Chapter Twenty-Nine: Strength

The moment electric current pulsed through the artificial muscle fibers, a stream of signals raced along the metal wires, surged into Xiang Shan’s spine, was decoded by his cerebellum, and then slammed into his brain.

Xiang Shan almost felt as if he had grown his legs back.

These artificial muscle fibers could actually simulate a sense of touch...

No, that was not right. This was not new technology. Xiang Shan understood that he had experienced this feeling before.

He thought this as he kicked open the great gate and rolled across the collapsing iron door.

This design had existed for a very long time. By 1960, sensitive resistors had already been put into practical use.

Sensitive resistors are specific resistive materials that react to particular physical conditions. Most of these resistors are highly sensitive to a certain physical state; when that condition changes, the resistance value changes accordingly. For instance, photoresistors change resistance depending on light intensity, while thermistors fluctuate based on temperature.

Specialized resistors, such as magnetoresistors, also have wide-ranging applications.

For a martial artist, however, the most relevant type is the "piezoresistor."

As the name implies, it is a resistive material that exhibits different resistance values under varying pressure.

In the era Xiang Shan was familiar with, this technology was already well-established. When people designed prosthetic bodies for martial artists, they would incorporate piezoresistors into certain components.

Whether it was a force of one newton or a pressure of one kilopascal, parts embedded with these resistors could faithfully register the feedback.

The cost of this was a certain reduction in the part's strength and lifespan, as the durability of a piezoresistor could not compare to specialized alloys.

However, the benefit of such components was that they allowed martial artists to better master their prosthetics, even enabling them to execute "delicate force" techniques that would be absolutely impossible for a flesh-and-blood martial artist.

Nineteen-twenty-first-century ninjas would claim they were borrowing the "power of the earth." Even older boxing manuals contained similar descriptions: "Force is generated in the feet, expressed in the legs, directed by the waist, urged by the spine, and released through the hands." There were even martial artists who harbored the ideal that as long as one exerted force sequentially through the ankles, knees, joints, waist, spine, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, wrists, and fists, a human could generate a punch nearing the speed of sound.

But for the humans of the old era, this was merely a fantasy. Given the sluggishness of human nerves, it was nearly impossible for them to grasp the perfect timing. Furthermore, a force of one newton or a pressure of one kilopascal would produce no perceptible sensation for them. They could not truly put the theoretical power into practice.

There is an upper limit to the transmission speed of nerve signals.

However, cyber-martial artists could even feel energy shifting—from internal energy to kinetic energy, from kinetic energy back to internal energy, transferring from one part to another... To them, it was just like the miraculous "Qi-power" described in novels.

Xiang Shan could harness this power.

He had crashed through the gate. The iron door offered almost no resistance as it tore from its frame. Xiang Shan’s feet pushed hard against the still-falling iron door, sending it hurtling toward the ground at an incredible speed, where it quickly deformed and flattened against the earth.

Xiang Shan used this to accelerate a second time in mid-air.

*What excellent legs...*

This thought barely had time to flash through Xiang Shan's mind.

These were not the strongest legs he had ever used—he was certain of that. In the past, when he had access to a complete power system, he had used much more powerful prosthetic limbs. But the power consumption of those limbs... while he could not recall the specific figures, it was certainly not something that could be sustained by the current battery pack.

This was the best set of legs Xiang Shan had used at this current power level.

Perhaps it was because, in this era, the technology was still superior to what he had known...

The moment he crossed paths with the steel staff, Xiang Shan hooked his hands onto it and kicked his legs against the giant's waist and abdomen, using the leverage to change direction.

If his opponent had been a natural human, this would have ended the fight. But cyber-martial artists did not have so many fragile internal organs. The armor's shock-absorption layers could partially dissipate impact, protecting vital structures.

Compared to his legs, these arms were truly useless.

Xiang Shan had reinforced them using scraps from the canine-type prosthetic, but the foundation was too poor. The mere act of dissipating the force generated by his speed nearly caused the arms to disintegrate.

A flash of silver spiraled up the steel staff. Xiang Shan used one hand to pin down the head and neck of Yuji—who had not yet been fully cyberized—and kicked his legs against the tip of the staff again.

The force of the staff's impact and the counter-force of his kick combined. Leif’s stance immediately faltered, and Xiang Shan accelerated out of the staff's reach.

"Yuji, are you okay?" Xiang Shan hurriedly set his disciple down. Yuji was breathing weakly. His legs had been shattered by the impact of the landing, and his internal organs had clearly suffered, with internal bleeding likely occurring in his abdominal cavity.

Yet, Xiang Shan felt a sense of relief.

Metal-based proteins not only significantly delayed cell apoptosis but also possessed high resistance to mechanical trauma and could survive longer in oxygen-deprived environments. This meant that humans in this era had a much higher tolerance for "brain injury" and "asphyxiation."

With the medical technology of this age, replacing damaged organs with artificial prosthetics was not difficult; in fact, the replacements could be even stronger than the originals.

As long as he was alive, that was enough.

Only then did Xiang Shan look at Leif.

Memories from Will flashed once more.

"You are... 'Silver Drive Shaft' Leif..."

"Silver Drive Shaft" Leif Serret, the fourth-in-command and assault captain of the mid-sized thug organization known as the "Z Organization," specialized in staff techniques. The steel staff he wielded was crafted from the drive shaft of a "Python-class" assault ship. Combined with his standard prosthetic armor's silver sheen, he earned the nickname "Silver Drive Shaft." The style he practiced was called "SSC Tri-Weapon Unity Staff"—SSC standing for Sword, Spear, and Cudgel—an authentic martial art known for its varied style, tactical flexibility, and strategic depth.

He had originally been a highly gifted martial artist in another territory, but after losing in a combat event at the Paralympic qualifiers (an event where, excluding firearms, most external martial arts were permitted), he felt deep humiliation and murdered his opponent with his staff after the match. His master attempted to expel him to show that the school did not shelter those without protection, only for his dojo to be slaughtered by the enraged Leif Serret. Before bounty hunters could gather, Leif Serret fled into the wilderness and later joined a thug organization.

"Are you also a martial artist?" Xiang Shan asked, filled with fury. "As a warrior, you bully the weak—do you not feel ashamed?"

This question left Leif confused. "Since when do martial artists not bully the weak?"

"What?" Xiang Shan was once again bewildered.

*Why do the martial artists of this era... think that the strong bullying the weak is a matter of course?*

*The purpose of creating martial arts was for the individual weak to resist the power of tyranny...*

"Ah, I remember now," Leif suddenly tapped his head. "Oh, it seems a big shot once said something like that. Who was it? One of the 'World-Builders'... the Martial Ancestor? He did say that the meaning of martial arts technology was to use the weak to resist the strong—are you really a knight-errant? But I heard that even among the underworld, few people believe that stuff anymore. Just how many years has your head been buried?"

Xiang Shan felt as though something in his body was missing—a sensation akin to "phantom limb pain."

"No one believes it anymore?"

"Of course not. Although the Martial Ancestor said that martial arts were designed to resist tyranny, allowing weak prosthetic bodies with limited resources to accomplish important tasks and achieve strategic goals... but in the underworld today, the stronger party always wins, right?" Leif used his steel staff to draw an inequality sign on the ground. "Even those knight-errants who claim to fight for the weak are themselves 'strong,' aren't they? It’s the same in the underworld, the same among the outlaws, and even more so with the Protectors."

"Even if a master truly uses a weak prosthetic to defeat a strong one, it only proves they crushed their opponent in factors other than the 'prosthetic'—like martial algorithms, drive optimization, intelligence, or biological brain reflexes. After all, a prosthetic is not the sum of a person. It is still the strong striking the weak."

There has never been a true case of the "weak defeating the strong" in this world.

Xiang Shan stared at the inequality sign on the ground. "Between people, is there only an inequality sign? Does everyone in the world think this way?"

"If you think that, then there are still people in the world who think that way!" Leif continued with his banter. "But let's not talk about that, sir. We heard that you used a junk-built prosthetic to defeat a bionic-style pugilist. We think you have great potential, so we’ve come to invite you to join us!"

Xiang Shan almost wanted to laugh upon hearing this. "Join you?"

"Join our Z Organization, and by the way, join the outlaws." Leif hoisted his staff back onto his shoulder. "Although you used to be in the underworld, I can see you were a failure at it. Regardless, the fact that you ended up in this state without a single knight-errant coming to save you... tsk tsk, it shows that even among knight-errants, not everyone agrees with your ideals! You might as well come and develop with us outlaws. We outlaws are the most free, with fewer rules than the underworld, and the work is pretty much the same..."

Xiang Shan felt lost once again.

He was certain he knew nothing about the terms "underworld" or "outlaws." The knowledge remaining in his biological brain suggested these were merely terms from "novels."

Moreover, no one was supposed to turn them into reality.

This was not a fantasy made real alongside cyber-martial arts... The era he knew did not have any "outlaws"! They should have all been mere fiction!

In the peaceful era where knight-errants assassinated tyrants and heroes ended chaotic times, martial arts should have naturally declined, sinking into the internet, lying dormant, waiting for the next tyrant to take power before showing their fangs.

Or perhaps to warn those in power never to impose tyranny on the people.

Or to naturally wither away in the shadows, leaving behind only a legend for future generations.

—That is how it should have been.

Xiang Shan knew this was the ideal scenario. However, the foundational design of martial arts technology should have had an extra threshold—it should have been designed as something "unsuited for bullying the weak."

—Was this foundational design also twisted?

Suddenly, Xiang Shan laughed.

"Heh... hehehe. Underworld? Outlaws? Martial arts rules? Hahaha... Which idiot from which generation was childish enough to imitate this stuff?" Xiang Shan lowered his back and pressed his hands against the ground. "I never cared for your underworld or outlaws. I only ask you: in this era, does inviting someone to join you always come with the intent to kill?"