Chapter Forty-Eight: Fierce Battle!

"Die!" Sun Hao's face was twisted in fury as he swung his fist violently at Liu Ji. The veins on his fist bulged, and the air around it seemed to whistle with the force of his punch.

Seeing the incoming fist, Liu Ji grabbed the heavy solid wood table beside him and slammed it toward Sun Hao's head. Sun Hao's expression changed; he quickly punched forward, shattering the thick rosewood table with a resounding crash.

Yet in the next instant, he saw a fierce whip kick slicing through the air, hurtling unceremoniously toward his head. He raised both arms to block.

Liu Ji's whip kick struck Sun Hao's arms hard, forcing him to stagger backward. But Liu Ji, not about to let his advantage slip, gave Sun Hao no chance to recover. He pushed off the ground and charged again.

Closing in, Liu Ji leaped into the air and slammed his palm toward Sun Hao's head. In his palm, a swirl of Heavenly Steel energy hummed and spun, radiating a sharp and terrifying aura.

Sun Hao was, after all, a student of Imperial Heaven Academy. Liu Ji had no idea how strong Sun Hao truly was, so he refused to give him a moment to catch his breath, determined to beat him down with thunderous force.

Feeling the tremendous danger, Sun Hao's heart pounded wildly. He let out an angry roar, his vital energy surging as black spiritual energy wrapped around his hands, forming a gauntlet wreathed in black currents.

He punched forward.

"Bang!"

Palm and fist collided with a dull boom, black and white spiritual energy exploding outward. Sun Hao was forced to retreat again, stumbling back several steps before regaining his balance.

The crowd around them stared in shock, exchanging bewildered glances. Clearly, none of them had expected Sun Hao to be repeatedly pushed back by Liu Ji.

"The Supreme Heavenly Steel Technique?!" Sun Hao stared at Liu Ji in disbelief. That sharp, unstoppable aura was unmistakable, and considering Liu Ji was the son of Liu Heng, the Prince of Southern Town, it could only mean—

The legendary Supreme Heavenly Steel Technique!

He had heard the cultivation method for this technique was perilous and difficult, bordering on suicide, enough to terrify countless practitioners. Yet Liu Ji had managed to cultivate it? Then Liu Ji's earlier claim of refining his meridians and acupoints with spiritual energy was true? He really trained that way?

This guy is a monster!

Previously, he'd heard rumors Liu Ji was cultivating the Supreme Heavenly Steel Technique, but he'd scoffed at them. Given how dangerous and grueling that method was, Liu Ji, the notorious playboy, would never risk his life for it—or so he'd thought.

Now, he'd been proven painfully wrong.

These thoughts flashed through Sun Hao's mind like lightning. Before he could process them further, that fierce and astonishing aura surged toward him again.

"Don’t think that just because you have the Supreme Heavenly Steel Technique you can go toe-to-toe with me!" Sun Hao shouted angrily. As a student of Imperial Heaven Academy, how could he fear Liu Ji? So what if Liu Ji had cultivated such a technique? No matter how powerful, a technique was just an external tool; true strength came from one's cultivation. Besides, the strongest technique depended on its user.

With this in mind, Sun Hao charged, his fist wrapped in black spiritual energy, striking at Liu Ji with fearless determination.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

For the next moments, Liu Ji and Sun Hao tangled fiercely, exchanging blows, each punch and kick echoing with dull thuds that left the onlookers stunned and amazed.

They realized that Liu Ji, seemingly frail, was fighting Sun Hao, a student of Imperial Heaven Academy, to a standstill—perhaps even gaining an edge!

"This..." The crowd was dumbfounded.

Previously, many present had doubted Liu Ji's strength, but his display was like a slap in the face to those skeptics.

Zhang Yihan stroked his chin and murmured, "Brother Liu has an advantage thanks to his technique. Since he gained the upper hand, he’s been pressing Brother Sun relentlessly, which is why he’s slightly dominating."

He nodded sagely. "But once Sun Hao gets a moment to breathe, the situation could change completely. Who knows who’ll win then!"

Sharp-eyed spectators nodded in agreement. In terms of cultivation, Sun Hao was much stronger than Liu Ji—whether it was the speed of absorbing spiritual energy, the power it possessed, or the amount he could take in and unleash. Liu Ji simply couldn’t keep up.

Liu Ji’s advantage lay in his technique, but only so long as he had enough cultivation to support it. Over time, that advantage would fade, and Sun Hao would reverse the tide.

So everyone could see Liu Ji was fighting with everything he had, trying to defeat Sun Hao quickly.

Yet what they didn’t realize was that Liu Ji’s cultivation method was entirely different from theirs. They refined their internal organs to condense a Divine Repository Seed, which absorbed spiritual energy for storage and combat. This method was much slower.

Liu Ji, on the other hand, refined his meridians and surrounding acupoints directly with spiritual energy, making them incredibly tough and resilient. With the Supreme Heavenly Steel Technique’s special abilities, he could directly absorb wild spiritual energy from the world, bypassing the Divine Repository Seed, and circulate it through his meridians.

To put it simply, others needed a vessel, a filter, and a purifier to drink clean water—after much processing, they got just a little. Liu Ji, however, needed none of that; he could drink straight from the source, efficiency unmatched.

"Second Brother! Hit him! Hit him hard! Don’t let them swagger in front of you!" Liu Yuqing shouted, waving her hand and munching on roasted chicken.

"Bang!"

Liu Ji’s foot whipped across Sun Hao’s head, sending him staggering backward again. Liu Ji frowned—this guy could really take a beating!

Sun Hao retreated several steps before steadying himself. He wiped blood from his cheek and sneered, "Liu Ji, you’re finally showing signs of fatigue, aren’t you?"

Liu Ji’s expression was calm, but his heart was heavy. Indeed, as Sun Hao said, he had gone all out in the previous battle, leaving nothing in reserve. This approach had let him dominate Sun Hao, but it had also damaged his meridians, reducing his combat strength.

After all, spiritual energy from heaven and earth was inherently wild, and pushing it quickly through his meridians only caused more harm. His refined meridians and acupoints were tough, far beyond ordinary, but even he couldn’t ignore the damage from wild spiritual energy; prolonged battle took a heavy toll.

However...

He had the system!

He opened his attribute panel.

Vitality: 68/110.
Strength: 79/117.
Speed: 67/90.
Spirit: 85/90.
Constitution: 87/90.
Spiritual Power: 1560.

After that fierce battle, Liu Ji’s vitality, strength, and other attributes were quite depleted. No matter—he had plenty of spiritual power.

He immediately used spiritual power to restore his attributes to their peak, spending 121 points.

His vitality surged once more!

Just then, Sun Hao sneered, "Weren’t you enjoying yourself earlier? Now the tables have turned; it’s my turn!"

He raised his forearm and clenched his fist. "Armor Spirit, summon!"

Zzzz!

In the next moment, golden arcs of electricity appeared and wrapped around his body, crackling with impressive force—it was clear he, too, was an Armor Spirit user.

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