"You are no match for me. Within ten moves, you will surely die," Tian Shan's eyes flashed with a fierce glint.
He knew Li Chonglou would have countermeasures, and this time he had to come himself instead of sending someone else.
He hadn't expected, however, to find such a fierce tiger guarding the entrance.
Although Xu Lie's cultivation, strength, and experience were inferior to his, if he fought to the death, he would still sustain injuries, making it not worth it.
"I am rather curious to know what true death looks like," Xu Lie's usually serious face broke into a fearless smile.
He knew he wouldn't survive today.
However, even in death, he intended to drag Tian Shan down with him.
Xu Lie was a brute, not well-read.
He had started practicing boxing in his youth solely to protect himself and his sister from bullying.
Back then, he was bruised and battered daily, seen by everyone as a delinquent, a punk.
Only his sister, Xu Qianqian, saw him as her pillar of strength.
He was willing, never caring about the accusations and mockery of others.
When his parents died in a car accident at seventeen, it was just him and Xu Qianqian, relying on each other. Xu Qianqian was his life!
He finally fought in underground boxing rings, where all he saw was red, black, and white.
But since meeting Li Chonglou, his world had become colorful; he no longer had to fight to the death every day on the stage.
He had more time to savor life.
If not for Li Chonglou, he would have remained a nobody, perhaps already dead on the stage.
This person before him, since he was here to find Li Chonglou, the only way forward was to step over his corpse!
"You don't know your place," Tian Shan said, his eyes narrowed, flashing with suppressed rage.
He stomped his foot on the ground.
*Bang!*
The hard, carved floor tiles shattered under his kick.
Leveraging this terrifying power, Tian Shan transformed into a streak of yellow light, his hand a blade thrusting directly at Xu Lie's heart.
Xu Lie moved almost simultaneously, his blood-splattered hand swinging out, droplets of blood like bullets striking Tian Shan.
Though they lacked significant force, they caused him a moment's hesitation.
A moment's hesitation was all it took!
Xu Lie lunged forward, his palms striking like thunder, with whistling sounds of air being broken as they attacked Tian Shan.
To the naked eye, his movements were so fast they created afterimages, relentless.
*Pat pat pat!*
Hand-blade met palm, emitting muffled thunderous explosions. Ten moves passed in an instant.
Xu Lie laughed heartily, "A cowardly rat hiding its face, I thought you were truly skilled!"
Tian Shan's expression was grim, his face beneath the human-skin mask turning a deep purple.
He had boasted he would kill Xu Lie in ten moves, yet a momentary distraction from those drops of blood had caused him to break his word and be mocked.
A strong sense of pride surged within him, his killing intent blazing in his eyes.
Taking advantage of Xu Lie's fierce momentum slightly waning, his hand-blade turned to a finger, ghost-like, it bypassed a palm strike, his body rotating 180 degrees along its central axis.
Like an evil wind, it swept directly behind Xu Lie.
By the time Xu Lie reacted and tried to parry, it was too late.
That finger struck precisely on Xu Lie's spine, at the Mingmen point.
*Crack!*
A bone-cracking sound that sent chills down one's spine echoed.
Martial artists hone their tendons and bones, making them far stronger than ordinary people. Breaking a normal person's bone was difficult; even a steel blade would dull or chip from repeated impact.
Let alone a master like Xu Lie, who was far superior to ordinary individuals.
Yet, even so, his spine emitted a cracking sound under Tian Shan's single finger.
Tian Shan was also not unscathed, grunting and retreating three to four steps.
His fingers were red and trembling.
Xu Lie spat out a mouthful of blood, staggering. He turned and glared at Tian Shan, his eyes bloodshot.
"It didn't break, your tendons and bones are remarkably strong, but still useless," Tian Shan retracted his finger, his facial muscles twitching. He then moved with his "Mysterious Footwork," instantly closing the distance to Xu Lie.
His footwork resembled him stomping on a water vat.
"Bagua Traveling Body Palm!" Xu Lie's pupils contracted sharply as he recognized the boxing technique Tian Shan was using.
This was a form of ancient martial arts. In modern society, these ancient arts had been tarnished by charlatans.
The common perception was that ancient martial arts were trash, far inferior to modern combat.
But Xu Lie, as a professional who fought in underground matches, knew this was not true.
Setting aside the quality of the martial arts, how could a charlatan practicing ancient martial arts for profit compare to a boxer who genuinely fought for the ring?
Their training intensity and experience were not on the same level; it was natural for them to be inferior.
Ancient martial arts were not magical; they were simply methods for developing a person's innate reflexes.
However, some ancient martial arts possessed special effects.
For example, the Bagua Traveling Body Palm, when cultivated long-term, made the practitioner as elusive as a ghost, unpredictable, with extremely insidious movements.
It was specifically designed to counter his powerful, direct boxing style.
In the blink of an eye, Xu Lie instinctively raised his guard, intending to block the palm-blade strike coming from Tian Shan.
However, at the last moment, just before contact, Tian Shan abruptly changed his move, sliding off Xu Lie's arm.
His palm-blade sliced directly towards Xu Lie's neck.
Before the palm arrived, the wind preceded it. Xu Lie felt a chill on his neck, arched his body backward, and dodged with a "tiger-shaped bend."
He retreated several steps before stopping.
Unfortunately, Tian Shan had no intention of letting him go. Before Xu Lie could stabilize himself, he followed up with a palm strike to his chest.
*Pfft!*
Xu Lie was sent flying back over three meters, spitting out a large mouthful of blood, his face ashen.
"Since you are stubborn, I will send you to the underworld. You are Li Chonglou's friend anyway, killing one more won't make a difference!" Tian Shan's gaze was sinister; he gave Xu Lie no room to recover.
He covered the three-meter distance in two steps and, before Xu Lie hit the ground, circled behind him.
Another palm strike was aimed at his back.
But at this moment, Xu Lie's tiger-like eyes lit up.
Twisting his exceptionally strong waist, he spun in mid-air, forcibly changing his position from his back facing Tian Shan to facing him directly.
He completely ignored the palm strike aimed at his chest.
His palm clenched into a fist, his middle finger protruding. The fist, which he rarely used, was brought forth at this critical moment.
*Crack! Bang!*
Just as Tian Shan's palm struck his chest, his momentum spent and unable to retract his arm for defense, Xu Lie's fist slammed into Tian Shan's temple.
He once again spat blood and was sent flying backward, crashing heavily against the villa's main door.
*Clang!*
The solid, heavy iron door was dented by his impact. Xu Lie slid down slowly, the light in his tiger-like eyes gradually dimming.
Looking at Tian Shan, who was clutching his eye and roaring in pain, Xu Lie's face showed no fear, but rather a smile of contentment.
With blood bubbling from his mouth, his voice raspy like a broken bellows, he pointed with his finger, saying, "You... are just like that..."
Tian Shan's palm had directly ruptured half of his lung and heart.
There was no saving him.
But he had no regrets, because his punch had destroyed Tian Shan's left eyeball.
When he fought in underground matches, he was that kind of desperate fighter.
After following Li Chonglou for two months, he thought he would no longer have to fight with his life on the line.
However, facing this certain death, his old habits resurfaced.
Trading his life for this old villain's eyeball was not a loss!
Xu Lie sat on the ground, the focus in his eyes gradually blurring. The hand he had raised fell powerlessly.
Before his consciousness faded, he heard a heart-wrenching roar.
"Brother Xu!"
It was Li Chonglou, his long-awaited voice. He had finally arrived.
His mission was perfectly completed.