Stranger Danger

Chapter 324: One Punch Down

“Rise!” Duanmu Yun growled as he slapped the flat side of the sword with his left hand. The sword instantly straightened and pushed the lightning dragon away from him.

At the same time, the ground beneath Duanmu Yu’s feet exploded as he rushed toward the young Taoist. By now, he had come to realize that the young Taoist was an expert in lightning arts. If he continued to fight him at long range, he was most likely going to be the loser of this battle.

The only way he could win was to close the distance.

“Beautiful! What a beautiful ‘Lifting A River’! His sword qi truly is unparalleled!” The scholar shot Ye Qing a taunting look. “And someone said the rain can’t stop the dragon!”

“This is the second move,” Ye Qing replied indifferently.

“What?” The scholar looked confused.

Ye Qing explained, “The first move is called the ‘Rainmaker Sword Will’, and it failed to block the lightning dragon. It took the second move, ‘Lifting A River’ to finally repel the dragon, so the rain can’t stop the dragon after all.”

“Also, the young Taoist hasn’t lost a single exchange yet. Are you sure your eyes are working alright?”

“Er...” The scholar turned red, but he couldn’t refute Ye Qing’s words. He could only glare at him and uttered, “So what? He’s going to lose when Feng Yang Gentleman closes the distance.”

“If he can close the distance, sure.” Ye Qing smirked.

Seeing that Duanmu Yu was charging him, the young taoist drew a rune on his left palm with two fingers. He then cried out,

“Palm Thunder!”

A gigantic palm appeared in the air. Floating at the center of the palm was a pool of pure lightning. The next moment, the palm flipped over and poured it all on top of Duanmu Yu.

Rumble rumble rumble!

Countless silver lightning bolts slithered across the sky and toward Duanmu Yu. In response, the Spirit Purifier raised his Rainmaker Sword and hacked, slashed or thrust the lightning bolt away. He also enveloped himself in a layer of sword qi that blocked all of the lightning bolts that he failed to block.

Right now, the young Taoist looked like a god who commanded thunder and lightning. With the simple flick of the wrist, he was unleashing a furious lightning storm against the ant-like mortal who dared to challenge his authority.

Duanmu Yu looked like a tiny boat trying to cut through a storm, though to be fair, he was an extremely sturdy boat. No matter how tall and powerful the waves were, he was able to cut through all of them as he slowly but steadily got closer to the young Taoist.

The clashes of sword qi and lightning damaged much of the street as a matter of course. Fearing their lives, the spectators had long since hidden themselves inside the buildings on both sides of the street.

Thankfully, the main street was wide enough that the shockwaves of their forces hadn’t hurt anyone.

I’m close!

Normally, Duanmu Yu could have crossed sixty meters in a single breath. But the lightning storm pouring down from the sky was so strong that the duration was extended ten times over.

The scholar grew increasingly nervous as Duanmu Yu got closer and closer to the young Taoist. It was almost as if he was the one crossing the storm of lightning, not Duanmu YU.

When Duanmu Yu was three meters away from the young Taoist, he brought down his sword in a downward swing. A powerful wind blew, and sword qi rose from the ground between his starting position and his latest position, joining together to form the shape of a dragon. It pounced straight toward the young Taoist.

“It is against etiquette not to reciprocate a favor. Since you gave me a five-colored lightning dragon earlier, it is my turn to give you a sword qi dragon. Please accept it,” Duan Muyu said with a wide smile despite his pale complexion.

Every time he took a step, he had left behind a wisp of sword qi. He had waited until he was in front of the young Taoist to finally spring his counterattack.

“What a beautiful ‘Sword Qi Clears The Sky’! To reciprocate a favor indeed! As expected of Feng Yang Gentleman!” The scholar laughed boisterously before looking tauntingly at Ye Qing. “What are you going to say now, boy?”

“It’s not over yet,” Ye Qing replied unhurriedly.

The scholar scoffed, “Hmph! Stubborn until the bitter end.”

Meanwhile, the sword qi dragon crushed the lightning clouds in the sky before descending toward the young Taoist. But instead of panicking, the young Taoist complimented the attack with bright, pure eyes, “Well met!”

Roar!

A tiger’s roar abruptly erupted from the young Taoist. Then, he jumped straight toward the sword qi dragon.

“What? Is he suicidal?” The scholar exclaimed in shock, disbelief, and puzzlement. He wasn’t the only one either. Anyone who knew even a bit of martial arts knew just how crazy the action was. Even an ordinary person could sense just how much power was contained within the sword qi dragon. The best way to handle it would be to avoid it altogether. Instead, the young Taoist jumped toward it like he was planning to embrace it. If this wasn’t suicidal, then what was?

“What do you think, Joyless?” Chu Nianjiu glanced at Ye Qing.

“I think with my brain,” Ye Qing answered with a straight face.

“Chu Nianjiu: “...”

Lin Yuhuai: “...”

“Ahem...” Ye Qing sensed the growing hostility in their gaze and hurriedly answered, “The young Taoist is going to win.”

“Win? Are you dreaming, boy? I will swallow this sword of mine if that young Taoist wins,” the scholar interrupted before Chu Nianjiu or Lin Yuhuai could speak.

Ye Qing smirked. “Brother, it’s a bad habit to declare something absolutely until you know for certain that it’s a fact. You’re going to get face-slapped like this.”

“Hmph! We will see,” the scholar scoffed.

Unfortunately, the scholar would find that he was wrong just an instant later. The young Taoist took three steps in total as he jumped toward the sword qi dragon. The first step elicited a tiger’s roar, the second step elicited a dragon’s roar, and the third step manifested both tiger and dragon next to him. Both silhouettes roared at the same time.

Then, the young Taoist threw a punch. His intent permeated every corner of the sky and infused the earth with the tyranny of a tiger and a dragon, causing everyone to quake in their boots. The sword qi dragon was crushed into bits, and the young Taoist abruptly disappeared from view.

Bang!

By the time Duanmu Yu reacted, he felt a terrible pain afflicting his stomach and bending his body like a prawn. Bitter liquid spilled through his lips freely.

When he looked down, he saw a fist buried in his stomach, and when he looked up, he saw a young, innocent face staring back at him.

Duanmu Yu’s mouth was overflowing with bitterness, but not because the punch had sent his gastric juice into his mouth. No, it was the taste of defeat. This was the first time ever he lost to a peer since embarking on the path of martial arts.

He never knew defeat could taste this bad.

He never knew defeat could unlock a flood of resentment he didn’t know existed in him.

“I—” Duanmu Yu opened his mouth to surrender, but he suddenly felt another burst of pain behind his back. Before he knew it, the hard limestone floor on the ground came closer and closer until—

Crack!

He heard the sound of the floor breaking and his nose breaking into several pieces. Not only did faceplant into the floor, he didn’t stop until only his feet were sticking out of the ground. The pain came after the realization.

“What... what just happened?”

“How could Feng Yang Gentleman lose?”

“This cannot be possible. I must be dreaming. Hey you, slap me in the face!”

Slap!

“You actually slapped me? I’m gonna kill you, you bastard!”

Every set of eyes watching the battle were widened like saucers. They couldn’t believe that the idol they thought to be invincible would be defeated. It wasn’t a close loss or beautiful defeat either. No, it was so, so ugly.

“Feng Yang Gentleman... lost?”

On the rooftop, the scholar was just as speechless as the civilians. He was so shocked that his arrogant smile was still plastered on his face.

“What did I say? He lost.” Ye Qing smirked. “It was such an ugly loss too.”

“How... is this possible? Just how?” The scholar muttered dazedly. He still couldn’t believe that Feng Yang Gentleman would lose.

“You lost, friend. I’m waiting for you to swallow your sword.” Ye Qing grinned at him. “You can sprinkle some cumin over your sword if you’re worried it might taste bad. I have no problem with that.”

“What?” The scholar jolted back to reality as a hint of embarrassment flashed through his face. Then, he let out a cough and declared with a straight face, “I er, I don’t remember ever saying that. In fact, I’m a scholar. I would never make a bet with a ruffian like you! Hmph!”

“Anyway, I have some laundry to put away, so goodbye!”

He then jumped off the rooftop and disappeared into the crowd, giving Ye Qing no chance to react.

But Ye Qing wasn’t planning to press him in the first place. He simply stared at the direction the scholar had disappeared to with an odd glint in his eyes. “Heh...”

Back on the street, the young Taoist’s determination and bravery were suddenly replaced by panic and anxiety as if he just realized what he just did. He looked at Duanmu Yu—the guy was currently flailing his legs in an attempt to wriggle himself free—and asked worriedly, “Are you alright, Scion Duanmu?”

“Cough! Cough...” It took Duanmu Yu some time before he finally wriggled out of the hole. When he looked up at the young Taoist, his eyes were vicious and resentful. “I was going to surrender. Why did you attack me?”

“Ah! Sorry, sorry, I didn’t know!” The young Taoist blushed like an apple. “Before I left my mountain, my master told me to always incapacitate my opponents after I’ve defeated them. Otherwise, they might try to trick me.”

“In fact, I encountered a few opponents who tried to ambush me even though I’ve defeated in a duel. They’re terrible.”

“It wasn’t on purpose, really.”

“Forget it. It’s nothing.” The darkness in Duanmu Yu’s eyes disappeared after he got back to his feet. He patted away the dust on his shirt and asked nonchalantly, “I have lost. Both your lightning art and your fist art are exceptional. May I know what sect you belong to, young Reverend?”

The young Taoist answered awkwardly, “I... I don’t have a sect. I only have my master.”

Duanmu Yu’s eyes flickered. “May I know your master’s name then?”

The young Taoist answered honestly, “I’m sorry, but my master forbade me from speaking it.”

Duanmu Yu replied, “In that case, I shan’t force you to say it. Oh right, will you be participating in the Hidden Dragon Meet?”

“I will. The reason I journeyed south is to participate in the Hidden Dragon Meet,” the young Taoist answered before adding, “My master told me to.”

“Very well. I will challenge you again when the time comes. I hope you won’t find me lacking.” Duanmu Yu nodded.

“Of course not! You are always welcome to challenge me,” the young Taoist answered in a hurry.

“In that case, this is where we part ways.” Duanmu Yu saluted the young Taoist before taking his leave.

When Duanmu Yu arrived at a secluded location, he abruptly clutched his chest and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His complexion looked sickly pale.

“Are you alright, young master?” A shadow appeared beside him without a trace and caught his shoulder.

“I’m fine. I just took some damage to my internal organs.”

Duanmu Yu waved away the man’s concern before uttering viciously, “Dark One[1], mobilize our Dark Guards and kill that Taoist.”

1. As in number, not the Dark One. ?