You promised steampunk martial arts, but you've got an internal combustion engine in your chest

Shanghai, Ding Residence.

Inside the courtyard, the setting sun cast a gentle, blood-red glow.

In the arena, a dozen graceful and beautiful dancers were dancing to seductive music, their flowing sleeves fluttering and their slender waists swaying, like celestial maidens.

However, Ding Sinan, the wealthy young master sitting at the head of the table watching the song and dance, did not smile at all.

He was so thin he looked like a skeleton, and his arms had been modified into brass mechanical arms. With his breathing, the valves on the mechanical arms hissed and moved, but what came out was not white steam, but pinkish steam with a strong smell of blood.

To replenish his lost blood and energy, several transparent tubes were inserted into his body, extending all the way to a large glass tube with brass edging.

Inside the glass tube, thick, crimson blood was boiling violently, while the steam pump behind it hummed and clattered, constantly increasing the pressure and forcibly pushing the blood into Ding Sinan's body.

"Father... I... I don't want to die, I feel so bad, I don't want to die..."

Ding Sinan, tears and snot streaming down his face, looked at the middle-aged man beside him, sobbing.

Sitting next to him was Ding Yan, the third leader of the Canal Gang.

Ding Yan, dressed in a brocade robe, with a prosperous face, was watching the singing and dancing in the arena with a smile, even tapping his fingers lightly to the rhythm.

Hearing his son's cries, Ding Yan didn't even lift his eyelids: "Don't worry, child. Your father will arrange everything for you. Just wait patiently."

"But...but it feels like my bones are being cut by a hot knife, it hurts so much..."

Ding Sinan cried his heart out, and his mechanical arm trembled violently due to his emotional distress, causing the expelled blood vapor to become increasingly concentrated.

Ding Yan's smile remained unchanged as she turned her head to look at her son:

"You're going to take over the canal gang in the future, why are you crying? You're making things very difficult for your father."

He looked at the dancers in the room and smiled gently, "See? To cover up your weak and incompetent appearance, I'll have to kill all these women later. It's such a hassle to deal with so many corpses."

Ding Sinan's voice abruptly stopped.

He clenched his teeth and forced back his tears.

He didn't even dare to look at his father again, and could only turn his head to look at the song and dance in front of him, sobbing while forcing an ugly smile and starting to clap his hands and applaud vigorously.

Just then, a black-clad figure flickered, and Master Yang strode through the corridor to Ding Yan's side.

He leaned down and whispered a few words in Ding Yan's ear.

Ding Yan's eyes suddenly lit up. He raised his head, but didn't speak, his eyes flashing with questioning intent.

Master Yang understood immediately and quickly took out a strange bronze mirror from his sleeve.

This bronze mirror is about the size of a palm, with its edges wrapped in countless intricate mechanical gears and miniature connecting rods.

As Master Yang pressed the mechanism behind the mirror, a wisp of steam immediately shot out from a small hole at the top of the bronze mirror.

clack clack...

The machine slowly turned, and the runes around the mirror began to flash and light up. Then, ripples appeared on the originally blurry mirror, clearly reflecting a scene.

That was actually inside the Shanghai Prison!

In the scene, a shirtless boy is rampaging wildly amidst a large group of enemies.

His muscles were bulging, his skin was as red as a branding iron, and his pores were spewing out billowing white steam like a steam engine!

He was like an ancient beast in human skin, cracking the ground with every step he took. With a wave of his arms, the jailers and constables screamed and flew backward, crashing into the walls and falling to the ground, unable to get up.

"This is……?"

Ding Yan involuntarily leaned forward, a look of surprise on his face.

Master Yang whispered, "Master Ding, this is Baili Jing. This kid is incredibly strange. After eating a feast of all-meat, he suddenly became like this. He even beat Lin, a constable at the fifth level of the Forging Realm, to death. And..."

"...And he didn't have a gas furnace attached to him; his strength seems to be... entirely from his blood and qi!"

"It's all the power of qi and blood?!"

Upon hearing this, Ding Yan's previously half-closed eyes widened instantly. He snatched the bronze mirror and almost pressed his entire body against its surface.

"How could a mortal be so powerful?! What kind of constitution does he possess? A giant spirit that can move mountains? An inexhaustible river? Or an eternal, mysterious body?"

Master Yang bowed slightly and replied cautiously:

"Reporting to Master Ding, we originally thought he was just someone who never tires...like a river that never runs dry."

"But today, after eating a feast of all meat, he suddenly gained strength and killed Constable Lin... I dare to guess that his blood and qi constitution is not any of the known types, and... he was able to kill a cultivator at the fifth level of the Forging Furnace Realm with his mortal body. I'm afraid this is the strongest constitution in the world."

"The strongest blood and qi constitution in the world... Good! Good! Hahahaha!" Ding Yan burst into laughter.

At this moment, the battle reflected in the mirror had reached its climax.

The jailer, wielding a large knife, slashed fiercely at Baili Jing. Baili Jing, however, grinned ferociously and reached out with both hands like eagle claws, breaking the two large knives in half with his bare hands. With a flick of his wrist, the broken blades flew back and pierced through the chests of the two jailers!

Immediately afterwards, a constable with modified arms rushed up. With the help of high-pressure steam, his punch, accompanied by a piercing sonic boom, was aimed straight at Baili Jing's face!

Baili Jing neither dodged nor evaded. The white mist around his body contracted wildly at this moment, then gathered on his right fist, and he met the attack head-on with a punch!

boom!

The two fists collided, and the terrifying force of the impact directly stirred up a wave of air from the surrounding ground!

Baili Jing didn't even flinch, while the constable screamed and flew backward!

Not only that, but the gears, connecting rods, and cylinders from his forearm to his shoulder also shattered in an instant!

"Excellent! What a magnificent furnace of flesh and blood!"

Upon witnessing this scene, Ding Yan's breathing instantly became heavy!

He abruptly turned to look at Master Yang: "We absolutely cannot hurt him! We absolutely cannot kill him! With him as a catalyst for my son's blood circulation, my son's future will be limitless!"

Master Yang lowered his head, his fingers slowly twirling the prayer beads in his hand, a somewhat troubled smile on his face:

"Master Ding, I understand your intentions, but the manpower of the yamen is ultimately limited. With Constable Lin dead, the remaining men are simply not enough. If we want to capture him alive... perhaps we'll have to borrow some men from your canal gang..."

"Take it!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ding Yan raised his left hand and smashed a dragon head from the Caobang gang into Master Yang's arms.

"You can move my men around as you please! But you must bring Baili Jing back to me alive!"

After saying that, Ding Yan snatched the bronze mirror and stuffed it into his son's arms.

"My son, look! Look!"

Ding Yan pointed to Baili Jing, who looked like a god or a demon in the mirror, and smiled gently:

"This is the medicine your father found for you. If you give it to me, you will live. Not only will you live, but you will also become the strongest cultivator of the younger generation!"

Ding Sinan looked at the terrifying boy in the mirror, trembling slightly: "W-how are you giving this to me?"

Ding Yan stroked his son's head and laughed, "I'll just replace his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys with yours. Don't worry, I've arranged everything. You won't feel any pain at all... Why are you crying again? This is such a good thing, you should be smiling!"

Ding Sinan looked at his father, terrified, and clapped his hands wildly while bursting into laughter, tears streaming down his face.

"Haha...good medicine! Thank you, Dad! Hahahaha!"

……

On the other side, in Shanghai Prison.

"Huff... huff... huff..."

After a fierce battle that lasted for the duration of an incense stick, Baili Jing finally defeated the last constable.

Broken gears, broken connecting rods, and twisted bronze pipes were scattered all over the ground, and people lay on the ground everywhere. Some were still groaning, while others were already motionless. Everyone who still had their eyes open was looking at the boy in front of them with the eyes of someone looking at a monster.

The redness on Baili Jing's skin began to fade slowly. Every pore on his body was desperately panting, and the white smoke he exhaled made the entire hall appear as if it were shrouded in mist.

"That felt so good..."

Baili Jing's eyes were filled with excitement.

After continuous fighting, a normal person should have been exhausted long ago.

But at this moment, he felt no fatigue at all. On the contrary, he felt that every cell in his body was cheering and jumping for joy. The feeling of power surging in his blood vessels was almost addictive to him.

However, as his fighting spirit gradually cooled, Baili Jing also noticed changes within his body.

The energy that had been burning fiercely in my stomach had been mostly used up after this outburst, and a faint hunger was creeping back into my body.

"The power from these monster meats is more violent and powerful than I imagined, but it won't last long."

Baili Jing raised his hands, his eyes gradually turning cold.

Killing a constable named Lin and breaking into a large prison are nothing special.

He knew very well that the government offices and the canal gangs were not something he could completely destroy with his bare fists alone.

"Master Yang and his men won't let me off so easily."

Baili Jing frowned, his mind racing.

"I've caused such a commotion in this prison, it's impossible that people outside don't know. Master Yang might already have men waiting for me, or even..."

Upon realizing this, Baili Jing's pupils suddenly contracted.

"Little brother... little brother is still at home!"

"Damn it, we have to get out of here quickly! We can't let them surround us and kill us. We must find my brother first and get him out of Shanghai!"

Baili Jing's eyes hardened, and he didn't dare to waste a second.

He looked around, bent down, and picked up two large knives from the ground.

Gripping his twin swords tightly, Baili Jing took a deep breath and strode toward the prison gate.

Click, click.

The blade scraped across the floor tiles, producing a harsh, screeching sound.

Outside the iron gate ahead, the faint sound of dense footsteps could be heard rolling in.