Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups Chapter 1237 - 600_2
Previously on Starting to Gain Experience from Push-Ups...
In the profound darkness, he resembled a nascent sun poised to breach the dawn's horizon.
"Huff—"
Fang Cheng expelled a deep, heavy breath, a plume of scorching white vapor escaping his lips.
He sense the tempestuous surge of blood within, his body temperature escalating dramatically.
Fierce, hot currents coursed violently through his limbs and skeletal structure.
Simultaneously, Fang Cheng's awareness perceived a peculiar vision deep within his being:
Within an expanse of consciousness, a resplendent golden sun hung suspended, continuously radiating unparalleled radiance and warmth.
This celestial body appeared to be the ultimate fount of all the power coursing through him.
Emerging from the gloom, Fang Cheng slowly lifted his gaze.
His deep-set eyes seemed to hold two tangible, intensely burning golden flames.
He fixed his attention on the quivering silhouettes huddled in the foreboding corner, the smile gracing his lips gradually widening:
"Come on, attempt it again. Why not face me once more?"
He advanced, the soles of his footwear pulverizing the fragmented bricks and debris underfoot with a sharp, audible crunch.
Accompanying this stride, a faint golden aura enveloping him surged forward, exuding a stifling heat potent enough to ignite the very air.
The cluster of shadows, paralyzed by apprehension at the spectacle, emitted a chaotic, piercing outcry of sheer panic, retreating in unison.
They scattered like disoriented insects confronted by an inferno, desperately cramming together, seeking refuge beneath corroded machinery bases and within deep wall fissures, even as an eerie red glow flickered erratically.
At this juncture, his fighting spirit reached an apex.
Fang Cheng drew a profound inhalation, his chest expanding significantly.
Then, he tilted his head back, unleashing a resounding roar directed at the oppressive darkness teeming with spectral apparitions.
"Vanish!!"
This fierce outcry resonated like a lion's commanding roar, imbued with an indomitable power of deterrence.
As the sound wave propagated, the golden luminescence encasing him erupted entirely, transforming into a palpable surge of intense heat that swept outwards with a resounding thud.
The residual shadows struck by this profoundly yang and assertive energy dissolved and vaporized, resembling ice succumbing to the searing rays of the sun.
They shrieked in dismay, desperately scrambling into pipe conduits, stagnant pools, and shadowed recesses, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye.
The industrial water treatment facility gradually returned to a profound silence.
The pervasive gloom seemed to recede, unveiling the faint contours of the surrounding environment.
Fang Cheng stood solitary upon the cleared expanse, his chest heaving laboriously.
His entire physique radiated an intense heat, with ethereal tendrils of white smoke ascending from his brow and shoulders.
He appeared as a newly forged man of iron, freshly extracted from a searing furnace; his skin glowed a fiery red, his veins visibly distended.
Fang Cheng gradually quieted his spirit, sensing the lingering, intense warmth within that had yet to fully abate.
This potent force felt both alien and intimately familiar, as if intrinsically linked by lineage.
He expelled his breath with great effort, observing his hands with an expression of utter disbelief.
Had he truly repelled those phantoms with a mere strike?
Furthermore, his gaze fell upon the back of his hand.
The angry red swelling, a mark from the previous night's caustic black precipitation, had now completely vanished beneath the purifying heat, leaving no trace of a scar.
Fang Cheng's eyes ignited, a spark of fervent hope kindling within his heart.
If these monstrous entities could be dispersed by this newfound power...
Then, Zhou Ming and the other afflicted members must also hold the potential for recovery.
With this thought taking root, Fang Cheng inhaled deeply, his gaze sharpening with intense determination.
He shook off the residual dark vapors clinging to his fists, turned, and resolutely proceeded deeper into the facility's shadows.
After traversing a short distance, navigating past a line of disused filtration tanks.
Fang Cheng detected a sound of strained breathing.
A slender figure clad in camouflage attire was crouched low, moving stealthily like a predator through the gloom.
It was Wang Lan, the esteemed president of the Supernatural Research Society.
Alerted by the approaching footsteps, Wang Lan abruptly swiveled her head.
Despite her eyes having completely transformed to a stark white, she precisely pinpointed Fang Cheng's position.
Emitting a guttural growl, she suddenly surged forward with her legs, lunging like an avaricious leopard.
Her blackened, nail-tipped hands streaked directly towards Fang Cheng's face.
Fang Cheng made no move to recoil.
Confronting her swift assault, he smoothly stepped aside, deftly evading the sharp, grasping attack.
Leveraging her forward momentum against her, he swiftly raised his right leg, executing a precise and decisive front kick that landed squarely on Wang Lan's midsection.
"Bang!"
Wang Lan was propelled backward, collapsing heavily onto the grit-covered concrete floor.
Before she could regain her footing, Fang Cheng had already closed the distance.
He pressed Wang Lan's abdomen with one knee, his hands, like unyielding steel grips, firmly encircling her neck.
Naturally, to avert any risk of severe harm to a fellow student, he consciously restrained the full application of his strength.
After all, the individual before him was merely under external influence, not an inherently malevolent entity.
He could hardly employ the fatal technique he used against the shadow entity, which would lead to the demise of a compatriot, could he?
"Vacate her body this instant!"
Fang Cheng slightly tightened his hold, his voice sternly commanding.
Wang Lan's windpipe felt constricted, her limbs thrashing in desperate resistance.
Her fingernails scraped against the concrete floor, emitting a piercing shriek as she desperately tried to pry loose Fang Cheng’s fingers.
However, the formidable strength fueled by the malevolent entity was utterly suppressed by Fang Cheng’s overwhelming power, rendering her attempts futile.
"Hiss hiss hiss, hehehe..."
She parted her lips, articulating a string of bizarre and esoteric syllables that emanated from her throat.
The sounds resembled a viper's sibilant utterance, sending shivers down the spine and causing one's hair to stand on end.
Fang Cheng could not comprehend the monster's cryptic murmurs, nor did he possess any desire to do so.
With an impassive expression, he continued to tighten his grip, his eyes glinting with merciless resolve.
His intention was to employ suffocation as a means to forcibly expel the intruding shadow.
Yet, at this precise juncture.
Deep within Fang Cheng’s consciousness, a long-dormant innate ability appeared to awaken.
Those incomprehensible hissing sounds, upon reaching his ears, were instantly decoded and rendered into a clear, coherent phrase:
"You... are not... of this world..."
Fang Cheng’s hand faltered mid-action.
He fixated on Wang Lan’s vacant, rolled-back eyes, his own gaze hardening, and demanded sternly:
"What are you rambling about?"
The entity inhabiting Wang Lan’s form seemed to detect Fang Cheng’s shock and burgeoning suspicion.
Its facial features contorted unnaturally, twisting into a sinister and horrifying grin.
A raspy, alien voice grated from its mouth once more:
"You will be... targeted by... the Holy Master... your fate... is sealed, and cannot be escaped..."
Fang Cheng’s brow furrowed deeply upon hearing this:
"What Holy Master? What world are you spewing nonsense about?! You wretch, what are you even talking about?!"
As he spoke, the muscles in his wrist suddenly tensed, and the force constricting the throat intensified by several notches.
The moment his words concluded, Wang Lan began to convulse violently.
An expression of extreme torment contorted her face, her mouth gaping wide.
"Ugh——"
A substantial volume of putrid, dark liquid, mingled with a cloud of black smoke, erupted from her mouth, splattering onto the nearby tiles with a "sizzling" sound.
The shadow, upon being ejected from the body, was immediately seared by the scorching blood aura radiating from Fang Cheng, emitting a piercing shriek.
It vanished into the surrounding gloom without the slightest hesitation, as if encountering an insurmountable natural predator.
Witnessing this, Fang Cheng swiftly released his grip, stood, and stepped back.
Wang Lan collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air.
Her eyes, which had been rolled back, gradually regained their natural black and white clarity, the vacant look receding from her face like an ebbing tide.
She clutched her neck, laboriously pushing herself up from the floor, a bewildered expression clouding her features.
"Cough cough... Fang Cheng? What transpired?"
She swallowed hard, her throat burning and constricted.
The sensation was precisely as if someone had forcefully squeezed it with their hand.
"Are we still at the water treatment plant? Where are Dazhuang, Zhou Ming, and Lin Xue?"
She scanned her surroundings, her mind still somewhat disoriented.
Fang Cheng observed the distinct purple bruises blooming on her neck, maintained his composure, and feigned nonchalance as he replied:
"You were briefly under the influence of those vile entities. But fret not, I have devised a method to handle them."
"Truly?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Lan immediately set aside the discomfort in her throat, lifting her head with evident joy.
Fang Cheng offered no further explanation, merely gesturing with his chin:
"Let's move, we need to locate the others first."
Subsequently, Fang Cheng guided Wang Lan, meticulously searching the labyrinthine confines of the factory.
They systematically found Zhou Ming, Li Dazhuang, and Lin Xue in various corners near the water reservoir and generator unit; each had similarly been possessed and lost their lucidity.
Upon discovering each afflicted individual, Fang Cheng would unhesitatingly surge forward, employing a barrage of punches and kicks.
He carefully calibrated his strength to effectively disperse the shadows without inflicting any fractures.
Thus, through sheer physical force, he compelled the possessed shadows to vacate the bodies of his classmates.