147 Chapter 146: Stalker (2/2)
Jiang Jun Hao was knocked back when he tried to parry Zhu Jiao's next punch, tumbling helplessly in midair as he was unable to halt his momentum. He flipped his body over and slammed his feet against the ground, skidding to a stop, but Zhu Jiao was already on top of him again, cocking his fist back before delivering another powerful punch.
Crack!
Raising his golden spear with both hands, Jiang Jun Hao intercepted the devastating punch. The ground around him cracked and splintered from the tremendous impact, unable to withstand the destructive power radiating from Zhu Jiao.
”Guooh!”
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Jun Hao spun his spear and knocked Zhu Jiao back. As Zhu Jiao landed on the ground, he seized the opportunity to thrust his deadly spear forward in an attempt to impale him, but Zhu Jiao deflected the spear to the side before ramming his elbow into Jiang Jun Hao's face. The spearman's inhuman reflexes saved his nose from being broken and he dodged his head to the side, the gauntlet screeching past the space centimeters away from his face.
”…!”
Even so, blood dripped from his cheek, a result of a slight graze from the golden gauntlet. Snarling, Jiang Jun Hao yanked his spear back before clubbing Zhu Jiao, but the latter parried the strike with his armored forearm and then retaliated with a counter that would have punched a hole through the Heavenly Way Sect disciple's chest had he not whirled away in time.
”Damn it!”
Jiang Jun Hao clearly realized that he had vastly underestimated Zhu Jiao and he was growing increasingly desperate. However, Zhu Jiao wasn't going to let him go so easily and he closed in, seeking to press his advantage.
Clang! Bang!
The two of them exchanged furious blows, the ground crumbling underneath their feet as they traded hundreds of attacks over the next few minutes. Thrust, punch, parry, block, strike, deflect, attack, evade. Their movements were so fast that no ordinary martial artists could follow them, their spear and arms disappearing into shimmering golden blurs that reflected the sunlight in a dazzling display between two godlike warriors.
Even the mountain range was unable to endure their conflict, rocks disintegrating from the sheer impact every time their treasure weapons collided fiercely. Sparks rained from their clashing metallic weapons, falling upon the ground and igniting small fires all over the sparse grass that grew over the dull rock of the mountains.
Clang!
Repelling another strike from Zhu Jiao, Jiang Jun Hao retreated to put as much distance between them as possible. He was breathing heavily, his face red and drenched in perspiration. Zhu Jiao was also looking as if he had exerted a bit too much, but he smiled.
”What's the matter?” he taunted. ”I thought you are supposed to be some big-shot Pure Spirit Stage prodigy? Why are you still unable to kill a Qi Fusion Stage practitioner like me?”
”Are you even at the Qi Fusion Stage?” I muttered, wondering about the large amounts of artificial qi that he had received. If these stupid stages were based off quantities of qi alone, then all the Wu Ling Academy students could easily be at the Pure Spirit Stage or even Nascent Soul Stage, provided they received lots and lots of qi.
”Shut up!”
Unable to refute his opponent, Jiang Jun Hao resorted to silencing him. With a roar, he struck with his spear again.
”I can't believe I'm forced to use the full power of my Heavenly Spear against the likes of you!”
His spear vanished into a golden streak of light that flashed across the horizon. Zhu Jiao set his mouth grimly in a thin line and his Golden Kirin aura flared up, wrapping him in his trademark Sacred Armor.
With a bellow, he punched the flying spear away before it could even so much as scratch his breastplate.
Clang! Bang!
The Heavenly Spear was sent spinning wildly away until Jiang Jun Hao leaped up and snatched it back. He eyed Zhu Jiao's Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets greedily, and licked his lips, desire burning in his eyes.
”I see…the only reason why you're able to fight evenly with me even though I'm of a higher stage is because of those treasure gauntlets. Those treasure gauntlets have boosted your power immensely and made up for the huge gap between you and me. If I can just get my hands on those treasure gauntlets, who knows how much stronger I will become…?”
”Hey! Aren't you giving the wielder too little credit?” I snapped irritably. ”Even the most powerful Spirit Treasure Weapon in the world would be a useless piece of junk in the hands of an unskilled user. If Zhu Jiao didn't know how to use those Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets properly, then no matter how powerful they are, he wouldn't be able to stand against you! It's not always about the treasure weapons, you know! The wielder matters much more!”
And as the cliché went, as long as the expert was of a high enough level, even a mere blade of grass would turn into a devastating weapon in his hands, enough to cut even mountains. But these idiots were far too obsessed with powerful weapons and hoarding treasures that they neglected the wielders' skills.
He was going to pay for underestimating Zhu Jiao.
Without a word, Zhu Jiao launched himself at Jiang Jun Hao again. Refusing to engage the moron in a debate, he preferred to let his actions do the talking. Jiang Jun Hao found himself driven back, desperately parrying and intercepting Zhu Jiao's attacks while yielding ground inch by agonizing inch. The frustration was evident in his face.
”Get lost!”
With a roar, he knocked Zhu Jiao back as best as he could. Golden qi flowed around him and detonated, the powerful shockwaves forcibly hurling both parties apart.
”Ugh!”
”…!”
Stumbling back, Jiang Jun Hao managed to flip his body over in midair and landed on his feet, but a trickle of blood escaped his lips. Despite taking some damage from his desperate attack earlier, Jiang Jun Hao had no regrets. If he continued to weather the blows from Zhu Jiao, he would find himself cornered soon enough.
Despite being buffeted by the shockwaves, Zhu Jiao managed to come to a stop, evidently not taking as much damage as Jiang Jun Hao. I noticed that he had yet to master Man and Sword as One, or he would have unleashed the full power of the Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets and perhaps clad himself in full-body armor as he did during the tournament final against me last year.
Well, it was a new weapon he had only just recently acquired after all. Even with plot armor and protagonist power, he couldn't possibly master it in less than a day.
”You asked for it!” Jiang Jun Hao hollered. ”I didn't want to use this technique because I'm afraid of breaking my Spirit Treasure Weapon, but you leave me no choice!”
”Since when are those Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets your Spirit Treasure Weapon?!” I yelled, throwing both my hands up in exasperation. The nerve of this bastard…he was so thick-skinned and shameless that he might as well be a hippopotamus.
Ignoring me, Jiang Jun Hao infused as much of his qi into his spear as possible. Recognizing the danger, Zhu Jiao lunged forward to stop him before he could launch his attack, but before he could, Jiang Jun Hao hurled his spear at him.
”Heavenly Way Golden Dragon Heaven-Shattering Spear Strike!”
RUUOOOOOOOOOOOOR!
A gargantuan golden dragon materialized around his flying golden spear, its immense fiery form wreathing the weapon and causing its relatively tiny frame to vanish inside the blazing inferno. The serpentine dragon uncoiled and charged at Zhu Jiao, its massive body seeming to cover the heavens. Its huge fiery jaws yawned open before slamming shut to engulf the Golden Kirin Sect disciple in hellish flames.
”That's one hell of a long name,” I grumbled with a shake of my head. ”Seriously? Couldn't you have shortened it or something? And more importantly, why did you have to go and shout out the name of your technique?”
”Enough of your bullshit.” Jiang Jun Hao snorted as he turned toward me. ”After I kill that loser Zhu Jiao, you'll be next to die. I can't have witnesses leaving the scene and reporting back to the Alliance about this.”
I actually laughed at that. ”What makes you think you'll be able to kill Zhu Jiao?”
Jiang Jun Hao's expression darkened and he glowered at me for a moment before his lips curled into a sneer.
”Stop bluffing. I'm sure you're regretting it now.”
”Huh? Regretting what?” I blinked and stared at him, puzzled. Jiang Jun Hao ground his teeth so hard that the cracks were audible.
”You should have joined hands with Zhu Jiao when you had the chance, instead of leaving him to fight and die on his own. Maybe, if the two of you weaklings worked together, you might still have a tiny chance of surviving. But now it's too late. With Zhu Jiao dead, there's no way you'll be able to defeat me or escape!”
He threw his head back and roared in laughter like a villain instead of the orthodox martial artist that he was supposed to be.
”Heh.” I chuckled. Jiang Jun Hao blinked and glared at me.
”What's so funny?”
”You.” I shook my head. ”Already assuming that you've killed Zhu Jiao. He's much tougher than you think, and I know he'll be able to defeat you on his own, without me lifting a single finger.”
”Liar!” Jiang Jun Hao scoffed. ”If that's really true, why are you here? You claimed that you were worried about him when you saw me following him…”
”…stalking,” I corrected.
”Oh, shut up! You were the one who said it yourself! That you followed us here when you saw me shadowing your friend! Why would you do that if you're so confident that he'll be able to defeat me?” Jiang Jun Hao grinned as he attacked what he thought was the hole in my logic. ”You would have just left him to deal with me alone. The fact that you're here means that you know Zhu Jiao would definitely lose to me!”
I pushed my glasses as I continued to chuckle. ”I think you're misunderstanding something. Yeah, I am here to help Zhu Jiao fight, but not against you. I have full confidence that he will defeat you on his own. But I'm here to assist him when that sect elder of yours inevitably emerges to save you when he drives you to a corner.”
”What…?”
Jiang Jun Hao's face turned as pale as a ghost. Before he could finish his question, however, the golden dragon that had manifested around his golden spear suddenly twitched and squirmed, its face twisted in agony.
”What's going on?!”
With an explosive bellow, Zhu Jiao tore his way out of the dragon's body, ripping the golden scales apart and exiting through a gaping wound. Secondary detonations followed in his wake as destructive qi collided and ignited around the golden dragon's serpentine body, causing the enormous spirit to fall.
”Impossible!”
”GUOOOR!”
But even as it fell, it defiantly curled up and lunged at Zhu Jiao again. Despite the fatal wound that it had sustained, the golden dragon remained a formidable foe. Its ferocious aura undiminished, it sped across the sky with destructive power, with sonic booms rippling in its wake as it broke the sound barrier.
Zhu Jiao merely reached out and grabbed it.
”?!”
Jiang Jun Hao's eyes widened in disbelief. Even though Zhu Jiao's figure was tiny in comparison to the gargantuan golden dragon, it was as if the golden dragon had shrunk suddenly. Or perhaps Zhu Jiao and the Golden Kirin aura that shrouded him grew exponentially. In any case, Zhu Jiao was suddenly able to wrap his armored fingers around the neck of the startled golden dragon and crush it.
In mere milliseconds, the golden dragon shattered, dispersing harmlessly into countless balls of golden light that drifted across the mountain range.
”Thanks for the weapon.”
Zhu Jiao closed his fingers around the shaft of the trembling Heavenly Spear. He pulled it upward, as if attempting to tame it.
”You dare…!!!!!”
With an enraged bellow, Jiang Jun Hao disappeared into a blur and suddenly appeared in front of Zhu Jiao again, taking the latter completely by surprise. Even with his superhuman reflexes, Zhu Jiao was barely able to react in time, bringing his arm to just parry the devastating kick that Jiang Jun Hao threw at his head.
Bam!
The violent collision jerked the Heavenly Spear out of Zhu Jiao's hands and sent him flying across the Heavenly Fire Mountain Range. The armored Golden Kirin Sect disciple disappeared in a cloud of debris and dust when he crashed heavily into the mountain, causing slight tremors to reverberate across the area.
”You bastard…trying to snatch my Heavenly Spear?!”
Growling, Jiang Jun Hao clutched his golden spear tightly and cradled it to his chest, as if afraid that Zhu Jiao would suddenly appear and snatch it away again. His eyes narrowing into murderous beads, he infused it with even more qi.
”I'll kill you!”
”I'm getting sick of hearing that line.” I sighed and shook my head.
”What the…so you do have a bit of fight left in you after all.”
Emerging from the mushroom cloud of debris, Zhu Jiao stood up straight and brushed the dust off his clothing with a grin. Despite crashing into the mountainside with the force of a meteor, he looked virtually unhurt.
Just how tough was this guy's Golden Kirin Sacred Armor? Or maybe it was plot armor that was protecting him?
Jiang Jun Hao blanched for a few seconds, but then he shook his head and then used the same technique as before.
”You brat, you're lucky to be able to witness the true power of my Heavenly Way Sect's Heavenly Spear before you die! Heavenly Way Golden Dragon Heaven-Shattering Spear Strike!”
”Do you really have to shout that stupidly long name every time you use that move?” I demanded, feeling my temples throb from the sheer absurdity of it all.
Boom!
The golden spear flashed across the sky again. This time, Jiang Jun Hao followed it, leading the attack personally. The qi surrounding his body seemed to explode, manifesting in a golden light that stretched for over ten meters long. Shrieking forward, the intimidating golden dragon materialized around both wielder and weapon again and emanated a terrifying aura as it charged toward Zhu Jiao.
Zhu Jiao glanced up, his eyes momentarily blinded by the dazzling golden light. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to dodge the spear in time because of the high speed it was moving at, he took a deep breath and braced himself for impact. Cocking his hand back, his potent qi blew up and took the form of a roaring Golden Kirin that enveloped him protectively and aggressively.
”Golden Kirin Divine Fist!”
Clenching his fingers tightly, Zhu Jiao punched forward, meeting Jiang Jun Hao's glowing spear with his gauntleted fist.
Boom!
At the moment of collision between the two formidable forces, the entire mountain range trembled as potent waves of qi washed over it.