Chapter 1 The Confrontation

"Pa!"

A muffled sound!

A figure hurtled towards Gu Shen.

They were going at it right away!

Shen Li's ferocity... was extraordinary.

Gu Shen narrowed his eyes, not directly meeting the attack head-on. Instead, he lightly tapped his toes and darted several meters to the side. He knew very well that abilities like [Eater of Iron] were "heavy artillery" even among the strong offensive types.

One glance was enough to see that [Eater of Iron] was completely different from the lightness and sharpness of [Storm Cut]!

The oppressive feeling of this ability was very strong.

But... there was no perfect ability in this world.

Abilities like [Eater of Iron], which focused on heavy offense, often sacrificed other things... like mobility.

After dodging, Gu Shen landed far away from Shen Li.

He asked Chu Ling in his mind, "In the containment mission, killing the out-of-control subject... this guy's ferocity is too much. Is he on the verge of losing control?"

"According to the case file, the Fourth Judge conducted a mental assessment of Shen Li. He has an extremely strong desire to win, but there is no trend of losing control. You can rest assured on that point."

"But even so, he is still extremely dangerous!"

"...If it really doesn't work out, let's end this duel. I can immediately notify the Federal Security Committee to monitor Shen Li's confinement status and stop this match." Chu Ling hesitated and said, "This guy is very likely a madman!"

"No..."

Gu Shen shook his head and said softly, "No need to stop it."

It wasn't arrogance... but confidence!

He was confident that he could win, and he was also very eager for this duel with Shen Li!

As soon as he finished speaking.

A gust of iron wind swept towards Gu Shen. Shen Li took a step forward and once again rushed towards Gu Shen like a cannonball.

An iron fist shot out.

The mental link conversation ended here. Gu Shen gathered all his mental strength. He slightly tilted his head, and the extremely fast iron fist narrowly brushed past his cheek. Along with the fierce wind, the familiar smell of iron rust assaulted him.

They were extremely close.

Gu Shen's heart trembled slightly.

The power of the [Iron Throne] contained within the Blazing Fire eagerly burst forth with a desire to fight... but this desire was instantly suppressed by Gu Shen. After the Blazing Fire went out of control in Yuandan Street, Gu Shen realized the primary and secondary relationship between his abilities and himself.

Whether it was [Blazing Fire] or [Iron Throne]... these were all his abilities.

He must never be controlled by them in reverse.

Gu Shen retreated again, back to the edge of the dojo arena.

This time, Shen Li did not advance to attack again. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and stood quietly in place... He silently recalled the scene just now. After that probing attempt, Gu Shen's speed and footwork were passable, but there was nothing particularly outstanding. ノ亅丶說壹2З

There was just one thing that made him feel a little strange.

At extremely close range... the extraordinary source energy of [Eater of Iron] was actually stirred slightly.

"Is this the rumored 'S-Class'?"

Shen Li raised his head and said expressionlessly, "It seems he has no skill other than running..."

Gu Shen smiled without committing himself.

He slowly raised his hand, and two fingers brushed across his forehead. A wisp of Blazing Fire faintly appeared where his fingers brushed. There seemed to be something beating in the core of the flame, like a swaying, opening vertical pupil.

This scene made all the spectators in the dojo hold their breath.

"Is this Gu Shen's S-Class ability?"

Fatty Luo narrowed his eyes and murmured, "Does this seem like a natural-type ability?"

"In fact, it's not... or rather, it's not just that." Lu Nanjin hugged her wooden sword, her gaze falling on that small flame. "This is an ability that has not appeared in the Extraordinary Spectrum record... According to the assessment team's speculation, this flame contains extremely strong mental power, but at the same time, it can also cause real 'burning' to the real world."

"Could it be... a special type?" Fatty Luo's heart trembled.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the abnormality of the Iron Hand when he first came into contact with Gu Shen.

After returning to his residence last night, he contacted the technicians responsible for repairing the Iron Hand, but after an examination... there was no problem with the Iron Hand, and it didn't need to be repaired.

"No one knows what kind of power is contained in this flame... I'm afraid even Gu Shen himself hasn't figured it out."

Gu Nanfeng spoke, his expression a little complicated. He smiled and said, "But what is certain is that as soon as this S-Class appeared, the eyes of the entire East Continent Federation were attracted. Even the Gravekeeper Master wants to see him in person."

"Wait..."

Fatty Luo was slightly stunned, "Young Master, do you mean... the Gravekeeper Master wants to see him?"

Such important news, the Young Master didn't tell him last night!

Back then, Gu Nanfeng's identity as Young Master was determined by the Gravekeeper Master... Although he didn't know how, perhaps through divination, or perhaps it was the instruction of the God Seat sleeping in Qingqiu.

But no one questioned this decision!

Because the Gravekeeper Master's words carried a unique and heavy weight in Nagano.

In a sense, she was the only bridge to connect with [Qingqiu] from the outside world.

In addition, she was also an important figure maintaining the normal operation of this miraculous place.

Due to the absorption of a large amount of extraordinary source energy, [Qingqiu] would occasionally close for a period of time for digestion, and would not be open. During this time, the Gravekeeper Master would not communicate with anyone except... the person she appointed.

Gu Nanfeng.

This was also the reason why the Old Faction members actually looked forward to the Young Master's return for the past eight years.

Only Gu Nanfeng could contact the Gravekeeper Master. Whether it was the New Faction or the Old Faction, they all wanted to know the Gravekeeper Master's predictions about the future.

The Source Tower had a prophet proficient in astrology, providing many conveniences for Central Continent.

And if the Gu family could get guidance from the Gravekeeper of Qingqiu... the future would be even smoother!

Gu Nanfeng just smiled slightly and did not answer Fatty Luo's question.

And this response was obviously affirmative... Fatty Luo felt even more incredible, staring closely at Gu Shen on the stage. He tried hard to see something different from this boy who also had the surname Gu.

……

……

Blazing Fire vision covered Gu Shen's eyes.

The world before him immediately became different.

Extraordinary source energy flowed disorderly in the air. Everyone's breath seemed to exhale different colors. The whole world was like a vortex of colors pieced together.

Even those "big shots" in the stands were no exception.

And in the Blazing Fire vision, "Shen Li" was transformed into a "monster" covered in layers of iron armor. Gu Shen could clearly see that the other party had melted four layers of iron armor. The extraordinary source energy of [Eater of Iron] was like a humanoid weapon, condensed and attached to Shen Li's body.

Gu Shen slowly opened his fist.

He did not use the Ruler of Truth, nor did he use the Hour Stop Pointer... He only used that small wisp of Blazing Fire in the center of his eyebrows.

The rapid heartbeat gradually returned to calm under the operation of the Awakening of Insects breathing technique.

Blazing Fire flickered.

Gu Shen, closed his eyes.

After closing his eyes, he "saw" a bigger world.

He hooked his palm, signaling Shen Li to attack.

And this action, in the eyes of outsiders... was undoubtedly a provocation, a contempt!

Shen Li's face suddenly turned gloomy. His clothes instantly ironized, and a layer of rust appeared on his entire face and features!

The embryonic form of the [Eater of Iron]'s domain, which had not yet been condensed, instantly unfolded, layered upon layered on his body!

This was actually a ruthless person who had already begun to try to condense a domain... This was not something Shen Li could do according to the information!

Sure enough... the truly powerful transcendents were stronger than the trial level in the Deep Sea Area.

On the silent arena, where a pin drop could be heard, the iron wind surged in an instant. An iron man began to run, breaking through dozens of meters in an instant. The hot iron wind burned like fire.

Gu Shen, who had his eyes closed, saw every process of Shen Li's "ironized running" clearly. His expression was calm.

This time, he did not dodge, but punched out!

He was going to... exchange blows!

With a "boom", a sonic boom!

In the dojo, countless gusts of wind exploded. At the moment of the collision between the two, the floor tiles splashed, and stones flew. The boiling fire wind and iron mist spread, and for a time, everyone's vision was obscured.

A burst of exclamations rang out!

At this moment, one of the "big shots" sitting in the dojo took action.

It was a young man wearing a prison robe, his figure like a mountain,巍巍不動. He simply raised his hand and snapped his fingers lightly.

The dust on the stage was instantly erased.

Gu Nanfeng, who was originally prepared to take action, withdrew Storm Cut, narrowed his eyes, and stared at the transcendent who took action.

He felt a considerable powerful extraordinary aura.

"Fatty... who is this person?"

"This is Bai Chen, the designated candidate for the next Chief Judge of the Prison."

A few beads of sweat oozed from Fatty Luo's forehead. He said in a low voice, "I didn't expect... he would also come to the dojo. Bai Chen is not the kind of person who would join in the fun... Logically speaking, even if he cares about this duel, he shouldn't have come in person."

"A member of the Bai family?" Gu Nanfeng raised his eyebrows.

"Yes... and a very, very strange person." Fatty Luo muttered in a low voice, seemingly thinking of something. He murmured, "Thinking about it this way, it's reasonable for him to come to the dojo..."

Fatty Luo was halfway through his words when his heart suddenly trembled.

A ethereal gaze was cast from the crowd in the distance.

Bai Chen looked over expressionlessly.

Is this guy's extraordinary perception so terrifying?

So Luo Yu quickly squeezed out a polite but awkward smile, and lowered his voice, "Young Master... let's talk about it when we go back."

Gu Nanfeng hugged his wooden sword, thoughtfully nodded, smiled and made eye contact with Bai Chen, but Bai Chen did not intend to respond. He just glanced at Luo Yu as a warning, and then withdrew his gaze.

……

……

The dust spread.

Two figures were also revealed.

The two people on the field were as if frozen. One person was covered in layers of iron armor, like a majestic sculpture cast in steel, maintaining the posture of delivering a punch, without moving at all.

But this punch did not hit the enemy, but deviated slightly, brushing past his cheek.

On the other side, there was Gu Shen.

Gu Shen had his eyes closed, and his cheeks were hot and burning.

At the critical moment, he avoided [Eater of Iron]'s punch, but still endured part of the wind pressure.

However, he also delivered a punch... and this punch landed directly on Shen Li's face!

But unfortunately, this punch did not cause any physical damage to Shen Li.

Because this guy... was a pure iron man.

Hitting him was really like hitting iron!

Without using the Ruler of Truth or the Iron Throne, Gu Shen's current physical skills, coupled with this "mortal body", even if he punched Shen Li for a day and a night, I'm afraid this iron man would not feel any pain.

But... after this punch hit, Shen Li fell into silence.

Because the purpose of this punch was not to make him feel pain.

Shen Li's eyes were still open.

But in his pupils, there was a gradually spreading dim gray.

At the point where that iron-dyed face came into contact with Gu Shen's fist, a small wisp of struggling, burning flame was entwined. This flame did not harm Shen Li's body, but seeped into his orifices little by little, like water droplets, and then seeped into his soul.

"This is..."

"Hypnosis!"

Fatty Luo looked surprised. Of course, he knew the usual methods used by mental-type transcendents in battle... But what shocked him was that it was not easy to accurately control mental power in a rapid fight.

Moreover... it takes time to lead people into a dream!

With Shen Li's speed, it only takes one-tenth of a second for this punch to hit!

A physically weak mental-type transcendent would lose his combat power after taking a punch from [Eater of Iron]...

To use Blazing Fire hypnosis at such close range... was a combat decision that could be described as crazy!

"If I remember correctly..." Gu Nanfeng suddenly spoke, and he asked Lu Nanjin, "Gu Shen's mental power just passed the third level of the Deep Sea Trial, right?"

Nanjin's expression was complicated, and she nodded.

"What, Gu Shen just passed the third level of the Deep Sea?"

Fatty Luo murmured, "Shen Li is already at the fifth level of the Deep Sea... How... how dare he?"

Mental invasion is an extremely risky behavior.

Once the opponent's mental power is stronger than one's own... then it is easy to suffer a soul backlash.

This is different from physical injuries. Once mental power is injured, it is difficult to repair.

Therefore, mental-type transcendents' [Hypnosis] is generally only used when high-level people face low-level people...

"Hypnosis has not yet succeeded... Shen Li is resisting."

Lu Nanjin narrowed her eyes and slowly opened her mouth.

That small flame only invaded the surface of the iron man's skin and was squeezed out with difficulty.

In the material dimension, the back-and-forth tug-of-war between the two people's mental power was manifested... Obviously, Gu Shen wanted to forcibly hypnotize Shen Li, while Shen Li was trying his best to resist. The two fell into a contest of strength!

"Shen Li wants to kill Gu Shen with one punch... and Gu Shen wants to directly hypnotize Shen Li..."

Luo Yu murmured, "Are these two people crazy?"

Both sides had simple and crude fighting styles, without any hesitation.

If you get hit by [Eater of Iron], you should lose half your life.

Similarly, once Shen Li is pulled into a dream by Gu Shen's S-Class Blazing Fire, he doesn't need to fight this battle anymore. His mental power is crushed, and he directly becomes a plaything in the dream. That feeling is probably more miserable than being punched.

A deathly silence.

Sweat gradually appeared on Gu Shen's forehead.

He closed his eyes, and all his mental power was concentrated on one point.

The Blazing Fire flame had already penetrated 90% of Shen Li's skin... Just as he was about to succeed, a powerful aura suddenly surged from the other party's body.

Layers of iron wind began to rotate around the two of them.

The originally stagnant [Eater of Iron]... actually started to operate again, and the invisible iron wind formed a diffused, shallow barrier, once again blocking the gaze of the outside world.

"This familiar aura... Could it be a domain?"

"...Is there such a thing?"

Fatty Luo's expression sank, and he murmured, "Shen Li has broken through at the last minute!"