Five Body Awakening Realm slavers charged from the left.
They spread out as they moved, forming a loose net meant to trap him. Their footwork was coordinated. They'd clearly worked together before.
Shen Tianxu's mind processed their approach in the fraction of a second it took them to close half the distance.
'Five opponents. Body Awakening Realm stages four through seven based on movement speed and energy signatures. Left flank attacker has old knee injury, favors right leg.'
'Center attacker leads with shoulder, telegraphs punches. Right flank attacker breathes too heavily, cardio is poor. Back two are support, will strike when I'm committed.'
His body moved before the analysis finished.
Gale Shadow Steps.
The technique wasn't about supernatural speed. It was about economy of motion. Every movement served dual purpose.
Every step positioned him for the next strike while evading the current threat. His feet traced patterns across the frozen ground that seemed random but were mathematically optimal.
He flowed forward. Not in a straight line but in a curve that brought him past the left attacker's guard.
The man's injured knee meant he couldn't pivot quickly enough. Shen Tianxu was behind him before the slaver finished turning.
Flowing Inferno Fist.
The technique's name invoked fire, but there was no mystical flame. Instead, it channeled explosive power through precise angles and timing. His fist struck the base of the man's spine where three vertebrae met.
*Bang!*
The impact transmitted through bone structure with devastating efficiency. Force amplified by leverage and angle. Physics weaponized through perfect understanding.
*Crack!*
The slaver's spine shattered. Neural pathways severed. Internal organs ruptured from the shockwave traveling through his body cavity. He was dead before pain signals could reach his brain.
The corpse dropped.
*Thud!*
"What?!" the center attacker shouted.
Shen Tianxu was already moving. His body flowed like water between the remaining four. Not meeting force with force but redirecting around it.
When one punch came toward his face, he turned his head slightly. The fist passed a hair's width from his cheek. When a kick targeted his ribs, he shifted his weight. The foot found only empty air.
'Center attacker committed too far forward from that shout. Balance compromised. Right attacker moving to flank but stance is too wide. Vulnerable for point-seven seconds.'
He struck twice in that window.
Flowing Inferno Fist caught the center attacker in the solar plexus. The man's forward momentum worked against him.
The force of his own charge plus Shen Tianxu's strike combined. Ribs caved inward. Heart stopped. He dropped.
Tidal Crushing Palm hit the right attacker before the man could reset his stance. This technique was about overwhelming pressure.
Not a single strike but a wave.
His palm impacted the chest once, twice, three times in rapid succession. Each hit built on the previous.
By the third strike, the accumulated force crushed the man's sternum and pulped his lungs.
The remaining two froze. Fear entered their eyes. They'd just watched their companions die in seconds to a boy who should be their equal.
The twins stared in complete shock.
Shen Yue's mouth hung open. Her fists were still raised to fight but she'd forgotten to move. "How is he..."
Shen Xian's eyes were wide as full moons. "That's not normal. That can't be normal."
This wasn't how someone who just cultivation a year ago should move.
This was mastery that should require years of dedicated training. Decades of refinement.
They'd both trained martial arts since childhood and neither could move with a fraction of that precision.
Three Muscle Tempering Realm opponents charged from the right.
These were stronger. Their muscles were denser, giving them explosive power. Their movements were faster and more experienced than the Body Awakening slavers.
They attacked in perfect coordination, their strikes timed to hit simultaneously from different angles.
Shen Tianxu's mind calculated as they closed distance.
'Three opponents. Muscle Tempering stages three, five, and six. Combined attack pattern suggests military training. Strike vectors will converge in one-point-two seconds. Simultaneous blocking impossible. Evasion window: zero-point-four seconds.'
Phantom Mirage Body.
The technique exploited human perception. When someone moved fast enough with precise enough footwork, the eye couldn't track smoothly.
It created afterimages. Shen Tianxu took this principle and perfected it. His movement created not just blurred afterimages but distinct false positions.
Three afterimages appeared simultaneously. Each one in a different location around the attackers. Each one shifted weight and moved limbs as if preparing to strike.
The effect was created purely through controlled movement speed and positioning. No mystical energy. Just the human eye's limitation weaponized.
The attackers hesitated. Their coordination broke. Each one focused on a different afterimage.
The real Shen Tianxu moved through the gap in their formation.
His borrowed sword flashed. Thunder Piercing Edge wasn't about lightning. It was about concentrated force. The blade became an extension of his body.
Every muscle from his legs through his core through his arm contributed to a single point of impact. The sword moved faster than the eye could track because every inefficient motion had been eliminated.
Three strikes. Throat. Heart. Spine. Each one placed with surgical precision in the window where the attackers were still confused by the afterimages.
Three bodies began falling.
Shen Yue and Shen Xian engaged the remaining weaker slavers. Neither girl was helpless despite their cultivation being lower than Shen Tianxu.
Shen Yue fought with aggressive directness. She pressed forward constantly, forcing her opponent back.
Her punches came in combinations meant to overwhelm. When one was blocked, two more followed. Her style was relentless pressure that gave no breathing room.
Shen Xian's approach was different. She stayed defensive, watching her opponent's movements.
When he struck, she redirected rather than blocked. Used his force against him. Her counters were precise. She waited for openings then struck pressure points that temporarily paralyzed limbs.
They covered each other instinctively. When one was pressed, the other helped. When one found an opening, the other capitalized. Sisters who'd trained together since childhood.
Shen Tianxu protected them without seeming to pay attention. His awareness of their positions was perfect.
When an attack came toward the twins, he was there. Mountain Immovable Stance deflected the strikes. His body became an unbreakable barrier.
The technique was about perfect balance and root. His feet found points on the ground where the earth supported maximum weight.
His stance distributed force through his skeletal structure rather than muscle. An attack that should move him instead dispersed harmlessly through his body into the ground beneath.
'He's protecting us,' Shen Yue thought. Heat flooded her cheeks despite the cold. 'He could be fighting more efficiently alone but he's staying close to keep us safe.'
'So strong,' Shen Xian thought quietly. Her heart beat faster. 'And he doesn't even show off. He just... does it naturally.'
The Phoenix Fate System pulsed quietly in Shen Tianxu's consciousness. Both twins felt something shift in their hearts. Something warm growing.
Then the leader moved.
Bone Forging Realm power erupted.
The difference was immediately obvious. His muscles hadn't just been tempered, his bones had been forged.
Reinforced at a structural level. Each movement carried force that made the air crack. The ground beneath his feet shattered from the impact of his charge.
He crossed thirty meters in a single breath. His fist came at Shen Tianxu's head with enough force to pulverize stone.
Shen Tianxu raised his arms. Mountain Immovable Stance. His feet planted perfectly. His energy focused into the defensive technique.
It wasn't enough.
*Boom!*