Chapter 654: Forcefully Infused Inner Strength

"Young one, if you’re not resigned to your fate, I can help you. Whomever you want to kill, I can help you do it." The old man had read his mind.

In the corner, Sang Zhi stirred. He sat up slightly, his eyes clouded and harrowing.

The old man was startled when he met his gaze, but then a hint of delight crept in. "Whatever hatred you harbor, I will help you with all of it."

"I want to learn martial arts. I want to learn the world’s most powerful martial arts—the kind that can kill." Sang Zhi scrambled up from the ground, his voice sinister.

"Good. COUGH, COUGH... Young one, I possess a century of Inner Strength. As long as you’re willing to do as I say, I will transfer all of it to you."

"I am willing." Sang Zhi didn’t hesitate in the slightest.

The old man stared at him intently, a calculating look in his eyes. He reached into his robes, pulled out a small white porcelain vial, and tossed it at Sang Zhi’s feet. "Swallow the pill in this vial, and I will transfer my Inner Strength to you."

Sang Zhi bent down, picked up the vial, opened it, and immediately tipped the contents into his mouth, swallowing.

"Young one, aren’t you even going to ask what was in the vial?" His swiftness shocked the old man.

"What does it matter if it was a deadly poison? As long as I can do what I must, I fear nothing." ’Death doesn’t scare me in the slightest. If I die, perhaps I can see her again.’

’And if I don’t die, I’ll drag everyone into a boiling pot of oil and watch them slowly fry.’

"HAHAHAHA! Excellent, excellent! You’ve got guts, young one," the old man laughed loudly.

’I am never wrong about people. This child is a martial arts prodigy. He has not a sliver of Inner Strength, yet his killing intent is already this potent. Once honed, he will be a perfect weapon.’

’And a blade, of course, is more valuable the sharper it is.’

"Now you can teach me how to kill."

"Fine. But you must remember, young one, your life belongs to me now. In the future, someone will come to demand it of you." The old man beckoned to him. "Come here, young one."

Sang Zhi walked over.

"Sit cross-legged. The process will be excruciating. Whether you can survive it is up to you."

Sang Zhi sat, his eyes filled with steely resolve.

The old man turned his head to look at the black mist creeping up his arm. He raised a hand and unsealed his body’s acupoints. The black mist instantly coursed through his system as he forced all of his Inner Strength into his palm.

He suddenly shot into the air, his palm hurtling toward the crown of Sang Zhi’s head.

"AHH..."

A gut-wrenching scream tore through the sky.

Sang Zhi’s entire body felt as if it were engulfed in a ball of fire. A powerful torrent of Inner Strength poured into him, battering his skin from the inside. It felt as if he would explode at any moment.

’Damn it, I can’t stop it!’ The old man’s face twisted. He was too severely injured to control the flow of his own energy, and he could only watch as the boy looked ready to explode.

He tried to retract his power, but he couldn’t.

’It’s over. The boy won’t survive.’

His entire century of Inner Strength was flooding into the boy’s body. No one could possibly withstand that kind of pressure and agony.

Sang Zhi trembled violently, streams of energy running amok beneath his skin. Suddenly, he snapped his eyes open. "AHHH..."

A piercing cry erupted, and the old man was instantly flung back, slamming against the wall. He looked up at the boy, his eyes wide with shock. The torrent of energy was still rampaging inside the child’s body.

The old man could practically see the boy’s bones twisting and contorting beneath his skin, warped by the swirling energy.

"He’s a lost cause. What a shame... my century of Inner Strength, all gone to waste..."

The old man wasn’t lamenting the boy who was about to explode before him, but rather his own lifelong accumulation of Inner Strength.

’I had thought the child’s willpower was strong enough for him to become a vessel for my Inner Strength. That way, even with my own power depleted, I would still have a living weapon in my grasp.’

SIGH!

’What a pity. Such a waste.’