Chapter 1221: Preemptive Opportunity

Under the watchful eyes of Chu Tianqiu and Qin Dingdong, the two "Shengxiao" collided head-on.

With an impact as loud as a car crash, Di Shu, whose build was nowhere near as massive as Di Niu's, was forced to retreat repeatedly after just a few collisions.

Chu Tianqiu knew, just as they had said, that from their respective perspectives, it was hard to determine right from wrong in this matter. But neither of them would back down.

What he never expected was that Di Shu, who seemed so indecisive, could silently stand his ground against Di Niu at this moment, as if his limits had been crossed.

"What 'cat catching the mouse'..." Di Niu gritted his teeth, reaching out to press down on Di Shu's fist. "Isn't it just a dog on a leash... Now you've forgotten your collar and come out biting?"

"Ha..." Di Shu sneered, "Between us, it's not clear... who the real 'leashed dog' is."

Seeing the two "Shengxiao" locked in a brutal fistfight, Zhang Shan turned to Chu Tianqiu and asked, "What do you say...? Should we help or use this chance to slip away?"

Chu Tianqiu was about to give an order when he paused, his lips moving slightly before he shook his head. "'Tianxing Jian' is yours—do what you think is right."

"The right thing?" Zhang Shan hesitated for a moment, then smiled. "Do I even need to ask? We were just minding our own business on the road when this big guy jumps out looking for a fight. I'd take it on—holding back now would be too frustrating."

"Good." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Then I'll wait on the sidelines for you."

Zhang Shan stepped forward immediately, inserting himself into the battlefield amid the two "Shengxiao's" struggle as if no one else was there. They were exchanging blows, with Di Shu being driven into a corner by Di Niu.

Zhang Shan moved behind Di Niu without hesitation and grabbed his collar.

Di Niu felt a sudden tightness around his neck, his entire body losing balance as he was lifted off the ground.

Before he could react, he was slammed down hard on his back.

The fall left Di Niu dazed. Even among the "Diji," few could lift and throw him like that.

"Enough is enough, right?" Zhang Shan said softly. "How long are you going to keep this up?"

Di Niu lay on the ground, staring at Zhang Shan in disbelief. Though he had seen Zhang Shan many times before, he never remembered him having any "Hui Xiang."

Was this reasonable? Could "killing a bear" be done without activating "Hui Xiang"?

Through this attack, Zhang Shan also realized the true power of his "Tianxing Jian." With this body, he might really be able to go toe-to-toe with "Diji."

The only concern was that "Tianxing Jian" didn't last long, so he had to end this quickly to avoid future troubles.

"You..."

Di Niu slowly pushed himself up from the ground, about to say something, but Zhang Shan didn't give him the chance. He kicked straight at Di Niu's chest and pounced without another word.

Though the attacks seemed chaotic, Di Niu felt that each punch carried deadly force, forcing him to scramble defensively on the ground.

Di Shu watched from the side, stunned. He had sensed that this "participant" was likely something unreasonable like "Man Li" or "Shen Li," but he never imagined he'd see him mounting Di Niu and beating him down.

Zhang Shan pinned Di Niu and kept hammering at his head, like subduing a helpless bear.

This was probably the first time in his memory that he wasn't holding back his strength at all, landing potentially fatal blows on someone. After all, this big guy had an enhanced body, so even these hits might not work.

Di Niu curled his arms to protect his sides, but each punch felt like a meteor strike. His body barely held up, but the floor behind his head was shattering from the impact.

Zhang Shan's fighting experience was incredibly rich. He attacked in a steady "left-right-left-right" rhythm on both sides of Di Niu's face. Once Di Niu started getting used to that pattern and defending accordingly, Zhang Shan switched it up with a powerful uppercut from below, landing squarely on Di Niu's chin.

This was a classic move to break inertia in a fight—it not only caught Di Niu's body off guard but also his mind.

Di Niu's massive body was launched upward by Zhang Shan's punch, sliding across the wooden floor and leaving a long trail. The force was so great that he kept sliding, rolling several times down the hallway before finally coming to a stop.

Di Shu stared at the scene for a long time before slowly approaching Zhang Shan. "Boss, is this what they call 'Gun Du Zi'?"

Zhang Shan shook his sore right hand and stood up, stepping forward steadily. "Tianxing Jian" was still active, so he had to keep going until Di Niu was completely unable to fight.

His success so far was largely due to seizing the initiative. Though their sizes and strengths were comparable, this was common in fighting rings—once one side gained the upper hand, they could dominate from start to finish.

In a evenly matched battle, what you needed was more strategy, more cunning, and more ruthlessness than your opponent.

The "Shengxiao" on both sides of the hallway were fixated on the fight in the center. The "Renji" were intimidated by Zhang Shan's presence, while the "Diji" were lost in their own thoughts. Some had their arms crossed, others leaned against doorframes, their expressions varied but uniform in one way: no one intervened; they just watched quietly.

As Zhang Shan walked, he glanced up ahead. There seemed to be another figure pinning a "Shengxiao" to the ground in a beating.

He narrowed his eyes for a closer look—it appeared to be a large white-furred tiger viciously attacking another "Shengxiao."

The tiger seemed to tire out and looked toward Zhang Shan. They were too far apart to make out each other's expressions.

Zhang Shan snapped back to focus, lowering his head to look at Di Niu. His mouth was full of blood, and his eyes were starting to glaze over.

"I can't stop yet..." Zhang Shan thought to himself.

He bent down and hammered another fierce punch into Di Niu's head. The nearby "Shengxiao" could even hear the whoosh of the air, but still, no one stepped in to stop it.

A "participant" killing a "Shengxiao"—as long as it wasn't their own, who would risk their life for someone else's suffering?

This was "Zhongyan Zhi Di." To climb higher here, the only way was to step on others' corpses.

Those who couldn't grasp that reality never became "Shengxiao" in the first place.

The floor beneath Di Niu's head cracked open, and his head was being driven into the ground punch by punch.

Seeing this, Chu Tianqiu stepped forward and grabbed Zhang Shan's arm.

"Zhang Shan, he's lost consciousness." Chu Tianqiu said quietly.

Zhang Shan stopped expressionlessly, noticing that his right hand was covered in fresh blood.

"That's enough." Chu Tianqiu added, "He won't be getting up."

Zhang Shan paused for a long time, feeling something odd in his mind. Under the influence of "Shen Du Hui Xiang," memories that shouldn't be there began flooding into his thoughts.