Returning to the Mysterious Era-Chapter 372 - Those Who Block Me, Die!

Hiss... Hiss...

The air, like sharp blades, frantically escaped through the gaps in Simone's sleeves. He assumed a stance resembling a bird of prey spreading its wings, arms outstretched and fingers clawed. Scorching Qi oozed out of his pores.

It puffed up his clothes, making his entire figure appear enlarged, with his trench coat flapping loudly. As Simone's pupils emitted a wisp of black light, his bones and joints crackled all over like a series of firecrackers going off.

"Did I underestimate him? This surge of Qi is not weak!" Hugo furrowed his brow deeply. From his appearance, Simone had activated his Qi but had not released it externally. With his Qi circulating only internally, he hadn't violated the sparring agreement yet. Hugo snorted coldly and likewise circulated the Qi of his Evil Eye Fist within his body. Powerful strength instantly filled his body.

"Simone, to master the basic application of Qi so soon after breaking through to combat artist, you are indeed gifted... However, to compete in techniques with a seasoned combat artist like me, I'm afraid you're not qualified!"

Before he finished speaking, Hugo had already vanished from where he stood. Earlier, when sparring with Simone, he hadn't put in much effort. It was more like guiding a junior.

Now, fighting with Simone seems to have become interesting. He became fully interested, treating the challenge seriously.

Swish!

As the afterimage disappeared from where he stood, another afterimage suddenly appeared in front of Simone. Hugo's feet kicked off against the arena with a bang; his figure darted wildly and his fists struck like meteors. Due to the extreme speed, his fists left a sharp white line like a tail flame as it tore through the air.

Screech!

A high-pitched screech sounded and disappeared just as quickly. It was the strange sound produced by Simone's fist tearing through the air. Simone stood still as he simply countered Hugo's furious charge with a punch.

Bang!

The entire alloy arena shook violently as Qi surged wildly. Hugo's Evil Eye Fist and Simone's Red Falcon Fist clashed forcefully. Then, the fists turned into dozens of continuous strikes and shadows.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds of fists colliding exploded in the arena. It was fast and fierce, like a volley of artillery fire.

The spectators below tried to catch the movements of both combatants, but Hugo and Simone moved so fast that they couldn't see anything clearly. Only the first core disciples of top-tier sects like the Eastern Nine Sects could, with keen eyesight, catch a fleeting glimpse of a shadow or two. Clearly, both sides were gradually getting serious.

Wham!

Palm strikes collided and separated upon contact. Hugo's feet slid backward across the ground, drawing a black trench over ten meters long. Simone, on the other hand, retreated several steps, stopping only when his heel hit a metal guardrail. He exhaled a breath of turbid air.

With this separation, the spectators could finally see the two. Neither was injured, but the sleeves on the forearms of both Simone and Hugo had been completely torn apart during the fight, bursting into tattered cloth. Their muscular but reddened arms were exposed.

"Isn't he a new combat artist?! Why does it feel like his combat skills are more seasoned than mine? His every move is a lethal killing technique!" Hugo sensed something was off. However, what he needed to worry about most now was saving face. If Simone managed to fight him to a draw, how would he show his old face? He didn't want to become a stepping stone for Simone's rise to fame.

At first, Hugo agreed to Simone's sparring request because he was confident in himself. Simone, who had just advanced to combat artist two days ago, couldn't possibly be his opponent. Under such circumstances, defeating him, stopping at the right moment, then offering some encouragement as an elder would make for a good story.

However, all this was on the premise that Hugo would be able to effortlessly display his strength to the spectators below. Otherwise, it would backfire. The headline would then become "Eastern genius, upon breaking through to combat artist, is already on par with the Evil Eye Fist sect master."

"This brat, having just broken through, is already this troublesome..." A fierce light flashed in Hugo's eyes. He activated the full strength of his Evil Eye Fist Covert Martial Arts, his Qi condensing into a black glow. He strode forward in large steps with his arms swinging like sledgehammers.

Opposite him, a figure also charged forward. Simone's expression was cold and unaffected in the slightest by Hugo's Qi. A loud boom suddenly erupted in the arena as he spread his arms.

The two clashed again, pounding at each other in all seriousness. Many in the sect elders' seating area twitched their eyelids. They had this inexplicable sense that their fight exceeded the bounds of sparring but since neither had used Secret Techniques or killing moves, it remained within a vague boundary so they continued to watch.

Swish!

Simone's fingers gathered together to form a hand knife, delivering a heavy chop to collide with a ferocious incoming elbow. As cloth shredded and afterimages shifted, Simone saw an opportunity and took the initiative. His arms, like two spears, struck one after another, forcibly breaking through Hugo's arm block in front of his chest!

"You brat!" Hugo was exasperated. Though it was true that Hugo was relying solely on physique and technique, he was actually being outmatched by Simone! His opponent's continuous strikes were seamlessly connected, evidently about to injure him.

In his agitation, he released his Qi externally. The power of his Evil Eye Fist erupted fully as a mass of light black vapor roared out. They scattered like exploding fireworks, spreading a black luminous night sky above his head. In a moment of absentmindedness, there seemed to be a giant eye at the top of the night sky, slightly opening and closing.

A strong sense of oppression fell on Simone. Unexpectedly, Simone was unmoved! Like a stubborn hothead, he was unhindered and continued throwing punches.

Hugo was utterly furious. His original intention in releasing his Qi was not to counterattack but to suppress Simone and make him stop. Hugo's external release of Qi had actually violated the arena's agreement, implicitly indicating that he lost the sparring. At the same time, he chose to demonstrate his strong power to prove that he could actually beat Simone but was limited by the arena's rules.

He used this method to save face. In this way, at least it wouldn't appear too embarrassing.

However, unexpectedly, Simone still attacked, appearing intent on fighting to the end! In Hugo's mind, he truly didn't know his place! As such, Hugo developed a strong disdain toward this Eastern Three Star whom he had originally liked, and decided to teach him a lesson. With a tremor of Qi, the giant black pupil above his head shrank and descended, quickly merging with his right shoulder blade.

His entire arm turned a deep black. In the palm of his hand, there seemed to be an illusory eye opening.

"Simone, don't overstep your bounds!" Hugo's palm struck out with extremely fierce power. The surrounding air emitted rapid sounds of being compressed and exploded.

"Hugo!" In the sect elders' seating area, several figures suddenly leaped out, swiftly heading toward arena one.

However, on the other side, there was a figure moving even faster! Even though he was farther away, he arrived faster, like a fiery red meteor crazily slicing against the air and crashing down.

Boom!!!

The ferocious expression on Hugo's face froze instantly. The cloth on his chest exploded, and he flew backward.

As for his pitch-black arm that he had struck out with, in the blink of an eye, it had been forcibly twisted like a pretzel by an unknown immense force. It was barely being held together by torn muscles and shattered bones. The eye made of Qi above his head was completely overshadowed by an even more terrifying apparition. A ferocious bird of prey spread its blood-red wings, gliding down and swallowing the sinister eye in the night sky in one gulp.

"Ah!" While flying wildly through the air, Hugo spat out blood. His body and Qi had suffered a terrifying blow in an instant. He had no ability to resist—the man was too fast, strength too overwhelming, and Qi too immense. The sense of peril he felt was too much!

Whoosh!

A figure rushed into the air. It was an elderly man with a long white braid, wearing a combat attire with the obvious insignia of the Evil Eye Fist. He was Archid, the great elder of Evil Eye Fist. He was an experienced combat artist who was even superior to Hugo. He caught Hugo with both arms and he stumbled two or three steps upon landing before he could dissipate the immense force.

"Hugo!" Archid's expression was grim when he saw Hugo's severe injuries. His chest had been punched in, with at least three to five broken ribs.

Moreover, Hugo's gaze was somewhat unfocused, as if his Qi had been damaged from the massive impact.

"Damn it, who are you!" Archid's old face was as black as cast iron, his powerful Qi bursting forth. He suddenly turned his head, glaring fiercely toward the arena.

A few steps in front of Simone, at the center of arena one, a tall man in a billowing trench coat stood majestically. He was handsome with a hint of coldness and dominance between his brows. Large swathes of blood-colored steam surged wildly from all around his body, like flames, reflecting upon his eyes into a sea of blood-red. Behind him, his trench coat was like a general's cloak on the battlefield, billowing like waves.

Just at the first glance of this man, everyone had one thought in their minds: This person is no ordinary person!

Those with timid minds didn't dare to look any further as the sharpness and dominance exuding from him easily imprinted on them.

"Hugo, the twenty-sixth and current sect master of Evil Eye Fist. Archid, the twenty-fifth sect master of Evil Eye Fist. Going back fifty years, Justin, the twenty-second sect master of Evil Eye Fist. Buck, the twenty-first sect master. Passed down from generation after generation..." The trench-coated man's gaze slowly swept around. Some sect elders who were about to rush onto the arena stopped in their tracks.

"What do you mean?" Archid wanted to lose his temper, but the man who suddenly appeared on the arena seemed very strong. Although his words were cryptic, it seemed like the man had some connection with Evil Eye Fist.

"What do I mean? Fifty years ago, Wenxia County wasn't dominated by Evil Eye Fist alone. Have you forgotten the combat artist once renowned throughout the Eastern Covert Martial Arts community, known as Blood Fist? To be more specific, does the Red Falcon Fist sound familiar?" The trench-coated man stepped toward the edge of the arena.

A suffocating, terrifying killing intent radiated from him. Reddish-brown blood-scented Qi rolled out in waves in mid-air, like layers of tides constantly lapping in all directions. Spectators near arena one felt as if they were in a world of blood; the bloody smell in the air was almost suffocating. The surging crimson blood waves were over ten meters high.

"Red Falcon Fist? Blood Fist Feng Liusi!" Archid's pupils contracted.

Back then, he was a young man in his teens and had heard of the notorious Blood Fist! The sect master and great elder of Evil Eye Fist were extremely wary of him, never daring to provoke the mere third-rate sect Red Falcon Fist lightly. It wasn't until news came from Death Canyon that Blood Fist had failed to break through that Evil Eye Fist dared to act against Red Falcon Fist secretly, gradually seizing their assets.

Now, the entire Red Falcon Fist had long since disappeared. Only a dilapidated martial hall remained as its last trace. Moreover, Evil Eye Fist's youth training camp was about to take over the Red Falcon Fist's martial hall in the coming months.

Yet, this man mentioned Red Falcon Fist and Blood Fist Feng Liusi. Could it be... was he?!

Archid thought of a possibility and shouted, "You are the successor of Red Falcon Fist? No, you're the successor of Blood Fist Feng Liusi!"

"Correct." Cassius nodded approvingly, then revealed a ferocious smile. "I'll reward you with a move that even Buck and Justin didn't suffer—the Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist technique."

"Ultimate secret art, Blood Vulture's Beak..." There was no agitation, no roar, just a touch of reminiscing calmness. Cassius raised his hands.

He seemed to see Feng Liusi laughing wildly in the blood-red vortex. He was the only combat artist Cassius ever respected in his heart. Blood Fist's courage and pursuit were something even Cassius couldn't match!

"What are you doing!" Many combat artists in the audience rushed out, some heading toward Cassius, others toward Archid. They vaguely sensed enmity between the parties and that a fight might break out. Under such circumstances, they naturally wanted to intervene.

With over a dozen combat artists present, even a dragon had to recoil.

However Cassius didn't care about any of that. The moment he raised his arms, two blood-red waterfalls surged upward. Steam boiled and surged, forming dangerous vortices on his shoulders and above his head. Wings that looked like both flames and scales spread toward the sky.

Cassius placed his left hand forward and right hand behind, standing firmly. The surging red steam draped down from his head like a veil.

His blood-red eyes stared at Archid and Hugo, as well as the other two combat artists rushing over to back them up, with a ferocious smile.

"So eager to seek death? Then I'll devour you all! Southern Dipper Red Falcon Fist, ultimate secret art, Blood Vulture's Beak!"

The next second, over a dozen acupoints on his chest simultaneously lit up brightly. The high-pitched screech of a bird of prey pierced through metal and stone.

Screech!!! Boom!!!

An incomparably gigantic bird of prey's head burst forth from the dense mist behind Cassius. It was enormous, almost twice the size of a locomotive. The metallic-glinting beak opened inch by inch, exceptionally ferocious. Its violent eyes were blood-red, dripping with blood.

Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka!

The giant head swooped down at high speed, crushing half of the metal arena in an instant. It rolled forward like a heavy tank!

Those who block me, die!