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On the balcony of the teahouse, Zhou Peide finally relaxed a little. “Not bad, he’s got some sense.”
He shook his head and sighed. “He could’ve won easily, yet he insisted on showing off. If he had used his real skills earlier, he wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.”
A middle-aged man with a black beard nodded in approval nearby. “Zhou Bai has already grasped the form of the ape. After this fight, he’ll definitely rise to another level. His talent surpasses ours.”
This was Wang Yao, one of the Eight Vajras, known for his relatively good reputation.
Zhou Peide stroked his beard, clearly pleased. “Well said.”
Nearby, Yuan Qu merely listened, a faint trace of mockery flickering in his eyes.
***
West of the platform, the atmosphere was heavy.
A veteran sighed unwillingly. “It seems Elder Zhang has lost his bet… He’s gained both the form and the intent of the ape. That boy from the Zhou Family truly has extraordinary talent. The old monkey has a worthy successor.”
Zhang Yuanshang snorted, face dark as he took several deep pulls from his pipe. “What’s the rush?!”
***
Meanwhile, the fight was growing increasingly intense. On the platform, Li Yan took another hit. Three deep claw marks tore across his left shoulder, causing blood to pour out.
However, he didn’t even look at the wound; his eyes remained locked on Zhou Bai. Using his Great Luo Dharma Body to heal would be pointless. It was a life-or-death duel. If he couldn’t break Zhou Bai’s circle, he would only keep getting injured.
He had to admit, Zhou Bai was certainly fierce. His Monkey Fist had found its true essence. It was fluid and alive. Li Yan even felt like he was not facing a man, but a savage ape roaming the mountains.
Not a man?
Seeing the wildness in Zhou Bai’s eyes, Li Yan’s heart stirred. While retreating, he formed a hand seal and took a deep breath. Something was off; a faint, musky scent lingered around Zhou Bai.
It wasn’t like the cold yin energy of spirits. Rather, it felt alive.
So that’s it, this guy’s cheating!
Though he didn’t know how, Li Yan was certain some kind of sorcery was enhancing Zhou Bai’s ape-like intent. Anger flared in his mind, but he stayed calm. The duel was supposedly overseen by officials and temple representatives to prevent the use of strange arts, but clearly, everyone was turning a blind eye.
Moreover, the aura was very faint. Even if it was exposed, it could vanish instantly.
… If only I had my Three Talents Demon Suppressing Coin tassel.
Just then, Zhou Bai lunged again, crouching low and clawing at Li Yan’s ribs, hissing like a beast. It was the Red Fist’s hidden technique, Threading Sound. With each breath, qi traveled through the body like silk threads, stimulating one’s muscles and tendons.
Zhou Bai’s skill wasn’t honed enough. He needed the technique just to maintain the hidden force he was exerting. Combined with his monkey form, he looked like a wild beast.
Li Yan faced the incoming strike head on. There was no room to retreat. He deflected the strike using hidden force, but at the same time, his chest expanded.
“Hong!”
A deep thunderous sound resonated across the platform. To the noisy crowd below, it meant nothing. But to Zhou Bai, it was like a thunderclap exploding beside his ear.
His vision went black and his breath hitched for a moment. The unnatural ape-like aura that had been forcibly grafted onto him was instantly disrupted. The Thundercloud Resonance, rooted in Buddhist mantras and mimicking the harmony of heaven and earth, naturally suppressed such unnatural forces.
A single blast shattered Zhao Bai’s energy, dissipating the hidden force he commanded. At the same time, Li Yan surged forward.
Crack!
Zhou Bai’s claw was deflected, and his wrist snapped backward. Bone pierced through flesh, and a heart wrenching cry rang out.
“AAAAH!”
Zhou Bai had never truly been injured before. The pain of his bones piercing through his flesh overwhelmed him. Cold sweat poured down his face as he staggered back.
So the Thundercloud Resonance can break it!
Li Yan could tell that the scent of the unstable aura was thinning. He knew it was his chance to strike. There was no holding back.
A panicking Zhou Bai lashed out with his left claw, aiming for Li Yan’s face, but Li Yan had already anticipated it. He deflected with his left hand, struck the abdomen with his right, then followed up with a crushing hammer fist.
Red Fist rapid strikes: Lift, Wipe, Thrust, Slash!
He moved faster and faster, with each blow heavier than the last. With every strike, Li Yan chanted the mantra.
Hong!
Every time a blow landed, Zhou Bai felt as though he was a demon struck by heavenly lightning. His mind buzzed as blood sprayed from his lips.
For once, the terror of death filled him. Zhou Bai knew that if he did not do something, he would be dying on the platform!
As Li Yan’s final punch came crashing down, Zhou Bai suddenly raised both elbows to block.
Crack!
The sound of bones fracturing rang out simultaneously from both arms.
Zhou Bai had already been forced back toward the edge of the platform. Under that terrifying force, he spat out blood as he was blasted backward. He fell from the three zhang tall platform and crashed onto the ground below with a heavy thud. His legs twitched twice before going still.
An explosive roar suddenly rang out from the teahouse east of the platform.
“You’re courting death!”
Zhou Peide smashed through the window of the upper floor as he charged out. Though he was rigid and stern by nature, harsh toward his son and never pleasant with words, it was all because he loved Zhou Bai deeply. He had always disciplined him harshly out of care. His treasured son had always been his greatest source of pride.
Now, seeing him gravely injured and uncertain whether he was dead or alive, Zhou Peide instantly lost all reason.
Crash!
At the same time, several figures also burst out from the west side of the platform.
An old man stepped forward to block Zhou Peide’s path.
Zhou Peide howled furiously, “Get lost!”
He struck out with a heart-piercing palm strike. Yet the moment he attacked, the figure before him vanished. The person stopping him was none other than Luo Shihai, the master of the Eight Trigram Palm. The Eight Trigram Palm emphasized steps like wading through mud, arms twisting like ropes, and circling like millstones. It excelled most at close-range movement and body maneuvering.
With a single sway and rotation of his body, Luo Shihai had already slipped to Zhou Peide’s side. His palms moved in quick succession, knocking aside Zhou Peide’s arm as his shoulder suddenly dropped forward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Zhou Peide instantly lost his balance and staggered backward.
Only then did Luo Shihai stroke his long beard, his eyes icy cold as he spoke calmly, “In a life-or-death duel, once victory and defeat are decided, all grudges are settled. No retaliation or outside interference is allowed. What? Your son’s life is precious, but my disciple was supposed to just endure it?!”
The fury in his voice was completely undisguised.
In the past, his disciple, a highly promising young opera actress, had been violated by a disciple of the Zhou Family and later hanged herself. He had once tried to seek revenge, but he had been no match for Zhou Pan on the stage. In the end, he could only force himself to swallow the matter and suppress his hatred.
Now that an opportunity had finally come, he naturally intended to reclaim his dignity.
At the same time, Zhang Yuanshang and the others also surrounded the area, confronting the rest of the Eight Vajras standing beside Zhou Peide.
For a moment, the atmosphere became incomparably tense.
Just then, Wang Yao of the Eight Vajras stepped forward, checked Zhou Bai’s pulse, and yelled, “Senior Brother, he’s not dead yet! Save him first!”
At that point, Zhou Peide no longer cared about anything else. “Quick! Hurry!”
He hurried over with his men, lifted Zhou Bai onto a stretcher, and rushed away. He did not even have the spare breath to leave behind threats before departing.
Meanwhile, Yuan Qu and the others among the Eight Vajras swept cold gazes across the crowd before turning and swiftly leaving as well.
There were many people from the jianghu present, but all wore different expressions. They were all seasoned veterans who thoroughly understood the situation in Xianyang. Everyone knew that this battle had completely split apart the two factions of the Divine Fist Association.
From this day onward, the underworld of Xianyang would no longer know peace.
Naturally, Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei had no time to care about the others. They hurried beneath the arena and anxiously questioned Li Yan, who was slumped over the edge above them.
“Brother Yan, are you alright?”
They could hardly be blamed for panicking. Li Yan’s condition was equally terrible. Before turning defeat into victory, he had endured several solid claw strikes. His body was covered in wounds and he was soaked entirely in blood.
Li Yan opened his mouth as if to speak, but suddenly closed his eyes and collapsed.
Wang Daoxuan and Sha Lifei panicked and quickly caught him.
Yet at that moment, Li Yan secretly squeezed their arms.
At the same time, a low voice sounded in their ears. “I’m fine. We need to leave this place first.”
The two instantly understood. They quickly found a stretcher, carried Li Yan away, and rapidly departed.
“Excellent!”
Though both sides had suffered miserably, the citizens of Xianyang had thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. As Sha Lifei and Wang Daoxuan carried Li Yan through the streets, cheers erupted along the way.
Yet among the crowd, there were also many whose expressions turned dark, their gazes strange and unsettling…
***
On the street near the Fertility Goddess Temple, in the same puppet shop.
Crack!
At the exact same moment Li Yan broke the ritual placed upon Zhou Bai, a white porcelain doll covered in red talisman markings on the altar suddenly shattered.
Chen Fakui, who had been carving puppets, suddenly stiffened. Slowly rising to his feet, he reached into the shattered porcelain doll and removed a yellow talisman folded into a triangle. The moment the talisman touched his hand, it rapidly disintegrated and scattered into ash…
