Chapter 45: The Limit of Strength and Skill

With a series of crisp, ear-piercing "crack, crack" sounds.

Goro Majima's spine slowly straightened, his frame expanding and swelling bit by bit.

As his clothing was forcibly torn apart, the muscles in his arms, thighs, and torso burst forth completely.

His dark, coarse skin rippled incessantly, as if several giant pythons were slithering within his body.

Bones, sinews, and joints twisted one after another, producing sounds that sent a chill straight to the marrow.

In addition to growing wider, his height also seemed to have increased from around 1.7 meters to nearly 1.8 meters.

Looking at Goro Majima, who appeared to have transformed into a demon, Fang Cheng's brow furrowed deeply.

To witness such a bizarre and terrifying phenomenon in reality—how could one not be utterly shocked?

"Heh—heh—"

Goro Majima let out heavy, labored breaths, his bloodshot eyes staring intensely at Fang Cheng.

Suddenly, his right foot kicked off the ground, and his thigh muscles shuddered like ripples.

*Whoosh!*

The man charged forward like a massive, hulking mountain.

And his speed was unnervingly fast!

Fang Cheng's pupils constricted; he immediately executed a sidestep to the left to dodge.

*Bang!*

Goro Majima's fist missed, striking a limestone rockery behind Fang Cheng.

The rock instantly dented from the impact of the fist, sending debris flying amidst a cloud of dust.

And right within that cloud of dust, a fist suddenly appeared, lunging toward Goro Majima's face.

It was Fang Cheng, turning defense into offense by retreating to advance.

A jab, swift as lightning, landed solidly against Goro Majima's temple.

This move was originally intended as a feint focused on speed.

Seeing that his opponent had not reacted in time, Fang Cheng decisively turned the feint into a real strike, delivering the punch without mercy.

He aimed to knock out the "monster" that Goro Majima had become in a single blow.

However.

Goro Majima seemed to possess no sense of pain at all; he reached out and caught Fang Cheng's fist, squeezing it with immense force.

Feeling the massive pressure from his left knuckles, Fang Cheng's gaze turned fierce.

His right hand threw a hook at the jaw, followed by consecutive whip kicks to the ribs, attempting to force the opponent to let go.

Goro Majima ignored it entirely, letting out a wide grin.

His other hand reached out like a bear hug, attempting to crush him.

Unable to break free immediately, Fang Cheng caught a glimpse of the white sand on the ground in his peripheral vision; he hooked and flicked his toes.

In an instant, a large cloud of sand rose, blinding Goro Majima, followed immediately by a rising kick to the groin.

This time, it finally worked.

Goro Majima's face contorted, and he let out a pained howl.

Taking the opportunity, Fang Cheng pulled his hand back and delivered a front push kick, forcing the opponent back half a step.

He used the momentum to pull back to a safe distance, quickly resetting his stance and watching his opponent warily.

With his altered physique, Goro Majima's muscles bulged exaggeratedly, and veins protruded like cords, making him look like a monster.

His various physical attributes seemed to have surged, primarily manifesting in explosive power, running speed, and durability.

Fang Cheng exhaled, his solemn gaze tinged with a hint of excitement.

A freak like this was a once-in-a-lifetime encounter!

One must realize that with Fang Cheng's current Strength attribute of 18, his strikes were heavy enough that an ordinary person could not withstand a single blow.

Yet, Goro Majima had already taken several heavy hits from him and remained as vigorous as ever.

"Since I can't break him with punches, I'll use my legs as my primary weapon..."

At this thought, Fang Cheng immediately changed his stance.

With one hand forward and one hand back, he adopted a more flexible Sanda (kickboxing) stance.

While this stance reduced the power of his punches, it increased his ability to absorb impact and facilitated the execution of his kicking and grappling techniques.

Thus, it was better suited for dealing with a "Berserk Majima," who relied on brute force, charging, and grappling.

Fang Cheng's shoulders swayed as his feet moved in small, rapid steps.

Facing Goro Majima's explosive attacks, he dodged left and right, continuously using butterfly steps to evade.

His Mental attribute of 20 gave him a neural reaction speed far beyond that of an ordinary person, allowing his movement frequency to often stay a beat ahead of his opponent.

Choosing to engage in a head-on brawl against an opponent with such overwhelming strength would clearly be the most foolish approach.

Fortunately, after entering his "Berserk State," Goro Majima's mind was not clear, and his reactions appeared somewhat sluggish.

Even though his sprinting attacks were extremely fast, they relied on the sheer power of his massive thigh muscles.

Realizing this, Fang Cheng gradually stabilized his stance and found his own rhythm.

As he moved flexibly around the area, he began looking for opportunities to use leg techniques, striking the opponent's weaker points.

A stepping side-dodge, followed by a sweeping kick to the ribs; a front push kick to the abdomen, and a side kick to the chest.

Using this distance-controlling fighting style, he slowly wore down the opponent's stamina.

Regardless, Fang Cheng possessed 20 points in Constitution; it was simply a matter of seeing who would collapse first.

Unable to close the distance, Goro Majima grew increasingly agitated, his madness intensifying.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he let out heavy, guttural breaths, desperate to grab the annoying "flea" before him.

Seeing that his punches were being wasted, he simply followed Fang Cheng's rhythm, alternating kicks and sweeps with legs like iron pillars.

Fang Cheng did not clash with him head-on, remaining focused on dodging and occasionally launching harassing attacks.

*Crack!*

A plum tree was snapped in half by a mid-section kick.

*Bang!*

A rock from the rockery was also partially shattered and crumbled under a high roundhouse kick.

Fang Cheng's pupils shrank slightly.

Judging by his own experience, if the opponent's strength were evaluated numerically, it would definitely be above 20, perhaps even more!

However, due to the excessive force of that kick, Goro Majima's foot slipped, causing his body to stumble.

Seeing the opening, Fang Cheng decisively launched a counterattack. Using the force of his kick off the ground, he propelled his body into the air.

A 360-degree spinning hook kick, like a battle axe, swung violently toward Goro Majima's neck.

A spinning hook kick, combined with the momentum of body rotation and the impact of the hip thrust, was something an ordinary person could not block; evasion was the only option.

In combat sports, it was a move of extreme spectacle and lethality, often used by masters as a finishing move to KO opponents.

Fang Cheng unleashed this move with the intent to kill, concentrating all his strength into a single strike!

However, Goro Majima didn't even bother to dodge; he took the hit directly with his physical body.

Then, he grabbed Fang Cheng's lower leg and, with a massive swing, tossed him like a sledgehammer toward a nearby concrete wall.

As Fang Cheng was thrown through the air toward the wall, he instantly employed a breakfall technique, adjusting his posture mid-air.

He rolled down against the wall with his back to absorb the impact, greatly mitigating the force.

Though he avoided broken bones, the impact was still extremely painful and left him quite injured.

Fang Cheng let out a muffled groan, his chest feeling constricted from the blow.

By this time, Goro Majima had already exploded into motion again, charging right in front of him.

His hands gripped Fang Cheng's waist and shoulders, lifting him high to execute a "waist-lock slam."

At the critical moment, Fang Cheng wrapped his left hand tightly around Goro Majima's neck, preventing him from completing the move.

He then used the momentum to kick off the wall, pulling the man sideways to throw him down.

Both men tumbled to the ground simultaneously.

Fang Cheng, being more agile, was the first to roll back onto his feet, exhaling a breath of stale air.

Looking at his opponent, who was pinned beneath him and seemed to have taken a harder fall, Fang Cheng realized something.

That spinning hook kick had not been entirely without effect; combined with the fall, it had left the opponent's neck slightly tilted.

A sudden realization dawned upon Fang Cheng.

In Jiu-Jitsu, "sacrifice techniques" and "signature techniques" are like Yin and Yang, life and death, constantly reversing and cycling.

Just when an opponent feels they have secured victory, that is precisely when they step into a fatal trap.

And when one faces a moment of extreme danger, it may also be the moment their skill reaches a new level of sublimation.

As the thought flashed through his mind, two notification messages appeared before his eyes.

【Congratulations! Through diligent practice and profound insight, you have successfully mastered a combat skill.】

【Skill Unlocked: Jiu-Jitsu Lv.0 (0/100)】

Looking at the newly unlocked skill, Fang Cheng's breathing deepened, and his fists clenched tight.

For someone who hungered for strength, he had never encountered an opponent like Goro Majima in his life.

His bodily functions were fully activated; every pore and cell in his body seemed to open in excitement.

Never before had he been pushed to the absolute limit where strength and technique converge!

Gazing at Goro Majima, who was charging like a wild beast once again, a light began to spark in Fang Cheng's eyes, burning like a raging orange flame.

"Next..."

"I'll let a monster like you help me continue to grow!"

(End of Chapter)