It was as if a bomb had detonated inside Shi Tian's mind. His thoughts went completely blank as disbelief washed over him.
What did he mean by... just give up?
It was clear from the way Liyu spoke that he wasn't fearful of him at all. He wasn't even scared. If anything, he seemed bored.
As if Shi Tian was nothing more than a troublesome inconvenience. As if he was superior to him and fighting him was nothing but a hassle.
When Shi Tian's thoughts reached this point, his rage exploded. He was the one who looked down upon others.
He was the one who had always stood above everyone else. He was the only being he had ever encountered who possessed true strength.
Everyone else...
Everyone else he had seen so far was nothing but a pathetic weakling. And now...
The same way he had looked at those disgusting, pathetic weaklings... He was being looked at by this Liyu.
As if he were the weakling.
Shi Tian's anger bubbled over. The raging Wind Qi around him seemed to enter the second stage of its violent surge as it ravaged the very surroundings.
The violent winds swept through the battlefield, causing anyone who witnessed it to feel chills course down their spine.
Shi Tian slowly stood up. His gaze locked onto Liyu.
"if you dare repeat what you just said one more time..." Shi Tian's voice was low and threatening. His eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Yet Liyu's gaze remained exactly the same. One eye closed. The other half-lidded.
He continued looking at Shi Tian with that same sleepy gaze. After a while, however, he finally spoke.
His tone sounded like someone who viewed everything happening before him as nothing more than a troublesome hassle. Well...
Considering who was in control of the situation, that couldn't have been more accurate.
Liyu looked at Shi Tian and the raging Wind Qi surrounding him before letting out a small sigh. "Look, we can do this the easy way. Just give up."
His voice remained completely casual. "If you don't, I'll just have to beat you until you give up or pass out."
Liyu shrugged slightly. "So make your choice."
The sheer confidence with which Liyu declared that he was going to beat the shit out of him made Shi Tian feel something he didn't usually feel. Anger.
Deep and unbridled rage seeped forth from within him. He already held a deep resentment toward Liyu.
He wanted Liyu to experience despair unlike anything he had ever felt before eventually killing him. And now...
That same Liyu had pushed his anger completely over the edge. He was going to shred him to pieces.
He was going to make him cry out in pain. A loud, furious roar escaped Shi Tian's mouth as he launched forward at his top speed.
His figure blurred. In the blink of an eye, he reached Liyu.
Then...
An endless barrage of attacks descended. His hands were wrapped and coated to the brim with Wind Qi as Shi Tian unleashed his attacks with terrifying force.
Each strike carried enough power to tear through anything in its path. The attacks surged forward and struck Liyu.
Yet Liyu's gaze didn't change. Not even slightly.
He simply exhaled. His gaze settled like the surface of a completely calm lake.
Since Shi Tian wanted to throw hands...
Then throwing hands it would be. And when it came to hand-to-hand combat, Lazy Rayden doubted he had a match.
With skills and a fighting style that surpassed most hand-to-hand combat veterans, Liyu met Shi Tian's attacks head-on. He didn't want to waste his Qi unnecessarily, so he decided to use only his primary fighting style.
After all, against someone like Shi Tian...
There was no need to use anything higher level. With that thought, Lazy Rayden raised his seriousness by another two percent or so.
His senses heightened. His entire body became alert. He was ready to deal with Shi Tian.
Shi Tian's hand thrust forward at insane speed. Wind surged around his arm, rapidly forming a rotating blade that resembled a sword.
It shot straight toward Liyu's face. At that moment...
Liyu's hand moved. Then he grabbed Shi Tian's attack.
Shi Tian's expression changed. He felt a force suddenly interrupt his attack and completely disrupt its momentum.
It happened so suddenly that he couldn't react fast enough. Before he could twist his wrist free...
Liyu had already caught it.
Liyu moved his hand sideways. Although the movement looked casual, most of his strength had been concentrated into that single hand at that moment.
He was putting far more power into the grip than his casual appearance suggested.
BOOM!
Shi Tian was forcefully slammed into the ground. Before he could recover...
BANG!
Another impact rang out. Then another.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Several more explosions rang across the battlefield as Liyu repeatedly slammed Shi Tian into the ground. The earth shook beneath them.
Shi Tian finally managed to pull himself away. His figure shot backward as he immediately pulled his hand away.
Wind Qi churned violently around him. Then, using his mutated Qi, he created countless razor-sharp wind threads.
The threads shot forward and wrapped firmly around Liyu's body. Once they had completely restrained him...
Shi Tian pulled. The threads tightened.
From his experience, they should have sliced directly through Liyu's body. At the very least, they should have left several bloody gashes across him.
But...
That wasn't what happened.
Liyu simply yawned. Then he reached out and grabbed one of the threads.
He pulled.
Snap!
The thread tore apart.
Shi Tian's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. What the hell?
How did he manage to do that?
Before he could react, Liyu was already right in front of him. Another palm strike shot forward.
Shi Tian quickly raised his guard and blocked it. But even after blocking the attack...
BOOM!
The sheer force behind it still pushed him backward. His feet scraped across the ground as he was forced back several steps.
His eyes widened once again. How...
How did this Liyu possess so much power? It was completely different from before.
Shi Tian immediately turned his gaze toward Liyu. Liyu took one step forward.
Then another. And then...
He vanished.
The Wind Veil surrounding Shi Tian shattered. His expression changed as he instinctively looked downward.
Liyu was already there. And this time...
A fist was flying toward him.
BOOM!
The fist smashed directly into Shi Tian's abdomen. The force behind it was even greater than the palm strikes Liyu had used before.
Shi Tian's body folded in half. His eyes widened.
Then his body was sent flying through the air. Before he could regain control of his body or even assemble his scattered thoughts...
Liyu was already above him.
He dropped downward like a meteor. His leg swirled as Qi converged around it.
Then...
BOOM!
His leg slammed directly into Shi Tian's back. The impact was monstrous.
Shi Tian's body was driven into the ground with such terrifying force that he created a deep crater. Dust and debris exploded outward.
Liyu slowly moved away. He could only hope that Shi Tian wouldn't get back up anymore.
All this unnecessary fighting was making him increasingly sleepy. Liyu yawned.
Then he sighed.
"Why won't you just stay down?"
He looked toward the crater. "Do you like getting hit or something?"
Liyu asked.
The gaze on Shi Tian's face was far, far more terrifying than before. If his earlier gaze was enough to make a ghost return to its grave in shock...
Then this one would probably make every ghost in an entire cemetery relocate.
Shi Tian slowly raised his head. Venom filled his eyes.
His teeth were clenched tightly as he growled. "I will..."
He was tired of saying the same thing. So this time, he decided to let his actions prove his point.
He attacked.
Liyu sighed. Then he moved forward as well.
Among the two of them, Shi Tian was clearly the stronger one. He was at the Third Stage of the Foundation Realm.
Liyu, meanwhile, had only boosted himself to the Second Stage of Qi Gathering. The gap between their realms was enormous.
But that wasn't the only difference. Among the two of them, only one possessed mutated Qi.
And that person was Shi Tian as well. He was the one who held the advantage.
He was the one who was supposed to be suppressing Liyu. And yet...
While...
Why was it the other way around?
BAM!
BAM!
BAM!
Several strikes landed directly on Shi Tian. He couldn't even execute the attacks he wanted to use.
A palm strike smashed into his chest. He groaned in pain before being blasted backward.
But he came right back. Only to be beaten down once more.
And then again. And again. And again.
"This can't be real..." Shi Tian muttered in anger.
He charged forward once more. And once more...
He was beaten down.
It was almost as if Liyu was bullying him.
At the seats reserved for the leaders, Elder Ting's gaze never left the battlefield. His eyes were locked onto Liyu.
It was as if he were looking at a priceless piece of art that existed beyond anything he had ever seen before. He was mesmerized.
Stunned. And, once again...
Terrified by what Liyu was accomplishing.
Just who the hell was that Liyu kid?