Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

```

Cautiously turning a corner, the dagger shielded the pistol as it turned.

Shadows assaulted in an instant, and Bai E subconsciously pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

Before he could fire, the muzzle was already twisted upwards, the discharged bullet ultimately could only hit the rocks at the ceiling.

Sparks flashed past.

"You ant, you've already lost to me once, how dare you chase after me!" the Blood God, pressing down hard on Bai E's wrist, bared his white teeth.

Bai E, with his hands pinned down, gritted his teeth as he struggled against his opponent.

However, an external fear penetrated his marrow, to the extent that his muscles involuntarily soured and he was easily disarmed of his pistol and dagger.

The Blood God, who nonchalantly flung aside both weapons, didn't bother to use them but instead, with a burst of fury, headbutted Bai E right in front of him.

"Thud!"

Bai E's vision blurred for a moment as he staggered back two steps, and even the Blood God, standing still, seemed a bit groggy as he shook his head.

He hadn't expected that the body of this opponent, whom he had brutally beaten once, would prove to be so formidable...

But this was even better, the Blood God clenched his fist, eyes glowing red as blood.

"Let's see how much you've improved during this time!"

Bai E didn't make a sound, only adjusting the night-vision goggles on his face.

The lenses had skewed from the impact of the headbutt, instantly limiting his field of view.

Bai E, having straightened his night-vision goggles, stared silently at the large man towering over him by an entire circle.

Once he entered a true combat state, his blood visibly began to surge within him, as if his muscles were receiving courage where his blood flowed.

The limp and sour sensation was retreating from every corner of his body, and a genuine fighting spirit began to resist the omnipresent fear dwelling in the cave.

Shaking his wrists, Bai E hopped lightly on the spot a couple of times.

His body was gradually recovering its combat state, undoubtedly good news.

Facing fear head-on was indeed the only way to eradicate that seed.

Weapons? He hadn't planned on relying on weapons to defeat this enemy in the first place.

The environment inside this cave wasn't suited for the full use of weapons, though the agile dagger might come in handy.

But since his opponent had already issued a bare-handed invitation, he would not shy away from battle.

With blood circulating warmly, his body grew increasingly excited, Bai E's will ignited as he looked at the Blood God with burning intensity.

"You know? I've been waiting for this day for a long time..."

His voice trembled with excitement.

Since the day he had been brutalized by his opponent, since he'd been beaten to the ground with almost no ability to resist...

Bai E never told anyone that he was a person with a strong competitive spirit.

Whatever had caused him to fail before, he always aimed to snatch victory back in the same fashion.

He had been waiting for a formal battle with the Blood God, be it just for practice, whether in the barracks or the arena.

But surprises always come unexpectedly.

Right here inside this cave, during this mission.

"I don't know why you've become what you are now, I don't know if you can repent, and I guess you won't explain it to me..."

But right now, we are in a fight to the death.

"I'll use all my strength to incapacitate you, and after that... I'll ask you one more time, why!"

As his words fell, Bai E rushed forward, his Overlimit Drive bursting forth with full force.

"Bang!"

Body blocks resonated dully in the narrow cave corridor.

[Triggering Sparring Mode...]

There was no space to dodge, only head-on, tough confrontations.

Avoiding direct blows to vital areas was the fullest extent of dodging either could achieve.

Fist met flesh directly, and one would reduce damage by blocking successfully, or else brace for impact with their body.

Their fists flew like the wind, blocking and counterattacking almost every moment.

Without the tough skin obtained from cultivation, Bai E likely wouldn't be able to sustain such high-intensity endurance in this hard confrontation, as rapid recovery was not fast enough for such intense attrition.

Knowing he was outclassed in his level of Combat Specialization, Bai E went all out from the start.

Rapid-fire strikes.

Fists, feet, elbows, and knees combined, the onslaught was fierce and dense like a storm.

Yet the Blood God's fists were also incredibly heavy, matching the powered-up Bai E in strength, his force periodically disrupting Bai E's offensive rhythm.

Fortunately, the drastically increased level of Combat Specialization and its numerous special attributes had an immediate effect. Unlike their previous clash where Bai E was easily overpowered, this time, the fight initially seemed evenly matched.

[Using close combat to engage in rapid offense and defense with the target, Combat Mastery experience +13.] (Stacked)

"Bang!"

Caught off guard, Bai E broke through the defense and landed a punch on the Blood God's chest. The pain in his body intensified the red light in the Blood God's eyes, and his strength surged momentarily.

His palm moved like lightning to grab Bai E's right fist, and as Bai E struggled to break free, the Blood God's other fist smashed into Bai E's chest.

"Bang!"

As one hand exerted force, the other involuntarily weakened, allowing Bai E to break free.

Bai E, having taken a punch to the chest, was not to be outdone, and retaliated with a punch of his own.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Your punch, my punch.

```

The original assault and defense battle had suddenly turned into a turn-based one.

The heavy physical blow also ignited Bai E's ferocity, as if his mind had snapped, standing still and steadfastly trading blood with the opponent.

A punch, another punch, and yet another.

It was as if he wanted to completely expel the fear inside him through the force and true pain of his fists!

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

The last sound almost coincided, the simultaneous punches from both sides forced each to take two steps back.

Rubbing his aching chest, Bai E coughed lightly, finally exhaling the breath he had been holding.

"Good! Good!" The Blood God also rubbed his chest, his eyes turning redder as he looked at Bai E, his tone fervent...

The most extreme combat undoubtedly stimulated his nerves, tearing open the combat suit that had become a restraint on his body, revealing his muscular physique clad only in a black vest to the air.

With a meaningless growl like a wild beast, the Blood God's massive body charged like a tank down the narrow passageway.

Bai E clenched his fists.

During that violent outburst, the power suppressed by fear had completely returned.

Cold desire for battle spread throughout his body.

He glanced at the semi-transparent panel with subtitles that did not obstruct his view.

[You have spent 50 points of combat experience, converting into 25 points of "Combat Mastery" experience.]

Gone... Had his special attribute bonuses reached some sort of upper limit? Or was it that the Blood God really didn't have much personal flair?

But that wasn't important.

[Your combat abilities have begun to form a strong personal style, integrating all you have learned, and you will gain a unique personal combat system, current integration progress 82%...]

Combat itself, has meaning!

Bai E stepped forward, bowing into a jab that smashed into the side of the Blood God's attacking right forearm.

Swinging his right arm, he blocked the incoming large hand, and with his left hand's two fingers joined like a sword, he pointed towards the wide-open side waist, inches away.

Confident in the effect of his attacks, almost the moment after making these moves, Bai E spun into the Blood God's embrace.

His palm struck the side of the face, chopping at the chin.

Turning his hand down, a series of chopping and pushing palms hit the Blood God's chest, forcing him to gasp for breath and losing any space to counterattack.

This was the first time Bai E had achieved a perfect combo advantage in a head-on confrontation.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

The Blood God involuntarily retreated several steps, his eyes brimming with red.

Defying science, his body stopped the backward inertia in an instant and abruptly changed direction forward.

With a speed almost imperceptible to the naked eye, another charge, both hands smashed into Bai E's chest like cannons.

"Bang!"

With that strike, Bai E's body flew backward, smashing directly into the cave wall four or five meters behind him.

[Hit by the opponent's attack, you have taken 4 points of strike damage.]

"Cough~ Cough~" Bai E, who quickly flipped into a corner to prevent pursuit, covered his chest as he stood up swiftly.

The saliva at the corner of his mouth couldn't stop flowing down; the Blood God's two punches felt like they had toppled his innards, stomach acid and bile surged up, leaving a bitter taste in his mouth.

At the same time, the images of the Blood God's attack replayed slowly in his mind...

Speed, strength, had increased again.

It was like the feeling of fighting one against three in the arena before departing...

The arena?

The fleeting inspiration was not captured, as Bai E had to focus all his thoughts on the present—

The Blood God was already at the peak level of normal human bodies, and in theory, should not be able to enhance strength and explosive power on the spot.

So, was this the power granted by pledging oneself to demons?

Those ultra-dimensional existences distorted reality with unrivaled Spiritual Energy, providing their Believers with extraordinary powers.

Damn it! Damn it!

He had to make a choice, didn't he?

Facing the Blood God, an opponent with robust vitality, Bai E did not have the confidence to take him down with one hit.

After reaching Combat Specialization Level 4, the three unlocked skills included one that was almost like a younger version of a lucky hit without the reward of dropped items.

The same burst of power, the improvement it could bring was not significant.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Tactical evasion was even less worth mentioning; in such an environment, there wasn't much space to dodge. Even a skill laced with the irrational factor of Spiritual Energy had little room to perform here.

So, it had to be the continuous... Absolute Defense.

Bai E gritted his teeth and made up his mind:

[Payment: 2 Potential Points, 551 General Experience points, 449 Combat Experience points.]

[Skill Learned—Absolute Defense.]

[Absolute Defense: From now on, you can consciously strengthen the body parts about to be hit, greatly increasing resistance to strike, slash, and pierce damage, while also slightly immunizing against (but not limited to) acid, flame, frost, and electric shocks; Vitality (Defense) +5, Vitality (Recovery) +3. Cost: 3 Spiritual Energy (30 action potential reserve)/min.]

Compared to Gun Fighting Skill, Absolute Defense consumed less, after all, it simply strengthened oneself without involving rapid response to complex environmental changes.

With his current action potential reserve, he could last at least... three minutes!

In these three minutes, complete the integration of his personal combat system to 100%, to see if the effects of this new specialty could be as life-changing as Overlimit Drive.

If not, then he would decide whether to use other cards in his hand.

With over two thousand points of general experience reserve and a chance to use a lucky hit, he was endowed with endless possibilities to turn the tables.