Chapter Sixteen: Invincible Fist Intent

“Junior Sister Ruan...”
“Speak up. Why stop talking now?”

Ruan Xiu gave a forced smile, her face betraying a strange, unsettling feeling, like a volcano about to erupt.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier that Junior Sister Ruan had already arrived!”

Liu Xianyang felt like crying without tears, realizing he was doomed. He cast a hopeless, plaintive look toward Su Ling, his expression filled with grievance.

Su Ling shrugged and paid no attention. Ruan Xiu had already caught Liu Xianyang; he was like a frolicking husky caught by its owner, now being scolded harshly.

“I told you not to gossip behind my back.”

With a chilling thud, a fist landed, followed by Liu Xianyang’s horrified scream of pain.

He crouched on the ground, clutching his head and begging for mercy, while Ruan Xiu relentlessly struck his forehead with her fists—an unbearable scene to witness.

Putting everything else aside, Su Ling admired her fiery spirit. He was not fortunate enough to enjoy it, so from beginning to end, he kept his distance from this tempestuous young woman, never once feeling any admiration.

There’s a saying about a graceful and gentle lady, but did Ruan Xiu look like one?

Her figure somewhat fit his aesthetic of a lady, but beyond that, better not dwell on it—he didn’t want to hang himself on one tree.

“I told you not to spread rumors about me behind my back!”

“Ah—! Junior Sister Ruan, stop hitting me! I admit my fault! Ah—!”

“Trying to run? Deserve a beating!”

Liu Xianyang couldn’t hold back any longer. Seizing the moment when Ruan Xiu’s gaze shifted to Su Ling, he slipped away like greased lightning into the distance.

Seeing this, Ruan Xiu’s anger still burning, she used her technique to enhance her physical strength.

Her slender feet suddenly exploded with force, leaving a lingering afterimage as she dashed after the fleeing Liu Xianyang.

Witnessing this, Su Ling clicked his tongue in admiration. Truly worthy of a goddess, her temper was explosive—a peerless steed galloping a thousand miles.

What remained unknown was which discerning talent scout in the future would recognize and tame this fiery young woman’s wild spirit.

Ruan Xiu’s graceful figure gradually vanished from sight, and Su Ling turned away, no longer paying attention.

He headed toward the blacksmith’s workshop to continue forging the remaining parts. After all, his original intent was to craft a full suit of armor for battle.

As for why he favored forging protective armor so much...

---

To be honest, he wasn’t entirely sure how strong his physique truly was yet, but one thing was certain: even a warrior of the same realm, giving their all, could scarcely harm a single hair on his body.

The reason he was forging a suit of armor was partly because he was genuinely bored.

On the other hand, though his body’s defense was unmatched, he longed to witness a fierce battle where the enemy poured every ounce of strength into breaking his armor.

At that moment, he would suddenly declare:

“Well done, you have successfully shattered the exoskeleton armor limiting my power.”

“Now, face my prime!”—a proclamation befitting the cosmic emperor Boros.

Thinking of that scene stirred a restless excitement within Su Ling, eager to recreate that legendary moment in the future.

He could say he was merely seeking amusement, but never doubt his seriousness—this was a uniquely masculine kind of romance...

---

Three years later, since arriving at Lizhu Cave Heaven, time had quietly slipped by. It was now almost the eve of the original storyline’s beginning.

Su Ling put down his hammer, changed into a gray battle suit, and, with time to spare, descended the mountain from Dragon-Riding Alley, heading toward Mud Bottle Alley, where he hadn’t been home in a long time.

Soon, Su Ling pushed open his door and found the inside spotlessly clean.

Surprised for a moment, he quickly recalled that not long ago he had bumped into Chen Ping’an.

During their conversation, jokingly, he had asked Chen Ping’an to help tidy up the long-neglected earthen house.

Unexpectedly, that foolish boy had taken the words to heart.

No wonder Chen Ping’an had asked if he could enter the earthen house back then...

Su Ling smiled. Since moving into the blacksmith’s shop, he rarely returned to Mud Bottle Alley, so the old house naturally fell into neglect.

But the story was about to begin, and Chen Ping’an was the protagonist; Mud Bottle Alley was where it all started.

To keep an eye on the often-troubled Chen Ping’an, Su Ling planned to live in Mud Bottle Alley for a while.

Of course, it wasn’t all about protecting Chen Ping’an.

There was another reason—an unresolved danger he had left behind three years ago.

Three years prior, following the clues, he had found the culprit spreading news about his martial arts—breaking the leg of Song Jixin.

To this day, whenever it rained, the injured leg ached painfully, breeding deep resentment.

After three years of brewing, Song Jixin pretended on the surface to have let go.

---

But deep down, he longed to skin Su Ling alive, strip his flesh, and make him suffer endless torment.

As the story began, Song Jixin’s uncle, Song Changjing—the foremost martial artist of the Dali Kingdom at the peak of the ninth realm—would surely stand up for him.

Though Su Ling could stay safe in the blacksmith’s shop, guarded by Ruan Qiong, a formidable eleventh realm sword cultivator with tremendous strength,

even the proud Song Changjing would think twice before provoking him.

Yet, acting like a turtle wasn’t Su Ling’s style, nor did he like it.

Though not invincible, his strength was enough to face the Dali military god Song Changjing without fear.

After three years of growth, his physique and power had reached a level comparable to Bald Saitama, yet his martial progress stalled.

His martial cultivation still lingered at the Qi Cultivation Warrior stage from three years ago.

However, his physical strength and power far surpassed warriors of the same realm, even those at the Divine Refinement Triple Mirror stage—rarely could one find such a humanoid tyrannosaurus with such power.

Regarding advancing to the Divine Refinement Triple Mirror, under Ruan Qiong’s guidance, he was quite clear on the path.

Yet one thing remained elusive: his fighting spirit. To this day, his understanding of his own fighting spirit was like viewing flowers through mist—a thin veil separated him from clarity.

He felt he could grasp his fighting spirit and know his future path, but in truth, he hadn’t yet set foot on it.

This might relate to the fact he wasn’t native to this world; his thinking, knowledge, and worldview differed greatly from the locals.

He believed that as long as his strength and physique became invincible, understanding fighting spirit was trivial.

Perhaps this mindset was why he hadn’t fully realized his fighting spirit.

After all, he already had his fighting spirit: the loneliness of being invincible, the chill of the heights, the unmatched power with no equals.

Maybe it was a seeming paradox; his limit-breaking device came from the invincible demon king Saitama.

He wished to emulate that invincible stance, and though capable, the philosophy wasn’t truly his own.

Only his own ideas were the core, the crucial point.