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Chapter 105: Chapter 103 "Shadow of Blade" Special Effects
Whoosh, whoosh!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!
Sharp and piercing sounds of cutting air echoed in the not-so-spacious living room.
The setting sun cast a golden glow on the window, as if it had been dusted with gold powder.
The light entering the room turned the table, chairs, and floor a golden yellow, also bestowing a special sheen on a young man’s body.
He held an unsheathed dagger in his hand, continuously waving and striking the air.
It was as if in this moment and place, an innumerable number of enemies existed before him, and he was single-handedly penetrating their den, fighting a bloody battle.
The blade reflected the cold golden light, and as the shadow moved persistently advancing, sprinting, circling, counter-cutting.
It was like a butterfly spreading its wings, flapping its beautiful wings.
And the owner who held it was just as agile, constantly moving swiftly and stabbing rapidly.
Every movement was extremely concise and sharp, unpredictable, and filled with lethal danger.
Suddenly, the figure twisted his waist and pulled back his hand, coming to a halt.
His bright eyes shone, looking straight ahead.
A pale blue interface that only he could see, gently unfolded in the air.
[Congratulations, you have practiced the blade technique diligently, mastered the art, reaching the expert level]
[Blade Technique lv1 (0/250)]
[You have earned the enhancement reward, Skill Effect "Shadow of Blade"]
Fang Cheng took a deep breath and showed a relieved expression.
Days of relentless practice had finally resulted in upgrading this important combat skill.
He then focused his gaze on the specific effects of this new special effect.
[When launching an attack with a bladed weapon, the body seems to blend into the light of the blade, turning into a phantom, making it difficult for others to track the movement trajectory]
Seeing an award without specific values, Fang Cheng couldn’t help but frown slightly.
After thinking for a while, he stepped back two steps, leaning against the balcony, staring towards the direction of the door.
In his imaginary field of vision, a black figure was slowly materializing, taking an attacking stance.
Fang Cheng tightened his grip on the butterfly knife, pushed off with his right foot, and burst forth with power.
Swoosh!
His whole body shot out like an arrow released from a bow.
As the knife light flashed, the target shadow was accurately pierced in the heart and instantly dissipated.
"Still doesn’t feel like much..."
Fang Cheng stopped in his tracks and shook his head, tossing a "Knife Flower" with his hand.
The assassination attack just now, in less than half a second, was entirely the result of the agility and strength attributes.
It barely had anything to do with the special effect of "Shadow of Blade."
"Is it just a decoration then?"
Puzzled, Fang Cheng’s gaze suddenly caught sight of a dressing mirror on a cabinet in the living room.
A new idea immediately struck him.
He stood in front of the mirror, side-on.
His left eye targeted another imaginary enemy that appeared on the balcony, while his right eye kept watch on his own reflection in the mirror with peripheral vision.
Then, once again he tightened his grip on the knife handle, leaned forward, pushed off, and launched a thrust attack.
Swoosh!
This repeat of the advancing thrusting motion was still just as sharp and swift, hitting the target precisely.
However, at the instant his body started the motion, Fang Cheng noticed an odd phenomenon in the mirror using his peripheral vision.
The knife light seemed to become particularly bright, while his own figure holding the knife blurred.
It was like a camera issue with focusing, or overexposure to light, making it hard to clearly see the specific form and movement posture.
To ensure it wasn’t just an illusion created by chance.
Fang Cheng proceeded to test five times in a row with varying attack speeds.
Finally, he arrived at a clear conclusion.
The actual effect of "Shadow of Blade" was quite simple.
During an attack, it forces the target’s attention to be captivated by the blade light, thus creating an effect as if the body is covered by the light, making the silhouette appear blurred.
This special effect doesn’t amplify the intrinsic combat strength of the skill itself; it’s literally just a "special effect" on the surface.
Whether or not the speed of the attack changes, the phantom effect always exists.
Moreover, as speed increases, this effect would become even more pronounced.
Indeed.
When an object moves at a sufficiently high speed, an afterimage will appear in the human eye.
However, if your visual ability were to receive a corresponding level of enhancement.
Then the so-called "afterimage" would cease to exist.
This is a relative concept.
The phenomenon of "afterimage" is caused by the speed of response of the optic nerve.
When your eyes are capturing a moving object’s speed slower than the object’s own movement speed, it causes the perception to be unclear regarding the object’s position during motion.
However, due to the lingering effect on the retina, it can still transmit the previous position’s image of the object to the brain.
With Fang Cheng’s Spirit Attribute of 33 points, his optic nerve reaction speed still couldn’t clearly see his own movements during an attack.
It showed how terrifying this special "phantom" effect was.
In other words, "Shadow of Blade" is essentially a solidification of a fundamental effect on the high-speed motion afterimage mechanism.
Future opponents, regardless of strength or Spirit Attribute, no matter their visual perception ability, will at least be disturbed by the most basic phantom effect.
Moreover, as physical fitness improves and movement speed increases, this overlapping effect will also become more significant.
Unless the opponent also possesses some special ability that can shield against the influence of the skill effect.
It seems.
The strength and speed of the knife strikes remain unchanged, the offensive moves remain the same, the power doesn’t seem to have been enhanced.
Yet it makes it harder for the enemy to predict one’s movements, unable to defend in time, the effect in actual combat would exceed many people’s estimates and imaginations.
Fang Cheng grips the knife handle, his eyes pondering, the more he thinks about it, the more excited he becomes, feeling an urge to try it out.
After all, the true connoisseur of this Skill Effect isn’t himself, it should be his enemies.
In the midst of his musings, suddenly a faint ringtone of a phone call arose.
Fang Cheng’s gaze sharpened, he immediately reined in his thoughts, walking to the shoulder bag thrown on the bedroom bed.
He took out his cellphone from inside, glanced at the caller ID, it was an unknown number.
He hesitated a bit, thought for a moment, and still chose to press the answer button.
"Hello, hello, Ah Cheng, it’s me, Donghe!"
The moment the call was connected, a rough voice came through the speaker.
Fang Cheng was slightly surprised, he hadn’t been able to contact him for days and didn’t know where this guy had hidden himself.
He then asked, "Donghe, where are you right now?"
"I’m hiding out in a secret base, damn it!"
Ma Donghe cursed, sounding slightly depressed as he replied:
"The bastards from Red Tiger Gang are looking for me everywhere, they even went to my house, scared the old man..."
Fang Cheng listened patiently to his recent experiences, learning about some of the events that had occurred.
Since Red Tiger Gang annihilated the Three Wolves Gang, they took over all of Jiangbei’s territories of the latter, incorporating the remnants of the gang.
Therefore, finding certain individuals became much easier.
Ma Donghe himself was quite well-known in the Jiangbei underworld.
After this incident, getting into trouble with Red Tiger Gang, he essentially had no foothold and could only hide in the outskirts and countryside.
Red Tiger Gang didn’t plan to let this perpetrator go, sending people to Ma Donghe’s family home, causing a ruckus and smashing things.
Fortunately, Ma Jianguo was no ordinary person, he held considerable prestige in the village.
Those thugs were quickly surrounded by villagers, beaten nearly to death with hoes and poles.
Then the police came, took them all away, and locked them in the detention center for a freezing night before releasing them.
But Red Tiger Gang didn’t intend to settle things peacefully, they continued to search everywhere for Ma Donghe’s whereabouts.
Ma Donghe didn’t dare return home, fearing bringing bigger trouble to his old man.
Having learned about the situation at home, he ran to the nearby corner store, making a special phone call to warn Fang Cheng to be more careful.
After Ma Donghe rambled on about his own recent situation, he asked with concern:
"Ah Cheng, how’s the situation on your side?"
"I’m fine for now, they don’t seem to have figured out my details, and I always wear a mask when I go out."
Fang Cheng replied calmly.
Indeed, he was just an ordinary office worker, with no connections to the underworld and Jianghu at all.
If Red Tiger Gang wanted to find him, it would take a considerable amount of effort and time.
"That’s good, the most important thing is to avoid this wave of trouble right now."
Ma Donghe heard and let out a sigh of relief.
He then began to share some underworld rumors as if to reassure both Fang Cheng and himself.
"I’ve already found out, the main person wanting to root us out is that bastard Wu Shihao; he holds a grudge because his drug factory was busted, and he wants to take revenge on us."
"However, Red Tiger Gang acts arrogantly, making enemies everywhere, and their situation isn’t much better."
"When the old guard of East City Association goes to war with Red Tiger Gang, Wu Shihao won’t have the time to care about us anymore, damn it, then we’ll take the chance during the chaos to hit him even harder..."
After chatting with Ma Donghe for about ten minutes, sharing updates and information with each other.
Fang Cheng put down the hung-up phone, stepping towards the window.
Through the dimly lit glass, he looked down at the streets below.
At this moment, two tattooed youths who swaggered past were collecting protection money from the owners of several restaurants and grocery stores.
They were low-level thugs newly recruited by Red Tiger Gang in Jiangbei, specifically tasked with maintaining order in the Old Factory Street.
These people were not worth Fang Cheng’s attention.
Fang Cheng’s gaze was mainly fixed on several seemingly ordinary strangers.
Trusting in his own memory, he could confirm they were not residents living nearby.
Since Old Factory Street was always a mix of fish and dragons, with many out-of-towners coming here looking for housing or jobs, Fang Cheng hadn’t paid much attention at first.
But today at noon when he was returning home from the club, he saw these same people.
And now as the day turns to night, he can still see these few individuals loitering around his home.
It made him feel that something was amiss.
As if...they were purposely positioned in this area to keep surveillance.
Fang Cheng became alert, discreetly observing, firmly memorizing the facial features of every suspect, getting a rough grasp of their movement patterns.
There are a total of five of them.
Three are responsible for sitting around fixed locations within a 200-meter radius of the tubular building.
The other two are walking up and down Old Factory Street, as if casually strolling.
Fang Cheng had his suspicions.
He guessed that Red Tiger Gang had seen him at Old Factory Street before.
Therefore, they wanted to find him again here, without raising any alarm.
The idea wasn’t bad.
Realizing that they might be coming for him, Fang Cheng began to think of countermeasures.
At this moment, the distant sunset was obscured by tall buildings, and the sky gradually darkened.
Fang Cheng stood by the window, coldly watching these people.
In his hands, the Butterfly Knife continuously twirled Knife Flowers, casting off a hint of frosty light.
