Chapter 1024: Fan Li's Might!

Fan Li stood. He still wore the same simple, honest expression. But deep within his eyes there was now something difficult to name. It was like a child whose parents had left the house. Suddenly he felt himself the head of the family, free at last to shout as loudly as he pleased and unleash his true nature without worrying that Father's shoe sole might come flying at him. Humans were like that. Demon Kings were no different. When strength was insufficient, one lowered one's head when it was time to lower it.

But as strength continued recovering and the foundation beneath one's confidence grew stronger, so too did that so-called "true nature" return.

Xu Gang found the scene before him difficult to comprehend. Either this was a coincidence... or some special method had been used earlier to suppress the breakthrough, only for the restraint to be released now. But going from Fourth Grade to Third Grade was not merely a threshold of the flesh. There was also the threshold of the state of mind. How could that be suppressed and released on command?

"Are we fighting or not?"

Fan Li did not give Xu Gang much time to think. He was already becoming impatient. Xu Gang's gaze darkened. He began walking toward Fan Li.

"You have only just entered Third Grade. Your realm isn't even stable yet. Who exactly gave you the nerve to speak to me like this?"

"Heh heh."

Fan Li laughed twice.

He walked toward Xu Gang as well and answered:

"Your eldest uncle. Your second uncle. Your third uncle..."

Those words... combined with Fan Li's guileless expression... were extraordinarily effective at drawing hatred. No matter how one looked at him, the bastard simply begged to be punched. When the distance between them narrowed to within ten zhang... Bang! Bang! Almost simultaneously, both men launched themselves from the ground. Like two enormous boulders, they smashed together in an instant. Bang! Xu Gang used no weapon. Fan Li had not retrieved his axes either. Their first clash was fist against fist. The moment their fists collided, the ground beneath both men's feet caved deeply inward. Feeling the equal force transmitted through his fist, Xu Gang became even more puzzled. Was this really the strength of a Martial Artist who had only just entered Third Grade? Thought was thought. At this distance, what came next from both sides was almost entirely instinct. Withdraw the fist. Raise the leg. Kick! A duel between Martial Artists could sometimes look extraordinarily dull. Especially when both sides had absolute confidence in the toughness of their own bodies and the abundance of their blood qi, and both wanted to win by crushing the opponent head-on through sheer force.

Most of the elaborate flourishes were discarded. The fight turned into something as monotonous as two bulls locking horns. A peak Martial Artist duel like the one years ago outside the gates of the Chu imperial palace, when Prince Jingnan cut down the Shadow with his saber... was something one could encounter only by extraordinary fortune. Xu Gang's foot struck Fan Li. At the same moment, Fan Li's foot struck Xu Gang. Their supporting legs sank almost simultaneously, each man forcibly rooting his center of gravity and swallowing the force without moving. Xu Gang was one of those inside the Gate, a man accustomed to standing high above the world. On top of that, he had just indulged himself in that lofty remembrance of being a "Yan man" before the Regent Prince. He had raised the tone so high. How could he possibly allow himself to look disheveled now? As for Fan Li... he was a Demon King. Either do not fight at all... or, once you fight, you must win. Winning was merely the foundation. More important still... you had to win beautifully. And so these two Martial Artists, both carrying enormous burdens of image and pride, each forcibly absorbed the other's kick. Then... almost simultaneously... fists and feet collided again. Neither man's position changed much. Neither retreated. They punched. They kicked. They endured. The booming impacts echoed through the valley again and again, settling into an almost orderly rhythm.

...

"He only just entered Third Grade and he's already fighting Xu Gang to a standstill. What does that mean?"

Behind them, the two women had ultimately ignored the Blind Man's request to fetch sunflower seeds and candied fruit.

"Probably something about his cultivation method. He looks more like he's forcing himself to hold on."

"Which one is forcing himself?"

"It can't possibly be Xu Gang."

...

The image cast above Granny Qian's water vat reflected the duel between the two Martial Artists before the valley. There was no sound, only the image. Yet even through that image, one could still see how terrifying the force was every time those two bodies collided. By now, some of the black-robed figures who had been meditating inside the stockade had begun gathering beneath the raised platform to watch the projected image. Others went directly toward the entrance of the formation. The Emperor of Chu remained seated and watched as well. Huang Lang had risen long ago. His hands were clasped behind his back. Yet his fingertips kept rubbing and picking at one another, betraying a growing agitation inside him. In the dream... there should have been a group of helpers around him, helping him sweep aside one opponent after another. Now... he had even more helpers.

And yet he desperately wanted to shout:

A pack of arrogant idiots!

...

Countless gazes, through countless different methods, were fixed upon the duel. Zheng Fan stood there too. He simply ignored the dust and grit repeatedly blasted toward him by the impacts. Behind him... the Blind Man remained perfectly calm. A'Ming and Xue San had long since begun looking impatient. Yet neither felt quite comfortable complaining. Complaining would amount to accusing Master of making a mistake by choosing Fan Li to go first. Gradually... as the fight grew white-hot... A'Ming and Xue San finally let out long breaths of relief. At last. It was about to end. And indeed... it was. At first, Xu Gang had believed Fan Li was forcing himself to endure and could not possibly sustain it. But after a long stretch of brutal collision, Xu Gang gradually discovered that his own blood qi had begun falling under this relentless high-tempo exchange. The opponent before him, on the other hand... was literally becoming fiercer the longer they fought. Xu Gang's fists struck Fan Li again and again. And the hardness transmitted back from Fan Li's body... was increasing with every blow. How was this a fight? He was clearly forging iron! Every strike... made the opponent before him harder! Suddenly, Xu Gang realized something. Could the man actually be using him... to forcibly temper his own body? The thought was absurd. A man who had just advanced into Third Grade... how could he possibly dare do something like that before a peak Third Grade Martial Artist? Yet behind them, Zheng Fan, who had been forcing himself to preserve a little dignity as he watched... finally let out a faint sound of impatience.

"Tsk."

In that instant... Fan Li roared. Dense cracks spread across his skin. It was not that Xu Gang had shattered Fan Li's body. Rather... the beating had forcibly hammered a new shell out of him. In the next instant... Fan Li's strength erupted violently. Something that had slept for far too long deep within his bloodline finally responded like flint struck again and again until, at last, the long-awaited spark appeared. Hum! Fan Li caught Xu Gang's fist in one hand. Joy flashed through Xu Gang's heart. An opening! He followed the movement and kicked directly toward Fan Li. But the layer of skin that had just "risen" across Fan Li's body began burning and melting in an instant. Then, in the blink of an eye... it transformed into golden barbs jutting outward from his flesh.

"Hss..."

Agonizing pain exploded through the sole of Xu Gang's foot where it struck Fan Li. That meant the thick layer of protective blood qi around his body had failed in that instant. Even his immensely powerful flesh had been torn open. Blood sprayed almost immediately. Xu Gang instinctively wanted to separate from his opponent. At that moment... he no longer cared about dignity. He no longer cared what the others inside the Gate thought of him. He did not even care what his two brothers behind him thought. He felt fear. Deep, unmistakable fear. The kind of fear a child feels the first time he cuts a finger. It hurts. It hurts terribly. You might even want to cry. This was collapse. The overturning of something he had believed so deeply that it had long since become natural. Xu Gang had slept for a hundred years. Add the years before that, when he became famous in the jianghu and roamed beneath Heaven, and he had occupied the peak of the Martial Artist path for more than a century. How short had his childhood been by comparison? When something continued long enough... it naturally became something one assumed would always be so. And once that assumption was shattered... the shock to the mind was enormous. The spray of his own blood reflected in Xu Gang's eyes. He tried to pull away. Fan Li's hand, still gripping his wrist, abruptly yanked him closer. Xu Gang's retreat was halted. As a peak Martial Artist, he at least did not immediately lose his balance. But that did not matter. Fan Li had already seized the opportunity. He opened both arms... and moved to embrace him. This was no longer a Martial Artist's fighting method. Earlier, when Fan Li deliberately grabbed Xu Gang's wrist, he had at least offered Xu Gang a chance to borrow Fan Li's force and strike him. Now, Fan Li was opening his guard completely. Xu Gang could freely unleash his most violent blows against the chest and other vital points before him. Even Martial Artists had to protect their weak points and vitals in a fight. Xu Gang clenched his teeth. Instinct screamed that danger was approaching. But there was no longer time to think or weigh his options. He drew back one fist... and hammered Fan Li's chest with absolutely everything he had! He needed to smash him open. Needed to force him away. Because in addition to the smell of his own blood...

Xu Gang's nose had caught another scent. A scent that had seemed far, far away from him for more than a century. Death. Boom! Boom! Boom! Fan Li's chest took three full-force punches from Xu Gang. Each impact made Fan Li's entire body tremble. From behind, one could even see bones deforming and bulging outward, nearly breaking through the flesh covering them. Yet Xu Gang felt none of the satisfaction of having gained an advantage. Because he saw that the blood-qi-wrapped fists smashing against the opponent's chest were themselves being shredded by the barbs growing there. A Martial Artist's fists should have been among the hardest parts of his entire body. Yet even they could not escape being pierced and cut apart. After three consecutive punches... both of Xu Gang's fists were a bloody ruin. More terrifying still... even after taking that much damage... Fan Li finally completed... his embrace. His arms closed. Fan Li pulled Xu Gang—the peak Third Grade Martial Artist—violently into his chest. The barbs on his arms. The barbs on his chest. The barbs on his legs. The barbs covering his entire body. Every one of them made intimate contact with Xu Gang.

One vicious spike after another plunged into his flesh. Xu Gang felt as though ten thousand arrows had pierced him at once. After more than a century... he finally remembered again... what weakness meant. What helplessness meant.

And an indescribably shrill scream tore uncontrollably from his throat:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

The scream was beyond miserable. More horrifying still was the thought of what kind of torment could make a peak Martial Artist scream that way. Then... an even more horrifying scene unfolded. After the embrace... Fan Li began opening his arms. The barbs embedded throughout Xu Gang's flesh moved with him. Like wagon wheels rolling through meat... they ground across Xu Gang's body from within. Blood qi was severed. Skin and flesh were ripped apart. Bones were ground to pieces. It was, in the most literal possible sense, without the slightest exaggeration... the separation of bone and flesh. Everything happened too quickly. So quickly that those watching the duel had barely recovered from their shock before what should have been a long, bitter contest between Martial Artists was forcibly ended in this utterly unimaginable fashion. Only now did Xu Gang's two brothers, still standing within the formation, realize they needed to save their elder brother. Ignoring everything else, Xu Huai and Xu Hai charged out from the formation to help him. But leaving the formation required a little time even for their own people. It was only a single line.

Yet crossing that line made their bodies seem to plunge into mud. Their movements slowed as if the world itself had entered slow motion.

Zheng Fan shouted:

"Didn't we agree this was single combat? Didn't we agree this was an army sparring match? What? Now that you're losing, you can't afford it and need to call for help?"

At that moment... the Blind Man and Liang Cheng walked to Zheng Fan's side. Both knelt on one knee. Zheng Fan first rested Wuya upon Liang Cheng's shoulder. Then he lifted it away. In an instant, Liang Cheng's aura exploded upward. The Fourth Grade Grand General of the eastern Jin system... advanced into Third Grade! The newly advanced Liang Cheng did not pause for even an instant. One palm struck the ground. His body swept directly toward the entrance of the formation. At that exact moment, Xu Huai and Xu Hai finally emerged and began rushing toward their elder brother. A gale wrapped in dense baleful qi slammed toward them. Bang! Bang! Xu Huai and Xu Hai were both forced backward uncontrollably. Liang Cheng... stood exactly where he had landed. Unmoving as a mountain. Unlike their elder brother Xu Gang, a peak Third Grade Martial Artist, these two brothers had not actually reached the peak of Third Grade. Even so... for one man to knock both of them back simultaneously was shocking enough. Liang Cheng's skin began turning dark cyan. Within his eyes, ghostfire seemed to flicker. Two fangs, symbols of a terrifying authority, protruded openly beyond his lips. Around him... baleful qi gathered so densely it seemed ready to condense into rain. Yet all of it remained extraordinarily obedient, circling him in slow, controlled currents. His hands... lifted gradually. Ten long black fingernails emerged. Terrifying corpse poison clung to them so heavily that even the air itself seemed to be undergoing poisoning. He had once commanded thousands upon thousands of soldiers and horses. Now... he himself... was an army of thousands. One man held the pass. Ten thousand could not break through! That brief delay was enough. On Fan Li's side... he finally completed his "artwork." He raised both hands. Xu Gang, hooked all over by the barbs, raised both arms with him. Fan Li twisted his waist. Xu Gang's waist twisted too. Fan Li began swaying. Xu Gang swayed along with him. Fan Li used the barbs growing from his own body as puppet strings and used Xu Gang, not yet fully dead and still retaining a trace of consciousness, as the puppet. With perfect enthusiasm... he displayed his own rustic sense of beauty. Zheng Fan remembered a similar scene from the first Yan-Chu national war. At the time, Zheng Fan had ordered the Chu army inside a city forced to come out.

Fan Li, that idiot, had directly dragged the corpse of Pillar of State Shi Yuantang out of its coffin, tied bamboo poles and strings to the body... and made it dance a yangge folk dance. The Chu generals inside the city had gone mad and ordered an attack. So... this was actually where it came from. This was one of Fan Li's own bloodline abilities. Previously, either he had temporarily been unable to use it, or he simply had almost no opportunities for one-on-one killing. On a battlefield, he could hardly use something like this against some ordinary foot soldier. And during the occasional sparring match with the Sword Saint... he certainly could not use it on Old Yu. But the technique was undeniably terrifying. Those barbs growing from Fan Li's own flesh could pierce through protective blood qi and physical toughness alike. No matter how powerful a Martial Artist was... in single combat... who would dare get close to this idiot? Fan Li danced with complete delight. Unfortunately, he accidentally used too much strength. There came a sound like cloth being ripped apart. Xu Gang's upper and lower body... were torn apart by accident. Fan Li froze.

He frowned at the new toy he had only just finished making and had already broken through his own carelessness. His face held clear dissatisfaction, as though he had not gotten nearly enough fun from it. Then... from between the two pieces of Xu Gang's body... Fan Li stuck his head out. He looked toward the two brothers whom Liang Cheng had intercepted for him. Fan Li tossed Xu Gang's lower half onto the ground. Then he placed Xu Gang's upper half over his own right shoulder. From a distance... it almost looked as though Xu Gang were sitting on Fan Li's shoulder. Zheng Fan's Wuya also lifted away from the Blind Man's shoulder.

"Huuu..."

The Blind Man released an extraordinarily satisfied breath. At that moment, he could feel his consciousness... his spirit... trembling with excitement. And he possessed absolute confidence... that he could make reality tremble along with it. The Blind Man was still the Blind Man, however. His self-control remained extraordinary. At the very least... he would not lose himself in excitement the way Fan Li did. The Blind Man stood. He remained beside Master. Zheng Fan patted the area beneath his chest.

"We didn't bring the cigarettes."

"Master, be at ease."

The Blind Man turned and began walking toward the rear. Step by step... he came closer and closer to the two black-robed women standing behind them. The two women stared at the Blind Man, who had also just entered Third Grade. Their eyes were filled with shock.

"It was such a simple thing to begin with. You people just had to make it troublesome."

The Blind Man reached out. He crooked one finger toward the space behind the women. Back where everyone had eaten earlier, the peanuts, sunflower seeds, water skins, and Master's large iron cigarette case stored in the saddlebags all rose into the air and flew toward him. The Blind Man pointed at the two women standing in the middle. The objects had already floated to a stop behind them. The women still did not move. The Blind Man's mental power erupted. A psychic storm swept outward. The woman following the Qi Refiner path fared somewhat better. Her face merely turned pale. The woman following the Martial Artist path gave a muffled groan as blood trickled from her nose. Inside the sea of consciousness of both women... the Blind Man's psychic storm thundered one sentence:

"Hey! Watch yourselves—pull your legs in!"

[End of Chapter 1024]