Chapter 174: Raging Dragon Fist, Assimilation!
Su Tianhao sat quietly in the cave, stone walls shimmering with purple light from the Ethereal Mind Crystal. His expression, illuminated by that ethereal glow, radiated serenity—like the first light of dawn, gentle and full of promise.
The cave was silent, save for the steady rhythm of his powerful heartbeat—deep and rumbling, like the breath of a slumbering dragon.
Ba-thump. Ba-thump.
Su Tianhao's mind churned inward, reviewing the contents of the Raging Dragon Fist for the first time in months.
Raging Dragon Fist—Peak-grade Mortal Rank technique.
Su Tianhao paused. His lips twitched.
"Peak Mortal Rank technique... Bah! As expected of the Immortal Realm—even such a powerful technique can only be considered mortal rank!"
To Su Tianhao, who had personally cultivated it to Perfection, the Raging Dragon Fist far surpassed the value of any Mortal Rank technique in the mortal realm. Even the so-called ancient mortal rank techniques paled in comparison.
In truth, the Raging Dragon Fist was exceptional even among Peak Mortal Rank methods in the immortal realm. The only reason it qualified as Mortal Rank at all was its inability to generate spiritual energy attacks—the primary requirement for a technique to achieve Spirit Rank classification.
Of course, that didn't mean all Spirit Rank techniques surpassed Mortal Rank ones in value. There were many Spirit Rank techniques that were considered basic—trash, even—their worth paling against those heaven-defying Mortal Rank methods.
Su Tianhao didn't dwell on it.
The main priority was digging deeper into the Raging Dragon Fist—using this opportunity to achieve Assimilation in one go.
The ultimate level of mastery!
The technique opened before his mind's eye.
---
Raging Dragon Fist—a devastating close-combat method focused on unleashing explosive power through raw physical strength and internal energy flow. Drawing inspiration from the fury and momentum of a rampaging dragon, the technique emphasises aggressive forward motion, powerful short-range bursts, and devastating impact with each strike.
The method refines breath control and inner rhythm, allowing every punch to carry the force of a dragon's roar—wild, overwhelming, and difficult to defend against. It favours those with strong physiques and battle-hardened foundations, as its recoil can cause serious backlash if not properly mastered.
Though classified as Mortal Rank, the Raging Dragon Fist is anything but simple—it is a manifestation of pure martial intent and brute force. At full proficiency, each blow can shatter boulders, rupture defences, and send shockwaves through the ground, making it a dominant close-combat style at the foundational stages of cultivation.
Warning: practitioners must refine breath control and internal energy flow, syncing every heartbeat with the rhythm of each strike. Physical endurance and bone strength are critical—the recoil from improperly executed techniques can severely injure the unprepared.
---
Su Tianhao drew a deep breath, a confident smile touching his lips.
Breath control. Internal energy flow. Physical endurance.
'Trivial.'
---
His mind sharpened, digging deeper.
According to his insights, the Raging Dragon Fist contained three distinct moves. Two had already been unlocked, but the third remained distant, elusive, almost nonexistent. But Su Tianhao believed it existed after learning of the legendary Assimilation stage.
Raging Pulse—the first offensive strike, granting at most a fifty-percent boost in raw strength.
Dragon Roar Descent—the second and far more powerful attack, delivering a devastating seventy-percent boost.
Su Tianhao's breathing slowed as he integrated his full understanding of the technique into his mind.
Only one thing remained.
Assimilation.
'What is Assimilation?'
His mind reflected inward.
A transcendent realm of mastery—one that surpassed Perfection entirely. A hidden realm known only to a few. Not merely mastering a technique, but becoming one with it entirely.
The technique becomes a natural extension of the self, as instinctive as breathing, as natural as a river flowing to the sea.
No conscious thought. No deliberate effort. No active intent.
If Perfection symbolised flawless command—the ability to wield a technique to its highest designed limits—then Assimilation represented something far greater: the ability to transcend those limits entirely.
It wasn't just mastery.
It was evolution itself.
---
"Evolution."
The word echoed in his mind.
"To achieve Assimilation, I have to surpass the limits of the Raging Dragon Fist. The breakthrough I need isn't in the existing forms..."
His voice trailed.
"It's about commanding a greater power."
His brows tightened as realisation broke like lightning through a storm-darkened sky.
"It's about unlocking the true potential of the Raging Dragon Fist!"
His mind reeled.
'What is the limitation of the Raging Dragon Fist?'
It could only amplify physical strength within the range of the Martial Mark—the natural limit of the physical body. In Su Tianhao's case, it could only amplify his base strength of 20,000 pounds. It didn't amplify the full power of spiritual-physical fusion—only the physical component.
That was its greatest limitation.
After reaching the Martial Adept Realm, the benefits the Raging Dragon Fist granted had become almost nonexistent. His spiritual energy achieved far greater strength amplification on its own.
"Limit... Limits..."
Su Tianhao's voice grew softer, yet heavier.
"The limit is a forged shackle, a shadow of doubt. A mortal lens blurring the path of transcendence—I, Su Tianhao, have no limits!"
The moment those words left his lips, his mind drifted back to the word that had been gnawing at him.
'Evolution.'
'What is evolution?'
The moment the question formed, something stirred deep within his consciousness—like a slumbering giant awakening from an ancient sleep.
Boom!
Fragments of inherited memory surged forth like a tidal wave, flooding his mind with images, sensations, and understanding that weren't entirely his own.
He saw flashes of a majestic figure—his father, Tunlong Chenyuan—standing amidst a battlefield of shattered mountains, fists blazing with cosmic purple light that seemed to tear the very fabric of space.
Then came the voice—deep and resonant, echoing across time itself through the blood connection they shared:
'Shengzi... if you've reached this point, then you've walked the path I once walked. You stand at the threshold of true understanding.'
Su Tianhao's breathing hitched, his entire being focused inward as his father's insights unfolded before him like a sacred scripture written in fire and blood.
'Evolution is the fundamental law that governs all cultivation—the eternal truth that separates the mortal from the divine.'
'It is not mere change, but transcendence through understanding. It is the principle that states: all techniques, all methods, all daos are but cages forged by their creators' limited comprehension. They represent the ceiling of what that cultivator understood at that moment in time—not the ceiling of what is possible.'
The inherited memories intensified, showing Tunlong Chenyuan in his younger years, seated in meditation just as Su Tianhao was now, wrestling with the same question, the same limitation.
'To evolve a technique is to shatter the creator's cage and rebuild it as your own.'
The memories shifted—the moment of Tunlong Chenyuan's breakthrough, the instant he achieved Assimilation.
'Evolution in cultivation means this: to see what the creator could not see. To walk where the founder dared not tread. To take what was given and transform it into what should have been.'
The final memory crystallised—Tunlong Chenyuan standing victorious, his voice carrying the weight of absolute certainty:
'The Raging Dragon Fist amplifies only physical strength? That is not a law of nature—that is a limitation of imagination.'
'Spiritual energy and physical strength—they are both force, power, might. They flow from the same source: the cultivator's foundation. Why should the dragon's fury distinguish between them?'
'It shouldn't. It never should have.'
The inherited memories faded like morning mist. The understanding remained—seared into Su Tianhao's consciousness like a brand of enlightenment.
---
Su Tianhao's eyes snapped open, blazing with clarity.
"Father... you've already walked this path. You've shown me the way."
His voice trembled with emotion and excitement.
"The Raging Dragon Fist's true potential was never about the distinct moves—never about fixed amplification percentages!"
"I see now, the third move was something the creator believed was possible, but dared not thread. He called it impossible because it was his limit—His limit! Not mine!"
His fists clenched. Spiritual energy began to swirl around them in golden torrents.
"It's about understanding that all power—physical, spiritual, essence-based—they're all manifestations of the same fundamental force!"
His eyes narrowed.
"The perfect spiritual-physical fusion was the key all along. The technique doesn't need to distinguish between them... because at the core, there is no distinction!"
That realisation—that was Evolution.
---
Su Tianhao closed his eyes. His breathing was steady, his mind clear and free—like the first ray of sunlight piercing an endless night.
"Raging Dragon Fist..."
His voice rang out quietly, yet filled with restrained power.
The spiritual energy swirling around his fist condensed and retracted inward. His fist began emitting a faint golden glow, spreading across his entire hand until slowly, it turned golden—covered in strange runic patterns as if carved by nature itself.
The phenomenon was reminiscent of Dragon Defence—but fundamentally different.
Dragon Defence spread across his entire body with ancient, mythical grandeur that radiated invincibility and danger.
This was different entirely.
The golden light covered only his fist. The runic patterns were far more subdued—almost imperceptible, etched so faintly they seemed to blur between existence and illusion.
No menace. No intimidation.
Instead, it remained eerily silent. Deceptively ordinary. Like a still ocean concealing a raging undercurrent beneath.
Su Tianhao clenched his fist. Inner energy rushed toward his hand. His veins turned golden. The faint patterns glowed brighter, pulsing as if breathing.
A rush of power washed over him—amplifying his strength in ways he had never experienced before.
"Raging Dragon Fist..."
He repeated, voice louder now.
"Assimilation!"
What followed was pure devastation.
---
Su Tianhao moved with explosive speed—propelling forward like a cannonball.
No roar. No phantoms. No intimidation.
Just a single fist tearing through space with relentless force—powerful, unstoppable, carrying the momentum of a raging dragon.
Boom!
The sound arrived a heartbeat after the impact—a deafening explosion that shook the very foundation of the cave like the roar of collapsing worlds.
Su Tianhao's fist connected with the rocky wall, and for a fraction of a second, time seemed to freeze.
Then—
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Spiderweb fractures erupted outward from the point of impact, racing across the stone surface like lightning frozen in stone. The wall didn't just crack—it shattered. Chunks of rock exploded outward in all directions, some pulverised into dust, others hurled through the air like meteors.
The cave trembled violently. Stalactites broke free from the ceiling and crashed down in thunderous succession. A massive crater now gaped where Su Tianhao's fist had landed—edges glowing faintly from the sheer friction and heat of the impact—punching clean through nearly a metre of solid rock.
Debris rained down like a stone tempest. Dust billowed in thick clouds, filling the cave with a haze that caught and scattered the Ethereal Mind Crystal's purple light, transforming the space into something ethereal and apocalyptic.
Su Tianhao stood at the centre of it all, fist still extended, golden light slowly fading from his hand. His breathing remained steady despite the devastation around him.
His eyes gleamed with profound understanding.
"This... this is Assimilation."