Chapter Twenty-Five: Using Their Own Tactics

Some people had already withdrawn from the fight, as if by unspoken agreement. More and more stopped battling and instead watched from the sidelines. No one said a word about it. At that moment, it was as if a silent voice was telling them: whoever won between the young man and their boss would claim victory for their side.

Yet, the middle-aged man on the scene was left with a bitter taste in his mouth. These people were mistaken; this wasn't someone from the Chu family—were they all blind? Still, he couldn't say anything. He realized that the fighting spirit among those present had dissipated. For people without will to fight, forcing them back into combat was no different from sending them to their deaths.

All that mattered now was to take down this opponent first. No matter whom he belonged to, he could always shift the blame onto the Chu family. That would boost his side’s morale, and once they seized the spiritual fruit, it would not be too late.

“What are you thinking about?”

Just as his thoughts were racing, the young man suddenly spoke by his ear.

“Losing focus in battle is never a good idea.”

Suddenly, the young man increased his strength. The middle-aged man could distinctly sense that the power surging from his opponent now bore a striking resemblance to his own.

“You’ve lost.”

The voice came again, and the middle-aged man sneered inwardly. How arrogant, he thought.

But then, without warning, a force like a tidal wave crashed into his body. His face turned deathly pale in an instant, and the overwhelming strength sent him staggering backward, completely out of control.

That power…

Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth, and for a moment he was unable to accept what had happened—more than that, he was filled with disbelief.

“Impossible! How do you know my Wave Force?”

With a strangled gasp, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed to the ground, his life extinguished.

From the very start of the fight, Shen An had been storing up energy. Now, in one swift move, he returned all the power the other man had used against him, but multiplied.

At first, the man hadn't realized what was happening, or hadn't anticipated it. But by the time he was struck, it was already too late. Shen An had absorbed too much energy; when he redirected it, the force only grew stronger, until it was enough to make his opponent cough blood. The power rampaged through the man's meridians and organs, unstoppable, until his internal organs burst under the onslaught. His life was