Chapter 144: I... Lost
Chapter 144
Shi Gubing turned his gaze toward Shi Mo. The large young man’s face had already become swollen from Liyu’s repeated slaps, his expression dimmed, and Shi Gubing could no longer find it within himself to blame Shi Mo if he lost.
The person Shi Mo was facing was simply... unreasonable. Unreasonably strong. Unreasonably fast. Unreasonably skilled. And monstrously powerful. Everything about that Liyu kid was unreasonable, totally unreasonable.
Shi Gubing took in a deep breath, and then he came to one absolute conclusion: this match was over, and as much as he hated it... Liyu had won, and Shi Mo... had lost.
Not only had Shi Gubing come to that conclusion, but the same could be said about the other leaders as well, after all, because they had been able to see everything clearly... every movement, every attack, every counter.
The battle taking place on the stage was moving far too quickly for most people in the arena to see or properly perceive, however, to the leaders, it was almost as if the entire battle were moving in slow motion.
They could see everything. Shi Mo was actually faster than Liyu, and that much was clear, as his body had become incredibly light after he used the thirtyfold Gravity Fall, and his speed had reached a terrifying level.
Yet... it was almost as if Liyu already knew when Shi Mo was going to strike. Every time Shi Mo attacked, Liyu would move at exactly the right moment, dodging before the attack could reach him, and then, before Shi Mo could recover... Liyu would counter.
And that was not the only terrifying thing, because Liyu’s reaction speed was monstrous. Even though Shi Mo was faster, Liyu was able to react to every attack, able to guide Shi Mo’s attacks away, counter them, and launch his own attacks at the same smooth and effortless pace.
It was almost as if he were watching everything while the entire world had been paused. Every movement Shi Mo made... every shift in his body... every slight change in the direction of his attacks... Liyu appeared to see all of it.
And then... there was the terrifying power behind his attacks. Liyu’s attacks had become even more monstrous than before, although, in this context, those attacks were nothing more than his slaps.
Yet... those slaps were powerful enough to instantly kill anyone below the Qi Refining Realm, and that was enough to say everything.
Liyu was unreasonably powerful, and the fact that he was supposedly still at the First Stage of the Qi Gathering Realm made everything even more absurd, totally unreasonable, for his very existence was unreasonable.
Li San himself could not hide the deep frown that appeared on his face, thinking, *This... this is too much.*
The word impossible did not even begin to describe what Liyu was doing now, because just how could someone who was still two entire cultivation realms below the Foundation Realm possess strength comparable to someone who had almost stepped into the Foundation Realm itself?
It made no sense, none whatsoever.
As the leaders became locked within their thoughts, their gazes were no longer focused entirely on the battle, nor were they paying much attention to Shi Mo’s suffering anymore, but instead... every one of their gazes was locked onto Liyu.
Liyu was still grinning, looking as if he were having the best time of his life while breaking Shi Mo’s bones one after another. The leaders watched him in silence, and then, almost at the same time, they came to the same conclusion: he is an anomaly, an anomaly that needs to be studied.
Meanwhile, back on the battle stage...
CRASH! Shi Mo crashed into the stage for the twentieth time since the last round had begun, his body struck the white marble with enough force to create another large crater, and his face had become swollen beyond reason while blood dripped from the corners of his mouth and down the side of his head.
However... those injuries were not the source of his greatest pain, as Shi Mo clutched his right hand, his entire right hand having gone completely numb while blood continued dripping from it endlessly. Shi Mo looked down at the hand with a pained expression, and then... he slowly raised his gaze toward Liyu.
Liyu was the one who had crushed his hand, having crushed it as if the bones inside were nothing more than fragile twigs, and now... Liyu was grinning at him.
Shi Mo’s gaze dimmed slightly as the thought that had been echoing repeatedly inside his mind returned once more: *Can I really still win this...?* The thought echoed louder and louder, and with every slap he received from Liyu, the feeling of failure came closer.
The crushed hand was not even the only source of pain tormenting him, because his inner organs... they felt as if they had been twisted together, and waves upon waves of pain radiated throughout his body.
Every breath hurt, every movement caused another wave of agony to spread through his nerves. But still... Shi Mo did not want to lose. He needed to win... for his dignity, for his future, for all the pain he had endured, for all the suffering he had gone through to become this strong, for every injury, every broken bone, and every painful day he had spent training.
He had worked too hard to reach this point, he had fought too much, and he had suffered too much. He could not lose here, not now.
Shi Mo slowly sighed, and then his gaze sharpened once more. His Qi reserves had almost been completely depleted, yet... he still had some Qi left, and as long as he still had Qi... he could continue fighting.
He would win, he needed to win. With that, Shi Mo pushed himself back to his feet, then he charged toward Liyu once more.
Liyu’s smile continued becoming brighter and brighter.
This guy... he possessed an indomitable will. Liyu loved that, he really loved it, and he would love crushing that will as well.
He wanted to see despair appear on Shi Mo’s face, so... he would crush him more, then crush him even more, continuing until the weight of reality finally crashed down upon Shi Mo, until Shi Mo finally realized that he had been wrong, that he was still weak.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
BOOM! BOOM!
PAH! PAH! PAH!
CRASH! CRASH!
The battle continued, the battle stage broke apart further and further as the fight became hotter and more intense, and Liyu broke more and more of Shi Mo’s bones just as he had promised. Shi Mo’s first hand had already been crushed, then... Liyu broke his second hand as well.
Shi Mo continued fighting, so... he began attacking with his legs. Liyu, being the generous person he was, broke one of Shi Mo’s legs, then... that bastard still refused to give up, as Shi Mo continued fighting even with one of his legs broken. Therefore... Liyu had no choice, and he crushed the other one as well.
A loud, reverberating...
BOOOOOOM!
... echoed outward in every direction. The entire arena shook, and dust and broken pieces of white marble were thrown into the air before slowly falling back to the ground.
When the dust finally cleared... Shi Mo could be seen lying flat on his back, both of his hands and legs bent and twisted at unnatural angles, and his body was broken, completely broken. Yet... his eyes were still open.
He stared upward and met Liyu’s smiling face. Liyu stood above him with a playful grin resting on his face, then he raised an eyebrow.
"So... what now?" Liyu tilted his head slightly. "Are you going to fight with your head now?" His voice sounded genuinely curious, almost as if Liyu truly wanted to know whether Shi Mo was going to try using his head as a weapon.
Shi Mo’s face remained blank, his gaze dim, and for a long while, he said nothing. Then...
"I lost."
The words themselves tasted incredibly bitter on his tongue, and the moment he said them, Shi Mo felt a sharp and brutal pain slam into his chest.
However... this pain was not physical, but deeply emotional. After everything he had through... after all the pain, all the suffering, and all the intense and brutal training... he had still lost, and he had lost to someone who had defeated him using nothing but slaps.
It made Shi Mo feel as if his heart wanted to tear itself out of his chest, and the pain was unbearable. Yet... Shi Mo forcefully controlled himself, then he raised his gaze and looked back at Liyu.
"How...?" His voice was low. "How are you so strong?" Shi Mo’s tone was filled with complete and utter confusion, genuinely baffled now.
Liyu simply looked at him, then... he grinned.
"Because I’m awesome, of course." Liyu spoke as if that answer explained everything. "Trust me, friend. You will never find anyone like me in this world."
He paused, then his expression changed slightly as if he had suddenly remembered something. "Actually... there are three people like me." Liyu rubbed the side of his head. "But come on. They are just my awesome reflections, so they are still me."
He sighed. "That sounds like rubbish, right?"
Shi Mo did not need to say anything, as his eyes answered for him, seeming to say... *Total rubbish.*
Liyu shrugged, then he smiled brightly before asking another question.
"So, big guy... do you have any last words before your beating starts?" Liyu’s smile widened. "Because once it starts, I won’t let you scream for help or quit."
His eyes gleamed with dark and uncontained thoughts. "I will have to break you completely." Liyu tilted his head. "So tell me... any last words before I begin?"
His hands appeared to twitch with barely contained excitement, and he stood above Shi Mo’s broken body while patiently waiting for his final words.
"Come on, dude." Liyu’s smile became even brighter. "I’m barely holding myself back right now. And if you don’t have any last words... then your beating can officially start."
Liyu said those words so casually that they were enough to make anyone’s skin crawl. Shi Mo looked at him for a long while, and then... he finally spoke, his voice sounding broken and muffled... well... that was probably because Liyu’s slaps had brutally affected both his mouth and lungs.
"I..." Shi Mo slowly took in a painful breath. "I have a few words to say... friend."
Liyu’s smile brightened. "What is it? Go on."
Shi Mo smiled as well, however... his smile was broken, filled with pain. *I doubt you will like it, though.* Shi Mo slowly closed his eyes. If he was going to lose... then he would at least bring this bastard, Liyu, down with him.
That thought burned fiercely inside Shi Mo’s chest, his eyes remaining closed as he reached deep within himself... deep into his Qi reserves. Then... he targeted one of his ten refined Qi Beads.
Without hesitation... Shi Mo shattered it.
CRACK!
The Qi Bead broke apart, immediately releasing an overwhelming amount of Qi, and an enormous surge of energy erupted throughout Shi Mo’s body.
The sudden influx of Qi was so powerful that it threatened to destroy him from the inside, his Qi pathways trembled, his body shook, and the overwhelming amount of Qi threatened to cause his doom.
However... this had all been planned, a risk Shi Mo was willing to take, a risk he was willing to accept... if it meant bringing Liyu down with him.
Liyu watched as Shi Mo closed his eyes, and then... Shi Mo slowly opened them again. This time... his eyes were no longer dim, but burning... burning with determination, burning with resolve.
Shi Mo opened his mouth, then he spoke.
"Gravity Rise..."
The overwhelming Qi inside his body surged wildly.
"Fiftyfold."
The next second... the world answered.