Infinite Fighting

Li Long really did ground Zhang Ji for a month.

However, Zhang Ji didn’t have any objections.

There was no shortage of resources here. He had more than enough pills, and his training was going smoothly.

The only thing was that Li Long didn’t let him participate in the new round of the Inner Sect’s monthly competition.

After assessing Zhang Ji’s current strength, Li Long felt that having him compete in the Inner Sect’s monthly competition again would be like putting a pro in a rookie tournament. So, he just let him train on his own.

In his room, Zhang Ji finished his cultivation and stood up. A prompt appeared before his eyes.

[Prompt: Acquired 1x "Dragon Form Fist" (Fine) Combat Skill Essence. Can be extracted and stored in the Limited Space.]

’Extract!’

With a thought, Zhang Ji’s consciousness shifted into the pitch-black Limited Space.

Floating inside were eight pure white *Iron Shirt* crystals, six *Iron Shirt* essences, and one *Raccoon Claw Skill* essence.

Besides these, the most dazzling object was the newly appeared *Dragon Form Fist* essence.

It was a very conspicuous green color.

Even with an abundant supply of Essence Pills and Qi-Enhancing Pills, it still took Zhang Ji forty days to obtain this single essence.

This showed just how difficult the *Dragon Form Fist* was to practice.

However, the benefits after reaching the initial mastery stage were immense.

Zhang Ji felt that with just the entry-level *Dragon Form Fist*, he could fight on par with his past self who had mastered thirty percent of the *Iron Shirt* skill.

In fact, he would win more often than he lost.

The *Dragon Form Fist* was a Fist Skill that trained both the internal and external.

Besides refining Primordial Qi, its inherent offensive techniques were not weak at all.

With a thought, Zhang Ji withdrew the *Dragon Form Fist* essence from the Limited Space. The next instant, his body underwent a subtle change.

He became more well-proportioned, and his body even seemed to have grown a little taller.

This wasn’t actually the case. It was just that in the process of practicing the Fist Skill, his spine and other parts of his body had been minutely adjusted, shifting toward the optimal posture for exerting force with the *Dragon Form Fist*.

Zhang Ji casually threw a palm strike. His body’s strength naturally twisted into a single force, creating a sharp CRACK in the air.

Integrated force!

This was what made the *Dragon Form Fist* special.

It was a Fist Skill that could mobilize the entire body’s strength as much as possible.

Through Primordial Qi and posture correction during practice, it fundamentally and slowly altered the body’s structure until it perfectly matched the force exertion techniques of the *Dragon Form Fist*.

At that point, every move he made would be able to draw upon the maximum possible power from his body.

This was not just a combat skill of the Primordial Qi Sect, but also one of the Spiritual Intent Sect.

However, relying on the *Dragon Form Fist* to achieve Spiritualization was clearly impossible.

He even felt that achieving a Spirit Strike, the foundation of Spiritualization, was unlikely.

Spiritualization was a state where the body became like a superconductor, allowing bio-energy to flow naturally within it with almost no resistance. In this state, even an ordinary person could instantly erupt with the strength of a B-rank fighter.

A Spirit Strike, on the other hand, was using a specific move to briefly enter a state of Spiritualization and unleash a single spiritualized attack.

The *Dragon Form Fist* only offered a preliminary integration of force; it was far from sufficient.

Next, Zhang Ji tried attacking with his Primordial Qi.

At the entry-level of *Dragon Form Fist*, his body could already store a considerable amount of Primordial Qi, just enough to perform external attacks.

As he focused his mind, a trickle of Primordial Qi flowed from his fingertips. It was like a current of water, yet also like air. This substance could be projected as an attack or used for defense.

Zhang Ji used a *Dragon Form Fist* technique, channeling his Primordial Qi to strike from a distance.

"POOF!"

The dirt three meters away exploded, leaving behind a Palm Seal.

But Zhang Ji couldn’t help but sneer. ’This is even weaker than a casual palm strike from an amateur fighter.’

At his current Primordial Qi strength, his external attacks were all flash and no substance.

It was far less effective than using it to replenish his stamina or strengthen his muscles and bones.

Most external energy attacks were like this in the hands of low-level fighters.

If you really wanted a ranged attack, you’d be better off practicing your technique and throwing a dart.

Zhang Ji wasn’t disappointed by the weakness of his external Primordial Qi attacks. More important than the entry-level *Dragon Form Fist* was the fact that he now possessed an eighty-six percent mastery of *Iron Shirt*.

He was no longer far from obtaining ten *Iron Shirt* crystals.

In another half a month, he would definitely become a Grandmaster.

In other words, C-rank.

Zhang Ji felt that by then, he should have what it takes to stand his ground here.

「...」

"You really do progress at a flying pace."

After Zhang Ji sparred with Li Long in his courtyard, Li Long’s expression grew even more appreciative.

At first, his assessment of Zhang Ji was that he was promising material.

Later, after the Inner Sect’s monthly competition, he thought Zhang Ji’s talent might be no less than his own.

But looking at him now, he felt that Zhang Ji’s talent might even be much greater than his.

’I’ve really struck gold.’

"It’s all thanks to your guidance," Zhang Ji said politely.

Of course, these words weren’t entirely just a pleasantry.

At the Five Elements Sect, Li Long had helped with all his expenses, from food and living costs to training expenses, custom-made machines, and resources like pills.

So, to say he relied on Li Long’s support wasn’t wrong at all.

Li Long was also very satisfied with Zhang Ji’s response.

Although he preferred his disciples to be more competitive, it didn’t mean he wanted them to be ungrateful backstabbers.

He didn’t expect Zhang Ji to live and die with the Sect in its time of crisis, but at the very least, when the Sect needed him, Zhang Ji should be able to repay the favor within his means.

"Your strength isn’t bad now. Coincidentally, the Sect needs some people for a task. You should go help out," Li Long said.

"What is it?" Zhang Ji asked.

"A business run by the Sect has a small problem. They need a few security personnel. It’s nothing major," Li Long replied.

He then immediately showed Zhang Ji the relevant documents.

The Li Long of today had already begun to formally take over the Sect’s affairs, assisting with some decision-making in his spare time from training.

He felt it wasn’t good for Zhang Ji to do nothing but train all the time, so he found a suitable mission for him to go down the mountain and get a change of scenery.

For his part, Zhang Ji quickly finished reading all the information.

The Five Elements Sect owned a pharmaceutical factory just outside the southern suburbs of North Creek City.

A newly developed drug was about to be released, but several internal employees had suddenly disappeared right before the launch.

To prevent greater losses and even the leakage of related confidential information, the Five Elements Sect had dispatched some disciples from their security company to stand guard.

To be blunt, this was straight-up commercial warfare!

"Haven’t the authorities investigated?" Zhang Ji asked.

"A lot of things inside the pharmaceutical plant are top secret and can’t be exposed. There are very few surveillance cameras. And even if we caught a lead, what then? It would just be some small fry, and you can’t catch them all! They might just be trying to cause trouble for us. As long as something happens at the factory, the drug’s launch will be delayed," Li Long explained.

If anyone else had asked so many questions, Li Long certainly wouldn’t have been in the mood to explain.

But for Zhang Ji, he was willing to waste his breath.

Zhang Ji didn’t understand business or politics. He had never been exposed to these kinds of complexities in his previous life.

However, he was reasonably intelligent, and after hearing Li Long’s explanation, he understood a lot of it.

"There won’t be people with rocket launchers or battle mechs coming to cause trouble, will there?" Zhang Ji asked cautiously.

Li Long gave Zhang Ji a look, his expression quite peculiar.

"They wouldn’t dare. That would be breaking the rules," Li Long finally explained. "The bigwigs in the Eastern Extreme Country value their lives. They won’t let their conflicts escalate beyond their control. You didn’t even see that kind of hardware on Shanli Island, so it’s even less likely to appear in a place like this."

Hearing this, Zhang Ji finally relaxed a little.

「...」

After accepting the mission, Zhang Ji was personally driven to the pharmaceutical plant by an Inner Sect Disciple who was already involved in the Sect’s affairs.

The agreed meeting time was seven in the evening. Before that, Zhang Ji could have gone out for a meal on the company’s dime.

But he was in no mood for such things. He just wanted to get to the plant and start training there.

If Li Long had known this was what Zhang Ji was thinking, he probably wouldn’t have sent him over in the first place.

Soon, the vehicle arrived outside the pharmaceutical plant.

Outside the factory grounds was a large sign that read "Golden Hook Pharmaceutical."

After a phone call, Zhou Hao, the second true disciple of the current generation of the Five Elements Sect, came to the factory gate.

That’s right, the person working at Golden Hook Pharmaceutical was Li Long’s junior martial brother, Zhou Hao.

However, despite being the junior, Zhou Hao looked more mature than Li Long. Zhang Ji estimated he was around thirty years old.

He had short hair and wore a gray business suit. He looked less like a fighter and more like an entrepreneur.

"Martial Uncle Zhou!" Zhang Ji said, cupping his fist.

He had more or less adapted to his new identity by now. At least, showing respect to others with a salute was no longer an issue for him.

"Didn’t we agree you’d come in the evening? How did you get here so quickly!" Zhou Hao said with a smile, helping Zhang Ji up.

"The Sect gave an order, so of course, this disciple wouldn’t dare to be slow," Zhang Ji replied casually.

’Although I was really just thinking about getting here early to train,’ he thought, ’I did have a job in my past life, so I at least know how to make polite conversation.’

"You know, you’re so formal and serious. You’re really just like Eldest Martial Brother," Zhou Hao said with a laugh, patting Zhang Ji’s shoulder.

After a bit more small talk, Zhou Hao had someone take Zhang Ji’s luggage and then, with a hand on Zhang Ji’s shoulder, led him into the pharmaceutical plant.

"I heard from my senior brother that you’re learning the *Dragon Form Fist*. That’s the hardest martial art in the Five Elements Sect to learn. You’ve certainly got ambition. How does it feel after practicing for so long?" Zhou Hao asked.

"My master is a good teacher. I’ve already reached the entry level," Zhang Ji said.

Zhou Hao looked slightly surprised. "It’s only been a little over a month, right? Hiss... truly impressive. Although you can’t compare to Eldest Martial Brother, who practiced all five arts simultaneously and reached the entry level in all of them within two months, you’re not that far behind him. No wonder he took you as his disciple."

Zhang Ji raised an eyebrow. ’Even with unlimited resources and a solid foundation, to reach the entry level for five Grandmaster-level martial arts in just two months... Li Long’s talent is truly among the peak of humanity.’

’If I didn’t have my cheat system, I’m not sure I could ever catch up to Li Long’s strength.’

Once they were inside the factory building, Zhou Hao had prepared a welcome banquet for Zhang Ji and introduced him to the plant’s senior management.

However, Zhang Ji finished his food in just a few bites, then excused himself by saying Li Long had given him homework, and went back to his room to train.

’If this were my original world,’ he thought, ’no matter how much I disliked these social obligations, I’d still have to play along to some extent.’

’But in this world, personal strength is what truly matters. Chatting with those people at the banquet is a complete waste of time.’