The Middle East.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Although this is a desert region, in ancient times it would have been difficult for a prosperous city to thrive here, nor was it an ideal place for human habitation.
But nowadays, due to the value of global oil reserves, the wealthy elites of the Middle East have multiplied rapidly—and they are genuine tycoons through and through, not the type who put up a false front. As a result, a top-tier international metropolis has swiftly risen in this desert, arguably one of the most modernized cities in the world.
Here you’ll find the world’s first seven-star hotel, the tallest skyscraper, the largest shopping mall, the biggest indoor ski resort, and more. With its thriving real estate, major events, conferences, and nearly record-breaking attractions, Dubai has captured global attention.
It’s safe to say that Dubai today is in no way inferior to the most bustling cities in any developed country. As long as you have money, you can enjoy royal treatment here.
Net, one of the top assassin organizations in the global underworld, also maintains a branch here to manage affairs related to assassins in Asia and Africa.
When the Seven Kills Group decided to dismantle Net, they used their channels to uncover this branch’s location and dispatched a five-man team to scout the area first, waiting for the right moment to strike and wipe it out.
But no one anticipated that Net could simultaneously enlist the help of three great masters comparable to the Dan Jin level. Even though they had arranged for Augustine—known as the “Devil”—and Mikhail, the Vatican ascetic, to be stationed in Europe, they also had a holy monk from India—a top-tier Dan Jin expert called “Shiva”—backing them up in the Middle East!
As a result, of the five-man team sent by the Seven Kills Group, only one managed to escape with his life. The other four members all perished there.
In the desolate desert.
This place is sparsely populated. Not to mention tourists, even desert rangers seldom come here. Usually, the only living things you might see are a passing herd of white antelopes.
But today, under the blazing sun, two men were locked in a decisive battle once again.
One of them wore a loose robe, his long hair fluttering in the wind, exuding an air of unbridled wildness. One glance was enough to tell that this was an exceptionally fierce and domineering man—like a lion on the savanna.
This man was naturally the founder of the Seven Kills Group, one of China’s Four Kings—the Lion King!
The other man wore a typical Buddhist robe in red and yellow, with one shoulder bare to the air.
This was one of India’s true top-tier masters, a Dan Jin–level expert known as “Shiva”!
In India’s martial arts circles, there are a few truly formidable figures who enjoy great renown both domestically and globally, roughly equivalent to the Four Kings of China.
However, India has only three such masters, and their titles are drawn from Hindu mythology, known as the “Trimurti”—Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva!
Like the Four Kings of China, these three have all reached terrifying levels of power, transcending the ordinary. They are also close friends who address each other as brothers. As a result, they have become iconic figures in India’s martial arts world, and generally speaking, anyone who knows their names cannot help but feel awe and respect toward them.
At this moment, both the Lion King of China’s Four Kings and Shiva of India’s Trimurti looked somewhat battered. Their clothes were not only disheveled but also torn, and each bore wounds on their bodies. A large, freshly formed crater in the sand near them clearly showed that they had already clashed and fought a major battle.
“The Lion King truly lives up to his reputation. I’ve heard of you for a long time, and today I’ve finally experienced it firsthand,” Shiva said, placing a single palm upright before his chest as he looked at the Lion King.
In Hindu mythology, Shiva is known as the god of destruction. But this Dan Jin expert before them didn’t seem particularly destructive or full of rage; on the contrary, he appeared rather amiable.
“The Three Great Gods of India—completely overrated, undeserving of your fame! Today, I will definitely kill you!” The Lion King’s tiger-like eyes blazed as he glared at his opponent, his fury undiminished.
This damned bastard had killed four of his team members! It was enough to drive the Lion King into a rage. This was a complete trampling of his bottom line, far beyond his threshold of tolerance.
Among the members of the Seven Kills Group, only Jing Zhe was technically his disciple; the others were not. But in the Lion King’s eyes, every member of the Seven Kills Group was not just his subordinate—they were his juniors, and he was their elder. He valued each and every one of them greatly.
Now, four of his cherished juniors had been killed by this bastard. How could he, as their elder, not be furious? How could he not avenge them?
“You want to kill me? That’s not something you can just do at will,” Shiva said, his eyes turning cold.
“Then let’s find out!” The Lion King growled.
Before his words had even faded, his sturdy, towering frame suddenly moved. His loose robe flapped loudly in the wind, swelling up as if filled with air, making him look immensely powerful—as if even a mountain standing in his way would be flattened and crushed. Strangely, though the Lion King seemed so forceful, his feet left no footprints on the sand as he moved, almost as if he were gliding. At the same time, his movement kicked up a swirling storm of sand that roared and howled around him, and together with it, he struck out with both palms toward Shiva.
His palms had just gathered momentum, still several meters away from Shiva, when the sandy ground within a few yards of Shiva’s position was forcibly compressed and pushed outward in all directions, as if struck by an artillery shell. Even Shiva’s Buddhist robe was flapping noisily in the wind.
Clearly, this strike from the Lion King already utilized his full power, with inner energy projected outward. Although his palms hadn’t yet reached Shiva, the palm force had already sealed off the space within several meters around him!
Such an overpowering strike left no room to dodge. No matter how excellent one’s lightness skill, once the Lion King made his move, there was no escape. The only way to survive was to take it head-on.
The Lion King’s strength was evident from this single palm strike!
Shiva, standing with his palm upright before his chest, could not afford to take this lightly.
He pivoted slightly on the ball of his right foot, forcefully lifting himself a short distance off the ground, and then threw a mighty punch. His fist shot forward like a meteor tearing across the sky, slamming heavily toward the ground, while the Lion King’s twin palms arched like a dome, evenly distributing their force.
Thus, their clash was like a meteor striking the earth. In an instant, the sand beneath them erupted in a series of crackling explosions, as if packed with dynamite.
For a moment, sand filled the air like a full-blown sandstorm.
This wasn’t hyperbole—it was a natural reaction to the sheer force of their collision.
In the blink of an eye, the two had exchanged dozens of moves. It truly felt like they had met their match, fighting until the sky turned dark. However, in their head-on clashes, the Lion King—always fierce and domineering—ultimately had the stronger palm force. At first, Shiva held his own, neither yielding to the other. But as the fight went on, the Lion King’s inner energy seemed inexhaustible, and he actually grew stronger and more tenacious with each exchange, gradually pushing Shiva onto the defensive. Before long, Shiva began to show openings.
Finally, the Lion King spotted an opportunity. He suddenly exerted force with his palm, aiming for Shiva’s lower abdomen. His palm force broke through layers of resistance and was about to land on Shiva’s abdomen.
But then, Shiva suddenly stopped moving, no longer blocking—as if he knew he couldn’t defend and had simply given up, ready to accept death.
The Lion King was inwardly surprised. Of course, he didn’t believe this so-called “god of destruction” from India would be the type to just surrender without a fight. So he slightly withdrew some of his palm force and heightened his guard.
Sure enough, just as his palm lunged forward and before the power within it could explode, he suddenly felt Shiva’s abdominal muscles twitch, and at the same time, his chest sucked inward, drawing the Lion King’s force into it—then instantly rebounded outward!
Borrowing force to deflect force!
Even the Lion King was a bit startled and hastily dodged to the right.
In China, true masters train their bodies to be extraordinarily resilient; techniques like the shrinking-bone art aren’t just legend—they can actually be cultivated. Sucking in the chest and hollowing the abdomen to evade an enemy’s attack is quite common and standard practice.
After all, when experts fight, victory or defeat may come down to a hair’s breadth. If you can dodge even slightly, you might just save your life.
But using the abdominal muscles not only to avoid an attack but also to redirect power through the chest muscles to harm the opponent—like this “Destroyer God” Shiva did—was something the Lion King had never seen or heard of before.
“That’s a neat trick. I didn’t expect you could train your body to be that flexible,” the Lion King said coldly, his killing intent undiminished, still looking like he wanted to skin this Indian alive.
“Yoga is a national treasure of my country’s martial arts. Is this level really that surprising?” Shiva replied with a hint of pride.
The Lion King had been highly alert during that last palm strike. He had anticipated something unusual and dangerous, and had withdrawn half his palm force at the last moment.
If he hadn’t, he definitely wouldn’t have dodged in time and would have been injured.
So even though he was slightly inferior to the Lion King in technique and raw power, Shiva remained unafraid. He believed his formidable physical conditioning made him invincible.
“I admit, the founder of the Seven Kills Group is indeed impressive. I’ve seen enough today, and I can’t kill you either. But you can’t kill me either. Let’s call it quits here and stop dragging this out,” Shiva said casually, waving his hand.
If possible, he wouldn’t mind killing this Chinese Lion King. As one of India’s “Three Great Gods,” he feared no reprisals.
But since he couldn’t kill him now, there was no choice but to let it go. After all, he had already repaid the favor by helping out this time.
“Of course you can’t kill me. However…” The Lion King narrowed his eyes slightly, paused, and then said in a voice cold enough to send chills down anyone’s spine: “Are you really sure I can’t kill you?”
With that, the Lion King lunged forward again!
And this time, he moved even more decisively and boldly than before. Even knowing Shiva’s body was incredibly tough and treacherous, he still closed in for close-quarters combat!
“You want to die? I’ll grant your wish!” Shiva sneered. Instead of retreating, the Lion King was practically walking into a trap by getting close—wasn’t that giving Shiva the advantage?
Shiva didn’t even bother assuming a defensive posture beforehand. He planned to wait for the Lion King to attack, then use his own body to entangle the Lion King’s fists and counterattack. That double blow would surely leave the Lion King severely injured in an instant.
But this time, things were different.
Just as the Lion King’s palms were about to strike within an inch of Shiva’s body, he suddenly changed his tactics!
He wasn’t just attacking with his palms anymore—his hands and feet moved together!
His palms, feet, head, shoulders, chest, back, waist, and abdomen all launched different attacks simultaneously, each with formidable power. Not a single one was a feint lacking lethality!
Executing these moves, the Lion King looked as though he had three heads and six arms—like multiple people attacking at once.
This left Shiva, no matter how tough and flexible his body, utterly helpless. He could block one or two moves, but how could he defend against three, four, five, or six?
Not even the god of yoga could achieve that all at once.
In that instant, Shiva was stunned. No matter how profound his cultivation or how strong his power, he had no way to defend against this. He wanted to retreat and flee, but the Lion King’s palm force had already sealed the area around him, leaving no escape.
Like a cornered beast, Shiva struggled desperately, managing to hold on for a frantic ten-plus seconds before finally giving out.
Boom!
The Lion King slammed his palm hard into Shiva’s chest. With that single blow, he shattered several of Shiva’s ribs, rendering his yoga techniques useless. Shiva immediately coughed up blood.
And it didn’t stop there. Once wounded, Shiva was even less able to match the Lion King. His mistakes piled up, and within a mere ten seconds or so, he was struck nearly ten times on various parts of his body by the Lion King’s limbs, leaving his internal organs damaged. He had lost so much blood he couldn’t even count, and he was almost completely incapacitated.
Shiva’s face was pale, and the arrogance in his eyes was gone, replaced by terror and resentment. He wanted to defend or flee, but he simply couldn’t—his body had been beaten beyond recognition.
But the Lion King showed no mercy. He kept pounding on him for a full two minutes, until Shiva was barely breathing, and then finally landed a punch square on his head—nearly caving it in—and blood poured from all seven orifices, ending his life!
