This was completely different from what they had imagined.
As for the timid Xu Haishui, his face changed drastically. Grabbing Xu Xuehui, he kept retreating until he reached the edge of the rooftop, clearly ready to jump and flee if things turned sour.
Seeing Su Li suddenly kill Ni Jianrong, resolving Ding Longyun’s crisis, Gong Xiao’s mind steadied, and his anxiety faded. Gripping his baseball bat in his right hand, he launched a series of attacks, now focusing seriously on the tattooed man before him.
The tattooed man felt the pressure mounting, but the most terrifying was Su Li. He feared ending up like Ni Jianrong—suddenly charged by Su Li and having his head lopped off. This rattled him, forcing him to fend off Gong Xiao while constantly watching for a surprise attack from Su Li.
After Chen Xiangyu roared, he spread his arms, and suddenly his ten fingers began to mutate and elongate, like a lizard’s. He kicked off the ground, leaping into the air, and lunged at Su Li with full force.
He possessed “Steel Skin,” his entire body as hard as iron, impervious to blades and bullets, completely ignoring Su Li’s attacks. His hands had transformed into lizard claws—a special ability he wielded—as he madly swiped at Su Li.
Chen Xiangyu went berserk, attacking with all his might. Su Li’s figure swayed and dodged repeatedly, quickly retreating to the rooftop entrance behind him.
Pressing against the wall by the entrance, Su Li sidestepped. A sharp *crack-crack* sound rang out as Chen Xiangyu’s lizard claws struck the wall, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in the concrete, with small chips of stone flying off.
“This guy…” Su Li took a deep breath. Chen Xiangyu was indeed terrifying—both “Steel Skin” and “Lizard Claws” were fearsome top-tier abilities. Fortunately, he had “Spider Walk,” or he’d be no match for him.
His “Spider Walk” was equally top-tier, letting him move like a ghost to evade. Chen Xiangyu’s consecutive attacks all missed.
In his fury, Chen Xiangyu suddenly turned, abandoning Su Li, and charged toward Ding Longyun, who lay on the ground.
He planned to use Su Li’s own tactic—attack others instead. If Su Li didn’t save Ding Longyun, he could kill him first; if Su Li tried to intervene, he’d be forced into a direct confrontation, unable to rely on “Spider Walk” to dodge.
This move hit Su Li’s weak spot perfectly. Seeing Chen Xiangyu heading for Ding Longyun, Su Li had no choice but to act. His cleaver whistled through the air as he swung it down repeatedly.
Xu Haishui, retreating to the far edge of the rooftop with Xu Xuehui, silently watched the fight. When he saw Su Li abandon evasion for Ding Longyun, knowingly risking danger to block Chen Xiangyu, a flicker of surprise crossed his eyes.
Though he, Chen Xiangyu, and Ni Jianrong seemed like companions, they were all deeply selfish. None would willingly take risks or fight to the death for another—just like him now. If things got worse, he’d jump into the water and flee alone. For a cowardly, survival-obsessed man like him, the thought of staying to fight alongside Su Li’s group to save a comrade never crossed his mind. Keeping his own life safe came first.
Now, seeing Su Li risk himself to save Ding Longyun, he found it unexpected.
“They’re… different somehow…” Xu Haishui murmured, his lips barely moving, in a voice only he could hear.
“Heh…” Chen Xiangyu’s scheme succeeded, and he let out a sinister laugh. He twisted his body, letting Su Li’s blade strike him, while his lizard claws shot forward, aiming for Su Li’s chest and abdomen.
During their earlier exchanges, Su Li had constantly shifted targets, trying to find a weakness in Chen Xiangyu’s “Steel Skin.” He refused to believe it could protect him perfectly—that defied logic. There had to be a flaw, but he couldn’t find it.
Whether it was the heart, head, face, eyes, abdomen, or groin, Chen Xiangyu was unfazed by any attack.
How was he supposed to defeat such a monster?
As the lizard claws neared his chest and abdomen, Su Li activated “Spider Walk” again. His body flickered, circling behind Chen Xiangyu in an instant. He extended the “Fang of Gluttony” in his left hand, stabbing at his back.
The “Fang of Gluttony” was razor-sharp, instantly piercing Chen Xiangyu’s clothes but stopping at his skin, unable to penetrate.
“Is he truly immune to all physical attacks? That means only Brother Ding’s ‘Soul Devourer’ can handle him… but Brother Ding’s badly hurt…”
Even the “Fang of Gluttony” couldn’t harm Chen Xiangyu’s skin. Su Li had to dodge again.
Chen Xiangyu countered with his right arm, his lizard claws swiping at empty air once more.
Su Li kept using “Spider Walk,” which allowed rapid bursts of speed but drained his stamina heavily. He felt his heart pounding violently, knowing he couldn’t keep this up much longer.
Things were looking grim.
A cold smirk spread across Chen Xiangyu’s face as he pressed his attacks. He’d begun to pick up on Su Li’s patterns.
Though Su Li was faster, the sweat beading on his forehead showed this move cost a lot of energy. He wouldn’t last long.
In truth, using “Steel Skin” also drained Chen Xiangyu’s stamina significantly. This “Spirit Source Art” was freakish—without it, he’d have died three times over at Su Li’s hands.
Now, it was a contest of who would collapse from exhaustion first.
For the moment, neither could gain the upper hand.
Chen Xiangyu couldn’t hit Su Li in his “Spider Walk” state, and Su Li’s attacks were useless against Chen Xiangyu.
As Chen Xiangyu’s lizard claws came again, Su Li suddenly dropped his cleaver. His body flickered to Chen Xiangyu’s side. This time, instead of using the “Fang of Gluttony,” he clenched his right fist and punched Chen Xiangyu square in the jaw.
He put all his strength into the blow—over 1,500 jin of force unleashed with a loud *bang*. Su Li felt the bones in his right hand ache from the immense power; even his knuckles strained under it. Chen Xiangyu’s face took the heavy hit, but though his steel skin wasn’t damaged, the 1,500 jin of force still rocked him. He staggered sideways, nearly falling, then shook his head, dazed from the punch.
“I see.” Su Li’s eyes lit up as realization dawned.
Chen Xiangyu’s “Steel Skin” was freakish—his skin was like iron, impervious to blades and bullets. Neither the cleaver nor the “Fang of Gluttony” could breach it, but the force of the impact still transferred. Force didn’t just vanish.
“Steel Skin” only made his skin as hard as steel, indestructible—it didn’t mean he could fully absorb all force or be immune to physical attacks.