...…

Boom!

A very strong pressure was released by Uno as the Sacred Internal Qi surrounding his body was blazing very intensely. And alongside with it, the current atmosphere around him was quite heavy because of the berserk aura that was created by the 'Black Origin Threshold'.

Boom!

But at the same time, a similar type of pressure also exploded from the other side. David raised his hand and stabbed his finger at his right temple, releasing the first phase of his 'Meridian Blocking'.

'Limit Break: Phase One'

Boom!

And on the very next moment that David released his first restriction, Uno suddenly kicked the ground and launched himself forward with a great speed.

Swoosh!

But right after Uno did that, David suddenly thrusted his right arm in the air and sent a powerful Mental Energy Wave forward.

Seeing the strong energy wave that was coming his way, Uno immediately raised his right hand and pulled it backwards before waiting for the right time to release a punch. And before the energy could even arrive at him, he immediately thrusted his fist forward and destroyed the energy wave in an instant.

Boom!

But due to that, Uno's speed slowed down drastically and bought David enough time to make his next move.

David raised both of his hands in the air before pointing the palm of his left hand at Uno's direction while shouting.

"Set. Locked!

"

Right after he said those words, the Mental Energy residuals from his previous move suddenly regathered and surrounded Uno with a spinning motion. A moment later, those energies locked Uno in place and prevented him from moving.

'Myriad Manifestation Method: Nature's Lockdown'

At the same time, David was also pulling his other arm backwards while gathering a large amount of Mental Energy around it. And alongside with his actions, the Mental Energy that he gathered revolved around his arm and spun rapidly.

After that, he threw a powerful punch forward and sent a very strong energy wave towards Uno which was spinning in a spiral motion.

'Myriad Manifestation Method: Haymaker of the Beast King'

Boom!

Swoosh!

Meanwhile, Uno lowered his hips a little and strengthened his legs before crossing his arms in front of him. A moment later, he swung his arms backwards and positioned them on each side of his waist.

Right after he did that, a strong shockwave was released from his body and pushed the Mental Energy which was restraining him.

Bang!

Freeing himself, Uno quickly took a couple of steps backwards before taking his battle stance. After that, he quickly gathered his Internal Qi on his right hand which was positioned beside his waist.

He didn't immediately release the accumulated powers even after the accumulation reached its peak. Instead, he waited for the incoming energy wave to arrive right in front of him before taking a quick step forward while also throwing a powerful punch at the same time.

'Simplified Ultimate Yin-Yang Arts: Fist of the Furious White Tiger'

BOOM!

Consecutive shockwaves were created by that collision and repeatedly bombard the barrier that David had set up earlier. Fortunately, that barrier was quite sturdy and didn't shatter immediately even after being shaken repeatedly.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

But despite having a powerful collision, both Uno and David didn't pause even for a second.

David quickly formed a gun shape with his hand before pointing it at Uno a moment later. After that, he fired a barrage of Mental Energy from the tip of his fingers and shot them towards his opponent.

'Myriad Manifestation Method: Air Fissure Bullets'

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Those Mental Energy bullets were somewhat invisible and couldn't be seen by naked eye. But Uno's senses were strengthened by the 'Black Origin Threshold', so we could still perceive their movements and trajectories by feeling the vibrations in the air.

Given that, he quickly squatted his hips once again and assumed a 'horse stance'. Then he took a deep breath and waited for the incoming energy bullets to arrive before swinging both of his arms left and right to deflect all of them.

'Advance Yin-Yang Arts: Circular Guidance'

Bang! Bang! Bang!

This exchange lasted for a few more moments before David decided to advance forward and engaged in a melee combat.

Swoosh!

With a powerful stomp on the ground, David launched himself towards Uno before arriving in front of the Uno in just an instant. At the same time, he suddenly punched his fist forward while borrowing the momentum of his previous charge.

But Uno seemed to be able to see his movements despite being executed in a very fast manner and perfectly linked with his previous moves.

Pak!

With his previous stance, Uno used the back of his hand to redirect the trajectory of the incoming punch with a precise timing before using his other hand to throw a counter punch in the next instant.

'Yin-Yang Arts: Immediate Counter'

Seeing the incoming fist right in front of his face, David quickly leaned his body to the side while also tilting his head in the same direction to dodge Uno's counter.

Bang! Bang!

Immediately after they avoided each other's attacks, the air behind them suddenly exploded due to the very strong force behind their punches. And because of the air ripples created by those explosions, the air surrounding the two ran wild and created a chaotic storm around them.

The two took a brief pause to catch their breathings for a moment, before quickly resuming their battle. And due to that, a very intense close-quarter combat was immediately initiated.

These two young men seemed to be experts in melee battle as each of their moves were totally calculated without having any wasted movements. Their fist and leg techniques were perfectly linked with the previous move that he just used.

Moreover, they were also considering the previous of their opponents to predict which move was coming next.

At first, they were only using some ordinary moves reinforced by their Mental Energy and Internal Qi. But as time went by, their exchanges were becoming more and more intense, resulting in them using their respective Mentalism Techniques and Martial-Art Skills.

During these exchanges, David became even more surprised at each of Uno's moves. Not only this kid could keep up with him, but he also had the ability to put a lot of pressure on David from time to time.

Even if David had the slight edge on this battle, he still couldn't afford to let his guard down even for a brief moment because it would lead into his immediate defeat.

And the thing that gave David a lot of trouble was those eyes that Uno had. Those eyes were able to see through his feints and traps which made Uno able to respond to all of his next moves – it was as if those eyes could foresee what was about to come.

What's more, Uno seemed to also have an ability to read his moves very clearly. It didn't matter if it was a variation of his techniques or not, as long as Uno had seen it for a single time, he would always have a way to counter that move.

Because of this, David was forced to mix some moves which Uno was unfamiliar with. And even if they were just some simple Mentalism Techniques, those moves were still able to catch Uno completely off-guard due to them coming out of nowhere.

Regardless, Uno was still doing perfectly fine at holding himself against David for lasting this long.

If David compared him to all of the opponents that he had so far, then Uno would surely rank on the top alongside the best young experts on their respective country.

Even though he was still lacking compared to the 'Junior Monsters', 'Young Ghost', 'Supernovas', and other peak geniuses of the seven major continents, he was still ranked just a level or two below them. But if he was given enough time to grow, then David was not going to be surprised if he one day became on par with them.

Throwing all of those thoughts at the back of his head, David decided to become a little more serious. He already tested Uno's potential, so it was time to finally end this battle.

BOOM!

...…

Uno was currently lying on the ground while staring at the sky with a bitter look on his face. This was his very first time suffering a defeat. And it was not even a close call, but a one-sided beating right after David decided to become serious.

"Hey, are you still not done staring at the sky? We still have a deal to take care of,

" said David who was sitting on the ground with his crossed legs.

Hearing that, Uno suddenly smirked before sitting up.

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. You just have a little advantage because you are born a little early compared to me. If we are the same age, then I am sure that I can easily beat you up one-sidedly.

"

David couldn't help but chuckle when he heard those words, especially when he recalled what he was doing when he was still the same age as him. 'If only you know what I am capable of during those times.'

He was about to mention the 'deal' right after brushing off those thoughts. But before he could even voice his words out, Uno immediately opened his mouth and said.

"There is no need to tell me anything. I know what you want to ask.

"

When David heard that, he slightly raised his eyebrows while looking at Uno with a suspicious look on his face.

Seeing that look on his face, Uno suddenly smirked before saying.

"You want me to devour the 'second demon' before this idiot could even break through to the Ethereal Opening Stage, right? And it is to prevent him from having some mischief and undergo a 'Demonic Possession' during that critical breakthrough.

"

David pursed his lips a little when he heard that reply before nodding his head repeatedly. After that, he stood up from the ground while saying.

"Well, since you already know about my favor, then all I can ask you is to fulfill your end in our deal. I can at least trust you in that, right?

"

"Tsk! I never go back on my words,

" said Uno with a cold tone while glaring at David.

Hearing the reply that he wanted, David nodded his head once again before stretching his body while saying.

"Then you should go back to sleep now, so that I can bring Shin back to the cottage.

"

"But let me remind you, I can at least deal with that 'second demon' inside this idiot's inner heart since it is only on par with me, but it is a completely different story when it comes to the other one,

" said Uno with a solemn tone.

He took a brief pause before continuing with a solemn tone.

"And even if the two of us work together, I can tell you for sure that we are still no match against it especially with our current state.

"

Those words made David stop what he was doing before nodding his head.

"I know about that, that is why that 'wall' is placed inside 'your' inner heart in the first place; it is to lock it down. And that is also the reason why the two of you needed to work together starting from this point of time.

"

Uno suddenly smirked when he heard that.

"Heh! Even if he was the one who created me, I will never acknowledge this idiot unless he accepts himself.

"

"Forgetting about everything? Heh! Did he think that running away is the right choice? Sooner or later, his own weakness is still going to hunt him down and break him once again.

"

David turned silent for a moment and stared at Uno after hearing those words. And when the latter sensed that, Uno glared at him before saying.

"I just want to tell you. We will never be able to defeat it unless he breaks free from those shackles.

"

Right after he said those words, Uno slowly closed his eyes before collapsing on the ground with a soft 'thud' sound.

...