194: playful sparring

Bang!

Amidst the solid impact sound, Ichiryu's body bent slightly backward, and he moved a few steps to dissipate the shock before standing firm.

He forcibly suppressed the thirteen layers of impact force—enough to split mountains and shatter rocks—within his body, his expression unchanged: “It seems you can land a 13-hit combo now.”

A trace of subtle satisfaction flashed in his eyes.

“Tch!” Toriko spat, highly displeased. “Why don't you hit back a little...” Just taking hits without retaliating made the fight frustrating.

“It's only this much!” Ichiryu scoffed. While Toriko's progress was pleasing, he was still far from being able to shake him.

“Then how about this move?” Toriko's expression darkened, he shifted his weight back, and his right leg swung high behind him like he was kicking a soccer ball. “Leg Fork!”

Swish—!

A gigantic iron fork, far more ferocious and thicker than before, roared out, wrapped in violent air currents, emitting a piercing buzz as it tore through the air!

“Although it's hard to aim and puts a heavy burden on the Physical Body, its power is exceptional!” Toriko mused internally.

Ichiryu merely snorted coldly, neither dodging nor evading, and struck out directly with a frontal punch!

Bang!

The iron fork shattered instantly, exploding into countless specks of light.

Ichiryu nodded lightly and commented, “This move... it's alright.”

“Aaaah! Take this!” Toriko was completely fired up, roaring as he charged forward again. He drew his right fist back, gathering power to the extreme, his five fingers pressed together like a cone. The violent Nail Punch power fused into one: “Nail Punch 13-Hit Combo!”

“Toriko, you've grown.” Ichiryu smiled slightly. Facing this explosive, lethal strike, he merely extended two fingers and, in a flash, precisely pinched the tip of Toriko's attacking fingers.

Buzz—

The violent Nail Punch impact was effortlessly locked down and annihilated by those two fingers.

“What?!” Toriko's face changed drastically, his eyes filled with disbelief. His strongest attack had been neutralized so casually?

The gap in strength... was this enormous?!

“As a reward, let me let you feel my power for a bit.” As Ichiryu finished speaking, his other fist landed squarely on Toriko's face without any fanfare.

Bang!

Blood instantly sprayed from Toriko's mouth and nose. He only managed half a cry before he was sent flying backward like a kite with a broken string, about to fall into the cold swamp behind him.

Just as his body was about to hit the water, a steady, powerful hand appeared out of thin air, firmly supporting his back, halting his backward momentum, and helping him stand steady again.

Toriko shook his still dizzy head. Seeing Lin Luo suddenly appear, he thought he had come to help, and immediately clenched his fist: “I'm fine! The fight isn't over yet...”

“You're done here.” Lin Luo interrupted him flatly, reaching out and giving his shoulder a seemingly casual push and send-off.

A gentle yet irresistible skillful force arrived. Before Toriko could react, he floated lightly off the ground again, as if held by an invisible palm, tracing a precise arc before landing squarely on the soft sandy beach of another small island far away, kicking up a cloud of dust.

“Lin Luo, you—!” Toriko tumbled on the beach, scrambled to his feet, and was about to shout, but saw Lin Luo's figure leisurely floating down, facing Chairman Ichiryu.

Lin Luo stood on the small swamp island, facing Ichiryu across the water.

Ichiryu raised his hand, casually beckoned with a finger, and a slight curve played on his lips: “Want to spar?”

The moment Ichiryu's voice fell, Lin Luo's figure vanished from the spot like a ghost, leaving only a faint afterimage in the humid air.

Bang!

A dull collision sound erupted almost simultaneously!

He had appeared beside Ichiryu, delivering an unadorned side kick, which concentrated terrifying power and landed squarely on Ichiryu's waist and ribs.

The air wave exploded, and water splashed everywhere.

Ichiryu's figure remained completely still. He merely tilted his head slightly, his mustache twitching like foxtail grass: “Good strength, little guy.”

Lin Luo's gaze sharpened, and his offensive instantly accelerated!

His fists transformed into a rainstorm, and countless fist shadows, accompanied by the shriek of tearing air, enveloped Ichiryu's vital points—temples, throat, heart, joints... every strike was enough to split monuments and shatter rocks.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dense, drum-like collision sounds were continuous. Yet, Ichiryu still stood steadily, occasionally raising a hand to parry an overly tricky attack, but allowing most of the punches and kicks to strike his bronze skin, producing dull clanging sounds like metal hitting metal.

His body seemed to be composed of some substance beyond comprehension. Lin Luo's power, enough to collapse mountains, couldn't even make his skin redden.

“The speed is decent, but the penetration is lacking.” Ichiryu even had the leisure to comment, casually raising his arm to parry a heavy elbow strike from Lin Luo.

Lin Luo's attack didn't stop. He used the momentum to spin, his right leg sweeping across Ichiryu's head like a steel whip, accompanied by a sharp sound of air being torn apart!

Snap!

Ichiryu neither dodged nor evaded. His head merely twisted slightly along the trajectory of the leg, dissipating some of the force. Then, his neck muscles bulged, and he actually bounced Lin Luo's leg back. The recoil left half of Lin Luo's leg feeling numb.

“The technique is flashy, but the Foundation still needs polishing.” Ichiryu's voice remained steady.

The Battle Intent in Lin Luo's eyes grew stronger, yet he became calmer. He knew that pure strength and speed seemed meaningless before this existence, which was like an eternal boulder.

He rapidly retreated several steps. The multicolored core within his Dantian spun frantically.

In an instant, the air tens of meters above Ichiryu's head violently twisted, and countless brilliant light blades, composed of highly condensed Five Elements energy, materialized out of thin air!

They varied in size and shape, some as slender and sharp as willow leaves, others as heavy and imposing as executioner's blades, all circulating with a keen radiance capable of cutting space.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh—!

The next moment, the light blades poured down like a torrential rain, accompanied by a hair-raising shriek, shooting toward Ichiryu below in a blanket barrage!

The light interwoven, obscuring the sky, like a fatal and magnificent curtain of light crashing down.

Ichiryu slightly raised his eyes, looking at the overwhelming rain of light blades. Far from showing fear, he revealed an expression of interest.

“The energy condensation is high, and the coverage is decent.” He commented, still standing in place, neither dodging nor evading.

Ding ding ding ding ding—!!!

The dense collision sounds, like popping beans, instantly formed a deafening chorus!

Countless light blades fiercely slashed and stabbed Ichiryu's head, shoulders, back, and all over his body.

Just as the rain of light blades was at its densest, almost completely swallowing his figure—

Ichiryu suddenly stretched his body. The joints in his neck, shoulders, and hips emitted a series of low sonic booms. He didn't make any exaggerated movements; his entire body's muscles merely trembled slightly, his tendons and bones resonating simultaneously.

Boom!

An invisible yet vast and majestic surge of inner Qi exploded outward, centered around his body! This wasn't energy projection, but an air shockwave triggered by the instantaneous burst of extremely pure Physical Body strength!

The light blades that were still frantically slashing down instantly disintegrated and scattered, as if they had hit an absolutely solid and expanding invisible wall. They were completely overwhelmed and annihilated by this irresistible force.

Divine Sense instantly spread out.

Hum—

It wasn't a direct energy impact, but an invisible ripple, condensed with high spiritual will, that instantly spread out, rushing straight into Ichiryu's Sea of Consciousness! This was an attack aimed at the Soul and will level!

Ichiryu's brow moved almost imperceptibly for the first time, like a slight breeze ruffling the surface of an ancient well. A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes: “Oh? You're utilizing the Soul level? Interesting...”

But that was all.

He didn't even waver for a moment. That Soul-suppressing Power, enough to cause ordinary experts to lose focus or even collapse, entered his vast, star-sea-like mental Domain and vanished without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the ocean.

“A pity, the timing is far too lacking.” Ichiryu shook his head.

Lin Luo's heart sank slightly, but he wasn't discouraged. He took a deep breath, and his surrounding Aura climbed once more. The Qi and blood within his body surged like rivers, and his muscles and bones emitted faint crackling sounds.

At the tip of his fist, the multicolored light was condensed to the extreme, faintly showing a gray, hazy color of Chaos, slightly warping the surrounding light.

“Please guide me on this punch, Chairman!”

He roared, stomped the ground suddenly, and shot out like an arrow from a bowstring. His fist tore through the air, drawing a straight vacuum trajectory, heading directly for Ichiryu's chest!

This punch discarded all technique, containing only the condensation of ultimate power and will!

Boom—!!!

The fist landed squarely in the center of Ichiryu's chest!

Time seemed to freeze for an instant. Centered on the point of contact, a visible circular shockwave erupted, instantly flattening all vegetation within a radius of dozens of meters. Even the swamp below was pressed into a huge crater, and water surged skyward!

Ichiryu's upper body leaned back slightly, the fist deeply sunken. The rocky ground where he stood instantly developed spiderweb cracks spreading several meters.

He looked down at his chest, then raised his eyes to look at Lin Luo, who was close by and slightly panting from the full-power burst. A genuine smile of appreciation finally appeared on his face.

“A decent punch,” he commented, his voice still full of vitality. “You made me feel pain after a long time... Among the younger generation, you are unique.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Ichiryu's right hand, which had been casually hanging, suddenly lifted and rested on his hip.

This seemingly casual movement instantly made Lin Luo feel a chill run down his spine!

Centered on Ichiryu with his hand on his hip, an irresistible, terrifying gravitational force, originating from his very “existence,” suddenly erupted!

Lin Luo felt as if he was no longer standing on the ground but was instantly weightless, seized by an invisible giant hand, and involuntarily “dragged” toward Ichiryu at an astonishing speed! He couldn't even make any effective resistance, as if the concepts of his own mass and space had been warped.

The next second, just as he was about to collide with Ichiryu, that gravitational force transformed without warning!

It turned into an equally terrifying, yet fundamentally opposite force—Repulsion!

Bang!!

Traveling faster than he came, Lin Luo was like a blur of light, slammed head-on by an invisible giant hammer. He flew backward at a terrifying, supersonic speed, consecutively crashing through several small rock islands behind him, triggering a series of earth-shattering explosions and water columns, leaving only a white airwave trail that lingered for a long time.

On the small island, smoke and water vapor slowly dissipated.

Toriko, on the distant beach, watched the scene dumbfounded, his mouth wide open for a long time.

Whoosh—

The sound of rushing wind approached from afar. A figure shot up from the ruins filled with rubble and water mist, hovering in mid-air.

It was Lin Luo.

He was enveloped in a warm, milky white halo. The phantom of eight feet shimmered faintly behind him, gently stroking, and life energy flowed like a clear spring.

Within a few breaths, his injuries had healed completely, and even his breathing quickly stabilized.

The next moment, his figure moved again, fast as instantaneous movement, reappearing on the small island in front of Ichiryu, his feet sinking slightly into the soft ground.

“Good boy, your body recovered well.” The approval in Ichiryu's eyes deepened. As if an elder had casually patted a Junior's shoulder, he reached out and lightly tapped Lin Luo's shoulder.

Thud!

The seemingly casual tap contained unimaginable heaviness.

Lin Luo's entire body shook violently. The ground beneath his feet suddenly collapsed by more than ten centimeters, and cracks spread out like a spiderweb. But he gritted his teeth, straightened his back, his legs rooted like trees, and forcibly withstood the terrifying downward pressure, his feet never leaving the ground by an inch.

“Chairman is truly formidable,” Lin Luo slowly exhaled a mouthful of stale air, feeling the lingering numbness and weight on his shoulder, and gave a wry smile. “Giving my all, I still couldn't make you truly move a single step.”

He saw clearly that while Ichiryu's body had slightly sunk due to the impact of all his attacks, and the rocky ground beneath his feet was shattered, those feet had remained firmly “nailed” to the spot the entire time, showing no sign of retreat or movement.