The Art of the Invisible Strike

Chapter 7

The two thugs holding the wooden clubs were shaking. They were grown men, nearly twice the size of Han Feng. 

They had spent years refining their muscles. They had cracked the ribs of dozens of "Nulls" before. But today, they felt like they were hitting a wall of solid iron.

"What... what are you?" one of the thugs stammered. His knuckles were white from how hard he was gripping his club, but the wood wouldn't budge. Han Feng held both clubs in his bare hands as if they were made of straw.

Han Feng didn't answer. His silver eyes were focused on the vibration of the wood. He could feel the tiny grains of the timber humming against his palms. He didn't just feel the clubs; he felt the fear in the men holding them. Their heartbeats were erratic. Their breathing was shallow.

"I told you," Han Feng said. His voice was quiet, but it seemed to echo off the damp stone walls of the alley. "I’ve had a very long day."

With a sudden, violent twist of his wrists, Han Feng used his "Internal Resonance." He didn't just pull the clubs; he sent a high-frequency vibration through the wood.

CRACK-SHATTER.

The heavy oak clubs didn't just break, they disintegrated into thousands of sharp splinters. The two thugs screamed as the wood exploded in their faces. They fell back, clutching their bleeding eyes.

"Kill him! Kill him now!" the big man with the chain roared. He was the leader, the one with the scar across his nose.

Four more men stepped out from the shadows of the crates. Now, Han Feng was surrounded by six opponents. They were all "Discarded Disciples." They had failed to reach the inner sect, but they knew basic combat. They drew short, thick blades. The steel glinted coldly in the moonlight.

Han Feng took a deep breath. His body was screaming for energy. The "Copper Skin" was strong, but it required fuel. He could feel his blood sugar dropping. He needed to end this fight in seconds, not minutes.

He reached into his mind, back to the Celestial Bone-Forging Scripture. He searched for a technique that didn't require him to touch his enemies. He found it. It was a section called The Void Collapse.

It wasn't magic. It was pure physics.

In the natural world, a shrimp, the mantis shrimp, can strike so fast that it creates a bubble of vacuum in the water. 

When that bubble collapses, it creates a shockwave that kills its prey. The Scripture taught Han Feng how to do the same thing in the air using his own fingers.

"Don't let him move!" the leader shouted. "Cut his hamstrings!"

The six thugs charged at once. They were coordinated. Two went for his legs, two for his chest, and two for his head.

Han Feng stood perfectly still. He raised his right hand. He tucked his middle finger behind his thumb, creating a massive amount of tension in his forearm. His "Copper Skin" muscles coiled like a high-tension steel cable.

He didn't aim for the men. He aimed for the air six inches in front of their faces.

SNAP.

The sound was not the soft click of a finger. It was a sound like a gunshot. It was a sonic boom.

Han Feng’s finger moved so fast that it broke the sound barrier. The friction of the movement heated the air instantly, and the speed created a tiny, localized pocket of vacuum.

BOOM.

The air rushed back in to fill the vacuum. The resulting pressure wave hit the first two thugs like a physical hammer. 

Their eardrums didn't just hurt, they ruptured. Blood sprayed from their ears as they collapsed to their knees, their balance destroyed.

Han Feng moved his hand in a blur. Two more "Invisible Strikes" followed. The air itself became a weapon. 

The shockwaves hit the next three thugs in the chest. It didn't break their skin, but it stopped their hearts for a full second. They fell forward, gasping for air that their lungs could no longer process.

In five seconds, five men were on the ground. Only the leader remained.

The big man with the chain stopped. His jaw dropped. He had seen Qi Blasts from the elders before, glowing balls of energy that were loud and bright. But he had never seen a man defeat an entire squad by just snapping his fingers. There was no light. No magic. Just a terrifying, invisible force that turned the air into a wall of lead.

"You're a monster," the leader whispered. His hand was trembling so much that the heavy iron chain rattled against the stones.

"No," Han Feng said, walking toward him. "I'm just a Null who stopped pretending."

The leader tried to swing his chain, but Han Feng was too fast. He didn't use a snap this time. He used his palm. He caught the chain mid-air, wrapped it around his arm, and yanked the big man forward.

Han Feng’s hand moved toward the man’s throat.

"Wait! Wait!" the leader screamed. "I was hired! It wasn't just Merchant Gao! I have proof! I have a payment order!"