Facing the charging Reaver Voidranger with its cold, gleaming blade, Caelus opened and closed his hands several times, settling into a less-than-standard fighting stance.
Caelus had recently started learning martial arts.
The stats from the Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands emblem, combined with profound martial arts—a union of strengths—would be absolutely devastating.
Caelus had used all the learning chips he had drawn.
However, the combat techniques practiced in the subconscious mindscape and dream space were mostly generic, not particularly profound.
But no worries~
The great disciple of the School of Supreme Freedom will take action!
Li Sushang's hand-to-hand combat skills, while not as masterful as her swordsmanship, were still respectable. After all, besides the Taixu Sword Ki, the founder of the Mount Taixu Sword School had also created a divine martial arts technique—the Inch Heart Fist.
The Seven Swords of Taixu had all learned a bit of it to complement their swordplay, and Moon Shade had begun to humbly seek Li Sushang's tutelage.
With a cheat-like first-person perspective for training and the passive skill of the Taixu Sword Heart, Moon Shade could clearly perceive the power techniques and energy flow in every part of the body when Li Sushang threw a punch.
So...
Imaginary energy, following the pathways of Honkai energy, surged into his fighting stance as he struck.
"Inch Force: Rock Breaker."
Li Sushang had only learned six forms of the Inch Heart Fist, and this was the most basic one.
BOOM—!
A deafening explosion. The steel helmet worn by the Voidranger cracked the instant it made contact with his fist.
Its head shot through the air like a round cannonball from an old-fashioned artillery piece, leaving dozens of spiraling air currents in its wake.
It exploded again upon hitting the wall behind it, blasting through the thick, sturdy steel interior. The霸道 punch's force pulverized the head into fine dust.
The Voidranger's headless body and other objects in the cabin were blown away by the violently dissipating shockwave. Fissures appeared at its neck, spreading down through its chest and torso.
The negative particle condensate shattered inch by inch, dissolving into motes of light that vanished into the air, leaving only wreckage behind.
Caelus glanced at the gaping hole in the alloy wall, loosened his fist, then clenched it again, remarking with emotion.
"So, this is the power of stats?"
Caelus had used a Soul Crystal to enhance [Knight Does Not Die with Empty Hands]. Its boost to unarmed attack power was now 60 to 120 times.
The power of that punch had been amplified by more than 60 times.
"Eh?"
Tingyun, sheltered behind Caelus, was completely dumbfounded.
She stood there, dumbstruck, staring at Caelus's fist, which was as fair as her own, her eyes wide with incredulous shock.
"Benefactor... you're so, so strong!"
It was a power she could feel viscerally, and Tingyun couldn't help but murmur aloud.
"Let's go, Tingyun." Caelus took her hand and led her forward.
Having tried a proper martial arts technique and found its damage output to be complete overkill, he resorted to casual punches from then on. One punch, one little Voidranger.
For some of the stronger ones, if one punch didn't work, two would. None of them could withstand a third.
"Benefactor, where are we going?"
Tingyun, who was too weak to even tie up a chicken, could only huddle behind Caelus, watching the graceful, gray-haired young man effortlessly dispatch the monsters and praying for him in her heart.
Each punch was like a flash of light shattering despair, wrapping her in an unprecedented sense of security. It was like the key to your home in your pocket after leaving the house, or a phone screen showing a 100% charge, but even deeper, even more potent.
"To find your memories."
Normal Punch, Normal Punch, Consecutive Normal Punches. Caelus transformed into One-Punch Man, smashing the various Voidrangers into pieces.
"Mmhm."
Tingyun nodded with a gentle smile, stepping to follow behind Caelus.
However, although her state was much improved from her initial dazed and listless condition, she was still extremely weak.
After a few quick steps, her legs gave out, refusing to obey. Tingyun staggered and pitched forward.
Fortunately, Caelus, still diligently playing the role of Tingyun's loving husband, was quick to react, catching the Foxian girl's slender waist to steady her.
"Tingyun, are you alright?"
Adopting a concerned tone, Caelus asked as he held her.
"You needn't worry, Benefactor. This humble lady is fine, just a little weak..."
Tingyun was in a bad state; one could even describe her as wretched.
But her faint whispers, accompanied by the warm breath that tickled his ear, combined with her half-burnt clothes that offered tantalizing glimpses of skin, and the sense of helpless fragility as she leaned into his arms... it was enough to stir a person's sadistic desires.
As an actor of the highest professional caliber, Caelus naturally wouldn't let something like this break his character.
"Hold on tight."
Caelus lifted Tingyun onto his back, letting her fair, slender arms wrap around his neck.
"Benefactor..."
Her soft, snow-white curves pressed against his not-broad-but-solid back, deforming slightly. This time, however, Tingyun didn't pull away. Instead, she relaxed against him, her voice weak yet gentle.
The title 'Benefactor' now rolled off Tingyun's tongue more and more naturally, and with more and more meaning. After all, even if she had forgotten her past and had to start anew, her Benefactor had still saved her.
"Remember to turn into a little fox when you come to repay my kindness tonight. The fluffy ones are the cutest!"
"Benefactor certainly has a sense of humor. This humble lady still remembers some common knowledge. The Foxian race doesn't actually transform from foxes, you know~"
Wrapping her arms around Caelus's neck, Tingyun smiled softly.
That feeling of security even allowed her to ignore the monsters that occasionally charged at them and chat with Caelus. Although she didn't know where they were going, it felt as though as long as her Benefactor was by her side, no danger could befall her.
But this atmosphere didn't last for long.
"Benefactor, behind us! Those monsters are alive again!"
Tingyun, who had been lying limply on his back, suddenly sat up straight. Her gentle expression changed, replaced by shock as she looked nervously at the monsters that appeared ahead.
"How can this be... Why are there still so many?"
"And the ones from before... we didn't completely destroy them?"
"Benefactor, what's happening?"
"The power of Destruction has seeped into the deepest level of your psyche, becoming part of your memory space. That's why they're so hard to eliminate," Caelus explained casually.
Activating Fenghuang Down at its rated power could burn away that will of Destruction, but it would inevitably erase some of Tingyun's memories as well.
"Tingyun, don't be scared, don't be afraid. Accept it. Try to coexist with them, to master them."
This method could both prevent memory loss and offer the possibility of mastering this power after she recovered.
"Coexist?" Tingyun closed her eyes, her lips pressed into a thin line.
Having regained her clarity, she had already vaguely sensed her own condition.
She was hovering on the brink of life and death, like a soul in limbo, just one step away from becoming a lonely ghost.
Her intuition told her that if her Benefactor hadn't come, she would likely have been consumed by the flames, her spirit ultimately sinking into destruction, taking all her memories with it.
Even if she had been lucky enough to regain consciousness during the process, having forgotten everything, she would have been like a rootless water lily. Nothing would have supported her in making the decision to resist her fate.
She might have died in passive acceptance of her destiny.
But now...
She had her Benefactor with her, supporting her. Even if only for the sake of the Benefactor who had gone to such great lengths to save her, she could not give up on life.
"You've worked hard carrying this humble lady all this way, Benefactor. You can put me down now."
She wrapped her arms tightly around Caelus's shoulders, as if refueling on 'Benefactor energy', then slowly let go, her voice turning resolute.
"Alright."
Noticing the change in Tingyun, Caelus released the ever-shifting, delicate softness he had been supporting with his hands while carrying her—her thighs.
"I'll help you!"
As the Foxian girl watched in bewilderment, Caelus leaped to a high point, a crimson feather in one palm, the other hand pointing towards Tingyun who was walking towards the Voidrangers.
The next second, crimson feathers that made Tingyun feel exceptionally warm fell from the sky, drifting throughout the entire memory space.
All the Voidrangers were frozen in place by Fenghuang Down, motionless as statues.
"Benefactor..."
Tingyun looked at Caelus with misty eyes, her red lips quivering. After Caelus nodded, she took a deep breath and walked towards the Voidrangers.
She raised a delicate hand and passed it before a Voidranger as if stroking a scar, and the entire memory space changed with the gesture.
"Benefactor, this humble lady has remembered some things!"
With the help of Fenghuang Down, Tingyun reclaimed the memories containing the will of Destruction with almost no resistance.
The memory space changed accordingly, shifting from the ship that was attacked by Phantylia to a memory fragment of a young Tingyun gazing up at countless starskiffs crossing a sea of clouds.
"Well done. Keep going."
"Yes, Benefactor!"
One after another, the fragmented memory spaces were reclaimed. With Caelus's help, Tingyun recovered more and more memories, but she gradually began to feel something was strange.
"Why... is Benefactor not in any of these memories I've recovered?"
Tingyun pressed her lips together, not even using the 'this humble lady' self-address.
Although as her memories returned, her Benefactor was no longer the sole reason driving her forward, she was still desperate to find her memories of him!
"Oh, that."
Caelus's expression didn't change, though he thought to himself, It'd be a miracle if you could.
He had never met the real Tingyun before, but...
"They're probably further back. But it's okay, I can show you the memory of how we met first."
Caelus smiled and activated Fenghuang Down, transmitting his memories of interacting and chatting with Phantylia-Tingyun, adding a few appropriate embellishments.
Of course, memories that would create a negative impression, like feeding her the spiked Immortal's Delight Tea or tricking her into dancing with the Mara-struck, had to be removed.
Caelus also removed the initial 'Affection Up' buff he had applied; it was no longer needed.
"Benefactor..."
Because they were Caelus's memories, Tingyun saw them from his perspective.
He saved her during the Mara-struck crisis—that was how they met, the origin of 'Benefactor'.
That moment then, and this moment now, were so very similar.
It made Tingyun sigh with emotion. Her fate with her Benefactor truly ran deep!
Perhaps... they were a match made in heaven!
With that thought, Tingyun's heart began to flutter. The blushing Foxian girl proactively threw herself into the gray-haired young man's arms, gently burying her head in his chest.
A gentle smile on his face, Caelus raised a hand to embrace Tingyun.
"Perhaps I've come at an inopportune time."
The sudden voice made Tingyun look up in surprise. She and Caelus looked to the side, where a stunningly beautiful woman in a light cyan cheongsam stood.
Ruan Mei's cool eyes, marked by a hint of red plum blossom, stared at the embracing pair.
"No, you've come at the perfect time."
While still holding Tingyun, Caelus raised his other hand towards Ruan Mei, smilingly inviting her into his embrace as well.
Tingyun: "?"
Ruan Mei: "..."
________________________________________
If you want more chapters, please consider supporting my page on Patreon. with 50 advanced chapters available on Patreon
patreon.com/Leanzin