Qi Xia stood up and slowly took a step backward. After calculating that the timing was about right, he decided that if he didn’t retreat a bit—he had the distinct feeling something was going to splash onto his face.

The two men struggled to pull backward for quite some time, exhausting the last of their strength, only to find the rope still hadn’t budged even slightly. The final remnants of their competitive spirit were completely worn away.

“Damn it… did that woman nail herself to the ground or something…” Wang Ge said through gritted teeth.

“That can’t be… we watched her lie down with our own eyes…” the fat man also said. “What kind of weight is this…”

As they spoke, their voices gradually grew quieter, and they were almost completely lying against the rope.

“I… I can’t do it anymore…” Wang Ge slowly released his hands. “Stop pulling backward for now. This rope is too tight around me… with both ends pulling, I’m having trouble breathing…”

After speaking, he looked down at his own hands—there was hardly any intact skin visible.

“Alright…” The fat man nodded, and his straining hands also slowly relaxed. “You really are something. Why didn’t you tie a dead knot around your waist like me instead of just wrapping it around?”

Since only their side had been exerting force, after losing the tension, the rope changed from taut to slack, hanging limply downward.

“I didn’t wrap it around my waist? What the hell kind of nonsense are you talking…” Wang Ge said. “This rope only has two ends—one’s with you, one’s with Earth-Ox. What am I supposed to use to tie a dead knot?”

As he was speaking, he felt something wasn’t quite right. The rope seemed to still be tightening.

“Ow… hey… stop pulling…” Wang Ge felt his lower abdomen constrict. “Why won’t this end…”

“It’s… it’s not me pulling…” the fat man said. “Something doesn’t seem right…”

The two men had just relaxed when, before they could even look down and pick up the rope, they saw Earth-Ox in the pit tightly hugging her feet, seemingly curled into a ball.

The next second, her entire body suddenly extended, and at that moment her body sprang up from the pit like a spring.

But Earth-Ox’s movements weren’t finished. She twisted her waist dramatically in midair, her upper body turning right while her legs swung left, as if gathering momentum.

After reaching the critical point of rotation, she instantly burst forth with astonishing power, and her entire body actually began spinning continuously in the air like a spinning top.

This clearly wasn’t a movement humans could perform, but after her body underwent extreme enhancement, it completely defied common sense.

In just an instant, the two men flew forward like two bullets, spraying blood as they shot through the air with a “whoosh.”

Qi Xia could barely hear the man called Wang Ge cough lightly before falling silent. After all, the rope was wrapped around his waist, and tightening one end of the rope was equivalent to cutting him in half at the waist.

Everything happened within two seconds. Earth-Ox was like the reel on a fishing rod, wrapping the rope solidly around herself, while the two men were instantly dragged before her eyes.

Even after the dust settled, no one had let out a single scream.

Blood was seeping from both men’s mouths. Under this speed of pulling, ordinary people would find it difficult to survive.

Moreover, at this moment all the rope was in front of Earth-Ox. This match was undoubtedly won by Earth-Ox.

Seeing this, Qi Xia slowly walked forward and discovered the scene before him was somewhat cruel. The rope remained wrapped around Wang Ge’s waist, but it had constricted so tightly that his waist was now only as thick as a calf.

His eyeballs were an extremely bloodshot red, bulging outward alarmingly, and his tongue was already hanging outside.

He should be thoroughly dead.

The fat man beside him was in relatively better condition. His waist was clearly broken, and he lay on the ground at a right angle, his upper and lower teeth constantly chattering. He couldn’t speak a single word, and blood was gurgling from his mouth with a “clacking” sound.

“I won. You were right—instantaneous force can indeed win the match.” Earth-Ox stood up, untied the rope from her waist, then came before the fat man and said softly, “You survived. Though there’s no ‘Dao,’ you’re free now. Go.”

The fat man lay on the ground, his eyeballs rolled toward Earth-Ox’s direction. His lips moved but made no sound.

He seemed both afraid and terrified, even forgetting his pain.

“Or… I can also help you,” Earth-Ox said. “Your waist is broken now. Even if you receive the best medical treatment immediately, it’ll probably take several months before you can stand up again. It’s also possible… that you’ll be paralyzed forever.”

The fat man just looked at Earth-Ox with trembling lips, still saying nothing.

“If you need me to help you, then blink your eyes,” Earth-Ox said while untying the rope from the fat man. “Otherwise I’ll carry you outside, and you can figure out how to leave on your own. I still have guests here, so I can’t keep you.”

After hearing this, the fat man was stunned for a long time, seemingly actually considering whether he had any possibility of surviving. After a long while, he blinked his eyes tremblingly.

Now all his teammates were dead, and he himself was severely injured. Being thrown onto the street to slowly wait for death—he might as well have a quick end here.

Seeing the fat man blink, Earth-Ox looked back at Qi Xia. “You can bear witness—he’s seeking death himself.”

“Mm.” Qi Xia nodded. “I saw it. He’s seeking death himself.”

Earth-Ox stood up and lifted her foot to stomp down on the fat man’s head.

The watermelon burst open, its sticky pulp scattering across the ground.

“Forgive the unsightly display,” Earth-Ox said indifferently.

“I’m pressed for time,” Qi Xia said. “Give me a chance.”

Earth-Ox looked back at the bead above Qi Xia’s head, sensing that the bead was already on the verge of falling.

“You’re looking for me? That doesn’t seem appropriate, does it?”

Earth-Ox reached out and grabbed the two corpses, then threw them out forcefully as well.

Standing before her, Qi Xia finally realized just how terrifying Earth-Ox’s strength was. When she threw the two corpses, a fierce wind actually arose around her entire body.

Then she clapped her palms together and reached out to unfasten the buttons at the bottom of her suit jacket and shirt, then rolled them up and tied them at her waist.

Her tan-colored abdominal muscles were now exposed, the muscle definition as clear and deep as if carved by a blade.

“‘Dao City’ is indeed more interesting,” Earth-Ox said softly. “I’ve really suppressed myself for far too long.”

“Pardon my presumptuousness,” Qi Xia said.

Just as the black bead was about to shatter, Qi Xia stared into Earth-Ox’s eyes and spoke softly, asking his only question.

Only if this question was answered could he confirm whether his line of thinking going forward was correct.

“Earth-Ox,” Qi Xia called out. “Can I trust you?”

As soon as the words fell, the wobbling little black bead finally determined its direction. After drifting in the air for a moment, it came to rest at Earth-Ox’s brow.

Earth-Ox’s eyes flickered slightly as she looked at the bead suspended at her brow, then removed her somewhat constricting necktie and casually tossed it to the ground.

“You can trust me completely,” she said.

“Bang!”

After hearing the answer, the bead shattered without any hesitation.