Chapter 408 - Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist Testing Grounds

Bang!

A massive hand, clad in scale-like armor, slammed a dark creature against the wall, crushing it like a roach. The dark creature was flattened into a smear of flesh. The towering four-meter-tall golem retracted its arm and stood silently, gazing forward.

Before them lay a cluster of dilapidated buildings, resembling a small town. The structures were primarily made of stone, their gray hues fading into blackened patches that gave them an ancient, corroded appearance. The architecture carried a distinct medieval style, with jagged edges and holes marking the buildings. Some structures were bizarrely deformed, appearing as if they had melted like lumps of chocolate. Roofs sagged, and doors were warped and twisted.

Cassius could distinctly smell the stench of decay in the air, emanating from a clearing behind the town, surrounded by cliffs and woods.

He glanced back at Ghost-Man and Iron Knight, then took a step forward.

The ground beneath his boots let out a gritty scrape as he walked. The roads were in severe disrepair, riddled with pockmarks and holes, as though corroded by acid. Each step felt slightly unstable, the surface sinking faintly under his foot.

Cassius observed the narrow street, barely three meters wide, and immediately deactivated the Golem Covert Martial Arts. The enormous figure shrank to a more human-sized form.

However, the black-scaled patterns on his skin surface remained. This was the normal state of Golem Qi, able to fend off half of the invasive calamity forces.

The trio proceeded deeper into the town.

The town was eerily quiet and desolate. Thick layers of dust coated the windows, a clear indication that this place had been abandoned for a long time. Cassius gradually slowed his pace, his eyes sweeping across the surroundings. If the mission tied to the Graveyard of the Undead had any connection to the ancient Southern Dipper's Covert Martial Inheritance, the most likely place to find clues would be this abandoned town near the graveyard.

"Hm?"

Cassius's gaze locked onto a distant tall structure visible through the gaps between the buildings. His steps faltered.

It resembled a clock tower, though part of its roof had been torn apart by some unknown force. The broken edges bore spiral-like marks, and the building's surface was warped, with swirling patterns carved into the stone.

"That's... Death's Fang Force!"

Cassius immediately recognized the traces.

"What's wrong? Is there danger nearby?" Ghost-Man stepped forward and asked in a low voice.

"No, I just found something interesting. You two should head to the Graveyard of the Undead to collect bones. I'll stay in the town for a while and catch up shortly. If there's any danger, call for me loudly. The open space behind the town should carry sound quite far."

Still staring at the distant building, Cassius advised Ghost-Man.

"Alright, we'll head out first."

Ghost-Man nodded and left with Iron Knight. Cassius's suggestion clearly indicated he had something personal to attend to, perhaps involving secrets they weren't meant to witness. Additionally, the Sanctuary Stones, essential mission tools, were valuable, and every moment of their activation needed to be maximized. Ghost-Man and Iron Knight proceeding to the graveyard directly was more efficient.

Once the two were gone, Cassius leaped in the direction of the towering structure.

A few seconds later, he arrived in front of a three-story building. With a swift jump, he landed on its roof. Crouching slightly, he brushed his hand across the fractured surface of the structure. Granules of stone disintegrated under his touch, scattering in the wind. Narrowing his eyes, Cassius made a discovery.

Initially, he had thought the damage was caused by Death's Fang Force, but now he realized it wasn't. Death's Fang Force had two distinctive characteristics: spirals and decomposition. However, the destruction before him exhibited only decomposition.

Leaping down, Cassius approached another mark displaying spiral patterns and carefully examined it. The result was the same—this force possessed only spiral characteristics without any signs of decomposition.

Cassius landed on the ground and entered the building. The interior was dimly lit, but his keen gaze took in his surroundings. This wasn't a clock tower at all but rather an ancient combat arena. The floor was made of marble-like material, the walls were gray and white, and the ceiling consisted of massive slabs of stone. Evidence of battles was etched everywhere, with numerous traces of force energy slashing through the structure.

It became clear—the external damage initially thought to be from outside attacks was actually the result of intense sparring inside.

Cassius paused briefly, testing the wall with a casual punch. A dull thud sounded, but the wall remained unscathed. Increasing his strength, he punched again—still no mark. After a moment of contemplation, he enveloped his fist with Death's Fang Force and struck.

Boom!

A shallow imprint appeared on the wall. Simultaneously, the entire first floor of the building lit up. Marks of battle—etched into the walls, floor, and ceiling—began glowing red, resonating in unison.

Cassius took a cautious step back, his eyes scanning the area with a strange expression.

The glowing red imprints converged in one corner of the arena, forming a humanoid figure made of light. Faceless and featureless, the figure stood at about 1.85 meters tall, resembling a lifeless puppet.

"What is this..." Cassius grew alert. He could feel the Qi emanating from the red figure, along with a strong fist technique willpower.

For some reason, it reminded him of the Qi illusionary realm he had experienced after the fourth time-travel, where he had acquired the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist. The form and aura of the Holy Fist's manifestation bore similarities to this red figure.

Cassius approached cautiously and noticed the figure didn't react. After a brief study, he discovered its purpose. When Cassius used Death's Fang Force to touch a fist imprint, the red figure would activate, recreating the battle moves associated with that imprint.

In essence, this was a training ground for fist technique moves. By triggering specific imprints with Death's Fang Force, the red figure would perform the recorded techniques and engage Cassius in combat.

"Let's test this..."

Cassius lightly pressed a finger against one of the fist imprints on the wall.

The blood-red figure suddenly charged at him, spinning its entire body rapidly. Its right hand sliced through the air like a blade, tracing a massive arc as a crimson gleam streaked across the space.

Bang!

A fist wrapped in blood-like energy collided with the hand blade. Cassius held his ground. The figure spun again, adjusting its position like a spinning top, and delivered another slash aimed at his back.

Bang!

𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Cassius blocked it again, matching blade for blade.

The red figure whirled around Cassius continuously, attacking with extraordinary speed and agility.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Fists and hand blades collided with each other, causing a series of dull striking sounds. Their clashes sent shockwaves rippling through the air, forming visible waves of energy.

With a sudden burst of force, Cassius's right arm blurred as he delivered a decisive punch, shattering the figure's head. Lowering his arm, he exhaled through his nose.

After a brief pause, Cassius experimented with a few more imprints.

He finally understood.

This was likely the birthplace of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist.

Ancient sages had attempted to create a Covert Martial Art combining the characteristics of decomposition and spirals, using this arena as one of their testing grounds. The imprints Cassius interacted with were crude, incomplete moves of the original technique, representing their early efforts to establish a framework.

Most of the imprints exhibited only one characteristic—either decomposition or spirals. A small number contained both but were contradictory and unbalanced. Only three or four imprints managed to merge both characteristics effectively.

Cassius quickly tested the three to four fist technique marks and was astonished to discover that their power rivaled, if not exceeded that of the three techniques he had created. His techniques, derived from the Blood Flower, included the Hundred Palms Thousand Hands, the Spiral Finger Gun, and the Crimson Waterfall Explosion.

Notably, one of the marks displayed a version of the Finger Gun, but its power was significantly superior. Cassius repeatedly activated the technique, finally discerning the difference. This ancient technique emphasized spiral force as the primary energy, with decomposing force as a supplement. The result was a Finger Gun with immense penetrating and spiraling power!

In contrast, his own creation mixed the spiral and decomposing characteristics indiscriminately, lacking focus and harmony. This lack of refinement made his technique seem chaotic and contradictory.

When he tested his other two moves, he noticed the same flaw—an absence of clarity and an overly balanced method that dulled their effectiveness.

This realization led to an epiphany. The Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist needed to be simplified into two moves:

The first prioritized spiral force, with decomposing force as a secondary element.

Cassius could utilize his Spiral Finger Gun as the basic framework and refine it.

The second prioritized decomposing force, with spiral force as a support.

As for the second, while he had some ideas, he lacked a clear framework. Perhaps by honing his skills further through the numerous fist technique imprints on these walls, he could gain the insight he needed.

The imprints recorded the development process of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist. If Cassius could fully comprehend them, it might provide profound benefits, similar to understanding the foundational principles of fist techniques.

Such mastery could even elevate him to the level of the original creators of these techniques.

As Cassius continued to study, he discovered that the ultimate secret move of the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist, the Blood Vulture's Beak, as taught to him by Feng Liusi, had a relatively perfect framework.

This technique utilized spiral and decomposing characteristics to their peak, achieving a balance that was not only non-contradictory but also synergistic, akin to a chemical reaction. The result was an explosive, devastating power.

Feng Liusi was undoubtedly a genius. Despite being exposed to the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist in his late forties, his creativity and compatibility with the style were astonishing.

The Blood Vulture's Beak alone could be considered a masterpiece. Tragically, Feng Liusi's late start and declining physical condition limited his potential. His eventual overreliance on Qi led to his downfall.

If Feng Liusi had mastered the techniques earlier, he might have become an extreme combat artist, or perhaps even reached the realm of a Holy Fist.

Standing on the ground floor of the building, Cassius opened his eyes slowly, marveling at the place's value. This testing ground for the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist was clearly designed to refine technique moves and was crucial for addressing his weaknesses.

Surveying his surroundings, Cassius noticed the building had three floors. He immediately ascended to the second floor, where there were still fist technique imprints, though fewer in number. He tried to activate them using the same method but found no response.

After a short while, Cassius went to the third floor and discovered even fewer marks, but the damage left behind by past users was far more profound.

He deduced the truth: the testing ground's floors corresponded to varying intensities of Death's Fang Force. Currently, with sixteen acupoints unlocked, he was at the second stage and could only activate the first floor.

In order to activate the second floor, he needed to reach the third and fourth stage.

The fifth and sixth stages were required for the third floor.

Resigned, he returned to the first floor, exited the testing ground, and swiftly searched the small town for any other testing grounds related to the Southern Dipper Fist Techniques. Unfortunately, he found only the one dedicated to the Red Falcon Fist. The traces of Death's Fang Force in other areas confirmed that this town was the birthplace of the Red Falcon Fist. He wondered if other Southern Dipper Fist Techniques had similar testing grounds scattered across the World of Calamity.

Perhaps this Graveyard of the Undead wasn't the only one! There could be other Graveyard of the Undead in the World of Calamity.

Cassius's thoughts deepened. The Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist he had mastered had so far yielded only one ultimate move: the Roaring Sonic Gun. However, he was dissatisfied with it and rarely used it.

If he could locate the Graveyard of the Undead for the Southern Dipper Sonic Snake Fist, he could draw inspiration from the wisdom of ancient sages and make rapid progress.

He might successfully create two more ultimate moves, or even craft his own ultimate secret move.

Howling Canyon, with its abundance of Dead Spirits, seemed like the perfect place for such a pursuit. The combat artists who had become Dead Spirits after their demise would serve as ideal sparring partners, enabling Cassius to refine his fist techniques through battle.

Of course, caution was paramount. Excessive recklessness could lead to irreversible consequences.

He needed to ensure that a part of his soul always remained at a revival altar. After all, battles with combat artist Dead Spirits who practiced Covert Martial Arts were extraordinarily dangerous. These undead combat artists were far from mindless beasts; a single misstep could result in his death.

At this moment, Cassius realized the Pale Lands held immense potential.

Even without rare treasures like Soul Jades or Pale Seeds, the Southern Dipper Fist Techniques testing grounds and the combat artist Dead Spirits alone made this journey worthwhile.

Roar!!!

Suddenly, a deafening roar erupted from the back of the town, sharp and primal like a wild beast's fury.

Cassius moved in a blur, dashing toward the source of the noise.

Perched atop a roof, he peered into the distance toward the Graveyard of the Undead. Two figures were sprinting toward the town, followed closely by a huge mass of blood mist.

With a roar, a nearly six meters tall towering figure emerged from the blood mist. Its lower body resembled a wolf, with powerful, inverted-joint-limbs covered in crimson fur. Its upper half, humanoid and skeletal, appeared to be pieced together from bones. On its head, gnarled, branching horns formed a twisted shape, with black holes at their tips that emitted swirling blood mist.

"Is this... a Blood Massacre?" Cassius muttered.

A figure descended from the roof like a meteor.