Chapter 228 Muffled Groan

"Ugh..."

Accompanied by a muffled groan, the V-shaped smiling mask shattered with a cracking sound.

The expression of Xiao hidden beneath the mask was impossible to discern, but the muffled groan made it clear... Song Ci's whip kick had indeed caught him off guard.

Unfortunately, no blood splattered.

A fierce whip kick!

Suspended in mid-air, Song Ci frowned. This was the first time he had felt such strange and immense resistance... The mask itself seemed to contain a powerful "repulsion force," creating a "vacuum zone" between it and his calf.

Although there was no physical contact.

The impact still transmitted!

He heard the sound of the mask cracking, so he chose to continue the attack... Twisting his waist, he launched another switch-leg knee strike!

This time, his knee was met by a palm.

Mental-type transcendents... often have a significant weakness: close-quarters combat. If caught in a surprise attack, mental-types often find themselves in grave danger due to their slow reaction speed.

But Xiao was an exception.

His file indicated that Xiao was extremely skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Chen Mo, a "student" taught through mental link, was already a top-tier fighter. Xiao's own close-combat abilities were undoubtedly first-class.

Xiao spread his arms.

Hundreds of fist shadows erupted above the tower.

The sound of sonic booms exploded in succession as the two attacked simultaneously. Fist shadows erupted, each punch seemingly shattering the air. Finally, Song Ci was struck in the jaw by an uppercut and sent flying, while Xiao was kicked in the abdomen and fell awkwardly from the tower.

Both adjusted their posture in the air.

Song Ci landed next to Gu Zhi. He rubbed his chin, spat out a mouthful of blood, and stared intently into the distance, impassively reminding him, "Senior, distraction during combat can be fatal... You should know this better than I do."

Gu Zhi's expression was complex and only now did he suddenly wake up.

The young man was right.

Just now... if it hadn't been for Song Ci's timely arrival, and Xiao had launched a surprise attack instead, he would have been the one suffering.

Regardless of the truth of what happened back then, now was not the time to dwell on it or investigate!

"Haa..."

Gu Zhi took a deep breath, his eyes sharpening.

The figure that fell from the distant tower landed gracefully instead of awkwardly.

Xiao slowly stood up. A crack had appeared in his V-shaped mask. He calmly reached out and slowly smoothed it over. The crack was pulled and sealed little by little, completely healing in less than three seconds.

It was as if this man had cemented the mask to his face.

As if... this was his real face.

...

...

"Those fists are really heavy..."

Xiao rubbed his arm, his body popping and crackling like fried beans. He looked at Song Ci and couldn't help but smile in amazement, "How did you do it in just a few short years?"

Ten years ago, during the Lion Alley massacre, Song Ci was just an unskilled young man from the old district.

But now... he was the most capable fighter in the Chengxin Society's Beitang, without exception.

Few could truly understand how difficult it was to achieve all this.

But Xiao... happened to be one of the few "understanders" because he had devoted a great deal of effort to teaching a disciple like Chen Mo, who was himself a gifted genius with both talent and good bones.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he was one in ten thousand.

But even so... sacrificing his own health to gain physical skills only resulted in a draw with Song Ci on the riverbank.

Why?

What good fortune and opportunities did this young man have?

Song Ci remained expressionless, unwilling to give the other party a chance to talk nonsense. He charged forward again.

This time, he was no longer fighting alone.

Gu Zhi clasped his hands together—

In the next moment, a giant ice hand instantly rose from the ground beneath the tower, its five fingers slamming down, engulfing Xiao.

Within the cage of the ice hand, countless icy blades slashed.

As darkness enveloped him, the black-robed man extended two fingers, pinching off the wisp of scarlet flame between his eyebrows. It transformed into a glowing talisman, and the thousands of ice shards exploded!

Gu Zhi's expression changed slightly, and a hint of blood surged into his throat. As he swallowed his own blood, he quickly retreated. The moment he came into contact with Xiao, a horrifying scene unfolded before him—

The scarlet flame burned everything, attempting to ignite his spirit along with the frost and snow!

Song Ci retreated even faster than he advanced.

The ice and snow exploded.

The two exchanged another punch, this time ending with Xiao standing firmly while Song Ci was blasted backward.

In the next instant.

Song Ci lunged out again.

He was like a tireless and unfeeling machine, his iron fists without any fancy elemental enhancements. He stomped out two long grooves in the ground before launching himself forward once more.

Xiao's expression beneath the mask was extremely gloomy.

He had been observing Song Ci for a long time. Even now, he couldn't figure out... what ability this guy had awakened. The most information he had was from the battle on the riverbank.

Song Ci had first effortlessly defeated Chen San's four adopted sons.

Then he had fought Chen Mo's "Time Slow" to a standstill.

From beginning to end... there was no manifestation of any ability. He seemed to be a fighting genius with intuition, his fists incredibly hard, his speed incredibly fast, always using the same set of moves against everyone: close-quarters punching.

This set of moves... was very monotonous.

But it was also very effective.

Because strength and speed determined the outcome of a battle.

If you can't stop it, you lose!

"Bang!"

The two collided again, and this time the difference in their advantages was even more obvious!

Xiao was faster!

He took the lead, slamming both fists into Song Ci's chest, then instead of retreating, he stepped forward, pressed his hand against Song Ci's face, and slammed it hard against the tower. The centuries-old tower groaned!

Half of Song Ci's body was embedded in the stone wall.

But Xiao didn't show any intention of stopping. He held Song Ci down, helped him pull his head out of the rubble, then pushed off the ground and soared dozens of meters up the stone wall, directly to the top of the tower. Once again, he exerted force with his palm, slamming Song Ci's head into the old bell.

"Oooong—"

A heart-wrenching impact sound.

The bell was knocked over, like an overturned bowl.

Then, a palm print bulged out on the surface of the ancient bell!

Xiao expressionlessly watched as palm prints bulged out one after another. Song Ci, trapped inside the old bell, frantically tried to break free, but the entire bell was burning with a scarlet red light. No matter how hard he hit it, only the surface was deformed... The scarlet flames flowed over the bell's surface, and the rolling, scorching chimes reverberated through several silent blocks.

Finally, the sound of the bell gradually dissipated.

The crow trapped inside the bell also stopped its noisy struggles.

Xiao finally had some time to relax. He stood at the highest point of the tower, gazing into the distance, admiring his masterpiece.

This was a dream of banishing the mundane world.

Every building and passerby within sight was trapped in this dream.

They were like walking corpses, like decaying wood on the verge of death, blank and numb...

Not just the small part of the scene that could be seen... in the unseen distance, the second movement of the Heroic Symphony echoed, the sorrowful and solemn sound sweeping like a hurricane, a funeral-like performance.

The lively bars along the riverbank slowly fell silent.

The brightly lit buildings in Nanwan gradually lost their sound.

The barking of dogs and crowing of roosters in the old district gradually returned to tranquility.

The second movement of this symphony was also called the Funeral March...

Funerals meant the end of reality.

And the beginning of a dream.

If the mortals of this world had never tasted the flavor of the soul's long sleep.

Then today, he would give them a... true beautiful dream.

Xiao said with a gentle smile.

"Good night, Dadu..."

...

...

Good night, asking for next month's votes.

More updates tomorrow.