Chapter 79 Nightmare Returns

Ping—

Qi Sha’s hand retracted in time. His palm, protected by the steel gauntlet, steadily caught the sleeve blade.

“Let’s end this farce here…” Qi Sha’s eyes turned cold, as if announcing… he was getting serious.

Xiao Tan exerted force with his wrist, breaking the sleeve blade himself to escape the opponent’s control. He then flung out his claw blade in a sweeping attack.

Bang—

The sound of a fist hitting flesh.

But it sounded more like a car crashing into a bull.

Xiao Tan had barely raised his hand when Qi Sha’s fist struck his chest.

The fist arrived first, faster than lightning.

A large mouthful of blood spewed from Wang Tanzhi’s mouth, and his body flew backward.

At that moment, everyone watching the match fell silent. They held their breath, watching the screen intently, replaying that terrifying blow.

That punch from Qi Sha wasn’t a skill. He had simply activated his Soul Intent—"Supreme Fist."

The effect of this Soul Intent was simple and direct, allowing him to unleash the “strongest fist he was capable of delivering based on his own abilities.” One could consider it a weakened version of Si Yu’s "Limit Efficiency."

Of course, with a weaker effect came lower consumption. The mental energy consumed by Qi Sha after activating "Supreme Fist" was naturally not as high as Si Yu’s.

A gust of evening wind gently swept across the wasteland…

Xiao Tan fell to the ground, his survival value at 36%. Broken ribs had pierced his internal organs, inflicting a [Bleeding] effect that couldn't be removed with bandages.

That blow had all but shattered his chances of victory.

At the moment of impact, Xiao Tan’s breath and blood seemed to freeze like ice. In his eyes, time seemed to stand still… He didn’t even feel pain, only a pause in the scenery before his eyes, and then, he drifted backward… When he came to his senses, he was already on the ground, and the pain surged over him in waves.

Fear… it was so familiar, he seemed to have experienced it before. It was a long time ago… he had fallen to the ground like this before, helplessly watching a tall figure walk towards him.

A déjà vu, so vague and yet so clear…

…

Ten years ago, City S.

In a small alley, four young thugs, around twenty years old, were beating up a middle school student who was much smaller than them.

In a corner of the dead-end alley, another boy in a middle school uniform was huddled. He was a chubby kid with a face full of freckles. His expression was filled with fear and timidity, and even though he knew the violence before him was because of him, he didn't dare to say a word.

"Tch… he doesn't seem to be reacting anymore," one of the thugs said.

Another added, "He's just a middle school kid, and he dared to meddle in my business?"

The beaten teenager was lying on his side, already too battered to move, but he hadn't completely passed out.

Seeing this, the four stopped kicking and punching, and each pulled out a cigarette and lit it.

"Hey… fatty," one of the thugs turned to the boy in the corner and said, "Do you know him?"

"N-no, I don't know him," the chubby boy replied timidly.

"Ha!" Hearing this, the thug kicked the teenager on the ground again. "Tmd! Are you crazy, playing the hero? Hahaha…"

"Hoo…" The thug next to him exhaled smoke and said, "I've only heard of heroes saving beauties, not heroes saving pigs."

The four burst into laughter.

A few seconds later, one of them spat on the ground and stepped on the teenager's head. "Kid, you've got guts, actually daring to come over…" He pointed at the chubby boy in the corner with his cigarette-holding hand. "That kid is voluntarily being our ATM, what's it tm got to do with you!"

It turned out that the beaten teenager had seen these four thugs extorting someone and tried to stop them.

"Yo! Wait, I just noticed, this kid's shoes are branded," one of them said. "They cost more than a thousand yuan a pair."

"Let me see… are they fake?" another said.

"Hmph… doesn't look like it," the first one said. "Look at this kid, all fair and clean, wearing all branded stuff except for his school uniform…" He paused, then sneered. "Could he be a young master from a wealthy family?"

"Oh, a rich second generation?" another said.

"Heh… Young master, you must think you're very noble, right?" A thug squatted down and grabbed the teenager's hair. "I hate pretentious dogs like you the most." He stood up, took a few steps, and picked up a rusty iron pipe.

"Hey… don't kill him," even his accomplice was a little panicked. After all, the teenager was already close to shock. Hitting him with a hard object again could cause trouble.

"Hehe… don't worry." The thug picked up the iron pipe, walked towards the teenager, and sneered, "Gao Fushuai (tall, rich, handsome), you like to be a hero and show off, right? Today, I'll ruin your face first, so you can't be handsome anymore." As he spoke, he raised the iron pipe…

Five minutes later…

Feng Bujue, wearing the same school uniform as Wang Tanzhi, appeared at the entrance of the alley. He was muttering to himself, "Ah… I got detention again… Xiao Tan should have gone back by himself, right…"

As he muttered, his gaze inadvertently swept into the alley. That one glance made Feng Bujue’s blood run cold.

He saw… his best friend, Wang Tanzhi, holding an iron pipe and beating an adult man’s head.

The adult man was lying on his back on the ground, his right leg twitching and spasming… but he didn't make any sound, perhaps… he was no longer able to make a sound.

In the alley, there were three other adults lying motionless on the ground, each with a face full of blood. Their limbs were bent in strange ways, clearly all broken…

"Hey! Hey!" Feng Bujue shouted as he ran forward.

Xiao Tan heard the voice and looked up at Jue Ge.

That scene, Feng Bujue still hadn’t forgotten… it was an expression he had never seen on Wang Tanzhi’s face before.

That face was calm, dim, as if he had seen through the world and experienced the vicissitudes of life. It was not an expression a teenager should have.

The blood splattered on his cheeks hadn’t dried yet, but he didn’t care… and relentlessly struck the head of a defenseless person with the iron pipe, again and again, without the slightest hint of pity.

Feng Bujue clearly saw that at that moment, Wang Tanzhi’s pupils… revealed a flash of red light…

…

“I didn’t expect to be forced to use this move against you…” Qi Sha walked towards Xiao Tan. “This was a trump card I was saving for the Die (butterfly) battle…” He took a breath. “Commendable. But… I still have to say… I believe I won’t lose to anyone in terms of combat, so… sorry!”

He raised his arm and swung a fist down at Xiao Tan on the ground.

But… that punch also missed.

"Hmm?" Qi Sha was stunned. "Can he still move…" He looked up, searching for his opponent’s location. "Or should I say… hasn’t given up yet?"

“Heh…” A cold laugh, a strange cold laugh. “You claim you won’t lose to anyone in combat?” Xiao Tan’s tone changed, becoming extremely arrogant. “Based on you?”