Translator: Larbre Studio Editor: Larbre Studio
Shaking off the purple flames, Number 17 took a step forward. He lifted his right leg and furiously whipped it towards Lou Cheng’s head like a leaping fire.
Lowering his body and leaning diagonally to avoid the kick, Lou Cheng took advantage of the fact that Number 17 was standing on one foot with his right hand lowered. With a hook punch which he shook it after it connected, he released a layer of faint purple flames that spread across the floor.
The flame burned silently but packed a lot of force. Even an expert in controlling fire would suffer scarring burns if he encountered such an attack.
As a demonstration of Ice Burning, it showed the true nature of the fifth move of the Fire Sect, Incinerate City, Vaporize Lake!
When Number 17 missed his kick, he used the momentum through his waist to leap into the sky. The purple flames swept past and hit the wall. As the flames rose quickly up the wall, its silver metal softened and deformed.
Bending his back in the air, Number 17 was like a compressed spring. When he kicked his left leg, he straightened his body and released all of his accumulated strength.
The kick might have seemed harmless, but it was well-aimed and heavy. Lou Cheng lurched forward uncontrollably and took the attack directly.
Tsk! Lou Cheng regulated his breathing and blood flow to stimulate his body. Using simplified Fighting Formula to expand his muscles, he used the explosion to increase his ability to resist the attraction force, simultaneously swinging his punch to attack.
Bam!
His punch landed solidly on the sole of Number 17’s black leather military boot. It was blown to pieces, which drifted onto the floor or into the flames.
Number 17 leveraged the momentum to flip backwards. Before he could stabilize himself, he saw Lou Cheng pouncing towards him at lightning-fast speed. His right punch seemed abnormally heavy with layers of purple flame shrouding it. His fist was like that of a majestic emperor lord extending his hands and covering the skies and earth as described in the legends.
Simplified Attainment Formula!
As Lou Cheng’s Heart Lake sensed a ripple, Number 17’s eyes glowed eerily green. The light gathered rapidly within before firing towards Lou Cheng’s head.
“Laser Cannon!”
You may be fast, but I’m faster!
This was a high-tech device that only Number 16, 17, and Number 18 could use. It was programmed with their individual uniqueness and couldn’t be separated. Even if other Numbers were to obtain it, they wouldn’t be able to use it.
In addition, this was something these three Terror Grade experts couldn’t use back to back or within a short time frame. Their bodies and the devices wouldn’t be able to withstand the toll.
As Lou Cheng punched out, he felt a tingle of danger. He sunk his shoulders abruptly and pulled his elbow back to change his straight punch to a hammer strike. Following the momentum, his body rolled forward.
Swoosh! Two dull green light rays struck the white wall on the opposite end and pierced it through, leaving two holes.
Before Lou Cheng could straighten his body, Number 17 had pushed ahead. Swinging his left arm, he clenched his fist and hammered down.
Bam bam! He struck from the left and right, one after the other. The reddish-gold flames flickered likes the fangs of a beast that could chew a person up.
Lou Cheng squatted, shifted both of his arms, and formed a shield above him.
Rumble! Rumble!
After two hammer strikes, Number 17 swung down his right arm. White light emanated from the bottom of his fist towards Lou Cheng’s chin as he tried to send him into the air.
Lou Cheng shrank his shoulders in and placed both of his arms together in front of him to defend his face, like a boxer putting up his defensive guard.
Bam!
As a fireball approached, Lou Cheng retreated.
Number 17 forged ahead.
Just as his left foot, which had lost its boot sole, landed on the ground, fire erupted from the bottom of Lou Cheng as he shot into the skies like a cannon.
Bam! At the critical point, Lou Cheng ignited the fire force within his body. This allowed him to change direction in mid-air, barely avoided the rising fire pillar that only grazed his right leg.
The edge of his navy blue pants turned instantly to dust and his leg blazed red.
If it remained burned for much longer, even Lou Cheng would be injured.
After landing strike after strike, Number 17 didn’t waste the advantage he had built up. He ignited the fire force with every part of his body.
This ignition was like striking a spark into a tank of diesel. When Number 17 erupted, he struck eight strikes at Lou Cheng within the time a typical Physical Invulnerability expert could have only struck twice.
Bam bam bam bam bam! Lou Cheng couldn’t react, but could only put up a defensive stance to protect the vital parts of his upper body. He formed an ice wall over the rest of them.
Crack! Crack! Crack! He couldn’t tell if it was the ice breaking or his bones cracking. After withstanding the violent barrage of attacks from Number 17, there were burns all over Lou Cheng’s body.
After eight punches, Number 17 took a step back. He caught his breath before striking out his right punch once again. Reddish-gold flames raged wildly. Number 17’s fist looked like a phoenix that existed only in the myth, pecking violently towards his opponent.
At this moment, Lou Cheng, who was passive but hadn’t given up preparing for a counterattack, endured the pain. Taking advantage of the moment when his enemy retreated, he shouted,
“Formation!”
He didn’t seal his hands but relied solely on his visualization, voice, and mental strength to execute a simplified version, saving him time.
When the air solidified, it formed a shapeless wall. Just as Number 17’s Phoenix Punch was about to strike, it was sealed to its spot. He could only ignite the flames to rip the seal, trying his best to destroy it.
The effects of the simplified Formation Formula were not as great as the complete version, and lasted for a moment before being destroyed by the burning fist.
However, Lou Cheng had already crouched to avoid the remaining momentum of the Phoenix Punch by the slimmest margin. He released the dark universe decorated with bright stars around him.
With this exchange, he brilliantly negated his opponent’s attack while building up to his.
He crossed his ten fingers and smashed upwards towards Number 17 like a giant hammer as he straightened his back and focused his attention.
Number 17 clenched his left fist tightly and struck down violently. As he reached Lou Cheng’s fists, his body lost its balance. He followed the momentum to retreat while blocking and dispersing the impact force.
When he took the step back, the Cosmic had already enshrouded everything, which turned dark and eerie with thick layers of ice.
Number 17 was sealed in a transparent coffin and unable to move. Star after star roared past like consecutive shots from a rocket cannon, colliding on the layers of ice.
They broke through the crystals before landing one after another on Number 17.
Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
The sounds of explosion superimposed into one another as the shockwaves shattered most of the ice walls protecting Lin Que.
Amidst the spreading flames and dust, the figure of Number 17 surfaced. Red and white fluid could be seen at the edge of his mouth. His clothes were in tatters, and he had several dents and burns on his body.
Using his internal shield to defend his control over flames, his injuries were mild.
In his eyes, faint purple, light blue, and scorching red fireballs were rotating around Lou Cheng, along with dazzling gold and white ones.
Bam!
Lou Cheng pushed ahead and struck out with his palm.
Number 17 thought of using his fist to block and avoid the fireballs in search of a counterattack. But at the instant he lifted his arm, a dull green light flickered over his eyes. Noticing something, he forcefully executed Flames Leap to shift to the side.
Such a change in direction was too steep and caused the wounds of Number 17 to open up and blood to flow out.
Such a shame. He fell for it and didn’t try to block my Lament of the Ice Queen, thought Lou Cheng as he pounced towards his opponent.
Number 18 let out a fearful scream. After which, Lou Cheng’s eyes were filled with blinding lights from the swords.
Swoosh swoosh swoosh!
As the light rays raged on, the sounds of flesh being cut were incessant. When Ji Jianzhang and Dou Ning teamed up, they finally killed Number 18 with their great chemistry. If it was any other two Physical Invulnerability experts, so long as they were not at the same tier as Warrior Sage or Dragon King, Number 18 would have had the opportunity to escape from the base.
As the scream entered his ears, Number 17 frowned. He made his decision and released a violent and terrifying reddish-gold fireball towards Lin Que instead of Lou Cheng!
When the fireball was released, he rushed towards the door without turning back. Each step was minute and unpredictable his image flickered from position to position.
Lou Cheng’s pupils shrank. He didn’t dare to risk the safety of Lin Que, who was guarded only by a badly damaged ice wall. He turned around, released the “Ice Spirit” force and stood in front of the metal bed.
Pfft! Rumble!
The reddish-gold fireball was pierced through as it exploded. Deafening shock waves propagated like a tsunami, but they were shielded from Lin Que by Lou Cheng.
Pa pa pa! The remaining parts of Number 18 fell to the ground. In her eyes, one could still see her unconvinced looks. Compared to Number 16 and the others whose minds wouldn’t collapse or feel fear, she looked more like an alive Terror Grade expert.
By this time, Number 17 had already disappeared and headed in an unknown direction.
Seeing Lou Cheng’s disappointment, Ji Jianzhang returned his sword to its sheath and said,
“You’ve done well. I was rash before and should have moved Que to a safer place first.”
“Let’s stop here. Those who were directly involved and the leaders of the base have already been killed. Que was the only one being researched and shouldn’t be a problem.”
“We shouldn’t go too far. Ke is still in America.”
In the world of the Physical Invulnerability experts, this extent is still not considered going too far. Lou Cheng glanced at the dead researchers and Number 18. His mouth couldn’t help but twitch a little.
However, America and Japan are the ones at fault in this incident and the things they are doing go against human rights. If this incident is to leak out, they would be condemned by public opinion. Giving them some respect could also be considered going too far. If anyone dares to make it difficult for Ke, we wouldn’t be able to guard Ke’s family against Physical Invulnerability experts at all times.
A country’s boundary was long and a Physical Invulnerability expert could easily enter the country from many points. Even if one had a Physical Invulnerability expert guarding at home, they couldn’t possibly protect the whole family at all times. If they were to truly shed all pretence of cordiality, refusing to rest until one party died, both parties would suffer huge losses. Therefore, Physical Invulnerability experts never go too far when another Physical Invulnerability expert is involved.
There were exceptions, like the Dark Night Bat.
“See if anyone is still alive, make a copy of all the information here, and destroy the base. This is to make sure we have something in hand against them and a source to trace to if Que is to suffer any consequences after being experimented on.” Dou Ning said compassionately to Lou Cheng.
She was trying to impart to Lou Cheng how to deal with similar encounters.
“Alright.” Lou Cheng heaved a sigh of relief and made his way to the other experimental labs.
...
Rumble!
A huge fireball rose up and the North Harbour Mechanical Corporation collapsed completely.
Number 17, with his blonde hair parted down the middle, was hiding in the crowd watching the spectacle.
Suddenly, he laughed so hard that tears came out.
“I’m free, I’m free.” He mumbled softly, attracting strange looks from the people around him.