Chapter 102: Full Firepower

Hmm?

Across from him, Tang Wulin narrowed his eyes, sensing something amiss with Su Jingxing.

Two hiltless curved blades contended against three flying knives.

With both wielders possessing similar mastery over their hidden weapons, it was evident that manipulating flying knives demanded more energy. Yet, rather than waning, the true energy radiating from Su Jingxing only grew denser and stronger. What was happening here?

“Interesting.”

Tang Wulin gave a light laugh. While continuing to control his hiltless curved blades in their contest, he strode toward Su Jingxing.

“Getting impatient, old man?” Su Jingxing sneered in return and walked forward to meet him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The area where two hiltless curved blades and three treasured flying knives clashed shrank as the two drew closer—smaller, and smaller still, until—

Whoosh—boom!

When less than two meters separated them, Tang Wulin suddenly struck out with his palm. A fiery red imprint, like a raging tiger, tore through the air in a roar, pouncing at Su Jingxing.

“Hundred-step King Fist!”

Drawing upon sixty years of cultivated true energy, Su Jingxing met the attack head-on with his fist. A semi-transparent, silver-black fist imprint, carrying the force of four hundred thousand catties, crashed fiercely into the fiery palm imprint.

Boom!

A thunderous explosion shattered the air. Terrifying energy erupted, unleashing a shockwave that whipped the air into chaos. Not only did it disrupt the contest between their hiltless blades and flying knives, but it also sent a rampant surge of force through the corridor. Wherever it passed, the floor and walls groaned under the tremendous pressure, fissures spidering along their surfaces. Corpses on the ground grew more mangled, not one left whole.

At the heart of this energy, neither Su Jingxing nor Tang Wulin retreated a single step.

Yet, compared to the composed Su Jingxing, Tang Wulin’s face was somewhat grim.

Evenly matched!

Their contest of hidden weapons was evenly matched; their martial arts were evenly matched. Even their clash of cultivation was evenly matched! Yet, when it came to reserves of true energy, Tang Wulin was at a disadvantage.

A man knows his own strengths and weaknesses.

Tang Wulin could clearly sense that the true energy surging through Su Jingxing showed no sign of diminishing—it remained at its peak. As for himself, nearly a third of his energy was already spent.

This won’t do!

A cold glint flashed in Tang Wulin’s eyes, the former confidence wiped from his face.

Su Jingxing’s strangeness left him no room for underestimation.

He had to end this quickly!

Since prolonged battle would only sap his strength, swift victory was the only option!

Bang! Bang!

Tang Wulin abandoned his hiltless curved blades, unleashing his full power. His figure shifted, darting like lightning from one position to another, launching a sudden assault on Su Jingxing.

“Is it a battle of speed you want?” Su Jingxing chuckled softly and likewise abandoned his flying knives, fully activating the Eight-Step Soaring Dragon.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The corridor was instantly filled with the sharp sound of air being split at high velocity.

Tang Wulin pushed his movement techniques to their utmost, leaving not even an afterimage behind. Su Jingxing was equally agile and elusive, his form imperceptible.

Compared to the Hundred-Step King Fist, he had reached an even greater mastery of the Eight-Step Soaring Dragon—perfection.

Had Tang Wulin’s lightness skill reached this level?

No.

And so—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Boom!

With the violent sounds of true energy clashing, fiery and sky-stepping energies collided and cancelled each other out. Tang Wulin and Su Jingxing, one chasing and one fleeing, flashed like lightning through three corridors before arriving in a grand hall.

With a thunderous crash, the flame-shrouded Tang Wulin was suddenly struck. His form became visible as he was sent hurtling backward. He smashed into a metal wall, blood spurting from his mouth.

Scarlet blood splattered over Tang Wulin’s face and drenched his upper body. Another heavy thud sounded as his body slammed into the wall, leaving a deep dent. Sliding down to one knee, he vomited another mouthful of blood onto the floor.

Seize the moment when the enemy is weak.

Su Jingxing gathered thirty years of Sky-Stepping True Energy into his treasured blade and, from a distance, struck at Tang Wulin with a sweeping slash.

“Ah!!!”

Kneeling, Tang Wulin sensed the impending threat and jerked his head up with a furious roar. His voice materialized into tangible sound waves, twisting and spiraling through the air. The resulting shockwave collided fiercely with the silver-black blade energy.

Upon impact—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Deafening explosions reverberated throughout the hall.

Wherever the shockwave passed, all furnishings were shattered and splintered. The silver-black blade energy lasted less than two seconds before being torn apart, dissolving into rampant force that battered the floor and walls. The expanded range only increased the devastation.

By the time Su Jingxing noticed and swung his blade again, he was a step too late. The overwhelming shockwave sent him flying backward. With a series of thunderous crashes, he smashed through three brick walls in succession. His protective true energy dissipated, his cloak, clothes, and mask all torn to rags, and he landed amid the debris.

A secret technique!

Tang Wulin had mastered a terrifying sonic secret art. Its high-frequency waves were deadly—an ordinary person would be torn to pieces on the spot, reduced to chunks of flesh. Even a third-tier martial artist could not withstand it and would be shaken to death. Middle-tier martial artists might barely survive with protective energy if luck was with them.

If not for his body having reached the limits of human endurance, Su Jingxing would have been incapacitated by the shock, if not killed outright. Even so, his blood was surging chaotically, limbs numb, heart pounding as if trying to leap from his throat.

Impressive!

Compared to his cultivation and martial prowess, it was this secret technique that was Tang Wulin’s true trump card.

Su Jingxing took a handful of strength-restoring pills, stuffed them into his mouth, and quickly recovered his stamina and calmed his blood. Rising from the rubble, he wiped his face and found that even his human-skin mask had been half-shredded.

Fortunately, he had disabled all surveillance beforehand. Glancing at the security camera in the corner of the ceiling, Su Jingxing gave a cold snort.

He had no intention of dressing again—bare-chested, clad only in a pair of specially made elastic trousers. These he had specially purchased for transforming into his “Demonic Elephant Form,” with five pairs stored in his spatial pouch. In contrast, he had backups of more than a dozen capes, clothes, and masks.

Given the might of Tang Wulin’s sonic secret art, Su Jingxing simply dispensed with them for now.

He strode into the hall, picking up his treasured blade along the way.

“How…how is this possible?”

Within the hall, Tang Wulin’s face was as white as paper. His energy was visibly depleted, and he stared in disbelief as Su Jingxing approached step by step.

No one knew the power of his trump card better than he did. That last technique had drained all his true energy and more than half his strength. The instant outburst should have left Su Jingxing dead or at least grievously wounded and unable to move.

Yet now, Su Jingxing was still standing. What was his reliance?

His body?

Yes—a powerful body could withstand some of the impact.

Never would Tang Wulin have imagined that, beyond being a fourth-tier master with exceptional cultivation, martial skill, and agility, Su Jingxing was also a martial artist who had forged his body to the utmost limits!