While wrapped in the refined force that had spilled out of their bodies, they plunged down from more than twenty meters in the air.

Bang!

In an instant, a huge pit formed on the ground. Tiles and debris flew everywhere.

Fang Zhixin and Yu Lie felt their hearts tremble. If someone fell from such a height without protection, they would be dead.

Then, they saw Chen Chuan jumping out of the scattering debris. Once he was more than twenty meters away, he flipped and landed before straightening his body and looking toward the pit.

After executing that takedown, Chen Bitong had been the one to bear the brunt of the crash on the ground. Chen Chuan didn’t suffer much of an impact.

Of course, when he used the grappling-type refined force to grab Chen Bitong, the simplest way to defeat him had actually been to break his neck, but Chen Chuan’s heart and instincts told him that this wasn’t the right move, and it wouldn’t be useful.

His instincts were right. The moment he touched the ground, the power he experienced earlier appeared once more. Upon sensing danger, Chen Chuan didn’t continue fighting Chen Bitong and broke free to jump out of the pit.

Chen Bitong stood up from the pit and walked out slowly. Light shone on his right hand. The power and aura radiating from him right now was completely different from before, as if something had been released a little.

As Chen Chuan watched him, he found that this feeling reminded him of the existence that had attached itself to Meng Huang, but it was also completely different.

Chen Bitong cast a glance at his hand and said, “Once martial artists break free of the shackles of their body, they reach an entirely new realm.

“There were all sorts of different terms for it in the old era, but in the new era, we call such people martial arts masters.

“Martial arts masters have an ability that lets them use their minds to interfere with reality somewhat. You don’t need refined force to help you with that. It’s just a pure manifestation of mental energy.

“To become a martial arts master, you need to go through a process. Your mind must be elevated to a certain degree. Once it has, you can use it to bring over power from the other world and use it. That is the starting point on one’s journey as a martial arts master.”

Chen Bitong brought his other arm up. It was also shining faintly.

“From then on, you can use that power to purify your mind so that you can gradually get used to and possess similar qualities. After that, you can start walking forward.”

Chen Chuan remembered that the Awakening Clarity Xue Shou taught him required him to elevate his mind to a certain degree too. This meant that if he continued training and everything went smoothly, he could reach Chen Bitong’s state.

“Even if you’re not a martial arts master, once you possess the ability to use your mind to manipulate external forces, the regular martial artist won’t be able to block your attacks. That is why those two couldn’t fight against this power.”

Chen Chuan stared at the light on the arms before leaning forward. With a stomp of his foot, he lunged forward. As he ran, he dragged forward the power generated from his mutated tissue. Once he was close to Chen Bitong, he spread his fingers and pushed the base of a palm forward.

Chen Bitong spread his legs a little and brought his shining arm up to block the palm strike. He did not sway in the slightest.

Meanwhile, when Chen Chuan touched Chen Bitong’s arm, he felt all his refined force disappear, as if it had been cast into a void. Chen Bitong then pushed forward with his other arm.

Chen Chuan responded with a block using his hand. Immediately, he felt a torrential and unfathomable power. His legs dragged on the ground as he was pushed back, and he only stopped more than twenty meters away.

He took a look and found that his second self had almost entirely disappeared. With just a simple push, Chen Bitong had managed to make his second self lose one-fifth of his durability.

This meant that if Chen Bitong continued attacking him this way, he could at most endure four more punches, perhaps less, because he doubted that Chen Bitong had used his full strength.

Chen Bitong frowned, and the light on one arm faded away, leaving only the other arm.

Chen Chuan continued watching him. From the exchange of blows just now, he had sensed that Chen Bitong seemed to be holding something back, as if he didn’t want to use this power.

Chen Bitong’s mind was in an unstable state, but after the light in one arm faded away, his mind stabilized.

Was there some sort of price to pay for using this power, or was it because of something else?

“I haven’t finished learning from you, Instructor Chen. Let’s continue,” Chen Chuan stated.

Chen Bitong regarded him curiously. Was Chen Chuan still confident that he could win, even after he displayed this power?

Chen Chuan sucked in a deep breath. His burning body caused the rain that landed on him to evaporate and mix with the white smoke rising from him.

The power was indeed strong, and Chen Chuan didn’t have any way of fighting against it head-on. Chen Bitong’s physical abilities didn’t increase, though, so as long as he didn’t let this power touch him, he should be fine.

After overlapping with his second self, he had displayed only his strength, but aside from a boost in power, he also received a boost in speed.

Chen Chuan focused and took a step forward. In an instant, it was as if the world slowed down. The thinning rain seemed to have stopped, and the wind-blown debris as well as dancing leaves seemed to have frozen in the air.

The serious looks on the marksmen’s faces as they trained their guns on him, along with Yu Lie and Fang Zhixin’s nervous expressions were all reflected in his mind.

But he ignored them all. As he stepped on the slowly cracking ground and knocked aside the raindrops hanging in the air, he arrived near Chen Bitong and brought his fist up.

Chen Bitong seemed to have detected something. He slowly brought up the shining arm and moved it in front of him as a shield, but before he could move it to the right spot, Chen Chuan punched his face. A loud, explosive crack sounded, and Chen Bitong was sent flying back.

He bounced off the ground a few times, leaving behind several pits in his wake, and only stopped after he was dozens of meters away. He slowly stood up with his back turned to Chen Chuan. When he turned around, light was shining on his damaged face, and the wounds were closing slowly.

His expression was grave. Based on the situation right now, unless he drew sufficient power, he wouldn’t be able to win.

If he did, though, there would be dire consequences. He might end up unable to control himself.

There was only one method left.

He raised his head, and cracking sounds came from his body as he grew taller. Originally, he was only around 170 cm tall, but now, he reached nearly 180 cm. The clothes became tighter as even his limbs became longer and his muscles bulged.

His wrinkles smoothed out, his graying hair turned black as ink, and his eyes sparkled.

It was as if he had returned to his twenties. Faint green smoke also spilled out of his body.

The Void String Force was divided into internal and external forces. The external force was used to attack enemies, while the internal force could be used to gather power, allowing his body to reduce his metabolic rate. This time, Chen Bitong released all his energy.

Chen Chuan’s gaze focused. Since Chen Bitong didn’t bother to hide his biofield and mind, he could tell that his strength had climbed to greater heights.

If that’s the case...

Chen Chuan sucked in a deep breath and activated the medicine he had taken before coming here. The white smoke grew thicker in the pillar that kept rising upward.

They observed each other for a brief moment before vanishing from sight at the same time. Then, a deafening clash rang out. Yu Lie and Fang Zhixin were practically unable to tell who was who. They could only hear a continuous stream of explosions in the air, as if lightning was crackling nonstop in the sky.

The ground was trembling, and even the air rushing out of the rift came charging back while howling, tugging and yanking at their clothes.

Just then, they heard a loud bang, and a huge pit formed in a building not too far away. Chen Chuan stood still with his fist stretched outward. The next moment, he vanished, and explosive sounds continued to ring in the area.

The sounds shot up all the way from the bottom of the building to another deserted building across the street. A huge hole formed on it too, and they could see two black figures rushing out of it. After the span of a breath, they crashed into the building closest to the square.

***

The officer watching through the binoculars couldn’t observe the fight at all, so he got out of the car to run to the nearest building. It was only by listening to the sounds around him that he was able to send live reports to the command center.

But the command center had no energy to pay attention to this fight anymore, because the sixth wave was about to start. Even if they sent someone to help Chen Chuan, they wouldn’t be strong enough to join the fight and could only wait for the results.

***

Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong attacked each other at full strength. As they moved about quickly, their refined forces crushed the load-bearing pillars, causing shattered floorboards to collapse on them. While they dodged the floorboards, they jumped up and reached the roof.

Chen Bitong jumped up to a higher place, as if he wanted to use the Flying Dragon Force again, but Chen Chuan wasn’t going to let him do it. He grabbed the wall and flung it forward. Countless crushed stones flew at Chen Bitong while howling.

Upon seeing this, Chen Bitong disappeared. The next second, he appeared at Chen Chuan’s seven o’clock and pushed a glowing hand at him.

Chen Chuan turned around and shifted to Chen Bitong’s side. He pushed forward with a palm, and Chen Bitong brought his arm up to block it. The powerful, explosive strength caused him to fly sideways until he was thrown off the roof and plunged down.

Chen Chuan stomped on the floor and charged down as well. They adjusted their centers of gravity while in midair before landing on the ground one after another. Rumbling sounds came from next to them, and the building collapsed, causing a large plume of smoke and debris to spread outward.

The rift flickered and started expanding again. It encased both Chen Chuan and Chen Bitong, who were surrounded by smoke.