Chapter 149: Battle (II)
The top floor of Qiao Mining Industries.
Qiao Feilong looked down from a window and could vaguely make out a silver car’s slow approach. His stomach turned; his heart was slightly unsettled.
Had he forgotten something? Or was something about to happen? The car below... seemed familiar. Curfew was in effect tonight, so those who could so blatantly drive on the streets must be supernaturals attending the ceremony. At this hour, the reception was about to begin.
Who could it be?
...Yuan Shuo!
He remembered now, it should be Yuan Shuo.
“A martial master...” Qiao Feilong murmured. There were numerous drawbacks to martial masters at times and unique advantages at others. Currently, it was the latter as he could not sense the other’s presence. He could only speculate and rely on his own judgment due to martial masters possessing only internal force, not mysterious power.
Internal force was held within the body and exceedingly hard to detect. Qiao Feilong hadn’t paid much attention to the previous Yuan Shuo as the man was just peak Sunderer. He was strong, but that was all there was to him. But now that the man was a Dominator and had killed a Solar, Qiao Feilong committed the person to memory. Perhaps they would have more run-ins in the future and they might even exchange blows. He’d considered how he might react if Yuan Shuo was his enemy. There was also Li Hao to consider. If he wished to kill the young man, then Yuan Shuo might be an impossible hurdle to cross over.
Qiao Feilong suddenly glimpsed something as he ruminated through his thoughts. Something was amiss.
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At the same time, street level.
Li Hao looked at his watch. “It’s 8:45 pm...”
Their side was to commence at this time; the operation outside the city would start one minute later because the disturbance here would be smaller. A clash wouldn’t be known that quickly, even if it was between two premier powerhouses. The situation was different outside the city as Liu Long and the others packed large amounts of hot weapons. A large uproar was inevitable once they started fighting and would raise Qiao Feilong’s attention.
A marvelously fast Yuan Shuo darted out of the car window like an ape as soon as Li Hao spoke. The window was tiny, but the professor burrowed through without a sound. The young man glanced backward while keeping his foot on the pedal. A shadow shot toward the sky, visible in the dark through the glow of neon lights.
Yuan Shuo set foot in the air like a massive bird, covering nearly one hundred meters with an upward leap. The building barely reached one hundred meters since it was thirty stories tall, putting it within easy reach of the Dominator.
Li Hao watched with immense shock. The last time his teacher bounded through the air, he’d traveled only a dozen meters. Perhaps he hadn’t utilized his full strength then, but this time he rose one hundred meters! He was obviously much stronger than before.
Yuan Shuo swiftly ascended with unparalleled speed. He seemed to glimpse a pair of eyes as he soared through the sky. The owner of the eyes also saw him.
Behind the window, a stony-faced Qiao Feilong looked on with consternation and inexplicable relief.
He’s here for me! Yuan Shuo’s here!
Solemn and grave, a ball of fire rose around him. He didn’t know how he’d been exposed, but knew that battle was inescapable the second that Yuan Shuo came striding through the air. It would only end with one of their deaths.
He didn’t know how much Yuan Shuo knew or why the man was so certain that Qiao Feilong was hiding his strength, but years of tempering in commerce enabled him to keep his head. A long blade of fire materialized in front of him.
A man gripping a blade of fire slashed through the window, sending searing flames through the air. Another man punched forward from the other side. There was no need for words, any that were said would be a joke. They both had only one goal—kill the other.
There wasn’t even the sound of shattering glass. Flames melted the window and the long blade of fire lit up the night sky. A faint glow from the stone blade erupted from Yuan Shuo’s fist. His punch seemed more like a blade stroke than a punch.
Two blades collided without a sound! All of the glass in the top floor simultaneously shattered, as did the floorboards beneath Qiao Feilong’s feet crack and go up in flames.
He couldn’t withstand Yuan Shuo whether in terms of technique, killing intent, or consciousness! The only area that he held the advantage was his strong base of mysterious power. It prevented disastrous defeat from crushing him!
“Cough cough cough...” Flaming red blood seeped out the corners of his lips. A fiery dragon appeared beneath his feet and brought him into the air. Countless flames once more flew out with a clench of his jaw. They were stronger this time and burned through this floor with a rumble.
The two hovered in the air as they fought, battle intensifying for this round.
Qiao Feilong found the circumstances unbelievable—he was a Solar! Hadn’t Yuan Shuo been able to kill Brokensky only because he’d hid his strength too deeply and Brokensky had been careless? But while Yuan Shuo had indeed launched an ambush tonight, Qiao Feilong was also ready beforehand. And yet, he still found himself on the losing side.
Why??
This didn’t make sense!
Was internal force this strong at a Dominator level that it could directly break through the defenses of a Solar?
Should I run?
The thought flashed through his mind. No!
Battle was only the beginning. If he chose to run now, he wouldn’t have a chance to counterattack. Running was to give Yuan Shuo a chance.
Rumble!
Fists!
Uncountable fists!
Yuan Shuo employed no technique at all; he simply rained punches down on his opponent. And gradually, Qiao Feilong began to sense something different. He exhaled with a cold look at Yuan Shuo.
I’ve figured you out! Your right fist!
The professor’s right fist was remarkably fierce due to a special energy that wasn’t internal force. It seemed to be a treasure as the brass knuckle was too big to be just that. As cutting as the blows from Yuan Shuo’s left fist were, they delivered minimal damage.
A treasure!
“Your brass knuckle... is a supernatural object?”
Cough cough cough.
Qiao Feilong evaded another series of blows while struggling with a coughing fit and rapidly backed away, burning through floors to endure Yuan Shuo’s mighty offense. The two quickly descended through the building.
The brass knuckle was a supernatural object!
Yuan Shuo continued his attacks without a word. Qiao Feilong had a good eye for detail and he wasn’t in the mood to respond. Just as he’d taught Li Hao, there was no need to converse with a standing enemy. The only time talking was appropriate as if he was heavily outmatched. Otherwise, keeping up the offense was the only answer!
Unceasing offense!
Another loud explosion rang out as Yuan Shuo flung a punch that fractured the floor. He swung through the air like an ape and kicked out a foot, circling Qiao Feilong upside down and delivering a dozen kicks.
Bam bam bam!
Qiao Feilong responded as well, blasting back with flames that turned into fiery dragons. They sought to wrap around Yuan Shuo and burn him to death.