Chapter Eighteen: The Bone-Scraping Blade, Vermilion Bird, and Gravity Beast

“Sigh…” A faint, lingering breath escaped as Leng Bingtong, under the watchful eyes of Xia Tianling and Sun Shangxiang, sat upright. Her hands rested on her knees as she said, “It hurts terribly.”

The force of the One Yang Finger was not merely a simple strike passing through the body; as it penetrated, the energy would explode within, maximally destroying the internal organs. Despite Leng Bingtong’s immortality, she had taken quite a severe beating.

She glanced down at her uniform, now stained a dark red from blood, marked by ten circular holes.

“Two sets already…” Leng Bingtong muttered in frustration. “In just two days, I’ve ruined two uniforms.”

Sun Shangxiang stole a glance at Yan Tian, who was still dazed, then quietly whispered to Leng Bingtong, “Sister Nan, do you think… did we choose the wrong bodyguard? Yan Tian just now was like a tiger! He might… might kill us without even blinking.”

Xia Tianling nodded repeatedly, saying, “Even the Thunder Emperor isn’t as terrifying as him.”

“I’ve never seen anyone so brutal!” Sun Shangxiang’s face paled. Suddenly, she noticed Leng Bingtong and Xia Tianling all staring at her with strange expressions.

“What’s wrong?” Sun Shangxiang asked curiously, only to feel a large hand gently pat her shoulder. Then, a kindly face appeared beside her, accompanied by a gentle and compassionate voice in her ear: “Am I really that brutal?”

Sun Shangxiang stiffened, turning her head awkwardly to face Yan Tian, who had silently materialized beside her. She forced a smile and stammered, “N-no, I wasn’t talking about you. I meant… I meant Sister Gongsun. Yes, I was talking about Sister Gongsun.”

“Oh!” Yan Tian grinned. “I thought you meant me!”

“Not at all!” Sun Shangxiang replied, trying to ingratiate herself. Joking aside, this man’s moods were volatile; though he usually appeared carefree, when he turned cruel, he was like a fearsome demon.

“By the way, is Gongsun Jing alright?” Yan Tian rubbed his nose and approached Leng Bingtong.

“She’s fine. Don’t forget she’s a doctor who can freely control her nerves, muscles, bones, and internal organs. Though she loses rationality when on the verge of losing control, her instinct for self-preservation remains. Your attack won’t hit her vital points,” Leng Bingtong explained.

“Still, we can’t be careless,” Yan Tian said seriously as he knelt beside the reclining Gongsun Jing. “She needs a thorough checkup.”

Suppressing their urge to intervene against Yan Tian’s strength and ruthlessness, Leng Bingtong and the others merely coughed discreetly to signal caution.

“Hm, she’s fine, very healthy,” Yan Tian said, unwilling to overdo it with so many eyes watching, and he rose, waving his hands. “Let’s head back. Kexin is waiting for me at home!”

“I’ll carry Sister Gongsun back!” Sun Shangxiang hurried to Gongsun Jing, fearing Yan Tian might suddenly lash out again.

The group made their way toward the ancestral home. Yan Tian asked, “By the way, what caused Gongsun Jing to lose control today? How often does she usually lose control? I don’t want to be running around all the time.”

Leng Bingtong replied, “If there’s no mental stimulation, we lose control at most once a month. Jing’er has already lost control once this month. This time, it was probably triggered by strong mental stress. We don’t know the details yet; we’ll have to ask her when she wakes.”

Yan Tian rubbed his nose. “I think I understand Gongsun Jing’s abilities now. She creates explosive petals, can release blade energy from her bare hands, and can fly. What about Xia and Sun? Tell me first so I can prepare.”

Leng Bingtong said, “Actually, Jing’er’s abilities aren’t so exaggerated when she’s calm. The petals she creates are mostly ornamental, with no practical use. Her vacuum blades, under normal conditions, are only about fifteen centimeters long air scalpels, and she can’t release them outside her body. As for flying, that’s not a rare ability; many artificially created gods can levitate. Jing’er’s code name is ‘Bone Scraper,’ so her flight speed is quite fast. As for Tianling and Shangxiang’s abilities... it’s better if they tell you themselves.”

“My code name is ‘Vermilion Bird,’” Sun Shangxiang stuck out her tongue and held out her right hand, where a flame of crimson fire flickered in her palm. “My ability is to create and control fire.”

“Impressive!” Yan Tian thought. Among the ten martial arts skills recorded in the Jade Chronicles, the ‘Iron Transformation Hand’ technique could also create high-temperature flames with true energy, but it required an immense reservoir of it. Sun Shangxiang, with no true energy at all, could conjure fire from thin air—her power was indeed strong. “We won’t need to carry fire starters when we go camping in the future.”

“My code name is ‘Gravity Beast,’” Xia Tianling smiled. “My ability is gravity control.” She pointed to a three-meter-long, half-human-height reclining ox stone on the ground, which floated up like a balloon, hovering about a meter above the earth before stopping.

“Excellent!” Yan Tian clapped his hands happily. “From now on, you’re in charge of moving furniture! Your ability is tailor-made for becoming a great mover!”

Xia Tianling’s usually unchanged, formulaic smile finally softened into something genuine.