Defeat

Dalvin was focused.

Ever since he threw the first punch, he had entered his martial practice mode, and it was as if the outside world's influence faded in his mind. This became prevalent when he felt his blood qi begin to heat up due to his concentrated practice.

The rushing of boiling blood throughout his veins caused him to radiate great heat and even caused his clothes to smoke slightly, something that did not happen yesterday within the prison because of its environment being damper as well as his clothes at the time being soaked.

He struck the concrete with such force that his fist was slightly bruised despite his increased prowess, and small chips were dug out in the concrete as it was pushed in slightly. Dalvin did not know how much time had passed, but unlike using the xueqi pill, he felt like he could last an entire night like this.

However, the flow of blood qi slowed down to a stable rate that was about 1/10th that of the xueqi pill after 5 minutes. Dalvin also felt slightly hungry but was not famished, and there was still energy being produced to sustain his blood qi generation.

Dalvin could not yet introspect his body, but he could tell that his satiety from eating in the dining area had been consumed just now and he was using the energy from the protein shake.

Unlike the energy from the xueqi pill which was strong and the energy from eaten food while was moderate, the energy gained from the protein shake was low and slow to transform, but was extremely sustainable.

How Dalvin knew was that his phone buzzed strongly in his pocket, snapping him out of his trance. He had set a timer for 1 hour and that period of time had elapsed while he was in the zone.

Dalvin was quite surprised that he went the entire hour nonstop and didn't yet feel tired from it. It was not about muscular endurance nor cardiovascular endurance, as those were enhanced, rather than weakened from the exertion.

The only thing limiting a martial artist is their energy levels or nourishment. Assuming there was a pill with enough energy, a martial artist could practice for days, not including the time needed for sleep and eating of course.

Immediately, he checked the amount of blood qi he had gained from this spell of practice.

[Martial Arts Realm: Skin Tempering Realm (Early)

Martial Arts Technique: Earthquake Fist (Low-grade Human Rank)

Blood Qi: 107/200 (Unable to Breakthrough).]

Hmm, more than 40 points in increase from the previous value. Still, how much of it was from the food he ate in the Cooking and Dining Area of the prison and how much was from the practice using protein shake?

Well, there was only one way to tell. Now that he had exhausted the energy from the meal, he would try to do another hour of work, and then the maths would be clearer for him to calculate.

However, before Dalvin could begin, his ears twitched as he heard something. It was like the soft touch of movement that was barely audible to the ear, but his senses were able to capture it.

Dalvin immediately leapt to the side, just in time to avoid a strike to his lower back that caused the concrete slab he had been punching to shatter into pieces. His eyes bulged slightly as he noted the outcome of the slab he had been hitting at full force but hadn't been able to even dent seriously.

What kind of monster could even wield such power in the modern world?

The answer became clear when he glimpsed at his assailant and saw that it was some kind of… super soldier? Like, the guy was wearing what was clearly a high-tech suit or armor from some comic book series right?

Only that it was pretty bulky, menacing, and minimalistic. It did not have the heart or colorfulness of typical superhero suits, looking like something that was made to be functional first and aesthetic never.

"Huh… I didn't expect to succeed anyway but you're a lot duller than I thought."

A distorted and electronically synthesized voice sounded out from the man before him as he tilted his head in surprise.

Dalvin was about to open his mouth to respond when his brain suddenly twitched with realization. Immediately, he leapt back and turned his face away. He took off his top and tied it up around his face in order to make a makeshift 'mask'.

"Hiding your face huh? It doesn't mean anything at this point, I will take you and your shitty syndicate down and bring you to justice!" the armored man said heroically as he charged towards Dalvin with full force.

Huh? Syndicate? What the hell?

This was all Dalvin had time to ask himself as he was forced to jump to avoid a low kick that was meant to sweep him off his feet. He then brought his two arms together in front of his torso in order to block a follow-up uppercut from the fellow.

A loud thud occurred as Dalvin was sent back a few meters with his arms still in front of him. He almost screamed out due to the pain of his bones creaking from the force of that blow. He was certain that if his stats hadn't increased from his breakthrough, that would have shattered every bone in his arm or even punched through them.

What was going through Dalvin's mind was nothing to do with his enemy's strength or their skill, but the simple realization that fighting actually hurt. Watching fights in fictional media, both parties could take blows until they spat blood and even announce their ideals towards each other.

Some could even be beaten black and blue and refuse to go down, getting up and defying the odds to clinch victory using sheer willpower.

However, after taking one hit, Dalvin wanted to lie down and let the fellow take him away. He did not understand how anyone could take something like this and still go back for more.

Still, he only thought this. In fact, while he was having these banal thoughts, his foe had not relented and charged over again, aiming a flying drop kick at Dalvin with one leg.

Dalvin did not dare take it and dodged right away, stepping to the right. With a hint of fury in his mind, he punched out to try and hit his foe in the back since they had arguably overextended.

However, in a fit of shocking agility, the fellow stomped his free foot down and pivoted in a way that would definitely snap the waist and hips of a normal person. He did not just avoid Dalvin's blow, but he redirected its force and then struck Dalvin in the chest, sending him flying with a red mark on his torso.

Dalvin was too winded to even shout out, grunting under his breath in pain as he struck the ground and could barely get to his feet. He felt like the entire world was spinning as his chest felt empty, like all the air had escaped his body and refused to come back in.

"You're a disappointment. I thought you were one of them, but you're like a clumsy buffoon in comparison." The altered voice said with audible disappointment as the person who attacked Dalvin walked over to finish the job.

Dalvin panicked and did not care anymore about hiding this, opting to use his bloodline to blink away in order to avoid this clearly unwinnable battle.

Dalvin's opponent just froze on the spot with shock, having seen a human being just disappear into thin air before his eyes.

In the end, he could only breathe out in grim acceptance.

"…huh."