Fighting is an art, not just a matter of charging in headfirst. For real experts, every part of the body has its own job in a fight. Some parts attack, some defend, some even sense what's going on—everything has its place and purpose.
Take boxing, for example: your non-dominant hand and your dominant hand do totally different things. The non-dominant hand usually goes in front—great for throwing quick, fast, and light punches. It's not about knocking someone out, but about probing, creating openings, and measuring distance. With each jab, you figure out the range, angle, punch path, your opponent's reaction speed, and possible escape routes. All that gets dialed in with those quick shots.
Your dominant hand, though, hangs back so you can really wind up and deliver a powerful punch—a knockout blow. Once your non-dominant hand has done its job and the timing is right, you step in, twist your waist, and unleash a heavy punch—bam! One-hit KO.
If you can pull that off, you're basically a beginner in the world of martial arts. At least you're past the stage of random street brawling and starting to look legit. Of course, beginner just means beginner—there's still a ton to learn if you want to move up. But for most folks here on Earth, it's more about toughening up your body and gaining experience. The technical stuff? That's pretty much it.
That's about as far as 'The Divine' ever got when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
After all, in the worlds he's been through, there weren't any martial arts masters who went beyond that.
But The Divine is a careful guy. To deal with that White-Haired Bandit Queen, he didn't just rely on basic moves—he got his think tank together and did some solid theorizing. With all the insights from the chosen ones around him, they ran some simulations and came up with a theory: the ultimate martial arts level—a hypothetical 'Martial God.'
At this theoretical peak, a Martial God can use any part of their body for anything—scouting, sensing, defending, attacking, and instantly figuring out the best move based on experience. Their body is tough, their fighting spirit is endless, and they're unbeatable at every style. Eighteen martial arts, all at the god level.
After reading that research report, The Divine just shrugged—he doubted anyone could actually pull all that off. Still, he was interested in the idea, because hey, a god shouldn't have any weak spots.
And after he got the Seven Test Tubes' power, he realized he shouldn't waste his super-strong body. Especially after getting punched and hurt, he got really into close combat. After some brutal training, he figured he'd patched up his skills. Now, it's all about whose stats look better on paper.
Red energy surged through his body, like a torrent of life force crashing and colliding inside him. Golden light shimmered like glass, steady and unyielding as the toughest metal. Blinding white brilliance danced like wild electric snakes, piercing the space within a meter around him—going from dead still to lightning fast in less than a second.
Red ability, strength stat: fifteen thousand.
Yellow ability, defense base: three thousand six hundred.
As the master of the whirlwind, The Divine didn't even feel the wind slowing him down. On the contrary, the raging wind actually pushed him forward, making his punch even fiercer, even more savage.
Sophia's fourth presumed limit?
I've left that far behind!
Today, no matter what kind of fighting skills you've got, I'm smashing you with this steel body. Fall down, get up, face you head-on—I'll carve out my own path straight to the heavens!!
—Boom!!—
In the desert, two blurry figures slammed into each other. Instantly, sand flew and scattered within thirty meters, like a heavy cannon had gone off. Blinding light burst out, like a dozen flashbangs going off at once. The collision wasn't as thunderous as before, but it sent deep shockwaves rippling in all directions.
In the midst of those ripples, a figure shot out sideways like a cannonball. Skipping across the sand like a stone on water, he kicked up three huge clouds of dust before crashing into a sand dune hundreds of meters away.
Whoosh—yellow sand sprayed high into the sky, then rustled softly as it fell back down.
In the sandpit, The Divine’s sacred robe was ripped to shreds—he looked like a beggar. Especially the chest area, blasted open with a hole the size of a watermelon, exposing his golden-glowing pecs.
The Divine, lying in the sandpit, was totally stunned. He didn’t even know how he’d been sent flying so far.
He stared blankly ahead as the platinum-haired woman strode out of the dust—each step covering dozens of meters. The blinding white light curled around her like a pack of angry snakes, crackling and zapping the sand at her feet into fine powder. Her black outfit was scorched with streaks of lightning, but she herself looked totally unharmed.
"That move was pretty awesome." With a snap and a shimmer of electricity, Sophia waved at the sandpit: "Come on, get up—don’t just lie there. Let’s keep fighting."
Impossible, this is impossible!
The Divine gaped, then his eyes went bloodshot as he roared in fury. He could accept being knocked down, but not getting sent flying hundreds of meters without even knowing what hit him.
The raging wind calmed instantly; some of the blinding electricity was drawn back into his body. The Divine’s frame swelled to three meters tall, the golden glow hardened, and orange light flashed in his eyes.
For the first time in a real fight, he used all three abilities at once.
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Red ability, strength stat boosted: twenty thousand points!
Yellow ability, defense base boosted: five thousand points!
Orange ability—super vision, super hearing, super fast reflexes—all loaded up!
Boom! The sandpit exploded. The Divine, glowing with three colors of light, shot toward Sophia like a lightning snake, zigzagging madly. His figure flashed across the desert, sand walls rising in his wake. Crackling lightning streaked past Sophia, the blinding light bouncing around her, orange demon eyes hidden among the sparks, always locked on her openings.
In the next instant, The Divine thundered at Sophia’s flank like a bolt from the blue.
"Heh." Sophia smirked, ignoring the wild lightning. She spun, twisted her waist, powered up, right arm surging with strength, and punched into the empty space beside her. The lightning struck right as her fist swung through.
Bang—!!
In the rumbling shock, a dark-gold fist slammed into a yellow palm, like a giant hammer hitting a bell.
Blocked! The Divine felt a surge of wild joy—he’d actually blocked it! Blinding lightning flared, his face twisted with rage, and he reached out to grab that fist for a direct showdown.
But in the next moment, the fist turned into a palm. Before The Divine could react, a shoulder moved like a dragon, and in a flash, Sophia’s blinding shoulder swept out. The move was so slick, The Divine was left dazed. The center opened, she stepped forward, and with a thunderous crack, Sophia’s punch smashed toward The Divine’s neck.
Clang—!!
For a split second, The Divine looked like he’d been hit by a train. But this time, he didn’t get knocked flying—his feet were planted firmly on the ground. The sand was gouged out in two deep trenches, but he managed to keep his balance and stayed standing.
With a loud crack, The Divine twisted his left arm in front of his neck like a wild beast, glaring at Sophia with a mix of madness and icy cold: “You, that’s all you can take?”
Just now, in the split second of lightning and stone, The Divine dodged the follow-up attack with a clever retreat, showing off some real combat skill. You can tell a pro by their moves, and after just a few exchanges, Sophia spotted plenty of issues. The Divine’s confidence soared—even loading three abilities at once couldn’t crush his swelling ego.
But Sophia suddenly paused, as though struck by a special thought. In her eyes, a thousand ideas spun like a galaxy, then in a split second, everything cleared up.
In that moment, Sophia was suddenly different from usual. Her killer instinct faded, and her lively energy sank into stillness.
In the quiet, Sophia suddenly spoke—in Chinese—her eyes on The Divine, but almost as if she wasn’t seeing him at all: "Looking at you is like looking at the old me."
Huh? The Divine frowned, totally confused about what this woman was talking about.
But he didn’t care what she meant. Lightning flashed under his feet—this time, The Divine went in for a straight attack. His fists rained down like a storm, pounding toward Sophia.
"Most of the time, I think about myself. My fighting skills, my punches, my style—all basically inherited from someone else. The super-fast reflexes and sensing, those too. Except for a few odd little abilities, I’m just like you. Big strength, tough defense—I admit, that’s all I’ve got going for me."
In the middle of wild combat, Sophia somehow managed to keep talking like she was chatting over tea—she didn’t care who was listening, and The Divine was left totally confused because she wasn’t even fighting back. She just watched the raging giant in front of her, eyes deep and feet light. None of his punches landed on her.
"I often think about us two. What I’ve got, he basically has too. What he’s got, there’s one thing I totally don’t have—the Tang Grandmaster’s inner style. That inner style is uniquely his, I can’t use it at all. So what about me? Besides big strength and tough defense, what else do I really have?"
I’ve wondered about my own style for ages. What is my external boxing, really? I’ve been grinding, thinking, exploring, but never figured it out. Feels like I’ve got a little bit of everything, but never quite enough.
At that moment, Sophia wasn’t even looking at The Divine anymore. She raised her hand, clenched her right fist. "I’m pretty excited, just now, really just now, under that blue sky and on this earth, I finally had a thought. I suddenly get it—my style should be something like this."
A special kind of aura rose from her. Before, her martial spirit was like a top-tier predator, mixed with the wildness of all the beasts Sophia had ever devoured—totally chaotic. But right now, all that wildness seemed to find a backbone, condensing at lightning speed into a tiny, nearly invisible point.
And from that point, The Divine suddenly felt a chill run down his spine.
Wham—a single hand caught The Divine’s incoming fist. That hand had strength, stability, and toughness, but above all, a soul-shaking power that made The Divine’s spirit waver. His punches couldn’t keep going—he was forced to stop.
"You call yourself the world’s number two, and I’m happy to let you have it. You managed to provoke me, so I’ll let you test my external boxing. Not finished yet, still rough around the edges. Just a few moves—don’t laugh. The name’s a bit cheesy, but it gets the job done." Sophia lifted her head, eyes blazing. That tiny point exploded with a dragon’s roar straight to the sky.