That instant, along with a "ping" sound, Shiva's trident was crushed in Gui Xiao's hand, turning into dozens of data fragments scattered on the ground.

And Shiva's figure had already closed in on Gui Xiao.

As quick as lightning! Shiva's left hand shot out, and a gust of wind roared forth...

This palm, brimming with Dou Qi (fighting energy), was no ordinary attack, but his powerful Yipai Liangsan Zhang (Severing Palm).

Facing this forceful move, Gui Xiao neither retreated nor yielded, raising his arm to meet it.

Instantly, palm met arm.

The force of the palm weighed over a thousand jin, while the arm's strength remained immovable as a mountain.

As a result... the two forces were evenly matched. Gui Xiao suffered minor damage, but his stance remained firm, his center unmoved.

"What a monster..." In that fleeting moment, Shiva couldn't help but exclaim inwardly, "Even after losing the defensive effects provided by skills and equipment, he can still withstand my attack skill with pure physical and energy strength..."

Despite his surprise, Shiva's offensive didn't cease. The palm strike with his left hand was blocked, but that didn't stop his right hand's Xiuwu Canxiao (Rotted Mist, Remaining Sky) from following up...

Chi ying—

The sound of wind being cut rose as the blade arrived.

This long, curved blade was incomparably sharp; a horizontal slash could cleave mountains and split peaks—certainly not something a flesh-and-blood body could withstand.

However... Gui Xiao intended to block it, and with his bare hands.

Zeng—

The next second, a sound like fingernails scratching glass rang out, making people's skin crawl.

And the source of this sound... was Gui Xiao's fingers, and the blade of Xiuwu Canxiao.

"This is absurd..." Looking at the section of blade firmly pinched between his opponent's thumb and forefinger, the first thought that flashed through Shiva's mind was just that.

Yes, it was absurd, terrifyingly absurd...

Gui Xiao wasn't using some Lingxi Yizhi (Numinous Finger) technique (Lingxi Yizhi should involve the index and middle fingers); he was simply relying on the strength in two fingers to forcibly pinch the blade.

Faced with this unbelievable combat power, most people... including many professional experts, would feel despair in a very short time.

However, Shiva hadn't despaired yet...

"Ha!" He immediately roared and used a Tyrant's Rage Strike.

Under the impetus of skill power, Xiuwu Canxiao spun in the opposite direction of the previous slash, successfully extracting itself from Gui Xiao's fingers.

Logically speaking, this skill would cause Shiva's body to quickly rotate backward about 300 degrees within a second, and his blade would slash towards the other side of Gui Xiao's waist after completing a rotation.

But... what actually happened was—about a millisecond later, Gui Xiao's foot, striking first, landed on Shiva's back as he was spinning, sending the latter flying...

Don't be fooled by how casual this kick seemed; its power was truly magnificent.

Even though Shiva had used his Yukong (Ride the Void) power to resist the force that was pushing him away the instant he was struck, he still flew dozens of meters away like a cannonball... as he passed, gusts of wind rose on both sides, and the surrounding clamor howled.

"Come again." Before Shiva could steady himself, Gui Xiao's voice followed closely behind.

Hearing this, Shiva tapped his toes on the ground, looking back to find his opponent standing in place, not pursuing.

However... the arrogant and disdainful look on Gui Xiao's face was even more pronounced.

This situation caused Shiva's rage to erupt.

The fighting spirit of a Dou Zhe (fighter) instantly overwhelmed the calmness of a competitive player.

The next second, Shiva gathered his energy and unleashed an ultimate technique!

With a move called Tianba Hengkong Liehong (Heavenly Tyrant's Horizontal Sky Cleaving), Shiva instantly charged back in front of Gui Xiao, using the force of the charge to grip his blade with both hands and swing it down fiercely, the blade aimed directly at his opponent's head.

Gui Xiao, for his part, was also prepared. When Shiva flew out just now, he had already been secretly gathering his Dou Qi, collecting the scattered energy outside his body into his chest... Now, facing this charging attack, Gui Xiao was utterly fearless. He separated and then joined his palms together, firmly stopping the opponent's deadly move with a "kongshou rubai ren" (empty-handed catch of a blade).

"Heh..." Unexpectedly, at this moment, Shiva actually smiled coldly... and unhesitatingly released his weapon.

This change was both beyond Gui Xiao's expectations and shocking to the audience.

Before people could react, Shiva had used Qingyan Jishi (Fleeting Smoke Swift Demise) to escape Gui Xiao's line of sight and immediately appeared behind the latter.

"You asked for this..." Shiva's killing move landed as he spoke.

Ci ci ci ci...

For a time, a sound like a speeding wind echoed on the field.

Streaks of shadows, both finger and fist, struck Gui Xiao's back like a torrential storm.

This Jianyashenjin·Bailie (Fanged God Strength - Hundred Rends) was a new skill created by Shiva by combining Jianyashenjin (an active skill that uses fingertip strength to strike the target's nerves directly through the muscles, causing paralysis in the corresponding area for several minutes upon accurate hit) with another set of assassination boxing techniques based on acupoint striking... Its form was roughly equivalent to Feng Bujue using Lingxi Yizhi at the frequency of Nantou Flying Dragon Fist, but its power was even greater.

Caught off guard by the sudden attack, Gui Xiao didn't have time to change his stance and took this barrage head-on...

The ultimate move formed by the fusion of the strongest finger and the deadliest fist... Even Gui Xiao couldn't possibly emerge unscathed from such a technique.

As the divine strength penetrated his body, various parts of Gui Xiao's torso were afflicted with the "paralysis" effect. For at least those few seconds, his upper body was almost completely unable to move.

This "opportunity for the opponent to be temporarily unable to move" was exactly what Shiva was waiting for. He immediately activated his Soul Intent—the Eye of Destruction. In those two seconds, a crack burst open on his forehead, and a vertical, crimson eye emerged from the crack.

As the crimson eye appeared, a crimson beam shot out from it, flashing and disappearing, directly striking the back of Gui Xiao's head.

Jiu—

After a sharp sound, the flame-attribute pure energy ray pierced through Gui Xiao's head.

When Shiva, standing behind Gui Xiao, saw the bottle-cap-sized bloody hole on the back of his opponent's head, his tense nerves relaxed slightly.

But...

He only relaxed for two seconds.

Two seconds later, his blood pressure, adrenaline, and fear value all rose rapidly.

Because...

"Why aren't you fighting?"

Gui Xiao... wasn't dead.

Not only was he not dead, he even turned his face to speak.

At this time, Gui Xiao's entire left eye socket had become a hole oozing blood outwards; it was in this state that he spoke to Shiva with a grim smile.

Hoo—

Without another word, Shiva smeared a Zhai Yue Zhi Yan (Moon Plucking Flame) towards the other's face.

He didn't know if he launched this move based on fear or courage, but his body had already acted before his mind could think.

However, this flame-carrying "spinning rising dragon" stance was interrupted as soon as it started...

With a "pa" sound, Gui Xiao used one hand to grip Shiva's fist, which was already ignited with energy fire, forcibly suppressing Shiva's momentum.

"Here..." Then, Gui Xiao used his other hand to pass the Xiuwu Canxiao, which Shiva had left in his hand earlier, over, "Take it, you have twenty seconds left."

............

Fear.

That was the strongest emotion Shiva could feel at this moment.

Not just Shiva...

The scene before their eyes planted fear in the hearts of countless people.

Whether they were watching the live broadcast of the match, or watching the recording later; whether they were participants, ordinary players, or staff members of those game studios...

Except for a certain fellow who couldn't feel fear, everyone felt... this was too terrifying when they saw this scene.

............

After taking back his weapon, Shiva didn't attack. It wasn't that he didn't want to move, it was just that his right fist was still being held in the other's hand... making it really inconvenient to mess around.

"By the way, let me tell you something..." Gui Xiao said, slowly releasing the other's fist as he spoke, "Because I have a strong resistance to control skills, so... although a minute hasn't passed yet, your move Jingtu (Pure Land) has already失效 (shixiao - lost its effect)."

As he said these words, white matrix light streams had emerged at the wounded area of his left eye, which was clearly some kind of data-level repair ability.

"You're telling me this..." Shiva continued, "Are you trying to persuade me to just surrender?"

"Whether I say it or not..." Gui Xiao said, "In another ten seconds, you'll have to surrender anyway, won't you?"

"Mm..." Shiva mumbled, "That makes sense..."

These words were indeed logical. No matter what Gui Xiao's condition was, since Shiva had previously declared that "if the opponent can still stand after one minute, then I'll admit defeat," when that minute was up, he had to surrender...

Thinking of this, Shiva no longer hesitated, instantly raising his blade and gathering his strength, his figure advancing rapidly.

The final ten-second desperate battle!

Fast, too fast to blink.

Battle, battle to the point of earth cracking and clouds flying.

Gui Xiao, who had regained the buff from equipment and skills, thought he could deal with the enemy calmly, but he didn't expect...

Shiva actually abandoned all defense and retreating moves, attacking desperately... He also didn't know if he had broken through some kind of bottleneck in this extreme state, but after a few seconds, both his speed and attack underwent a qualitative change.

His steps were unpredictable, like the wind and clouds.

His Dou Qi (fighting energy) reignited, and the power of his blade was restored.

Seeing that the one-minute time limit was about to arrive, Shiva seemed to have become a different person, suppressing Gui Xiao.

............

Thirty seconds ago, in Xuhuai Shang's conference room.

At this time, the Hell Frontline members who had already completed their matches were watching the live broadcast of the Order versus Gods match here.

"If nothing goes wrong, Shiva should use Annihilation in the last second, right?" Looking at the situation on the field, Snow thoughtfully muttered.

"Use it if he wants, it won't change anything." Feng Bujue slumped on the sofa chair, with an expression that said, "I've seen through everything."

"Are you so sure that Gui Xiao can win?" Hearing this, Xiao Tan asked with a suspicious look.

"Heh..." Brother Jue chuckled, "You guys... haven't noticed it yet..."

"Noticed what?" Xiao Tan and Snow asked in unison.

"Gui Xiao has been standing in the same place since the start of the match..." Ruo Yu answered this question in place of Brother Jue, "Apart from the necessary turning around, he hasn't even taken a step to the side."

"And..." Before Ruo Yu finished speaking, Xuhuai Shang also spoke in a deep voice, "All the skills and attacks that Shiva launched... Gui Xiao has chosen to block or take head-on, not once responding with 'dodge'..."

Some things, if you don't go into detail, it's nothing. But once you explain it thoroughly, it's very frightening...

Xiao Tan and Snow hadn't been aware of these things, but now that they heard the explanations from the two female warriors, their expressions twitched at that moment.

"Understood now?" Feng Bujue looked at the two of them and said, "As the saying goes, 'The thought of victory, the will to fight'... For Gui Xiao, it's actually very easy to win the match. Wouldn't it be enough for him to quickly summon a few summons during those thirty seconds of preparation time?" He paused for half a second, shrugged his shoulders, and said, "The way he's fighting now... it's not just to win, but also has other strategic significance."

............

Time returned to the present, on the battlefield.

The time limit of Shiva's "one-minute declaration" was about to arrive.

As the boss of a first-rate studio, and a top professional player in the industry, Shiva could never say something like..."Brothers, how about we renew it for another minute?" at this time.

Maybe Feng Bujue could do that, and after he did it, others would think this wave was very stable and within expectations, but Shiva couldn't...

Therefore, in that last second, as Snow had predicted... Shiva used the final means against Gui Xiao, that is, the "destruction" effect of the Tianwu Shalou (Heavenly Dance Hourglass)—Annihilation.