The two fists collided silently, without a deafening explosion or a devastating hurricane. The circular shockwave instantly transformed into a bright sphere of light, with two figures locked in a stalemate at its center. The sphere of light silently spread outwards, turning everything except the two powerful figures into smoke.
Upon closer inspection, one can see that the color of the sphere is a striking mixture of gold and silver.
Suddenly, dozens of thin cracks appeared in the space of the isolation barrier, through which the bright sky outside the park could be clearly seen. The cracks stopped collapsing when they reached their maximum size, and then slowly closed up again.
The shockwave from the light sphere slowly dissipated. As the isolation barrier struggled to return to its original state, Xiao Rou and Tian Yuning finally reappeared, still maintaining their fist-to-fist stance, motionless like two statues. Despite the powerful shockwave spreading in all directions, neither of them even stirred.
Blinding lightning surged from between the two pink fists, which were still glowing with gold and silver light. Like liquid formed from light, it fell to the ground in the form of droplets, instantly smashing a deep, unfathomable hole into the ground that had been crystallized by the shock wave. Meanwhile, another drop of light suddenly flew into the sky, quickly breaking a large hole in the isolation barrier and rising directly into the high sky.
Tian Yuning remained unmoved, only giving a cold, arrogant smile before slowly withdrawing the Golden Hand.
Xiao Rou remained motionless in her fist-pumping stance, her face suddenly turning ashen white. The dark armor on her body flashed briefly before vanishing. She trembled as she withdrew her fist, swallowing back the blood that welled up in her throat. Her long, flowing hair suddenly flew straight back, and her other hand, gripping the telekinetic spear, trembled slightly.
Splat... Blood dripped down Xiaorou's snow-white fist, falling to the ground with a soft sound.
Tian Yuning looked at her coldly, her emotionless voice ringing out again: "That was tough enough, wasn't it, Gu Xiaorou? Want to try your Aunt Tian's fists again? If you kneel down and beg me, I'll let you go."
As she spoke, she raised her golden hand again, and the golden light shone down, highlighting the fierceness in her eyes. There was no trace of the gentle young woman she once was.
"Hehe..." Xiao Rou suddenly laughed, a very happy laugh. Her bleeding fist flashed with silver light, and her mental energy field instantly soothed all the wounds. Her Holy Healing Technique had reached an extremely high level, and small wounds like this could be restored to their original state at any time.
Xiao Rou gently stroked her fist and said slowly, "Aunt Tian, is that all the power your Golden Hand has? Can you put some effort into it? Don't look like an African refugee who hasn't had enough to eat. If you run out of energy, I'm going to attack!"
Tian Yuning's face darkened rapidly, and the veins on her forehead bulged. She couldn't believe Xiao Rou was so stubborn; she was truly despicable. But then, Tian Yuning laughed sarcastically.
She believed she had severely injured Xiaorou; the girl was merely putting up a brave front, and those who acted this way were often the quickest to die. Golden Hand was one of her most powerful supernatural abilities, granting immunity to attacks weaker than her own defensive capabilities. This was the main reason Tian Yuning was unafraid of the lightning and azure flames from her telekinetic spear.
However, the Golden Hand is one of Tian Yuning's life-saving techniques. If Xiao Rou hadn't pushed her to the brink of death at the beginning, she would have used it easily.
Hearing the girl's arrogant challenge, Tian Yuning merely narrowed her eyes and said indifferently without thinking, "If you want to die, I'll grant your wish. Back then, your mother died by my Golden Hand, and now you'll die by my Golden Hand in the same way. How memorable!"
Before she could even raise her hand, a blinding silver light flashed before Tian Yuning's eyes. Xiao Rou's fist had struck first, and a chilling voice followed: "Aunt Tian, I'm younger than you, so I believe I'll die later than you."
Tian Yuning smiled and said, "My dear niece, this is just your naivety. I've seen countless superhumans younger than me die young, and I'm still alive and well. Being tough doesn't mean your fists are tough. Be careful your little hands get broken by your auntie!"
The golden hand met the attack, golden and silver rays mingling and instantly transforming the entire barrier into a world clearly divided between darkness and light. The shockwaves were as ferocious as the first time. However, this time, the cracks in the barrier space were more numerous and denser than before, and the rate of recovery had slowed down.
Two fists that should have been soft and delicate collided produced a chilling metallic clang, as if two colossal steel tanks were crashing into each other. Dazzling ripples of air emanated from the point where the fists met, creating a chaotic atmosphere around the two women.
Xiao Rou knelt on the ground, her chest heaving violently, half her body splattered with blood, but her eyes grew ever deeper and more intense. It seemed as if something had ignited the fighting spirit deep within her.
Tian Yuning was stunned. She had fully expected that the second attack would send Xiao Rou flying, or even kill the girl who dared to challenge her authority.
Unexpectedly, although Xiaorou was still at a disadvantage, her momentum and strength did not weaken at all, and her mental energy field was even rising steadily.
The two fists collided violently, and the wounds that had just healed burst open again. This time, however, the girl's injuries were much more severe than before. The parts of her index and middle fingers that had been subjected to the greatest force even exposed the white bone. The ruptured wounds were so deep that the bone was visible, and blood flowed out in small streams.
But Xiao Rou didn't even blink, as if the broken fist wasn't hers, and she didn't even feel the slightest pain. Suddenly she laughed: "Aunt Tian, is that all the strength you have? Can't you be any stronger? Try harder! I'm really disappointed. Is this all the strength a major general from the Heavenly Eye Society has? Look at your body, how many more times can you withstand the burden of the Golden Hand?"
Before Tian Yuning could answer, a flash of silver light appeared, and a fist, still healing and dripping with shocking blood, slashed a chilling straight line, striking heavily towards Tian Yuning's face. All fancy moves were omitted; it was a simple, even unadorned, straight punch, yet it contained the power honed through countless trials, deadly and extremely threatening.
The third punch!
After their first exchange, Xiaorou never let Tian Yuning strike first again. Both women gripped parts of the telekinetic spear with their other hands, locked in a fierce struggle, barely a few centimeters apart. They abandoned all combat techniques, engaging in hand-to-hand combat—a pure clash of raw power. No one cheered; the splattered blood even formed a dazzling red halo.
Tian Yuning gritted her teeth and looked at Xiao Rou. Suddenly, an uncontrollable anger and chill rose in her heart. In that instant, she felt as if she had returned to the time when she confronted Gu Ling'er several years ago.
That icy gaze, that willingness to die under the golden hand rather than retreat a single step, that unyielding spirit until death. In Tian Yuning's presence, the images of the mother and daughter gradually overlapped, only Xiao Rou was more impactful and unyielding than Gu Ling'er.
"Then I will kill you. May your mother's soul in the underworld know that you also died by my golden hand." Tian Yuning thought viciously, the golden light suddenly brightened to its peak, and the indestructible fist once again met the attack.
The mental field only allows the Golden Hand to launch three attacks at most, and this is the last chance. Tian Yuning has used all her power.
Suddenly, her eyes narrowed sharply as she clearly saw an almost eerie pink armor slowly emerge on Xiaorou's body. The dazzling light and golden lightning it emitted even overshadowed the brilliance of her Golden Hand. The armor quickly covered Xiaorou's injured fist with a pink finger guard before colliding directly with her Golden Hand.
Chapter 398 Self-destruction
The two fists collided silently for the third time, but the situation was different from the previous two times.
Suddenly, the dark armor glowed, and lightning bolts, like golden snakes, appeared on its pink surface, accompanied by a chilling hissing sound. Golden arcs of electricity erupted violently from Xiaorou's gauntlet-clad fists, instantly filling the entire barrier space. Spherical shockwaves were surrounded by the arcs, ionizing large swaths of moisture in the air to form a thick white fog. The intense heat then evaporated the fog, turning the barrier space into a sauna-like environment.
Tian Yuning felt a violent tremor in her fist, as if she had crashed into an indestructible mountain. The sensation from the Golden Hand was vastly different from the previous two times, even accompanied by intense pain. This had never happened before. The Golden Hand had not only altered the skin of her hands, but its palms were also filled with immense energy, devoid of any pain receptors. The fact that she could feel pain meant that her opponent had broken through the Golden Hand's defenses and attacked her heart meridian through her mental energy field.
What terrifying power this was! Tian Yuning's heart trembled, and she suddenly felt uneasy for some reason.
Before Tian Yuning could recover from her shock, Xiao Rou's aura suddenly became powerful and violent. In the blink of an eye, she seemed like a completely different person. An aura that seemed to come from the ancient wilderness spread out, and her mental energy field continued to rise wildly, like a flood that had burst its banks, spreading wantonly over Tian Yuning's body.
At this moment, judging solely from strength, Xiao Rou was in no way inferior to Tian Yuning's Golden Hand.
Intense lightning slowly but steadily spread upwards along Xiaorou's hand, increasing the power of the Azure Flame with each passing point. At the same time, the destructive aura emanating from Xiaorou's fist grew stronger and stronger.
Unbeknownst to her, the cyan current had already surged along Xiaorou's fist to Tian Yuning's body. Under the influence of the current, coupled with the high temperature of the Azure Flame, Tian Yuning even felt as if she was about to melt. The situation, which had just been in a dominant position, was reversed in the blink of an eye.
Because the dark armor's defensive function offset most of the power, the isolation barrier, which was on the verge of collapse, did not completely disintegrate. Only a few tiny cracks appeared, and it quickly returned to its original state through self-healing.
Bright golden arcs of electricity filled the space. Because the shockwaves couldn't dissipate, they clashed back and forth. Therefore, the two not only had to contend with each other's power but also defend against the backlash from the reverberation of their own forces.
The entire space had almost turned into a hellish arena, with electric currents appearing and disappearing merrily in the air, accumulating like a spider web, even covering Xiaorou and Tian Yuning with a golden cloak.
Tian Yuning stared at Xiaorou in shock, feeling the surging power emanating from that strange armor. The armor itself alone possessed power comparable to the Golden Hand, and this power was constantly gathering, showing a faint tendency to surpass her own.
This was the last time Tian Yuning would use the Golden Hand normally. If she forced it again, although she wouldn't be in immediate danger, the possibility of a backlash would increase, making her more and more vulnerable, and she might even die from exhaustion.
Tian Yuning gritted her teeth as she glared at Xiao Rou, clearly sensing that almost half of Xiao Rou's power came from this mysterious armor. "When did this girl acquire such a trump card?" Tian Yuning thought bitterly. She had already prepared to retreat. Since there was no possibility of killing her, there was no point in continuing the fight.
Although she was unwilling to back down in front of a junior, and was furious at being ridiculed by Xiao Rou time and time again, the situation forced her to act. As a major general of the Tianyan Society, she had to prioritize reason and interests at all times, rather than wasting time on meaningless things. At the same time, she had to put emotions and feelings second. This was the admonition of Golden Miracle, which Tian Yuning always kept in mind.
"Aunt Tian, have you run out of tricks? If this is your true strength, then you have disappointed me greatly. Are you willing to give up like this?" As if she knew what Tian Yuning was thinking, Xiao Rou's voice sounded hazy and empty in the air filled with electric sparks, expressing provocation and contempt to the fullest extent, making Tian Yuning's anger, which she had just suppressed, burn fiercely again.