Chapter 346 - The Battle Between Two Tigers (1/2)
Chapter 346 The Battle Between Two Tigers
Ou Yingming’s eyelids twitched upon noticing the amazingly subtle change in his surroundings. It was only through his combined state of the integration of Heaven and man and thoroughly meticulous that Ou Yangming noticed the minute changes. Nevertheless, what surprised Ou Yangming even more, was that he had also detected a faint trace of the imperial family’s supreme elder’s power.
Ou Yangming’s thoughts wandered back to the scene where Wu Yuanwei had controlled the elements as if they were an extension of his own body. Although Zuoqiu Hongyuan’s ability was still a far cry from Wu Yuanwei’s, be it from his control of the winds, or the pressure he exerted, Ou Yangming was still forced to acknowledge their similarities.
Ou Yangming was no longer swaying his body, as all body techniques, regardless of how mystical they were, were useless against the encroaching gales. He lowered his gaze slightly as if he had already given up on the battle. All that was left was for the violent whirlwinds to sweep him away.
Zuoqiu Hongyuan observed Ou Yangming’s plight with his arms crossed. An item gleamed around his waist, and his complexion was slightly paler than before. Nevertheless, the twinkle of excitement within his eyes was brighter than ever. “Close in…”
On Zuoqiu Hongyuan’s command, the raging gales approached the center and threatened to swallow Ou Yangming completely.
However, at that moment, a blinding light had suddenly erupted from the center of the fierce whirlwinds.
Without any sort of warning, the light instantly shattered the furious gales’ blockade, and an object could be seen rus.h.i.+ng at Zuoqiu Hongyuan at immense speeds.
With an intensity that was as overwhelming as the weight of the sky, an iron fist infused with rampant energy mercilessly slammed down into the direction of Zuoqiu Hongyuan’s skull.
Right before the whirlwinds had enveloped Ou Yangming, he activated the ultimate technique, the Blood Flight Art, in a last-ditch effort to break through the whirlwinds. Upon breaking through at the very last second, Ou Yangming chose not to flee from the battle, and instead, unleashed the most aggressive counterattack he could muster.
Zuoqiu widened his eyes slightly and he halted what he was doing. A grim look covered his face, and with that, he then brought up his hands.
A colossal power surged forth from his hands, and with it, he took Ou Yangming’s fist head-on.
A deafening boom ensued from their clash, and Ou Yangming was hurtled backward.
Although Ou Yangming’s complexion had turned pale from the explosion, Zuoqiu Hongyuan was left in a worse state than him. A trickle of blood could be seen flowing down from the corner of his mouth.
The two locked glares while eyeing the other warily.
Back when they had crossed fists earlier, Ou Yangming had almost given up when he sensed Zuoqiu Hongyuan’s control of the elements. However, upon closer observation, he noticed that while the whirlwinds were indeed powerful, they lacked a certain liveliness to them.
It was as if the whirlwinds had been given specific orders in advance, and because of it, the way they moved had lacked any sort of flexibility.
Due to this, Ou Yangming’s resolve was rekindled once more.
Ou Yangming poured all of his attention into his five senses, and the moment he detected that the winds had congregated together, he activated his Blood Flight Art. Just as he had calculated, the powerful winds had been caught off guard by his sudden response, and as a result, Ou Yangming was able to burst out of the blockade in the nick of time. Ou Yangming could tell that Zuoqiu Hongyuan’s control of the elements was not a skill of his own, but rather, due to a unique item he had on hand.
Tas
Just like Ou Yangming’s own Charm Arm Guard, it was too powerful for him to control its abilities perfectly.
Due to Zuoqiu Hongyuan’s inability to fully utilize it, it had ended up being the key to Ou Yangming’s counterattack.
Although Ou Yangming’s Blood Flight Art would absorb Ou Yangming’s Qi and blood, since Ou Yangming had ascended to the Yang Grade, his Qi and blood were richer than ever before, and as a result, using the Blood Flight Art in short bursts would not affect him much.
On the other hand, Zuoqiu Hongyuan had suffered serious consequences when he abruptly ceased the use of his magic tool.
Although both sides had suffered wounds from their quick exchange, if they were to compare the damage, it was clear that Ou Yangming had come up on top.
Zuoqiu Hongyuan scrutinized Ou Yangming and declared, “Impressive, Brother Ou! You’re the first person I’ve met who broke out of the whirlwinds with sheer force.”
Ou Yangming chuckled and responded, “You flatter me, Brother Zuoqiu. We’re just borrowing the powers of our equipment, there’s nothing impressive about that.”
Zuoqiu Hongyuan shook his head, “Is our equipment not part of our strength? Why do you treat them separately, Brother Ou?” Ou Yangming was at a loss for words. However, he managed to stifle a laugh and respond, “Perhaps it’s due to my nature as a blacksmith to treat them differently.” Following that, he then sighed to himself, ‘It seems that I’ve been too pedantic. Without all these rare pieces of equipment, my combat prowess would probably drop by a third.’
In Ou Yangming’s world, one’s equipment was considered as part of their strength, and there was no point in shying away from it.
With his newfound philosophy in mind, Ou Yangming then chuckled and said, “Well, since you’ve taken your best shot at me, it would be rude for me to not reciprocate. Take care, Brother Zuoqiu.”
Ou Yangming lowered his hips into a horse stance and hurled his fist forward.
The mental power within Ou Yangming’s sea of consciousness poured forth like a torrential storm, and in that instant, Ou Yangming’s Simulated Spiritual Fist was stronger than it had ever been.
A lion shows no mercy to its prey, and the same could be said of Ou Yangming.
Since Zuoqiu Hongyuan had used his ultimate trump card right off the bat, Ou Yangming had decided to return the favor as well.