Slumber stood there listlessly, seemingly catching the cold wind with a casual and carefree posture, though he looked as if he had been waiting for a long time. Gradually, the fading light of the setting sun shone from behind Slumber, making it difficult to capture the expression on his face.
Ryuseki looked at Slumber up and down with an icy gaze, and Slumber raised his head to look at the others, asking, "What? You even called for backup?"
"Not at all. I just wanted them to witness the moment I defeat you." As he spoke, a confident smile bloomed on the corners of Ryuseki's mouth.
Upon hearing him say that, Slumber merely let out a cold laugh and asked, "Alright, I'm wondering just what I did to offend you that makes you treat me this way. You clearly know you're no match for me, yet you still challenge me."
Ryuseki said with some anger, "Shut up. I just hate the way you look right now. There's no need for further talk; I don't want to see you ever again. Rest assured, I'll give you a swift end."
With that, currents of air began to generate on Ryuseki's right arm. Immediately afterward, these air currents began to spin around his right arm. "There won't be a repeat of last time's outcome. I won't lose to you again."
Then, that right arm wrapped in swirling air fiercely lashed out toward Slumber. His fist rapidly closed in on Slumber, but Slumber simply watched the attacking Ryuseki unhurriedly. Anticipating the attack's trajectory as if in advance, he easily dodged Ryuseki's strike, took advantage of the momentum to grab Ryuseki's left arm, and gave it a gentle tug that threw him off balance and sent him crashing toward the ground.
Yet Ryuseki's reaction was not slow either. Instead of falling from the loss of balance, he used his attacking right hand to brace against the ground, then fiercely kicked toward Slumber with both feet. The moment his feet lashed out, they were enveloped by the generated air currents, tracing an almost perfect arc like an inverted compass.
"Hmph~," Slumber frowned, then ducked backward.
"What's wrong? Why aren't you using that 'Soul Annihilation'?" Ryuseki asked in a taunting tone.
"You want to try that move? I think you'd better not!" Slumber replied.
An answer like this made Ryuseki feel insulted. He shouted angrily, "Cut it out! Do you think I'm no match for you?" Following that, he launched his second round of offensive.
"It seems you still refuse to give up!"
Ryuseki employed the exact same attack pattern as before, swinging his right hand—now wrapped in air currents—toward Slumber. However, this time it was not Ryuseki's fist that directly attacked Slumber, but rather the airflow itself. The air currents wrapped around his right hand lengthened like an arm with a will of its own, extending out to strike Slumber.
A sly smile appeared at the corner of Ryuseki's mouth.
Yet Slumber was not startled by this trick. Remaining calm, he gazed at the incoming air-current arm from beneath the brim of his hat, then grabbed tightly with both hands as if catching a fish, seizing the elongated stream of air. "Hah-heh~! Such a little trick!"
Ryuseki waved his right hand, and the air-current arm vanished in an instant. Still unsatisfied, Ryuseki swung his right hand out once more. This time, he did not afford Slumber the chance to grab it. It was simply too fast; Slumber had no time to catch it at all, and was forced to block the attack with his left arm. Even so, he barely managed to fend off Ryuseki's onslaught.
"Is that all the tricks you have?" Slumber taunted.
"Don't look down on people so much! I'm not that simple!" Ryuseki laughed as he gave his right wrist a sharp twist. Right after that, the air current that Slumber had blocked wound itself tightly around Slumber's left arm like a snake.
"Out of moves, are you?" Ryuseki smiled. Following this, Ryuseki gradually reduced the volume of the airflow, then dashed rapidly toward Slumber. Utilizing the air currents coiled around Slumber's arm, Ryuseki sprinted toward him as swiftly as a kite being reeled in. Then, moving much like a yo-yo, his right hand and Slumber's left hand remained bound together by the very same stream of air.
Afterward, Ryuseki orbited around Slumber. Once he circled behind Slumber, he viciously kicked him in the back.
"Take a look at this!" Ryuseki believed he was about to strike Slumber down.
"Hah-heh~! I told you that you only have those two tricks!" With a sudden burst of muscle exertion, Slumber's left arm whipped outward. The violent motion dragged Ryuseki's entire body along, flinging him through the air to crash onto the ground.
"Ugh! It hurts!" Lying flat on the ground, Ryuseki clutched his waist with his left hand while frantically waving his right hand, attempting to sever the connection between his right hand and Slumber's left. To his utter shock, however, no matter how wildly he thrashed his hand, that single stream of air linking them refused to disappear. Panicking, Ryuseki flailed his arm uncerasingly and cried out, "What on earth is going on?!"
"Don't think you're the only one who can manipulate air currents! I've reinforced the airflow connecting us. Right now, we're grasshoppers tied to the same rope. You can't run away—and neither can I!" The moment those words fell, Slumber exerted himself once more, whipping his left arm around. In response, Ryuseki was tossed back and forth like a yo-yo in Slumber's grip.
"Ugh... ah... ugh... whoa..." Ryuseki screamed miserably as he was repeatedly slammed against the ground.
Meisha, watching from the sidelines, could no longer bear to watch. She shouted at Slumber, "Stop it! I'm begging you, stop it!" Meisha gripped her hands tightly, pressing them against her chest.
Lin Yingbin and Ryuu Mufei looked toward Meisha with a measure of surprise, their expressions rather heavy. By the rules, they were not permitted to help Ryuseki, despite how badly they wanted to. Yet Ryuseki had strictly forbidden the two of them from interfering.
Hearing Meisha's cries, Slumber halted his attack. Seizing that exact opening, Ryuseki caught his chance. With a violent jerk of his right hand, the air current binding the two of them together vanished, and Ryuseki was free once more!
Even so, Ryuseki did not let his guard down. At that moment, he increased the volume of the airflow around his body until both arms were completely shrouded in circulating air. Then, he charged straight at Slumber. "Ah, ya, ya, ya!" Ryuseki closed the distance to Slumber in an instant; most astonishing of all was his speed, which had suddenly doubled compared to before.
Meisha had actually been strongly opposed to Ryuseki's duel this time, but she had followed him anyway because she was terrified something might happen to him.
Seeing Ryuseki's speed surge so abruptly, Ryuu Mufei spoke in astonishment, "How could Ryuseki's speed become so fast?!"
"That's right! It's getting hard to track Ryuseki with just the naked eyes now!" Lin Yingbin said in shock, "Just how much power has this anger given him?!"
Staring at the oncoming Ryuseki, Slumber did not display excessive panic. He swiftly clenched his fists, his blood-red pupils scanning Ryuseki like a scanner, before throwing a punch straight at the sprinting boy.
"Rwaaar~! Hah~!" Ryuseki took the full force of Slumber's punch. The blow carried immense strength; after absorbing it, Ryuseki stumbled backward several meters before finally cushioning the impact's momentum. A pair of long gouges were plowed into the ground by Ryuseki's feet as he stared at the marks and rubbed his battered right cheek, which now appeared swollen and deeply crimson.
"Spit!" Ryuseki spat out a mouthful of blood, after which his entire body began to flush. His skin turned vivid red, then darkened to a deep maroon, while voluminous plumes of smoke began to billow from his frame. Ryuseki's voice grew tremulous as well.
The surrounding air seemed to freeze over, and the atmosphere grew completely out of hand, instilling a deeply ominous sensation.
"How could this be?!" Slumber widened his blood-red pupils as he stared at Ryuseki, then spoke with a look of extreme shock, "You... you... are you out of your mind, you fool?!"
Ryuu Mufei and Lin Yingbin gazed at Ryuseki in sheer terror, sweat beading on the palms of their hands. The Ryuseki before their eyes possessed the very likeness of a demon, and that feeling—
"Heh... heh... heh... As long as I can take your life, it's worth it!"
Before you continue