Chapter 259: Chapter 259: 28 Fists
Tian Xun's eye twitched, and she couldn't help but mutter softly, "I knew it, men are unreliable, whether they are Celestials or Humans."
Lin Shen had returned, not because of the God-Devouring Beast's egg, but because he had thought of something else.
His gaze was not on the Nirvana Egg, but on the several lines of text below it.
"My friend Slaughterer King passed away here... What does this sentence mean? Does it mean that he had a friend who killed a 'king of people' and then passed away here; or does it mean his friend was called Slaughterer King? According to normal reasoning, the latter should be correct.
There are not many people surnamed Tu; those who managed to break out into the universe and had some achievements, I seem to have heard of just one family," thought Lin Shen, naturally referring to the Tu family of Tu Xiaodao.
If this Slaughterer King really was a Human, then the likelihood that he came from the Tu family was extremely high.
Lin Shen took out a small notebook and pen that he carried with him, planning to sketch down this Slaughterer King and later show it to Tu Xiaodao to see if he was from their family.
If he indeed belonged to the Tu family, perhaps the Tu family would have a chance to take the God-Devouring Beast's egg.
Lin Shen's memory was rather average, and he couldn't remember things that were not too important after a while, so it was more reliable to sketch down the details.
Unfortunately, he had not learned to draw properly when he was young; his artistic skills were not even entry-level, he was only capable of stick figure-level drawings.
Fortunately, he only needed to capture some details; such a high level of drawing skill was not necessary.
Tian Xun, who watched from a distance, was somewhat baffled by Lin Shen's actions, not understanding what he was doing or why he would want to draw a dead person.
While drawing, Lin Shen suddenly noticed something; the carapace of Slaughterer King was covered with some strange patterns.
It's normal for carapaces to have patterns—many advanced Evolution Skills result in various designs and patterns.
The problem was that these patterns didn't seem to be naturally part of the carapace, but rather engraved onto it later on.
Because the carapace naturally had patterns, those engraved patterns mingled with the natural ones, and because the techniques used were so similar to the natural ones, it was usually hard to spot that some of the patterns were added later on.
Lin Shen wanted to sketch the patterns to help the Tu family identify them, and it was while tracing them that he discovered some patterns were later engravings.
He didn't notice by looking at the engraving marks, but rather, the edges and corners where those patterns lay made him extremely uncomfortable while drawing, giving him the sense that they were somewhat out of place.
"Why would someone engrave patterns on a carapace? Were these patterns engraved while he was alive, or after he died?" Lin Shen was very curious, flipping a page in his notebook, and on the new page, he separately drew those engraved patterns.
As he drew, Lin Shen felt that these patterns somewhat resembled human movements, though they were drawn in a very abstract way, even more minimalistic than stick figures.
At first, Lin Shen was a bit uncertain, but he tried to mimic the movements suggested by the patterns, and to his surprise, they formed a coherent sequence of motion.
"What are these movements for? Why would they be engraved on someone's carapace?" After trying the movements, Lin Shen suddenly felt that the Base Mutation strength within his body began to flow with these movements.
"This thing can actually mobilize Base Mutation strength!" Lin Shen was even more astonished within his heart.
While Lin Shen was astonished here, Tian Xun, on the other hand, was even more astonished.
"My friend's Twenty-Eight Fists... How could it..." Tian Xun watched Lin Shen incredulously, the postures he took left her feeling unimaginable.
Lin Shen's understanding of that sentence was somewhat off; it meant neither that a human called the Slaughterer King had passed away here, nor that his friend had slaughtered a king and then passed away here.
This person's name was actually My Friend, and the king he slaughtered wasn't a human, but a Nirvana creature.
It never occurred to Lin Shen that someone could be named My Friend. Of course, My Friend wasn't human but belonged to an Alien Species.
If Lin Shen had been able to see his face, he wouldn't have mistaken him for a human. Unfortunately, it was hidden by a carapace, and Lin Shen couldn't see it.
"What's the deal with this person? Where did he learn the Twenty-Eight Fists from? Could it be that he's related to My Friend and came to Giant Ring Star for this purpose?"
"No, that's not right. He's a human. How could My Friend possibly teach his Twenty-Eight Fists to a human? Not to mention humans, even for a great race like us Celestials, he's always been disdainful..." Tian Xun was well aware of what "not for non-racial beings" meant; the term "racial beings" referred not to humans, but to all humanoid species.
"But if he has no relation to My Friend, how could he know the Twenty-Eight Fists? Could it be that he just learned them now?" Tian Xun found it hard to believe. How could one learn the Twenty-Eight Fists from a dead person?
My Friend's body had been examined by many Celestials and individuals from other species. Many had even tried to take the God-Devouring Egg, meeting horrendous fates without even ashes left behind.
Nobody discovered that My Friend had left behind the Twenty-Eight Fists when he died; if so, it should have been found long ago.
"What exactly did that guy do..." Tian Xun watched Lin Shen in amazement.
She could clearly see that Lin Shen's initial movements were very unpracticed; he must have just learned them.
But how did he manage to learn the Twenty-Eight Fists from a dead person? Tian Xun couldn't see what Lin Shen had drawn in his notebook, so she couldn't guess.
"Can humans actually practice the Twenty-Eight Fists? If humans can do it, can I possibly do it too?" Tian Xun couldn't help but ponder.
Despite its commonplace-sounding name, Tian Xun knew just how terrifying the Twenty-Eight Fists were.
In the past, My Friend had used the Twenty-Eight Fists to roam the universe and essentially suppress all Nirvana-level Powerhouses of his generation.
The Twenty-Eight Fists isn't precisely an Evolution Skill, it's more like a method of utilizing Strength.
It can work like an Innate Skill, producing miraculous effects, yet it isn't an Innate Skill; it's more like a skill acquired through later training.
Being able to practice the Twenty-Eight Fists theoretically equates to possessing an additional skill, and a particularly terrifying one at that.
Compared to the Archangel's Sword, the Twenty-Eight Fists are a thousand times more precious. With this discovery, Tian Xun no longer cared about the Archangel's Sword.
A Tenth Turn Spirit Base wasn't difficult for her to find, and she could give her nephew other gifts, but the Twenty-Eight Fists were a unique cosmic treasure.
After My Friend's Nirvana, the Twenty-Eight Fists had vanished from the universe. Unexpectedly, Tian Xun saw them once again in Lin Shen today.
However, Tian Xun still couldn't be sure whether Lin Shen had just imitated the appearance or had really learned the Twenty-Eight Fists.
If it was just the appearance of the movements, then it was of no use.
Tian Xun now wished she could drag Lin Shen back and ask him clearly, to forget about retrieving the Archangel's Sword, but unfortunately, she couldn't go to the island and had to forcefully wait for Lin Shen's return.