Bi Fan was so excited that he even started boxing a bit, casting out ‘prancing tiger’ to suppress Gou Ming.
Although, he still hadn’t used ‘the immortal finger’ yet, as that was his secret technique; an unexpected one as well, so it served him as an insurance policy of sorts.
And even though he was very excited, he only revealed about fifty percent of his hidden strength.
He was waiting for the right moment to use his real strength, so he could take Gou Ming by surprise, and finish him off in a single strike.
The Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf were playing it smart as well, and were working hard to create opportunities for Bi Fan.
The pressure on Gou Ming was increasing continuously, and so was the consumption of his energy. In fact, at the moment, he was barely able to hang on to the proverbial ropes.
Crucifix Deception Sword!
Gou Ming attacked with his best technique once again, and repeated them over, and over. He cast out almost a dozen or so attacks, in quick succession, making Bi Fan the target of the majority of his attacks.
“Almost there!” Bi Fan had waiting for this moment for a long while now. He was relying on the defensive capabilities of his armor to fend off Gou Ming’s attack, and then use the opening to make the final move.
As soon as he saw the opportunity, he made a bee-line course for Gou Ming, completely ignoring all of his attacks. His target was obvious; Gou Ming’s head.
Bi Fan forced his way through the facets of the incoming attacks, and charged for Gou Ming’s head.
‘Rainy-fly Sword!’
Bi Fan launched his strongest attack, with all his strength, as he prepared for the final a.s.sault.
Gou Ming has just cast out his strongest attack, which had consumed almost half of his remaining energy, while he had intended to save the rest of it to make his escape.
Gou Ming had estimated that by the virtue of the strength of his attacks, he would be able to suppress Bi Fan and his allies, long enough to make an escape.
Bi Fan on the other hand, had his own plans in place, and launched a very fierce counter-offense, completely disregarding Gou Ming’s attacks.
Gou Ming had launched his attack in high-spirits, hoping to obstruct Bi Fan.
“Boom!” A loud noise erupted as their swords met.
Bi Fan didn’t hold anything back this time, and his purple-feathered sword crashed down with all his might.
Without any dramatic suspense, Bi Fan’s sword, mercilessly, slashed Gou Ming into pieces.
The Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf, had charged behind Bi Fan, prepared to finish this fight. But they came to a sudden halt in their steads, as they realized that Bi Fan had already done it, singlehandedly. They just stood there; staring at him, speechlessly, with their mouths hung wide open.
It took a while for the Blue Dragon to calm down and collect his nerves, and then he said: “Brother Bi Fan, it seems that you have more hidden strength than I thought. I’m going to have to work much harder, if I aim on matching you someday.”
“Brother Bi Fan, you really are very strong. Your strength, I’d reckon might be very close to the ‘emerging from the womb’ layer, it will be awfully difficult to find suitable opponents for you here.” Lone Lead stated in praise.
Bi Fan forced a smiled: “Thanks for your help brother; otherwise I would not have met a worthy opponent like Gou Ming.”
An endearing low-key profile, can lead to a benevolent rule.
Bi Fan wasn’t as bra.s.sy as most people, and wasn’t overly fond of the lime-light either.
Lone Leaf said: “Now that the battle is over, please divide the wealth amongst yourselves, so we can get out here quickly. If someone else spots us, we might land ourselves in more trouble.”
The Blue Dragon stated: “Brother, since you stifled both the men, you deserve more credit. So, I’ll take Tian Feng’s wealth, and you take Gou Ming’s.”
Between Gou Ming and Tian Feng, Gou Ming was obviously the stronger fighter, so naturally would have more valuable possessions. His weapons too, were stronger and more valuable than those of Tian Feng’s.
And anyway, Bi Fan had already taken Tian Feng’s most prized possession, the Purple-hilted sword. The Blue Dragon proactively backed out of asking for the weapon, and allowed Bi Fan to take over its ownership in good spirits.
Bi Fan didn’t resort to too many formalities either, as he was awfully aware of his own humble background. He would need to rely on his own strength to procure his wealth, as he didn’t have any wealthy backers to support him.
Bi Fan quickly stripped Gou Ming’s carca.s.s of any valuables, and then they left the scene, leaving the dead bodies for the Devils’ Race to feed on.
The trio continued on their way. Lone Leaf was obviously in a very cheerful mood, as he had just been able to get rid of his nemesis.
Along the way, he made willing attempts to befriend Bi Fan. He could spot the potential in Bi Fan, which was a very valued a.s.set in this world.
Friendships with people, who have a potential for growth, could prove out to be very useful in the future.
Blue Dragon and Bi Fan also wanted to learn more about the ‘ins and outs’ of the affairs in the martial world, and so the trio continued to talk along the way.
They hadn’t gone too far from the scene of the fight, when they b.u.mped into another flock of beasts.
This group of the Devil’s Race was comprised of one kind of species only; Komodo Dragons.
These creatures weren’t really Dragons, nor did they have any connection to Dragons, or their lineage. They had gotten this name due to the resemblance in appearance, and the fact that they could stand up to the name, as they were awfully strong.
They were known to be good at combat, and on top of that, had a very coa.r.s.e and thick skin, and a very powerful body.
Hundreds of such Komodo Dragons had obstructed their path, and had quickly managed surround the three of them.
“War or Withdraw?” Lone Leaf asked.
“War!” Blue Dragon roared; no surprises there.
Bi Fan didn’t say anything, as leaving, really, was never an option.
“ARGHHH!!!” The three of them charged out simultaneously, and started slashing left and right.
Bi Fan had, once again, asked the Chimera to stay away from the fight. The Chimera obviously wasn’t very happy about being kept out of the battles, but obliged nonetheless.
Devil’s Abyss was always br.i.m.m.i.n.g with danger. Not being able to sustain good energy levels, can be an additional reason for concern, and adds to the danger.
A friendly and powerful Chimera, hiding in the shadows, ready to pounce at the first sign of danger, can be a killer move against any enemy, which can come in handy in a tight spot.
Plus, every now and then, Bi Fan would need to restore his energy after exhausting it during battles. The Chimera, then, would be able to stand in as a guard, and protect him with a full reserve of energy, as it didn’t partic.i.p.ate in the battles.
And even if someone saw the Chimera while it was in hiding, they would simply consider it another Demon inhabitant of the Abyss, without ever imagining that it could be someone’s pet; a mistake that Tian Feng had also made.
The Komodo Dragons were pretty strong, so much so, that the weakest in the group seemed to have reached ‘inner breath’ layer, which was fairly commendable. But the real danger, here, was their sheer numbers.
Bi Fan, Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf, all, charged out very boldly and bravely, like tigers charging down a mountain, and continued to push forward.
But soon, the three of them found themselves separated from each other, isolated, and surrounded by these Lizards. As the pressure started to increase, it became more and more difficult to kill these beasts.
So, Bi Fan started to secretly employ his real strength, every now and then, as he swept his immediate surroundings clean, when the pressure increased beyond a limit.
Blue Dragon’s aggression took to a new level as the pressure increased, and he also started to come up with new techniques to deal with the Lizards that surrounded him.
Lone Leaf wasn’t going to fall behind either, and found his own ways to deal with the situation, and the three of them continued to slaughter the lizards.
The three of them were fighting very strong, and it didn’t take long for their combined kill count to reach hundred.
But, there were a lot of ‘enormous strength’ layer beasts in this group as well, which was beginning to make things harder for them, and on top of that, there were at least three Lizards, that had already reached the ‘transformation’ layer.
The ‘transformation’ layer Lizards were distinct, majestic. Their bodies were almost twenty meters in length, and their front claws seemed very sharp. Their teeth were awfully long and appeared as sharp as razors. Their tails were long, thick, and awfully powerful.
The first of these ‘transformation’ layer Lizards, roared, and roared again, as it made its way towards Bi Fan.
It seemed that the Lizard had a very keen sense, and could make out that Bi Fan was capable of causing the maximum menace.
Since the Lizard had already reached the ‘transformation’ layer, its momentum was nothing short of brutal; awe-inspiringly so.
Bi Fan focused his entire attention on this one Lizard, as he knew that he would need to be careful in dealing with this one.
This Lizard, it would appear, was one of the Chiefs of the pack, and the other Lizards, which had been surrounding Bi Fan, began to disperse, as they made room for the ‘transformation’ layer, and joined their companions in adding pressure on Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf.
The Blue Dragon and Lone Leaf, were, as it is having a difficult time dealing with the ‘enormous strength’ layer Lizards, but were now being eye-balled by the other ‘transformation’ layer Lizards as well.
The water was beginning to go over their heads, and Bi Fan knew that he’d have to resolve this duel very quickly.
Bi Fan and the head Lizard came face to face, readied for this confrontation, and charged for each other.
Bi Fan’s purple-feathered Sword, made a beautiful arc as it set on a course towards the Lizard’s eyeb.a.l.l.s.
The Komodo dragon had a rough and thick skin, which meant that its natural defense would be pretty hard to breach. However, its eyes, weren’t shielded with the same thick skin as its body, and hence, were points of weakness, which could be exploited.
The Lizard had antic.i.p.ated this move, and was already ready for it.
As soon as Bi Fan launched his attack, the Komodo swept its long, and thick, tail in full force.
The Lizard had already reached ‘transformation’ layer, and on top of that, had such a strong and powerful physical body. It was even stronger than Gou Ming; much stronger.
Bi Fan simply couldn’t go in head-first anymore, and so he redirected his pace to dodge the incoming tail.
The Lizard’s tail hit the ground, and managed to split a crack in it, and crumbles of stone and sand splashed everywhere.
Bi Fan’s expression changed marginally, and he secretly thanked his stars.
The Lizard’s tail was extremely rigid and inflexible, which meant that once it was drawn out, it couldn’t be withdrawn very easily. His own armor, on the other hand, had a very strong defense, but even then, it would not be possible to avoid the shocks from the impact, if the tail hit him.
The Lizard lashed its tail in Bi Fan’s direction, once again, with more ferocity than before. It seemed that missing its target, had made it even more furious, and ferocious than before.