Chapter 20: The Insane Increase In Strength

Everyone was stunned. Who could have imagined that a fiend like Li Xiaofei would emerge in the face of the Blackblood Gang's seemingly assured victory? Four of the seven leaders of the major slum gangs had already fallen to his fists. The terrifying scene made many wonder if Li Xiaofei was a star beast in human skin. He had been too fierce and brutal.

The Blackblood Gang had schemed painstakingly to unify the slum and annex the other gangs. They had also been poised on the precipice of victory. But now, Xie Jing, Chen Wenxian, and the others were dead, and the Blackblood Gang's hard-won gains had been shattered by someone else.

Zhong Yang, Zhong Ling, Chu Yuntian, and the other Cloudy Sky Gang members were struggling to believe their eyes. They vaguely understood that Li Xiaofei had become stronger, but they hadn't anticipated this level of strength. He had killed the leaders of four major gangs with just his fists in less than a few seconds. The other martial artists who fell under his iron fists were too numerous to count. He was invincible.

Zhong Yang's legs went weak. He now realized how absurd his plan to deal with Li Xiaofei at the mourning hall had been. Zhong Ling was deeply shaken as well when she realized she had underestimated Li Xiaofei.

But so what? Being brave and skilled in combat is the behavior of a brute. It will never truly solve problems. He might have killed the four big leaders, but can he kill Dugu Que? Can he kill Ye Xiang from one of the five major families? In the end, it would still be a mess without a solution.

She cast a resentful glance at Li Xiaofei standing in the arena, quickly took out her phone, and dialed a familiar number again, whispering a prompt.

Meanwhile, Ye Xiang, from the rule-of-law district, was also shocked by what he had just witnessed. The young man in front of him had a terrifying killing intent and ruthless methods. The slum was indeed filled with lowly, filthy savages. Four black-suited bodyguards immediately surrounded Ye Xiang, protecting him carefully.

On the other side, Dugu Yilong of the Blackblood Gang was so enraged that his eyes seemed to shoot fire. His chest was heaving violently; yet, he lacked the courage to personally step in. Although he had held the third spot on the slum's Combat Rankings for decades, he doubted he could withstand two punches from the current Li Xiaofei.

Where did this little brat learn such a terrifying technique?

"My son, kill him," Dugu Yilong shouted toward the arena. "This little bastard is so ruthless at such a young age that he must not be allowed to escape. Kill him and rid the world of his menace."

Thud.

Dugu Que kicked Wu Potian's corpse to the side.

"Interesting." He said, eyeing Li Xiaofei up and down. "I originally intended to make you a side dish after the main course, but it seems you want to be the main dish."

"Too much talk," Li Xiaofei replied, "Are you going to fight or not?"

Dugu Que sneered, "I admit, you now have the qualifications to fight me. But... heh, how much Starforce Qi do you have left after that little display?"

"None of your business." Li Xiaofei sprang forward with a Vajra Thunderous Strike. Man like a vajra, fist like thunder.

Boom!

The air seemed to explode as the force of his punch surged like a dragon. Dugu Que laughed loudly, throwing a punch with his right fist. Under the influence of the Lightning Mantis Inscribed Treasure Bone, his right arm was shrouded in dense, visible blue lightning.

Boom!

Their fists collided violently. Dark blue lightning and pale golden fist energy erupted wildly. Li Xiaofei was knocked back seven meters, stumbling another seven or eight steps before regaining his balance. His right arm's sleeve was torn and charred. His arm felt a little numb as little electric shocks seemed to course through it. In contrast, Dugu Que stood motionless. The disparity was evident.

Dugu Que casually shook his right hand and mocked, "So this bizarre martial technique you rely on is useless against me."

Li Xiaofei remained silent, calculating the gap between himself and Dugu Que. The distance between the third stage and the sixth stage was indeed vast. His third stage Starforce could empower the first technique of the Mighty Vajra Fist to the point where he could crush fourth stage martial artists. He could even contend with those at the fifth stage. But he was suppressed against a sixth stage opponent.

Dugu Que started laughing, "I've understood your martial technique. Although it's only one move, it's indeed powerful and has rare cross-stage combat capabilities. But unfortunately, you haven’t reached beyond the third stage. Your technique is strong, but you are too weak. Defeating me with this martial technique is impossible. Moreover, you consumed a lot of Starforce Qi killing Xie Jing, Zhuang Huiyuan, Chen Wenxian, and Hong Jiusheng. I guess you have less than one-tenth of your Starforce Qi left in your dantian. How many more times can you use that martial technique in your current state?"

Dugu Que's smile grew wider, confident of his absolute advantage. Meanwhile, Li Xiaofei remained silent.

"You have no chance of winning today's battle," Dugu Que said, slowly advancing towards Li Xiaofei. "Hand over the manual for that martial technique, and I'll make your death quick."

Li Xiaofei stared back at him and grinned. "You want the martial technique manual?"

He raised his middle finger. "You minor villain, you're greedier than I, the protagonist. But... I'm afraid you won't live to take it."

At the same time, he silently summoned the Moonlight Treasure Box in his heart.

Treasure Box, open the Secret Time Pavilion for me.

In the next instant, his surroundings changed.

***

The Secret Time Pavilion was still the same grand, quiet, and brightly lit colossal hall. The moment Li Xiaofei appeared, he vigorously shook his fist. Pretending to be cool came with a price. His arm was very sore from Dugu Que's electric punch.

However, the small price was worth it. Experiencing Dugu Que's strength firsthand allowed Li Xiaofei to more effectively plan his training for the next thirty days. He needed to reach the peak of the fourth stage and master at least two of the other three techniques of the Mighty Vajra Fist. If he could do that, he would be able to defeat Dugu Que.

No time to waste.

Li Xiaofei immediately began his training. He took out the second bottle of Starforce Reagent and gulped it down. Then he sat cross-legged, using the Tiger Roar Breathing Technique to refine the Reagent’s energy. The hall echoed with the roar of a mighty tiger.

Time flew by. In an instant, ten days had passed and a delighted smile appeared on Li Xiaofei's face.

"I've broken through. The Starforce Reagent is used up much faster in the Secret Time Pavilion. Therefore, the increase in Starforce Qi is also much faster than the outside world."

When he looked inward, he could see his dantian. Four visible starforce vortices spun like small tornadoes. He had broken through to the fourth stage! It had only taken him ten days to reach the fourth stage. It had taken quite a lot of energy to go from the third stage to the fourth stage. The breakthrough alone had consumed the entire second bottle of Starforce Reagent. But Li Xiaofei didn’t hesitate to drink the third bottle and continue his training.

Another five days passed. The energy of the third Starforce Reagent brought him to the peak of the fourth stage. He decided to capitalize on his momentum and drank the fourth bottle of Starforce Reagent. In another five days, it happened.

Boom!

A powerful aura erupted from Li Xiaofei and his face lit up with joy. The fifth starforce vortex had finally appeared in his dantian. He had reached the fifth stage. He had successfully reached the fifth stage with twenty days and three bottles of Starforce Reagent.

"This body's bone structure and potential is even more terrifying than I imagined," muttered Li Xiaofei.

No wonder Zhong Yuanshan had mentioned in his video that this body was an unparalleled martial arts prodigy. It was just that the previous Li Xiaofei had insufficient mental strength, was inherently dull, and lacked understanding, so his cultivation progress had been slow.

Zhong Yuanshan had to spend nearly ten years building a foundation for him bit by bit. It was like a supercar with unparalleled hardware but a 1.5-liter naturally aspirated engine as its core. How could it ever achieve high speed?

But now, the absolute understanding that he brought to the table was like giving the supercar a matching supercharged engine. He had become a martial arts genius.

Based on previous tests, just mastering the Vajra Thunderous Strike and the fifth stage would be enough to battle Dugu Que. However, to ensure a hundred percent certainty, I still need to master a second technique.

Li Xiaofei temporarily set aside his Starforce Cultivation and began to focus on mastering the second technique of the Mighty Vajra Fist, the Vajra Earth-Shaking Blow.

Time passed as Li Xiaofei trained diligently. On the twenty-first day, he became familiar with the movements of the Vajra Earth-Shaking Blow. By the twenty-fifth day, he had mastered the Qi circulation methods of the technique. On the thirtieth day, he finally comprehended all the secrets and variations of the Vajra Earth-Shaking Blow and integrated it with the first technique, Vajra Thunderous Strike.

The essence of this technique lay in the instantaneous high-frequency vibration of energy, which had terrifying immediate destructive force. The technique’s lethality was five times that of the Vajra Thunderous Strike. At that moment, the thirty-day time limit in the Secret Time Pavilion had finally reached its end.

Li Xiaofei had also adjusted his state to its peak.

"Time to kill Dugu Que," he murmured, filled with anticipation.