Eyes wide, Vice stared at the once again massively enlarged Qin Ming. As she snapped out of her daze, she suddenly let out a furious roar and, without thinking, raised her fist and punched Qin Ming square in the face.
"Since you're so eager to die, then I'll kill you first!"
With a loud bang, Qin Ming staggered back a single step under the force of the punch—but that was all.
Vice, having activated her Heavenly bloodline, had received a massive boost to all her attributes.
But Qin Ming, with his Dinosaur bloodline activated, had experienced a similar stat explosion.
Most importantly—his defense was also within the range of attributes that had increased!
That is to say, at this point, Qin Ming's defense stat had officially surpassed 50 points!
Vice's punch—barely scratched him!
Qin Ming's eyes gleamed red. After taking the blow, he didn't hesitate for even a second and counterattacked immediately.
Grabbing Vice by the arm, he hoisted her into the air, her body suspended. With his other hand, he launched a hammer-like punch straight into her abdomen.
The sheer force of the impact bent Vice's body involuntarily—she nearly spat out her tongue.
And even worse—along with the punch, a stream of pure white flame surged from Qin Ming's arm into Vice's body, rapidly spreading and inflicting intense heat and burns.
Bloodline Power: Dreamfire!
Vice, nearly vomiting from that single punch, stared at Qin Ming in disbelief. She never imagined that the guy who just a moment ago struggled to even hurt her could now hit with such power.
Even so, despite her shock, Vice reacted incredibly fast.
Seeing Qin Ming's fist drawing back for another blow, she kicked both legs out without hesitation and locked them around his neck.
Skill activated! Her thighs clamped down hard!
Ultimate move: Consecutive Reflection Strike!
In a whirlwind spin, Vice—legs still clamped around Qin Ming's neck—flung him around and slammed him violently into the ground in a wild six-hit combo!
The good news: this time, her attack finally broke through his defenses.
The bad news: even though it broke through and left Qin Ming's face bloodied from the brutal slams...
He never let go. That arm of his still clung to her wrist like an iron clamp.
And just as Vice's combo ended, Qin Ming, ignoring his injuries, suddenly sprang up and delivered a flying elbow strike straight down!
His bloodline-boosted weight, now close to one ton, crashed down hard on Vice, making her fully extended legs kick out straight from the shock.
Vice, having activated the Heavenly Divine Clan bloodline, had gained a substantial boost in durability.
She was different from other Heaven Clan members. While others had their own unique powers enhanced upon activation, Vice and Maestro didn't possess external powers. Their power was their body.
Vice had brute strength. Maestro had slicing. When their bloodlines awakened, their physical stats skyrocketed, and their raw strength and cutting abilities received massive boosts.
And most importantly—their durability also underwent a qualitative leap.
Even with Qin Ming stacking three power-ups—fire-based defense reduction, bloodline transformation, and Ki amplification—
He still couldn't easily hurt Vice!
This seemingly thin and delicate woman was actually built like a tank!
And the worst part—Qin Ming didn't even dare to let go of her arm. He could only attack her with one hand.
Because the moment he released her, Vice's speed would make him nothing more than a punching bag!
So he gripped Vice's arm like his life depended on it, relying on his size and strength advantage to grapple with her. The two clashed at close quarters in a brutal, technique-less, bloody melee.
Vice with her hammer strikes and throws, Qin Ming with his slams and piledriver punches!
One moment—Qin Ming grabs Vice's head, dragging her across a wall at high speed, stone shards flying everywhere.
The next—Vice wraps her legs around his neck again, turning herself into a spinning top and ramming them both into a steel barrier!
From standing slugfest, to ground grappling, to all-out slamming and tearing—
The two were like wild beasts, using whatever they were best at to beat each other senseless.
Realizing her defense couldn't compare to Qin Ming's, Vice repeatedly targeted his arm, trying to make him let go.
Eventually, desperate, she even bit down hard on Qin Ming's arm!
But she had clearly underestimated an adventurer's resolve and pain tolerance.
Bite me? Even if she tore the flesh off his arm, Qin Ming wouldn't let go!
He'd lose the whole arm before releasing her! Just like he did when he fought the adventurer, Wind!
The two of them rolled and grappled like mad animals for nearly ten minutes. Their relentless smashing destroyed chunks of nearby buildings, and the ground was littered with cracks from sheer brute force.
And finally—after ten minutes of savagery—the fight reached its end.
Though Vice had superior strength and speed, her defense was slightly inferior to Qin Ming's.
In the end—she lost.
Because Qin Ming wasn't just tough—he could absorb life!
Though Vice had nearly beaten Qin Ming half to death with her brute force, in the final moments, he managed to grab hold and trigger his bloodline skill, wildly draining her life force—even biting deep into her neck.
In an instant, Qin Ming's injuries began to heal rapidly, while Vice's condition grew worse and worse.
Just moments ago, she had the absolute upper hand — and now, everything had been completely reversed by this one move.
From her initial desperate resistance, to gradually weakening, and finally, by the end — Vice's struggling had all but ceased.
At this moment, she no longer looked like a member of the Hakkesshu, no longer the rumored descendant of gods — instead, she looked like nothing more than a helpless, ordinary woman.
Only 170cm tall, now pinned beneath the three-meter-tall Qin Ming. Her fists pounded desperately against him, making dull thuds — but it wasn't enough to stop his violence.
If any outsider had seen this scene, they'd surely take Qin Ming for some violent monster committing an unspeakable act, and Vice as the poor woman being brutalized.
…Of course, that's assuming they hadn't seen the earlier scene — of Vice ripping a steel pipe out of the wall and smashing it across Qin Ming's head, snapping it in two with just two swings.
Ten minutes later, the battle finally ended.
Her blood drained in large amounts and continuously under attack, Vice was now covered in injuries, too exhausted to fight back.
Having taken hit after hit, she could no longer even maintain her Heavenly bloodline transformation — now she just lay there on the ground, motionless.
But just because she wasn't moving — didn't mean Qin Ming would stop.
He felt no mercy just because Vice now looked pitiful. Instead, he continued to brutally hammer away at her face.
One hand choking her throat, the other raining punches — Qin Ming sat on top of Vice, his expression utterly savage.
His face, covered in blood, with blood still leaking from his left eye — and half of his left ear was missing.
Those injuries — all caused by Vice. After realizing she couldn't win head-on, she had gone full berserk — biting off his ear and even gouging out one of his eyes!
If it weren't for Qin Ming's two S-class skills — Blood Absorption and Steel Body — working in perfect synergy, giving him almost infinite endurance…
If she hadn't killed him quickly — she had no chance to kill him at all. The longer it dragged out, the worse it got — he became unkillable.
If not for those skills, he'd be the one lying on the ground now, not moving.
BAM! "BITING MY EAR!"
BAM! "GOUGING MY EYE OUT!"
BAM! "YOU EVEN WENT FOR MY BALLS!!"
BAM! "What kind of vicious woman ARE YOU?!"
Each punch landed with a roar, and spotting a brick nearby, Qin Ming grabbed it without a second thought and smashed it down on Vice's head.
The brick shattered on impact — but Vice was completely unharmed.
Realizing bricks were useless, he just went back to punching — turns out, fists worked better anyway.
At this point, his Dinosaur transformation had already ended — mostly because the blood loss was too much to keep it going.
Staring down at Vice, now lying in a pool of blood and filth, her face barely recognizable, breathing weak and shallow…
Qin Ming, gasping for breath, tightened his grip on her neck — veins bulging from his arms with effort.
At this moment — he was fully intent on killing her.
But just as he was about to finish the job —A cold voice suddenly rang out nearby.
"Hey. That's enough. If you kill her, you're going to bring a LOT of trouble."
Hearing the voice, the one-eyed Qin Ming snapped his head up, glaring in the direction of the sound with pure rage.
And what he saw — was a blonde woman standing on top of a nearby wall, arms crossed, dressed in a sharp women's suit, with a tall and graceful figure.
The newcomer — another member of the Hakkesshu: Mature.
To be exact, she had been here all along — originally planning to step in at the last moment, just as Vice was about to win, and save Qin Ming so she could take over the fight herself.
Who would've thought — things would play out so differently?
Even Vice, fully powered up, was now on the brink of death.
Seeing this, Mature had no choice but to reveal herself early.
Looking down at Qin Ming — still straddling Vice with a crazed expression — her gaze grew complicated.
"Qin Ming. It's been a while. You've gotten strong."
Back then, they had only met once — but that one meeting, with Qin Ming using some consumable boost, had skyrocketed his affinity score with Mature to almost 500.
So naturally, she remembered him vividly.
Especially considering that, thanks to Vice, Mature didn't exactly have many male friends around her. Anyone who got close enough — Vice would chase them off or straight-up eliminate them.
Looking down at Qin Ming from above, Mature's eyes flickered with emotion.
That weakling she once saved — beaten to a pulp by some third-rate fighter, barely clinging to life, only surviving because she felt merciful…
Now, just over a year later, he had returned completely changed — his strength now fully on par with her own.
It made Mature feel all sorts of ways. Even with her usually detached emotions, she couldn't help but show a hint of nostalgia in her eyes.
"Qin Ming. How have you been?"
For the first time in ages, Mature actively greeted someone.
Hearing her voice — and now recognizing who it was — Qin Ming quickly nodded.
…Then immediately turned back and started choking Vice again with both hands, shaking her violently as he yelled:
"Not bad! But I don't have time to chat! Wait your turn! I need to finish killing this woman first!!"
Qin Ming — holds a grudge.
(End of Chapter)