Zheng’s speed was beyond stunning after he activated Explosion. Roste’s physical stats were similar or even surpassed his when you included his enhancements and special abilities. However, Explosion pushed Zheng to a degree way above Roste.
Zheng slashed across the fungus Roste was standing on before he could realize the situation. Roste slid down from above. Then Zheng jumped high toward him.
Roste’s expression was overtaken by shock. He couldn’t imagine such strength coming from Zheng. Both Zheng’s strength and speed surpassed him by a wide margin. He wouldn’t have believed a team with even power levels across all members can have such a strong individual if he didn’t see it for himself. He reacted with quickly by adjusting his sword to slash at Zheng’s direction. But Zheng charged up to him before he could swing the sword. Tiger's Soul slashed diagonally upward at his chest.
Dong! The golden bell appeared on Roste. Zheng’s sword struck the bell. The sight looked powerful and the bell shook but it didn’t break the defense. The slash knocked Zheng back several meters. They were both in midair after all and there was no way to keep their bodies in place.
Zheng didn’t wait until he landed. He stepped on a fungus and jumped toward Roste at an even faster speed. That fungus broke into two from his jump. Roste only got to raise his head when he opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
Zheng was already in front of Roste when he just landed on the ground. He kicked Roste’s chest before the man got to make an action and sent him flying again. The bell blocked the kick but Zheng immediately pulled him back down and smashed him at the ground.
Roste was not injured but being beaten like this hurt his pride. He was so used to bullying newbies that he thought of himself as god. The beating made him cry out with insanity and he waved his sword around wildly. Yet, the lack of technique, speed, and strength was no match for Zheng in Explosion and unlocked mode. Tiger's Soul slashed back at him over a hundred times in less than ten seconds. The golden bell was dimming down.
It wasn’t Zheng acting arrogant but merely the fact. Roste was no match against his powerful self-created ability.
Roste got kicked up again but he was prepared this time. When Zheng’s hand reached for him, he gave a shout then his body split into four pieces. Zheng didn’t catch anything. Roste was already dozens of meters away when Zheng laid eyes on him again. There were several copies of him.
“You are strong! Unbelievably strong! I won’t believe such a powerful person come from a hypocritical team! Who exactly are you?” Roste stared at Zheng with caution. He wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth. The BB item could defend against the attacks but the intense shocks from the impacts still injured him. The injury wasn’t big but the hit to his self-esteem was unrecoverable.
Zheng exited Explosion. It consumed Qi and blood energy for every second he was in the state. He wasn’t rich enough to maintain this state in a conversation. The several copies of Roste was too unusual that he refrained himself from trying to continue the attacks. He didn’t have such a powerful defensive item against the Excalibur.
“I am the leader of team China. What else are you going to ask? Do you think I will let you go?” Zheng gave Roste a cold smile as carefully observed the copies from their weight, shadows, movements, and expressions.
Roste paused for a while then laughed out loud. He then said to Zheng in a serious tone. “My actions were disrespectful then. I only hate the hypocritical weaklings. They are only kind because they don’t have the strength to do vicious acts. The strong are different. They can choose the path they like, be it kindness or evil, just like you and me. Haha. Saying I need less than a minute against a strong individual was disrespectful. I also must bring out my full strength.” The clones fused into one. Roste’s eyes defocused and his muscles expanded. He entered the second stage of the unlocked mode.
“Are you finished with your last words?” Zheng activated Explosion again and charged at Roste.
Roste put away his arrogance and insanity after entering the unlocked mode. He was slower than Zheng but his abilities could save him. He split up into multiple copies when Zheng slashed at him. Tiger's Soul only cut across two shadows. The shadows vanished then Zheng felt a pain coming from his back.
Roste slashed Zheng’s back with Excalibur when Zheng made his own attack. Though it only cut an inch in because Zheng was much faster. Zheng stepped forward to dodge the attack then turned his upper body around and swung the sword at Roste. Dong! The bell blocked the slash but the force sent Roste flying backward.
Zheng stopped for a bit to feel the wound. The cut wasn’t deep but it seemed like Excalibur had the property of absorbing or annihilating energy. He lost around 10% of Qi and blood energy from that slash. No wonder it could shatter the light blade from Tiger's Soul so easily. The light blade was also a form of energy.
Roste stood. He was still in the unlocked mode. This time, he charged at Zheng and shouted. “Team China’s leader! You are strong but that is also evidence of your inability! You have no abilities to make use of such strength. You will lose!”
“Mirage!” Zheng felt Roste’s speed was increasing during the charge. He split into multiple copies when he got near. Zheng had already come up with a method to deal with this ability. He jumped up then he was frozen at one meter above the ground. All the clones of Roste raised their arms and slashed down at Zheng.
“Dimensional slash!” A one-meter area surrounding Zheng began to shatter like glass. The shattering reached his left hand and cut off his finger. A sense of extreme danger struck his mind. He twisted his body madly and entered Destruction. The overwhelming strength that came along brought him back control of his body. He broke through this area before the shattering reached him and his sword struck toward Roste’s head with the strength of Destruction.