Counterattack

When the words reached Cheng Shun Gong's ears, his entire face began to twitch. That sentence had annoyed him for a long time. Once upon a time, it was etched into his very bones, a constant sting.

I can't win, I can't win, I can't win.

He had been a celebrated genius before, so why did someone more dazzling appear?

There can only be one sun...

He stomped his foot fiercely, his chest burning with a rage that felt ready to explode from his body. He angrily charged at Ryuseki, his pride forcing him to clench his fist with even greater strength. Just like that, he swung his fist at Ryuseki, who was still off-balance.

"You bastard!"

Ryuseki roared and swung his fist back. Their fists collided with a dull thud, like something cracking. Cheng Shun Gong's lips curled into a sly grin.

Ryuseki's eyes changed instantly as pain shot through his knuckles.

"Ooooh..."

The pain made Ryuseki cry out, the agony in his fingers making his wrist convulse. Blood began to seep from the gap between their clenched fists.

His cry startled the birds in the treetops, scattering them in every direction. They flapped their wings, flying away in a frenzy, even causing the branches to sway violently from the shockwave.

Ryuseki quickly withdrew his fist, looking at his red, swollen knuckles. His skin had broken, and his white bones were faintly exposed, the flesh beneath clearly visible. He looked up at Cheng Shun Gong, who was removing his glove. Underneath, his fist was fitted with a metal knuckle studded with blunt spikes.

"Damn it, I was careless. You were wearing something like this. No wonder your fist felt unusually hard just now," Ryuseki said, waving his hand and panting.

But as Ryuseki complained, Cheng Shun Gong lunged forward again, boasting, "You idiot, you should have just taken the beating. Why put yourself through this flesh and blood pain? Your brother is the same. Does he think he can trample on others' dignity just because he has some talent? He's a disgrace."

"I get it now. You're the one who's less skilled but blames others for not giving you dignity. Dignity is earned. You idiot insulted my brother over something so trivial. You scum have no right to talk about him like that."

Ryuseki raised his injured fist and swung it at Cheng Shun Gong, shouting, "Let me teach you how to have dignity."

"A toothless dog barks the loudest because they're terrified from the bottom of their hearts," Cheng Shun Gong retorted provocatively. "Guys like you, with no real strength, are like failed stray dogs. You have nothing but a loud mouth."

"That description fits you perfectly," Ryuseki shot back.

However, in the ensuing confrontation, Cheng Shun Gong kicked Ryuseki in the abdomen, his unprotected soft belly. Ryuseki was sent flying several meters away.

"You're nothing compared to your brother. I never expected you to be this weak," Cheng Shun Gong said, giving him a sarcastic thumbs-down.

No, I'm too weak. I can't do it...

At that moment, a strong, powerful voice echoed in Ryuseki's mind. Ryuseki's head was still a bit fuzzy from the blow, and the voice swirled in his thoughts.

I can't reach the point of killing him. I'm too weak.

The voice continued, and Ryuseki began to clear his head. He could vaguely see Cheng Shun Gong slowly walking towards him.

Since this guy can't kill him, I'll just crush this little ant in front of me first.

Urged on by the voice, Ryuseki shook his head and used his hands to support himself as he stood up.

"You can still stand?" Cheng Shun Gong stared at Ryuseki. "If I beat you half to death, your brother Kouhi definitely won't let this go!"

At this moment, with a slight delay in his reaction, Ryuseki felt a subtle change in his body.

"Trash, die!"

With that, Cheng Shun Gong threw a punch straight at Ryuseki's forehead.

In his current sluggish state, Ryuseki wouldn't have time to react and would surely be knocked down by this punch. However, without his brain giving the command, he reached out and blocked the punch.

Ryuseki grabbed Cheng Shun Gong's fist tightly. Cheng Shun Gong tried to break free but found he couldn't budge. It was as if his fist was stuck in a crevice, completely immobilized. He immediately panicked. Seeing his fist held by Ryuseki, he kicked Ryuseki's abdomen fiercely with his other leg and swung his other fist towards Ryuseki's chest.

But Ryuseki didn't move an inch. He didn't let go or make any unnecessary movements, just held onto Cheng Shun Gong's fist with all his might. Cheng Shun Gong, attacking Ryuseki, could clearly feel that even though he was kicking Ryuseki's abdomen, it felt more like kicking a steel plate.

"What's wrong with you, kid?"

Ryuseki's pupils lost their luster, becoming vacant. He turned his head to look at Cheng Shun Gong, then applied a little more force with the hand holding his fist. Instantly, the feeling of crushing bone shot through his nerves to his brain. A nerve reflex caused Cheng Shun Gong's entire body to stiffen. After a few seconds, the stiffness passed, and his body went limp. Not only did he lose the strength to counterattack, but even standing became difficult. His body slumped and began to fall to the ground.

The pain of crushing bone stimulated his brain, but he no longer had the strength to even cry out.

"What's wrong? Not so arrogant anymore?" Ryuseki asked in a cold tone. "Am I a total loser? But how are you, being trampled by me?" Seeing Cheng Shun Gong too weak to reply, he continued, "I'm doing this only to warn you of one thing: I'm stronger than you. I just didn't want to attack you earlier, so don't get the wrong idea."

With that, Ryuseki extended his other fist and punched the fist he was holding. Instantly, Cheng Shun Gong's arm felt the impact of immense force. His bone began to compress rapidly, then snapped, breaking his forearm and pushing the flesh outward into a bulge.

"How does that feel?" Ryuseki asked coldly, releasing his grip.

The excruciating pain from this attack re-ignited Cheng Shun Gong's nervous system. His body regained some strength, but instead of counterattacking, he let out a scream.

"Aaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!"

The crushing pain was no ordinary pain. The moment he felt it, Cheng Shun Gong knew for sure that his arm was ruined. However, whether it was due to his experience with injuries allowing him to endure the pain or because the pain had overloaded his brain's capacity to process pain signals, he used his uninjured hand to remove the glove from his injured one.

The moment he pulled off the glove, he saw a bloody mess and the shattered metal knuckle. Fragments of the metal knuckle, along with embedded spikes, had pierced his flesh. He used his fingers to pick out the fragments from the bloody mess and then warily watched the young man before him.

Something began to appear on Ryuseki's arm, like mist. This mist seemed to be erupting from his arm.

"Now I'll let you know what happens when you insult someone I cherish."