Chapter 424 – I Win, You Die; You Win, I Die

During the Midnight Labyrinth incident, Su Ming ultimately lost consciousness and was brought back to Tianfeng City by Old Ling.

In other words, Su Ming wasn’t very clear about the detailed aftermath of that incident.

He knew that Li Wu and Li Qingqing had safely left in the end, but he didn’t know what exactly they had obtained within the Midnight Labyrinth.

He knew that the members of Sin had suffered heavy casualties, most likely all perishing in the Midnight Labyrinth, but he didn’t know that Li Wu had taken Crow away as well.

He was even more unaware of what had happened to Crow after that.

All he knew was that during this reunion, he himself had been completely transformed, and so had Crow.

“You actually advanced to Seven-Star too?”

Su Ming looked at Crow blocking the entrance to the ruins, his eyes filled with astonishment.

In Su Ming’s Spirit Sense perception, Crow’s Qi had completely changed, no longer on the same level as before.

That incredibly heavy Aura was definitely not something an ordinary Six-Star Peak level existence could release.

This undoubtedly meant one thing.

That was, Crow had achieved a Breakthrough and advanced to Seven-Star.

However, this Breakthrough didn’t restore Crow to his former ease and composure.

On the contrary, Crow seemed to have fallen into some kind of obsession, his gaze toward Su Ming full of resentment, his face filled with a manic energy that hadn’t been there before.

His voice rasped out, heavy and hoarse.

“All of this is thanks to you.”

With just that one sentence, Su Ming understood.

It seemed that this No.3 of the Ten Demons had truly fallen into some kind of Heart Demon, relying on extreme obsession to finally succeed in his Breakthrough.

And without a doubt, the object of his obsession was none other than himself.

Two defeats had made this person remember Su Ming completely, viewing Su Ming as someone he must defeat in this lifetime.

To put it bluntly, Su Ming’s existence was the Heart Demon that had turned Crow into his current state.

Thus, Crow had broken through and come here.

His purpose was clear at a glance.

As for Su Ming, he no longer seemed to view the person before him as a formidable enemy, as someone he must defeat, as he had during their first meeting. His gaze toward Crow was filled with pity and calmness.

“Since you’ve finally managed to break through, why come to stir up trouble at a time like this?” Su Ming said with utmost indifference. “Having already suffered two defeats, do you really want to welcome a third?”

Hearing this, Crow laughed.

A chilling, sinister laugh.

“There won’t be a third defeat.”

Crow declared this.

“You said the same thing last time.”

Su Ming spoke with a faint, mocking smile.

“This time is different.” Crow said coldly. “This time, there are only two outcomes.”

“Either I win, and you die.”

“Or you win, and I die.”

Accompanying these words, an atmosphere of bloody conflict instantly enveloped the entire area.

Su Ming immediately furrowed his brows, staring straight at Crow without speaking.

He could feel a resolute aura rising from Crow’s body like flames, intertwining with the magical power within him.

He was preparing to fight with his life on the line.

This No.3 ranked member of the Ten Demons, who had now broken through to Seven-Star and become one of humanity’s top experts, was willing to burn his life force and stake his very existence to defeat Su Ming.So resolute, so determined—it had reached the point where, should the worst occur, the other party would choose to perish together with Su Ming.

Under such circumstances, what else was there for Su Ming to say?

“Truly worthy of an Underground Professional,” Su Ming remarked coolly. “You’re all madmen.”

Crow remained silent, merely casting a frigid gaze upon Su Ming.

The gauntlet named Ifingr in his hand seemed somewhat different from before as well.

“In order to defeat you, I ventured into a perilous realm, faced life-and-death trials, and ultimately succeeded in slaying a Nightmare Species, advancing to the Seven-Star rank.”

Crow’s voice remained as cold as ever.

“I brought back its skull and fused it into Ifingr, elevating its quality to become a top-tier alchemical weapon.”

A top-tier alchemical weapon!

This was a powerful weapon capable of ranking among the top entries on the Weapon Leaderboard!

Though it might not compare to those Sub-Divine Artifacts just below Divine Artifacts, which occupied the highest ranks, based on Su Ming’s assessment, these reborn gauntlets, now one with Crow, were conservatively estimated to be within the top twenty on the Weapon Leaderboard.

Compared to Firefang, the alchemical saber Su Ming had previously used—which ranked around seventieth or eightieth on the Weapon Leaderboard—this was on an entirely different level, surpassing it by who knew how many tiers.

His own advancement, paired with the sublimation of his weapon.

The current Crow, compared to his former self, could be said to have undergone a revolutionary transformation.

And all of this was for a single purpose.

“Burning everything I have, solely to defeat you.”

“Prepare yourself.”

“Ming Wang.”

As his words fell, Crow ignited the power he had accumulated throughout his body, allowing it to erupt instantaneously.

An overwhelming Aura immediately enveloped the surroundings, churning the once tranquil environment into a storm of dust and howling gales.

“Boom!”

Amid the swirling dust, a deafening roar suddenly erupted, dispersing the surrounding hurricanes.

Crow had closed in on Su Ming in the blink of an eye, his gauntlet-clad fist crashing down onto Su Ming’s raised arm, sparking a resounding impact.

“Raaaaaaagh—!”

Crow roared furiously, his fists unleashing a torrential onslaught like a storm, countless fist shadows, palm shadows, and claw shadows blanketing the sky as they converged upon Su Ming.

A similar scene had once unfolded on the Midnight Labyrinth Tenth Floor.

Back then, Crow had also relied on his exceptional speed and skill to launch a fierce assault against Su Ming, sending a deluge of fist, palm, and claw shadows his way.

But the intensity of that time was utterly incomparable to what it was now.

If Crow’s offensive back then could be described as a violent storm, his current onslaught was a cataclysmic tsunami, seemingly capable of devouring everything in its path—truly terrifying.

And indeed, that was the case.

In Crow’s unrestrained assault, the barrage of fist, palm, and claw shadows he unleashed wrought devastation across the land.

The ground, swept by claw shadows, was carved with deep trenches.

Bedrock, shattered by fist shadows, turned into clouds of rubble.

The very air, driven by palm shadows, whirled into roaring vortices.

Crow’s relentless offensive made it seem as though the world itself was under siege—for a time, the only constants were flying sand, rolling stones, endless roars, with hurricanes and earthquakes dominating the landscape.

Yet, unfortunately…

“Thud—!”With a fist that descended like a meteor, a violent gust of wind extinguished everything, obliterating the countless shadows of fists, palms, and claws in the sky.

“What…!?”

Crow’s pupils contracted sharply. The moment he halted his movements, his mutated perception sent an alarming warning signal.

Danger danger danger danger danger danger danger danger danger!

Every one of Crow’s senses seemed to be transmitting this message, making his scalp tingle.

Without a second thought, Crow swiftly dodged and retreated.

But…

“Whoosh!”

A gust of wind sounded as a figure appeared abruptly before Crow, shadowing him like a ghost.

“……!?”

Crow’s heart pounded violently. Almost by reflex, he threw out a palm strike, intending to force back the enemy closing in on him.

With a “thud,” the powerful palm strike landed squarely on the target, hitting the newcomer’s chest and stirring up a fierce gust of wind.

Yet, this blow—strong enough to split mountains and shatter rocks—failed to even budge the other’s figure when it landed on him.

Su Ming stood before Crow, enduring the palm strike head-on.

His expression remained as calm as still water.

“Impossible!”

Crow’s eyes widened, and he roared in fury, his entire body beginning to swell.

Awakening ability—Demonization.

A ferocious Fiend appeared before Su Ming, burning with violent demonic energy and malevolence, its bloodlust soaring to the heavens.

“Die!”

Having entered the Demonization state, with his power increased more than tenfold, Crow roared and charged forward instead of retreating, launching a frenzied assault on the enemy before him.

“Thud!”

A scaled fist struck the chest.

“Thud!”

A muscular thigh whipped against the waist.

“Thud!”

A long tail slammed into the head.

“Thud!”

A hardened elbow hit the face.

“Thud thud thud thud—!”

Countless attacks landed one after another on Su Ming, exploding across every part of his body, stirring up fierce winds, shockwaves, and a continuous barrage of reverberations.

Crow, as if driven mad, roared incessantly, disregarding his own limits and the astonishing recoil, attacking Su Ming with wild abandon.

Fists, palms, claws, legs, feet, elbows, knees, tail… and more—Crow used every part of his body to assault Su Ming, growing increasingly frenzied and rapid, to the point where blood began to splatter in all directions.

However, that blood did not come from Su Ming, who was under attack, but from Crow himself.

Upon closer inspection, as Crow’s attacks intensified and accelerated, cracks began to appear all over his body.

Skin shattered.

Flesh tore open.

Scales fell off.

Bone fragments splintered out.

Though Crow was the one launching the attacks, he was the one who ended up in a wretched state, covered in various injuries.

In contrast, Su Ming merely stood there motionless, watching expressionlessly. Despite enduring such a fierce and astonishing assault, he didn’t sustain even the slightest injury.

“Impossible… It can’t be…!”

Crow refused to believe what he was seeing, descending further into madness.

“I’ve clearly grown stronger!”

“I’ve clearly reached the Seven-Star level!”

“I should have the power to defeat you by now!”

“Why?”

“Why is the outcome like this…!?”

Crow had lost his sanity.

And it was no wonder.Indeed, all of this was utterly unbelievable.

Yet it was reality.

He had truly grown stronger.

Unfortunately, Su Ming had become even stronger than him.

Had Crow observed carefully, he would have noticed that although Su Ming stood motionless, a faint aura of magical energy enveloped his body.

Yes.

It was by relying on this overwhelming quality of magical energy to protect his body that Su Ming remained completely unscathed.

This was an alternative application of the 【Silver Arm】.

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(End of Chapter)