Chapter 4: Art Is Explosion!

This chapter may contain many flashbacks, mainly to explain the worldview and the backgrounds of the Four Saints, and why the opening mentioned six SSS-rank talents but only four Saints.

Jiang Xia rolled sideways to create distance from Hua Pi, then pulled two ration pills from his system space and shoved them into his mouth.

“Can’t land a hit? But it seems Itachi can’t maintain this state indefinitely either.”

Hua Pi sneered, staring at Jiang Xia’s pale face.

After speaking, the skin-stealer peeled off the human skin torn by Jiang Xia, looked at the flying thunder god mark on his back, and suddenly understood.

“Itachi planted that trick the moment Itachi slapped me, didn’t Itachi? Brilliant move!”

He crumpled the skin into a ball, lamenting, “I actually really liked this human skin.”

“But if that’s all Itachi’ve got, Itachi won’t even break through my third-rank defenses!”

Jiang Xia’s expression turned grim as he frantically searched for a way to break the deadlock—when suddenly, the skin-stealer lunged at him with both claws outstretched.

Jiang Xia could barely dodge the attacks using his divine power to phase, but his spiritual energy was rapidly depleting.

After a moment’s thought, he pulled the last ration pill from his system inventory and swallowed it, restoring his spiritual energy to its peak.

Once restored, Jiang Xia stopped merely dodging and began hurling kunai in all directions around the skin-stealer; within moments, the ground around it was littered with kunai marked with flying thunder seals.

The skin-stealer glanced at the kunai embedded in the ground and sneered, “Even if Itachi can dodge my attacks endlessly, what good is it? How’s a mere awakening-stage brat like Itachi supposed to pierce my third-rank flesh?”

“Not necessarily,” Jiang Xia smirked with a strange, sly grin.

The next instant, Jiang Xia’s figure flickered between all the marked locations, returning to his original spot just as his spiritual energy neared exhaustion.

Seeing the explosive tags plastered all around the skin-stealer, Jiang Xia finally burst into laughter: “Hahahaha! Art is explosion!”

The skin-stealer’s pupils shrank sharply—he tried to flee, but the explosive tags detonated instantly. With a thunderous blast, the skin-stealer was reduced to ash.

【Ding~】

【Congratulations, host! Task completed.】

Hearing the system’s notification, Jiang Xia collapsed onto the ground, utterly spent.

A few minutes later, hurried footsteps approached—the night watch team arrived.

They stared at Jiang Xia, who had already reverted to his normal form, and the massive crater before them, falling into deep thought.

“Bro, what the hell did Itachi do here? How’d Itachi end up making such a huge hole in the ground?”

A slightly exaggerated voice rang out. Jiang Xia looked up to see a young man in uniform, curiously sizing him up.

Noticing Jiang Xia’s wary gaze, the young night watchman introduced himself: “I’m Shen Zhou, captain of the second squad of the Linjiang Night Watch.”

The woman with a ponytail beside him added: “Guan Xiaoxiao, member of the second squad of the Linjiang Night Watch.”

The other two men followed: “Luo Zheng (Lin Xuan), second squad of the Linjiang Night Watch.”

Shen Zhou looked at Jiang Xia gently and said, “We’ve introduced ourselves. Now it’s your turn—what happened here?”

Jiang Xia stood up and fabricated a cover: “I’m Jiang Dong, a student at Linjiang No.1 High School. I passed by and saw the wanted poster for the beast ‘Skin-Stealer,’ so I killed it—and then Itachi showed up.”

“What?”

“Skin-Stealer?”

Guan Xiaoxiao’s eyes widened in disbelief. “That’s a third-rank beast! How could a high schooler just awakened possibly defeat it?”

Jiang Xia shrugged helplessly. “I killed it. If Itachi don’t believe me, I can’t force Itachi to.”

Shen Zhou quickly intervened: “We’re not doubting Itachi, but it’s just… a bit unbelievable that someone at the awakening stage could kill a third-rank beast, especially without any surveillance footage to back it up.”

“I can vouch for him.”

From the shadows of the trees, a middle-aged man stepped forward, hands in his pockets.

Jiang Xia’s pupils contracted in shock: “When did he get there? Why didn’t I sense him at all?”

Shen Zhou, surprised, exclaimed: “Hey, Lao Su? What are Itachi doing here?”

The man called Lao Su pointed at Jiang Xia: “I’m here to protect him.”

“By the way, he’s not Jiang Dong—he’s Jiang Xia, the student from Linjiang No.1 High School who awakened an SSS-rank ability.”

He paused, then added: “And I’ve told Itachi countless times—call me Director Su during work hours. Don’t keep calling me ‘Lao Su.’”

Shen Zhou ignored his complaint and turned to Jiang Xia, puzzled: “Itachi’re not Jiang Dong? But Itachi don’t even look like the photo we have.”

Realizing his disguise was useless, Jiang Xia simply dispelled his transformation technique, revealing his true appearance.

Shen Zhou suddenly understood. “Ah, so Itachi can alter your appearance? No wonder we didn’t spot the third squad—they were fooled too.”

The middle-aged man shook his head helplessly, then extended his hand to Jiang Xia: “Let me properly introduce myself—I’m Su Changfeng, Director of the Linjiang Night Watch.”

“I oversee all night watch operations in the Linjiang region—including the ones stationed outside your building.”

He paused, then continued: “I happened to be downstairs at the time and sensed your energy was unusual, so I followed Itachi.”

“I held back to observe your combat strength—and now I see, it’s truly extraordinary.”

Jiang Xia reached out and shook his hand. “Can I get the bounty for killing the Skin-Stealer right away?”

Su Changfeng chuckled at his bluntness: “I’m heading back to the Night Watch headquarters right now—come with me and collect it.”

He grabbed Jiang Xia’s arm and led him away, leaving the second squad to clean up the scene.

At the Linjiang Night Watch headquarters, Director Su walked while explaining to Jiang Xia:

“Each city typically has three combat squads handling beast outbreaks and Cult of the Dark God disturbances; those with weaker combat potential handle logistics and support.”

In the director’s office, Su Changfeng sat down facing Jiang Xia.

After a moment of silence, Su Changfeng spoke first: “Do Itachi know who the current commander-in-chief of the human Night Watch is?”

Jiang Xia nodded. “Yes—the half-sage Lu Wujiu, hailed as the strongest beneath the Five Saints.”

Su Changfeng nodded, then asked: “And who was the first commander-in-chief?”

Jiang Xia thought for a moment before replying: “The half-sage who died twenty years ago during the Shanhai Uprising, fighting to the death against a catastrophic beast to protect a city’s civilians.”

Su Changfeng’s expression grew distant as he spoke slowly: “A hundred years ago, a mysterious mist suddenly descended, engulfing most of the world. Our Huaxia became humanity’s final line of defense.”

“Just as the mist was about to spread into Huaxia, people across our land began awakening supernatural abilities.”

“Thanks to the sacrificial efforts of the first generation of awakened warriors, the mist and the beasts were finally held back beyond our borders.”

“Fearing future invasions, our ancestors built the Shanhai Pass at the boundary between humans and beasts.”

“Fifty years ago, General Ye Ting—one of today’s Four Saints (SSS-rank Enhancement: Ten Thousand Tons of Force)—broke through to sagehood and founded the Demon-Suppressing Legion to guard the Shanhai Pass against beast hordes.”

“At the same time, Scholar Mo Yuan—one of the Four Saints (SSS-rank Rule: Words Become Law)—achieved sagehood and founded the Literary Academy to nurture the next generation of prodigies.”

“Thirty years ago, Sword Saint Jian Nan Zhu (SSS-rank Special: Listening Sword of Fire) and War God Lu Qing (SSS-rank Enhancement: Battle Against Heaven and Earth) both reached sagehood and took up station at Shanhai Pass.”

Su Changfeng sipped his tea, his tone growing heavier: “It was in that same year that our first Night Watch commander-in-chief, Xia Wujie, awakened his SSS-rank Elemental ability—Southern Bright Flame—and became a disciple of the Sword Saint.”

“Within less than five years, he broke through to half-sagehood, slew five disaster-class beasts, and alongside contemporaneous prodigies, founded the Night Watch to safeguard order within Shanhai Pass.”

“He was hailed as humanity’s greatest hope—the one most likely to shatter the mist.”

“But unfortunately…”

At this, Su Changfeng’s voice carried a trace of sorrow.

“Twenty years ago, the beasts launched a massive assault on Shanhai Pass. General Ye led the Demon-Suppressing Legion in fierce resistance, and all Four Saints mobilized to repel the invasion.”

“Yet after months of relentless attacks, the beasts finally breached the pass, carving a crack into our defenses. The Sword Saint stood alone, sword in hand, holding the breach.”

“But the beasts were too numerous, and two catastrophic beasts surrounded him.”

“One of them—the Catastrophic Zhu Yan—broke through with a horde of beasts and rampaged deep into human territory.”

“Upon hearing the news, Wujie led our elite Night Watch forces swiftly to the invaded city.”

“Upon arrival, Wujie immediately engaged the Titan Monkey in battle.”

“Meanwhile, we cleared other beasts to protect civilians.”

“With Wujie’s strength, even if he couldn’t defeat the Titan Monkey, holding it off temporarily should have been effortless!”

“But then—the Cult Leader! The sixth SSS-rank human talent—the traitor to our race!—betrayed humanity for the illusion of godhood and allied with the beasts!”

At this, Su Changfeng’s voice trembled with hatred.

“As Wujie fought Zhu Yan, the Cult Leader disguised himself as a civilian about to be killed. Wujie, distracted by the attempt to save him, was caught off-guard and struck hard by Zhu Yan.”

“Just as Wujie pressed on despite his wounds, the Cult Leader struck him from behind, inflicting grave injuries.”

“His betrayal shattered the balance of the battle. But even then, if Wujie had retreated, his strength would have allowed him to survive.”

“But Wujie didn’t flee. He looked at the civilians around him—and chose to fight to the death with them.”

“In desperation, he burned his own energy, forcibly ascending to sagehood, and unleashed the forbidden technique: ‘Scorching Heaven, Boiling Fire’—severely wounding Zhu Yan and driving back the Cult Leader.”

“But the combination of his grievous injuries, the forced ascent to sagehood, and the backlash of the forbidden technique claimed his life.”

Su Changfeng’s voice dropped to a whisper: “Soon after, the Sword Saint arrived and slew the mortally wounded Zhu Yan. The Cult Leader, near death, escaped.”

“Due to the overwhelming numbers, several disaster-class and king-class beasts managed to flee.”

“They eventually hid in forests outside urban areas, spawning countless low-rank beasts that infiltrated cities—like the Skin-Stealer Itachi encountered today.”

“After the chaos, the Sword Saint blamed himself for failing to hold the Titan Monkey, which led to Wujie’s death. He slashed a single sword-blast that formed a wall, sealing the breach and marking a boundary, vowing to guard it alone.”

“One flame, one sword, one Nan Zhu!”

“Inside Shanhai Pass, it was named Jian Nan Pass.”