Larbre Studio

  Larbre Studio

  “Begin!”


  The two voices boomed at the same time, one in Chinese and the other in Japanese, right as dusk spilled into the temple.

  With a bang, Mouko Yamashita’s beefy, muscle-bound body enlarged in the reflection of Lou Cheng’s eyes, his slitted eyebrows becoming vivid. At the doorway of the temple, where he was originally standing, the afterimage he left had not yet fully dispersed. A flickering red mist followed him in his path, neatly cutting through the flagstone and messy obstacles above it. The cuts were so uniform and smooth it was as though it had been the mark of a heavenly weapon slicing through it.

  Lou Cheng felt a numbness at his scalp; his skin experienced horripilation. He was slightly caught off guard by the enemy’s “flash-like” assault. He couldn’t dodge it nor escape it, neither did he have enough time to use a simplified move of the Physical Invulnerability Stage, or even defend against it with Force Concentration.

  Based on the videos he had watched, not even seasoned quasi-Inhuman Mighty Ones from the Extreme Hadou Sect were at that level!

  Was it an anomaly caused by the Bloodlust Hadou, or did the advantageous environment amp up his power?

  In a split second, a gentle ripple formed on the Ice Mirror, warding off a fear that came rushing in from all directions. With full physical control, Lou Cheng began to manipulate his Qi and blood, directly stimulating a few special parts of his body without having to go through all the processes.

  Encountering Gods In The Void—Simplified Version of the Fighting Formula!

  Crack!

  Instantly enlarging by a few inches, the cracks beneath his feet rapidly spread in every direction, like slithering earthworms. At the same time, he twitched his shoulder. Blue and black veins became apparent on his taut muscles. His uppercut flew up with a bang, blocking off Mouko Yamashita’s forearm chop—empowered by the momentum from his “flash”—just in the nick of time.

  In that instant, it felt as if the wind around them had gone still. The shifting dusklight froze. Even the terrible Bloodlust, a manifestation of pain and terror, dimmed. The pair of fists bursting with muscles became all that mattered—one covered in blue and black, the other enveloped by a scarlet red. Both deformed slightly from the impact. The smell of strength and destruction came rushing in.

  Boom! The raw physical contact sounded like a bomb had gone off. Lou Cheng’s arm recoiled, causing him to lean backwards. He reeled back three steps, leaving a clear footprint with each.

  Even after using the Simplified Version of Fighting Formula, his opponent had the upper hand with his “Aerial Flash Attack”. He had troubles nullifying that strong yet terrible energy.

  Mouko Yamashita teetered where he was standing. He wasn’t anxious to connect other moves, instead he rapidly converted the red mist into a scarlet glow. Enwreathed by a dense Bloodlust, he punched forward, his fist forming into a terrifyingly sanguine scythe that cruelly slashed towards his opponent.

  As the scarlet light permeated through the air, a sinister wind formed behind Lou Cheng, whirling into a headless shadow, clad in chainmail, with a tachi in its hands.

  Blurry and unreal, it had a head dangling before its chest. It raised its tachi above its shoulders, and poised itsef to chop forward, forming a pincer attack with Mouko Yamashita.

  All of these were shapeless and soundless, like the coldness hidden in the northern winds—undetectable even to the Absolute Reaction of a Dan Stage Mighty One.

  But who would have thought that Mouko Yamashita could “summon” such a helper when casting “Seven Sins Hadouken”?

  Lou Cheng was sharp, with the Ice Mirror reflecting everything around him. He “saw” the zapping irregularity dancing behind him and realised the abnormality in the surrounding electromagnetic field. Alarmed, he gathered his Qi and blood to his lower abdomen and stopped his retreating momentum in time, going into the Golden Bell stance. His control over distance was of pinpoint precision.

  After a breath’s time, he did a Dan Stage burst, engorging his legs. Conveniently, he leapt half a step forward and sunk his waist into the ground. With a heavy “Emperor Yan glove” around his left fist, he recklessly punched at the sanguine scythe .

  Boom!

  Lumps of scarlet-red mist scattered and rained down spectacularly after being torched by flames, dispersing and swallowing the gloominess and bloodthirst nearby. Behind Lou Cheng, the tachi in the headless general’s hands fell, missing by a hair’s breadth. A spread of goosebumps formed on Lou Cheng’s back.

  The blurry shadow “helper” seemed to be bound to the same spot and couldn’t follow up by stepping forward. After missing its strike, It dispersed into thin air.

  At that moment, Mouko Yamashita teetered again. A good portion of the scarlet glow had burned away after being blown apart. Around Lou Cheng’s right arm, save for his fist, blood mist formed around his skin, infiltrating through the pores on his skin. It was a sinister kind of cold, attempting to enter him to siphon away his Qi and blood.

  Right as he was about to disperse the Blood Mist of Bloodlust with Emperor Yan Force, Mouko Yamashita shifted sideways and lowered his center of gravity with a backwards momentum. He then lowered his shoulder, sending his left fist upwards in an uppercut that fast and furious like a rocket after blast-off.

  Lou Cheng put force to his waist, instantly reclining backwards slightly. The wind swept up by his opponent’s punch raked his face like a knife. The pain stung hard.

  Immediately after that, in a spring-like manner, his waist suddenly straightened, and he reverted to his original position, before throwing a punch towards Mouko Yamashita’s waist—while he was at it—to prevent him from transitioning into another move.

  In his crisis, Mouko Yamashita’s eyes remained icy and scarlet. Using the upward momentum of his punch, he lifted off the ground, swung his waist, bent his knee and struck a glancing blow with it, blocking off Lou Cheng’s Burst Punch with a thump. Then, he borrowed strength to wheel around, whip out his leg and make a horizontal sweep, brewing up a sanguine tornado with kick after kick, unpausing and vicious.

  Thump, thump, thump! With the reflection of Ice Mirror, Lou Cheng, with two arms barred before himself, relentlessly blocked off the attacks coming from ahead. In the crisp snaps of his joints bending and unbending, he put up a solid defense— methodically taking backward steps.

  But during that time, to his surprise, he realized the condition of his body was gradually worsening—likely because of the corrosion of Blood Mist of Bloodlust— but he couldn’t find a chance to dispel the negative effects through using Force Concentration. Mouko Yamashita’s Bloodlust Version of “Seven Sins Hadouken” perfectly merged with the special environment!

  If this goes on, I might be in danger…… After the sudden epiphany, Lou Cheng began trying to disrupt his foe’s battle rhythm, searching for the window for a breather.

  However, drowned in his Bloodlust, Mouko Yamashita’s left no gaps between his moves. His strength was astounding, his craze that of an evil spirit, and his bloodthirst was Asura-like. When the Sanguine Tornado was at its end, he immediately swung out his arm and threw out a lump of scarlet light. They began a “game” of ranged combat, exchanging Hadou for fireball, swapping Blood Sphere for Frost Light. The air was lit up by speckles of light, which went well with the will-o-wisps in the surrounding.

  Compared to when they last fought in August, Mouko Yamashita had became effortless at casting Hadoukens— he could use it freely as long as he wasn’t in an awkward position.

  After taking a short breather, his frame, once again, “lapped over” the sanguine Asura statue with three heads and six arms. Once again dragging out afterimages and carmine mist, he “flashed” near Lou Cheng and resumed his previous assault. It seemed like he wanted to completely crush his opponent with his relentless attacks combined with the corrosion from Blood Mist of Bloodlust. A bloodlust, icy and pleasurable look ebbed and flowed in his dark-red eyes. He eyed his enemy, who was having a hard time defending himself, like food on a plate waiting to be cut and delivered to his lips.

  In less than two rounds, the deterioration of Lou Cheng’s body condition was becoming apparent. Without further hesitation, he decisively manipulated his Qi and blood to stimulate his body.

  Bam! Almost instantly, Lou Cheng seemed to be at his peak form again. His muscles propped up his pants and pushed up his clothes. His punch, starting out slow, gained a burst of energy and accelerated at an astounding speed, like a bolt loosed from a crossbow. Though it started off later than his opponent’s strike, Lou Cheng’s attack arrived first, blocking off his foe’s sanguine-stained fist.

  Boom!

  The noise given off by the explosion—when the two forces collided— shattered the air of desolation surrounding the temple. Mouko Yamashita, whose “Bloodlust” was at its peak, and Lou Cheng teetered at the same time. It was a draw! Lou Cheng was no longer in a passive position.

  Ready to go all out now? A delighted look flashed across Mouko Yamashita’s eyes. The scarlet light around him magnified in intensity and gained density.

  He took a quick step forward, forming a knife palm with his right hand, and chopped down diagonally. A chorus of low, thunder-like hums sounded around him.

  Lou Cheng’s determination was hot like flames, but his mind was as cool as ice. As he had planned, he drove his Qi and blood to stimulate the corresponding parts of his body. Through the Ice Mirror, he “saw” bruises forming and trickles of blood oozing out at those regions.

  Simplified Version of Fighting Formula, twice in a row!

  Encountering Gods In The Void— Overpowered Stage!

  Bam! His left fist shot out like a cannonball, smashing through barriers of air, towards the knife palm. His arm had engorged to more than twice of its original size, as though it belonged to a giant.

  The scarlet glow dispersed into every direction. Mouko Yamashita quickly withdrew his palm and teetered backwards. Lou Cheng stood firm in the same spot, manipulating his body to repair his internal injuries. At the same time, he recklessly worked his Qi and blood again, stimulating the corresponding parts of his body.

  Thump, thump, thump! With a godlike composure, Lou Cheng emotionlessly observed the tiny changes in his body— calculating the maximum extent he could push himself to drive out hidden power. In order to attain bursts of strength, he took whatever damage his body could handle.

  One hit, two hits, three hits! He swung his arms without pause, sending a flurry of punches. His punches went left and right, every punch heavy enough to split mountains and shatter gold. Mouko Yamashita, vigorous at first, grew tired under his attacks. The scarlet glow around him had dispersed, and his arms were trembling. He never expected his opponent’s secret art of empowerment to last that long!

  Boom!

  A few small blood vessels in Lou Cheng’s eyes ruptured, blotting his vision with patches of red. Twisting his waist and turning his knees, he dealt a savage back-arm strike, causing an explosion on the surface of Mouko Yamashita’s blocking fist and forcing him to stagger backwards.

  Since the start of the fight, this was his first time being on the offensive!

  With that chance, Lou Cheng sunk his waist into the ground. His Qi and blood swayed back and forth. The negative effects— from his force, spirit, Fighting Formula,and the opponent’s Blood Mist— dispersed. He successfully stopped his body from crumbling apart.

  Even so, stimulating his Qi and blood for one or two more times was out of the question as the backlash would be unbearable.

  Boom! Dan Qi erupting, Lou Cheng dove towards Mouko Yamashita like a raptor, rapidly appearing before him. He raised his arm and slammed a fist down. The flames that sparked kindled the scarlet glow, causing an explosion that boomed through the silent, abandoned temple.

  With a roar, Mouko Yamashita condensed the red mist around him and gathered the sanguine glow. He punched forward challengingly.

  Bam!

  The explosion reverberated, shaking the sinister cloud that had gathered. Lou Cheng spontaneously triggered his Dan Stage empowerment. One of his punches was heavy, while the other was explosive. In both his fists he imbued Emperor Yan Force as a counter to the evil and sinister energy.

  Two hits connected, then three, four…… Ten hits, twenty hits, before thirty hits connected in a row…… Lou Cheng donned an unmoving expression, like a next century robot. As he attacked, his feet moved forward with pinpoint precision. His arms made huge movements— every punch heavier than the last, and every kick more ferocious. Every now and then, the desolate wilderness was lit up by flames, smouldering afterwards. Under the assault, Mouko Yamashita was forced to back off, step after step, crushing through flagstones and knocking down shabby walls in his path.

  In that time, he vividly realized that Mouko Yamashita’s physical tolerance was even weaker than before. That meant that his enemy’s breakthrough in Bloodlust Hadou, and being in his home environment came with a drawback— it made his offensive abilities stronger at the cost of his defenses. He attacked relentlessly, since falling into a passive position would expose this problem!

  Bam!

  Lou Cheng’s sideways punch knocked his opponent back. An expanding plume of flames formed. Mouko Yamashita dodged backwards, knocking into the Asura statue inside the temple. The statue crashed into the ground, losing its arms and legs.

  At that moment, Mouko Yamashita suddenly halted. He reared his head into the sky and let out a bloodthirsty roar, indifferent to Lou Cheng’s Cannon Punch approaching him.

  The light in the surrounding area dimmed.