Su Li reached out to stop her, shaking his head slightly. "No rush." This Tao Bingjun was staying here so calmly for a reason—there had to be something behind it. They still didn’t know what abilities he truly possessed. Wang Zhensheng could even regenerate his severed head; such power was too bizarre. If not for the devastating strike of the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade, killing him would have been extremely difficult.
But as terrifying and uncanny as Wang Zhensheng was, he wasn’t the strongest among these men. His rank still fell below Tao Bingjun’s. There was only one possibility: the Tao Bingjun before them was even more fearsome and formidable than Wang Zhensheng.
Su Li had to take this seriously.
After Gong Xiao, Ding Longyun and Xu Xuehui rushed out, leaving only Xu Haishui missing.
Tao Bingjun stood alone. Even as more and more people gathered before him, he remained calm and composed.
"Where’s Xu Haishui?" Gong Xiao, not seeing him, asked Ding Longyun.
Ding Longyun replied, "He went off in a hurry to find that Zhang Ying. Since there’s no danger now, I figured I’d catch up with you two and let him go alone."
Gong Xiao nodded slightly and said no more. The priority now was to deal with Tao Bingjun in front of them; the rest were no threat.
"Zhang Ying?" Tao Bingjun’s expression shifted slightly at the name, then, as if understanding something, he murmured thoughtfully, "So that’s it. Xu Haishui came for Zhang Ying, so he colluded with you to come back and kill, huh?"
"Interesting, interesting. Ha, ha-ha—" Tao Bingjun suddenly threw his head back and laughed, then clenched both hands around his Nepalese kukri knives. With a flick of his body, he charged at the group like a whirlwind, lightning-fast.
He intended to take on all four of them alone.
"Stay back. I’ll test him first." Su Li’s face grew serious. Tao Bingjun didn’t seem like a madman, yet he dared to be so bold—there had to be a trick up his sleeve. Fearing that Gong Xiao and the others might be caught off guard, Su Li decided to probe his methods and see what his abilities truly were.
Though his "Insight Rune" could tell him Tao Bingjun was a Level 6 Source Awakener, and even revealed he possessed five special abilities and one Source Art, it couldn’t identify what those abilities were.
Su Li entered the "Spider Walk" state, his figure darting like lightning as he circled Tao Bingjun, swinging the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade.
Tao Bingjun’s twin knives missed their mark. Suddenly, a pair of brown substances bulged out from the back of his leather coat, extending outward and instantly transforming into two arms.
These arms were covered in brown scales, fully extended to nearly one and a half meters, with ten fingers ending in sharp claws resembling demonic hands. They lunged at Su Li.
"This guy has four arms?" Ding Longyun muttered softly, stepping back with Xu Xuehui. He could tell Tao Bingjun was abnormal. The fact that he wasn’t fleeing but staying to fight suggested something unusual. For safety, Ding Longyun decided to keep his distance, readying his "Air Missile" to lock onto Tao Bingjun. If he tried to escape, he’d fire a long-range attack.
Gong Xiao also activated her "Storm Shield," absorbing the three corpses on the ground and compressing them into three flesh-and-blood shields. If Tao Bingjun unleashed any terrifying move and Su Li was in danger, she could immediately intervene with these shields.
Tao Bingjun’s demonic claws were devastatingly powerful. Wherever they struck, things shattered—even the concrete floor of the rooftop couldn’t withstand them.
In his "Spider Walk" state, Su Li circled Tao Bingjun rapidly, slashing at him relentlessly with the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade, unstoppable.
Tao Bingjun stood his ground, fighting back wildly with all four arms. His two arms wielding the knives parried, while the demonic claws from his back kept striking out in counterattacks.
But the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade was too sharp. Though Tao Bingjun’s Nepalese kukri knives were made of titanium alloy steel and extremely tough, they were quickly severed.
The demonic claws from his back clashed with the blade. Protected by brown scales, their hardness surpassed even the concrete floor and far exceeded the knives. The Dragon Rhinoceros Blade couldn’t cut through them instantly, but each strike broke through the scales, leaving deep wounds on the arms—just shy of severing them completely.
Gong Xiao, Ding Longyun, and Xu Xuehui watched from the sidelines. They could see Tao Bingjun was indeed strong. His two indestructible demonic claws, combined with the knives in his hands, made him a formidable close-combat fighter. His speed, strength, and reaction time were all top-tier. Without the razor-sharp Dragon Rhinoceros Blade, Su Li would have struggled to handle him—and might even have been overwhelmed.
But Su Li had the blade, which neither the knives nor the demonic claws could withstand. It gave him a solid edge.
"Tao Bingjun’s Source Art must be those demonic claws. Their power is terrifying—they can even crack concrete. If they caught someone, they’d tear them apart. But at least Su Li can counter him." Seeing this, Gong Xiao breathed a slight sigh of relief.
With "Spider Walk," Su Li made it hard for Tao Bingjun’s claws to land a hit, while the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade left Tao Bingjun struggling to defend. Su Li had him firmly under control. It was only a matter of time before the fight ended.
As the demonic claws took more and more hits from the blade, the wounds multiplied. Finally, one claw was severed and flew off.
Tao Bingjun roared in fury, then suddenly lunged at Su Li recklessly, reaching out with both hands to grab the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade.
Grabbing the blade with bare hands?
Su Li’s mind flickered, recalling Wang Zhensheng. Did Tao Bingjun have a similar ability? Why else would he try to catch the blade with his flesh?
Thoughts racing, Su Li remained calm. He swung the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade, shredding Tao Bingjun’s reaching hands. Suddenly, the remaining, battered demonic claw shot out from behind Tao Bingjun’s shoulder, aiming for Su Li’s head.
Su Li understood: Tao Bingjun was sacrificing his hands for a single strike from the claw.
But Su Li was already on guard. He leaned his head back, lifting the blade slightly to meet the claw. Then Tao Bingjun lunged forward, deliberately impaling himself on the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade.
This caught Su Li off guard. He hadn’t expected Tao Bingjun to seek mutual destruction. The blade pierced through Tao Bingjun’s chest and emerged from his back, bringing their bodies close together. Su Li hurriedly stepped back, swinging the blade upward.
But he was a step too late. As he sliced upward through Tao Bingjun’s chest and struck the demonic claw arm, Tao Bingjun’s dying claw had already reached over Su Li’s shoulder and dug into the muscles of his back.
The five sharp claws cut into Su Li’s flesh. Though he activated his muscle defense stance, the claws were too sharp—even hardened muscles couldn’t stop them. They sank in a full five centimeters.
Almost simultaneously, the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade struck the demonic claw arm, severing it. The dismembered claw flew off.
Su Li gasped for breath, stumbling back several steps. It had been a close call. If he’d reacted even a fraction slower, the claw would have dug in completely, and the injury would have been far worse.
At least Tao Bingjun was dead. The corpse, its upper body split open, crumpled to the ground, spilling blood and entrails.
But why wasn’t there any Source energy?
A sudden, intense unease gripped Su Li. He sidestepped sharply, and at that same moment, a brown-scaled demonic claw grazed his waist, tearing through his clothes and leaving shallow cuts. If he’d been half a second slower, it would have sunk into his body.
Gong Xiao, Ding Longyun, and the others couldn’t help but cry out in shock. The sudden turn of events was too unexpected.
Su Li activated "Spider Walk," his figure flickering as he distanced himself and turned around. Where he’d just stood, a corpse of a beast was staggering to its feet, a scaled demonic claw protruding from its back. That claw had nearly crippled him with its surprise attack.
Half the corpse’s head was gone, its brain matter missing. It had clearly been dead for a while, but now it wobbled upright. Brown substance extended from its back, quickly mutating into a second scaled claw.
"Heh heh..." The corpse opened its mouth, emitting a voice identical to Tao Bingjun’s.
"Lucky dodge, huh? Let’s go again—" The corpse, now with demonic claws sprouting from its back, crouched slightly and charged like a whirlwind, its claws spread wide, lunging at Su Li.
Su Li sucked in a cold breath at the sight. Ding Longyun couldn’t help shouting, "What the hell? Can this guy possess corpses?"
Su Li stared at the charging corpse, his eyes narrowing. He quickly calmed down, realizing this was no longer just a beast’s corpse—it was Tao Bingjun.
Was this his true ability?
Ding Longyun was right. It was corpse possession.
No time to overthink. Facing Tao Bingjun’s charge, Su Li flickered in his walking state, accelerating. The Dragon Rhinoceros Blade swept diagonally downward.
With a *shiiing*, it sliced off one of Tao Bingjun’s legs.
Losing a leg, Tao Bingjun stumbled and spun, crashing to the ground. His demonic claws stretched out, slapping the floor to launch himself into the air. Though missing a leg, he used the claws as substitutes, crawling across the ground like a humanoid scorpion. His speed didn’t drop—it increased. He lunged at Su Li again.
"This guy..." Su Li swung the Dragon Rhinoceros Blade in rapid succession. *Clang, clang, clang*—the demonic claws clashed with the blade. Each impact sent scales flying, and severed claws were occasionally knocked away. Both sides moved with incredible speed. Soon, the claws were completely shattered. Tao Bingjun let out a wild laugh, then spread his arms and threw himself forward without hesitation, once again seeking mutual destruction.