Inside the bus, Teacher Bai wore a serious expression. He noticed Wei Wusheng was intentionally moving in their direction and involuntarily reached up to loosen his collar.

Although apprehending Wei Wusheng wasn’t his business, and he had no interest in interfering, he couldn’t help but feel disrespected. ’For Wei Wusheng to come over like this... is he looking down on me?’

Just then, he sensed something and looked outside. He saw a man with his hands in his pockets standing atop a streetlight. The man looked like a hooligan. After making eye contact with him and smiling, he vanished.

Teacher Bai’s gaze hardened. This was clearly another Third Limit master. His identity was unknown, but he was most likely an accomplice of Wei Wusheng.

In that case, he couldn’t act rashly. He immediately said to the students on the bus, "This bus has been modified. Everyone stay inside and within my line of sight."

And just as the destructive, rolling advance neared the bus, with about ten meters left to go, a loud BOOM erupted. Accompanied by an expanding ring of dust and the sound of a blade striking a hammer, its momentum was brought to a dead stop.

As the dust and smoke gradually dispersed and settled, the figures of two people became clear. Chen Chuan and Wei Wusheng now stood face to face, the Snow Monarch Blade and the face of the hammer pressed against each other as if in a test of strength.

A moment later, a metallic grinding sound came from where the hammer and blade met, and they began to tremble slightly. With a surge of strength, the two pushed each other away. They retreated, and after landing, each took several more steps back, carried by the residual force.

Although it was just a normal disengagement, the excessive power and speed sent both of them flying seventeen or eighteen meters back in an instant.

At that moment, from a spot they had just passed, came a grating, creaking sound. The top half of a panel van slowly slid off, landing on the ground with a THUD. The cross-section revealed a perfectly smooth cut.

Further back, a bus with two blown-out tires slowly tipped onto its side. With a loud CRASH, it sent up a huge cloud of dust as countless shards of glass and debris bounced and scattered everywhere.

Chen Chuan and Wei Wusheng stared at each other, simultaneously regulating their breathing.

The exchange had lasted only about twenty seconds, but the rapid movements, collisions of strength, and the dissipation and application of Power had forced their respective Mutated Organizations into high-intensity mobilization. It was like a taut string, and both were now taking the opportunity to readjust.

The students on the bus watched with dry mouths and racing hearts. After all, they weren’t too far from the two men. But they were all mature Fighters, and even now, they could remain relatively calm while observing the pair just over ten meters away.

Thanks to his recent activities, every one of them had heard of Wei Wusheng. But the other one... Chen... he was someone who rarely spoke on the academy’s platform. The general impression was that, aside from his good looks, there wasn’t anything particularly special about him.

They never would have imagined that this usually low-key student was also a Third Limit Fighter!

Tan Zhi was even more stunned. Suddenly, his head throbbed, and he involuntarily clutched it. Fragmented memories from the cruise ship flashed through his mind.

He suddenly understood something... ’Could it be that back then... it was...’

Chen Chuan held the blade with both hands, positioning it on his centerline as he stared at Wei Wusheng. ’In terms of pure strength, it seems I can’t overpower him in this state. I’m actually quite a bit weaker. My previous attacks relied mainly on the momentum from high-speed movement. A simple horizontal slash wouldn’t have nearly as much power.’

’As for speed, we were about even at the beginning, but I’ve noticed that during my assault, Wei Wusheng’s speed seems to be constantly increasing in response to my attacks.’

’No, that should be his original power. It’s just gradually adapting and reawakening under pressure.’

’That’s understandable. People who practice Horizontal Training Strength are typically slow to get into their rhythm, but their endurance and adaptability are astonishing.’

’In my current physical state, I’m no longer sufficient to fight this enemy. I’ll even end up being suppressed as the battle continues.’

’If that’s the case, then...’

A light flashed in his eyes. Guided by his will, he released the restrictions on his own state.

In that instant, everything around him became preternaturally clear. He could distinctly perceive every shift of light and shadow, every speck of dust drifting through the air, every sound, and every change in his surroundings. And as he focused his consciousness, the entire world seemed to slow down.

He rotated his hands, calmly raising the Long Blade to the side of his head.

As he made this motion, everything around him seemed to remain frozen in place. He stared at Wei Wusheng’s position, stamped his foot, and shot forward, simultaneously flicking the Long Blade he had positioned in front of him in an upward, diagonal arc!

Teacher Bai had been watching the two of them, wary of any potential threats. But in that moment, his vision blurred. He seemed to hear a rapid series of clashes, and by the time he could see clearly again, the scene before him made his eyes fly open in shock.

Chen Chuan was positioned sideways, the hilt of his blade held at his waist. The Long Blade in front of him was plunged into Wei Wusheng’s abdomen, a section of it protruding from his back!

"What?!"

Teacher Bai stared at the scene, completely shaken. ’What happened in that instant? I couldn’t perceive any of Chen Chuan’s movements at all!’

And behind him, the students all let out a flurry of sharp breaths and gasps of alarm.

Chen Chuan stood slightly sideways, his gaze fixed on Wei Wusheng’s towering frame. Blood trickled down the latter’s neck, and a long, diagonal gash cut across the flesh of his chest.

In that single moment, he had struck six times. His original plan was to use his sudden burst of speed to decapitate Wei Wusheng directly.

That way, no matter how strong his opponent’s Horizontal Training was, it would be useless.

However, just as he was about to sever the man’s head, Wei Wusheng had suddenly erupted with a reaction speed far exceeding what he’d shown before, using his hammer to block the slash in time. He then consecutively blocked the remaining attacks, only failing to evade the final thrust.

Or rather... he had allowed it to happen intentionally.

He could feel the blade being restricted within his opponent’s body, ensnared by a pliant and viscous power. It seemed to be completely locked in place by muscle and the internal Mutated Organization.

At this moment, Wei Wusheng suddenly raised both hands high. The movement looked exceptionally slow and powerful, so much so that even the Second Limit students in the back could see the entire process clearly. In reality, however, he had lifted the hammer above his head in just an instant.

In that moment, his towering body completely blocked the sunlight from behind, and the hammer seemed to hold all of his might.

After a seeming pause, the hammer violently slammed downward!

Chen Chuan watched the face of the hammer fall toward him. He knew that if he didn’t abandon his blade and dodge, the hammer would smash down on his head and body. This scene was almost an exact repeat of what happened on the cruise ship.

But just as the hammer was halfway down, before it could unleash its full force, he twisted at the waist, shot a hand upward, and met it with an open palm. Releasing an incredibly resilient Power, he actually managed to catch the hammerhead, stopping its descent.

While blocking it, he inevitably bore the downward force that could have crushed anything. However, the Mutated Organization in his body channeled and transformed it, layer by layer, continuously dissipating and redirecting the power.

It was clear that Wei Wusheng had gathered all his strength for that one strike. Yet, Chen Chuan had used a lesser force to counter a greater one, perfectly nullifying its power—a testament to the results of his training in technique over the past few months.

Next, he just needed to take advantage of the moment his opponent’s power was spent, leaving him internally vulnerable. He could mobilize the unused Mutated Organization within his body to counterattack—whether by pulling out his blade to strike again or by further widening the wound, both were viable options.

But before he could make his move, another resilient Power unexpectedly surged from the hammer!

The transition between these two waves of Power was completely unexpected; the second one arrived almost before the first had fully dissipated.

Under the sudden pressure of this new force, he had to immediately mobilize the other set of his Mutated Organization—the one he had intended for his counterattack—to dissipate it.

But although his body was unharmed, his frame sank lower, and his feet began to sink continuously into the ground.

He immediately realized this was bad. Wei Wusheng was trying to pin him in place. If he didn’t solve this problem, he would be forced into the ground, ending up in the same predicament as You Xing.

His eyes remained calm, but the hand gripping the Snow Monarch Blade gave a slight tremor. At the same time, the body of the Snow Monarch Blade vibrated in response.

Wei Wusheng instantly felt as if the blade had come alive. His internal Mutated Organization nearly lost its grip on it; it felt as though the slightest lapse in concentration would allow the blade to break free.

His gaze darkened. At that moment, he did something astonishing: he suddenly released the handle of the hammer he was pressing down, abandoning his weapon. He spread his hands and lunged, grabbing for Chen Chuan’s shoulders.

A glint flashed in Chen Chuan’s eyes as a sense of alarm rose in his heart. He didn’t try to forcibly retrieve the Snow Monarch Blade. Instead, he also let go with both hands, leaned back, and in the same motion, took Wei Wusheng’s hammer into his own hands. His figure seemed to do nothing more than flicker slightly, his posture barely changing, yet in an instant, he was more than ten meters away.

He glanced at Wei Wusheng, who stood his ground and didn’t give chase. Then he looked at the hammer in his hand. He wasn’t familiar with how to use it, so he casually tossed it aside.

Wei Wusheng, meanwhile, reached out and grabbed the blade. He pulled it out slowly, finally wrenching it free from his body. With a flick of his wrist, he too threw the weapon away.

As this happened, the puncture wound in his abdomen rapidly closed up. Apart from some residual bloodstains, the injuries on his neck and forehead showed no trace of ever having been cut open.

Chen Chuan now realized that, compared to their last encounter, not only was Wei Wusheng’s strength greater, but he also seemed to possess an additional, separate Power within his body. This new Power was the polar opposite of his previous one.

It wasn’t like a Fighter skillfully using different parts of their Mutated Organization separately; rather, he possessed an entirely different system. The strength from it was in no way inferior to his own, making it seem as if two people resided within his one body.

But these two powers seemed to be normally separate. Only in a moment of mortal danger, like the one just now, did they achieve a complete Fusion.

He took off his visored cap and placed it on the hood of a nearby car. At the same time, he reached up and undid his collar button. ’Since weapons are temporarily out of the question, I’ll just have to settle this with my fists and feet.’

...

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