Chapter 113: Hand-to-Hand Combat to the End, Nascent Soul Peak

Faced with Gong Yuankui’s inquiry, Qin Xiao only wanted to roll his eyes.

“Brother Kui, you’ve got the whole set on! That would hardly be a fight. You’d just be beating me up. No chance. Absolutely no chance.”

In private, Qin Xiao would not have minded; he could have treated it as Body Refinement. But not with so many people watching. He had a reputation to protect now, and three disciples still to recruit.

“Then what do you think?”

Gong Yuankui felt he had rarely encountered someone like Qin Xiao. If they didn’t spar, this trip would truly have been just going through the motions.

“If you really want to fight, fine. Put that sword away. You can keep your two defensive Dharma Treasures, and we’ll trade a few blows.”

Qin Xiao saw the eagerness in Gong Yuankui’s eyes. Wanting a fight was all very well, but he could not make it so unfair.

“No, Kui’er. This Qin Xiao is cunning and treacherous with countless tricks up his sleeve. Don’t listen to his nonsense. Win this match and it’s over; there’s no need to waste time.”

Hearing that Qin Xiao wanted Gong Yuankui to discard the Pure Yang Sword, Han Mingyuan stood up and objected immediately.

“What do you mean I’m cunning and treacherous? And who’s out there spreading bad rumors about me everywhere?”

Hearing Han Mingyuan slag him off like that, Qin Xiao wanted nothing more than to curse aloud, but since he couldn’t beat the old man, he could only mutter grievances in his heart.

“Second Elder, I want to try. Within the Sect, below the Soul Formation stage, I have no opponents left. It’s rare to meet such an interesting opponent. If I don’t have this match, I’ll regret it.”

Gong Yuankui addressed Second Elder Han Mingyuan directly.

He spoke the truth. Even without this three-piece set, he could already defeat cultivators at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. The Soul Formation stage was an entirely different realm and didn’t count. He was trapped in that hollow state of invincibility, and now that he had finally crossed paths with Qin Xiao, he wanted to test himself.

“If Brother Kui won’t use his sword, I wouldn’t mind seeing the true strength of a Pure Yang Sect genius myself.”

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Qin Xiao pressed on.

“Fight! Let them fight!”

“I agree too. Let’s see a match!”

“They have to fight, otherwise this trip was a complete waste.”

The spectators clamored for a fight. They were not siding with Qin Xiao; they had bet on the Tianyuan Sect, and if it lost like this, they would all lose their bets.

“Second Elder, whether we take first or second place, it’s only a difference of five slots. If this disciple happens to lose, I will bear the Sect’s losses myself.”

Seeing the Second Elder still hesitate, Gong Yuankui continued.

“Fine. Since you’re itching for a fight, go ahead.” This story is hosted at novelрing.com.

Han Mingyuan thought it over and agreed. It was rare for Gong Yuankui to be so interested, and he might not lose anyway. Han Mingyuan would not spoil his fun.

“Gong Yuankui, you’re a real man!”

“I respect you. Well done!”

“Qin Xiao, I love you! You have to win! If you win, I’ll carve a memorial tablet for you and worship you every single day!”

Once the Pure Yang Sect’s Second Elder gave his consent, the desperate gamblers started showering them with frantic praise, likely driven mad by their previous losses.

“Fuck that! A memorial tablet for me? I’m so damn young, and you want to make me a memorial tablet? Go make one for your own uncle!”

Spreading his Divine Sense outward, Qin Xiao caught wind of the spectator’s desperate pledge and immediately fired back with a curse.

“Fine! If you win, I’ll make one for my uncle. Just make sure you win!”

The man sounded on the verge of tears. He had staked his entire livelihood on this gamble; if he lost, he was completely wiped out. As long as Qin Xiao secured the victory, he didn’t care whose tablet he had to carve.

“Brother Qin, how would you like to spar?”

With permission granted, Gong Yuankui put away his sword, leaving himself similarly bare-handed.

Since Qin Xiao hadn’t drawn a weapon, he refused to take an unfair advantage.

“Anything works. How does Brother Kui want to play it?”

Seeing Gong Yuankui stash the Pure Yang Sword back into his Storage Bag, Qin Xiao let out an internal sigh of relief. His Fourth Layer Body Refinement couldn’t handle the punishment of a Top Grade Dharma Treasure.

“I gather Brother Qin focuses primarily on Body Refinement. Coincidentally, I’ve dabbled in it myself. How about we engage in pure hand-to-hand combat?”

Gong Yuankui mulled it over before making his proposal. Since Qin Xiao had no weapon, a bare-handed brawl would let him gauge the exact gap between their physical refinement levels.

“Oh? Are you sure about that?”

Qin Xiao never imagined the fellow would actually suggest hand-to-hand combat. Wasn’t that just handing him the answer key to the exam? How could he possibly mess that up?

“Positive. It’s precisely because I noticed your formidable physical cultivation that I want this bout.”

Though Gong Yuankui knew Qin Xiao’s defense was terrifying, he still had two defensive Dharma Treasures backing him up. In a fist fight, he wouldn’t suffer and might even hold a slight edge.

“Wonderful, wonderful! You really are a good brother to me. It’s just a pity I can’t take you on as a disciple. No matter-after the fight, if you happen to change your mind, I’ll be waiting for you in the Heaven No. 1 Room at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.”

Qin Xiao still wanted to poach a disciple from the Pure Yang Sect. What if it worked?

“Let’s drop the jokes. I would never take another master. I am a man of the Pure Yang Sect for life. Brother Qin, make your move.” Read the latest chapters at novelping.com.

Gong Yuankui hadn’t expected Qin Xiao to still be plotting to recruit him as a disciple, so he hurriedly urged him to begin.

“Alright then. Let’s begin.”

Qin Xiao knew someone like Gong Yuankui was hardly going to become his disciple. He had only wanted to try. Since that had failed, they might as well fight.

The two immediately began fighting at close quarters. Neither held back, and every punch landed solidly.

Every time Qin Xiao landed a punch on Gong Yuankui, a burst of brilliant golden light erupted from the latter’s body-the automatic defense of the Pure Yang Armor.

Conversely, whenever Gong Yuankui struck Qin Xiao, it produced a dull ringing sound akin to hammering against solid metal. Neither man was willing to yield, trading blow for heavy blow in a frenzied exchange.

The match had turned into a fistfight, with fewer impressive moves to watch. Even so, the sound of the blows stirred the spectators’ blood. Each punch felt as if they had thrown it themselves; each hit felt as if it had struck them. They watched with their teeth clenched.

Gong Yuankui grew more excited as they fought. It had been a long time since he had enjoyed punching so freely. With every punch, his cultivation advanced a little. His state of mind was breaking through.

Qin Xiao, on the other hand, felt like crying. He took the punches, and when he hit back, the recoil jarred his hand. Either way, he suffered.

Qin Xiao noticed Gong Yuankui’s rising aura. Was this fellow using him as a practice punching bag?

“We can’t keep going like this. Even if my body recovers quickly and benefits from the tempering, I have zero chance of winning this way. Every ounce of my striking force is being neutralized by that damn armor.”

Qin Xiao grew anxious. He had to stop fighting at such close quarters and gain enough distance to put his full strength behind a punch. Only a blow with enough penetrating force could hurt Gong Yuankui. Otherwise, he was merely helping the man practice.

After punching Gong Yuankui back, Qin Xiao stepped away and twisted his body, relaxing his right arm. He then snapped his body back around, swinging his right arm like a whip. The punch drove Gong Yuankui back several steps.

Without missing a beat, Qin Xiao pressed the assault. He lunged forward, planted his palm firmly against Gong Yuankui’s abdomen, straightened his hand, clenched his fist, and unleashed a lightning-fast follow-up strike that forced the young prodigy back another few steps.

“Brother Qin, what fist technique is that? How is it so powerful?”

Gong Yuankui asked with genuine curiosity, surprised that Qin Xiao had managed to push him back twice in a row.

“The first is the Whip Punch, from Tongbei boxing. The second is the Inch Punch.”

Fortunately, Qin Xiao had seen moves like these before. Even his clumsy imitation worked, and he explained them proudly.

“A fine fist technique! A wonderful fist technique! Again!”

Gong Yuankui was delighted. The force of those two punches had penetrated the Pure Yang Armor and injured him considerably, but that was precisely what he wanted. Otherwise, what would be the point?

Moments later, Gong Yuankui began imitating Qin Xiao’s movements, experimenting with various methods of channeling physical force rather than relying on brute, unrefined collisions. Qin Xiao matched him blow for blow with defensive blocks.

The fistfight had turned into an exchange of martial arts techniques.

After several dozen exchanges, Qin Xiao had exhausted his meager knowledge, yet still could not defeat Gong Yuankui. The man also learned exceptionally fast. After taking a few punches, he could use the same moves himself.

After they had fought for an unknown length of time, Gong Yuankui suddenly stopped punching, as if he had gained an insight. His aura kept rising until it reached a limit, then surged through it. His cultivation broke through to the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.