Chapter 8: Fist Dominates New York

Watching Marcus' departing figure, Sun Li couldn't contain his astonishment.

In just four days, he had mastered the peak techniques of Ming Force, a feat even the legendary masters from history couldn't match.

Sun Li had polished his skills throughout his life, achieving only a level of Ming Force. Clearly, Marcus had far surpassed this peak, but Sun Li could no longer teach him.

Marcus' learning journey under him had come to an end.

For Sun Li, this was a great sense of defeat.

The only consolation was Marcus' generosity in transferring the remaining money as well. In four days, he earned ten thousand dollars, a small fortune no matter how you looked at it.

Originally, Sun Li thought Marcus was just an ordinary rich kid and had planned to teach him some basic skills. Little did he expect Marcus to progress so rapidly, with a strong desire to learn. Gradually, even Sun Li got into a state of admiration, deciding to pass on all his knowledge to Marcus. However, even so, he could only teach for four days before reaching the limits of what he could impart.

Because Ming Force, despite its mystical reputation, was essentially a technique of exerting force. For Marcus, whose physical qualities were already at the peak of human capability, and whose combat talents were enhanced to epic levels, he skipped the phase of body toughening and focused solely on learning basic skills and advanced force techniques. It was not a difficult task for him at all.

Initially, Sun Li could barely keep up as Marcus' sparring partner. At that stage, Marcus had powerful strength but lacked sufficient technique, allowing Sun Li to manage a few moves with his Eight Extremes Fist skills.

A few days later, Marcus had completely mastered it. After surpassing Sun Li, the gym master no longer dared to spar with him.

Marcus' fist strength and technique were so powerful that he could easily kill him in an instant.

Unlike Sun Li, Marcus didn't have such deep feelings. To him, this was just a matter of course. With the development of the super soldier serum, anything related to combat was within his grasp.

Learn it once, master it in no time!

That was Marcus' current state!

However, he wasn't arrogant or complacent. He knew that these force techniques were of little use against beings far stronger than himself unless he had the protagonist's aura like Captain America. Otherwise, in the future, he would only be a super soldier.

There was nothing more Sun Li could teach him, but he did point him in the right direction. Among the various Chinatowns across the United States, there were still some experts. Once Marcus reached the level of Ming Force, he would need to find a way to break through to Dark Force, then Ethereal Force, and finally achieve the legendary Elixir Force.

Though the martial arts system's power couldn't compare to the systems in the Marvel world, which could casually destroy worlds, it was currently the only method available to enhance his strength, one that he had to pursue with all his might.

With Baguazhang as his foundation, Marcus embarked on his own journey of learning. In addition to Eight Extremes Fist, Marcus also studied Tai Chi, and a series of other Chinese martial arts.

With his financial support, Marcus faced no obstacles. Nowadays, fewer and fewer people are willing to learn Chinese martial arts, especially in a foreign land. Given Marcus' generosity, most dojo masters were willing to teach him. Initially reluctant to teach too much, they gradually developed an appreciation for Marcus' monstrous talent and eagerly passed on their knowledge.

For an entire month, Marcus visited and learned from every martial arts gym in New York City, finally completing his transformation from Ming Force to Dark Force, truly becoming a master of Dark Force.

Even within the American martial arts community, his reputation soared. Many had heard of a monstrous genius appearing in New York, merging the strengths of various styles into his own.

In this circle, once one reached the level of Ming Force, they could open their own dojo. Achieving Dark Force status made one a rare elite in the entire city.

After all, Masters of Ethereal Force were rarely seen, especially overseas.

Nowadays, Marcus reigns over New York with his fists and feet without any problems.

A punch at Ming Force level could kill, and at Dark Force level, it could cause serious injury. Perhaps only those at Ethereal Force level could challenge him. This tremendous increase was due to his own powerful physique.

Dressed casually in a hoodie, Marcus walked down the street, looking like a student still in school. As he walked, he contemplated where to study next to quickly reach Ethereal Force level. By then, his combat power would be even greater.

During this month, he wrote in his diary while practicing martial arts. Time flew by quickly, and the energy reserves in his mind filled up again. He drew another prize, but this time, he didn't get anything good—just $20 million.

Although this amount was unimaginable for ordinary people and could directly grant financial freedom, for Marcus now, it was something he could do without.

Nevertheless, increasing wealth was always a good thing, and Marcus was not discouraged.

With so much money, Marcus' path with financial support became even smoother, able to break into the realm of Dark Force masters.

Suddenly, he stopped by a storefront window. Inside, a TV was playing an interview with another big shot from Stark Industries, Obadiah.

In it, Obadiah was smiling and sharing anecdotes about Tony Stark's childhood, appearing like a good uncle and emphasizing his close relationship with Tony Stark.

But perhaps, except for Marcus, few knew that privately, he wanted nothing more than to kill Tony Stark.

"People are not always what they seem!" Marcus sighed. Suddenly, he heard a commotion behind him.

"Hey, yellow-skinned ching chong, hand over the money, hand over the bag!"

Marcus turned around and saw several tall thugs approaching him with fruit knives, clearly eyeing his well-dressed appearance for profit.

"Broad daylight, clear skies…" Marcus muttered, a bit exasperated. "Well, this is classic US, so it makes sense."

Especially for someone of East Asian descent, here, they're at the bottom of the social hierarchy, even some lowly thugs can harass them a bit.

"Don't understand English?" The leader of the thugs thought Marcus was a foreigner who couldn't understand English and repeated himself.

Before he could react, Marcus blurred and was already upon him, delivering a powerful punch.

"Ah!"

With a cry of agony, the leader flew backward several meters, several ribs broken.

Seeing this, the other thugs became enraged and rushed forward.

But with just one punch each, they were all knocked down just the same.