Chapter 94: The Hostage

Understanding the principle, Su Li let out a long laugh. His body blurred, and he rushed forward like a phantom. Chen Xiangyu, realizing the danger, roared in frustration, flailing his lizard claws wildly, but he couldn’t catch Su Li’s figure.

Every attack from the lizard claws missed.

Su Li activated “Spider Walk” again. While in the movement state, afterimages of legs appeared around his body—an optical illusion created by the extremely high speed. This time, his punch landed squarely on Chen Xiangyu’s face.

Chen Xiangyu groaned. His skin and nose were unharmed, but the immense force sent him tumbling backward.

In a pure contest of strength, even as a Level 5 Spiritual Source Wielder, he was no match for Su Li, who had undergone four muscle enhancements.

Su Li’s maximum strength reached 1,700 jin. To severely wound Chen Xiangyu, Su Li put all his force into every punch.

Xu Haishui, who was holding Xu Xuehui and retreated to the edge of the roof, was trembling slightly, terrified to see Su Li punch Chen Xiangyu and send him flying.

He wasn’t the only one; the tattooed man was equally shaken.

In their minds, Chen Xiangyu’s power was monstrously high. They believed their combined strength was insufficient to fight him, because once a Spiritual Source Wielder reached Level 5, there was a qualitative leap in power that a Level 4 Wielder simply couldn’t compare to. They now suspected Su Li was also a Level 5 Spiritual Source Wielder.

The tattooed man had to guard against Su Li’s sudden attack while also seeing Chen Xiangyu knocked down. Distraught, he could only use about 70% of his original strength, while Gong Xiao fought with renewed vigor. With a shout, the “Entangling Vine” on her left hand shot out, binding the tattooed man’s bayonet. She snatched it back, and the baseball bat in her right hand swung out toward his head.

The tattooed man’s eyes widened. He suddenly let go of the entangled bayonet, rushed forward in a body tackle, and clenched both hands into fists. The situation was dire, and he didn’t care about holding back, aiming both punches with full force at Gong Xiao’s soft abdomen.

If the blows landed, they would certainly knock Gong Xiao away, potentially wounding her severely.

Gong Xiao swung her baseball bat, but the tattooed man’s sudden close-quarters move caused her bat to miss. Just as the tattooed man’s fists were about to strike her vital abdomen, Gong Xiao simultaneously released the baseball bat, clenched her right hand into a fist, and instantly surrounded it with several ghostly afterimages.

Before the tattooed man could understand what was happening, he felt searing pain on his left and right cheeks, nose, and eyes. Blood gushed from his nose, tears shot from his eyes, and he couldn’t help but scream. His head rang loudly, and his body was sent flying backward.

“Mantis Fist,” six punches in one strike. Gong Xiao had finally seized her chance to hit the tattooed man.

In terms of the close-combat speed of “Mantis Fist,” not just the tattooed man, but even Su Li was inferior to her.

The tattooed man took six consecutive punches to the face. His face was completely mangled, and he was sent crashing backward, screaming. Gong Xiao took a quick step, extended the “Entangling Vine” from her left hand to bind his arms, and immediately launched “Mantis Fist” again, giving him no chance to counterattack.

This time, the “Mantis Fist” struck the tattooed man’s abdomen. The immense force caused his body to arch like a cooked shrimp, and blood spurted from his mouth.

The current Gong Xiao possessed thousand-jin strength. Six punches landing on the soft abdomen had damaged the tattooed man’s internal organs, completely shattering his ability to resist.

Gong Xiao grabbed one of the tattooed man’s legs. The muscles in her previously soft, delicate arm visibly swelled.

In her normal state, she looked like a gentle, beautiful woman. When her power erupted, her muscles swelled, instantly transforming her into a beautiful woman of steel. She grabbed the tattooed man’s leg, yanked him into the air, and slammed him hard onto the ground.

With a sickening “thud,” the tattooed man’s head struck the concrete roof. Blood splattered everywhere, staining the ground red.

A Spiritual Source flew over. Gong Xiao let out a long breath, finally releasing the tattooed man.

With the tattooed man dead, only Chen Xiangyu and Xu Haishui remained.

Chen Xiangyu scrambled up from the ground. Although he attacked Su Li wildly, Su Li continuously used “Spider Walk” to evade his attacks, circling to his side or rear for counterattacks.

Su Li relentlessly hammered Chen Xiangyu’s face with punches. Each punch carried over 1,500 jin of force. Although Chen Xiangyu’s skin was undamaged, blood flowed from his nose, mouth, and ears. His face was slightly distorted. The surface was unblemished, but his head had been internally damaged.

Su Li was not having an easy time either. Not only was his stamina severely depleted, but more importantly, his right hand was aching from punching Chen Xiangyu’s face. The bones in his fingers, palm, and forearm were strained by the terrifying force he unleashed. He felt increasing pain in his right arm.

He had undergone four muscle enhancements and gained unimaginable strength, yet the rest of his body struggled to cope with the power output. The terrifying 1,700 jin of force not only hurt the enemy but also injured him. At this moment, he could only endure the pain and grit his teeth to continue.

Chen Xiangyu knew he was in trouble. Seeing the tattooed man suddenly killed by Gong Xiao, he spun around and charged toward Xu Haishui.

He had finally decided to flee.

Although Su Li could suppress him, killing him was still incredibly difficult. If Chen Xiangyu wanted to escape, it would be hard for Su Li to stop him.

Su Li chased after the fleeing Chen Xiangyu, about to strike again, when Xu Haishui, who was holding Xu Xuehui, suddenly tightened his grip on her neck and shrieked, “Don’t move, or I’ll kill her!”

Su Li, chasing Chen Xiangyu, and Gong Xiao, who was about to rush over, immediately stopped. They were afraid Xu Haishui, desperate now, would actually kill Xu Xuehui.

“Let her go, and I’ll let you leave,” Su Li remained calm, slowly calculating the distance between them and estimating the chance of successfully striking Xu Haishui with a sudden “Spider Walk” lunge.

Chen Xiangyu reached Xu Haishui’s side. Seeing that he had successfully frightened Su Li and Gong Xiao, he realized Xu Xuehui’s value as a hostage. He laughed heartily, snatched Xu Xuehui from Xu Haishui, pushed her next to him, turned to face Su Li and Gong Xiao again, and sneered, “If you want her to live, you’ll have to listen obediently.”

“What do you want?” Su Li asked, staring at Chen Xiangyu.

With a bargaining chip in hand, Chen Xiangyu was no longer in a hurry to flee. He opened his mouth and spat out blood, along with a tooth Su Li’s punch had knocked loose.

“That scumbag Ni Jianrong deserves to die a thousand times! He lied to us, saying you were only Level 3! Bah! I never thought a Level 5 Spiritual Source Wielder was hiding in this little place.”

He had mistaken Su Li for a Level 5 Spiritual Source Wielder like himself.

(End of Chapter)