Chapter 156: Unstoppable Momentum

The person turned pale and let out a groan of pain, then struggled while launching a continuous counterattack.

However, with three successive clanging sounds, only three small dents appeared on the light barrier across Shi Tiexin's chest, leaving him completely unharmed overall. On the contrary, the light barrier on his opponent's fist showed signs of cracking and shattering.

The man's expression turned to sheer terror; the changes in the light barrier directly reflected a much deeper disparity.

He looked up at Shi Tiexin. What on earth was this guy...

"Nice shoes," Shi Tiexin said with a very serious expression. "Take them off."

A second later, with a dull thud, a robust and powerful figure was thrown out of the mystic realm, unconscious on the ground and unable to get up. The medical team quickly rushed forward, hoisted the candidate onto a stretcher, and then asked in confusion, "Where are this guy's shoes? Were they blown off?"

Inside the mystic realm, Shi Tiexin put on the shoes and stamped his feet.

Ah, not bad, the size was a good fit, and the crucial part was that they finally weren't slippery anymore!

It's great to be rich; even their shoes were better than his. Walking two steps with a creaking sound while channeling mental energy to repair his light barrier, Shi Tiexin found that this fighting style suited him very well. With his attributes in physical foundation, muscular force, and vital breath, his light barrier was inherently denser and tougher, consumed less energy, and recovered faster, meaning he had nothing to fear from a head-on collision with enemies.

His foundational fist techniques were indeed still somewhat lacking, especially compared to those who had fought their way into the Golden List Rankings, where he held no advantage whatsoever. He should play to his strengths, meet force with force, and beat the enemies to death!

Looking around, the people in the sixteen mystic realms were moving quite fast, and life and death were decided in just a brief moment.

"Losers exit, winners continue, merge!"

The sixteen merged into eight, and another opponent appeared before Shi Tiexin. This time, the opponent was a young woman. Standing around one meter seven tall, she immediately decided to take the initiative upon seeing Shi Tiexin, who was over two meters tall, leaping forward with a spring of her feet.

Rushing to within three meters of Shi Tiexin in just two or three steps, the young girl shifted her footwork, and her attack route instantly became erratic. Seeing that bizarre, treacherous path that flickered back and forth, Shi Tiexin felt a momentary surge of surprise.

What a coincidence, this girl practiced snake-style kung fu too!

She must have observed the short fellow's fighting style from the provincial examination, as her countermeasure against Shi Tiexin was identical to that of the short man. Bending her body low to lower her center of gravity, she tried her best to dodge Shi Tiexin's optimal attack height, then circled tightly around his lower body like a wandering snake, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Her hands moved like a double-headed serpent, suddenly thrusting toward Shi Tiexin's legs whenever he least expected it.

Standing right there in person, Shi Tiexin deeply experienced the awkward predicament the tall man had faced against the short fellow back then. In a lousy place like the Star Industry Youth School, he certainly counted as a formidable fighter, but arriving on the battlefield of the Golden List Rankings changed everything.

His lower body was also quite ordinary; he lacked the ability to rapidly change positions, shift his center of gravity, and counter those insidious attacks. If the short man were here right now, Shi Tiexin would truly be in deep trouble. Even with psychological preparation and constant vigilance against sudden attacks from below, after a bout of maneuvering, he would still likely fall defeat to the short man.

However, this young woman was not the short man.

She was not as short as him.

Therefore, no matter how low she crouched, she could not achieve the near-total evasion of the tall man's arm span that the short man managed.

Furthermore, this girl's snake-style fist was not practiced as thoroughly or as skillfully as the short man's. Lacking that refinement, her movements during the weaving and circling contained flaws, vulnerabilities, and moments of rigidity.

More importantly, through the vision of the Light of Natural History, her movements were simply far too slow.

"Hah!"

With two crisp snaps, Shi Tiexin lifted his knee to take two snake-bite strikes head-on. Taking advantage of the slight stiffness caused by the rebound force on the girl, he thrust forward with his leg, pushing her off balance. Startled, the girl attempted to adjust her center of gravity when a large hand descended from above, precisely grabbing the back of her neck.

Strike the snake at its seven-inch mark!

With a sharp crack, five fingers shattered the light barrier on her neck. Startled, the girl retaliated with a backhand strike, her snake-fang blow aiming straight for Shi Tiexin's throat, only to be blocked by his other hand, which was already positioned there. Without letting his defense distract him from the attack, Shi Tiexin gave a forceful twist. With a sharp snap, the girl's slender neck instantly bent at a right angle; her body trembled, losing all strength, and the focus gradually faded from her eyes.

Plop, the girl fell to the ground and out of the mystic realm as the medical team quickly rushed forward.

Shi Tiexin glanced at his palm and once again offered his utmost gratitude to the Saint of Space-Time for their blessing. If not for the existence of these mystic realms, he certainly would not have harbored any personal grievances to warrant dealing such heavy blows.

Now, however, he could quickly calm his emotions and restore the light barrier on his skin's surface.

This time, the light barrier did not emerge unscathed. Cracks had appeared on the light barrier over his knees; though not deep, they indicated that his defense was far from invincible. Especially the palm of his left hand, which had blocked the snake fangs—the light barrier there was fractured even more severely.

Mental energy surged from his mind, rapidly knitting together the cracks on the light barrier while simultaneously replenishing the consumed energy. In this endurance race, having the vital breath attribute was truly crucial.

Lifting his head to inspect the other mystic realms, three had already concluded while the rest continued.

Shi Tiexin focused his observation on the three completed ones. He Chong was among them, staring darkly in his direction. There was also someone across a mystic realm flipping He Chong the middle finger—likely the one called Gong Tengfei they had mentioned earlier.

The final one who had finished was a harmless-looking, frail young man. Even after defeating his opponent, this youth still emanated an air of cautious vigilance.

Shi Tiexin frowned. Why did this youth seem somewhat familiar?

Had he seen him somewhere before?

"Losers exit, winners continue, merge!"

Eight reduced to four. Whether by coincidence or not, the four who had resolved their matches early did not cross paths in this round, falling neatly into four separate mystic realms.

His opponent's light barrier was tattered and torn, panting heavily with blood still flowing from both legs, making it obvious the person had just been through a fierce battle.

Seeing the intact light barrier on Shi Tiexin, the man looked somewhat despairing.

Yet how could Shi Tiexin give his opponent any chance to recover?

Boom!

This time, Shi Tiexin took the active offensive, stepping forward so forcefully that the wooden floorboards shattered beneath his foot with a sharp crack as he surged forward like a missile. His opponent, whose injured legs hindered movement, seemed skilled in a flexible and versatile style of finger techniques.

Gathering his remaining strength with a loud shout, the man unleashed a barrage of finger strikes like a torrential rainstorm from both hands. Ignoring it completely, Shi Tiexin hunched his body into an all-encompassing, charging tackle.

If there is a weakness, exploit it; pick on those injured legs!

Pat-pat-pat, his head and shoulders took numerous hits, but Shi Tiexin treated them merely as rain pattering against plantain leaves. With a heavy thud, his broad shoulder slammed squarely into the man's stomach, causing the man's eyes to bulge and his tongue to loll out.

With a whoosh, Shi Tiexin acted like a heavy truck, sending the man flying five meters backward. Clasping the man's waist with his iron-like arms, Shi Tiexin followed through at the five-meter mark with a mighty, bone-crushing body slam—boom! Crack! The light barrier on the man's back burst apart as a mouthful of blood sprayed three feet into the air.