C17 Devil Elephant Fist

River City!

"It's time to settle all scores with the Lu family."

Gazing upon the grandeur of the city before him, Lu Chen took a deep breath and made his way toward the city gates.

However, as he was about to enter, he was halted by two guards who informed him that an entry fee of ten copper coins was required.

After handing over the coins, Lu Chen entered the city without further incident.

He walked down the streets for a bit before stopping in front of a bustling tavern.

"Welcome, sir, please come inside!" The eager doorman greeted Lu Chen as he paused at the entrance.

Having survived in the Deep Blue Mountain Range for over a month, Lu Chen was craving a hearty meal. He smiled, accepted the invitation, and followed the doorman into the tavern, choosing an empty table to sit at.

The doorman, draping a towel over his shoulder, wiped down the table before asking with enthusiasm, "What can I get for you, sir?"

"A pot of wine, a pound of beef, and let's have one of each of your house specialties."

With the storage ring from the young man in blue, Lu Chen was hardly strapped for cash. He gestured grandly, playing the part of a wealthy patron.

The doorman's eyes sparkled with anticipation. Recognizing a generous customer, he bowed and said, "Just a moment, sir!"

Soon, a table laden with steaming dishes was presented.

"Enjoy your meal, sir!"

The doorman said, preparing to leave.

"Hold on a moment," Lu Chen called out, extracting a piece of silver from his storage ring and tossing it onto the table. He inquired leisurely, "I'd like to ask you about something. If your answer pleases me, this silver is yours."

The doorman stole a glance at the silver, his heart leaping with excitement.

The silver on the table was at least one tael, equal to half a year's wages for him.

Quickly, he mustered his most earnest smile, "Ask away, sir. I'll share everything I know."

Lu Chen poured himself a cup of wine, downed it, and then asked nonchalantly, "Has anything significant happened in River City lately?"

The doorman's forced smile faded into genuine relief, as he had feared being unable to provide a satisfactory answer and losing out on the silver. But upon hearing Lu Chen's question, he grinned broadly. Clearly, this was no secret to him.

The waiter scanned the room before leaning in to whisper something to Lu Chen.

Lu Chen's brow furrowed, and he tossed some coins to the waiter, gesturing for him to leave.

Once the waiter had departed, Lu Chen spoke slowly, "Three days ago, the Tang and Chen families launched an assault on the Lu family, only to be soundly defeated. The patriarch of the Chen family met a grisly end on the spot, Tang Ming was left gravely wounded, and the extent of Lu Hong's injuries remains unclear."

Lu Chen's fingers drummed on the table as his thoughts raced. "The Lu family stood alone against two adversaries and triumphed. Their strength is not to be taken lightly. I'll need to postpone my plans to strike at the Lu family for a few days."

Having made his decision, Lu Chen rose to his feet, summoned the waiter, settled his bill, but instead of leaving, he rented a room to stay in.

...

In his room, Lu Chen sat cross-legged on the bed. After a considerable time, he exhaled deeply and opened his eyes, remarking, "The constitution of this body is terribly weak. If I continue to train in such a methodical manner, who knows when I'll break through to Essence Gathering Layer Two."

"After dealing with the Lu family affair, it seems I should start looking for the Divine Weapon Fragment."

Holding onto that thought, Lu Chen was about to go to sleep when his eyes fell upon the two storage rings on his hand—one black and one pink—and an idea struck him.

He hadn't yet taken the time to thoroughly inspect the storage rings he had acquired.

Lu Chen first examined the storage ring he had taken from the young man in blue. With a mere thought, a space materialized before him.

Having already gone through it once before, Lu Chen bypassed the trivial items and quickly searched, finding nothing of note.

"How can it be that a sect disciple like him doesn't possess a single noteworthy treasure?" Lu Chen grumbled, still somewhat hopeful.

After rummaging for a while, his expression suddenly shifted. He flipped his hand over, and a palm-sized bronze box appeared in his grasp.

He enveloped it with his spiritual energy and sensed a pulsation distinct from the usual essence energy, which left Lu Chen quite astonished.

Lu Chen gazed intently at the bronze box, noting the intricate and mysterious patterns etched into its surface. The box's front featured a vivid depiction of a demonic elephant, seemingly caught in a roar toward the heavens, with landscapes of mountains and rivers beneath it. At the box's hinge, a delicate bronze lock secured it shut.

Upon seeing this, Lu Chen hesitated briefly before channeling his Origin Power, grasping the tiny lock, and twisting forcefully.

"Crack crack crack..."

With considerable force, the lock was brutally snapped off.

The box creaked open, revealing its contents to Lu Chen's curious eyes—a black jade slip lay silently at the bottom.

"What is this?"

As he held it in his hand, Lu Chen immediately felt a chilling sensation, as if he were clutching a piece of ancient black iron. With a mix of astonishment and curiosity, he infused a thread of Yuan Qi into the jade slip.

"Buzz!" Accompanying the sound was an overwhelming flow of enigmatic text, pouring into Lu Chen's mind like a mighty river. Once the disorientation subsided, he realized that the text was a manual for a martial arts technique—the Devil Elephant Fist.

"Universes vast, worlds beyond count... When the Demonic Elephant awakens, it overturns the heavens... Its roar shatters the stars..."

Lu Chen murmured to himself, nearly leaping in amazement.

"What an incredible introduction for a fist technique."

"Hmm?"

Straight ground!

Frowning, Lu Chen realized, "It's an incomplete manual, with only the first three moves detailed."

The first move, Demonic Elephant Rampage.

The second move, Demonic Elephant Tramples.

The third move, Demonic Elephant Roar.

To Lu Chen's astonishment, mastering the first form of the Devil Elephant Fist to perfection could rival a low-level Spirit Rank martial skill; the second form could compare to a Spirit Rank Middle Level; and the third form could contend with a high-level Spirit Rank martial skill.

"Phew!"

Deeply moved by the Devil Elephant Fist, Lu Chen took a moment to collect himself before exhaling a long breath.

After stowing the jade slip, Lu Chen retrieved another storage ring. He expertly channeled a strand of Yuan Qi into it and, without a meticulous search, simply willed all the contents of the storage ring to spill out. Instantly, a plethora of items burst forth: there were assorted trinkets, weapons, and an array of bottles and jars, along with a multitude of women's belongings—rouge, jewelry, garments, and intimate apparel.

As Lu Chen's eyes landed on the particularly suggestive lingerie, he faintly detected the scent of a woman's perfume. He coughed in embarrassment and, with a sweeping gesture, whisked all the garments back into the storage ring. Once that was settled, he turned his attention to the remaining items: more bottles and jars, an assortment of blades and weapons, and several secret manuals.

He picked up one of the manuals and thumbed through it. The Star-Edge Sword Technique—a high-level martial skill. The pages were pristine, the script graceful—clearly the work of a woman's hand. After a brief perusal, Lu Chen set it aside, uninterested. The technique, with its graceful and nimble moves, was tailored for female practitioners and unsuitable for him.

Moving on, he examined another manual, Fleeting Steps—a mid-level human stage technique. Too basic for his needs. Lu Chen shook his head, placed it down, and reached for another.

Hmm? This one seemed promising. The Pure Elemental Art—a low-level Spirit Rank mental cultivation method. It was divided into seven layers, with the first layer boosting one's elemental energy by twenty percent, the second by forty percent, and so on, culminating in a doubling of energy at the seventh layer.

"This is the one," Lu Chen decided.