Long Tianho closed his eyes.
Baki flickered forward, fist already drawn back. But Long Tianho's hand shot up and caught Baki's wrist before the punch could land.
"Instincts," Long Tianho said, eyes still closed. "For a fighter it's very important." He opened his eyes. "The only way to hone your instincts is to go through countless life and death battles."
Baki's eyes widened in surprise. "He understands death concentration?!"
Long Tianho drove his knee into Baki's stomach. Baki doubled over. Long Tianho followed with an elbow to the back of his head. Baki crashed face-first into the ground.
Long Tianho didn't give him time to recover. He grabbed Baki's leg and began spinning, building momentum. Around and around, using Baki's body like a flail. Then he released.
Baki's body flew through the air and crashed through a stone wall. The wall exploded into rubble. Baki tumbled through into the next courtyard, leaving a trail of blood behind him.
He pushed himself up with trembling arms. The Endorphin Release was wearing off. His body was failing from too much damage and too many fights.
"I can't beat him like this," Baki thought. "His strength, his technique, his adaptability—he's too complete. Too perfect."
Long Tianho stepped through the hole in the wall. "You're weakening. Those previous fights are catching up to you."
"Not yet." Baki forced himself to stand.
"Why do you keep getting up?" Long Tianho asked. There was genuine curiosity in his voice. "Why are you after my client? Did he kill someone close to you?"
"Nah. He just pissed me off at the wrong time," Baki scoffed.
"Such plain matter?"
"Not to me."
Long Tianho studied him for a moment. Then he nodded slowly. "I see. You're like me, then."
He walked forward. "When I was younger, I lost everything. My parents—if you can call them that—tortured me. Day after day. Year after year. I could have died. Should have died, maybe." His voice was distant, remembering. "But I never gave up. Because I had someone to protect."
He stopped in front of Baki. "My younger brother. Hou Qing. He was all I had. So I endured. I survived. And when the time came, I made sure he would never suffer what I did."
Baki's eyes widened slightly. "Why are you tell me this?"
"Time." Long Tianho chuckled. "I shall give you time to recover so that we can enjoy more. This is my final mercy for you spared Hou Qing."
Then his expression hardened. "I killed our parents." He clenched his fist. "I went to juvenile detention. I spent years fighting, clawing my way up. I built the Red Dragon from nothing. All of it—every brutal fight, every compromise, every drop of blood—I did it so my brother would never have to live in fear again."
Long Tianho's eyes locked onto Baki's. "And do you know what he did? He followed me into this brutal world. I tried to isolate him, but it didn't work."
The air between them grew heavy.
"I am actually thankful," Long Tianho said quietly. "I am thankful that he has learned his lesson. This world is cruel. But people revere cruelty."
He assumed a fighting stance. The casual professionalism was gone. What remained was pure, focused intent.
"Since you're recovered, I'm going to break every bone in your body," Long Tianho said. "My mercy is over. Now you shall bear the punishment for harming my family."
Baki met his gaze. Despite everything—the pain, the exhaustion, the overwhelming power difference—he smiled.
"Try it."
They charged at each other.
Long Tianho's fist came at Baki's head and Baki tried to slip to the side, but the punch clipped his temple and sent him spinning. Before Baki could recover, Long Tianho's boot crashed into his ribs. The crack echoed across the courtyard and Baki flew backward into a stone pillar. The pillar cracked down the middle.
Baki tried to push off but Long Tianho was already there. A devastating uppercut lifted Baki off his feet and he crashed back down, gasping for air.
"Your body is still broken," Long Tianho said. "Your techniques are useless if you don't have the strength to execute them."
He grabbed Baki by the hair and lifted him up. "This ends now."
Long Tianho drew back his fist for a finishing blow and Baki's eyes snapped into focus. Years had passed since that day he had met King. That day he had promised that he wouldn't lose to anyone. Not anymore.
So what he was tired? So what he had fought several time today? So what he was injured?He has no choice now. He wants to be the strongest man. How can he lose here?
Only by death is a true warrior defeated.
Long Tianho's fist shot forward.
Baki pulled his right arm back to his waist with his fingers extended and pressed tightly together before curling them into a fist. His entire body tensed as he launched the punch forward in a straight line.
This is nothing but comparing strength. This is what means to be a real man.
At the exact moment before impact, he stiffened every muscle in his body and locked every joint. His frame became rigid as iron.
The collision created a shockwave. Long Tianho's fist met Baki's punch in the space between them and for the first time in the fight, Long Tianho's attack stopped dead.
Long Tianho's eyes widened as Baki's fist pushed through his guard. The punch carried the weight of Baki's entire body concentrated into a single point and it crashed into Long Tianho's chest.
Long Tianho stumbled backward three steps. He looked down at his chest where a red mark was already forming, then looked at Baki with new understanding.
"You hardened your entire body on impact and fixed every joint. You turned yourself into a single striking weapon." He smiled grimly. "Interesting. The amount of control one would need to have over their to perform this move is unreal."
Baki settled into a karate stance with his fists chambered at his waist. His breathing was controlled now.
"One more time," Baki said.
He launched forward. His right fist shot out from his waist in another straight punch with his full body weight behind it. Long Tianho blocked but the impact drove him back. Before he could counter, Baki's left fist came from his waist in a second punch, then his right again. Each time Baki stiffened his entire body at the moment of impact and each punch carried the force of his complete mass.
Long Tianho's guard began to falter. His forearms showed red marks where the punches had landed and his footwork started to deteriorate. He tried to counter with a hook between Baki's strikes, but Baki's body stiffened was like stone. His endurance was off charts.
Baki's fist crashed into Long Tianho's jaw and Long Tianho's head snapped to the side. Blood sprayed from his mouth and he staggered backward for the first time in the fight.
They separated, both breathing hard. Long Tianho wiped blood from his mouth and his expression had changed. The confidence was gone, replaced by grim determination.
"You've bridged the gap," Long Tianho admitted. "With that technique, you can match my raw strength."
Baki said nothing. He assumed his stance again. Before, he couldn't repeatedly use Goutaijutsu, but this moment, he seems to have complete control over the technique. As if a shackle has been removed. He feels liberated.
They came together once more and this time it was a true fight between equals. Long Tianho's devastating power met Baki's technique-enhanced strikes and each exchange was brutal and precise. Long Tianho caught Baki with a hook. Baki countered with a straight punch to Long Tianho's ribs.
They came together with simultaneous strikes. Baki's punch met Long Tianho's fist and the collision created another shockwave. Neither gave way.
For several seconds they stood there with their fists pressed against each other, both pouring everything into that single point of contact. The ground beneath their feet cracked from the pressure and finally they both stepped back.
Long Tianho's knuckles were bleeding and Baki's fist was trembling from the strain of maintaining the technique for so long.
"Incredible," Long Tianho said. "You're fighting me to a standstill in your condition."
"And you're not untouched anymore," Baki replied. His voice was hoarse.
Long Tianho's face was bruised, his ribs were clearly injured, and he was breathing heavily. The fight had taken its toll on both of them.
They stood tall before each other, both looking for an opening, and then footsteps approached.
Hou Qing stumbled into view, barely able to walk. His face was pale and his body was still covered in blood from his earlier fight. He clutched a long wooden box to his chest.
"Brother," he called out weakly.
Long Tianho's head turned and his eyes widened slightly. "Qing, what are you doing here?"
"I won't let you fight without this." Hou Qing's voice was hoarse. "Not against him."
He slid the wooden box across the ground and it stopped at Long Tianho's feet.
Long Tianho stared at the box and his hand trembled as he reached for it. "I swore I wouldn't draw this unless the opponent is worthy."
"He us," Hou Qing said. "Look at yourself, Brother. He's matching you now. If this continues..."
Long Tianho looked down at his own body with its bruises, and blood, then looked at Baki could barely stand.Though Baki was clearly on the verge of defeat, but his willpower was unreal. At this point, Long Tianho himself couldn't guarantee a win.
"You're right," Long Tianho said quietly.
He grabbed the box and stood. His fingers traced the dragon carving on its surface. A weapon that is coveted by the seven continental stars.
"I wanted to face you with just my fists," Long Tianho said to Baki. "To honor the strength you showed my brother. But you've pushed me too far."
He slammed the box against the ground and wood splintered and fell away, revealing a long spear. A dragon coiled around its shaft with metalwork so intricate it seemed alive. The weapon gleamed in the moonlight and the air around it seemed to grow colder.
Long Tianho gripped the spear with both hands and the moment he did, his presence changed. The casual fighter and the professional killer fell away and what remained was something else entirely. His stance shifted and his eyes grew distant and focused at the same time.
"This weapon has never tasted defeat," Long Tianho said as he spun the spear once. "Masters from across the world have tried to claim it." He pointed the spear tip at Baki. "And now it will end you."
Baki looked at the spear and then at Long Tianho. His body was screaming at him to stop. The technique he had been using had pushed his already-broken body past its limits and he was running on nothing but willpower now. Blood dripped from his knuckles and his legs trembled with the effort of staying upright.
But his eyes never wavered and he adjusted his stance slightly with his fists still ready at his waist. The distance between them felt different now with the spear extending Long Tianho's reach by six feet. Every advantage Baki had gained through his technique would be negated by that range.
He took a breath and steadied himself. "Come on, then."