Chapter 184: The Man with No Weaknesses
"Interesting." Zhang Shan nodded. "Let me see how many hits it takes for someone with a frame as skinny as a bamboo pole like you to take me down."
Old Sun, hiding furthest away, saw this scene and his face changed color.
Xiao Xiao had once said that if this man named Zhang Shan obtained "Echo," no one would be able to defeat him.
But now it seemed that even without "Echo," his combat strength was still formidable. This burly man standing nearly two meters tall was definitely not someone two normal men could take down.
Luo Shiyi reached out and unzipped his leather jacket, revealing his lean, muscular upper body.
"Xiao Xiao!" he shouted. "I need 'Frame'!"
"Damn..." Xiao Xiao cursed from where she lay on the ground. "I need 'Forgetfulness' too... this guy is too strong..."
Luo Shiyi sensed something was wrong. He turned to look and saw that Xiao Xiao had already been taken down.
Who was that skinny guy with the tattooed arms?
How had he managed to take down Xiao Xiao?
A man this skilled in fighting—why had he never heard of him before?
Looking more closely at Xiao Xiao's pained expression, it seemed she had been taken down multiple times already.
"Hey... Xiao Xiao, are you serious?" Luo Shiyi asked with some confusion. "Aren't you a combat instructor?"
"Shut up..." Xiao Xiao slowly stood up, a pained look on her face. "Just give me 'Forgetfulness.' I want him dead."
"That tattooed guy looks way too skinny. There's no way he has the strength to take you down," Luo Shiyi said.
Hearing this, a faint smile crept onto Xiao Xiao's lips. "Thanks."
"Still not giving up?" Qiao Jiayin said with a grin. "I don't really want to throw you off, but my hands are already stained with plenty of blood. A little more won't make a difference."
"You can try." Xiao Xiao flexed her limbs again, slowly raising both hands, arms slightly bent, level with her shoulders. It was clearly a judo stance.
Qiao Jiayin sighed helplessly, slowly bending both arms and his right knee.
The one-on-one had reached a critical moment. The opponent would surely pull out her specialty moves.
If this judo stance was Xiao Xiao's finishing move, he would have to use Muay Thai.
Cut through the knot with a sharp blade—use brute force to break technique.
As long as he could land a killing blow, all the technique in the world would be useless.
"When I was seventeen, I nearly killed a man in the streets using Muay Thai," Qiao Jiayin said. "I haven't used it since."
"Hmph. In today's society, killing someone in the street? What a pathetic lie."
Xiao Xiao sneered and immediately charged forward, swinging her right hand down to grab Qiao Jiayin's arm.
Qiao Jiayin instantly jumped up, bringing his left elbow down to strike Xiao Xiao's right hand, then immediately threw his right fist, landing a heavy blow to Xiao Xiao's cheek.
His entire posture was strange, completely disregarding his own openings. Every move was designed solely to kill his opponent.
Xiao Xiao grunted, involuntarily staggering backward.
But Qiao Jiayin didn't stop. After two steps of pursuit, he jumped up on one leg again, swinging both arms from left and right, driving his fists toward Xiao Xiao's temples from both sides. At the same moment, his knee slammed into Xiao Xiao's chin.
Three vital points of the human head struck simultaneously—this level of damage would be lethal in any environment.
Having completely abandoned his center of gravity, Qiao Jiayin had to stumble several steps after landing to stabilize himself.
But unexpectedly, Xiao Xiao, despite taking such fatal damage, seemed completely unaffected. Taking advantage of Qiao Jiayin's unstable stance, she immediately wrapped her arms around him from behind.
Her arms locked vertically around Qiao Jiayin's throat.
A rear naked choke.
Qiao Jiayin didn't hesitate. He immediately grabbed Xiao Xiao's fingers and forcefully bent them backward. A crisp *crack* echoed clearly, but Xiao Xiao didn't let go.
"What...?" Qiao Jiayin was stunned. Most people would release their grip immediately from the pain, but Xiao Xiao continued locking him as if she felt nothing.
"Ruffian, you lose!" Xiao Xiao laughed angrily.
Qiao Jiayin kept shifting his position, trying to find a way to break free.
But based on his combat experience, all methods of escape relied on making the opponent feel pain so they would back off.
Now that Xiao Xiao seemed completely immune to pain, how was he supposed to counter this?
Seeing Qiao Jiayin constantly twisting his body, Xiao Xiao could only lean backward, dragging both of them to the ground.
She lay on her back, positioning Qiao Jiayin in front of her, then locked his throat tightly.
Now that Qiao Jiayin's feet were off the ground, it was even harder for him to generate power. He knew that at this rate, he would go into shock, and he would definitely lose this fight.
With this thought, he raised his right leg high and then slammed it down, driving his heel into Xiao Xiao's calf. The strike was powerful, but the expected cry of pain never came.
He kicked several more times, each strike carrying significant force.
Xiao Xiao realized something was wrong. Though she couldn't feel pain, she was also starting to lose sensation in her right leg.
She curled both legs, clamping them tightly around Qiao Jiayin's waist, then pulled upward with her whole body. The immense pain made Qiao Jiayin's face turn red.
"Damn... you're cheating, aren't you..."
Qiao Jiayin had never imagined encountering someone completely unable to feel pain. His usual methods of breaking free were completely useless.
He drove his elbow into Xiao Xiao's ribs again, but she reacted like a mannequin—no response at all.
"Hey! Brother Qiao!"
Li Xiangling noticed the two of them grappling on the ground and immediately ran over. Zhang Shan was behind her, so she could break away.
"Careful..." Qiao Jiayin said through gritted teeth. "She's cheating..."
Looking at the two on the ground, Li Xiangling's face turned cold. She extended two fingers and drove them straight toward Xiao Xiao's eyes.
"Holy shit!"
Xiao Xiao was startled and immediately twisted her head away. Though she couldn't feel pain, she still had instinctive reactions.
This small move exposed a huge opening.
Seizing the moment when her opponent's center of gravity was off, Qiao Jiayin immediately grabbed Xiao Xiao's arm and forcefully twisted it downward.
Xiao Xiao's arm finally released from his neck.
"Cough, cough! Damn it..." Qiao Jiayin coughed a few times as he stood up, realizing how difficult the situation was. "This big woman has no weaknesses anymore..."
"Do you need my help?" Li Xiangling asked.
"No need." Qiao Jiayin shook his head. "You go help the big guy. I won't get locked up again."
"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Li Xiangling asked.
"Don't worry." Qiao Jiayin said. "That caught me off guard earlier. I have a strategy now."
"Then... be careful," Li Xiangling nodded.
Li Xiangling circled around Xiao Xiao and returned to behind Zhang Shan.
Xiao Xiao also stood up at that moment, still appearing completely unaffected.
"Ruffian, you can't beat me." Xiao Xiao laughed as she walked forward. "Next, I'm going to make you... huh?"
She suddenly realized her right foot wouldn't obey her.
Now she was walking with a limp, completely unable to put any strength into it.