle of a battle and instead would fight the host to the death. This was seen earlier, when the Shadow Demon chose not to leave even though the warehouse door was open. Instead, like a moth to a flame, it traversed deeper, searching for Cassius, with a gun in hand.

The gang members who had accidentally intruded had given their lives to hash out the rules' finer details. With his strength, Cassius could have easily broken the Shadow Demon's limbs the moment it manifested, but he deliberately stepped back to observe its behavior.

Cassius was quite curious about such a strange phenomenon. This was, obviously, just a small experiment. Cassius had many more strange ideas he wanted to try. For example, would the Shadow Demon manifest as someone on the brink of a nervous breakdown if he stayed awake for three to four days until he was mentally exhausted, before falling asleep for the next twelve hours?

Or what about greatly weakening his body by taking a non-lethal poison, and when the time came, quickly take the antidote within that day? Or how about ramming a truck into the Shadow Demon? What would happen if he stood on the edge of a cliff, casting his shadow onto the rock wall so that when the Shadow Demon manifested, it would materialize midair and fall to its death?

There was no end nor limit to Cassius's wild imagination. They were not absurd ideas, nor were they useless. He couldn't guarantee that he could fulfill the owner's lingering attachment every time he time-traveled. If he failed, Cassius wouldn't get any stronger, and he would have to face the Shadow Demon on equal footing. In that case, it would be much better to have some underhanded tricks up his sleeve. It might not be ethical, but who cared as long as it worked? Why should he waste any good qualities with a monster?

Time passed slowly until the clock hands reached seven in the evening. The Shadow Demon's body on the black chair suddenly swelled. Its muscles grew bigger, and it also grew taller, stretching the clothes inch by inch. Even the ropes binding it was pulled extremely taut.

However, there was no point for the Shadow Demon to grow stronger. Its limbs had all already been dislocated and broken. Only its head remained intact, and now a strong hand latched onto its neck.

Cassius crouched behind the Shadow Demon. His right arm curved around to grip the neck, while his left hand pressed down on the Shadow Demon's head.

Cassius's gaze remained icy as ever. "Goodbye."

Crack!

Cassius exerted all his strength, twisting the Shadow Demon's sturdy neck a full 180 degrees to ensure its death.

It's over.

He looked ahead, and the limp corpse on the chair began to melt pecularily, turning into a writhing shadow.

Swish!

The shadow shot out and attached itself behind Cassius. A torrent of information flowed into his mind in an instant, flooding it with an endless stream of combat techniques, including numerous insights into the Wind Elephant Fist Gale and Elephant Herd stages, as well as the application of the four ultimate moves.

Originally, Cassius had only learned half of the fourth ultimate move, Wind Elephant Torrent, but with this, he instantly grasped the concept. It was like he had mastered it a long time ago.

Two years of training in the time-travel era flashed before his eyes like a movie. Every key point and flaw of the Wind Elephant Covert Martial Arts was etched into his memory.

In the upper right corner.

[Wind Elephant Fist Incomplete: Elephant Herd 67.1% (Total Three Stages)]

The second stage of Wind Elephant Fist was perfected, saving Cassius about two or three years of time. His level of pugilist now matched, and maybe even surpassed, that of the old fist masters at the Wind Elephant Sect headquarters.

Cassius opened his eyes and moved around a little. Immediately, a series of cracking sounds came from his joints, and a strong force seized his heart. His physique hadn't changed much, but his muscle density had significantly increased. Cassius could feel he was much heavier than before.

He was about to look up at the upper right corner when a thunderous sound exploded by his ear, shaking him to the core.

Bathump, bathump...

His heart beat hard and rapidly, pumping hot, thick blood through every vessel in his body. Cassius's body stiffened, and his muscles trembled slightly. In an instant, a large amount of heat radiated from his body and his skin turned red like a cooked lobster. Sweat poured out from his pores and soaked his clothes. It even dripped onto the ground, forming a puddle.

Cassius could feel a vortex of heat forming around his navel. As soon as the blood reached his navel, the vortex flung it back out where it raced to the heart like a bullet. The heart fiercely squeezed, sending the blood quickly back to the navel.

The two parts worked hand in hand, up and down, accelerating the circulation of blood and forming a crimson thread along his body.

This is...the body's second accelerated blood flow node! Cassius's eyes widened, sweat dripping from his eyelashes and blurring his vision. In the pitch-black warehouse, the only thing he could hear was the beast-like thumping of his heartbeat.

In the next instant, there was a drum-like thud.

Cassius's body quivered, the movement making his muscles shake off all the sweat on his body and onto the walls. He opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of hot air.

"Pugilist second realm, second-level accelerated blood flow!"