Returning to the Mysterious Era

Cassius glanced down. The black tattoo beneath the man's neck dispersed like mist, vanishing without a trace. Blood continued to flow from his neck. A shoe crushed the cigarette underfoot, snuffing out its flame.

"Smoking is bad for your health," Cassius muttered, averting his gaze as his sharp, hawk-like eyes scanned his surroundings. Within a hundred meters, he could spot even the slightest movement, yet he found no trace of the enemy.

Pondering for a moment, Cassius inspected the man—or rather, the headless corpse. Within seconds, he had a rough guess. While the man was merely an ordinary human and not a dark creator, dark essence lingered around him. Resorting to firearms suggested desperation.

Was it a test? A warning? Cassius slowly stood up, retreating four or five steps to avoid staining his shoes with the spreading pool of blood.

The man had mentioned a place earlier—Owl Town, home to the Beiliu County branch of the Black Ops Agency.

His conversation with Ole replayed in his mind—rumors of a mysterious faction that had been investigating the Beiliu County branch. This man who just offered himself up might have been part of that faction, or perhaps, a pawn on the outermost layer.

Although he worked with the Agency, Cassius wasn't particularly interested in the conflicts between the two groups; he wasn't their babysitter. The Black Ops Agency, as the official supernatural force of the Hongli Federation, had its own operating system to handle such affairs, making it difficult for other organizations to take advantage of them.

He didn't want to get involved. His duty here was clear: report the incident and deliver the body to Owl Town. The Beiliu County branch would certainly be on guard after the reminder. Plus, Cassius's car had broken down, so he needed to return to the branch for a replacement anyway.

Five minutes later, Cassius and his two companions began to retrace their steps along the hilly road.

The distance to Owl Town was about a half-hour walk for the average person, but Cassius and Amos could cover that in a few minutes if they went at full speed. Franz, who was an ordinary, elderly butler, wouldn't be able to keep up though. Then there was issue of the dripping headless man draped over Cassius's shoulder. Running too fast called for the risk of blood spraying everywhere.

It was already summer, and the weather was hot. Thankfully, it was only around eight in the morning, and the temperature hadn't climbed too high yet. With the relatively cool breeze blowing against them, walking leisurely along the road was still relatively refreshing. Occasionally, bees buzzed by from the roadside.

In the distance, a small black dot gradually grew larger, accompanied by the sound of a car engine. As it got closer, a black, boxy car ascended the slope, picking up speed as it cruised down the hill.

A middle-aged man steered with one hand, with his left arm resting on the window ledge and his head tilted slightly. He seemed in a good mood, humming a tune as he drove. The weather was pleasant, with blue skies and fluffy clouds, and a morning breeze that swept through his collar, filled with the scent of fresh plants, cooling him down. He admired the scenery on both sides of the road, musing on what he might buy once he arrived at the town.

As the car moved forward, three oddly dressed figures on one side of the road caught his eye. Two were wearing black and white butler uniforms—both men, one was elderly and one was young. The third was a slender girl in an oversized trench coat.

Wait! What is that? Is she carrying somebody on her shoulder?

No, it's a "body"! A headless somebody!

Crap! The middle-aged man's heart skipped a beat, and he jerked the steering wheel, sending the car veering off the road and plunging into a ditch on the side of the slope.

He struggled to open the door of the tilted car, but it seemed slightly warped and stuck. Suddenly, a loud bang came from outside, and the door was ripped off. A hand reached in and pulled the man out.

His vision blurred, and he was seeing stars. The man's head swam, his heavy breathing making everything a bit hazy. However, he was still conscious enough to feel grateful.

He reached out, shaking his rescuer's hand vigorously, mumbling, "Thank you, thank you so much…"

"No need to thank me. It was nothing," a deep male voice replied. "But I think you might be shaking the wrong hand."

"Huh?" The man froze, his heightened emotions briefly calming down. He blinked a few times, his vision clearing. Standing before him was an eerie, golden-haired youth with a faint cross mark on his forehead, who was now calmly staring at him.

Slung over the boy's shoulder was the headless body. What was more, the driver had the body's hand in his own! The corpse's gory neck stump was no more than thirty centimeters away from his face.

"AAAAHHHHH!!!!" The man's high-pitched shriek echoed, louder and higher than his wife's usual shouts back home. Without a moment's hesitation, he flung the dead hand away and sprinted toward the city with all the strength he could muster. After just a few steps, his once-shiny shoes fell off, but he didn't care. He kept stubbornly running west. Cassius glanced at the headless body on his shoulder, his mouth agape. He watched as the man ran even faster than a rabbit.

There were still over ten kilometers to Beiliu City, and the summer sun made the asphalt scorching. Cassius silently wished him luck.

A minute later, Cassius and Amos pulled the car out of the ditch with ease. The exterior was slightly damaged, and the windows were shattered, but it was still operable.

At around 8:30 a.m., Cassius and his companions reached Owl Town, briefly explaining the situation before leaving the corpse behind. Then, they swapped their damaged car for a new, and off they went again, heading for the city. This time, Cassius and his companions encountered no further obstacles. Their trip back to Beiliu City was a smooth one.

They parked near Caesar Street and approached a stand-alone house. Cassius knocked on the door.

Immediately, Toma rushed down from the second floor. When he saw Cassius, a broad smile spread across his face. He had thought his uncle would take longer than a day's journey. Then Toma's smile froze and disappeared when he noticed two strangers standing behind Cassius. He eyed them warily.

"Uncle, who are they?" Toma asked.

"Let's talk inside," Cassius said, patting the bloodstains on his shoulder. He wanted to shower and change his clothes first.

A few hours passed, and everything was settled. Cassius arranged for Toma and Xiala to be cared for by an acquaintance of Li Wei, with assistance from the Black Ops Agency. Initially, Toma was adamantly against the idea. The kid was determined to stick by his uncle's side!

However, once Cassius explained that their caretaker would be Miss Kiara, Toma's secret crush, the boy immediately declared he would never be a burden to Cassius and encouraged him to pursue his own tasks without worry. He promised he would behave well while with Miss Kiara.

Such shamelessness…

On June 16, Cassius stayed at his home in Beiliu City, while the old butler Franz went out to gather intelligence. This continued until June 19. Cassius spent these three days deep in thought, continuously practicing the techniques of the Golem Covert Martial Arts while in a state of inspiration.

While its foundation was solid and training methods flawless, and the level of physical conditioning was undoubtedly superior to most other Covert Martial Arts, the Golem Covert Martial Arts were far from perfect.

In terms of its fist techniques, there were only a few subtle innovations. Overall, what Cassius practiced was still based on the Wind Elephant Fist. The four main killing moves—Severing Flow, Wind Owl, Elephant's Roar, and Wind Elephant Torrent, remained the foundation. The basic framework still revolved around straight punches, hook punches, and swing punches.

Due to his two blood circulation systems and two hearts, Cassius could launch two attacks in quick succession, compressing the timing of his moves to the extreme. This was certainly much stronger than his previous version of the Wind Elephant Fist.

However, it wasn't a groundbreaking transformation. Cassius deliberately constructed a simple framework, intending to gradually fill it out through sparring and learning from other Covert Martial Arts masters. The fist techniques within the Golem Covert Martial Arts still had immense potential for him to explore and refine.

On June 19, around 8:30 a.m., a bare-chested figure moved swiftly across a vacant private room, striking with his fists, elbows, shoulders, knees, and feet. Various moves formed a relentless storm of attacks. It was as if there was another figure in front of him, engaged in a fierce battle.

Cassius moved so fast that he was nearly beyond the limits of what the human eye could track. His limbs blurred, though, in reality, they were striking with incredible speed.

The air around him crackled with the sound of the atmosphere being forcefully torn apart. The air in the room swirled wildly, sweeping dust in the corners into a vortex. In the golden beams of sunlight streaming through the window, the dust particles twirled softly.

Whoosh!

An arm slashed through the air like a blade, as a blood-tinged air flow coiled around the fingers. A spiral ripple shot out into the empty space. It was the Finger Gun combined with Azure Blood Stream.

It looked like a barrage of red bullets. The shots hit the wall, shattering stone. The walls of the training room were already covered with pits and cracks—results of days of practice.

Cassius had managed to control his power fairly well as the Azure Blood Stream hadn't punched through the wall completely.

Cassius suddenly pulled back his arm, his body arching like a drawn bow. What followed was a loud inhalation and a white vortex of air forming at the tip of his nose.

Third Breath technique!

Cassius could only manage the first stage at the moment. However, the effect was already quite terrifying.

Once he activated the Third Breath technique, his already smooth moves became even more fluid, like flowing mercury.

The training room echoed with sounds like firecrackers, each footprint accompanied by a flurry of fist and leg shadows. It was as if Cassius appeared everywhere within a ten-meter radius, his entire body enveloped in a swirling cloud of gray and black limbs.

Whoosh…

Cassius abruptly halted, transitioning from extreme motion to complete stillness. A ring of air exploded outward, like a shockwave, slamming into the training room walls.

He exhaled a long, heated breath. He had finished his terrifying state of continuous, breathless strikes. With such a technique in his arsenal, Cassius felt confident that he could challenge even the most reclusive combat artists of the highest level.

After three days of adjusting and preparing, Cassius was in peak condition. He felt a shivering anticipation deep in his heart, the mere thought of it making the hairs on his skin stand on end.

Fighting dark creatures could only sharpen Cassius's improvisation and survival skills, but sparring with Covert Martial Arts masters was the best way to elevate his fist techniques and find the path forward in martial arts. Only through this could he forge an unstoppable fighting style and cultivate an indomitable aura.

Cassius took a deep breath and clasped his hands together. He still maintained a delicate youthful appearance, but some of his muscles had begun to show a streamlined shape. Cassius's body wouldn't always stay in this young form—he would continue to train it, becoming lean and strong.

However, due to the density of his muscles, it would take Cassius several times longer to bulk up compared to others, and even then, his physical limit was far different. Even at its peak, his body would never become that of a massive muscle-bound man. At most, it would be lean and toned, but tit was still a vast improvement to his current fragile form.

Cassius glanced out the window. He left the training room immediately for a cold shower. After that, he put on some casual clothes and went downstairs.

The old butler, Franz, was already sitting on the couch, waiting. Xiala, ever considerate, had brewed a cup of tea for the elderly man.

"Any news?" Cassius, with a white towel around his neck, asked. His golden hair fell over his forehead, complementing his delicate features, and giving him an inexplicable aura of youthful fragility.

Judging by appearances alone, Cassius looked vastly different from his previous image. He didn't want this, but the situation wasn't something he could control.

"There's some news, indeed." Franz nodded, still dressed in his signature suit with his classic gentlemanly hairstyle. A stack of white documents lay on the table.

"Let's hear it," Cassius said as he plopped down on the white couch opposite Franz.

"The East Sea County branch of the Black Ops Agency is the largest in the six eastern counties. It contains extensive records on supernatural beings. Some reclusive combat artists have their whereabouts briefly documented—some are vague, while others are more detailed," Franz explained, taking a sip of tea before handing Cassius the stack of documents.

Cassius glanced down at the papers. The first thing that caught his eye were the words: Red Falcon Fist.

"Wenxia County, located northeast of Beiliu County, and bordering East Sea County, has the Loka Mountains, which is covered in dense, primeval forests filled with poisonous snakes, fierce beasts, risky terrain, and toxic mists. In the southern part of this range lies a Death Canyon, through which the Mata River flows, connecting Wenxia County and East Sea County. According to intelligence from the Wenxia branch of the Black Ops Agency, there is a combat artist living in seclusion there named Feng Liusi, and he goes by Blood Fist, Kill Fist, and Death's Fang. However, the martial art he actually practices is the Red Falcon Fist."