Chapter 71: The Black Void, "Beast"

Qi Burst!
Tiger’s Palm!
Tendon-Breaking Strike!
Cloud-Reaching Whip!
In such a "spotlight" situation, with so many students in the dorm peeking out to watch the commotion, Old Wang did his best to avoid anything too shocking—if he could avoid moves like Thunder and Lightning or Jade-Shattering Bolt, he would.
But it was still more than enough to astonish.
The male students in the dorm looked at Old Wang as if he were a hero, secretly wondering if they could track him down and become his disciples—maybe it would help them win over girls?
The female students, on the other hand, gazed at Old Wang as if he were their boyfriend, thinking about whether they could find him and spar with him on another kind of battlefield, to see who was stronger.
The students from China were even more excited, shouting "Shenlong! Shenlong!" For them, seeing kung fu and a dragon in a foreign land was both intimate and a source of pride, stirring in them a sense of being "descendants of the dragon."
The fight ended swiftly.
Before Old Wang, the ninjas didn’t even have a chance to run—he was too fast, terrifyingly fast.
In a blink, only Nobu Yoshioka remained.
Old Wang decided to leave one alive, to see if he could pry some information out of him.
Ninjas were trained to resist interrogation, but there were ways—and if anyone could do it, it would be Madame Gao.
But just then, Old Wang frowned.
He sensed a dreadful force awakening.
A deep, guttural moan—or perhaps a muffled roar—echoed, something not quite human.
A woman rushed past him, charging at Nobu Yoshioka.
It was Erika!
Since Matt was busy dragging away the unconscious Stick, he hadn’t been able to stop her. She had turned back, her face twisted and wild with madness.
"Erika!" Matt shouted.
She had been shot several times, yet here she was, throwing herself into battle, reckless to the point of courting death.
Nobu Yoshioka was no easy foe!
Old Wang narrowed his eyes.
He didn’t stop Erika.
There weren’t many women in this world who could catch his interest.
Black Widow was one; the Siren was another; Erika too was among them.
She was no ordinary woman.
She was the Black Sky, the darkened heavens.
She was the vessel—the vessel of the "Beast."
The Beast, the evil deity worshipped (or rather, exploited) by the Hand, a formidable entity from another world.
And now, perhaps due to the pressure of the dragon’s aura or the bloodshed and violence, the Beast’s influence over Erika was growing, even if its power had yet to descend fully for lack of the necessary ceremony and time.
Becoming the Black Sky, possessed by the Beast, did indeed confer unimaginable power—but not without a cost.
The price was the corrosion of her mind.

A vessel is just a vessel; the Beast is the true master.
Matt rushed over, trying to intervene, but Old Wang stopped him.
"She’ll die!" Matt shouted, desperate.
"Not while I’m here," Old Wang replied, flicking his wrist. A flow of green qi surged into Matt, then rippled into Stick.
Mistweaver Monk healing technique:
Qi Wave!
Matt felt his wounds knitting and healing, but he had no time for amazement, his attention wholly fixed on Erika’s every move.
Erika’s physical condition hadn’t changed.
Master Wang hadn’t even healed her—she was still bleeding.
Her life force ebbed away, but her spirit grew ever more frenzied, ever more wild.
It was as if she were high.
"What’s happening to her?" Matt murmured, suddenly finding Erika more and more unfamiliar, as if she had truly become someone else.
"You’ll have to ask your master," Old Wang said, not bothering to explain. When Stick woke, he could provide the answers.
As long as he stood here, Erika could not die, even if she tried.
The Beast intrigued Old Wang—he wanted to know just how powerful this entity was, seemingly on par with the Spirit of Vengeance.
Its power had yet to descend, but its influence had already made Erika stronger—
Madness, fearlessness—these too were powers of a sort, and crucial ones at that.
Old Wang’s gaze was locked on Erika and Nobu Yoshioka, calm as the sea, though beneath the surface raged currents strong enough to capsize a ship. Nobu dared not run, forced to be a sparring partner, hoping to trade one life for another by killing Erika.
As Murakami’s top lieutenant, and discounting the use of "qi," his fighting prowess wasn’t far off from Madame Gao’s, who rarely fought herself—he was on Erika’s level.
A true pair of worthy adversaries.
Nobu’s weapon was a katana; Erika’s, a pair of slender, short rapiers.
Neither were martial arts masters, but both were consummate killers—every move was simple, direct, and aimed to kill.
In less than two minutes, both were covered in wounds, each with several new gashes.
"Quite the ferocious pair!"
In Erika, Old Wang seemed to see an echo of Garona, the legendary orc assassin—or, if considering physique, perhaps the blood elf rogue Valeera, or even Vanessa, the human rogue who followed her "big brother" everywhere.
"She has potential," Old Wang thought, eyes steady, convinced Erika was a talent worth cultivating.
A vessel for the Beast, raised from childhood in the harshest assassin’s training, cold and merciless—she was the perfect candidate.
Truth be told, the Black Sky and the Ghost Rider were of the same ilk; the Ghost Rider too was a vessel, for the Spirit of Vengeance.
Daredevil had his principles, but Erika did not.
She was ideal for nurturing…
"Wang, the police are on their way."
Skye’s voice came through the earpiece. Old Wang replied softly, "Tell Natasha to clean up my mess."
Old Wang, you’re so shameless… Skye muttered, quickly dialing Black Widow.
Panting heavily, Nobu Yoshioka collapsed and died.

Erika’s beautiful form swayed, drenched in blood; clearly, she had exhausted both body and mind, and collapsed softly to the ground.
"Erika!"
Matt called out, gently tossing aside Stick and rushing to catch her.
"This guy, letting beauty distract him from his master…" Old Wang shook his head.
"Follow me."
Ignoring the distant crowd, Old Wang deliberately slowed his pace and vanished into the darkness in a few nimble bounds.
Matt, cradling Erika, managed to keep up.
In a certain dorm room, a female student put away her binoculars and hurried alone to the bathroom to make a call.
"Madame, I recorded a video—I’ll send it to you right away… I saw a dragon’s shadow, and Lord Nobu shouted the name of the Immortal Iron Fist… Yes, that woman was crazed, just as you predicted…"
...
...
In a luxurious villa,
Alexandra finished watching the video, her face full of doubt.
Shou-Lao was not a green dragon, but a red one—there was no question.
The Immortal Iron Fist, empowered by Shou-Lao, merely manifested exceptionally potent and unique "qi," but never seemed able to summon a dragon’s apparition.
Could it be that, after all these years, the elders of K’un-Lun had made new discoveries about the Iron Fist?
There had been more than one dragon in K’un-Lun’s history—there were green dragons as well. Could it be that Iron Fist had gained the power of one such dragon?
At least, this generation’s Iron Fist hadn’t shown the kind of strength that Wu Fengji once used to defeat the Phoenix fragment.
A handgun couldn’t kill him.
Maybe not even an RPG.
But with enough explosives—perhaps that might do the trick.
That woman with Stick was obviously the Black Sky. If the Beast’s power could be brought down, perhaps she could deal with Iron Fist.
Unfortunately, she was now with Iron Fist, making her hard to target.
Fortunately, the Black Sky was just a vessel, and there was more than one vessel.
Alexandra picked up her phone and dialed.
"Murakami, Nobu is dead… Iron Fist and Chaste will join forces—we don’t have much time."
"Send everyone out. Find the Black Sky as quickly as possible—bring down the Beast!"
"Gambler, gather your very best. In a thousand years, we have never been so close to death. We must muster every resource we have to oppose the Immortal Iron Fist!"
"Sowanda, we need weapons—heavy weapons, as many as possible… Let New York be thrown into chaos, let the government take notice if it must—Iron Fist will kill us all!"
"I’ll contact Wilson Fisk—he’ll help you move the weapons in; he has people in the NYPD… I’ll also use my own channels to purchase arms from Hammer Industries, and even Jericho missiles from Stark Industries!"
"Everyone, this is a fight to the death!"