Chapter 247: Cat and Mouse
The place fell silent as Xia Fei and Fangyuan faced each other. The disciples of the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect were bewildered. Many of them knew that Xia Fei was an envoy, but now, he had suddenly become an unacknowledged disciple of the a.s.sa.s.sin Sect with the name Bloodshadow, and he would be representing their sect in the extremely important third match.
Tongtian frowned. Even those with bad vision could easily tell that Fangyuan’s aura was already in a disadvantageous position.
Fangyuan’s build might be taller and bigger than Xia Fei, and the two were seemingly not even in the same weight cla.s.s, yet the ordinary-looking Xia Fei was able to remain calm in front of a strong opponent. It felt as if he was only taking a casual stroll and completely self-confident.
The only weakness that Fangyuan had was his lack of experience. Tongtian was well aware of that.
Fangyuan was under strict training for many years, but he had never left his faction. This was his first time partic.i.p.ating in duels of life and death. It was normal to fight duels in his faction, too, but they were only friendly spars between the disciples. It was unlikely that they would fight one another to death.
For a warrior, fighting with their lives at stake was a lot more meaningful than just a drill. Fangyuan had never experienced the things that Xia Fei had been through; hence, it was reasonable for his aura to be losing ground.
Tongtian suddenly laughed. He believed that he had worried too much. Fangyuan’s abilities were unmatched. He would have no trouble winning the duel despite his lack of experience. He would soon turn the battle around once the fight began.
Xia Fei rotated his wrist as warm up while standing in the ring. He grabbed the Bloodthirsty Screech, which was bigger than him, and stared at Fangyuan on the other side of the ring with a calm look.
The stare made Fangyuan feel extremely uncomfortable. He would have preferred if Xia Fei was a hot-tempered or arrogant person, but Xia Fei did not behave like what he had expected. The look in Xia Fei’s eyes was the same as what a traveler would give a rock by the road. The rock was nothing worth mentioning since the traveler would soon walk past it with a huge step.
“You are Bloodshadow?” Fangyuan asked nervously.
Xia Fei nodded with a smile and did not speak. The truth was that he would rather keep his name. The name Bloodshadow did not sound pleasing to him.
“I’m glad that you’re my opponent. I hope you won’t let me down. Show me what you’ve got!” Fangyuan barked loudly as if he was trying to use his voice to overwhelm his opponent.
Xia Fei nodded once again without saying a single word. His expression remained the same.
Fangyuan was depressed. He realized that having a loud voice did not necessarily guarantee the upper hand to the situation. He was still being suppressed by Xia Fei’s aura as if he was struggling to breathe properly while enduring the huge boulder pressing on his shoulders.
The pressure did not come from the hideous longsword Xia Fei was holding but the man himself. Even the deadliest weapon was only useful in the hands of someone who knew how to use it. A fruit knife was only a toy in a kid’s hands, but it could be the deadliest weapon in a real a.s.sa.s.sin’s hands. Xia Fei was not at a disadvantage even if he came empty-handed, seemingly born with the overwhelming aura.
‘The best option is to start the fight as early as possible. It’s obvious that I can no longer secure the upper hand by staring at him. I can only turn the tables during the fight,’ Fangyuan thought.
Following this thought, Fangyuan took a step forward and rubbed his fingers together, emitting wisps of blue starlight.
“Look out; he might use a lightning attack,” Phantom said.
Xia Fei nodded slightly. He fixed his eyes onto Fangyuan while every cell in his body moved rapidly. He was ready to launch his counterattack at any time.
As a matter of fact, Xia Fei could abuse his speed to attack first, but he did not choose to do so. Knowing oneself and the enemy was the key to become unbeatable. It was unwise to use his trump card before familiarizing himself with his opponent’s capabilities; thus, he had decided to take some risk and let the opponent attack first while preserving his trump card until the final moment.
Fangyuan suddenly moved. He stomped the ground fiercely and lunged forward.
He held his hand like a sword while a blue lightning flickered, encapsulating his hand like a glove as it crackled continuously.
Fangyuan was being extremely cautious, too. He did not use his full strength right at the beginning. He only unleashed a portion of his lightning ability. Similar to Xia Fei, he was planning to probe his opponent first.
Xia Fei smiled. He stepped on a few strange spots and instantly relocated himself behind Fangyuan. He was as quick as a fleeting ray of light.
‘A speed ability user?’ Fangyuan thought. Xia Fei’s speed was obviously a lot quicker than his, but he was not scared by it. In fact, he was hoping that Xia Fei would attack him first. As soon as Xia Fei’s fists were close enough to him, the wild lightning would immediately bounce his fists right away, leaving the other with serious injuries even if it did not kill him.
Xia Fei had no intention of attacking carelessly. He was like a cunning loach, dodging one attack after another of Fangyuan with ease by utilizing his Crafty Thrust technique and his outstanding speed. Not only did Fangyuan fail to deal any damage to Xia Fei after executing more than ten moves, he also gave Xia Fei the chance to get used to his fighting style, making it easier for the latter to dodge his attacks.
It was not honorable for a warrior to keep dodging in a battle, but it was never Xia Fei’s concern. He had continuously avoided Chen Dong for days without taking any rest during the duel between them. This duel was nothing in comparison. Besides, dodging was just a strategy to Xia Fei. He would not hesitate to counterattack once he found an opening.
Fangyuan might be quick, but Xia Fei was even quicker.
The spectators surrounding the ring could only see two shadows moving around rapidly within. One had a strong build, while the other was a little skinny.
Tongtian’s eyes glittered. Even though Fangyuan was constantly chasing Xia Fei around, he had already lost the initiative. Xia Fei was completely leading him by the nose.
“Such a cunning strategy,” Tongtian murmured.
Xia Fei was already executing his plan from the moment he unleashed his overwhelming aura. He was trying to intimidate Fangyuan so he would not dare to go all out in the fight.
If Fangyuan used everything he had from the very beginning and attacked recklessly, Xia Fei might not be able to secure the upper hand. However, Fangyuan had already lost this chance.
The longer the fight remained in a deadlock, the more frustrated Fangyuan got. He had decided to use his strongest move after he was overwhelmed by the urge to murder Xia Fei.
It was exactly what Xia Fei wanted. He did not want to drag the intense duel for too long. After all, Fangyuan’s speed and his lightning ability were unpredictable and deadly. A prolonged fight was not necessarily in his favor. He was planning to boil the frog in warm water. He would wear off Fangyuan’s confidence first. Once the frog noticed something was not right, it would do everything it could to break out of the pot. It was the opportunity that Xia Fei was waiting for, for his reaction and speed were quicker than Fangyuan.
His plan was quite risky, too. If Fangyuan’s attack exceeded Xia Fei’s limit, it would be difficult to predict the outcome of the fight.
Time gradually pa.s.sed. Fangyuan was slowly losing his patience, especially since he could not even touch Xia Fei when the latter was only remaining a close distance from him with a smile. Xia Fei had managed to nullify all of his attacks.
He began to lose confidence as the pressure he was under gradually grew stronger. After all, Xia Fei’s aura significantly surpa.s.sed Fangyuan’s. Xia Fei was clearly a very experienced opponent. He was a lot trickier to deal with than Smokeshadow and Merryshadow.
‘Should I keep probing, or should I use my strongest move now?’ Fangyuan asked himself. He was struggling to make up his mind.
Being patient was an essential trait of a warrior, too. The difference between Fangyuan and Xia Fei’s patience was like the difference between a small stream and an ocean. The two were not on the same level at all.
A dozen minutes later, Xia Fei remained in control of the fight. He was actually more relaxed than he was at the beginning of it. Meanwhile, Fangyuan was wearing a gloomy look. Flames of fury were steadily acc.u.mulating in his heart, yet he was struggling to find a way to vent them.
Xia Fei had a feeling that Fangyuan’s patience had already reached its limit. The man was most likely about to go all out. It would be an opportunity for Xia Fei to counterattack by picking on Fangyuan’s weak point. It was a test for him, too. If Xia Fei failed to dodge the incoming storm, he would find himself in a greater danger.
Either way, he must stick with the strategy he had decided on until the final moment. He would not want to change his approach. Both Smokeshadow and Merryshadow had lost to Fangyuan, but since their abilities involved concealing themselves, Xia Fei was unable to see Fangyuan’s true strength. His plan was to take Fangyuan’s strongest attack head-on, find his weak point, and used his strongest move to end the fight.
When two opponents with equal strength were unfamiliar with each other’s strength, the first person to expose their trump card would not necessarily guarantee the victory of the battle, but it might expose the person’s weakness, instead.
Xia Fei had long calculated everything, hence why he had been waiting patiently. He must defeat his opponent with a single move with his saber. Otherwise, he would rather continue waiting for the perfect timing to strike.
Everyone’s patience was limited, but Xia Fei was definitely not the first to lose his patience.
The fingers of the blue lightning brushed past Xia Fei’s nose, barely a few centimeters away.
Xia Fei leaned backward while he took a few agile, cunning steps. He looked to be in a miserable spot after managing to dodge that attack, as if he was having trouble moving now that the fatigue was getting to him.
‘Just a little more!’ Fangyuan exclaimed in his heart.
Little did he know that Xia Fei had purposely shown his flaw to press on his a.s.sault on getting on Fangyuan’s nerves, forcing him to use his strongest move.
Fangyuan suddenly stopped around twenty meters away from Xia Fei. He was staring at Xia Fei while his hands shook vigorously. He obviously had enough of this cat-and-mouse game.
Xia Fei came to a stop. He took out a Hongtashan cigarette from the spatial ring and took a drag before blowing a puff of white smoke toward Fangyuan.
It was a blatant provocation.
The mist slowly floated like a white snake. Fangyue had never seen a cigarette before. He a.s.sumed that it was one of the strongest artifacts Xia Fei had. The smoke might be poisonous, too.
Xia Fei would be amused if he could read Fangyuan’s thoughts. Cigarettes might be poisonous for certain people, but other people would feel energetic. They would rather not eat than not being able to smoke.
Fangyuan suddenly moved.
He crossed his arms in front of his chest with a hideous look.
Brilliant blue flickers rose from his body and emitted a blinding light to the dojo.
‘It’s here; it’s finally happening!’ Xia Fei thought.