Fighting Nie Yu
At the same time.
San Francisco.
Clang clang clang clang—
A smear of a red figure stepped on high poles, leaping up as lightly as if flying on clouds. The large red lion head flipped in the air with ribbons fluttering, its huge eyes blinking lightly from time to time, as if it had truly come alive.
Loud gongs and drums sounded continuously, and the cheers of the crowd rang out from the side. A group of white and black people held their phones, looking at this scene in shock, their faces full of disbelief.
That lion dance figure was seen stepping onto the highest pole in a few steps, a full seven or eight meters above the ground. He stepped on the pole surface with one foot, his body naturally sinking back, and his other foot was crossed like a relaxed leg posture. From a distance, it looked like he would fall at any moment, causing the crowd to exclaim repeatedly.
The large red lion headpiece blinked playfully, then leaped down from the seven or eight-meter-high pole with a fierce backflip. His feet continuously stepped on the void, flying down mid-air as if stepping on stairs, and then landed firmly on the ground.
In the next moment, thunderous applause!
As the performance ended, the figure who had just been lion dancing walked to the back of the line, took off that large red lion headpiece with both hands, and a handsome young face appeared before everyone's eyes.
It was a young man around twenty years old, wearing a red and black Tang suit, with a string of glossy small-leaf red sandalwood beads on his wrist. He waved to the teenager beside him, took a pair of narrow Round Sunglasses, casually perched them on the bridge of his nose, and the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.
"Hmph hmph, these foreigners' money is really easy to earn."
With his hands in his pockets, his body leaned forward slightly, and the small Round Sunglasses on the bridge of his nose slid down a little. His gaze, full of smiles, swept across the entire Chinatown. His expression and posture unconsciously revealed a hint of ruffian air.
"Now, who is the most handsome guy in Chinatown?"
"Mister Sun, the Audience hasn't gone far yet... please pay attention to your image," the teenager who looked like an assistant said softly from the side.
"...Cough cough." The young man glanced back, silently straightened his body, and walked straight into Chinatown.
"Right, Mister Sun, your phone seems to have been ringing continuously since just now..."
"Hmm?"
The young man took the phone, saw the website and footage on the screen, and his entire person was suddenly stunned.
"Huh... what's this situation? The dark web got hacked?"
He pulled down the sunglasses on the bridge of his nose and crouched unceremoniously by the roadside to watch carefully. As a bloodstained figure passed by the camera in the footage, his attention was instantly attracted.
"This face... I seem to have seen it somewhere? Is it that very famous Path of the Soldier from the Golden Triangle..."
The young man scratched his head, thinking hard.
However, as the footage shifted, in Nie Yu's direction of advance, a figure draped in a Great Crimson Theatrical Robe was standing tall on the roof in the heavy rain, a smear of apricot red outlined from the corners of his eyes.
Seeing this scene, the young man's pupils shrank abruptly, and his entire person shot up from the roadside with a swoosh!
"This is... the Path of the Actor??"
...
Service area.
Thunder roared among the clouds, and pale lightning flashed across the sky.
Amidst the flickering neon lights, Nie Yu carried his Hunting Knife, shattering the rippling reflections in the puddles step by step, and slowly advanced towards the position where Chen Ling was.
The rain washed away the fresh blood on his face, and his gaze looking at Chen Ling was as sharp as a blade.
"You indeed chased after me..."
Chen Ling looked at him calmly. "I thought you would keep hiding in the dark and give me a sudden fatal blow when my guard was down."
"To deal with you, I don't need to use such methods."
"Don't need to, or can't afford to? Your body is almost at its limit, right? If you don't finish me off as soon as possible and deal with the Demon-Suppressing Blood Map, I'm afraid your Rank will continue to drop... At that time, you won't even have a sliver of a chance to win."
Chen Ling saw through Nie Yu's thoughts at a glance and spoke with a sneer.
The hand Nie Yu used to grip the Hunting Knife exerted more and more force, the pale knuckles looking especially hideous under the wash of the icy rain.
"You should also only be Third Tier, right?" Nie Yu said sinisterly. "Even if my Rank drops and my body is injured, killing a Third Tier like you is as easy as turning over my hand."
"Is that so?" Chen Ling chuckled lightly. "Then come and try."
Looking at Chen Ling's face, a surge of anger climbed into Nie Yu's heart. Whether it was the trap on the plane before, or killing the Vulture and placing a bounty on him in return, it all raised Nie Yu's killing intent towards Chen Ling to the extreme... His chest heaved violently, his feet stomped the ground fiercely, and his figure instantly smashed through the rain curtain like a cannonball, flying out!
Even though his body was already riddled with injuries, and even walking was staggering and difficult, at this moment Nie Yu still erupted with terrifying strength and speed. He even vertically accelerated along the wall of the building. The pitted blade of the Hunting Knife slashed open droplets of falling rain, emitting whistling sounds of breaking through the air.
He had to fight a quick battle and force a quick decision!
Chen Ling only felt a blur before his eyes, and Nie Yu's figure had leapt to mid-air above the roof. The blood-colored hem of his clothes snapped wildly in the wind. As the Hunting Knife slashed down, dense Razor Wires danced wildly, slashing towards Chen Ling's throat!
The apricot-red eyes reflected the trajectories of the Razor Wires. That Great Crimson Theatrical Robe instantly fluttered and flew like a butterfly on the roof. Chen Ling advanced instead of retreating, abruptly carving out an uninjured path amidst the wildly dancing Razor Wires.
With a shake of the wide theatrical robe's sleeves, a Bone-Stripping Knife flashing with cold glints fell into Chen Ling's palm, lightly chopping towards Nie Yu.
Clang clang clang clang—!!
Nie Yu's Hunting Knife and Chen Ling's Bone-Stripping Knife exchanged blows over a dozen times in an instant, so fast that they dragged out afterimages in the rain.
Ear-piercing sounds of clashing metal rang out, fine sparks splashing in the rain. Nie Yu didn't expect Chen Ling's close-combat Combat Power to be this strong. Whether it was speed or slashing moves, he was on par with him!
Nie Yu furrowed his brows tightly, gave a low roar, and the muscles all over his body bulged. Augmented once again under the coverage of [Iron Raiment], he heavily chopped his knife onto the Bone-Stripping Knife.
Boom—!!
Terrifying power transmitted from the blade. Chen Ling's figure flew backwards out of the rain, his feet only touching the ground a full several meters later, barely steadying his figure.
Feeling the numbness transmitting from his hands, making even gripping the knife somewhat difficult, Chen Ling's gaze gradually grew solemn.
"What strong power..."
Nie Yu was, after all, a Fifth-Tier [Heavenly Wolf]. Even though severely injured, under the augmentation of [Iron Raiment], his strength was not something a Third Tier could compare to. If it weren't for Chen Ling learning and tempering close-combat tactics with First Senior Brother every day these past few months, his slaughtering skills improving drastically, he probably wouldn't even be able to block a few of Nie Yu's slashes.
Seeing this, the cold glint in Nie Yu's eyes grew increasingly intense. Holding the Hunting Knife, he slowly walked over from the rain, speaking coldly:
"I said... you are but a Third Tier, you cannot win against me."