The injured masked man couldn’t dodge in time.

He could only raise an arm to shield his head.

Bang!

His entire arm shattered, blood spraying.

Screech—at the same time, another air‑tear!

Right after the punch, Lin Zichen whipped a savage kick at the man’s injured groin.

The punch at the head had been a feint—his true target was the groin, still bleeding!

If one blow didn’t cripple him, then another!

Bang!

With a surge of vitality, the kick landed, force and energy ramming into the wounded crotch—smashing it, along with the right hand clamped over it.

“Aaahhh!”

The masked man screamed again, face turning purple, on the verge of shock.

Screech—yet another air‑tear exploded!

Lin Zichen, as if with endless vitality, hammered another fist at the man’s groin.

The masked man ignored the pain and in the instant the fist fell, flared what little vitality he had left—with a flicker, he dodged that deadly blow and kept retreating, trying to open distance and avoid a head‑on clash.

‘What the hell?! What is going on?! That little bastard was on his last breath—how did he resurrect at full strength and erupt with Advanced Rank Four power?! It made no sense! Not at all!’

Terrified, he backpedaled like mad, unable to understand Lin Zichen’s sudden eruption.

‘Wait! A reagent? Was the reagent still in effect?! Had the bastard realized that continuing to run meant death, so he decided to fight me to the death while the reagent lasted? So—the slowdown earlier was deliberate? Letting my vines gather was deliberate? All to lure me close for a sneak attack? Damn it! Despicable wretch! Shameless cur! No honor!’

In an instant, he figured out the reason for the “resurrection” and cursed inwardly.

Then he relaxed slightly—if Lin Zichen’s power came only from a temporary reagent, all he had to do was weather the storm; soon the boy would weaken and become easy prey.

Screech—Lin Zichen poured out maximum vitality and hammered another punch at the groin.

He didn’t know what the man was thinking.

He only knew he could not pause.

He had to keep attacking—give him no time to adjust!

Knock him to the ground and send him down to join his bed slave!

“Keep going! Keep attacking me! Let’s see how long you last! When your vitality runs dry, I’ll grind you under my heel and humiliate you! I’ll humiliate your whole family of women! F— you!”

The masked man tried his usual trick—verbal attacks to stir an opponent’s emotions, make their vitality fluctuate and hamper their strength.

Lin Zichen’s emotions did ripple and his vitality followed—but his strength did not drop—it grew stronger!

Each punch hit harder than the last!

Bang! Bang! Bang…

A flurry of impacts exploded!

Lin Zichen’s fists and feet slammed into the masked man.

Neck, chest, groin…

Every targetable part of his body took savage blows.

His forehead burst under a punch.

His chest caved under a punch.

His groin split under a kick.

Blood poured from every wound.

His body weakened further; his vision blurred. He was about to black out.

“Impossible! This is impossible! You—you’re an ordinary ant—how can your vitality keep erupting without end?! Pff! Cough… cough, cough!”

Terrified, he coughed blood as he spoke. His face turned visibly pale, bloodless—he looked moments from death.

In thirty‑plus years of life, he had never seen anything like this.

He kept thinking Lin Zichen’s burst would be temporary—that when the reagent wore off, he would crash back to ordinary levels.

But how many times had Lin Zichen erupted now?

More than ten!

And he wasn’t weaker—he was stronger!

Each punch was deadlier than the last!

How was it possible?!

Unable to grasp it and ignoring the blood flooding his throat, he screamed at Lin Zichen still attacking him:

“What is it?! What are you?! You’re not even twenty—you’re just an ordinary ant—how can you keep bursting with Advanced Rank Four power?! Pff! Cough, cough…”

Shouting too hard tore his vocal cords; blood gushed; he coughed uncontrollably.

Lin Zichen ignored him and hammered away, intent on killing him here and ending this battle.

He would never explain that he had trained since birth—nineteen years straight, every single day—his vitality soaring day by day—until now, it had reached an astonishing—terrifying—reserve.

“Ninth Elder, help me!!!”

Suddenly, the masked man threw his head toward one side and yelled.

Lin Zichen didn’t even glance over. His eyes stayed on the man as he attacked.

“I can’t hold on, Ninth Elder!!!”

He shouted again—whether real or a ploy to distract, who knew.

“Ni—bang!”

He tried to shout again—but before the last word left his mouth, Lin Zichen’s fist smashed into his face and blasted him away.

He crashed into a towering tree with a boom and stopped.

The two‑leaf‑clover mask on his face, cracked by so many heavy blows, finally split with a series of snaps.

His face was revealed—handsome, sword‑browed, star‑eyed—a striking man in his forties.

A pity that a heartbeat later—Lin Zichen’s kick splashed blood across that face and sent several teeth flying.

Seizing momentum, Lin Zichen flashed in, grabbed him by the throat with one hand, rammed a knee into his abdomen and pinned him to the ground.

Then he raised his other fist and hammered the man’s face.

Bang!

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Bang! Bang…

With each dull thud, the face grew unrecognizable.

Meat paste and blood.

It soaked into the earth.

Bang! Bang! Bang…

“Ever hear that villains die from talking too much?! Why so much nonsense?!”

Bang! Bang! Bang…

“Missing your bed slave, are you?! I’ll send you to her now!!”

Bang! Bang! Bang…

Lin Zichen hammered the face while speaking in a flat voice, venting the pent‑up negativity.

Ten punches. Twenty. Thirty…

He didn’t know how many.

When his fists finally went numb, a prompt appeared in the void:

[Devour?]

Seeing it, he relaxed and stopped punching.

He knew the masked man was dead—reduced to a devourable corpse.

An Advanced Rank Six—killed by a student at Ordinary Rank Nine.

There was no head left, only a mess of meat and dirt.

‘I killed an Advanced Rank Six…’

Lin Zichen collapsed to the ground, panting raggedly. It didn’t feel real.

Yes, the man had been badly wounded.

Yes, he had used a sneak attack.

But—even injured, the man had still been around Advanced Rank Four.

And Lin Zichen was still only Ordinary Rank Nine.

Yet in a little over ten minutes, with no injuries, he had killed him.

“I really am strong…”

He couldn’t help murmuring.

Only now did he realize how powerful he was.

A body perfected by three temperings, plus many attributes that amplified strength—even foes several ranks higher might be cut down.

As he thought this—a faint, elderly voice sounded behind him:

“With an Ordinary Rank Nine body, slaying an Advanced Rank Six—such a genius on Earth… it seems our scheme was worth it.”

“Who?!”

Lin Zichen snapped around.

A hunched old man wearing a mask came into view.

The mask bore a conspicuous three‑leaf clover.