Crushing with Technique
Gu Ding eventually agreed to the muscular man's challenge.
Even a damaged divine throne is an item that can cause a frenzy of fighting among demigods. Possessing a divine throne means one can directly ascend from demigod to godhood. This isn't just baseless speculation; it's a fact that has been confirmed by many people throughout history.
Almost from Ancient Era, there have been instances of people ascending to godhood by devouring divine positions, a fact clearly documented in historical records. Moreover, there are over twenty recorded stories of people ascending to godhood by devouring divine positions, spanning from Ancient Era to the Near Ancient Era.
Besides these historical stories, in this era, there was also a person named Laqi in the Universe Sea who ascended to godhood by devouring divine positions. Therefore, no one doubted the feasibility of ascending to godhood in this way.
This divine position wasn't actually of much use to Gu Ding. All the members of his team were still far from achieving godhood. Moreover, once a divine position was devoured, unless it was separated and re-formed into one's own, one's cultivation would be limited by the devoured position, preventing further advancement. Devouring divine positions was a choice made only by demigods who were certain they were unlikely to achieve godhood before their lifespan ended. Gu Ding agreed to the challenge because he had other plans for this divine position.
The muscular man's name is Maso, an Interstellar Hunter with Gene Level of thirteen. He's quite strong and has a small reputation within the Interstellar Hunter community. However, in his over eight hundred years in the business, he's hardly captured any notorious Interstellar Pirate. Of course, this doesn't mean the pirates he's captured are weak; in fact, he has captured Interstellar Pirate with bounties exceeding eight billion Universe Coin. But fame and high bounties are not the same thing.
Koude.Brad's bounty was also higher than Gu Ding's, but he wasn't Gu Ding famous. Of course, he was also a very popular Interstellar Pirate recently, but he didn't receive as much attention as Gu Ding. Maso had never captured anyone with a high profile, and he had never even seen someone with Gu Ding's extremely high profile.
Of course, with the other members of Gu Ding Team present, he knew his chances of capturing Gu Ding were almost zero. Therefore, he issued the challenge; even if he didn't capture Gu Ding, his reputation would undoubtedly increase significantly if he won. Furthermore, the Child Family had already secretly gathered sixteen Interstellar Hunter, including himself, informing him that if they could drive Gu Ding off Red Shield Star, they would receive double the bounty on Gu Ding. They would also enjoy VIP treatment within the Child Family, receiving a 20% discount on all Child Family goods—a privilege usually reserved for demigods.
That's why he made that condition from the beginning: if Gu Ding lost, he had to leave Red Shield Star immediately and never set foot there again. In fact, when he said those words, Gu Ding already knew that he must have been sent by the Child Family.
He admitted that he was genuinely anxious when Gu Ding refused his challenge. But he also found it strange that, in that situation, he could have easily lied, but he unconsciously blurted out the truth. He had originally intended to keep that divine position for himself, as he was already close to becoming a demigod. After revealing this secret, he immediately understood that even if he won the challenge against Gu Ding, he would definitely lose that divine position.
Gu Ding took a step forward, and the surrounding crowd dispersed to watch from a distance.
Liliath and the others also retreated to a distance of 100 meters to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
If Gu Ding hadn't advanced to the Seventh Order Gene Body, he wouldn't have had any chance of winning this battle. Fortunately, he did advance to the seventh tier, and now he possesses the Combat Strength of a thirteenth-tier cultivator. His opponent this time is also a melee Body Cultivation, and his gene level is at the peak of the thirteenth tier, promising a thrilling hand-to-hand combat experience.
Gu Ding unleashed all twelve levels of his Limitless Body Technique, simultaneously activating his Bronze Level weaponry and level three berserk amplification. His base Combat Strength of one million points instantly jumped to 6.4 billion points. Coupled with the special effects of the Martial Dao Force Field, his Combat Strength directly broke through the 10 billion mark. Adding the damage stacking effect, his maximum Combat Strength was enough to raise it to over 50 billion points.
Looking at Gu Ding's thin body, it appeared much more robust with the support of muscles.
Maso merely raised the corner of his mouth in a smirk, and his previously bulging muscles instantly bulged again, making him appear significantly larger than before. Simultaneously, his bones also changed, his height increasing dramatically from just over two meters to over two and a half meters.
"This doesn't look good. This guy's ability is called Gigantification, which is similar to Berserk. His strength and defense have instantly tripled. His base Combat Strength was already around 95 billion points. Now it has been directly amplified to over 280 billion..." The Sea Emperor was slightly worried for Gu Ding. "Are you sure you don't want to use that move?"
"At a time like this, there's no need to reveal our full strength. Since we can't overwhelm him with brute force, we'll overwhelm him with skill." Gu Ding clearly intended to hold back some of his strength.
A faint Golden Gang Force seeped out from Gu Ding's body, instantly enveloping his entire body. Almost the instant the coverage was complete, Gu Ding's figure abruptly disappeared.
He didn't rely on speed, but on the ultimate technique of the twelfth level of Shadow Step. His movement speed was comparable to the special ability of instant teleportation, and even Lian Bigge couldn't catch him.
Gu Ding to the left of his opponent's head, leaping high into the air and inverting his body. His Absolute Finger strike, imbued with terrifying Golden Gang Force, shot like a meteor straight at his opponent's left temple. The movement was exquisitely beautiful, showcasing the pinnacle of close-quarters combat aesthetics.
"That move was so beautiful, I want to learn it too!!!" Elsa couldn't help but exclaim.
It was only now that Liliath noticed that Gu Ding's moves had always been so clean and beautiful, but now, under the influence of the Golden Gang Force, those already elegant moves had become even more beautiful. However, she still pursed her lips and remarked, "The movements are beautiful, but this isn't a performance; it's real combat."
"His move is very practical," Bigge explained. "Don't think his handstand is a useless performance. In fact, it basically avoids the opponent's immediate counterattack. Because of the opponent's large size, the distance from Gu Ding shoulder to his head is shorter than the opponent's. His attack was aimed at his temple. Everyone's first instinct should be to dodge and then swing their left arm straight out to counterattack, but a straight swing will not hit Gu Ding. If the opponent wants to hit him, he cannot rely on instinct. He must readjust his mind and move his left arm upward. This will slow down the opponent's movement. By the time the opponent reacts, Gu Ding will have already escaped the opponent's attack range."
Gu Ding's first strike naturally wouldn't miss the chance to inflict a curse that stacks damage on his opponent. However, an attack of over 10 billion was practically a tickle to Maso, whose Combat Strength was already close to 300 billion points. But for Gu Ding, this was merely a warm-up.
After unleashing the first strike, he didn't pause at all; his figure vanished instantly, reappearing on his opponent's right side. His right elbow slammed into his opponent's lower right ribs, and then he disappeared again.
Before Maso could react, Gu Ding had already silently appeared behind him, his entire fist completely enveloped in a blinding Golden Light, resembling a small star. The powerful Steel Fist, carrying that scorching star, was terrifyingly unleashed on the back of his opponent's head.
This attack made Maso dizzy, and even his vision blurred for a moment.
Gu Ding seemed to have anticipated this. He suddenly appeared in front of Maso, braced his hands on the ground, twisted his body violently and leaped up. In an instant, his toes, carrying Golden Gang Force, slammed into Maso's throat three times.
During the final blow, a clear cracking sound of the throat bone breaking could be heard.
Struck by the heavy blow, Maso leaned backward instantly. The intense pain made him clutch his throat, and he was even unable to control his falling body.
But Gu Ding knew that this wasn't enough to completely incapacitate his opponent and force him to surrender, so Gu Ding flashed again. This time, he reappeared behind his opponent, extended two fingers, and unleashed three consecutive "Absolute Finger Strike" attacks, striking Maso's nape with lightning speed.
A sharp pain shot through the back of Maso's neck, and suddenly his vision went black as he lost consciousness.
Gu Ding's relentless attacks were almost a perfect suppression. Although it wasn't the violent suppression of before, this battle revealed his terrifying nature even more. All the places he attacked were the most vulnerable and vulnerable points in the human body.
These locations have defenses that are tens or even hundreds of times weaker than other parts of the body, and being hit by them will produce some special effects, which is why Gu Ding was able to succeed so easily.
Maso had already fainted, so the outcome of this battle was self-evident.
The battle was also recorded by many people. Sea Emperor blocked their communications, but not other functions.
The elegance of Gu Ding's movements in this fight far surpassed any of his previous battles. Previously, he mostly relied on overwhelming force, without needing to employ so many fancy techniques. But in this fight, Gu Ding's defense couldn't even withstand a single blow from his opponent, leaving him with no choice but to resort to this method.
Seeing that the unconscious Maso had returned to his original size, Gu Ding walked over.
"His body is mostly fine; he's just unconscious from your attack on the back of his neck. As for his most serious injury, it's just a broken throat. He just needs some Cellular Repair Agent and a few days of recuperation," Sea Emperor concluded after scanning Maso's body.
Gu Ding then took out the Magic Restricting Handcuffs made by Robert from his Storage Space, locked Maso's hands, and sat aside waiting for him to wake up. (To be continued.)