"Dao Chong! And when used, it seems inexhaustible, profound like the origin of all things."
The grand and vast voice was like the music of immortals descending from the nine heavens, resonating by He Ao's ears.
His figure, in an instant, transformed into endless phantoms before returning to one.
The great Dao arises from emptiness and turns into infinity, resembling the abyss and giving birth to all things,
The youth, strong as a Bull, looked at He Ao's fluttering figure with anger, "Good, you are indeed one of the chosen ones!"
He let out a low roar, threw punches with both hands, and rapidly charged towards He Ao. The punches, swiped through the air, made a whistling sound, "Watch me shatter your intimidating but empty tricks."
However, He Ao's eyes were firmly closed, as if he did not see the youth at all, his body lightly shifting aside.
This movement was extremely slow, like a casual turn on the street, yet he managed to dodge the young man's punch by a hair's breadth.
The youth seemed to have anticipated he would dodge the punch, and changed his fist into a claw, turning back and reaching out towards He Ao.
He Ao turned around, his index and middle fingers joined together, gently tapping the youth's wrist. Immediately, the youth's movement faltered and he froze for a moment.
He felt a numbing force emanating from his wrist, effortlessly neutralizing all of his strength and momentum.
He wanted to withdraw his fist and turn around, but He Ao had already moved in front of him. His joined fingers tapped several times on the lower abdomen beneath the young man's chest. Instantly, the youth lost control of his body, as if he could no longer exert any strength.
This feeling was like being pinned down by a ghost, no matter how hard he tried, he could not move his body an inch.
Then, He Ao grabbed his yet-to-be-retracted hand, turned around, took half a step backward, sank his lower body, executed a shoulder throw, all in one fluid motion.
With a loud crash, the youth was thrown to the ground.
This jolt allowed him to snap out of the terrifying sensation of being pinned down like by a ghost, he tried to move his body, but felt so numbed that he could not muster any strength.
By now, He Ao had already retreated to the doorway of the study.
It wasn't that he didn't want to continue showing off, but rather, his 'external help' had expired.
The remnant strength left in his body after the Vermilion Fruit had cleared his channels had been completely used up in those recent actions.
"Qi..."
He Ao, reflecting upon the energy patterns he had just utilized, followed the descriptions from the booklet and directed the energy along a specific route. He could vaguely sense something called 'Qi.'
This Qi was elusive, like a lady playing the zither behind a screen in ancient times. One could see her graceful figure and hear her beautiful music, yet her true face remained unseen.
This mysterious Qi was the force that supported his use of those moves just now. These techniques were actually depicted in the drawings from the booklet, but only with the enhancement of this 'Qi' could they truly exhibit power.
Having gained 'Qi' himself, He Ao could faintly sense others' 'Qi' – or rather, the energy flow in other people that was similar to 'Qi'.
The few taps he had given the youth served to sever the energy flow within the young man's body. Although the youth probably did not know the patterns of his own internal energy flow, being struck at vital points caused the energies to scatter like water from a burst pipe, even potentially damaging his body.
Now, the defeated youth lay on the ground unable to get up.
He Ao had the chance to kill the youth but didn't make a move.
If he had killed the youth in the initial attack, it would have been legitimate self-defense.
Proceeding with a second attack might be considered excessive self-defense or even involuntary manslaughter.
There was no need for that; He Ao was a law-abiding good citizen.
He quickly prepared to enter the study.
Although the study was small, it was fortified with a double layer of brick walls on all sides, including thick steel plates between them.
The door to the study was the latest and best security door available on the market, unlike the house door that could be easily broken open.
It was essentially a small safe room, which should last until Captain Liu arrived.
However, just as He Ao was about to enter the room, an intense alarm suddenly sounded outside.
Captain Liu arrived earlier than he had anticipated.
"Ah!!!!!"
The youth who was just lying on the ground got up in a hurry, regardless of the numbness in his body.
He wanted to take the stairs but faintly heard footsteps coming upstairs.
He looked around quickly and rushed towards the large window in the living room.
"Eh?"
He Ao quickly walked over and waved his hand, just about to say something.
The youth shuddered as he thought He Ao was going to help the police nab him. He scrambled over the window and crashed down with a bang.
"This is the fifth floor..."
He Ao, a bit dazed, lowered his hand.
Don't die on me...
He quickly pressed himself against the window to look.
All he heard were thuds and crashes.
The youth's body smashed through several of the downstairs neighbors' awnings before he hit the ground with a smack.
This was the back of the building, and Captain Liu and his team hadn't arrived yet. The youth glanced around, saw no police, and scrambled to his feet, rolling and crawling towards a nearby scooter.
Then he pulled out a small tool He Ao couldn't make out, started the scooter, and sped off.
Seeing him unharmed, He Ao breathed a sigh of relief.
If he had died there, He Ao might have been entangled in some trouble.
It would be a hassle if it turned out to be manslaughter.
The guy might not have been the brightest, but he sure was tough as nails.
He Ao watched the youth's retreating figure, watched the muscles on his body slowly deflate, not sure if he had deactivated his skill voluntarily, or if the skill's duration had ended.
He turned back, looking at the scene of their previous scuffle. The floor tiles were broken in places the youth had stepped, and the old security door had several dents.
Hiss—
Replacing the security door, replacing the tiles, that's all money.
He was a good person; why did this happen to him?
Just then, he spotted something white underneath a piece of broken tile pressed by a shred of cloth. It seemed to be a small card. He walked over and picked it up.
It was a white card the size of an identity card, apparently crafted with a special technique. When He Ao looked straight at the card, it reflected a faint, warm glow. The image on the card depicted a rising sun at the edge of Heaven. However, when he tilted the card, the image turned into a hazy night scene.
As he shifted the angle from inclined to upright, a scene of night gradually turning into sunrise appeared on the card.
"Interesting."
He turned the card over. On the back was a brief phrase.
[Daybreak has come, and shall last forever.]
It looked like an identity card for some secret organization.
Normally, the more impressive the name and motto, the weaker the combat effectiveness.
At that moment, hurried footsteps approached from the side—Captain Liu led a team of police officers into the room.
"He Ao," Captain Liu placed his hand on his waist and surveyed the surroundings, "where's the guy?"
"Ran away," He Ao pointed outside the window, "heard you guys coming, jumped out, and then stole Sister Li's scooter from the sixth floor to escape."
"Good," Captain Liu seemed to exhale in relief. He looked at He Ao, "You alright?"
"I'm fine," He Ao nodded. Then casually, he asked, "Captain Liu, when can I collect the reward?"
He needed money for the security door and tiles.
It took Captain Liu a moment to catch up with He Ao's train of thought. Weren't they talking about the criminal? How did it suddenly turn to money?
Then, seeing the chaos around, he understood, "The money should be processed by tonight. Since I need to ask for your full account of this afternoon's incident, how about we head to the police station?"
He was somewhat concerned the man would return and He Ao could get hurt without police protection.
"Sure!"
He Ao nodded decisively.
Meanwhile, as He Ao and Captain Liu were conversing, a figure in a black trench coat moved around to the back of the building. He glanced in the direction where the scooter had disappeared, then looked up at the awnings damaged from the first to the fourth floor.
Through the twisted, deformed awnings, one could almost visualize the youth's clumsy descent from the fifth floor.
Bull might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was strong.
He wouldn't get spooked by sirens into such a panic.