30: grappling

"Hold on! Tell me the exact location!" Lin Luo's voice was as cold as ice, and his steps instantly quickened, almost turning into an afterimage as he sped through the twilight streets. He no longer concealed the Aura around him, and a sharp sense of pressure naturally radiated out, causing passing pedestrians to subconsciously avoid him.

"It's... it's in the alley where Megumi usually goes home, near the exit! Dammit, he's coming again—!" Fat Wave's voice stopped abruptly after a loud, explosion-like sound, and the call was forced to disconnect, leaving only a busy signal.

Lin Luo's eyes sharpened, and he no longer held back. The Spiritual Power in his body erupted, and his speed soared again as he shot toward that direction like a bolt of electricity. The surrounding scenery receded rapidly in his eyes, turning into blurred patches of color.

Although Fat Wave was usually unreliable, for it to be so panicked and even say its "Demon Power was almost drained," the opponent was definitely no ordinary person! Megumi was in danger!

Akaza looked at the "beast" before him with a skyrocketing size and surging Demon Power, a trace of imperceptible surprise flashing in his golden pupils. He didn't recognize what species this was, but for the opponent to withstand him for so long and repeatedly block his fists with just a Protective Halo, it had already far exceeded the scope of ordinary demons.

"Beast, you're quite good," Akaza's voice remained flat, yet it carried a hint of recognition for a tenacious opponent. "To actually be able to block me for so long."

"Roar—! This granddaddy is called Hakata! I'm a famous great demon! You monster, get away from me!" Fat Wave (Hakata)'s gruff voice erupted from deep in its throat, carrying a sky-high anger from being looked down upon. One after another, they didn't take it seriously—did they really think it was a little kitten that could be easily handled? It was Lord Hakata!

Driven by anger, the dark golden light around its body seemed to brighten a bit more. Its fangs were bared, and it made a move to pounce!

However, at the very moment it was gathering strength—

Akaza moved! His figure blurred like a ghost, and in the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Fat Wave. That hand with blood-red nails formed a claw and reached forward seemingly at random!

*Puchi—!*

A crisp sound like shattering glass!

Fat Wave's indestructible dark golden Protective Halo, which it relied on to save its life, actually shattered like fragile glass under the opponent's seemingly casual grab! It turned into golden specks of light scattering through the air!

"Meow—!!"

The moment the protective light shattered, the intense backlash and the sudden sense of deathly crisis caused Fat Wave's massive body to tremble violently. Its accumulated Demon Power and Aura instantly deflated like a punctured balloon. It let out a high-pitched cat cry that was almost instinctive and completely mismatched with its huge body, filled with terror and pain. Its originally majestic tiger-like size seemed to shrink, its huge head subconsciously tucked in, and its golden pupils were filled with unbelievable horror.

This monster... what on earth is it?! To actually be this strong!

Seeing the hand with blood-red nails reaching out again, aimed directly at the unconscious Kato Megumi on its back, Fat Wave bared its teeth and roared, disregarding its injuries to activate the Protective Halo once more.

*Zizizi—!*

The blood-red nails collided violently with the halo. This time, the halo was actually several times tougher than before, stubbornly withstanding the fatal blow.

However—

*Crackle!*

The halo was ultimately teetering on the brink.

At the critical moment when the halo was about to completely shatter, a figure attacked from the alley entrance like a bolt of lightning! A fist wrapped in golden Spiritual Power slammed hard into that blood-red claw.

*Boom!*

Amidst the surging airwaves, Akaza was actually shaken back several meters by this punch, plowing two deep furrows into the ground.

Lin Luo stood protectively in front of Fat Wave, his clothes fluttering despite the lack of wind. He glanced at the panting Fat Cat and the unconscious Kato Megumi, a cold light flashing in his eyes.

"Who gave you the nerve—to touch my people?"

Akaza steadied himself. Instead of being angry at being pushed back, his golden beast-like pupils lit up with a light bordering on ecstasy. He locked onto Lin Luo, his mouth splitting into a savage, murderous grin.

"It's you! It's you! I've finally found you!" His voice carried the excitement and hunger of a hunter discovering precious prey.

Lin Luo ignored his shouting. With a gentle sweep of Spiritual Power, he lightly sent the dying Fat Wave and the unconscious Kato Megumi to a relatively safe corner in the distance, avoiding them being caught in the upcoming battle.

After doing all this, he focused his attention on the powerful enemy before him, his heart solemn. The clear characters for "Upper Moon" and "Three" in the opponent's eyes immediately made him think of Kamanue, the lower rank six he had killed before. Without a doubt, the guy in front of him was a higher-level Twelve Kizuki, upper rank three!

His strength was terrifyingly powerful!

From just that one head-on punch earlier, Lin Luo felt his right hand still slightly numb even now. The opponent's Physical Body was hard beyond imagination, as if it weren't a body of flesh and blood but refined steel. This was completely different from the feeling of dealing with Kamanue before; the pressure had doubled.

"It seems you're the one who killed that trash Kamanue." Akaza licked his blood-red lips, his Battle Intent rising like something physical. "Good! Such an opponent is worth tearing apart with my own hands! Let me enjoy this to the fullest!"

Before he finished speaking, the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked. His figure vanished instantly and appeared almost simultaneously on Lin Luo's left side. A hand-blade, carrying a whistle that tore through the air, chopped straight at Lin Luo's neck! His speed was more than twice as fast as when he was dealing with Fat Wave!

Lin Luo's pupils constricted. Not daring to take it head-on, spiritual light flashed under his feet as his figure retreated rapidly. At the same time, he pointed his fingers like a sword, and a condensed bolt of golden Sword Qi erupted, accurately striking the weakest point of the opponent's hand-blade.

*Clang!*

The sound of metal clashing exploded! The Sword Qi collided with the hand-blade, actually sending sparks flying!

Lin Luo used the force to pull back again, his expression grave. Just blocking had made his fingers ache slightly. This guy was indeed a monster!

Lin Luo didn't dare to be careless. His finger seals changed, and the familiar Mystic Yellow Bronze Bell condensed once more, carrying a heavy Aura that sealed everything. With a loud "dong," it covered Akaza tightly inside!

However, this time, the situation was completely different!

As soon as the bronze bell fell, terrifying impact sounds like heavy rain hitting sheet metal came from inside!

"Dong! Dong! Dong! Dong—!"

Trapped inside, Akaza was not suppressed; instead, his ferocity seemed to be triggered. His fists, feet, elbows, and knees... his whole body turned into the most terrifying weapons, frantically striking the bell walls at a speed difficult for the naked eye to capture!

His attacks were not disorganized. Every strike contained a terrifying power capable of shattering mountains and cracking rocks, and his speed got faster and faster, with power layering upon itself!

*Crack... Crackle—!*

First, there were fine cracks, which then quickly spread across the entire bell body like a spiderweb!

In just a few breaths, the originally indestructible Mystic Yellow Bronze Bell actually let out an overburdened wail under Akaza's extremely violent continuous strikes, its spiritual light flickering intensely and erratically!

"Break!"

Accompanied by a cold shout from inside the bell.

*Boom!!!*

The entire bronze bell could no longer hold out and exploded! Countless fragments, carried by a violent airwave, shot out in all directions!

Before the spiritual light from the shattered bell had completely dissipated, a pale figure had already pierced through the center of the explosion like a ghost, his speed exceeding the limits of Lin Luo's visual capture!

He only felt a foul wind hitting his face and didn't have time to make an effective defense or dodge—

*Bang!!!*

An unimaginable force slammed hard into his chest!

Lin Luo was sent flying backward instantly, as if hit head-on by a high-speed train, slamming hard into the wall of the alley behind him!

*Boom!*

A human-shaped pit was smashed into the wall, and rubble fell rustling down.

Lin Luo's throat felt sweet, and a mouthful of blood almost sprayed out, but he forced it back down. He felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and bursts of sharp pain came from his chest.

He knelt on one knee, barely supporting his body. He looked up at the figure slowly walking out of the dust, his gaze extremely grave.

Lin Luo only felt a surge of blood in his chest. His protective Spiritual Power had shattered like paper under that kick. The intense pain made his breathing hitch, and every breath pulled at his chest with a burning sensation.

*Cough...*

Without giving him time to catch his breath, Akaza's figure approached again like a shadow, his fist wind whistling, aiming straight for the face! Spiritual light exploded under Lin Luo's feet as he narrowly sidestepped. The ground where he had been standing was smashed open by Akaza's punch, sending rubble flying and leaving a shocking crater.

"Tsk!" Lin Luo cursed inwardly. Fighting this kind of Hard-Body Martial Artist who had tempered their Physical Body to the extreme was truly a massive headache. The opponent's body was as hard as refined steel. His Spiritual Power attacks hitting the opponent were like a whip striking an iron block; although they could leave some marks and cause pain, the opponent's terrifying recovery power meant that in just a breath, the injuries would mostly heal and could almost be ignored!

Meanwhile, if he took even one hit, it would be a real internal injury. As one side waned and the other waxed, the situation was extremely unfavorable for him.

Akaza clearly saw Lin Luo's predicament as well. The murderous smile in his golden beast-like pupils grew even wider, and his attacks became increasingly violent and sharp. His fists, feet, knees, and elbows turned into a blur of afterimages, covering all of Lin Luo's vital points, forcing him to constantly dodge and block, appearing quite distressed as his Spiritual Power consumption increased rapidly.

I must find a way to break through his defense or restrict his recovery! Lin Luo's brain worked rapidly, thinking of a countermeasure.