Chapter 428: Battle
Xiao Luo did not take the bank card from Hong Ji, but instead, he asked in return, “Who is that?”
“Ouyang De, the present Head of the Ouyang family!”
“We, of the Hong family, and the Ouyang family, are incompatible and have been in conflict for generations. This old poison and I have also been fighting ever since we were young, and I have beaten him every time. But, now that he heard about the loss of my arm, he eagerly comes over to redeem his reputation,” Hong Ji said.
“Bullsh*t, you old fart… stop talking nonsense and slandering me in front of the younger generation. Boy, don’t listen to him. Every time he competes with me, all it takes is just half a step, and he’s beaten. As for his arm, I swear to the heavens that I had no idea, and if I am lying, then may I be struck by lightning,” Ouyang De exclaimed.
“You still dare to talk about lightning? Old Poison, you better not make such an oath, or who knows, maybe one day G.o.d will really drop a bolt right on top of you and take you to heaven!”
“Enough of your nonsense, just stop this chatting. It’s time to fight!” Ouyang De scowled.
Hong Ji chuckled and mocked in reply, “Hahaha, I’ve nothing to be afraid of, so if you want to fight, let’s do it now.”
Hong Ji promptly returned into the home, and in a short while, he was back in the courtyard holding his familiar dog-beating stick. It was a st.u.r.dy bamboo rod, purplish in color, and scarred with traces of sword cuts all over its surface—a testament to the long years it had served him and the countless battles it had been used in.
Xiao Luo stopped Hong Ji just as he was about to step forward. “You really want to fight him?” he asked.
“Of course, I do. It’s time to end this feud once and for all,” Hong Ji replied.
“Then, I’ll fight in your stead.”
Xiao Luo could not allow Hong Ji to take on the challenge without the use of his left arm. Feeling responsible for it, Xiao Luo felt compelled to stand in as Hong Ji’s champion in the fight.
“Mr. Xiao Luo…”
Ji Siying felt a deep sense of admiration for Xiao Luo and unconsciously called out his name under her breath.
Hong Ji adamantly waved him away. “I appreciate your kind offer, but this is a long-standing conflict between our two families, and no outsiders should interfere,” he declared.
Right after he spoke, he dashed toward Ouyang De without further hesitation and let out a fierce roar.
“Hong… you, old ghost, I will not take advantage of you. I will not use my left arm either!”
Ouyang De bellowed as he tucked his left arm behind him. With his right hand, he raised the Ghost Head Divine Snake Rod and advanced to meet Hong Ji’s attack.
As soon as the two adversaries clashed, a ferocious fight ensued. Intense bursts of internal energy began to surge forth, causing a strong wind to sweep across the courtyard, and the ground cracked under their feet.
It was almost like a scene taken out from a martial arts movie, and it captured everyone’s attention.
Ji Siying was shocked and at a loss for words, for she was just a Level C fighter, and she was nowhere close to the level of these two old men. From her observation, Hong Ji and Ouyang De’s capabilities would place them in the Level A rating, or possibly even close to Level S. To Ji Siying, it was inconceivable that such powerful and skillful fighters were not roped in to be part of NSA. If she could meet two of such legends in Xiahai alone, wouldn’t there be more hidden masters scattered across the country?
Xiao Luo observed the fight with a keen eye, and he could tell that Hong Jia and Ouyang De were using all their inner strength and at no time were they holding back. Yet, they were obviously confidants and friends, as Xiao Luo could tell from their earlier verbal exchange and the fact that Ouyang De chose to fight on equal terms, keeping his left arm behind his back.
The children remained seated in the courtyard with a casual indifference to the goings-on and continued holding their bowls and slowly eating their porridge.
“Hong, you old ghost, take this stick!”
Ouyang De glared fiercely at Hong Ji and whipped his wrist, channeling a powerful surge of energy through his weapon to strike at his opponent.
Hong Ji reacted immediately, swirling his waist in mid-air and twisting his body to avoid Ouyang De’s strike. At the same time, Hong Ji struck out with his dog-beating stick, targeting Ouyang De’s abdomen. In his hand, the stick was as sharp as a knife.
Ouyang De instantly spun around and parried with precision, and in one swift motion, the Ghost Head Divine Snake Rod was back on the attack again—a display of just how lethal Ouyang De’s rod was.
“Old Poison, you are just slightly short!”
Hong Ji sneered, as he was well prepared for the counter-attack from Ouyang De’s rod.
CRACK!
When the rods smashed together, a burst of energy exploded outward around them. The ground under Hong Ji’s feet sank, and his face strained with a grimace as he was pushed back by the force of the blow. Suddenly, Hong Ji skipped and kicked out with his left foot directly at Ouyang De’s chest.
At that precise moment, Ouyang De kicked out as well.
BAM! BAM!
Both men received devastating kicks to their chests and staggered back five or six steps before they managed to steady themselves.
They were now gasping heavily and their bodies soaked in sweat as they stood staring at each other.
“Hong, you old ghost, your wounded arm has started bleeding,” Ouyang De cautioned.
“I have too much blood, is it wrong to release a little?” Hong Ji responded. While he did not even look at his arm, the excruciating pain caused his forehead to break out in beads of sweat.
Ouyang De was infuriated. “Why do you keep blowing your own trumpet? Forget it, stop fighting in this condition, or else I’m afraid you will kill yourself. If you still insist, then let’s resort to using our special skills—you use your Palm of the Eighteen Dragons, and I will use my Toad Power. Then we resolve this feud once and for all, how about that?”
“Yes, that’s a good idea… a great idea. Come on, then!” Hong Ji snarled.
“Okay, here I come!”
Ouyang De let out a roar and cast his Ghost Head Divine Snake Rod aside. He got down on all fours and a.s.sume a position like a toad.
Ouyang De inhaled and exhaled deeply in a rhythmic pattern, and the surrounding air began to churn and tremble, sending out ripples of shockwaves. Soon, Ouyang De’s chest began to swell and expand until his clothes were torn apart.
Hong Ji also dropped his stick and took a deep breath. He then slowly moved his right palm and channeled his inner force toward his hand to deliver the Palm of the Eighteen Dragons.
Suddenly, the atmosphere became thick with a crackling charge of energy, and the temperature fell drastically, sending a chill across the ground.
Ji Siying’s heart sank, and she was becoming very nervous. It was evident that this was a fight to the finish, and it was not something that she personally wanted to see.
“Mr. Xiao Luo, can’t you stop them?” Ji Siying cried.
Xiao Luo said nothing in response, but his eyes continued staring intensely at the duelists, and he remained very calm.
At that point, Hong Ji and Ouyang De had already completed summoning their inner force and were ready to execute their respective techniques.
“Toad opens its mouth!”
“Dragon with its regret!”
Both roared in unison as they violently unleashed their ultimate moves causing the wind to howl like a tornado. The courtyard and the surrounding structures seemed to shake and sway as these two forces collided.
Ji Siying screamed and covered her eyes with both her hands, unwilling to see what would happen next.
BOOM!
The moment the fighters made contact, the ground beneath them started cracked, and energy surged outward like waves.
Hong Ji and Ouyang De were suddenly stunned because their strikes did not connect on each other, but instead, on another person. Xiao Luo suddenly appeared out of thin air and took their attacks on his chest and back.
“Young man, you… what’s this…” Ouyang De was shocked.
Hong Ji’s face changed immediately. “Young man… you… you…” he said.
Hong Ji was deeply concerned.
Ji Siying put her hands down and peeked. Her jaw dropped when she saw who the person that had been struck was—it was none other than Xiao Luo.
He glanced coldly at the two old fighters and said, “Don’t you two old men who something better to do?”
And when he finished saying that, he slapped both their heads with lightning speed.