What on Earth Did Your Architect Do to You?!

Just as Gran and his companions lost their composure after their comrade was vaporized by a single punch, the four of them were caught off guard.

Du Shu and three other Nine Provinces players then emerged from the shadows!

However, they did not use the [Resentment] skill like Wen Tai did. The cost of forcibly deducting 50% of the maximum health was too high. In essence, it was a desperate gamble.

Wen Tai is perfectly capable of being used to initiate attacks and break the deadlock.

However, if everyone uses it—once the opponent pulls out a counter-damage, invincibility, or control skill—then everyone being at half health is like walking a tightrope, too easy to kill themselves. After all, a guaranteed hit doesn't mean damage calculation or invincibility.

So next...

We still have to confront them head-on!

As Du Shu pondered this, he charged straight at the remaining players in Prison Rock!

"Stop right there!!"

When Gran saw Du Shu and the other three suddenly emerge from the shadows, he finally reacted, roared, and activated his skill.

[SSS Active Skill: Heavy Pressure]

A visible gravitational field, centered on Gran, suddenly spread outwards!

Bang!

A semi-circular force field enveloped Du Shu and his group as they attacked.

Three of the Nine Provinces players didn't even have time to react before being forced to their knees by the irresistible gravity, letting out a muffled groan.

Du Shu, a player in the same tier as Gran, also felt a sudden weight on his shoulders, as if an invisible mountain had been placed on his back. His legs felt as if they were sinking into sticky mud, and his originally sharp and swift attack was forcibly suppressed in an instant, becoming extremely slow.

"Kill that Wen Tai!"

After blocking the attack from Du Shu and the others, Gran immediately turned to look at Wen Tai, who was outside the gravity field.

That punch from Wen Tai just now left a very deep impression on him!

This made him somewhat wary.

Upon hearing this...

One of the muscular Prison Rock players clasped his fists together, responded, and charged towards Wen Tai.

Wen Tai took a deep breath, staggered his feet one in front of the other, and slightly bent his arms, assuming the standard Bak Mei stance of his Sifu.

In the blink of an eye.

The player from Prison Rock rushed up to Wen Tai and began to attack him, swinging his fists.

At first, the player who Prison Rock was very cautious.

However, after several direct exchanges...

The player Prison Rock noticed something was wrong, a look of surprise appearing on his face. "Wait a minute! How come you're so weak?!"

Aside from decent fighting skills.

The power and speed that Wen Tai displayed at this moment were exactly like those of an ordinary Sequence 10 player, completely lacking the overwhelming sense of destruction he had shown before.

How did they manage to deliver that terrifying punch?!

Skill?!

The player in the Prison Rock looked at Wen Tai, who only had half of his health points remaining.

What kind of skill is so overpowered?!

"----Idiot."

Upon hearing this, Wen Tai uttered a foul remark, and then immediately threw a punch.

"So you rely on burst damage! I thought your stats were much stronger!"

Upon hearing the system-translated words, the player from Prison Rock paused slightly, then a sinister smile appeared on his face, "You still dare to be arrogant even without skills—"

Whatever it is.

Now that the opponent can't use that skill again, things are much easier!

While thinking, the player from Prison Rock relied on his numerical advantage and simply endured Wen Tai's counterattack punch head-on. He then closed in and returned the favor with a heavy punch of his own, which landed squarely on Wen Tai!

Bang!

Wen Tai let out a painful groan, his feet sliding backward along the ground, before his back slammed into the brick wall of the alley with a thud, causing the plaster to peel off in a shower.

His already unhealthy health points plummeted to thirty percent with that single blow.

"Go to hell!!"

The muscular Prison Rock player strode forward, raising his massive right fist, as large as a sandbag, high with a piercing shriek as he prepared to smash Wen Tai's head in one blow.

But Wen Tai, who was leaning against the brick wall and seemed powerless to resist, suddenly raised his head, grinned, and revealed his gleaming white teeth. "Who said I have no skills? Sorry—I still have some."

[Skill Name: Survival Instinct]

[Effect Description: When health drops below 30%, fear perception is forcibly suppressed by the Survival Instinct, and Mental Strength attribute is increased by 40%.]

Of the enhanced Mental Strength attribute, 35% will be converted into strength, agility, and perception. You will run faster, be more powerful, and have a sharper perception of any danger in your surroundings.

Boom!

The player from Prison Rock unleashed a powerful punch that seemed capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks!

But in Wen Tai's eyes, the trajectory of this punch slowed down considerably.

He suddenly turned his head, narrowly avoiding the punch.

The player from Prison Rock slammed his fist down hard, grazing Wen Tai's earlobe, and the violent kinetic energy instantly poured onto the old brick wall.

In an instant, mud and dust, along with gravel, exploded like bullets, leaving several bloody scratches on Wen Tai's cheek.

The player from Prison Rock was taken aback, seemingly not expecting Wen Tai to dodge.

I haven't reacted yet.

Wen Tai threw a punch in return.

A punch that is faster and more powerful.

Bang!

A solid punch landed on the chest of the Prison Rock player.

The rather burly player from Prison Rock let out a muffled groan, his entire body slid backward in a disheveled state after being hit by the punch, barely managing to regain his balance.

Before he could even catch his breath...

A figure flashed into his vision, Wen Tai had already rushed towards him!

Bang bang bang bang!

The dense barrage of short-sleeved shirts came down like a torrential downpour.

Wen Tai's fists left blurry Afterimage in the air, each punch accompanied by the sound of air being torn apart, creating a powerful and swift movement!

The player from the Prison Rock was desperately parrying while staring wide-eyed, his face filled with utter horror as if he had seen a ghost.

What happened?!

What's going on??

Wasn't he a weakling? How did he suddenly become so strong?!

Not long ago, he was timid and submissive, unable to withstand even a heavy punch.

How come he suddenly launched a powerful counterattack after taking a punch, becoming as ferocious as a war god?!

Is this reasonable?!

Or is this also a skill?

What kind of insane and monstrous skill system is this?!

What's going on with these Nine Provinces players?

The player from Prison Rock barely managed to parry Wen Tai's fierce attacks, his face filled with disbelief.

"Hey-hey."

This time, it was Wen Tai's turn to grin maliciously.

At the same time.

On the other side.

After Gran used [Heavy Pressure] to suppress Du Shu and the others.

"A swift and decisive victory!"

He simply uttered a sentence, then ignored everyone else and headed straight for Du Shu, the only active being at the center of the force field, whose sequence was equal to his own.

Yesterday in the arena, he died before he could even touch the hem of a Nine Provinces player's clothes. It was so frustrating!

He had so much resentment that needed to be vented!

Meanwhile, the other two Prison Rock players, armed with weapons, charged towards the three Nine Provinces players who were unable to move.

"----Trying to launch a sneak attack?"

Filled with resentment and anger, Gran grinned as he charged towards Du Shu: "You think you can beat us in a face-to-face fight without the advantage of dungeons?!"

Du Shu said nothing, but looked at Gran, raised his hand under the Heavy Pressure, and assumed a fighting stance.

"What, you want to have a boxing match with me?"

Seeing this, Gran's grin widened. "You think you can compare to us, the hardened and battle-hardened players of Prison Rock? I'll crush your bones piece by piece!! Die!!!"

The words had barely left his mouth.

Gran suddenly raised his right arm high, and with overwhelming force, swung his fist, aiming it at Du Shu's face!

The violent force of the punches tore through the air in the Heavy Pressure arena, producing a sharp, explosive sound.

This punch had no fancy tricks, only pure numerical values.

--Any player in the Prison Rock, with their body Heavy Pressure and restrained by immense pressure, would probably feel their scalp tingle upon facing this punch.

However, Du Shu's eyes remained completely unmoved by this breathtaking attack.

Because in Lu Xiu's story, he had faced far more exquisite and ferocious punches than this.

----And it even has superpowers!

Compared to that, Gran's attack was child's play.

Just as Gran threw his punch...

Du Shu also moved.

He simply lowered his shoulders, dropped his elbows, and loosened his hips!

His hands moved like a Afterimage, reaching out to meet Gran's fist from the side, his palms precisely touching the side of Gran's wrist. Using the force of Gran's forward thrust, his body slid to the side in an extremely subtle way, using the opponent's momentum against him, gently guiding and deflecting the opponent's attack.

Then, the force exploded!

Gran's unstoppable punch, guided by this skillful force, instantly shifted, and the originally extremely violent blow grazed Du Shu's ear and slammed into empty air, only creating a shockwave.

Neutralize!

"----?!"

Gran stumbled, then groaned, felt a sharp pain in his arm, and his health points dropped by a third.

It was as if he had punched himself.

What the heck?!

His pupils contracted sharply, his face filled with disbelief.

[Skill Name: Hard Skill]

[Ability Description: When the user is unarmed, if the timing of the block is within an "absolute window" (an attack is about to strike),

Theoretically, at the exact moment it can be blocked, most of the incoming physical kinetic energy will be forcibly cut off and removed, greatly reducing the damage from this unarmed strike, and the reduced force will be reflected back to the attacker's limbs, causing physical damage equivalent to the force being removed.

If the parry is not timed perfectly, the unarmed damage will only be slightly reduced, and the counter-attack effect will not be triggered.

"----You have no idea what hell players in Nine Provinces face every day!"

Just as Gran was looking on in disbelief...

Du Shu's voice suddenly rang out, and then, using the force of Neutralize the opponent's attack, he twisted his waist and thrust his hips with remarkable ease, his right arm slashing fiercely at Gran's throat at an extremely tricky angle!

Standard!

However, Gran was no ordinary player. Although he was shocked and didn't know what had happened, in the instant his body lost its balance, he still relied on his honed combat instincts to force his head back despite the impossible situation.

Swish!

Du Shu's fingers barely grazed Gran's chin. Although he failed to sever Gran's throat, he did tear a deep, bone-revealing gash on his chin!

The sharp pain in his chin instantly brought Gran back to his senses.

He immediately retreated rapidly.

The two instantly created distance between them.

Gran wiped the blood from his chin, the contempt in his eyes vanishing completely, Take Their Place by solemnity.

----Even their eyes have become clear.

He looked at Du Shu and asked, "----What did you just do?! A skill?!"

Du Shu hadn't had a chance to answer yet.

A scream suddenly came from the other side of the Heavy Pressure area.

Gran didn't pay any attention.

If his teammates can't even kill the Nine Provinces players who are being Heavy Pressure, then they might as well just commit suicide.

However, the next second...

A vulgar curse, "Prison Rock," followed.

But that string of curses contained no joy of victory; instead, it was filled with the terror of seeing a ghost!

etc.

wrong.

Gran turned around abruptly.

One of the Nine Provinces players, who was bound by Heavy Pressure, knelt on one knee and used his left arm to block the Prison Rock Warrior's slash!

Accompanied by a soft "pfft" sound.

The player from Nine Provinces had his left wrist severed at the root by a sharp blade, and warm blood splattered onto the ground like a fountain.

Mingming suffered a severe injury involving the amputation of a limb.

Despite the Heavy Pressure, the player from Nine Provinces slowly stood up!

He actually stood up!

Just a moment ago, I was pinned down and couldn't move!

When Gran saw this, his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

As the user of the [Heavy Pressure] skill, he knew very well that the force field was judged based on strength.

So this is—a sudden surge in the power of the severed hand?

Explosive growth?

You mean the play?!

----Skill?

What kind of useless skill would enhance strength under these circumstances?

Are you kidding me?

Gran looked on in disbelief—but the Nine Provinces player still stood up.

[Skill Name: The Ordinary Person's Courage]

[Effect Description: When a player suffers severe injuries such as amputation or piercing, or is in a state of extreme fear, emotional breakdown, or near death, rational inhibition is broken, and the Survival Instinct enters Overload state, reducing pain perception by 50%, while also lowering your [mental] level.]

35% of the attribute is temporarily converted into [Agility] and [Strength].

"Holy shit! That really hurts! Luckily, the courage of ordinary people can lessen the pain."

The Nine Provinces player with the severed wrist cursed and looked at the Prison Rock player standing before him, who was holding a knife and looking completely bewildered.

"What are you looking at! Haven't you ever seen a severed hand before?!"

Next.

The player with the severed wrist roared and clenched his remaining right hand into a fist.

Then, with the combined power of Ordinary Person's Courage and Survival Instinct, he stomped on the ground, completely ignoring the Heavy Pressure mud, and moved with lightning speed, instantly closing in on the still-stunned Prison Rock Warrior.

"Get the hell out of here!!"

He threw a punch.

Accompanied by the explosive power of the punch.

It was firmly imprinted on the chest armor of the Prison Rock.

Just a moment ago, I was completely suppressed by the skill and couldn't move!

But at this moment, he's like a god of war!

The Prison Rock's tough armor dented and shattered instantly, and his massive body was sent flying by the punch, hurtling straight back and crashing heavily into the wall.

With a bang.

The wall collapsed.

Dust scattered everywhere.

"Awesome! Awesome!"

A few meters away.

The other two Nine Provinces players, who were still being suppressed, saw their companion become like a god of war after losing his arm and immediately began to shower him with praise, saying at the same time, "Brother! Here, here, there's another one! Come on! Quick, quick, quick! This one's level is higher! Let's see if we can beat him, and if we can't, break his arm too! Hurry up!"

What the hell?!

What kind of nonsense are these Nine Provinces people spouting?!

What kind of mental illness?

Gran stood there, stunned.

However, before he could recover from this absurd scene...

From the other end, another piercing scream rang out.

Gran turned his head again in surprise.

Not long ago, another player from Prison Rock, who had been dominating Wen Tai, was now flying through the air like a kite with a broken string, tracing a pathetic parabola before crashing into a dilapidated brick wall with a dull thud of bones shattering, becoming embedded in it.

With his health still stuck at 30%, Wen Tai, panting heavily and supporting his knees, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva and cursed, "Trash!"

That mocking remark was particularly grating.

Gran stood frozen in place, his mind blank, completely unaware of what had happened.

Why?

They clearly had such a huge advantage just now!

Sequence crushing.

Crowd control with Heavy Pressure skills.

How did it suddenly turn out like this?

How come they can't even win when it comes to the most basic face-to-face combat?!

What on earth did these Nine Provinces players do?!

Full health, hesitant and timid; low health, unleashing a powerful punch.

Not only did he not cry out in pain after losing his hand, his strength actually increased dramatically.

He can Neutralize attacks with his bare hands and even reflect the damage back along the same path!

What is all this?!

If they're all skills!

Where on earth do they get so many bizarre and insane skills?!

"Don't underestimate the skills and techniques we honed through countless lives in the Lu Xiu dungeon."

At this moment.

Du Shu finally spoke, "From running out of ammo and food in Resident Evil, to practicing Perfect Deflect countless times with death looming in Sekiro. From being unarmed and chased by a psychopath in Outlast, to pretending to be a good older brother in the Witch Instance."

Gran was completely bewildered.

What is this person saying?

Du Shu looked at Gran as if he were looking at a sheltered hothouse flower that had never seen the world, and continued, "You have no idea what we faced in the Lu Xiu instance—the grueling trials we went through to clear the Lu Xiu instance."

"No!!!"

Upon hearing this, Gran finally snapped, "What exactly did your Architect do to you?!"

What kind of creatures are the Architect of Nine Provinces?!