If the man with the crew cut had been an ordinary person, the sheer sight of Tang Yuling’s attack—a force like a landslide or a tsunami—would have been enough to make him piss his pants on the spot.

But in fact, his expression didn’t change at all. He even maintained that faint smirk at the corner of his lips.

In an instant, his body shifted back half a meter, perfectly dodging Tang Yuling’s punch.

"What a pity. You were so close."

The crew-cut man grinned flippantly.

He suddenly lashed out with a kick. Tang Yuling hastily changed her move, raising her arm to block, but her entire arm went numb, her strength instantly draining away.

It was at this moment that Zhong Tie charged forward. As he passed Wan Ze, he quickly whispered, "Protect Miss Ling. I’m counting on you."

With that said, he pushed off the ground, his entire body seeming to rise up. He swung his arm like a battle-axe, bringing it down fiercely toward the other man’s head.

Wan Ze watched, silently analyzing the move.

Compared to Tang Yuling’s Fist Technique, this Brother Tie’s was far more shocking. His Splitting Fist was like a pouncing tiger, his intent flowing with every strike, reminiscent of a great axe cleaving a mountain. The sound of a tiger’s roar alone was enough to make one’s blood boil.

The momentum the crew-cut man had used to overwhelm Tang Yuling was disrupted by Zhong Tie’s great roar, faltering for an instant.

But his reaction speed was just as fast.

He spread his hands slightly, and his entire body seemed to take flight, soaring away. In an instant, his hands formed crane beaks. His arms coiled inward, and channeling his power, he stabbed straight for Zhong Tie’s eyes.

"THUD!"

A fierce tiger against a ferocious crane!

The two were evenly matched in strength.

Their fists slammed into each other again and again, the impacts a rapid-fire series of CRACKS.

The shockwaves swept out, causing the wooden shelves on either side to shake violently. Miss Ling was in a complete daze. She couldn’t understand why the Ling Family was being targeted like this.

Meanwhile, Wan Ze, standing in front of her, was watching with great interest. It was a rare opportunity to witness a duel between masters up close. Although the two fighters were only at the Blood Tempering Second Transformation, to Wan Ze, they were already incredibly strong.

As Zhong Tie and the crew-cut man fought, Tang Yuling would occasionally weave in with her own attacks. But after only a few breaths, she was clearly outmatched. A kick sent her flying into a wall. Her elbow smashed a large hole in the finger-thick white wall, and she immediately spat up blood.

"Sister Yuling!" Miss Ling cried out in alarm.

The crew-cut man sneered. "Miss Ling, I didn’t actually want to kill you. But what a shame... Who told your grandfather to take the Rain Bell for himself?"

"You already stole it! Why won’t you let me go?" Miss Ling demanded furiously.

"That’s why I asked you to make a choice at your grandfather’s funeral. You said you would inherit everything from the old man, so this is the consequence. They didn’t have to die. Too bad they’re all being dragged down by you now..." The crew-cut man’s tone was flat as he shuffled his feet, silently retreating like a celestial crane to dodge one of Zhong Tie’s iron fists.

"THUD!"

Zhong Tie roared in anger, cracking the cedar plank under his foot and using the force of the stomp to launch himself forward.

This time, the crew-cut man didn’t retreat. He stepped forward with a cold smile.

After they exchanged a hard punch, both felt the immense Power of their opponent. The collision left both of their arms damaged to varying degrees.

"Big guy, I’ll kill you first!" The crew-cut man withdrew his gaze, his posture suddenly shifting. He twisted at the waist, and with a SNAP, his two arms shot out like venomous snakes, one aiming for Zhong Tie’s eyes and the other for his throat.

This method of generating explosive force from the waist, using the entire body, was sinister and vicious.

A chill went down Zhong Tie’s spine.

But suddenly, his expression changed.

In his field of vision, Lei Ming’s junior... that young man who looked like a mere college freshman, had actually charged forward.

The crew-cut man’s ears twitched. He sensed the movement behind him, but he still had to defend against the big guy, Zhong Tie. He was forced to change his move, extending a palm to grab his new assailant.

But unexpectedly, not only did he fail to gain an advantage with this grab, but his attention was also divided. It was at that moment that Zhong Tie seized the opportunity and charged, spreading his arms in a powerful and domineering strike, as if cleaving a mountain.

"RIIIP!"

His clothes were torn.

A bright red mark appeared on the crew-cut man’s waist where the punch had landed. He retreated three steps, his feet stomping three deep pits into the cedar planks.

He had taken a serious blow.

His face was flushed.

The qi and blood in his body were thrown into disarray, and his sharp, aggressive momentum deflated significantly.

But Zhong Tie wasn’t much better off. For a moment, he felt as if he’d been hit by a train. His footing became unsteady, and the places where the crew-cut man’s fingers had grazed him stung as if pricked by needles.

He knew very well.

His own momentum had been broken, too.

Now, just like his opponent, it was a competition to see whose would collapse first.

This was a battle of life and death.

"First I’ll kill you, then that kid!" The crew-cut man shot a venomous glare at Wan Ze by the wall, then rushed toward Zhong Tie, his four fingers held together like a knife’s edge.

As he advanced, he powered forward from his shoulder joint, using the strength of his iron-like fingers to pierce through Zhong Tie’s defense and strike at a vital point.

Having learned his lesson, the large-framed Zhong Tie didn’t dare to meet the attack head-on. But he had no path of retreat. If he turned and ran, Lei Ming’s junior, Miss Ling, and Tang Yuling would all die here. He would never be able to show his face in the Holy City again.

Besides, the enemy was dead set on silencing them all by killing them.

What good would it do to flee to the ends of the earth? He couldn’t drag his entire family along with him into a life on the run.

Thinking of this, Zhong Tie’s qi and blood surged. He let out a furious roar and charged forward, determined to take his enemy down with him.

The crew-cut man’s expression shifted slightly. Faced with an opponent fighting for his life, he didn’t dare meet him head-on either. But the instant his resolve wavered, he gave Zhong Tie the perfect opportunity for a fatal blow.

The two crashed into each other, grappling in an instant. Knife-like fingers and biting gusts from their fists rained down madly on each other’s bodies.

The entire exchange was over in a flash.

Both were sent flying backward.

Zhong Tie crashed into a bookshelf, breaking it in half, and began coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

The crew-cut man slammed into the wall. Hanging pictures fell to the floor as the wall caved inward, a dense web of cracks spreading from the point of impact.

"I really... underestimated you."

The crew-cut man wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. He wasn’t in good shape either; his Five Viscera and Six Bowels felt displaced. It would likely be impossible for him to recover from his injuries anytime soon.

But it was more than enough to deal with that damned little brat.

His gaze landed on Wan Ze, a smirk playing on his lips. "You shouldn’t have stayed. You could have run at the very beginning... Of course, even if you did, you’d never escape our grasp. Everyone who showed up here today must die. I mean... all... of... you."

Wan Ze’s expression was grave.

The brief attack he’d made a moment ago had shown him the enormous gap between his own strength and his opponent’s.

’Run?’

’Where could I run?’

’Not to mention, the man’s aura is locked onto me. The moment I dare to step out that door, he’ll instantly rush over and kill me with a single finger.’

’But now? Running is useless.’

’My opponent has the complete advantage, both in momentum and psychologically.’

’I can’t face him head-on, and there’s nowhere to retreat!’

At this moment, it seemed Wan Ze had reached a dead end.

Miss Ling stared at his back, her heart in her throat. She seemed to have forgotten how to breathe.