The moment his voice fell, Suiryu moved!
His figure was like a ghost, leaving blurred afterimages across the plaza.
It was a seemingly irregular footwork, the core movement technique of Nether Body Fist—"Nether Body Instant Step."
Before the gasps from the audience could even fully erupt, Suiryu's body had already appeared to Lin Mo's left.
Fast, incredibly fast!
His right hand transformed into a sharp hand blade, containing a subtle force, silently slicing towards Lin Mo's neck.
This strike was soundless, yet as swift as lightning!
However, the strike hit nothing but air.
Lin Mo, as if prescient, merely tilted his head slightly, and the sharp hand blade grazed past his hair.
Missing his strike, Suiryu's offensive did not falter in the slightest.
His footwork changed again, his body twisting at astonishing angles, with elbow strikes, knee jabs, whip kicks, and Buyer (Thrust)... The essence of Nether Body Fist lies in "cohesion" and "variation"; there is no pause between moves, making it impossible to defend against.
It was evident that Suiryu's mastery of "Nether Body Fist" was indeed very high.
For a moment, only Suiryu's figure could be seen wildly dancing around Lin Mo across the entire plaza, his attacks almost engulfing Lin Mo.
But in Lin Mo's [Martial Arts Eye], these seemingly flawless attacks were full of flaws everywhere.
Suiryu's proud "Nether Body Instant Step" appeared immature to Lin Mo.
His seemingly irregular footwork actually had unchangeable core points of force and rhythm.
And those continuous attacks, in Lin Mo's eyes, were even more filled with superfluous movements and wasted energy.
Thus, amidst this seemingly stormy assault, Lin Mo's figure finally moved.
Sidestep, waist twist, retraction step... every movement was minimalistic yet incredibly agile, always avoiding Suiryu's attacks by mere millimeters just before they landed.
The audience outside the ring watched, mesmerized.
"Too... too magnificent! Player B-001's attacks are like a dance!"
"But... why can't he hit a single blow? That A-777's evasion is just too exaggerated!"
On the stage, the initial excitement in Suiryu's heart had long been replaced by shock.
The more he fought, the more startled he became; the more he attacked, the more powerless he felt.
His opponent seemed to completely see through all his moves; the moment he even conceived of a move, his opponent's body had already executed the perfect evasive action.
"Damn it!"
Unable to land a hit after prolonged attacks, Suiryu's pride made it unacceptable.
He abruptly took a step back, took a deep breath, and his entire aura suddenly changed; the previous frivolity and laziness vanished, replaced by extreme seriousness and focus.
"To force me to this extent, you have reason to be proud, A-777!"
"Take this! Nether Body Fist Ultimate Technique · Nether Body Sky Dragon Dance!"
Suiryu's figure instantly transformed into a visible tornado, countless fist and leg shadows interwoven, engulfing Lin Mo!
This was his strongest move, a strike that pushed Nether Body Fist to its absolute limit!
Facing this ultimate technique, Lin Mo finally stopped dodging.
Through his observations just now, he not only completely analyzed the principles and flaws of Nether Body Fist but also, in that instant, absorbed, dissected, and reassembled it, integrating it into his own martial arts system.
He took a step forward, executing the same move as Suiryu.
It was also "Nether Body Instant Step," and the same Nether Body Fist moves, but when he performed them, they produced entirely different power and artistic conception.
If Suiryu's Nether Body Fist was flamboyant and wild, then Lin Mo's Nether Body Fist was simple and returned to its true essence.
His figure also transformed into a whirlwind, a more condensed white whirlwind, directly meeting Suiryu's cyan "Nether Body Sky Dragon Dance."
Two tornado storms composed of fists and feet violently collided above the Cloud Top Palace!
Suiryu only felt that his proud ultimate technique had crashed into an invisible yet indestructible wall.
Every one of his attacks was effortlessly neutralized by the opponent using the same method.
He was horrified to discover that his opponent was using the very Nether Body Fist he was most familiar with!
However, his opponent's Nether Body Fist was completely different from his own.
There were no superfluous fancy movements; every single move was refined to the extreme.
It was as if... Nether Body Fist had been stripped of all impurities and sublimated to its peak!
"This... how is this possible!? You... how can you... my Nether Body Fist..."
Suiryu's brain completely crashed in that instant, falling into a blank state.
The scene before him completely exceeded his cognitive scope, overturning the martial arts beliefs he had built over decades.
He muttered in disbelief, and the rhythm of his attack also suffered a fatal pause due to his loss of focus.
Just as he lost his composure, Lin Mo's figure had already penetrated his attack without hindrance, arriving before him.
It was still a move from Nether Body Fist, a seemingly unremarkable palm strike gently imprinted on Suiryu's chest.
[K.O.!]
The system's cold notification echoed throughout the plaza. Suiryu's game character's health bar was instantly emptied by that single palm.
The battle was over.
The entire venue fell silent. You could hear a pin drop.
The audience completely failed to understand what had happened in the end.
They only saw two storms collide, and then Suiryu's seemingly stronger side abruptly lost.
Suiryu slowly took off his VR headset; for the first time, his face lost its color, and his eyes were filled with despondency and disbelief.
He lost, lost completely, lost wholeheartedly.
His opponent not only defeated him but also showed him what true peak was in the field he was most proud of.
——————
On the other side.
Lin Mo took off his VR headset and let out a long breath.
"A good fist technique," he said, looking at the sci-fi-styled VR headset in his hand, and commented softly:
"The concept of the fist technique is very interesting, but it's a pity that the user's strength is still too weak; he hasn't even brought out half of the essence of this set of fist techniques."
He turned around and looked at Saitama and Genos, who were walking over, a relaxed smile on his face:
"Alright, there's only one final match left. After that, I'll treat you to a good dinner tonight."
Upon hearing this, Saitama's eyes instantly lit up, immediately overwhelmed by the anticipation of delicious food:
"Oh, oh! How about hot pot? Beef hot pot!"
Genos, however, was still immersed in the previous battle, analyzing in his characteristic serious tone:
"Mr. KING, that fighting style just now... according to my data analysis, you learned and improved your opponent's moves in an extremely short amount of time. This learning ability already surpasses all currently known AI models."
"May I ask, is this some kind of superpower?"
Lin Mo smiled and shook his head, not offering much explanation.
He just did it, for no other reason.