Chapter 28: Abusing You Like Breathing

“You’re the one…”

A girl in a white belted military uniform, long high-heeled boots extending to her thighs, blue hair cascading to her waist, her ice-blue eyes sparkling with excitement.

“Yes, I’m the group leader.”

The boy wearing a demon mask answered first.

Their gazes met.

Sparks flew.

“Is it coming?”

Jia Ji had no time to sigh, for he had known from the start that one thing was certain… the next thing that would happen.

The girl nodded, not hiding her eagerness; she lifted her military cap slightly, a faint, dangerous curve forming at her lips…

“It’s coming.”

——Esdees, an unrelenting battle fanatic.

Boom!

No sooner had the words left her mouth than two fists—large and small—crashed together!

“So hard!” x2

The shockwave’s air current whipped the blue-haired girl’s long hair, then revealed first surprise, then an even more exhilarated smile on her delicate face.

Jia Ji felt it worse.

Though her build and muscle mass were far smaller than his, Esdees was stronger than Jia Ji right now—her terrifying power, utterly incongruous with her slender frame, made him struggle to withstand the first strike!

A pale blue aura silently enveloped his body, then he made an action Esdees did not expect—he lowered his head.

At this moment, Jia Ji was staring at his own hands?

He was surprised too.

He, who had always been beaten in his original world, had actually managed to trade blows with an opponent like the Ice Queen…

And compared to this youthful version of Esdees, who relied solely on raw strength and martial arts, he possessed the all-purpose power of aura—even if he used it only to enhance his body, without any lethal acupoint techniques, he would not fall easily.

But Esdees would not wait, nor grant him time for reflection.

A surge of killing intent and coldness emanating from the girl before him began to encase him; the air seemed to freeze, and the gaze that treated him as prey jolted Jia Ji awake, his nerves prickling, pupils contracting.

He clenched his teeth so hard he tasted a trace of blood from his gums; his heightened perception made every hair on his body stand on end.

Jia Ji knew—she was going all out!!

Yet, this was not enough to frighten him.

He raised his head; astonishing battle intent surged upward.

He was here now… a new world, a new opponent, an unknown fate! All of it stirred in him, after years of gloom, an excitement akin to Esdees’s own!

Then, let us fight!

Jia Ji’s body suddenly swelled, and in the next instant, the world seemed to warp—he exploded forward with speed nearly beyond visual limits, his terrifying stomp leaving large cracks across the ground.

Aura unleashed—one hundred percent!

Boom!

Esdees’s palm met Jia Ji’s fist.

The next second, their bodies collided fully; the air cracked loudly.

After the punch failed, Jia Ji shifted his entire center of gravity forward, driving a knee strike straight into the girl’s abdomen with full force, no mercy shown.

Esdees’s eyes lit up; her extraordinary experience and honed instinct let her sidestep instantly, denying him any chance to recover or change tactics, her tightly clenched fists raining down like a storm upon Jia Ji.

With several thunderous impacts, a thin blue light membrane, as fragile as paper, shattered into mist and vapor, scattering outward—only barely halting Esdees for a moment.

But that moment was enough for Jia Ji to react.

He said nothing, crossing his arms in front of him in a defensive stance; the blue aura reformed into a solid block, hard as metal.

Though not something to be proud of, he was confident: when it came to taking hits, Esdees was no match for him.

The girl’s face lit up with delight, seemingly pleased by his resilience; her bright eyes glowed with an unnatural crimson hue, her ferocity fully exposed.

Facing a defensive opponent, she naturally chose—attack! Relentless attack! Unrestrained, total suppression!

Fierce punches, like the fangs of a monstrous beast, bit through, crushed, and obliterated Jia Ji’s protective aura in successive bites; the tidal wave of suffocation made his heart stop, his breath halt.

Boom!

With a massive shockwave, Jia Ji’s body was flung helplessly backward.

“Oof! That hurt!”

Yet this pain also jolted him back to his senses.

“This isn’t sparring with fellow disciples—why bother defending?”

Before he could steady himself, Esdees closed in again, delivering a devastating rising uppercut so fast it was terrifying; with no way to dodge, Jia Ji somehow gained an inexplicable surge of strength and slipped past the blow.

Behind his mask, Jia Ji’s face relaxed in relief, sweat pouring down.

Close call—I almost got finished off in one strike. Good thing I’m better than her.

【Northern Dipper Divine Fist: Empty Flow Supreme Dance】

The ability to sense abnormal air currents while running through forests to toughen the skin, aided by aura, allows evasion even midair at the last possible instant.

For a master of fist arts, it’s not just about sensing the wind entering the body—it’s about using that wind.

Once his feet were firmly planted again, he did not retreat—he advanced, closing the distance to Esdees swiftly.

Then—counterattack!

Though different from conventional hand-to-hand combat, the process was identical.

Hit the opponent—or be hit by them.

Footwork unceasing, moving so close he seemed glued to her, his upper arm rotated slightly, his solid forearm rising and falling in an instant, driving his elbow forward with brute force.

Iron! Mountain! Shoulder!

Pure, immense muscular power. Pure, straightforward, unadorned techniques. Possessing a brutal, righteous, unyielding force.

The pale blue aura did not manifest outwardly—it lay hidden within flesh and blood, exploding in perfect sync with his body’s function: resolute, unwavering, unbreakable!

Boom!

An invisible shockwave radiated outward from the two of them.

Esdees, struck by the force of a colossal dangerous beast, grimaced slightly, her body swaying uncontrollably.

Jia Ji’s expression grew even more grim, for he felt he had not struck a girl his own age—but an immovable mountain, a monstrous beast towering into the clouds.

Could such crushing force not even make her take a single step back?!

No—he should have known. Esdees was this kind of “monster.” Even at sixteen, she was.

And now, he realized it too late.

The blue-haired girl laughed wildly, her pure white hand already gripping his skull; immense, uncontrollable force drove his head downward, violently “splitting” it into the ground.

Boom!

Instantly, his mask shattered into dozens of shards, spraying outward.

Only when his face met the hard ground did Jia Ji realize what Esdees had just done.

His body was limp; he struggled, but could not lift even a single finger.

The next second, his vision turned black.

(End of Chapter)