Chapter Seventy-Five: Conquering the Beautiful Maiden Blue Moon

Within the dazzling light of the C-rank skill Blink, Wang Ling, who had successfully passed the strength test, flipped Chen Heng’s body upside down, wedged him beneath his hips, spread his arms to grasp the inverted legs, and with a sudden burst, soared upward to a height of five meters. The sheer speed of the spin left a series of spinning-top-like afterimages in the air before the fiercely rotating shadow crashed down with a thunderous impact.

A deafening boom resounded, shaking the entire wooden Kung Fu Tower! On the second floor, Peach Immortal, who was practicing esoteric yoga in a toe-standing meditation, was so startled by the tremor that he nearly twisted a toe. He gazed upward in shock, noticing that the sturdy wooden ceiling above had blossomed into a web of cracks, some boards even bulging downward.

But just then, a streak of white light appeared. Wherever it swept, the shattered, bulging boards instantly restored themselves—this was the self-repair function of the scenario card, taking effect.

On the third floor, Wang Ling watched as Chen Heng, now enveloped in white light, underwent full-body restoration. With a chest deeply pierced by the meteoric iron spearhead and the overwhelming force of the C-rank skill Plum Blossom Grand Seat, it was only the last-minute surge of white light that protected this brawny man from what would otherwise have been certain death.

“The power of a grappling throw is truly immense…”

Bathed in the healing glow, Chen Heng’s severe wounds quickly vanished. He coughed a few times, somewhat embarrassed, rubbing his neck, and reluctantly put away his meteor chain. Seeing Wang Ling ever-present at his side with a half-smile, Chen Heng finally bowed in resignation, grumbling, “Since I’ve lost, from now on you’re the boss. Whatever you order me to do, I’ll do! Damn it, to think I’d lose to a kid—this is humiliating.”

At that moment, the Dreamspace issued a prompt: “You have defeated Chen Heng, the third storyline character from the Kung Fu Scenario Summon Card. In future mission worlds, you may spend points to summon him.”

“Strength: 38 (+2); Agility: 15; Stamina: 19 (+1); Intelligence: 11. Health: 100, Spirit: 55. Current Level: 1. Can level up through battle, max level 20.

Class: Wrestling Master—a kung fu expert adept in techniques such as holds, locks, sweeps, embraces, lifts, twists, and kicks, skilled in wielding the unique weapon Meteor Chain.

Skills: Basic Melee: LV7, Basic Ranged: LV3, Basic Parry: LV5.”

As expected from the stats, Chen Heng was a strength-oriented character. The first three floors represented stamina, intelligence, and strength, respectively. Thus, the fourth floor’s flying dart maiden, Blue Moon, was almost certainly agility-oriented.

With Chen Heng subdued, the scenario card promptly ejected Wang Ling again. After a brief respite in his private room, he activated the card anew and reentered the Kung Fu Tower.

“What? Not only Peach Fourth Brother, but Third Brother Chen was beaten by you too? No way—when did you get so strong, Boss?” Wang Long, on the first floor, was dumbfounded and immediately started shouting in disbelief upon hearing the news.

Wang Ling simply shrugged and proceeded up the tower, passing the quarters of Peach Immortal and Chen Heng, ascending to the fourth floor. There, in the center of the arena, sat a young maiden in ancient attire, seemingly lost in thought, not even noticing his approach up the stairs.

The dazed maiden’s pale cheeks glowed with a charming blush; her small, upright nose and gentle red lips radiated youthful vitality. Even in profile, she appeared irresistibly adorable.

Tap, tap, tap…

Wang Ling rapped his fingers against the wooden wall. At the crisp sound, the maiden jolted out of her daydream, stood up, and turned toward the source of the noise.

The instant he saw her face, Wang Ling’s jaw dropped and he froze in disbelief. “Chun-Li?”

Indeed, this maiden looked astonishingly like the iconic Eastern warrior from Street Fighter: a slender, upright figure, round and alluring bosom, hair styled into two buns tied with red ribbons, an oval face, large eyes, willow-leaf brows, determined lips, and that unmistakable lively aura unique to a kung fu girl.

Of course, in terms of age, the maiden before him was in the blossoming prime of sixteen or seventeen—slightly younger than the Chun-Li everyone knew. Their attire also differed: Chun-Li was famous for her blue, high-slit qipao, while this girl wore a sleeveless pink satin training outfit, revealing her creamy arms. A yellow band clasped the neckline, her trousers were cinched at the ankles, and she wore red embroidered shoes.

On such a fresh-faced, well-endowed, youthful kung fu maiden, the outfit radiated both energy and gallant spirit.

“You’re Blue Moon?”

Wang Ling was suddenly overwhelmed by a happiness so intense it nearly made him weep. Considering his current subordinates—the mop-headed dwarf, the hippie fatty, and the brutish goon—none were worth mentioning. The ones he’d acquired from the scenario card weren’t much better: Wang Long was burly and coarse, his face thick with muscle; Peach Immortal, though not fat, wore a perpetual fake smile beneath his mustache, making him difficult to like; Chen Heng, even fiercer than Wang Long, bore a wild, bearded visage.

At last, he had recruited a female character—T_T! And not just any female, but a bona fide beauty, a kung fu maiden in ancient dress! How rare and precious she seemed compared to all those lunkheaded brutes!

As Wang Ling clasped his hands and silently thanked Heaven, Blue Moon spotted him as well.

It was as if she’d been struck by lightning—her body jolted, a pink flush spread rapidly across her cheeks, and her eyes began to shimmer. Her pupils first twinkled with stars, then morphed into two red hearts. Suddenly, she cried out in surprise:

“Wow!!! So handsome…”

Thud! Before Wang Ling could even question how a girl from the Qing Dynasty knew the word “handsome,” he was so thunderstruck by her exclamation that he toppled over.

Blue Moon could hardly be blamed. At sixteen, she was at an age of budding infatuation. Yet in the “Kung Fu” setting, her era was the Qing Dynasty, where every man around her sported a gleaming queue and a bald forehead. As a member of an anti-Qing outlaw clan, she found such men wholly unappealing.

Among her sworn brothers in the outlaw clan, though they’d traded their queues for shaven heads, all four were burly, middle-aged men—utterly uninspiring to a youthful girl.

By contrast, Wang Ling, refined by the power of the Dragon Soul, now possessed a striking appearance and aura. For a maiden who had never before met a man who caught her eye, seeing this unique young man for the first time triggered a classic case of lovesickness…

Wang Ling picked himself up and saw Blue Moon’s eyes, still pulsing with red hearts, her entire being lost in a dreamlike trance. He walked over, waved his hand before her face, and shook her gently. Finding no response, he reached out and poked her soft, elastic cheek, then leaned in until his breath nearly touched her earlobe:

“Hey, wake up! Time to wake up!”

Blue Moon shuddered again, her eyes gradually regaining focus as she returned to herself. But at the sudden realization of Wang Ling’s nearness, her face, once tinged with a rosy blush, now blazed crimson, even steaming as if she were about to burst into flames.

“Ah! Am I dreaming? Are you really my master? Wonderful! I’ll take good care of you, I swear I won’t throw plum blossom darts at you, or sneak bugs into your food, or plug your nose with wood while you sleep! Master, please keep me by your side always, I’ll be good, just never hate me, okay?”

Suddenly, Blue Moon flung her arms around Wang Ling, gazing up at him with the hopeful, pleading eyes of a kitten. In that instant, Wang Ling was petrified, for the Dream Badge chimed in his mind:

“You have successfully conquered Blue Moon, the fourth storyline character of the Kung Fu Scenario Summon Card. In future mission worlds, you may spend points to summon her.”

“Strength: 13. Agility: 39. Stamina: 16. Intelligence: 19. Health: 80. Spirit: 95. Current Level: 1, can level up through battle, maximum level 20.

Class: Lightness Skill Master—an agile kung fu expert who combines wind-like footwork with combat, capable of launching exclusive hidden weapons: Plum Blossom Darts.

Skills: Basic Ranged: LV3, Basic Footwork: LV7, Basic Evasion: LV5.”

Wrapped in Blue Moon’s embrace, Wang Ling realized that, unlike with Wang Long and the others, who were “successfully defeated” upon recruitment, the beautiful girl before him was “successfully conquered.”

“What is going on here?”

Though it was supremely pleasant to be hugged by a soft, lovely maiden, Wang Ling’s body was stiff as a board, as if struck by lightning. In the next moment, a sudden surge of white light whisked him out of the scenario and back to the real world.

“If I’ve been ejected, I guess I’ve truly recruited her? Good grief, wasn’t I supposed to fight her first? How did I succeed without even a match?” He stood for a long while, mouth agape, pinching his arm to confirm he wasn’t dreaming.