Just then, Fu Tianhua let out a miserable howl. Already suppressed by Gong Xiao, with Luo Jun joining in, he was no match. In a moment of carelessness, Gong Xiao's barb pierced his body, and the venomous armor fire attached to it immediately burned holes through him one after another. Amid his screams, he was struck by the finger bone Luo Jun shot out. "Bone Hyperplasia" activated, and Fu Tianhua's body exploded into a rain of blood as the expanding finger bones burst from within.
With Fu Tianhua's death, Luo Jun harvested a spirit source, took a long breath, and finally broke through, rising to level 6.
As soon as Fu Tianhua died, the white light in Gao Shupeng's hands vanished.
Immediately after, Gao Shupeng extended his hands, his nails lengthening forward into a translucent form, and shot them at Su Li, who was charging at him.
"Bone Hyperplasia"—this was Luo Jun's ability.
Su Li, using "Spider Walk," dodged with a swift sidestep and said, "I see. Your ability must be to copy the abilities of those around you, but you can only copy up to four at a time, and once copied, you can't switch them for a short while unless the person dies."
Only this could explain why Gao Shupeng had only displayed four abilities from start to finish: "Ink Jade Body," "Demon Muscle," "Spider Walk," and Fu Tianhua's white light. It wasn't until Fu Tianhua died, causing him to lose the white light ability, that he could copy Luo Jun's "Bone Hyperplasia."
Clearly, his copying ability had limitations—for instance, it could only copy abilities, not basic enhancements. Otherwise, without such restrictions, it would be invincible.
Of course, even being limited to copying four abilities at once was terrifying. However, he didn't understand the nature of Su Li's "Demon Muscle." Once in that state, stamina consumption doubled, and since he hadn't strengthened his heart or boosted his stamina like Su Li had, by the time he sensed trouble, it was too late.
As his stamina waned, all his abilities drastically declined. Su Li easily dodged the "Bone Hyperplasia" he fired, circled behind him, and struck with both fists aimed at his ears.
Gao Shupeng, lying on the ground, roared and, anticipating this, immediately fired "Bone Hyperplasia" backward again. But Su Li was faster; the dual-fist strike was just a feint. His real killing move came as he shifted in front of Gao Shupeng and punched his already caved-in chest once more.
Another heavy blow. This time, Gao Shupeng couldn't evade. With a miserable cry, he spat out more blood.
Almost the moment Fu Tianhua died, Song Yuanqing's body swayed, and he sprinted at full speed, trying to escape.
He knew the tide had turned.
He had been confident in Gao Shupeng, knowing his copying ability was freakish—able to copy up to four people's spirit source techniques at once. Each technique was immensely powerful, and having four combined made someone incredibly strong. That's why, despite many strong fighters in "Golden Eagle Building 1A," no one dared defy him; no one could match him.
But what he never expected was that Gao Shupeng would be severely wounded by Su Li. Initially, seeing Gao Shupeng suppressed, he hoped it was temporary, that Gao Shupeng might have a trick to turn things around. Only when he saw Gao Shupeng spit blood and fall, and Fu Tianhua die in that instant, did he realize there was no hope. Without hesitation, he turned and dashed toward the edge of the floating island.
At almost the same moment, a shadow flashed behind him, and he felt a cold wind approaching, knowing someone was attacking him.
Relying on his impenetrable Ink Jade Body, he ignored the attacker and sped away. If he stopped to defend, he might be surrounded and truly unable to escape.
The attacker was Su Li.
Using "Spider Walk," Su Li shot forward like an arrow, faster than Song Yuanqing, and pounced on the fleeing man. Seeing Song Yuanqing only focused on escape, not dodging or blocking his attack, Su Li understood his intent.
He extended his right arm, grabbed Song Yuanqing's neck from behind, and choked him.
Feeling his breath cut off, Song Yuanqing sensed danger, but before he could resist, Su Li hoisted him over his shoulder and flung him to the ground.
With a loud thud, Song Yuanqing hit the ground hard, dazed. When he scrambled up, he found himself surrounded by a circle of people: Gong Xiao, Xu Haishui, Luo Jun, Jin Sixing, Bai Wenwei, Ling Tian, and Wang Xiaofei. Of those who came with him, only he and Gao Shupeng remained; the rest were dead.
Seven people encircled Song Yuanqing. Despite his Ink Jade Body protecting him, he felt a chill of terror. Meanwhile, Su Li had already closed in on Gao Shupeng again, punching his even more collapsed chest.
Even if the man truly had an impenetrable Ink Jade Body, Su Li intended to beat him to death.
Gao Shupeng was now filled with regret—regret for his mistake. He could copy four abilities and believed his strength surpassed Su Li's, but he shouldn't have copied that damned "Demon Muscle." Even more foolishly, he used it to clash head-on with Su Li, letting himself be worn down.
If he had copied Luo Jun's "Bone Hyperplasia" earlier instead of fighting Su Li directly, he could have used his "Ink Jade Body," the incredible speed of "Spider Walk," and the ranged attacks of "Bone Hyperplasia" to slowly wear Su Li down. Then the tables would have turned, and Su Li would have been the one exhausted first, since "Demon Muscle" drained stamina heavily.
Of course, that was just his assumption. In reality, without the doubled power from "Demon Muscle," his strength and speed would have been completely suppressed by Su Li, and he would have lost even worse.
"I hate this—" Gao Shupeng stared at Su Li, roaring with unwillingness.
Su Li smiled faintly. "Copy my ability? My ability—you can't handle it!"
His fist slammed into Gao Shupeng's chest again.
With a dull thud, Gao Shupeng's chest caved in completely. He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of blood mixed with shredded flesh—fragments of his shattered internal organs.
Blood seeped from all seven of his orifices. Even with his Ink Jade Body, he couldn't hold on; the bones in his chest were utterly crushed.
Su Li gasped for breath, his stamina finally giving out. The "Demon Muscle" state was powerful, but it consumed too much stamina, making it unsuitable for prolonged combat. Gao Shupeng's copying ability was terrifying, but using "Demon Muscle" had allowed Su Li to wear him down.
Gao Shupeng's copying was indeed strong: defense with "Ink Jade Body," speed with "Spider Walk," attack with white light explosions, plus Luo Jun's "Bone Hyperplasia" or Gong Xiao's "Storm Shield" or anyone else's spirit source technique—four powerful abilities combined seemed nearly perfect and unbeatable.
But this copying had flaws; it couldn't perfectly replicate basic enhancements. It might be effective and fearsome against ordinary fighters, but against true experts, copied abilities were still just copies, not necessarily suited to the user, and in a life-or-death battle, the weakness showed.
With his internal organs shattered and chest bones broken, Gao Shupeng spat out large mouthfuls of blood, powerless to resist. His eyes bulged, still filled with venom and endless hatred, fixed on Su Li.
Su Li ignored his gaze and expression, punching down again on Gao Shupeng's already collapsed chest.
Gao Shupeng's skin was rapidly turning pale; he could no longer maintain his "Ink Jade Body."
With a wet sound, blood burst from his chest this time, and Su Li's fist punched straight through from front to back.
Without the protection of "Ink Jade Body," Gao Shupeng became fragile. This punch nearly broke his body in half at the chest.
Struck by this fatal blow, Gao Shupeng's eyes rolled back, and he gurgled like a deflating balloon.
Su Li pulled his blood-drenched fist out of the gaping hole in Gao Shupeng's chest, where the internal organs had turned to mush.
Gao Shupeng, the leader of "Golden Eagle Building 1A," finally breathed his last. Though filled with unwillingness and hatred, he died, and all worldly matters were no longer his concern.
Su Li stood up, and a message appeared in his mind.
"Level 6 Spirit Source User: Spirit Source 27/90"
Having finally killed Gao Shupeng, Su Li let out a long sigh and slowly sat down on the spot.
He had been forcing himself to keep going; in truth, he was utterly exhausted.
Though he had worn down Gao Shupeng with "Demon Muscle," his own stamina was nearly spent. Now, even lifting his arm felt strenuous, and the muscles in his right arm twitched uncontrollably.
Only one enemy remained: Song Yuanqing. Surrounded by seven attackers, he lacked Su Li's strength and didn't have a killing move like "Dragon Rhinoceros Slash" to inflict heavy casualties. How could he break through?
Though he had the impenetrable "Ink Jade Body," he couldn't withstand the relentless assault from all sides.
Using "Spirit Source Techniques" accelerated stamina drain. While his "Ink Jade Body" wasn't as extreme as Su Li's "Demon Muscle," it still couldn't sustain long battles.
Gong Xiao, Xu Haishui, and the other seven took turns attacking, quickly wearing Song Yuanqing down. He was drenched in sweat, nearly collapsing from exhaustion, his face flickering between pale and dark as his "Ink Jade Body" faltered.
Su Li sat silently beside Gao Shupeng's corpse, watching the fight calmly, knowing Song Yuanqing was at his last gasp. It was just a matter of who would deliver the final blow.
"We're all compatriots. Give me a chance—I want to join you—" Song Yuanqing, realizing he couldn't hold out and seeing no hope of escape, faced the fear of death and suddenly spoke up, offering to surrender and join them.
Hearing this, everyone paused. Xu Haishui stopped and turned to look at Su Li, who was sitting off to the side.
In his mind, Su Li was the true leader of Zifeng Building, and such a decision was his to make.
Su Li slowly stood up. The others also stopped, forming a tight circle around Song Yuanqing.
"Trust me, I genuinely want to join you," Song Yuanqing said, his face full of pleading and sincerity.