Chapter 1221: First Strike
Under the watchful eyes of Chu Tianqiu and Qin Dingdong, the two "Zodiacs" collided head-on right then and there.
The sound was as loud as a car crash. The Rat was nowhere near as tall and sturdy as the Ox, and after just a few clashes, he began to retreat step by step.
Chu Tianqiu understood that, as the two of them had said, it was hard to judge who was right or wrong from their respective standpoints. But neither of them would give an inch here.
Still, he never expected that the Rat, who had always seemed so indecisive, would stand his ground against the Ox without a word of protest, as if a line had been crossed.
"What 'cat and mouse' game..." The Ox gritted his teeth, reaching out to grab the Rat's fist. "Aren't you just a dog on a leash... Forgot to put your collar on today, so you're out here biting people?"
"Hah..." The Rat let out a cold laugh. "Hard to say which one of us is really the 'dog on a leash.'"
Seeing the two of them locked in a brutal, bone-crushing brawl, Zhang Shan turned to look at Chu Tianqiu. "What do we do...? Help him out, or take the chance to leave?"
Chu Tianqiu was about to give an order when he paused, his lips barely moving before he shook his head. "‘The Movement of Heaven’ is yours. Do what you think is right."
"What's right?" Zhang Shan hesitated for a moment, then broke into a grin. "Is that even a question? We're just walking along, minding our own business, when some big guy jumps out looking for a fight. Hell yeah I'm fighting back—no way I'm taking that lying down."
"Alright." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "I'll wait for you over here."
Zhang Shan strode forward without hesitation. The two "Zodiacs" were tangled up in their scuffle, and he slipped into the fray like he was passing through an empty room. They were trading blows, the Ox steadily forcing the Rat into a corner.
Zhang Shan ignored everything, walked right up behind the Ox, and grabbed him by the collar.
The Ox felt his neck tighten. His center of gravity shifted, and before he knew it, he was lifted clean off the ground.
Before he could react, his back hit the floor with a heavy thud.
The impact left the Ox dazed. Even among the "Earth Grade," not many could have lifted him up and slammed him down like that.
"How about we call it a day?" Zhang Shan said quietly. "You two planning to keep this up forever?"
Lying on the ground, the Ox stared at Zhang Shan in disbelief. He had seen Zhang Shan many times before, but he didn't recall this man having an "Echo" at all.
Was that even possible? Did "killing a bear" not even require activating an Echo?
And through that single attack, Zhang Shan grasped the true weight of his "Movement of Heaven." With a body like this, maybe he really could go toe-to-toe with an "Earth Grade."
The only thing to consider was that his "Movement of Heaven" wouldn't last long. He needed to end this fast, or there would be trouble.
"You..."
The Ox slowly pushed himself up from the ground, starting to say something, but Zhang Shan clearly had no intention of giving him the chance. He kicked the Ox square in the chest, then lunged forward without a word.
The attack seemed chaotic and wild, but every punch landed with lethal force. The Ox could only scramble to defend himself on the ground, barely holding on.
The Rat watched in stunned silence. He had thought this "Participant" brute might have something unreasonable like "Brute Strength" or "Divine Power," but he never imagined he would be able to mount the Ox and just wail on him.
Zhang Shan pinned the Ox down, raining punch after punch on his head, like he was holding down a bear too weak to fight back.
This might have been the first time in his memory that he had completely unleashed his strength, attacking someone with deadly intent. But then again, this big guy had a reinforced body—maybe even this level of assault wouldn't be enough.
The Ox curled his arms up to protect both sides of his head, but every punch felt like a meteor crashing down. His body barely held up, but the floor behind his head had already shattered into pieces from the sheer force.
Zhang Shan had extensive combat experience. He kept hammering the Ox's cheeks in a steady "left, right, left, right" rhythm. Just as the Ox started to get used to defending in that pattern, Zhang Shan put all his strength into an uppercut from below, catching him square on the chin.
This was a classic technique in fighting—breaking the opponent's rhythm. The blow caught the Ox off guard not only physically but mentally as well.
His massive body was knocked flying upward from beneath Zhang Shan, skidding across the wooden floor and leaving a long trail behind him. The sheer force kept him sliding for a while, showing no signs of stopping. He rolled a few more times down the hallway before finally going still.
The Rat stood there for a long moment, stunned, before slowly walking over and saying to Zhang Shan, "Boss, is this what 'roll away' means?"
Zhang Shan shook out his aching right hand, standing up and stepping forward one pace at a time. His "Movement of Heaven" was still active—he had to keep hitting until the opponent was completely unable to fight.
He had managed to land those hits largely because he seized the initiative first. Even though their size and strength were nearly equal, this was a common scenario in the ring. Once one side got the upper hand, they could easily dominate from start to finish.
In a fight between equals, what you needed was more cunning, more scheming, more ruthlessness than your opponent.
The "Zodiacs" lining both sides of the hallway were all watching the battle at the center. The "Human Grade" were intimidated by Zhang Shan's momentum, while the "Earth Grade" had their own thoughts. Some crossed their arms, some leaned against doorframes—their expressions were all different. The only thing they had in common was that none of them stepped in to interfere. They just watched silently.
As Zhang Shan walked forward, he lifted his head to look far down the corridor. There, another figure seemed to be pounding a "Zodiac" into the ground.
He squinted to confirm. It looked like a large white tiger was beating the hell out of another "Zodiac."
That tiger seemed to be getting tired too. It lifted its head and looked in Zhang Shan's direction. They were too far apart to make out each other's expressions.
Zhang Shan snapped back to the present, looking down at the Ox again. Blood was pouring from the Ox's mouth, and his eyes were starting to glaze over.
"Can't stop yet..." Zhang Shan thought to himself.
Then he bent down and smashed another brutal punch at the Ox's head. The nearby "Zodiacs" could even hear the punch cutting through the air, but still, no one stepped forward to stop him.
If a "Participant" killed a "Zodiac"—as long as it wasn't *them* being killed—why would anyone risk their life for someone else's suffering?
This was the "Final Land." To climb up here, the only way was to step over the corpses of others.
Anyone who couldn't understand that was never going to become a "Zodiac" in the first place.
The floor beneath the Ox's head cracked open as a result of his head being hammered deeper and deeper into it with every blow.
Chu Tianqiu saw this and walked over, reaching out to grab Zhang Shan's arm.
"Zhang Shan, he's unconscious," Chu Tianqiu reminded him quietly.
Zhang Shan stopped, his face expressionless. He realized his right hand was completely covered in blood.
"That's enough." Chu Tianqiu said. "He won't be getting up anymore."
Zhang Shan stood there for a long time, feeling strange in his mind. Under the effect of "Deep Echo," memories that shouldn't have been there began flooding into his head.