The battle was about to erupt.
Gavin Duan's towering frame surged forward. The four fist slaves—minions raised by the Rowe clan—weren't about to show weakness either.
They crashed into each other in pairs.
Thunderous booms echoed outward, shaking the air.
Dust flew everywhere.
Fist shadows intertwined, and amid the barrage, the sound of fists hammering flesh and bone rang out again and again.
The Rowe clan's fist slaves, bred for power, were monsters. With all four combining their skills, their fistwork was so tight not even air could slip through.
Gavin fought solo, fists flying. He managed to land blows on all four, but each punch was cleverly absorbed—rotating, they spread out the force and took turns sharing the damage.
But when their fists hammered into Gavin, every hit landed with a solid, bone-crunching impact.
Their ferocious fighting style left the onlookers stunned and shaken.
In just ten breaths, Gavin had already taken more than a hundred punches, while the four fist slaves, sharing the blows, each received about twenty.
A thunderous explosion rang out.
Gavin was shaken back three steps, while the four fist slaves each retreated more than five steps.
Looking at the four in front of him, Gavin was secretly shocked. He loosened up his muscles, steeled his face, and charged forward again.
"Stop wasting time."
Fourth Elder Rowe sat steady as a rock, but when he glanced at Evan Lin—who still looked totally unfazed—his heart was rocked to its core.
A single fist slave might not be much alone, but together, with their layered force, even a fourth-grade Pointing-to-Mystery Realm expert would be hard-pressed to win.
But right now, four-on-one against Gavin—who hadn't even shown a hint of inner force—they were actually starting to look like the underdogs.
Fourth Elder Rowe, unwilling to waste more time, barked coldly, "Form the fist array!"
As soon as he spoke, the four fist slaves teamed up for a crushing punch that forced Gavin back—then, in a flash, they split to take up the four cardinal positions.
They stood in formation, each taking a distinct fist stance, two by two interlocking. In just a breath, their combined aura surged, transforming the entire battlefield with a force that felt like heaven and earth overturning.
Not only that—a gigantic human shadow appeared faintly around the four, its face cold and expressionless, fists massive. The moment it manifested, everyone nearby instinctively stepped back several paces.
“The Four-Point Ironstone Fist Array is a formation handed down from my Rowe clan’s founding ancestor. Let’s see how a mere skin-and-bone-tempered brute like you plans to withstand it!”
Fourth Elder Rowe’s eyes went cold: “Kill him!”
As his order fell, the four fist slaves’ combined black shadow detonated instantly.
In that same breath, the four fist slaves, wrapped in strands of black shadow, surged forward. Each was bound by the dark energy, and the explosive force fused them into a single killing unit!
Gavin Duan roared in fury, his fists showing not a hint of retreat. He swung them straight into the melee, and in a blink, the two sides collided head-on.
This time, Gavin Duan’s massive frame was slammed by overwhelming force, sent flying like a cannonball. He crashed through the wall behind him, tracing a graceful arc in midair before smashing hard into the ground.
Witnessing this scene, the crowd gasped in shock. Those standing close were knocked flat by the wild gusts kicked up as Gavin hit the earth.
People outside the main hall barely had time to retreat to the side before the four fist slaves, now fused into one ironstone unit, charged at Gavin with cold faces. They unleashed a relentless barrage of iron fists, each blow landing clean and hard on Gavin’s body.
Every punch struck with a dull, thunderous boom, driving Gavin’s massive frame deeper into the ground.
Dirt and stone rolled, the floor cracked open—a savage and terrifying spectacle.
“Your man is about to die.”
Logan Rowe saw the situation, his expression wild with excitement. He looked at Evan Lin and laughed: “I thought the guy you brought would be so tough—turns out after just a few exchanges, he’s been flattened by the fist slaves’ array.”
“Once they’re dead, it’ll be your turn!”
A cold light flashed in Logan Rowe’s eyes. Fourth Elder Rowe’s gaze was icy: “I tried to talk nicely, but you wouldn’t listen. Why force me to send you and your man down a dead-end road?”
“Today, not only you two, but even your hidden master behind you—if he dares show himself, I’ll kill him too!”
Fourth Elder Rowe’s confidence soared. The Four-Point Ironstone Fist Array fused four bodies and powers into one, forming a force far tougher than iron or stone.
This kind of power was completely different from their earlier teamwork—now it was a 1+1+1+1 effect, far greater than four.
From the crowd’s perspective, Gavin Duan—towering and fierce—was pinned to the ground by the four fist slaves, with no chance to resist. The sight made everyone’s hearts pound in shock.
“A crooked path.”
Evan Lin shook his head.
Fourth Elder Rowe was about to speak, but Logan Rowe burst out laughing, goaded by Evan’s comment: “If my fist slaves’ array is a crooked path, then what’s that kid you sent out—some kind of joke?”
His words had barely landed when the crowd erupted in collective cries of shock.
Logan Rowe whipped his head around—and saw four black shadows instantly sent flying.
The four fist slaves, fused into the array, crashed into a thick courtyard tree—so massive four men could barely wrap their arms around it. The whole trunk exploded into splinters under the impact.
In that stunned moment, Gavin Duan’s towering form rose up from the deep pit in the ground!
“That’s all the strength you’ve got?”
Gavin Duan grinned, his smile full of mockery and scorn. His whole body was covered in layers of yellow-brown ‘skin,’ his muscles looking as if wrapped in mud.
Despite taking several rounds of pounding from the fist slaves, he was completely unscathed!
“How is that possible!”
Fourth Elder Rowe’s face twisted in disbelief, his voice trembling with shock.
Even he couldn’t withstand the barrage of four fist slaves in formation!
Yet he’d clearly seen Gavin’s massive body pinned and pounded by the fist slaves for a good stretch!
“Was that just scratching an itch?”
Gavin Duan climbed out of the pit, the Gathering-Spirit Earth Array condensed on his body’s surface. The fist slaves’ attacks couldn’t even scratch him; add in the Gathering-Spirit Water Array nourishing his muscles, and the Gathering-Spirit Wood Array restoring his stamina—
—and Gavin’s strength only grew stronger as time passed.
“You’ve had your turn—now it’s mine!”
Gavin Duan grinned, his fists clenching with explosive force.
In that moment, everyone could see the red glow pulsing through Gavin’s muscle fibers beneath the earth-colored skin. Heat gathered at his fists, and even the air he exhaled burned hot.
Gavin’s right leg bent slightly, and in a flash, he was in front of the fist slaves.
His fist, glowing with fire, smashed down hard on the first fist slave’s head!