Chapter 520: Battle with Nie Yu

Meanwhile, in San Francisco.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—

A red figure, light as if walking on clouds, leaped from high stilts, soaring effortlessly. The large red lion head, adorned with ribbons, spun through the air, its enormous eyes occasionally blinking, as if truly alive.

Loud gongs rang out continuously, accompanied by cheers from the crowd. A group of astonished onlookers, both white and Black, recorded the scene on their phones, their faces filled with disbelief.

The lion dancer ascended the highest stilt in just a few steps, reaching a height of seven or eight meters above the ground. He stood on one leg on the stilt, naturally sinking into a low stance. His other leg was crossed over, creating a seemingly precarious balance that from a distance looked as if he might fall at any moment, eliciting gasps from the onlookers.

The large red lion headpiece blinked playfully, then suddenly performed a backflip, leaping from the seven or eight-meter high stilt. His feet seemed to step on air, descending as if on invisible stairs, before landing steadily on the ground.

The next moment, thunderous applause erupted!

Countless spectators looked at each other in astonishment, their mouths forming the words "Oh my God." They couldn't fathom how it was done, but in Chinatown, such feats seemed commonplace. These people from the East always possessed some inexplicable magical power.

As the performance concluded, the lion dancer walked to the back of the line and removed the large red lion headpiece. A handsome young face appeared before the crowd.

He was a young man around twenty years old, dressed in a red and black Tang suit. On his wrist, he wore a gleaming string of red sandalwood beads. He waved to a young assistant beside him, took a pair of small, round-framed sunglasses, and casually placed them on his nose, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"Hmph, these foreigners' money is so easy to earn."

With his hands in his pockets, he leaned slightly forward, his small round sunglasses sliding a bit down his nose. His gaze, full of amusement, swept across the entire Chinatown, an unconscious hint of roguishness in his expression and posture.

"Now, who's the coolest guy in Chinatown?"

"Mr. Sun, the audience hasn't left yet... please mind your image," the young assistant whispered from beside him.

"...Ahem." The young man glanced back, then silently straightened up and walked directly into Chinatown.

"By the way, Mr. Sun, your phone seems to have been ringing non-stop for a while..."

"Hmm?"

The young man took his phone and, seeing the website and images on the screen, was suddenly stunned.

"Huh... what's going on? Has the dark web been hacked?"

He pulled down his sunglasses, unceremoniously squatting by the roadside to watch intently. When a blood-stained figure passed by the camera in the video, his attention was instantly captivated.

"That face... I think I've seen it somewhere before? Isn't he that famous 'Weapon God' from the Golden Triangle...?"

The young man scratched his head, pondering deeply.

However, as the scene changed, a figure draped in a large red opera robe stood on the rooftop in Nie Yu's path, a streak of apricot red paint drawn from the corner of their eye.

Seeing this, the young man's pupils suddenly contracted, and he shot up from the roadside!

"Is that... the 'Opera God'?"

***

At the service area.

Thunder roared among the clouds, and pale lightning flashed across the sky.

Amidst the flickering neon lights, Nie Yu advanced slowly towards Chen Ling, his hunting knife in hand, his steps breaking the rippling reflections in the puddles.

Rain washed the blood from his face, and his gaze towards Chen Ling was as sharp as a blade.

"You did come after me, as expected..."

Chen Ling looked at him calmly, "I thought you'd keep hiding in the shadows, waiting for my guard to drop before delivering a fatal blow."

"I don't need such tactics to deal with you."

"You don't need them, or you can't afford to waste time? Your body must be near its limit, right? If you don't eliminate me quickly and deal with the Demon Subjugation Blood Map, your rank will likely continue to drop... By then, you won't stand a chance."

Chen Ling saw through Nie Yu's thoughts at a glance and sneered.

Nie Yu gripped his hunting knife tighter, his pale knuckles appearing particularly menacing under the cold rain.

"You're only a third-rank, aren't you?" Nie Yu said grimly. "Even if my rank has dropped and I'm injured, killing a third-rank like you will be effortless."

"Is that so?" Chen Ling chuckled, "Then come and try."

Seeing Chen Ling's face, a surge of fury gripped Nie Yu. From the trap on the plane to killing Vulture and then putting a bounty on his head, Nie Yu's killing intent towards Chen Ling had reached its peak. His chest heaved violently, he stomped his feet hard on the ground, and his body shot forward like a cannonball, piercing the rain curtain and soaring out!

Even though his body was heavily injured and he could barely walk without stumbling, Nie Yu still unleashed terrifying power and speed. He even accelerated vertically along the building wall, his jagged hunting knife cutting through falling raindrops, producing a whistling sound as it sliced through the air.

He had to finish this quickly!

Chen Ling's vision blurred; Nie Yu's figure had already leaped into the air above the rooftop. His blood-red robes flapped wildly in the wind, and as his hunting knife descended, countless sharp threads danced wildly, slashing towards Chen Ling's throat!

His apricot-red eyes reflected the trajectory of the threads. The large red opera robe instantly fluttered across the rooftop like a butterfly. Chen Ling did not retreat; instead, he advanced, carving out an unscathed path through the wildly dancing threads.

With a flick of his wide opera robe sleeve, a gleaming boning knife appeared in Chen Ling's palm and lightly slashed towards Nie Yu.

Clang, clang, clang, clang—!!

Nie Yu's hunting knife and Chen Ling's boning knife clashed a dozen times in an instant, moving so fast that they left afterimages in the rain.

A deafening clang of metal rang out, and tiny sparks splattered in the rain. Nie Yu hadn't expected Chen Ling's close-combat ability to be so strong; his speed and slashing techniques were on par with his own!

Nie Yu's brows furrowed, and he let out a low growl. His muscles bulged, further enhanced by his iron armor, as he brought his knife down heavily on the boning knife.

Boom—!!

A terrifying force emanated from the blade, sending Chen Ling flying backward through the rain. He slid several meters before his feet touched the ground, barely managing to steady himself.

Feeling the numbness in his hands, which made even holding the knife difficult, Chen Ling's gaze grew serious.

"Such immense power..."

Nie Yu was, after all, a fifth-rank Heavenly Wolf. Even severely wounded, his strength, amplified by his iron armor, was incomparable to a third-rank. If Chen Ling hadn't spent the past few months training close-combat techniques daily with his senior brother, significantly improving his fighting skills, he probably wouldn't have been able to withstand even a few of Nie Yu's blows.

Seeing this, the cold light in Nie Yu's eyes intensified. He walked slowly through the rain, gripping his hunting knife, and spoke coldly:

"I told you... you're only a third-rank, you can't beat me."