The shockwave raised by the massive blade grazed Mu Chen's nose and struck the ground, instantly blasting the stone slabs into powder. Mu Chen twisted on his toes, Conqueror's Coating climbing up from his calves. The moment he clenched his fist, his knuckles glowed red.
Before Whitebeard could retract his blade, Mu Chen had already darted in close, driving his fist straight at Whitebeard's chest.
Whitebeard flipped his wrist and knocked the fist aside with the back of his blade. Amid a crisp crack, both men were sent staggering back by the impact.
Whitebeard crushed the gravel beneath his boots and gave a muffled laugh. "Mm, good! That's more like it!"
The massive blade swept sideways, its edge wrapped in shockwaves as it coiled toward Mu Chen's waist.
Mu Chen twisted sideways, the red Conqueror's Coating wrapping around his back in a half-arc as he forcibly took the blade's strike.
The cape on his back was shredded into strips, yet he used the recoil to lunge forward, driving his elbow toward Whitebeard's ribs.
Whitebeard raised a hand to block. The shockwave exploded as their arms collided, and even the air beneath their feet trembled under the Conqueror's Coating.
Mu Chen suddenly exerted force, and his Conqueror's Coating surged. A golden flash flickered in Whitebeard's eyes as he swung his other fist. White light churned around it. Mu Chen barely dodged, the wind from the punch numbing his ear, and he lowered himself with the momentum, slamming his shoulder into Whitebeard's abdomen.
Whitebeard let out a grunt, planting the massive blade into the ground to steady himself before driving his knee into Mu Chen's lower back.
Mu Chen staggered forward from the blow, blood rising in his throat. "Damn it!"
This kind of bare-knuckle brawl between real men really did not