Chapter 23

Ouyang Rui turned to look at Lin Jie. "You dodged my punch just now? Looks like you're not just strong."

This time, however, Lin Jie didn't say anything. He simply picked up the Wolf Fang Club in his hand.

"Planning to fight me to the bitter end?" Ouyang Rui said arrogantly. "With the strength I have now, you don't even have a chance of hurting me."

"Is that so? You're way too confident," Lin Jie said.

"My defenses are among the best even in S-Class. I admit you're a powerful A-Class hero, but you couldn't hurt a single hair on my head," Ouyang Rui said.

"How do you know you can't hurt me if you don't try?" As he spoke, Lin Jie swung the Wolf Fang Club at Ouyang Rui with a baseball batter's stance.

Ouyang Rui didn't dodge or flinch. He simply watched Lin Jie with a smile as powerful golden energy gathered around him.

"Let me show you—" Ouyang Rui hadn't even finished speaking when he was sent flying.

The instant Lin Jie's Wolf Fang Club met the protective energy, it smashed through it as easily as if it were hitting tofu. The blow continued without losing any force and struck Ouyang Rui hard.

Ouyang Rui's face twisted, and he spewed blood in midair. He flew dozens of meters before crashing into a peach tree.

"Are you all right?" Lin Jie walked over and looked at Dong Xue'er.

"..." Dong Xue'er didn't answer. She stared blankly at him for a long moment before finally saying, "You're this strong? Why didn't you use that power sooner?"

"I told you from the start that I could just beat him up," Lin Jie said. "But you kept refusing, didn't you?"

"..." Lin Jie's answer left Dong Xue'er speechless again. "How was I supposed to know you were this strong?"

As the two of them talked, Ouyang Rui staggered to his feet, spitting blood.

"I didn't expect your strength to be far beyond A-Class. You'd even be powerful among S-Class heroes. I don't understand why someone like you would settle for being an E-Class hero. With your strength, you should be at least A-Class," Ouyang Rui said.

"Could you stop talking while spitting blood? You're spraying blood everywhere. It's disgusting," Lin Jie said.

"Heh. Your strength may be impressive, but it's completely useless against me now," Ouyang Rui said.

"Tch. Didn't you just say I couldn't hurt a hair on your head? Look at you now, spitting blood," Lin Jie said.

"Do you know why Dong Xue'er tried to restrict my movement?" Ouyang Rui said. "It's because I've trained in an Ancient Martial Step."

"So what?" Lin Jie said.

"I'd only mastered the eighth level before, and already no one in A-Class could touch me. With the help of the T-3 Evolution Serum, I've now reached the tenth level," Ouyang Rui said. "That means if I want to, you won't even be able to touch the hem of my clothes."

"Tch, another one of those show-off tricks." Lin Jie picked up the Wolf Fang Club. "All right, here I come." He charged at Ouyang Rui so fast the naked eye couldn't follow him. In the next instant, he appeared beside Ouyang Rui and brought his club down, smashing Ouyang Rui's body with a single blow.

But in the next moment, Lin Jie realized he'd only hit an afterimage.

"Now that's interesting," Lin Jie said.

Just then, Ouyang Rui appeared beside him and threw a powerful punch. But he'd hit an afterimage, too!

"What!!!" Ouyang Rui was stunned. His dynamic vision was already sharp enough to track bullets. What kind of speed could leave an afterimage in his eyes?!

"How is this possible!!!!" Before Ouyang Rui could finish marveling, a powerful blow struck him and sent him flying again.

"You—you're S-Class!" Ouyang Rui exclaimed. "How did you evade the Hero Association's Energy Level Detection?"

"What's Energy Level Detection?" Lin Jie asked, looking at Ouyang Rui in confusion.

"Damn you!" Ouyang Rui charged at Lin Jie in a fury. "Even if you're S-Class, I'll take you down today!"

Ouyang Rui used an unusual footwork technique to reach tremendous speed, unleashing a constant flurry of punches.

Lin Jie easily dodged Ouyang Rui's relentless attacks, occasionally swinging his club to disrupt the force of Ouyang Rui's punches. He didn't want such a beautiful Peach Grove to be ruined by Ouyang Rui.

"Boring. I thought you'd use some kind of ancient martial arts fist technique. Turns out all you've got is footwork." Lin Jie yawned, then caught Ouyang Rui's fist with one hand. "It's getting late. Let's wrap this up."

With that, Lin Jie hurled Ouyang Rui away. In the next instant, he appeared in Ouyang Rui's flight path and struck him with the club, sending him flying in the opposite direction. Then Lin Jie vanished and appeared in Ouyang Rui's path again, knocking him back the way he'd come. After more than a dozen blows like that, even Ouyang Rui's incredible toughness couldn't keep him conscious.

Lin Jie looked at Ouyang Rui, who lay on the ground, beaten almost beyond recognition. His wounds were slowly healing, so he would obviously recover before long. But one thing was certain: he was unconscious, and by the time he came to, the serum's effects would likely have worn off.

"All right, that takes care of him." Lin Jie turned to Dong Xue'er, who was staring at him in a daze.

"Mesmerized? Did my dashing victory over Ouyang Rui leave you spellbound?" Lin Jie struck a pose he thought was cool.

"I was thinking that all my preparations were stupid," Dong Xue'er said, deflating like a punctured ball. "I didn't expect you to be this strong. You must be S-Class, right?"

"I'm not sure what my exact rank is. No one's ever given me a proper test," Lin Jie said.

Just then, Lin Jie felt a gust of wind rushing toward him.

"An attack!" Lin Jie swung his club behind him and struck the incoming objects. To his surprise, they were two living people: White Gold and Black Gold.

Lin Jie quickly pulled back, but even so, he sent them flying into two trees. Fortunately, they'd already lost consciousness while flying toward him, so at least they wouldn't feel any pain.

"I'm trying to pick up a girl here. What are you butting in for?" Lin Jie said to the person who appeared before him.

It was Kaito from the Evolution Company.

"Anyone who interferes with the company's plans must be punished," Kaito said in a sinister voice.

He reached out toward Lin Jie, and a powerful force field formed in front of him. The next instant, Lin Jie vanished from where he'd been, carrying Dong Xue'er in his arms.

"Wait here a bit. I'll go take care of that minnow," Lin Jie said, walking toward Kaito.

Lin Jie swung the Wolf Fang Club at the man in front of him, bringing it down hard.

"No physical attack can hurt me inside my force field," Kaito said. A powerful repulsive force burst out around him. Within the field, it was as if the direction of every force had been reversed.

For a brief instant, Lin Jie's club met the repulsive force and slowed. Then it continued toward Kaito as if nothing had happened.

"What!" Kaito was shocked. This was the first time in his life he'd encountered a physical attack that his powers couldn't affect. But it was already too late. One blow from Lin Jie sent Kaito twitching on the ground.

"All right, the minnow's taken care of." Lin Jie looked back at Dong Xue'er, who was staring at him in horror. "Let's get back to chatting."

"I said that anyone who interferes with the company's plans must be punished." Kaito stood up again.

This time, a syringe appeared in his hand. He plunged it into his neck.

"Seriously, this stuff again? Is shooting up after losing the new trend now?" Lin Jie stared at him helplessly.

But Kaito didn't give him time to think. Red markings appeared on Kaito's body, and the space around him began to collapse. The ground sank lower and lower, and the area of the collapse kept spreading.

Kaito floated proudly in midair, like a demon from a legend who could destroy the world.

"Accept your punishment," Kaito said in a sinister voice. He raised his hand and fired a powerful shock wave at Lin Jie, who stood some distance away. The space twisted wherever the shock wave passed.

It surged toward Lin Jie with tremendous force, but it was all for nothing.

Lin Jie swung his club and shattered the shock wave Kaito had fired at him. Then he charged into Kaito's domain and struck him with a single blow. Kaito's world-ending aura abruptly vanished.

"Take that for showing off! Take that for looking cooler than me! Take that for firing shock waves! Take that for wrecking public property! Take that for shooting up! Take that for dyeing your hair! Take that for your dissolute lifestyle..." With every accusation, Lin Jie stomped hard on Kaito, who was sprawled on the ground.

After about five minutes of beating him,

"Stop! I surrender! Please spare me!" Kaito begged from beneath Lin Jie's foot.

"So you can talk normally after all?" Lin Jie stomped on him again. "Then why were you putting on that deep voice earlier? You sounded like some kind of demon king."

"I was wrong, all right? I've surrendered. Stop hitting me! I'll never talk like that again, I promise!" Kaito said weakly from beneath Lin Jie's foot.

"That's more like it! You know, I hate people who look cooler than me," Lin Jie said.

"Big bro! You're the coolest man in the world, all right? No one could possibly be cooler than you!" Kaito hurriedly said.

"What? You used a question mark!" Lin Jie stomped on Kaito.

"You're the coolest man in the world! No one is cooler than you!" Kaito quickly corrected himself.

Faced with Lin Jie's overwhelming strength and intimidation, Kaito instantly threw his dignity and everything else out the window.

Nearby, Dong Xue'er stared blankly at the two of them. Her expression grew indescribably complicated as her gaze passed over Lin Jie.