He counted silently all the way to seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, as the red acupoints across Cassius's body lit up one by one like glittering stars.0

At the same moment, several purple acupoints flared to life. If someone connected all these acupoints into a three-dimensional diagram, it would have seemed like a colossal bird and serpent entwined in fierce rivalry. The blood falcon spread its steel wings while the sonic snake bared its fangs. They seemed antagonistic, yet there was a subtle hint of mutual accord between them.0

Cassius swept his left hand through the air, his palm emitting a string of explosive vibrations that sounded like firecrackers bursting. He clenched his right hand into a fist, and crimson rays gleamed between his fingers, producing a faint hissing in the air. It felt as though something invisible was being gnawed and broken down in the process.0

He exhaled a warm breath and sensed the flow of force coursing through his body. He was still three acupoints away from the third stage of the Southern Dipper Force. Cassius had diverged entirely from Feng Liusi's path. He nurtured battle skills through battle itself, actively provoking the ferocious drawback of the Southern Dipper Fist.0

He intended to use numerous combat artist-level Dead Spirits as fodder to refine his Southern Dipper Force, elevating it to considerable heights. It differed from Feng Liusi's decades-long tempered approach and leaned toward a more unorthodox edge. Of course, he believed it worthwhile, for Cassius did not have the luxury of that much time.0

Besides, he...0