Chapter Thirty-Four: Battle

Hit!

With a speed as swift as lightning, the Dead Heart Strike landed squarely upon the heart of the perverse man before him. The force was so tremendous that it left a depression perfectly molded to the size of Liu Tian’s fist upon that heart, yet not a trace of satisfaction appeared on Liu Tian’s face.

Liu Tian distinctly felt, at the very instant his fist made contact with the man’s chest, a slippery and yielding sensation, as if he were not striking flesh but something as soft as cotton and as slick as greased silk.

Before Liu Tian could react further, a strong rebound force was transmitted back through his fist.

Sensing danger, Liu Tian seized the chance to retreat rapidly, widening the distance between them to nearly ten meters—a prudent move, for this twisted, depraved figure was indeed as bizarre as his appearance suggested, not someone ordinary by any means.

“My dear stranger, your punch was right on target,” said Snake, flicking out a tongue unnaturally long and thin for a human, licking the corner of his lips as he spoke in a singsong cadence. “That blow landed squarely on my little heart, honey. You’ve truly made me happy. I can feel your love so clearly!”

“Can you strike harder, with more passion? Excite me even more?”

“And can you, in turn, savor the joy of battling me?”

Those lascivious eyes and lewd gestures left no doubt that this was a deviant whose actions matched his words—and yet, it seemed this deviant possessed invincible strength. Liu Tian’s attacks had not harmed him in the slightest. Unstoppable—invincible indeed!

But Liu Tian was not cowed by Snake’s apparent invincibility, for a simple reason: the previous world’s number one was his master, and the current world’s number one was his senior brother. How could he, then, be intimidated by some random side character he happened to encounter on the street—even if that person was a pervert?

He recalled a conversation with his master in which he was told: in this world, whether it be demonic arts or martial disciplines, there is no such thing as an absolutely invincible person. If you seize the right opportunity, even an unarmed ordinary person might have a sliver of a chance to slay a powerful master.

And, my disciple, remember this: there is no one in this world who can receive the Deadly Path of Heaven’s Martial Kill unscathed. I, who created that technique, and your senior brother Bai Ciman, the strongest of all, could not do it.

If even Heaven’s Path and Bai Ciman cannot achieve this, how could some random pervert on the roadside possibly manage such a feat—even if it was obvious at a glance that this pervert practiced an external martial art?

But could an external martial art alone defy the life’s work of Heaven’s Path? Was it possible that the robust frame of Heaven’s Path had never practiced external arts, rendering him ignorant of their secrets?

Absolutely not. There was no logic to such a notion.

The balance of martial power in this world had not crumbled to that extent, and the Thirteen Guardians of External Arts created by Heaven’s Path were no mere jest.

Thus, the answer became clear. The reason Snake appeared unharmed could only be that Liu Tian’s strikes had not truly hit the mark.

This realization cooled the anger that had surged within Liu Tian when his breakthrough was interrupted, allowing reason to reclaim control, though he betrayed nothing outwardly.

Instead, he roared, “You sick pervert! I’ll smash you to pieces! Eat this rock!”

He stooped to pick up some pebbles from the ground and, employing the technique of concealed weapons, flung them at his foe—since the Deadly Path of Heaven’s Martial Kill, as the crystallization of Heaven’s Path’s life’s work, naturally included methods for channeling force through hidden weapons.

Though Liu Tian was not particularly adept with such weapons, he could at least accelerate the pebbles to his current limit and hurl them with precision at Snake’s heart—a target who made no move to dodge.

Yet, as expected, the pebbles, swift and forceful as they were, failed to breach Snake’s bodily defenses, merely glancing off his skin and falling smoothly to the ground.

But at the instant the pebbles brushed his skin, Liu Tian moved. Having regained his composure, he could no longer muster the full thirteen layers of power from before, but since he needed only to test his theory, such overwhelming force—difficult even for himself to fully control—was unnecessary.

Heaven’s Martial Kill—Twin Dragons Emerge!

Almost before the pebbles had hit the ground, Liu Tian transformed his fists into claws, one leading, one following, and lunged at the man he still did not know by name.

Though this strike was no stronger than the last, and he did not employ the two most powerful secrets of the Deadly Path, the attack was far less lethal—yet it made Snake’s expression change dramatically, forcing him to retreat at last.

But it was already too late. To his surprise, Liu Tian, so young, possessed such boldness and determination. Five claw marks were left on Snake’s body—not deep, but a clear sign that he had been wounded.

Clearly, Liu Tian had not been wrong.

“To see through the weakness of my art in so short a time—you are the first!” Perhaps wounded, Snake’s tone lost its mockery, dropping to a deep and solemn register, an aura of mastery settling over the deviant. “I am called Snake, a practitioner of Kabul Python Grappling. Snake! Unknown youth, state your name and school. I will make you my most treasured collectible.”

“So you’re finally taking this seriously?” Seeing Snake reveal his name and his demeanor turn grave, Liu Tian readied his stance, steeling himself for the fight ahead. Since it was a battle he had sought out and accepted, no matter the reason, he was determined to win with honor to the very end. “The Deadly Path of Heaven’s Martial Kill. Liu Tian.”

“Heaven’s Martial Kill?” A bone-white pattern, like a serpent’s skeleton, appeared across Snake’s brow—its head above his right ear, its tail above his left. Snake lowered his body, then rose slowly, mimicking a giant cobra poised to strike. Even his once-black eyes turned cold and reptilian. “Yes, I’ve heard that Heaven’s Martial Kill has found a second true successor, one surnamed Liu. So it is you? No wonder you smell so enticing!”

“Ahahaha! Wonderful! How wonderful! This is truly marvelous!” Though he laughed, his face showed no mirth. The man who called himself Snake exhaled a sinuous breath. “Never did I imagine I’d have the fortune to collect a true heir to Heaven’s Martial Kill—how…”

Before he could finish, the man known as Snake struck like lightning, lunging at Liu Tian with the ferocity of a hunting serpent.

It was as if Liu Tian could see the serpent’s hiss; a battle between powers of vastly different levels had begun in that very instant…