Chapter 49

His soul wandered. His eyes looked beyond the rim of the sky. The magnificent buildings. It all sent tremors to Xu Yi’s soul.

Suddenly, there was an extremely strong sense of exhilaration surging in Xu Yi’s heart. He knew that it was his desire for showmanship. It was familiar to him. He had experienced such euphoria in the game world, where he directed the attack of the fallen cities.

However, this time, such showmanship was stronger and more fervent. It became unfathomable, and he could not control himself.

Of course, several hundred people in the virtual world were insignifcant and unable to hold a candle to several tens of thousands of folks focusing their attention on his own glory.

Xu Yi’s blood was boiling, and he was full of lofty ambitions.

Xu Yi had drowned in his own ego and pride. Gao Pan, standing a few stone’s throws away, was indignant. He perceived Xu Yi as savagely arrogant and had not given him any respect.

He stared intently at Xu Yi for quite some time. However, Xu Yi did not return his gaze. Instead, Xu Yi was busily peering at his surroundings, his face full of excitement. It was as if he was basking in his limelight and had forgotten that he had to confront a formidable opponent, Gao Pan, who would beat the lights out of him.

As the duo were submerged in their thoughts, there was a loud clang. The commotion at the viewing stands quickly cleared. A deep, rich voice blasted through the amplifier. It was the event host reading out the rules of the duel.

The rules were plain and simple. It allowed for all forms of weapons and all sorts of strategies. There would be no regard for life or death!

As the voice dropped off, Xu Yi and Gao Pan’s eyes finally locked. The blue sky was clear, and the sun was hanging in the middle of it.

The taller and bigger Gao Pan held a silver gun and was clad in gold armour. He eyed his prey covetously. The red rays from the glaring sun showered on his golden armour, and he looked like he was a god that had walked out from the burning planet.

On the other hand, Xu Yi was thin and scrawny. He was tall. His body reached Gao Pan’s shoulders. His pale, unshaven face, his faded green robe. If not for his extraordinarily bright black eyes, he could have gone unnoticed in a crowd.

Judging by looks alone, it was easy to tell who had the upper hand.

Gao Pan waved the silver gun lightly. The crowd let out screams and shouts so deafening that they shook the city.

At this instant, Gao Pan was satisfied and pleased.

He had been challenged eight times. However, he had yet to lay his feet on the renowned Rising Dragon Platform in Guang’an.

In the past, Guang’an City had been plagued with endless fights. What happened between two warriors at the peak of the Body Forging Stage did not matter.

However, in the recent years, there were rarely any fights among the warriors at the peak of the Body Forging Stage. That’s what had put this duel on the radar.

On the surface it was a duel between Gao Pan and Xu Yi. Deep down, it was the power struggle between the Patrol Division and Black Dragon Hall. Moreover, the Black Dragon Hall had bought bets with ten thousand taels of gold. That majestic tactic had invigorated the depressed gambling market. The cascaded effects had spilled over to the duel on the platform.

Guang’an Prefecture’s Governor had decided to reopen the Rising Dragon Platform, and used it as the duel venue.

Several hundred thousand spectators cheered him on. That spurred Gao Pan’s spirits, and his ambitions soared. He had forgotten about Ma Wensheng’s advice completely. The advisor had cautioned him to take down the opponent quickly.

The loud clang sounded. The silver gun cut through the sky. Gao Pan paused to raise his head high. He insisted on introducing his silver gun to everyone. Xu Yi flouted the rules and went ahead to speak.

“Quiet please! Quiet!”

Xu Yi suddenly moved his feet and opened his arms. He began to dance in front of the crowds. His rich voice, blasted through the amplifiers, was loudly heard.

In a flash, the entire venue quieted down. Everyone turned to stare at him.

Since the opening of the Rising Dragon Platform, there had been no occurrence of a challenger shouting at the spectators on the viewing stands.

This twist of events was new and interesting. Everyone wanted to hear what Xu Yi had to say.

The intense attention put some pressure on Xu Yi. He kept his nerves in check and opened his arms. He asked aloud, “I’ll like to find out, is there anyone who has placed a bet that I’m the victor? If there is, let me first congratulate you because you’ll profit! Come on, those who bet that I’ll win, do stand up and wave to me. When I see you, I’ll be encouraged!”

Bang!

One side of the viewing stand collapsed. Even Gao Pan nearly let his silver gun slip out of his hand.

“I’ve never seen anything more disgusting than this!”

Gao Pan felt nauseous.

At this instant, countless people stood up and waved. There were cheering Xu Yi on. It was an impressive sight.

Obviously, there were several hundred thousand spectators. Even if one percent of them had bet on Xu Yi to win, the commotion caused by these folks would cause a stir.

There were also many folks who came to join in the fun and excitement. If they had followed suit, the sun would have shaken. It would have been a stormy day for the mountains and rivers.

Gao Pan was envious. Between Xu Yi and I, it’s plainly obvious that I’m more popular. If Xu Yi can command such support, I’m sure I can do better than him a hundred fold, he emotionally thought to himself.

He began to imagine that there were ten thousand spectators rooting for him. He felt overwhelmed.

Immediately, he became the copycat version of Xu Yi. Gao Pan roared and there was complete silence. He was about to speak when his ear picked up a strong gust of wind. Subconsciously, he darted his head to avoid it. He was hit on the hand and his silver gun flung out of his hand.

That was an abrupt change!

Xu Yi had initiated his attack!

A brain wave had struck Xu Yi to greet the crowd and stir up the audience.

He had already contemplated his move. He knew he had to leverage on his strengths and be preemptive.

He had swift moves and powerful strength. Those were his assets. He lacked martial prowess in comparison to his opponent. That was his weakness.

He only knew the Ox Demon Strong Fist, which he had used for training, and he lacked attack techniques.

Needless to say, the gist of this duel session would be to take his opponent by surprise and fight close distance. He could not afford to allow his opponent to overcome him using martial prowess.

The silver gun in Gao Pan’s hand was the first target of attack.

Between the two warriors, one had a strong weapon, and the other challenged with empty fists. He had reckoned that his opponent must have been an expert in guns, and hence, Xu Yi had to stop him from using the gun.

Therefore he deliberately teased the audience and got close to Gao Pan. At the same time, he was checking out Gao Pan’s blindspots so that he could time his opportune attacks.

Who would have predicted that Gao Pan got himself hot-blooded faster and deeper than the audience. He had besotted himself into a wonderful rhapsody.

That was the opportunity that Xu Yi had been waiting for. His light body and swift fists moved in tandem.

What a Gao Pan! He had been through countless duels, and his battling had become his survival instinct. He was trained to be on the alert even when there were no killing threats. He moved his head half an inch and Xu Yi missed.

Subsequently, Xu Yi struck out with both fists. Gao Pan avoided his head. His hand was a bit slow. Xu Yi was then able to hit the gun. The strong force caused the gun to vibrate, and it fell out of his hand.

Wow!

There was a thunderous explosion on the viewing stand. If the explosion was real, Xu Yi would have perished.