Chapter 1230: Strengthening
Hearing Qian Wu’s voice, Chu Tianqiu turned his head. Almost at the same moment, the several “Earth-levels” in front of him seized the opening as he was distracted and suddenly attacked.
He had just used the tactic of drawing their attention, and less than a minute later, he himself had been thrown off balance.
Before the thought “Careless” could even cross his mind, a strong hand grabbed him from behind by the clothes and gently pulled him backward.
Chu Tianqiu felt his feet lift off the ground as if he’d been hit by a car, flying straight back. Fortunately, it lasted less than half a second before Zhang Shan caught him midair.
The two of them looked toward the doorway. The tall Qiao Jiajin was already standing in front of several “Zodiacs,” but he stared at his own right hand with an incredulous expression.
“Hey, tattoo boy,” Zhang Shan called out from behind. “Fuck, what are you looking at?”
“Holy shit…” Qiao Jiajin muttered. “What kind of strength is this…?”
Chu Tianqiu felt that, under such overwhelming brute force, his normal human body was like a toy in their hands.
He had once swallowed the eyeball of “Tianxingjian” too. Though he could feel the boundless power, he was never good at fighting.
He wondered what effect this ability would have on Qiao Jiajin.
One of the Earth Boars in front of Qiao Jiajin, seeing him distracted, lashed out with a kick aimed at his knee.
Driven by muscle memory, Qiao Jiajin blocked the kick with his left hand, intercepted the opponent’s knee, then turned his other hand from a fist into a palm and thrust it violently under the opponent’s chin.
This attack was different from any before, because it was accompanied by a faint cracking sound of bone.
“Holy shit… Sorry.”
The apology had barely landed when the Earth Boar hit the ground.
None of the “Zodiacs” present had ever seen a “Participant” knock down an “Earth-level” on contact. For a moment, there was dead silence.
“Ah, I’m really sorry…” Qiao Jiajin said sheepishly. “That was too much force. I’m still not used to it…”
Chu Tianqiu looked at Qiao Jiajin, then thought back to the Earth Ox that Zhang Shan had dealt with. He felt that, given equal physical strength, the two of them should be able to beat every “Zodiac” on the “train.”
And they weren’t even “equal in physical strength”—the “Zodiacs” had been strengthened but couldn’t heal themselves, which meant their abilities weren’t from “Tianxingjian.”
But the enemy’s numbers were indeed significant. With the Earth Dog and four other “Earth-levels” besides, Qiao Jiajin had just obtained the power of “Tianxingjian,” and Chu Tianqiu was somewhat worried.
“Can he handle it alone?” he asked Zhang Shan softly.
Zhang Shan nodded. “Alone is too many, isn’t it? Should have sent only half of him.”
“This…”
“Don’t worry,” Zhang Shan said. “When I have ‘Tianxingjian,’ I never worry about losing. I only worry about when it will disappear.”
The other “Earth-levels” thought Qiao Jiajin had probably just gotten lucky—maybe he carried some “Brute Force”-type ability that could severely wound an “Earth-level,” but against multiple “Earth-levels,” he should be helpless.
With this thought, two of them stepped forward at the same time, throwing punches from tricky angles, one from the left and one from the right. Since Qiao Jiajin was standing at the doorway, with no room to dodge, the pincer attack should surely inflict serious damage.
Qiao Jiajin raised his head, feeling that his physical changes went beyond mere “strength.” In his eyes, even the fists rushing toward him seemed to have slowed down.
He simply raised his hand, stopped one fist from the side, then flicked his hand upward. The opponent’s fist changed direction midair and flew toward the other man’s fist.
The two fists collided fiercely in front of Qiao Jiajin. Though there was no sound of breaking bones, both men clearly felt excruciating pain and crouched down, clutching their fists.
“Holy shit… Still hurts?” Qiao Jiajin smiled apologetically. “I felt like I was pretty gentle…”
“You…” One of the “Zodiacs” slowly straightened up, nursing his fist, his eyes burning with fury. “You ‘Participants’… are you mocking us?”
“I really didn’t mean to…” Qiao Jiajin shook his head. “We’re not related or anything. I was just afraid of hurting you…”
In just two exchanges, the “Zodiacs” before him had lost almost all will to fight. They felt that this “Participant” was treating them like toddlers who couldn’t even walk.
That didn’t make them feel well-treated; it only made them feel insulted.
Driven by humiliation, a few of the “Zodiacs” tried several more attacks, but Qiao Jiajin easily neutralized each one.
“I’m fucking dying of laughter…” the distant Earth Dog suddenly spoke up. “You won’t let me help, and you’re not fighting seriously yourselves. He’s just a ‘Participant’—I don’t get what you’re pretending to be.”
The fading fighting spirit of the “Zodiacs” was slowly rekindled by the Earth Dog’s taunt.
The man before them was indeed just a “Participant.” If a “Participant” could beat up “Zodiacs” single-handedly… then what was the point of all their hard work to become “Earth-levels”?
Now the enemy had boarded the “train” and turned their tiny living space upside down. Under these circumstances, they couldn’t even surrender.
To every “Zodiac,” the actions of these people were an “invasion.”
“Can’t let this drag on…” the thin Earth Tiger said to a “Human-level.” “Go notify the ‘Heaven-level’…”
“Hey! Don’t!” Qiao Jiajin said. “Can’t we negotiate? I won’t touch you, and you don’t go bother the troublesome big shots. Let’s just pretend we never saw each other.”
Naturally, Qiao Jiajin’s proposal failed to convince the “Earth-levels.” They formed a line in front of the “Human-levels,” looking righteous as they protected the latter’s retreat.
“Holy shit… My negotiation skills really need improvement.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, several “Earth-levels” attacked again. Qiao Jiajin increased his force a little, sending them stumbling back with a few straight punches.
He glanced back at the Earth Rat. The Earth Rat immediately understood and flashed behind all the “Human-levels,” blocking their path.
“Little leaders, no one leaves here. I guarantee you won’t die,” the Earth Rat said sternly. He knew that alerting the “Heaven-level” now, while not a serious problem, would still waste time.
The dozen or so “Human-levels” were blocked by the Earth Rat, stuck in a dilemma. They could only place their hopes on their master teachers—but could their teachers really beat this “Participant”?