Chapter 603: He Isn't Himself Unless He Stirs Up Trouble

"General Yu? Could it be that..."

The skinny tall man's voice trembled, and the eyes behind his glasses bulged.

The bald man stood in place, his complexion awful, flashing green and white, as if doused with a bucket of cold water and as if he had swallowed a live fly.

The few people behind him were even worse; the skinny tall man's hands shook like a sifter; the woman's shoes scraped back and forth on the ground, leaving a groove; the three figures in the shadows had already retreated to the wall base, half their bodies curled into the darkness.

"We, we surrender, this................."

"Shut up!"

The bald man let out a low growl, cutting off his words.

He inhaled deeply, then inhaled again, his chest heaving violently.

He recalled what had just happened—people flowing backward, fissures healing, steps retreating.

It wasn't an illusion; I clearly remembered smashing those shields, striking the Daoist away, and hurling a several‑ton truck!

But everything vanished, as if erased clean with an eraser!

He was unwilling to accept it.

He had planned for three months, stepped on five points, spent a pile of savings, and prepared six retreat plans.

He was unwilling to walk away in disgrace, unwilling to be so frightened he wet himself!

"Can't just be like this," he gritted his teeth, his voice squeezing out between his teeth, "There must still be a chance... Up!"

As the words fell, he suddenly raised the iron rod.

The iron rod was jet‑black, etched all over with dense Rune, which now all lit up, emitting a blinding red glow.

He roared, and the iron rod slammed down on Yu Lin's head!

The wind howled, the stone slabs on the ground were lifted by the shockwave, and the shop window glass along the street shattered everywhere!

He used his full strength for this strike!!

The iron rod halted in midair.

It wasn't caught by anyone; it stopped on its own, as if an invisible hand grasped it tightly, motionless.

The bald man summoned all his strength to press down, veins bulging, arm muscles swelling like stone, yet the iron rod seemed welded to the air, not dropping an inch!

Then it began to reverse.

The bald man stared helplessly as the iron rod withdrew from his hand, returning to the spot before he raised it.

The lit Rune extinguished one by one, as if someone pressed a reverse button.

His arm lowered by itself, his body stepped back by itself, he returned to where he had just stood, the iron rod propped on the ground again, everything restored to the state before Yu Lin spoke!

The bald man's complexion turned pale.

"Again!" he muttered, another swing.

The iron rod struck down, halted, reversed.

He stepped back.

"Again!" he threw the iron rod; it spun through the air toward Yu Lin, then stopped three feet away, spun back, and landed steadily in the bald man's hand.

He stepped back.

"Again!" he pulled a handful of Talisman Paper from his chest and flung it at Yu Lin.

The Talisman Paper ignited in the air, turning into countless fireballs, ice blades, and lightning, multicolored and covering the sky!

Then, three feet from Yu Lin, they all halted, reversed back, re‑formed into Talisman Paper, and fell back into the bald man's hand!

He stepped back.

"Damn, I'll join too! All up!"

"I don't believe he's really that strong!" The skinny tall man behind him also acted, scattering a handful of Talisman Paper, more and denser than the bald man's.

Then the same thing happened: in front of Yu Lin, they all halted, reversed back, re‑formed into Talisman Paper, and fell into the skinny tall man's hand.

The woman let out a scream, her hands pressed to the ground.

The ground split a massive fissure that spread toward Yu Lin's feet, spewing scalding steam and lava.

The fissure extended to three feet in front of Yu Lin, halted, curled back, sealed, and the ground returned to its original state.

The three figures in the shadows struck simultaneously.

Black mist surged from them, forming three black dragons that lunged at Yu Lin with snarling claws.

The black dragons reached three feet in front of Yu Lin, halted, curled back, retreated into their bodies, and the three people stepped back!

Each strike, each attack, stopped three feet before Yu Lin, reversed, and restored.

Like a punch landing on cotton, like a drop of water falling into the sea, as if nothing had happened.

They returned to their original spots, kept their original postures, even their breathing rates returned to normal.

The onlookers on the street widened their eyes, and the Civil Affairs Bureau personnel opened their mouths but could not speak, just staring dumbfounded.

Is this General Yu's power? What the heck is this, just surrender!

These guys still dared to strike; they are admirable!

The bald man gasped heavily, sweat streaming from his forehead, smearing his eyes.

He wiped once, then again, but the sweat wouldn't stop, as if someone had turned on a faucet above his head.

His hands trembled, his legs trembled, his whole body trembled.

He had fought for thirty years, slain Cultivators, battled Authority Awakeners, fought alone on foreign battlefields, and had never been afraid!

But now, he was scared!

He had no idea how to fight!

You throw a punch, the punch comes back on its own; you toss something, it returns on its own; you risk your life, fate doesn't listen!

What the hell is this game?

"Do you want to continue?"

Yu Lin's voice came from ahead: "It looks like you guys are having a lot of fun."

The bald man's face twitched.

Having fun? Which eye of his saw that they were having fun?

The bald man wanted to curse a couple of words, but even that, his throat felt as if someone were choking it, not a single syllable could be forced out.

He's never been this suppressed in his whole life!

Yu Lin's gaze swept over them, then suddenly halted.

His eyebrows lifted slightly, as if he had discovered something interesting.

"Hey, bald one, take off your shirt."

The bald man was startled.

Take off the shirt?

His face flushed bright red, a wave of humiliation surged from his feet straight up to his Heavenly Spirit Cover.

He clenched his teeth, wanted to say "A man may be killed but not humiliated," wanted to curse back, wanted to raise the iron rod again — but his body disobeyed.

His hand lifted on its own, grabbed the collar, and pulled it to both sides.

With a ripping sound, the garment tore in two, revealing his muscular torso.

Muscles bulged, an azure dragon tattoo coiled from his neck down to his waist, its claw landing precisely over his chest.

Yet between the dragon's lines, there was a patch of black pattern, as if inked on, yet also as if it grew out from beneath his skin.

The pattern was irregular, resembling some ancient script, also like a sigil, emitting a faint dark glow under the streetlamp, subtly writhing like a living thing.

Su Qu, at some point, had already come to Yu Lin's side; he squinted at the pattern for a moment, then glanced at the bald man's face, and turned to Yu Lin:

"Did you figure out who it is?"

"Hmm." Yu Lin looked at the black pattern, his mouth curled slightly, with a hint of "So it's that guy again."

"It's Cain again; this guy is still so dishonest."

"But that's how he is."

"If he doesn't cause trouble, then he wouldn't be himself."