Chapter 595: Chapter 595

The power of his Dominator Fist resonated, and his heart of the Dominator Fist thundered.

Every cell in Cassius's body seemed to dance and tingle with an unprecedented sense of belonging. Wasn't the bravest, most domineering deed in the world to hurl one's fist at a mightier foe?

Nothing excited Cassius more than the situation he was in at the moment. He felt every restlessness in his body, every emotion and desire in his mind, and every tangled thought in his Will all twist into a single cord as he threw that punch.

"This punch, and this punch!" Cassius roared.

He felt overwhelming fervor, devotion, and satisfaction.

A gigantic fist obliterated falling fragments of black mud along its path. It crashed toward Xiadu bearing unbridled force!

Tangible gales shot outward, rending the surrounding land in two. Tornadoes of sludge howled, battering the mountains again and again. High in the sky, the wind whirled in every direction without pause. They savagely shredded everything around them.

Cassius's uppercut struck Xiadu squarely. The blow connected with that pale-gold body, hurtling it headlong into the night sky. For an instant, it looked like a glowing crimson Blood Vulture had unfurled its wings, its feathers blazing like flames. Its talons shoved a figure through the sky, tearing a fiery scar across the dark firmament. It looked like a red meteor trailing a blazing flame.

The blue silhouette that had rushed in halted, revealing the astonished face of Deep Ice Ultimate Fist. He stared at Cassius and muttered to himself, "Unity of Heart and Fist!"

Unity of Heart and Fist was a special state possessed only by a Holy Fist. It arose only when a Holy Fist was deeply fulfilled or when overwhelming fury burned through flesh and soul. It appeared when the meaning of the punch matched the fighter's own path perfectly.

The state was exceedingly rare; even Holy Fists who lived for millennia seldom encountered it. Usually, a Holy Fist met Unity of Heart and Fist only once in life, at the moment of their death. Every ounce of power would be unified into one ultimate strike. Then, their remaining Will burned away.

Right now, Cassius had unmistakably entered that state. His Will and his fist technique were fully fused.

Thousands of meters in the air, the Blood Vulture barreled forward like a train. Xiadu raised one hand to block, causing gold-and-crimson sparks to burst forth. Each spark blossomed into a fireball tens of metres wide, radiating searing heat like fireworks gone berserk.

Amid the shower of sparks, Xiadu narrowed his eyes at Cassius inside the Blood Vulture shade. "So it was you?"

He had to admit this human had advanced far too fast. Just two years earlier, Xiadu's avatar had sensed that Cassius was only an extreme combat artist at the international exchange tournament. He had not even been at the peak of that level and was still far from a Holy Fist.

Yet two years later, Cassius stood before him again in the Dominator Fist realm. His aura was deep and solid, and entirely unlike one who had just stepped over the threshold. It felt as though he had cultivated for centuries or even millennia.

Now, entering Unity of Heart and Fist state, his might soared still higher. The speed of that punch seemed able to topple mountains. Even a being of Xiadu's stature had failed to foresee it, and had taken the punch head-on. He had been driven clear of the Gate of Heaven.

After all, he was no longer the conceptual being he once was. Furthermore, he was shackled by certain restraints, and unable to enter the World of Calamity that was his true arena. He could remain only in the surface world, rejected by its very fabric.

All this while, Xiadu's terrible energy had been pitted against the Gate of Heaven. Then the Southern Dipper seal had manifested, and three Southern Dipper Holy Fists had each sent over a third of their power to shackle him.

The other two of the Threefold Gate had materialised as well, forcing the world's majesty to weigh upon him. With so many constraints, even Xiadu felt strained. Thus, he had failed to evade Cassius's Unity of Heart and Fist strike.

Bang-bang-bang-bang-bang...

The two figures darted back and forth as fleeting after-images.

Cassius spared no strength or Qi, pouring them forth like a burst dam as he threw another punch. His iron fist spun like a helical drill. Death's Fang Force coiled densely around it, whirling in mad spirals.

A fissure slowly opened on the skin of Xiadu's blocking arm. A bead of blood surfaced just beneath the drill-like fist. However slight the hurt, Xiadu was wounded!

At that moment, their feelings diverged utterly.

Cassius was filled with self-assurance and a hint of pride. Two years earlier, Xiadu's avatar had appeared at the exchange tournament, flaunting terrifying power. Yet Cassius had still broken that avatar's guard, had he not?

Now, the far stronger true Xiadu stood before him, power multiplied a hundredfold. So what? Cassius had not stood still; he had grown at rapid speed!

Two years ago, I smashed through your avatar's defence with one punch. Two years later, I can still wound you with one punch!

At that instant, Cassius's already surging aura climbed even higher. That was the nature of the Dominator Fist. When one’s Will aligned with their path, one's fist became unrivalled! It could even create power beyond the limit.

On the other side, Xiadu's expression barely shifted, yet a hidden flame of anger flickered in his eyes. He despised interference with his plan, hated challenges to his majesty, and loathed the Southern Dipper lineage most of all. Somehow, Cassius had managed to combine all three offences.

Xiadu's strength burst forth, and he tore loose from part of his shackles. "Begone!"

He flicked his right palm and struck Cassius's fist with a bang.

For a moment, it felt as though a massive Ultimate Dark Form had rammed into him.

Cassius's body shook violently as his bones warped and joints screamed. He stared at Xiadu while blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Yet he neither dodged nor countered, he simply took the impact head-on. Above, the phantom crimson Blood Vulture exploded, half its body blown apart. Vast Qi collapsed, cascading through the air like rain.

Cassius burst into manic laughter. "Heheheh... hahaha... Not enough, far from enough! Such a tiny wound, such feeble harm—how could that ever suffice? I want to brand you with a scar that runs from your left shoulder clear through to the right, a wound worthy of remembrance!"

Cassius's Qi detonated, and he vanished in an instant. Xiadu smiled coldly and calmly folded his arms. Cassius's earlier success, he thought, was owed only to his weakness under the Southern Dipper seal and the Threefold Gate. Now that he had recovered somewhat, Cassius was but an ant.

A streak of red shot across the sky like lightning.

Xiadu whirled and threw a seemingly ordinary punch. Yet a mountain-levelling tide of force erupted, sweeping the heavens. In turn, a red meteor shot up to collide with him.

Cassius's explosive fist met Xiadu's. Their impact was too swift to follow. However, the injured Xiadu was still Xiadu; sealed or not, his power remained unfathomable.

Cassius's fist cracked inch by inch. Skin, muscle, vessels—even bone disintegrated.

A faint smile tugged at Xiadu's lips. Slaying a Holy Fist stirred no feeling in him, but tormenting a Southern Dipper heir suited him fine. He savoured the process like an appetizer before the main feast. Once he fully removed the seal and regained all his power, he would head for the World of Calamity and torture those three old fools to death in countless brutal ways!

"Heheheh..." Xiadu's grin widened. In that instant, his fist shattered Cassius's right arm entirely.

Yet Cassius still wore that ferocious look. Indeed, his lips curled upward just like Xiadu's.

"Cygnus Flight! Blood Vulture King!"

A raptor's cry, piercing metal and stone, split the world. It did not descend on Cassius but on Xiadu himself!

The Giant Falcon constellation suddenly blazed to life on Xiadu's body. Sixty-six ruby-bright stars resonated in unison. It was the power of Blood Vulture Dominator Fist, the one-third of his might that had been sent remotely!

The Southern Dipper lineage shared a single source of power. Blood Vulture Dominator Fist had already transmitted his power to Cassius back in Florence's test site. Now he did so again.

That primal force also carried the Will of Blood Vulture Dominator Fist. Urged on by Cassius, it triggered Cygnus Flight! A terrifying finisher move that even the Totem King had to be wary of. It was a move with extreme spirality and lethal disintegration!

Even at one-third strength, it remained dreadful beyond measure! At his peak, Xiadu would have ignored it. Even if he was at ordinary strength, he would have dismissed it. However, under multiple seals and drained by his assault on the Gate of Heaven, he was the weakest he had been in a millenia.

What could he use to block it? How the fuck was he even expected to block it?! Read full story at NoveI[F]ire.net

Cassius's punch had merely served as a feint. The true killing move had descended upon Xiadu's own body!

The raptor's resonant roar shook the vault of heaven. A phantom crimson bird dropped into the world and slid perfectly behind Xiadu as it slashed at him.

Ding! Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!

A cloud of gold-and-crimson sparks hid everything from sight. Extreme heat, billowing steam, and crimson Death's Fang Force blanketed the field. Only one black figure tumbled through the air in disarray.

Cassius was smoking all over. His right arm was gone and crimson fissures scored his torso. He plummeted straight down, yet a wild grin split his face. "I told you that I would pierce you from the left shoulder clear through... I did not break my word."

A gale swept away the scarlet mist, revealing a pale-gold body laid bare.

Blood dripped unceasingly from his nude body. A scary black fluid also seemed ready to fall. Xiadu hovered aloft, a huge wound running from left shoulder to right waist. The claw-shaped gash, courtesy of Cygnus Flight, had nearly split his body.

"Heheheh... heheheh... hahahahaha!" Xiadu laughed. It was a laugh of rage and madness.

No one had ever challenged his majesty so, nor scarred him so while he bore the seal!

Cassius, Cassius, Cassius—I will remember you! Next, I will send you to hell!

Xiadu’s right hand rose, aiming at the nearly spent Cassius. A dreadful power circulated like a volcano ready to burst. In that instant, before the blow left him, space and earth reacted first. Forests flattened and soil sank deep. They formed a wide pit at least dozens of metres deep.

Xiadu’s gaze snapped to the side. There, a blue-black Holy Fist silhouette was attacking the ancient altar and its light pillar. His focused attacks posed an enormous threat. The altar quaked and the three Arcane Stone Tablets spun madly. At last, the light pillar flickered. Energy was draining away rapidly.

Xiadu vanished on the spot, bolting toward Florence without hesitation. For him, opening the Gate of Heaven had always held top priority; everything else must yield. After planning for ten million years, he would not permit this opening to fail.

A charred, gravely wounded figure healed frantically in midair. In that last instant, Cassius had almost chosen to end the time travel.

However, Deep Ice Ultimate Fist's distraction at Florence had granted him a respite. Cassius used the life vibration energy of the millions from the Evil Eye clan he had slain to heal. His newly grown right arm clenched tight.

Xiadu, this fight is far from over!