Chapter 146: Just Who Are You???
Chapter 145
Shi Mo, with one eye fully closed and the other slowly beginning to close as well, looked toward Liyu.
Liyu seemed as if he was still trying... and failing... to adapt to the terrifying gravity pressing down on him.
His body was trembling.
His bones were creaking beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Blood continued to flow from the corners of his mouth.
Yet...
His eyes were not the eyes of someone whose life was in danger.
They were not the eyes of someone drowning beneath an impossible weight.
Instead...
They were the eyes of someone who felt excited.
Excited that he had finally been pushed this far by an opponent.
An opponent who was supposed to be weaker than him.
Strangely enough, Shi Mo did not even think about rejecting that thought anymore.
After everything that had happened...
After everything he had seen...
He knew the truth.
Liyu was stronger than him.
Far stronger than him.
In almost every regard.
His strength...
His speed...
His body...
His endurance...
His reaction speed...
Everything about Liyu was superior.
Shi Mo had been the stronger cultivator.
His cultivation realm was far higher.
Yet when it came to actual combat...
When it came to true strength...
He had been the weaker one.
Still...
Seeing the happy and excited glint inside Liyu’s eyes...
Shi Mo spoke once more.
This time...
He asked a question.
"Just who are you?"
Liyu, with the terrifying pressure threatening to rip his body apart, raised an eyebrow with great difficulty.
Even that small movement felt as if he was trying to lift an entire mountain.
Then...
He spoke.
"I told you before..."
Liyu coughed.
Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.
"I am Liyu."
Shi Mo looked at him for a long while.
His remaining open eye slowly became dimmer.
Then...
He spoke.
"I see..."
After that...
His second eye finally closed.
His consciousness slowly began to fade.
And Shi Mo knew for certain that this might be how he died.
After all...
He was already standing at the edge of crossing over.
The violent Qi inside his body was becoming increasingly unstable.
His damaged Qi pathways were beginning to collapse.
The shattered Qi Bead had released an overwhelming amount of violent energy.
And now...
That energy was destroying him from within.
Shi Mo knew that he might not survive.
Yet...
Even as death approached...
His final thoughts were not about his failure.
He did not think about how far he had failed to reach on the path of cultivation.
He did not think about the heights he had always dreamed of reaching.
He did not think about the fact that he might never become stronger again.
He did not even think about the possibility that his cultivation might be destroyed forever.
And he did not think about the fact that he had been defeated by someone he had once believed to be far weaker than him...
Only to discover that Liyu had been far stronger all along.
No...
None of those thoughts became his final thoughts as his consciousness slowly faded.
Instead...
There was only one simple question lingering inside his mind.
I wonder...
Who would win between that monster, Liyu...
And the devil, Shi Tian?
If this question had been asked before today...
Shi Mo would have immediately placed his bet on Shi Tian.
After all...
He had never seen Shi Tian fight at full power before.
Not once.
Even the small amount of seriousness Shi Tian had shown...
The tiny fraction of his power that Shi Mo had witnessed...
Was already enough to tell him something terrifying.
No matter how strong Shi Mo became...
No matter how much he increased the gravity around his opponent...
No matter how much he reduced the gravity around himself...
No matter how skilled he became...
No matter how many combat abilities he mastered...
At the end of the day...
He would still never become someone worthy of standing across from Shi Tian in battle.
He was simply too weak.
Far too weak.
Shi Tian was an absolute monster in every respect.
The one person Shi Mo feared more than the entirety of the Shi Clan combined...
The devil of the Shi Clan.
So yes...
Before today...
Shi Mo would have chosen Shi Tian to win.
Low difficulty.
There would not have been any doubt in his mind.
However...
That was before he had witnessed Liyu’s power.
Before he had felt what it was like to fight him.
Before he had watched Liyu adapt to a twenty-fivefold increase in gravity within less than twenty minutes.
Before he had thrown everything he possessed at Liyu...
Only to discover that the person standing before him was far more terrifying than he had ever imagined.
Now...
Shi Mo was no longer certain.
If anything...
He chose to believe that Liyu still had some hidden cards left to play.
The terrifying monster had already shown him so many impossible things.
Who was to say that what they had seen was everything Liyu possessed?
And if Liyu were to face Shi Tian...
Perhaps...
He would not be as helpless as everyone believed.
Perhaps the battle would not be as one-sided as everyone expected.
Who knew...
The battle between those two monsters might truly be fun to watch.
A battle between the devil of the Shi Clan...
And the monster known as Liyu.
Sadly...
Shi Mo would not be there to witness it with his own eyes.
Such a pity...
That was the final thought that passed through Shi Mo’s mind.
Then...
Everything faded into darkness.
...
Back in the outside world...
The terrifying gravity pressing down on Liyu suddenly vanished.
It disappeared just as quickly as it had arrived.
The unbearable pressure faded.
The crushing weight disappeared.
The shattered remains of the stage stopped groaning.
And Liyu’s body suddenly became light once more.
At the same time...
A series of System notifications flashed before his eyes.
Warning! Warning!
Host! Your Primal Tyrant Physique has triggered a forced adaptation due to the sudden increase in world pressure!
Primal Adaptation initiated...
Adapting... 8%...
Then—
Ding!
Adaptation canceled due to the disappearance of the environmental pressure.
The blue screen disappeared.
Liyu was not angry that the forced adaptation had been canceled.
He was not upset that he had missed the opportunity to become even stronger.
If anything...
He was relieved.
Extremely relieved.
After all...
He had been dangerously close to breaking a large number of bones.
His bones.
Liyu slowly sat down on the shattered ground.
His body ached.
His muscles still trembled from the terrifying pressure.
He took in a deep breath before turning his gaze toward Shi Mo.
The large guy was lying several meters away.
His body was completely broken.
Both his arms and legs were bent at unnatural angles.
His face was swollen.
Blood covered parts of his body.
And now...
He was completely unconscious.
Liyu stared at him for a few seconds.
Then a small smile appeared on his face.
That big guy is crazy...
Liyu shook his head.
If Shi Mo had not lost consciousness when he did...
If the terrifying fiftyfold gravity had continued for even a little longer...
Then Liyu might truly have lost the match.
The pressure had already begun cracking his bones.
He had been dangerously close to being completely crushed.
And if the adaptation had not finished before his body gave out...
The result could have been completely different.
Liyu sighed.
That was close...
Then...
His thoughts returned to the events from a few minutes ago.
...
Flashback—A few minutes earlier...
"So tell me..."
Liyu asked.
His eyes gleamed with uncontained dark thoughts.
"Do you have any last words before I begin?"
His hands seemed to twitch with barely contained excitement as he looked at Shi Mo’s broken form.
Liyu was patiently waiting for his final words.
"Come on, dude..."
"I’m barely holding myself back right now."
"And if you don’t have any last words..."
"Then your beating can officially begin."
Liyu said it so casually that it was enough to make anyone’s skin crawl.
Shi Mo looked at him for a long while.
His expression remained dim.
His face was badly swollen.
His breathing was rough.
When he finally spoke...
His voice sounded broken and muffled.
Probably because Liyu’s earlier slaps had brutally affected his mouth and lungs.
"I..."
Shi Mo slowly raised his gaze.
"I have a few words to say..."
"I... I have a few words to say... friend..."
Liyu’s smile brightened.
"What is it? Go on."
Then...
He saw Shi Mo open his eyes.
And smile at him slightly.
Liyu didn’t know why...
But the moment he saw that smile, his instincts screamed at him.
Danger...
A high level of danger.
The kind of danger that could truly threaten his life.
And at the same time Shi Mo opened his mouth to speak...
Liyu acted as well.
Primal Qi has been activated!
Total Enhancement!
Ding!
Host, all your physical attributes have been increased by 4x!
Almost at the exact same moment...
The crushing pressure descended.
BOOOOOOM!
An overwhelming force slammed down upon the entire stage.
Even with his body enhanced four times...
Even with his defense becoming far more monstrous than before...
Liyu was still struck by an immense and unbearable pain.
The terrifying pressure forced him down onto one knee.
Blood rushed toward places it was never supposed to rush.
His body shook violently.
Deep pain ravaged every inch of his body.
His eyes immediately turned bloodshot.
His bones started to creak and groan as if they wanted to break apart.
His entire body trembled over and over again beneath the overwhelming pressure.
Then...
A System notification flashed before his eyes.
Warning!
Host! Your Primal Tyrant Physique has triggered a forced adaptation in response to the sudden surge in gravitational pressure!
Primal Adaptation initiated...
Adaptation progress: 1%...
Estimated time until adaptation is complete: 90 minutes.
Liyu almost cursed the stupid System out loud.
With every passing second...
He could feel his bones beginning to crack.
His body was already reaching its limit.
He doubted that he could survive beneath this terrifying pressure for even ten minutes...
Let alone ninety minutes.
By then...
He would have already been completely crushed.
If he wasn’t dead already.
However...
Liyu did not panic too much.
After all...
He was also certain that this was Shi Mo’s final card.
Shi Mo had already reached his limit.
His body was broken.
His Qi was nearly exhausted.
And after using such a dangerous technique...
He was clearly approaching the end as well.
Meaning...
This terrifying pressure would not be able to last for long.
And thankfully...
Liyu had been right.
Phew...
...
Back in the present...
Liyu looked at his hands.
Small tears of blood slowly dripped from them.
Yet his expression did not show much emotion.
Apart from the faint smile still resting at the edge of his mouth...
He looked completely calm.
Liyu slowly leaned backward before collapsing onto his back.
Then...
He communicated with the System.
"Hey, Sys..."
"Tell me... what is the probability of me getting my hands on a gravity element in the future?"
The System remained silent for a while.
Then...
It finally spoke.
Its tone was clear and firm.
It did not carry its usual moody attitude.
A very high probability, Host.
The System remained silent for another two seconds.
Then it continued.
And why do you ask?
You are nowhere close to reaching the Foundation Realm yet.
I would advise you to focus on your cultivation for now and only think about forming connections with elemental affinities and energy pathways after you reach the Foundation Realm.
Liyu did not speak for a while.
However...
When he finally spoke...
His tone was firm.
More than firm.
"No..."
"I will be getting my hands on that Gravity Qi for certain."
"And as soon as possible."
Liyu grinned.
Just imagining what he could do with Gravity Qi was enough to make his mouth water.
If he managed to get his hands on it...
He would become even more terrifying.
Perhaps...
He might even become invincible.
And unlike Shi Mo...
Liyu was certain that he could use Gravity Qi in far more effective and terrifying ways.
Crazy?
Yeah...
But effective.
Extremely effective.
Ahem... Host.
The System suddenly spoke.
You can dream all you want, but for now, you are still in the middle of a tournament.
And if you do not stand up soon enough, they might declare this battle a tie.
Meaning... you will lose.
Liyu’s eyes immediately shot open.
He stared upward.
The sun had already passed its peak.
It seemed that evening was rapidly approaching.
After remaining silent for a while...
Liyu slowly nodded toward the System.
"After this tournament..."
"I have some questions for you."
Okay, Host.
Liyu took in a deep breath.
He felt as if he could finally move again.
Even if only barely.
The two minutes he had spent communicating with the System had given his Primal Qi enough time to heal his body to this extent.
His body was still recovering at a rather fast speed.
That was perhaps one of the greatest perks of the Primal Tyrant Physique.
As long as he possessed Qi...
His Qi would be converted into his mutated Qi...
Primal Qi.
And the Primal Qi would continuously heal his body.
The healing speed was rather fast.
Extremely fast, even.
Liyu could still feel the pain.
It remained rather intense.
However...
He could move now.
That was enough.
Liyu placed one hand against the shattered ground.
Then...
He slowly rose to his feet.
His movements were smooth.
Almost lazy.
He wiped the small amount of blood from his lips.
Then...
With perfect elegance...
He retrieved his black goggles from his System Space and placed them over his eyes.
His long, dark hair whipped wildly around him.
Liyu casually slipped one hand into his pocket.
Then...
He turned toward the referee.
The referee was still standing there in shock.
His face was rigid.
It was almost as if he had been frozen in place by the immense shock and awe he was feeling.
"Hey there..."
Liyu spoke.
"I think you should announce the result now."
He pointed one finger toward Shi Mo.
The large guy had long since passed out.
"As you can see..."
"He is already out of this battle."
Liyu said every word with refined elegance.
As if he was deliberately farming aura.
No...
What was he thinking?
Of course Liyu was farming aura.
The referee needed some time to fully understand Liyu’s words.
Then...
He quickly stepped onto the stage.
He soon reached Shi Mo’s side.
After confirming that Shi Mo had completely lost consciousness...
The referee nodded.
He slowly regained his composure.
Then...
He turned toward Liyu.
Liyu looked extremely cool at this moment.
It was almost as if he had not been the one who had battled beneath a twenty-fivefold increase in gravity.
As if he had not fought against someone who possessed terrifying control over the world’s gravitational pressure.
As if he had not remained standing beneath a terrifying fiftyfold increase in gravity.
And after all that...
Liyu barely looked as if he had received a single scratch.
His clothes were still mostly intact.
His posture remained calm.
And even his long hair was barely disheveled.
He looked...
So...
Cool.
The referee shook his head after that strange thought appeared inside his mind.
Then...
He raised his voice.
"The twelfth match has concluded!"
"Shi Mo versus Liyu!"
The entire arena became silent.
Then...
The referee shouted.
"Liyu..."
"Has won!"