"Huh?"
The Dog Demon, having missed its lunge, gave Lin Yi a surprised look.
It seemed it hadn't expected it.
That Lin Yi could react in such a short amount of time.
And even manage to dodge in time.
The next moment, it bared its massive, stinking maw.
It sneered, "Let's see how long you can run..."
With that, the Dog Demon pounced at Lin Yi again.
Lin Yi wasted no words, charging at the Dog Demon with his short blade in hand.
BANG—
The instant the man and the demon collided,
The Dog Demon's body was actually sent flying backward.
Before it could regain its footing, Lin Yi pressed forward again.
The short blade in his hand glinted coldly, radiating an endless killing intent.
His other hand was clenched into a fist.
As soon as he got close to the Dog Demon, Lin Yi slashed the short blade toward its neck.
The Dog Demon let out a roar and dodged away.
Seeing this, the corner of Lin Yi's mouth tilted up slightly.
His other fist smashed viciously toward the Dog Demon's abdomen.
The Dog Demon was shocked. It hadn't expected this Demon Hunter to be so cunning.
Caught off guard, it hastily scrambled to dodge.
Lin Yi's attacks came one after another, wave after wave.
He had no intention of giving the Dog Demon any breathing room, planning to force it into a corner in one fell swoop and then kill it.
'I know very well that there's a definite gap in realm between me and the Dog Demon,' Lin Yi thought.
'Even though 4th Tier and 1-Star are only one realm apart in terms of Qi and Blood value...'
'...the gulf between them is massive. I've heard the coach talk about it before.'
'The biggest difference between a 1-Star Martial Artist and one who hasn't reached the star-levels is a single acupoint.'
'A Martial Artist who reaches 1-Star will open an acupoint.'
'For those who cultivate the Martial Arts, an acupoint is like a warehouse for storing Qi and Blood.'
'You can fill the acupoint with Qi and Blood, and as a result, your body's Qi and Blood value will be far stronger than that of a Martial Artist who hasn't reached the star-levels.'
'The Qi and Blood value is what determines the strength of a Martial Artist's physical body and constitution.'
'The higher the Qi and Blood value, the stronger the harmony between the physical body and constitution.'
'This becomes even more apparent in actual combat.'
Right now, the gap between Lin Yi and the Dog Demon was that one was 4th Tier, and the other had reached 1-Star.
This was especially true since a demon beast's physical strength was inherently greater than a human's.
Therefore, to kill it, he had to win this fight quickly.
If he gave the Dog Demon a chance to catch its breath, the outcome would be hard to predict.
Lin Yi used both his iron fists and his short blade, relentlessly pressing the attack on the Dog Demon.
He forced the Dog Demon to retreat again and again, dodging constantly.
It had absolutely no chance to catch its breath.
However, it was naturally not an easy task for Lin Yi to actually injure the Dog Demon.
Just as the two were locked in a fierce, inseparable struggle inside the alley, reaching a stalemate, a heavy motorcycle slowly rolled up.
It finally came to a stop just outside the alley.
On the bike sat a man wearing a pink helmet, a stark contrast to his brawny, muscle-bound physique.
On his back seat, there were now two more demon beast heads.
He watched the scene in the alley with great interest.
CLICK...
The flame of a lighter flared to life, and a puff of white smoke was exhaled.
He then turned his head back to watch Lin Yi and the Dog Demon.
Sometimes he would nod slightly, other times he would sigh softly.
During the exciting parts, he would even clench his fist and silently cheer them on.
When one of Lin Yi's slashes grazed the Dog Demon's neck without drawing a single drop of blood...
...he stamped his foot in frustration, looking like he wanted to jump in and slay the Dog Demon himself.
"Kid, your fist technique is all wrong! Don't be so rigid. You have to learn to be flexible. For example, use your shoulders or other parts of your body as weapons..."
The man finally couldn't stand to watch anymore and shouted out loud.
The moment he spoke, Lin Yi looked toward the alley's entrance in astonishment.
When he saw the man on the heavy motorcycle, he was slightly taken aback.
The Dog Demon in the alley, however, felt its eyes narrow.
A sense of panic began to set in, even though it didn't dare turn to look.
But the Dog Demon seemed to know exactly who the speaker was.
In an instant, all the fighting spirit the Dog Demon had possessed just moments before vanished completely.
It even felt the urge to flee...
The man's advice opened up a whole new line of thinking for Lin Yi.
As the Dog Demon was momentarily dazed, Lin Yi seized the opportunity and threw a punch.
The Dog Demon dodged in a panic, its body leaning back slightly.
The moment the fist, whistling with force, swept past its face,
Lin Yi followed up with a kick.
BANG—
The kick landed heavily on the Dog Demon's body.
The Dog Demon stumbled, retreating several steps.
Lin Yi pursued again, his dagger tracing a cold arc as he stabbed toward the Dog Demon's chest.
Seeing this, a bloody glint flashed in the Dog Demon's eyes.
It gnashed its teeth and said coldly, "You've pushed this dog too far..."
Then it met Lin Yi's advance with a ferocious punch of its own.
Lin Yi quickly dodged, twisting his body to deliver another kick to the Dog Demon.
Seeing its punch miss, the Dog Demon immediately went on the defensive.
It blocked with its two claws, barely managing to avoid the kick.
In response, Lin Yi unleashed another combo: fists, elbows, knees, shoulders...
He used every part of his body he could as a weapon against the Dog Demon.
He broke down and reassembled everything he had learned from his basic fist techniques...
For a moment, the Dog Demon was actually beaten to the point that it completely lost its advantage.
Outside the alley, the man nodded in satisfaction.
He exhaled another puff of smoke and continued with a laugh, "Kid, try channeling the Qi and Blood in your body into your fists. You might get some unexpected results!"
"Channel the Qi and Blood in my body?"
Lin Yi's brows furrowed slightly.
His coach had never taught him how to apply Qi and Blood in actual combat.
Lin Yi wasn't exactly sure how to do it.
Still, he tried to circulate the Qi and Blood within his body.
The next moment, a gaseous energy began to flow slowly through his body.
It moved swiftly through his blood vessels, spreading throughout his entire body.
At first, it had just felt like a liquid.
Gradually, it transformed into a gas, darting about chaotically inside him.
In the middle of his fight with the Dog Demon, he suddenly discovered that he could actually, gradually, gain control over that small stream of Qi and Blood.
Elated, Lin Yi quickly guided the gaseous energy to his shoulder, down his arm, and into his fist.
In an instant.
A layer of blood-red mist seemed to materialize around Lin Yi's fist, enveloping it completely.
A murderous glint flashed in Lin Yi's eyes.
He threw a vicious punch toward the Dog Demon.
When the fist was still some distance away from the Dog Demon,
Lin Yi clearly saw the Qi and Blood that enveloped his fist actually coalesce into a tangible fist of its own.
It smashed into the Dog Demon a split second before his own.
BOOM—
Caught completely by surprise, the Dog Demon was sent flying.
SPURT... The moment its body hit the ground,
It sprayed a mouthful of fresh blood.
Two heavy punches in a row had slammed into its body.
It had been given a direct internal injury.
Lin Yi, meanwhile, stared at his own fist, his face a mask of astonishment.
He had clearly felt the immense power of that last punch.
'Did I just channel the Qi and Blood in my body to stack the damage?'
'Was the power of that punch enough to finish off this Dog Demon?'