After teasing Little Spider until she was red-faced as usual, Peter said solemnly:
"Seriously, in future battles against me, you don't need to hold back. Just use your full strength. Don't forget, my physical strength can directly suppress Dr. Lizard!"
Hearing Peter mention Dr. Lizard, Gwen suddenly recalled Peter's amazing feat of beating Dr. Lizard into a complete coma in just one minute.
At that thought, Gwen couldn't help but feel a little eager to try.
Since she gained her powers, she hadn't yet experienced what it was like to fight an enemy with all her strength!
After confirming she wouldn't break Peter, Gwen took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes again, her entire mental state had clearly changed.
With a sudden movement, she rushed toward Peter like a bolt of lightning.
Gwen planned to burst out with all her strength to knock Peter down and force him to leave that small circle.
But to her surprise, facing her "Spider Charge," Peter didn't show the slightest hint of panic, nor did he choose to dodge.
Instead, he struck as fast as lightning, landing an unexpected punch on her waist.
This sudden punch made Gwen gasp in pain.
Forget knocking Peter down; with this one blow, she couldn't even maintain her momentum.
If Peter hadn't caught her, she would have hit the ground with a thud and surely woken the sleeping old lady.
Seeing Gwen's painful expression, it would be a lie to say Peter didn't feel bad.
But he knew better than anyone how important durability was in actual combat.
When facing a supervillain, if she showed even a moment of weakness, the opponent would take Gwen's life immediately.
Letting Gwen sweat more now meant she would bleed less in the future!
Thinking this, Peter hardened his heart, deliberately refraining from showing concern for Gwen or using the horse talisman to heal her immediately. He just looked down at her coldly and asked:
"Is this all you've got?"
These mocking words clearly stung Gwen's pride.
"Again!" she snorted coldly, her fingers leaving deep prints on the ground from excessive force.
In the time that followed, Gwen rushed forward again and again, only to be sent flying back faster each time.
She couldn't win!
She really couldn't win!
This was no longer a matter of being underestimated; it was a complete dimensional suppression!
After being "fed" by Captain America and Mrs. Gao, Peter's fighting skills had reached the top tier of the world.
According to the Marvel power settings he had seen in his previous life, Peter's current combat skills could definitely be set at the maximum Level 7!
His strength, speed, insight, and neural reflexes were all superior to Gwen's.
And what about Gwen?
This girl was just an ordinary high school student before. Although she had been taught a few simple self-defense moves by her father,
those routines looked like nothing more than "Amateurish Flailing" in the eyes of a true martial arts master.
Furthermore, the "Spider-Sense" she used to rely on so heavily was completely ineffective when facing someone she was close to.
This resulted in Gwen being ruthlessly crushed, even though Peter stood in place, used only one hand, and didn't even use strength or speed that far exceeded hers.
Gwen was relentlessly overwhelmed.
From her initial disbelief to complete desperation, and finally to being exhausted with aching waist and soft knees, her cheeks flushed and gasping for breath.
She had clearly exhausted all her tricks, but forget forcing Peter out of the circle, she hadn't even touched Peter's torso even once!
Although Gwen's combat experience seemed pathetic to Peter—even giving him a guilty sense of "bullying a kindergartner"—
she did have two good points. One was that she was serious enough.
When Peter showed his serious side, no matter how hard or tired she was, she would never think of using methods like acting spoiled or throwing a tantrum to get Peter to go easy on her.
The other was that she was willing to use her head.
Although Gwen's attacks appeared reckless from beginning to end, it didn't mean she wasn't making progress.
Peter could clearly feel that after every move, Gwen was summarizing the lessons learned from her previous failures.
She was constantly trying to prevent Peter from hitting the same spot twice in a short period of time.
Precisely because Gwen had these two great strengths, her progress was quite obvious!
An hour later, Gwen successfully managed to make Peter feel a slight bit of pressure while he was using only one hand.
But correspondingly, she was now at the end of her rope.
Gwen looked extremely disheveled at this moment, appearing as if she had just been fished out of water, with her wet hair plastered to her face.
Her body was also dirty, and bruises and abrasions were visible through the holes in her clothes.
In November in New York, the average night temperature was only three or four degrees Celsius. Under such conditions, being able to train until she was soaked in sweat showed the extent of Gwen's effort.
"Huff... huff..."
Gwen supported herself with her hands on her knees, her chest heaving violently as she gasped for air.
Her stamina was almost completely depleted.
Even so, she gritted her teeth, slowly straightened her body, and assumed a shaky fighting stance once more.
"A-again!"
Her voice was trembling, but her eyes remained determined.
Seeing her like this, Peter's heart finally softened.
He sighed softly and voluntarily stepped out of the circle that symbolized the rules.
"Let's stop here. There's school tomorrow."
"I can still cont..."
Before Gwen could finish her sentence, her vision blurred.
Peter had already appeared right in front of her.
After pinning Gwen in a classic "kabedon" pose, Peter hesitated for a moment before choosing to steal a kiss.
And Gwen, who had previously been saying "this is moving too fast," only gave a token push or two before giving up her resistance... Well, how does that saying go?
No matter how stubborn the little mouth is, it's soft when kissed... After a long while, Peter and Gwen separated slightly, and he whispered in her ear:
"Be good, let's stop here for today."
Her sensitive ear was "attacked" once again, causing her crystalline earlobe to be stained with a hint of red.
Feeling Peter's breath so close, the stubborn words Gwen wanted to say were suddenly stuck in her throat, and she couldn't speak them at all.
"Your performance today was already very good."
Peter continued to coax his Little Spider:
"I mean it. I've fought Captain America at S.H.I.E.L.D.
Trust me, right now, as long as you can use your Spider-Sense, you can definitely rub that 'Old Popsicle' without his shield into the dirt."
Hearing Peter call the Captain an "Old Popsicle," Gwen couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
With this laugh, she naturally couldn't keep acting stubborn.
Gwen then leaned her entire weight against Peter. Only at this moment did she feel the intense fatigue and pain wash over her like a tide.
Noticing her slightly furrowed brow, Peter quietly activated the power of the horse talisman.
Wherever the hazy white light passed, the pain receded like the tide.
Gwen let out a comfortable hum, like a kitten being stroked.
"The injuries are healed, but the fatigue still remains..."
Peter first put on a troubled expression, then suddenly changed his tone:
"However, I happen to be skilled in a massage technique bestowed upon me by an Eastern Divine Dragon. Since we are destined to meet, why don't I..."
Before he could finish, Gwen had already pushed this opportunistic guy away in annoyance:
"In your dreams... I'm going to take a shower!"
She said as she ran off. Just as she was about to return to her room, she winked playfully at Peter:
"Goodnight, Mr. Punisher~"