"Hey, don't you think something's a little strange?" Uncle Waste Wood still seemed incredibly composed in the midst of the fight. He muttered this absentmindedly, then unleashed a palm strike, forcing Corpse Blade Asura back.

"Haa... haa..." Corpse Blade Asura's breathing was already ragged. In this brief respite, he didn't even have time to catch his breath, let alone the energy to answer his opponent's question.

These two had been fighting for several tens of minutes. Corpse Blade Asura had basically exhausted all his trump cards, and his stamina was bottoming out, but Uncle Waste Wood still looked as if nothing had happened. This situation was truly terrifying.

"It seems that after that explosion just now..." Uncle Waste Wood continued, as if talking to himself, since his opponent didn't respond, "the commentary disappeared."

"Why..." At this moment, Corpse Blade Asura was deaf to everything else. All he cared about was victory or defeat. "Why! Taking so many A-grade skills from the fighting system, you couldn't have taken no damage..." His eyes were bloodshot. "Just how did you do it!"

"Huh?" Uncle Waste Wood turned his face back, looked at Corpse Blade Asura, and sneered, "Heh heh... there's no reason to tell you that, is there?" He stroked the stubble on his chin. "However... you're certainly a different person today than you were last time."

"Hmph... because this is my true strength!" Corpse Blade Asura replied.

"Oh..." Uncle Waste Wood seemed to understand something. "I see... you didn't take any drugs, did you." He smiled. "Are you trying to prove something?"

"I just want to win, to win with dignity!" Corpse Blade Asura said in a deep voice.

"What a ridiculous argument." Despite these words, Uncle Waste Wood didn't laugh, and his expression was serious. "Do you think... that stopping cheating in this match will restore your dignity? Your level, equipment, and skills were all obtained while you were on drugs. These are irreversible facts. You're like an athlete who relied on stimulants to get to the finals. Do you think that stopping taking drugs before the final battle will put you on an equal footing with everyone else? Hmph... wake up."

Hearing this, Corpse Blade Asura's veins bulged, but he couldn't retort.

Uncle Waste Wood continued, "Actually, you are a very strong player. If you had never used drugs, you would be even stronger. Unfortunately... you are already accustomed to playing the game while on drugs. Suddenly stopping will definitely make your nerves unable to adapt." He shook his head and sighed. "To make an analogy... your own talent is like a high-end sports car with a manual transmission, while the drugs the studio gave you are like a second-hand car with an automatic transmission. Now you've changed cars at the last minute, so... how much of your already rusty driving skills can you bring to bear?"

"Even if what you say makes sense..." Corpse Blade Asura roared, leaping into the sky, his ultimate move already brewing, "I still have to give it my all!"

"Hmph..." Uncle Waste Wood sighed with a smile, "I'm not the kind of opponent you can defeat with willpower..." As his palms flipped, a gust of wind suddenly swept out, forming a fierce wind wall in front of him.

The outcome of these two would be decided after this move.

However, at that decisive moment, an uninvited guest suddenly broke in.

"Hold on, you two!" A roar, two swift figures.

Devouring Ghost Brave and Shiva both descended from mid-air. The former spread his form and met Uncle Waste Wood's palm wind; the latter controlled the stone disc of the Heavenly Dance Hourglass, using the "Moon" effect [Lunar Prism] to block Corpse Blade Asura's killing move.

...

At the same time, elsewhere in the city.

"So... you want to temporarily form an alliance with me?" Matcha Su said to Feng Bujue.

Brother Jue had already released the other party at this point, but he still hadn't left the two-meter radius around Matcha Su, his intimidating intent self-evident. "That's right, are you interested?"

"What if I said I wasn't interested?" Matcha Su asked with a smile.

"I will convince you," Feng Bujue replied.

"Oh? Heh..." Matcha Su looked like she was waiting for a good show. "I'm all ears."

"Xiao Tan, come over here for a moment," Brother Jue suddenly turned his head and said to Xiao Tan.

"Oh, what's the matter?" Xiao Tan took a few steps closer.

"As long as you agree to form an alliance with us, his points will be yours after it's done. You can kill him or do whatever you want," Feng Bujue pointed at Xiao Tan and said without changing his expression.

"Hey!" Xiao Tan was shocked. "Would a normal person say something like that in front of the person being sold out!"

"I'm just that upright," Feng Bujue said shamelessly.

Xiao Tan narrowed his eyes, turned to Matcha Su, and said, "Beauty, let's kill him together. This guy has three points."

"That's not a bad suggestion," Matcha Su replied casually. Although she was putting on a calm front, she was constantly thinking about how to escape.

Feng Bujue was well aware of all this, but he wouldn't call her out on it.

"By the way," Brother Jue continued to say to Matcha Su, "Qiu Fengse from your guild is a good brother of mine. He should have mentioned me, right?"

"Mm... he mentioned you," Matcha Su said, glancing sideways at Brother Jue.

"No wonder you've been looking at him with a look of contempt and fear," Xiao Tan added from the side.

Brother Jue ignored Xiao Tan's retort and continued to say to Matcha Su, "That's fine then. A friend's friend is also a friend. That's a basis for establishing trust."

"Qiu Feng didn't say you were his friend..." Matcha Su looked at Brother Jue.

"How~ could that be~" Feng Bujue drawled the four words, "We hit it off right away..." His ability to talk nonsense was remarkable, "Our relationship is so close that we call each other by nicknames... by the way, his nickname is Pikachu, and my nickname is the mysterious trainer Feng Bujue, who refuses to reveal his name."

"Hey... that eighteen-character, self-contradictory, and not at all mysterious nickname..." Xiao Tan recited, "It sounds like it was made up on the spot... and he doesn't forget to take advantage of people even when giving nicknames..."

"Hmph... everyone is smart, so stop performing stand-up comedy in front of me," Matcha Su put away her smiling face and looked at Feng Bujue. "There must be a special reason why you're seeking my help. This script is full of experts. If there's one unique trait I have that would catch your eye... it would be my expertise in machinery." She paused for a moment. "So... get to the point. What do you want me to do for you? What conditions can you offer? If I'm satisfied, temporarily forming an alliance isn't out of the question."