Starting as dockworkers, they swept through Chongqing.

The moment Sislow strained his muscles, Siren had already anticipated the trajectory of the blade.

Instead of retreating, Xilun stepped forward to meet the blade.

With a sudden sweep of his alloy spear, the shaft lashed down like a rolling black dragon!

clang!

The gun barrel was precisely positioned in the path of the blade, blocking the dangerous strike.

Over the next three breaths, the entire basement seemed to transform into a hellish scene of clashing steel.

The two men's weapons clashed violently at close range at least a dozen times.

Ping pong!

Sparks flew everywhere; it was very intense.

The air was thick with the smell of burning, and each collision made the stone slabs on the ground tremble slightly.

Sislow grew increasingly desperate and anxious as the fight progressed.

With a gloomy face, he used all the full-body fighting techniques he had learned from fighting at sea for half his life to the fullest.

With brutal force, he hacked at Xilun like a mad dog.

But it didn't work.

Siren remained calm and composed, dealing with all his attacks with ease.

Xilun's gaze remained unwavering as he continuously swung his spear, deflecting, parrying, and smashing, neutralizing each seemingly dangerous attack in front of him.

Sislow felt increasingly uncomfortable, as if he were sinking into a quagmire.

He swung his sword with all his might several times, but he couldn't break through Xilun's defensive perimeter even once.

Occasionally, if a lucky strike lands, it only barely cuts through the tough muscle of Xilun's skin, leaving a shallow bloodstain, which is hardly a serious injury.

However, the opponent's heavy and sturdy alloy gun caused him a lot of trouble.

Smash, sweep, twist, grind!

Every blow from Xilun was as heavy as a thousand pounds.

If Sislow were even slightly grazed, he would either be seriously injured or killed, with broken bones and torn tendons!

"it's over."

Xilun coldly uttered three words.

boom!

Seizing the moment when Sislow was exhausted, Xilen swept his spear horizontally, directly breaking through Sislow's sword formation and completely opening his center.

Then, Xilen suddenly raised his foot and delivered a skillful and ruthless whip kick, like a battle axe, which slammed into Xislow's stomach.

"Crack!"

The sound of the ribs breaking was clearly audible.

Sislow flew out like a tattered sack and was pinned to the wall.

His abdomen sank in strangely, and he gushed out blood mixed with pieces of internal organs.

He slid down the wall to the ground, and the black knife in his hand finally fell to the ground with a "clang".

His once arrogant eyes gradually lost focus and eventually dimmed completely.

Siren, expressionless, stepped forward calmly, spear in hand.

puff.

Without the slightest hesitation, without uttering a single wasted word, the spear, like a venomous dragon emerging from its lair, pierced precisely into Sislow's head.

A legendary pirate tycoon met his end.

……

The basement was deathly silent, save for the dripping sound of blood on the walls and Xilun's steady, long breaths.

Sislow's body lay limply in a pool of blood, his狰狞 face still bearing the marks of his death from terror and disbelief.

He probably never understood why he had been defeated so utterly, defeated by a young man he had regarded as an ant just a few months earlier.

At this moment, Lund, who had been watching from the shadows, slowly took a step forward.

His leather boots made a dull echo as they stepped on the cold stone slabs.

He stopped not far from Sislow's body, his gaze calmly sweeping over the mess on the ground, and said indifferently:

"Less than fifty rounds. Clean, efficient, without any unnecessary words or movements."

Lund thoughtfully stroked his chin, his deep eyes gleaming with undisguised admiration:

"Although compared to those top geniuses who have been nurtured by resources since childhood, such as Ross from the Ocelli family, you are still slightly inferior in terms of total blood energy and explosive power."

"However..." Lund changed the subject, his tone revealing a hint of arrogance, "This gap is not insurmountable."

"Based solely on your control over the rhythm of battle and this absolutely rational killing mentality, you are already outstanding compared to the vast majority of first-tier extraordinary individuals of similar age in Saint Laurent City."

Aigu, standing at the back, was only now recovering from the brief but extremely violent crushing defeat.

He swallowed hard, suppressing his shock, and strode forward to push open the heavy door.

In the center of the field, Xilun's face remained as calm as a block of ice without any temperature.

He did not feel complacent about killing a once invincible enemy, nor did he deliberately show off his strength in front of his teacher for the first time.

He silently took out a clean piece of coarse cloth from his pocket and carefully wiped the red and white substance on the tip of the alloy gun.

His movements were slow and meticulous.

Only after the tip of the gun regained its cold, dark metallic sheen did he press the hidden mechanism on the handle.

With a snap.

The 2.4-meter-long heavy spear instantly shrank, transforming back into a seemingly ordinary black umbrella.

Xilun put the umbrella back on and casually carried it in his hand.

Having done all this, he turned to face Lund, bowed slightly, and spoke in a respectful but calm tone:

"Thank you for the compliment, teacher."

If there's nothing else, teacher, shall I be going now?

Xilun was still thinking about the junior knight combat competition in half a month. He needed to seize every minute to temper his blood and qi and familiarize himself with his newly acquired electric charge talent.

However, Lund did not nod and let them pass as usual.

He stood quietly in place, the dim light casting a long shadow that almost covered Xilun's entire body.

"No."

Lund's voice was soft, yet carried an undeniable sense of pressure: "Today's training is not over yet; another battle awaits you."

Xilun paused slightly, a hint of doubt finally flashing in his usually calm eyes.

He subconsciously looked around. In this enclosed basement, besides the now-corpse Sislow, there were only his teacher Lund and his senior brother Aigu.

Aigu is a first-tier peak realm expert, and the gap between him and himself is still quite large...

Logically speaking, there should be no need for a competition, but the teacher must have his reasons for thinking that way!

"There's one more match?"

Xilun's brow furrowed slightly, and his fingers tightened unconsciously around the umbrella handle. "Teacher, who is it?"

Lund did not answer immediately.

He slowly turned around and walked towards a dusty weapons rack in the corner of the basement.

The weapon rack was filled with all sorts of rusty, broken weapons. Lund's gaze swept over these weapons, and finally, he reached out and pulled out a long stick made of some kind of wood.

This wooden stick is about two meters long, completely black, and its surface is covered with the patina of time and fine cracks.

Most importantly, it has no gun head.

This is just an ordinary, somewhat sturdy wooden stick.

Lund casually flicked his gun, and the wooden stick made a dull whistling sound in the air.

He turned around to face Xilun, a faint smile curving his lips.

"You just defeated Sislow, which was quite impressive. You've proven that you deserve to be the best among your peers."

As Lund spoke, he slowly began to walk towards Xiren.

"So, what's next..."

Lund stopped about five meters away from Xiren. He stood with his feet slightly apart, neither too far apart nor too far apart.

He held the wooden stick without the spearhead in his hand with one hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground.

This is a seemingly casual yet flawless fighting stance.

"Your opponent is me!"

Xilun: "..."

boom!

As Lund finished speaking, an indescribable terrifying aura instantly erupted from his seemingly weak body!

This aura was no longer the deliberately restrained pressure of before, but a truly violent aura belonging to a third-tier mutant, or even a top-tier powerhouse with one foot in the fourth tier!

The air in the basement seemed to have been sucked out in that instant.

An invisible pressure poured down like a ton of seawater, causing even the gas lamps in the corner to shake wildly, their flames flickering as if they might go out at any moment.

Xilun's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size.

His "far hearing" talent was alarming him.

In his perception, Lund before him was no longer a human being, but a live volcano about to erupt, an ancient ferocious beast lurking in the abyss!

That terrifying aura locked onto Xilun.

Xilun felt as if a mountain was pressing down on his shoulders, making it incredibly difficult to even breathe.

Under immense external pressure, the "Great Ocean Whale Guiding Technique" within his body began to operate uncontrollably and wildly, his blood surging and roaring in his veins, emitting bursts of thunder.

"Teacher...?"

Xilun's voice was somewhat hoarse. He gripped the black umbrella tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the force.

He never expected that Lund would personally get involved!

A third-order aberration versus a first-order baptized? This isn't a battle, it can't even be called a massacre, it's an absolute crushing defeat!

The air in the basement seemed to have solidified, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.

Lund held the unremarkable black wooden stick in one hand, his aura as deep and unfathomable as the ocean, suppressing all of Xilun's senses.

"Relax, it will only hurt for a moment, and it will get much better afterward."

Lund's voice was completely flat, as calm as a stagnant pool.

Xilun's palms, gripping the black umbrella, were already sweating. He forced a bitter smile and said, "Why bother? How could I possibly be your match?"

He was well aware of the gap between a first-order Baptist and a third-order Aberrant, a chasm that could not be bridged by skill or willpower alone.

Lund nodded slightly, a hint of a smile flashing in his eyes, and said calmly, "I don't want you to defeat me, I just want to tease you."

Before he finished speaking, Lund moved.

There was no roar of vital energy, no violent sonic boom, and not even the slightest ripple in the air.

The dark wooden stick left a blurry afterimage as it sliced ​​through the air.

Xilun's "Far-Aware Listening" talent screamed wildly in his mind. He instinctively raised his black umbrella, trying to block the seemingly slow but actually extremely fast attack.

However, the stick deftly bypassed the umbrella ribs at an incredibly strange angle and struck Xilun hard on the left shoulder.

"Snapped!"

The dull thuds of flesh colliding echoed in the basement.

Xilun felt a piercing pain tear through his nerves, and half of his body went completely numb, almost losing the strength to hold the umbrella.

Immediately following was a fierce, torrential beating.

Ping Pong -

The wooden stick, like a living venomous snake, landed with unparalleled precision on Xilun's back, thighs, ribs, and arms.

Xiren gritted his teeth, attempting to fight back.

He forcefully activated the "Great Sea Whale Guiding Technique," his blood and qi roaring within his body, and his spear swept out fiercely, attempting to force Lund back.

But Lund simply flicked his wrist, and the tip of the stick precisely struck the acupoint on Xilun's wrist where he was exerting force.

The violent force dissipated instantly like a deflated balloon, followed by an even more powerful and heavy blow that struck his lower abdomen.

Aigu stood to the side, his eyes slightly narrowed.

He watched as Xilun struggled against the dense shadows of the sticks, saw purplish-blue welts rapidly appearing on his powerful body, and heard the teeth-grinding sound of the blows.

Aigu seemed thoughtful, but more than that, he was completely baffled.

As expected, the battle was a one-sided rout.

Lund made his move casually, without even a slight disturbance in his breathing, and easily overwhelmed Xiren, leaving this genius who had just killed Xislow completely powerless.

What's the point of all this?

For a competitor about to participate in a junior knight fighting competition, isn't physical torture a huge and unnecessary drain?

After more than ten minutes, the dull thuds finally stopped.

Xilun lay sprawled on the cold stone slab, drenched in sweat, his chest heaving violently.

He felt as if all the bones in his body had been dismantled and reassembled, and every inch of his skin was burning.

Lund casually tossed the stick, stained with traces of blood, into a corner.

He didn't even glance at Xilen on the ground, and turned to walk out of the basement.

Aigu quickly followed behind.

Once outside in the corridor, Aigu finally couldn't hold back any longer and cautiously asked, "Teacher, why...why did you discipline Junior Brother Xilun like that?"

Lund stopped, gazing at the window at the end of the corridor, and said calmly:

"Siron has had too good a life since his baptism; he has always been able to win, which is not good."

"I want him to experience a defeat where he has no chance of fighting back, even if the opponent is me."

I hope he remembers the pain, the humiliation, and the feeling of helplessness when he is inferior to others.

Only by maintaining absolute reverence for power can he avoid dying from his own arrogance one day in the future.

At this point, Lund paused, his tone becoming somewhat somber.

"Furthermore, beneath his body, there are many extraordinary properties that have not been digested."

"He must have taken some unusually pure potion or absorbed some excessively violent energy."

I used a wooden stick to strike his acupoints all over his body, skillfully agitating his qi and blood, allowing the medicinal effects to slowly disperse and be completely absorbed into his bone marrow.

The sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, disappearing into the dark corridor.