This surprised Su Li. Who was this man, and how had he leveled up even faster than himself?
Looking at the corpses scattered across the rooftop, a realization dawned on him. Could it be that this man hunted monsters not only at night but also continuously during the day?
While this might allow for rapid leveling, the danger was immense. No one knew what kind of monsters lurked at the bottom of each building—some might be relatively weak, others incredibly powerful and impossible to defeat.
This was essentially risking one's life.
Just like the Nightmare Beast and Corpse Mother he had encountered before. If not for sheer luck and coincidence, either of those two monsters could have easily crushed him.
As Su Li observed the man, the man also noticed Su Li climbing up, followed closely by Liu Jiande.
The White Armored Centipede was extremely powerful, moving swiftly with a gust of wind. Its body lifted slightly before suddenly lunging forward.
Su Li watched as the man stood still with empty hands, letting the White Armored Centipede charge straight at him. Seeing the centipede about to strike, Su Li almost drew his sword to help—until he recalled that this man was a Level 7 Spirit Source powerhouse.
Now aware of the man's strength, Su Li took a few steps forward but did not draw his sword.
Just as the centipede was about to hit him, the man suddenly grinned. His right arm shot up, and in that instant, his outstretched hand turned blood-red, as if about to drip with fresh blood.
This blood-red hand reached forward, plunging straight into the White Armored Centipede's open maw.
The centipede's sharp mandibles clamped down on the man's right arm, but in a flash, the man moved past it. His blood-red hand had pierced through the centipede's mouth, tearing off most of its head.
The man landed beside the White Armored Centipede and stopped. The centipede, missing most of its head, swayed and crashed heavily to the ground.
Su Li noticed the wound on its head was charred black, while the man's sleeve had been torn, revealing his right arm's skin—also blood-red like his hand.
The redness quickly faded, and his arm returned to normal.
Su Li's heart stirred slightly.
This man's right arm was terrifying, containing astonishing power.
In one exchange, he had easily killed a Level 7 Elite Beast like the White Armored Centipede, earning Su Li's respect. This man was strong.
But his strength was different from Gao Shupeng or Tao Bingjun's. Their power came from their bizarre and unique Spirit Source techniques. Aside from those techniques, Gao Shupeng and Tao Bingjun were average at best—barely passable as ordinary strong fighters.
This man's strength, however, was different. He wasn't powerful because of some special Spirit Source ability; he simply stood there, exuding an aura of invincibility.
After killing the White Armored Centipede, the other ordinary monsters on the rooftop dared not approach the center. The man studied Su Li, his gaze falling on the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword in Su Li's right hand.
"That sword isn't a crafted ordinary weapon—it's a Spirit Source weapon from killing a Spirit Source beast, right? To get a weapon like that, impressive—"
The man gave Su Li a thumbs-up, his face full of admiration.
Su Li's heart stirred. This man knew a lot about Spirit Source weapons. He smiled slightly and said, "You don't even need a weapon. One strike and you killed that centipede. I've never seen anyone as strong as you."
The two exchanged compliments. The man laughed heartily at this. "I'm Ding Shijie. What's your name, brother?"
"Su Li," Su Li replied, giving his name. He felt inclined to befriend this Ding Shijie. This was the first Level 7 powerhouse he had encountered. Judging by how easily he had killed the White Armored Centipede, his skills were astonishing. Someone like this—if not a friend, should never be made an enemy.
"Su Li? That's a nice name. Not like mine—so weird. Blame my dead old man for giving me such a strange name." Ding Shijie laughed heartily, seeming very open.
"Oh, and what should I call this big brother?" He turned to Liu Jiande beside Su Li.
Liu Jiande was about to speak when suddenly, Su Li and Ding Shijie reacted almost simultaneously. One turned left, the other right, both staring at the opposite edge of the rooftop.
There, two new monsters had appeared silently. They looked almost identical, resembling gorillas about two meters tall. They had no body hair, their smooth skin had a metallic sheen, and their open mouths revealed two sharp fangs each, making them look ferocious.
The other monsters retreated at their appearance, seemingly afraid of them.
A vertical eye-like pattern appeared on Su Li's brow as he locked onto the newly arrived monsters.
"Name: Metal Eater. Level: Level 8 Elite Beast. This Spirit Source beast feeds on metal. Its body has extremely high hardness, and its skin has a metallic texture and luster. Ordinary blades can barely harm it. Its palms have devastating destructive power, and it possesses immense strength. There is a certain probability of it evolving into a leader-class Metal-Eating Giant Ape. Killing a Metal Eater has a chance of granting the special ability 'Metal-Eating Ape Palm.'"
Level 8 Elite Beasts—far stronger than the White Armored Centipede—and two of them appeared at once. Su Li frowned. The two Metal Eaters suddenly raised their long, knee-length arms, bent forward, and slammed their massive palms into the ground.
With a loud crash, spiderweb-like cracks spread across the concrete rooftop where their palms struck. They leaped into the air, covering seven or eight meters in a single bound, charging toward them.
"Interesting. How about we take one each?" Ding Shijie laughed, his body blurring as he charged at the Metal Eater on the left.
Su Li, stirred by the challenge, told Liu Jiande to stay back. Using "Spider Walk," he darted like lightning toward the Metal Eater on the right.
Though Ding Shijie was unarmed, his right arm contained a special power. Su Li guessed this was his Spirit Source technique—the arm's power was more terrifying than ordinary blades. The White Armored Centipede had lost most of its head to a single strike from that arm, the wound showing signs of high-temperature burning.
Facing the charging Metal Eater, Ding Shijie didn't dodge but met it head-on.
The Metal Eater, with its immense strength, opened its mouth and let out an ape-like roar. Its massive palms swung like two giant fans, aiming to crush him.
Ding Shijie stopped, planted his feet firmly, and raised his right arm. The pale skin turned blood-red again, as if about to bleed.
Using his right arm as a weapon, he braced against the Metal Eater's swinging palms.
The Metal Eater's palms struck Ding Shijie's blood-red arm with a sizzling sound. The metallic-looking palms recoiled as if burned, and the Metal Eater grimaced in pain. But Ding Shijie didn't come out unscathed either—the force sent him flying.
As Su Li attacked the Metal Eater on the right, he observed Ding Shijie from the corner of his eye. He realized that Ding Shijie's "Spirit Source technique" likely involved controlling the temperature of his right arm, making it as hot as a red-hot iron rod—hot enough to melt metal. Using this superheated arm to attack naturally yielded devastating results, even against the Metal Eater's nearly metallic palms.
Su Li's fighting style differed from Ding Shijie's brute force. Using "Spider Walk," he circled the Metal Eater on the right, avoiding its palm strikes, and swung his Dragon Rhinoceros Sword diagonally.
The Metal Eater, as a Level 8 Elite Beast, was almost as fast as him. It turned to face him, swinging its palm to block his sword.
The Dragon Rhinoceros Sword cut into the Metal Eater's palm, though with some difficulty. Still, it sliced through.
Though the Metal Eater's body was as hard as metal, the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword could cut through iron like mud. Even if it were made of steel, the sword would cleave it.
With a scream from the Metal Eater, most of its extended palm was severed by the sword.
Instead of blood, a metallic-looking fluid oozed from the wound.
In that single exchange, both had injured their respective Metal Eaters. But Su Li was unharmed, while Ding Shijie had been sent flying. Clearly, Su Li had the upper hand.
Su Li knew, however, that his advantage came from the Dragon Rhinoceros Sword. Without it, it was hard to say who was stronger between him and Ding Shijie.
Ding Shijie hit the ground and rolled quickly. The Metal Eater, its palms burned by the heat, was furious. It leaped into the air and slammed its palms down at Ding Shijie again, this time smarter—it avoided his right arm and aimed for other parts of his body.
Ding Shijie kept rolling. The Metal Eater's palms struck the ground repeatedly, each impact leaving spiderweb cracks in the concrete.
Suddenly, Ding Shijie let out a low shout. Twisting his waist, he sprang to his feet from his rolling position. At almost the same moment, the Metal Eater's palm came crashing down from above.
Ding Shijie's right hand clenched into a fist and shot upward.
His blood-red fist met the Metal Eater's palm. The Metal Eater had no time to pull back.
With a piercing sound, Ding Shijie's fist punched straight through the Metal Eater's palm.
The Metal Eater opened its gaping maw and screamed in pain. Its other palm swung viciously sideways. With its strength, one hit would be enough to crush Ding Shijie's body.
But Ding Shijie remained calm. His left hand spread open, and the air around it rippled. Suddenly, it gathered into a faint, shield-like shape. The Metal Eater's swinging palm struck this air-formed shield.