Chapter 153: Chapter 148: Boulder Ridge, Fighting Xiang Bao (Part 1)
The two Fire Jade Department disciples exchanged a glance. The tall, thin one replied, "I don’t know his name. I only heard Zhang Xiaoshan call him Junior Brother Zhao."
"He’s tall and solidly built. As for his looks... well, he’s a far cry from me..."
The short, stout disciple shot him a stunned look. The tall, thin disciple immediately corrected himself, "Thick eyebrows and big eyes. Barely passable, I suppose."
Xiang Bao gave a slight nod. "He hit you with his fists?" he asked.
The tall, thin disciple looked ashamed. "He sealed a few acupuncture points on my chest and shoulders, but I’ve already unsealed them."
"Which ones? Show me."
Xiang Bao had him point to the spots. Then, with a low whistle, a Silver-spotted Fox shot out of his sleeve with a WHOOSH.
"Wh-what is that thing?" The tall, thin disciple jumped, instinctively trying to back away.
"Don’t move!"
Xiang Bao snapped. He gave the Silver-spotted Fox a command: "Go on, get his scent."
The Silver-spotted Fox leaped onto the tall, thin disciple. It circled his shoulders and chest, its nose twitching nonstop, before hopping back onto Xiang Bao’s hand.
"Got the scent?" Xiang Bao asked, looking down.
The Silver-spotted Fox squeaked twice.
"Good. I’ll go settle the score for you two."
With that, Xiang Bao turned and left, vanishing from their sight in the blink of an eye.
"Is he really going to settle the score for us?" the tall, thin disciple asked, dazed.
"You actually believe him? He’s definitely gone to snatch the Earth Luo Fruit for himself!" the short, stout disciple said irritably.
"Who cares? As long as Brother Xiang teaches him a lesson, it’s good enough for me. Hey, do you think Brother Xiang can actually take him?"
"Is that even a question? We’re talking about Brother Xiang here!"
"Good. Let that brat get a taste of what we went through..."
Xiang Bao and his Silver-spotted Fox searched for Zhao Lin.
Middle Finger Peak wasn’t exactly huge, but it wasn’t small, either. And while the Silver-spotted Fox’s sense of smell was keen, it still had a limited range.
After a long search with no sign of Zhao Lin, Xiang Bao began to suspect he’d already moved on to another peak.
Finally, near a grove of White Fruit Trees, the Silver-spotted Fox began to hop in a figure-eight pattern on the ground, letting out sharp, shrill cries.
’Found him!’
Xiang Bao’s spirits lifted. He commanded the Silver-spotted Fox to lead the way and quickened his pace to follow.
’Once the Silver-spotted Fox locks onto his scent, there’s no escaping my grasp!’
The thought of the rare herb, so close to being his, brought an irrepressible smile to his lips.
He wasn’t the least bit worried about Zhao Lin’s strength.
His two junior brothers had hyped the guy up, claiming he had immense strength and moved like the wind, but that was clearly just an excuse for their own failure.
The only person in the Wuxiang Institute who ever gave him pause was Zhong Yewu, and that was six months ago.
In recent months, his cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds. He was already touching the barrier of the Blood Realm; no one in the Wuxiang Institute was his match anymore.
Of course, he wouldn’t underestimate Zhao Lin, either. After all, anyone who could defeat two disciples from the Fire Jade Department was worth taking seriously.
Before long, a rocky hill appeared ahead. The Silver-spotted Fox hesitated, pacing back and forth. It had clearly found its target.
"Hahaha... An excellent choice of location. No need to worry about interruptions."
Xiang Bao’s voice arrived before he did. He strode into the rocky expanse and saw Zhao Lin sitting calmly on a round stone, his expression composed. Xiang Bao’s eyebrows shot up. "So, it’s you?"
"I was about to say the same to you."
Zhao Lin’s expression was placid as he gave a slight nod.
’He’d just seen a silver fox flash past a large boulder, so he understood how his pursuer had tracked him. It was more or less what he’d expected.’
Xiang Bao narrowed his eyes, sizing up Zhao Lin. "Do you know who I am?"
Zhao Lin nodded. "I do. Xiang Bao of the Fire Jade Department."
"You know who I am, and you’re still waiting for me?"
"I’m tired of hiding and sneaking around. Since you were so determined to find me, I figured we might as well get this over with."
"Excellent!"
Xiang Bao’s gaze was piercing. "You’re the one who stole the Earth Luo Fruit from my Fire Jade Department disciples, aren’t you?" he said in a low voice.
Zhao Lin sighed and chuckled. "It was clearly your Fire Jade Department disciples who were trying to reap what they didn’t sow. How did the story get so twisted coming from you?"
"If you want to be a robber, just admit it. It’s just the two of us here. No one’s going to laugh at you."
’A fight was inevitable, but he wasn’t about to let his opponent claim the moral high ground.’
A muscle in Xiang Bao’s jaw twitched. "Fine," he sneered. "It seems you won’t hand it over without a fight."
With that, he took down his ox-tendon staff, untied his bundle, and placed it neatly beside a large boulder.
Zhao Lin stood up. He sent out an ultrasonic wave to confirm they were alone, then took off his own bundle and set it aside.
"Before we begin, I have a question," Xiang Bao said slowly, stretching his limbs.
"Go ahead."
"It was you who picked the Pine Amber Sunflower, wasn’t it?"
"What Pine Amber Sunflower?"
Xiang Bao faltered, his face darkening. "If you won’t talk, I’ll just have to check for myself after this."
With a cold shout, he leaped into the air like a hunting leopard, his limbs splayed, and struck out with his palm.
His entire palm glowed bright red, and a powerful force emanated from its edge.
Fire Cloud Palm Force!
Zhao Lin felt a wave of fiery air wash over him. Recalling Guo Enze’s words, he bent his knees slightly, pushed off from the balls of his feet, and met the attack with his Stone Roar Fist.
With a dull THUD, both were forced back several steps.
Neither had used their full strength; it was just a probing attack. Yet both were inwardly shocked.
Zhao Lin’s fist felt as if it had struck a red-hot branding iron. The surface was scorching, the pain in his knuckles was excruciating, and his own force instantly dissipated.
Xiang Bao was even more astonished. His opponent’s fist was incredibly powerful; the force that traveled up from his palm made his entire arm go numb.
’The sheer force was even greater than that of Zhong Yewu from the Gold and Stone Department.’
’It seems those two junior brothers weren’t exaggerating. Zhao Lin’s strength is greater than I anticipated.’ He finally discarded the last shred of his contempt.
"Stone Roar Fist? Can’t believe someone actually bothers to learn such a low-grade, quick-and-dirty Cultivation Technique."
When two experts clash, psychological warfare is key. Xiang Bao deliberately shook his head in disdain.
Zhao Lin remained unfazed. "Nonsense," he scoffed. "If it can land a punch, it’s a good fist!"
As he spoke, he channeled energy into his arm. A green aura enveloped his fist, and his presence swelled with power.
A solemn look flashed in Xiang Bao’s eyes. He moved again. His already-red palm suddenly seemed to swell a size larger, a purple, horizontal line appearing in its center as he pushed it forward—a motion that seemed slow, yet was deceptively fast.
His other hand was raised, fingers held tight together like a knife’s edge, poised to strike.
Zhao Lin gave it his full concentration. With a twitch of his shoulder, he shot his right fist forward violently, holding his left fist horizontally before his chest, ready to block any follow-up attack.
BAM!
As fist met palm, Xiang Bao felt an immense force travel up his arm, and he was forced to retreat involuntarily.
He immediately planted his foot to stabilize himself, and the raised knife-hand chopped down fiercely.
Zhao Lin had the advantage in raw strength, but his energy wasn’t as dense as Xiang Bao’s. The Fire Cloud Palm Force penetrated his skin, sending a searing pain through his fist.
He immediately twisted sideways to dodge the descending knife-hand. Then, with a flick of his elbow, the forearm held before his chest snapped open like a bear trap, and his fist shot straight toward the spot between Xiang Bao’s eyes.
Both men knew they had met their match. Each was determined to seize the initiative, and neither was willing to yield the center.
