The rooster, however, clearly paid no mind to the zodiac order, perhaps believing such rankings didn't reflect true strength, or maybe he was just supremely confident in his own abilities.
As the tenth in line, the rooster stepped before Bai Ye, who ranked fifth as the Dragon, without any hesitation.
After a brief exchange, the atmosphere immediately grew tense.
The rooster slowly shifted his stance, his gaze locked onto Bai Ye, seemingly searching for an opening.
And at that very moment…
*Ding!*
The elevator chimed and slowly opened!
The sound acted like a signal, causing both Bai Ye and the rooster to charge at each other simultaneously.
The rooster raised his massive fist, throwing a straight punch towards Bai Ye's face. But just as it was about to connect, Bai Ye suddenly dropped his body, and the punch whizzed past the top of Bai Ye's head.
*Bang!*
In the next instant, Bai Ye, bent low, unleashed a fierce punch that landed squarely in the rooster's abdomen.
"Gack!"
The rooster's eyes widened instantly as he doubled over, spitting out a mouthful of bitter bile mixed with blood.
"It seems you're only strong in appearance," Bai Ye straightened up, following through with an elbow strike to the rooster's face. "When it comes down to it, you're not even as good as someone as small as me!"
Bai Ye was very confident in his body, enhanced by the T-virus. At this stage, there were very few people who could surpass him in pure physical attributes.
On the other side, the rooster, having taken Bai Ye's elbow to the face, staggered backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. After finally regaining his footing, he spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, a tooth even mixed within it.
Bai Ye flashed a smirk, a look of mocking disdain on his face, and spread his hands towards the rooster.
"Kid, you're celebrating too early."
Enraged by Bai Ye's taunt, the rooster immediately pulled out a forearm blade and strapped it onto his right arm. Like a charging bull, he lunged at Bai Ye once more.
The forearm blade sliced through the air, leaving streaks of silver light as it relentlessly attacked Bai Ye.
As Bai Ye dodged, the blade struck the wall, and with a loud *crash*, it tore a chunk out of the wall.
The rooster roared, "Are you just going to keep dodging?"
"No rush," Bai Ye continued to provoke. "I think this much is enough to deal with you."
The rooster, in a fit of rage, suddenly raised his left arm.
"Adrenaline!"
Almost instantaneously, the rooster's muscles began to swell, his physique expanding by another circle. Following this, his pupils turned blood-red from engorgement.
*Bang!*
In the next moment, the rooster stomped his foot and unleashed a left punch towards Bai Ye, his fist moving twice as fast as before.
Bai Ye quickly raised his arm and, with a solid *thump*, took the punch head-on.
The immense force felt as if he had been hit by a truck, and he was propelled backward, only stopping when his back slammed into the wall. The violent impact caused a large section of the wall to crack.
"Adrenaline, this thing is tricky!"
Bai Ye couldn't help but grit his teeth. He knew the Adrenaline ability could significantly boost physical attributes for a short period, but it came with side effects: a period of weakness after the battle, depending on how long the ability was used.
Therefore, Bai Ye immediately understood the rooster's intention: to end this quickly. Only by minimizing the duration of Adrenaline's use could the side effects be reduced.
"But, too bad..." Bai Ye, ignoring the pain in his arm, suddenly chuckled. "Your ability is countered by mine!"
The rooster paid no attention to Bai Ye, continuing his rapid assault. He raised his forearm blade and swung it down towards Bai Ye's head.
Then…
"Spirit Form!"
Bai Ye softly exclaimed, and his body began to blur, becoming semi-transparent.
At the same instant, the blade descended!
The rooster's forearm blade struck Bai Ye's head. A jolt of surprise shot through him. Although he had hit Bai Ye, the rooster felt absolutely no substance. The expected scene of blood splattering and a head rolling did not materialize; the blade had passed straight through Bai Ye's body.
Disbelieving, the rooster raised his fist and swung again, aiming a punch at Bai Ye's face.
However, as his fist connected with Bai Ye's nose, the rooster stumbled. His fist had once again passed directly through Bai Ye's body.
*Bang!*
The rooster's fist slammed into the wall behind, shattering a piece of it!
Bai Ye burst into laughter. In Spirit Form, he could not be hit by any physical attacks. Of course, Bai Ye had to pay a price: he also couldn't launch physical attacks.
But was that a problem?
If physical attacks couldn't be used, then non-physical attacks would suffice!
*Puff!*
Behind the rooster, a glint of silver suddenly flashed. It was the Ling Shuang sword, striking his shoulder.
The Ling Shuang sword's attack was physical, but its control relied on Bai Ye's spiritual attributes. Thus, even in Spirit Form, its use was unaffected!
After being struck, the rooster grunted and, with brute force, grabbed the hilt of the Ling Shuang sword, pulling it out of his shoulder and throwing it aside.
But was Bai Ye's assault limited to this?
Suddenly, the rooster caught a whiff of something burning. He looked down to see two talismans stuck to the ground, now ablaze.
The Five Spirit Curse techniques were also not physical attacks. However, in Spirit Form, Bai Ye couldn't hold the talismans. So, he had secretly placed them on the ground earlier, waiting for this very moment!
"Flame Curse!"
Bai Ye grinned ferociously, and then…
*Rumble, rumble!*
The deafening sound of explosions erupted, followed by a massive fireball that burst forth, engulfing the rooster almost instantly.
Meanwhile, Bai Ye used his Spirit Form to phase through the wall, directly evading the blast's impact.
A moment later…
The surrounding walls had collapsed, and the area was blackened and scorched by the thick smoke.
The rooster lay on the ground, pinned by fallen debris, his body trembling as he coughed up more bloody phlegm.
Bai Ye phased through the wall and approached the rooster. Shedding his Spirit Form, he stepped onto the rubble crushing the rooster.
The intense pain contorted the rooster's features. Bai Ye then reached out and grabbed the Ling Shuang sword!
"It seems you'll be the first one out!"
As Bai Ye spoke, he forcefully plunged the Ling Shuang sword towards the rooster, piercing his throat.
The rooster's eyes widened to their absolute limit, then gradually lost their luster, eventually becoming dull and lifeless.
…