Death and the Madman

Fight! Fight! Fight!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two combatants were like a pair of highly efficient demolition machines, rampaging through the dilapidated old building.

Either of them could easily smash through the aging red-brick walls with a casual punch, and tear through wooden doors as if they were tissue paper. The building was so shoddily constructed that the floorboards could give way if they weren't careful.

It was precisely because of the building that Liu Tian discovered the weakness of the man who called himself Mantis—he wasn't agile enough.

Whether it was because of the "evolution" he'd mentioned, his age, or the martial art he practiced, as the fight went on, Liu Tian clearly saw that Mantis's reactions were sluggish and his control over his strength lacked precision.

Liu Tian had never fought another Martial Artist, so he didn't know whether Mantis was at the average level. But it was obvious that Mantis was inferior to Liu Tian, who had been meticulously trained by Tian Dao for ten years, in both technique and quickness of reaction.

That was why, despite being weaker and slower than Mantis and thus at a disadvantage, Liu Tian could still use the terrain to trade blows with him on even terms.

One exchange, ten exchanges, a hundred exchanges.

Countless wounds appeared across Liu Tian's body. The deepest had torn through the muscle of his left hand, leaving him temporarily unable to use it. But if Liu Tian was in such a state, how could Mantis have escaped without paying a price?

He was in no better shape than Liu Tian. Besides the wounds covering his body, the gash across his face—deep enough to expose bone and nearly kill him outright—proved just how perilous their earlier exchanges had been. Blood kept running down from his forehead, already affecting his vision. In the deepening night, amid such a fierce fight, that was a fatal mistake.

At my current level, even with the terrain on my side, my odds against Mantis are only fifty-fifty.

If I want to kill him, there's only one way—avoid his strongest attacks, then settle the fight with a single strike. Before he kills me with those impossibly hard hands, I have to smash one of his vital points.

Though killing intent surged through him, Liu Tian could still think clearly and focus on the only way he could win.

There was no denying it: Mantis's unbelievably powerful hands gave him far too great an advantage. They lacked agility, but were so hard that even Liu Tian's full-force punches couldn't seriously injure them. Instead, the recoil would hurt Liu Tian.

It was as if Liu Tian weren't punching a pair of human hands, but sharp blades.

Liu Tian couldn't help but entertain a malicious thought: judging by the properties of those hands, Mantis couldn't pleasure himself unless he used his mouth or feet.

Could this way of getting stronger really be called evolution?

But the ferocity of the fight left no room for deeper thought.

In a fierce, focused clash between two fighters of comparable skill, an opening could appear at any moment—especially when neither could perfectly control every part of his body.

Then, during an utterly ordinary exchange, perhaps because he was exhausted, or perhaps because his vision had been slightly obstructed, Mantis left himself wide open after a clash.

It was a fatal opening. Could Liu Tian seize it?

Of course he could!

The first killing move of the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, the Heart Severing Path, was meant to exploit an enemy's openings and strike at their vital points. Liu Tian had no desire to drag the fight out any longer, so he seized the opportunity with all his might.

Heavenly Martial Killing Dao: Heart Severing Path!

Seizing his chance, Liu Tian threw a full-force punch, aiming for one of the two most vital points on the human body: the heart.

It hit!

The lightning-fast punch landed before Mantis could guard against it. The powerful blow smashed through the ribs protecting his chest and pierced straight through his body!

?

Though his decisive strike had landed, Liu Tian felt no joy at all. Mantis, who should have died instantly, was still alive—and his powerful muscles had locked Liu Tian's right fist in place.

Then Liu Tian met Mantis's gaze. A powerful awareness made him understand Mantis's intent: A full-force attack is when your defenses are weakest. You didn't expect my life to be so tenacious—or that my heart is on the right side, did you?

Now, I'll make you lose. I'll make you die!

Mantis raised both arms high. His shadow twisted in the moonlight, like a giant mantis rearing upright, its arms raised high and transformed into terrifying scythes.

Mantis Fist: Two-way Robbery and Killing.

Wrong! You're the one who's going to die!

As if to defy the hopeless situation, three Origin Points vanished once more. Liu Tian clenched his left fist, which should have been unable to exert any force. The torn muscle healed in an instant, and his whole frame grew larger once again.

At that moment, his strength and speed were no longer much inferior to Mantis's. The right fist buried in Mantis's chest locked him in place in turn—

Again!

Heavenly Martial Killing Dao: Heart Severing Path!

The Heart Severing Path struck Mantis's right chest in an instant, hitting before he could react. Its tremendous force sent him flying a foot backward. Before Mantis could summon his last bit of strength, Liu Tian's right fist, now free, struck again.

Heavenly Martial Killing Dao: Heart Severing Path!

This was the last and strongest blow—the decisive strike that would end the fight.

It hit!

Liu Tian's final Heart Severing Path was like a bomb going off inside Mantis's chest. It blasted all his internal organs out through his back. Mantis, thoroughly "reduced" by the blow, slammed into the wall, crushing his already-ruptured organs. Red paint splattered across the ceiling and walls.

Mantis never managed to unleash his final attack.

Liu Tian had meant to turn and leave, but despite his grievous injuries, Mantis still hadn't died. His eyes remained fixed on Liu Tian.

"S-so strong!" Though his lungs were no longer inside his body, Mantis still struggled to speak. "As bait, keep growing..."

"Who understands what you're saying?" Liu Tian frowned. Out of respect for Mantis's tenacious life force, he lightly stamped his foot. A piece of broken stone sprang up beneath it and shot out like a hidden weapon, piercing Mantis's brain in an instant. The wall was stained with another splash of gray "paint." "Your life force is so tenacious. Are you an arthropod or something?"

Without another glance at Mantis, who had been reduced to a pile of wreckage, Liu Tian turned and left.

Liu Tian didn't feel like making sure of the kill. His internal organs were gone, and his brain had been destroyed. If Mantis could still survive that, Liu Tian would just have to accept his bad luck. How had he managed to inexplicably pick a fight with a monster...?

Meanwhile, on a technologically advanced cruise ship off the coast, a man who had recently met Liu Tian gazed at the brightly lit city.

"What time is it?" Bai Cinan asked.

"Ten at night," replied one of his subordinates, a burly man with long hair on his face, after checking his watch.

"He still hasn't come back. It seems Mantis really is dead. He got what he wished for, and what he sought was death. If my junior apprentice can make my master teach the Heavenly Martial Killing Dao again, then he must be more than he appears." Bai Cinan raised a hand and made a small gesture. The cruise ship stopped waiting in the shallows and headed straight for the open sea. "It's clear my junior apprentice really does have the potential to become my bait."

"Keep getting stronger—then maybe I'll have a second choice..."