Chapter Twenty-One: Four Percent
In the mere flash of a thought, it felt as if a super high-speed crystal rail train had slammed into his chest, sending him flying seven or eight meters and slamming into the wall with a "thud," knocking away seven or eight straw mats in an instant, straw flying everywhere!
Li Yao fell heavily to the ground, with liquids gushing out from his eyes, nostrils, and mouth, his entire chest numb, the sense of numbness spreading like a virus, suffocating him!
"Too fast, I didn't even see if it was a punch or a kick. Who is this guy? With such strength, he's still practicing in this amateur club. No wonder he can earn ten thousand in three minutes!" Li Yao's mind was blank, panting for a good while before he managed to stand up with the help of the wall.
Li Yao's legs were trembling. He glanced at the clock on the wall opposite - only five seconds had passed, but it felt like a full five minutes!
The smiling clown stood quietly ten meters away, somewhat surprised, frowning, "Your resistance to hits seems not that strong. If you can't hold on, just give up. No need to force it."
"Who said I can't hold on? I wasn't ready just now, let's go, again!" Li Yao took a deep breath, swallowing the bitter liquid back into his throat, his eyes gradually turning red, his mind filled with thoughts of "three minutes, ten thousand!"
Ten thousand can buy a dozen of strengthening potions; or 3,500 cans of star beast meat; or a full set of spiritual practice symbols made of special materials with great ductility; or ten big meals at Yinhu Xiaojing!
In the treasure tomb, he was known as the "vulture who wants money more than life." Faced with such a huge sum of money, how could he give up easily? It's a joke!
"Come on, let's go!" Li Yao stood firm, took a defensive stance, staring at the opponent's feet, and beckoned to the smiling clown with his fingers. The other party also nodded without any politeness.
"Whoosh!" The smiling clown disappeared again!
"How is it possible, still can't see clearly, can't perceive his movement trajectory at all!" Li Yao widened his eyes, trying to search for the trace of the smiling clown, but found nothing, his eyeballs couldn't keep up with the opponent's speed, and could only resist with an instinctive reaction to danger.
"Slap!" It was like a python slapping hard on the right side of his body. This time, he was at least prepared and barely sidestepped. The reinforced ceramic insert on his right shoulder shattered, and even the inner iron plate was hit "clang clang."
"This power, too terrifying!" Li Yao was sweating profusely. The opponent broke his shoulder armor with one move, but there was no intention to stop. The tricky attacks came from unimaginable angles, like a storm, instantly enveloping him!
Immediately, the sound of reinforced ceramic inserts bursting and iron plates twisting came from Li Yao's body.
"Can't see, can't see, completely can't see! If you keep fighting like this, in less than a minute, the armor on my body will be blasted, and without protective gear, this monster can knock me down in half a second!" The image of ten thousand new bills flying away with wings appeared in Li Yao's mind, and a fierce look gradually appeared on his face.
"Think quickly, must see through his attack route!"
Li Yao felt like he was being crushed back and forth by a crystal rail train, in unbearable pain.
To his surprise, this feeling of unbearable pain was somewhat familiar and "intimate." **In the depths of his memory, some dregs were emerging again.
Memory fragments collided, shattered, integrated, and reorganized in his mind, finally turning into distorted images.
He suddenly remembered that in the dream of Nanke, when he was still a low-level servant of the Bai Lian Zong and was tortured day and night by the Great Spirit God with a big hammer, but could not see through the attack. A companion who had been in the world for a long time told him:
"Ou Ye Ming, do you think the Great Spirit God's hammer comes too fast and you can't see it clearly? Come on, give me all the fish fins for the next month, and I'll teach you a trick! What's the trick? Very simple - if you can't see it with your eyes, try to turn your head and look with your peripheral vision. Peripheral vision can capture clearer images than the eyes!"
Use peripheral vision?
Li Yao's thoughts turned quickly, too busy to think, squinted his eyes, and casually swept over with his peripheral vision.
He saw it!
The smiling clown was curled up, like a lazy flower cat, hiding behind his right side, and then suddenly jumped up, turning from a lazy flower cat into a ferocious python in an instant, with a simple whip leg sweeping his right shin!
If this blow is solid, not only will the reinforced ceramic insert on his right leg be completely shattered, but the right leg bone will also be severely affected, the speed will be reduced by at least half, and the possibility of continuing to support will be completely lost!
"I'm determined to get this ten thousand!" Li Yao bit his lips, almost mobilizing all the sports cells in his body, and his lower right leg folded into the upper leg like a folding knife!
The smiling clown's attack was empty, and even the person lost his balance in an instant, and had to take a half step forward, showing his figure for the first time.
The watery offensive was forcibly stopped, as if a super fast-paced music suddenly stopped at the moment of climax.
Li Yao twisted his waist and wanted to take advantage of the situation to kick the other party.
The smiling clown seemed to know in advance, and after a failed attack, he quickly dodged seven or eight meters away, looking at him with a smile, and a touch of surprise and approval appeared in his eyes: "In just fifty-seven seconds, you saw through my attack route? The underground ghost market is really a place where dragons and tigers are hidden!"
"Well, of course, do you want to know what method I used to see through your attack? It starts with my teacher, it was a night of heavy rain twenty years ago――" Li Yao was panting like a cow, desperately delaying time.
"No!"
The smiling clown interrupted him straightforwardly, and disappeared from the spot again. This time, Li Yao also captured his attack route. Strangely, the smiling clown seemed to have turned into two people, pouncing on him from both sides at the same time!
...
In the tea room, the bald man with tattoos on his face was leisurely drinking Erguotou, eating chicken wings, humming a military tune that was out of tune.
A man with a spider pattern on his face suddenly knocked on the door and walked in.
He was short and sturdy, as solid as a wall.
"Who are you?" The bald man with tattoos on his face was stunned, the chicken wing was held in mid-air, and the chicken bone trembled.
...
In the fighting room, two minutes and thirty seconds have passed!
Li Yao was like a small fishing boat tumbling between the towering waves, being smashed into the abyss by wave after wave, but he could re-emerge after a while!
His body has been washed and tempered by the powerful soul of Ou Ye Zi, every muscle fiber and every cell is extremely tough. Although every punch feels painful to the bone, he is still desperately persisting, crazy persistence, just because――
"Damn it, I've been beaten for two and a half minutes by this bastard, six hundred and fifty-two punches! If I give up now, isn't it a white beating?"
Two minutes and thirty-one seconds, two minutes and thirty-two seconds...
Every second that passes, Li Yao's belief to persist is more solid, not to mention that he feels that the other party's speed and strength seem to have a slight decrease after a long time of ultra-high-speed movement, and there may be a flaw soon.
In these two and a half minutes, he is not just taking the beating, but has been observing the opponent very carefully. He found that although the smiling clown's speed is extremely fast, there is a very small habitual action. Every time he attacks from the right side, the left leg will bend slightly first.
This superfluous action probably slows down the smiling clown's speed by 0.1 seconds.
Li Yao is waiting for this flaw!
He is not a good man who just takes the beating without fighting back. Although the other party's strength is obviously much higher than his, it's good to vent a punch!
But not now, now the opponent still has strength, vigilance, and is still smiling.
No problem, Li Yao can wait, like a vulture waiting for the best hunting opportunity. Over a decade of struggle in the treasure tomb has taught him how to lurk with claws and teeth, and also the importance of patience.
While getting beaten up, running around with his head in his hands, and howling, Li Yao's mind remains cold and calm. Memory fragments spin rapidly in the depths of his mind, and the image of the Great Spirit God performing the "One Hundred and Eight Handstyles of the Cloak and Chaos Hammer Method" condenses again, becoming clearer from vagueness.
The first move... the second move...
Li Yao quickly searches the arsenal of his memory for the "weapon" most suitable for the current situation.
...
In the tea room.
The bald tattooed man suddenly stood up, spilling Erguotou on himself: "Are you 'Iron Turtle'?"
"Of course I'm Iron Turtle. Didn't we just contact each other? You asked me to wear the spider face pattern, what's the problem?" The short and sturdy man frowned, puzzled.
"You are Iron Turtle, then who is the guy in the fighting room?" The expression of the bald tattooed man became extremely strange. After being stunned for a moment, he suddenly pushed Iron Turtle away, strode to the door of the fighting room in a few steps, and turned the handle.
"Ah Hai, stop it!"
"Three minutes are up!" Almost at the same time, Li Yao, covered in blood, screamed piercingly.
The screams of the two people made the smooth offensive of the smiling clown have a slight stagnation. He subconsciously looked at the wall and found that the time had only passed by—
Two minutes and fifty-nine seconds!
"This is it!"
Li Yao roared lowly, crouched and advanced, his right hand feinting a jab while his left fist was hidden behind him, the knuckles cracking and protruding like a mace. Then, using his left heel as the pivot, his whole body spun ninety degrees at high speed, and with the huge centrifugal force, he swung his left fist fiercely!
"Crack crack crack crack!" The fist actually pierced the air, making a series of explosions. Li Yao's fist, like a howling hammer, went straight to the smiling clown's face!
"Cloak and Chaos Hammer Method, the ninety-fourth hand, whirlwind hammer kill!"
"Go easy!"
A somewhat shrill roar came from the bald tattooed man at the door. Li Yao couldn't stop his hand, and his fist was about a hair's breadth away from the smiling clown's nose tip.
Then, the smiling clown changed.
The person is still the same person, and even the eyelashes didn't tremble, but the thirty-six thousand pores on the body seemed to gush out a strong aura in an instant. The substantial momentum seemed to put on a solid armor for him, and the whole person "expanded" a circle, from an ordinary martial artist, became a peerless master!
Li Yao then realized that the four words "go easy" seemed not to be said to himself.
0.01 seconds later, his fist somehow changed direction and slammed into his own nose, knocking himself out for dozens of meters. While he was still in mid-air, he didn't even have time to scream half a sound before he completely passed out!
The extremely strong aura surrounding the smiling clown only lasted for half a second before it disappeared without a trace, turning back into an ordinary person who is harmless to people and animals.
He walked slowly to Li Yao's side, squatted down, and felt his breath.
"How is it? Is it okay?" The bald tattooed man hurried over, asking nervously.
"Fainted, seems to be seriously physically overdrawed, just need to replenish some strengthening potion quickly." Yao Dao Penghai touched his nose and said with some surprise, "This guy is very powerful, actually forcing me to break the bottom line and unleash 4% of my strength."