13 Toothless Tiger (1/2)
”You are going to run out of Qi soon.” Xue Wei laughed at Li Jian, who was so furious that he was not even aware of the fact that he was using all the energy he could control without any restraints. Finally, he could no longer execute the Sonic Palm, nor any other martial arts for that matter.
Truthfully, Xue Wei was not much better off himself. He had only executed Azure Light Finger and Shattering Mountain Palm once each, but those two attacks had taken eighty percent of his Qi. And while the Forbidden Rush depended more on external powers than internal, it still used up the final twenty percent that he had.
Xue Wei's face drained of color, but so did Li Jian's. Although Li Jian was like a toothless tiger, he still had a body that was much more sturdy than Xue Wei's. If he got caught, then it was evident he would not have a good ending.
”I should have learned Inner Might,” he sighed to himself and decided that when he returned home, he would train Inner Might, the only profound ability he had picked out from the ring.
”Anyone else who wants to cripple me today?” Xue Wei asked as his eyes looked over every single person that was standing around him, his eyes as unyielding as ever, and every follower of Li Jian shivered as they looked away.
Shen Mu was astonished too, but he was also feeling a little proud. He was sure that Xue Wei would have been beaten silly, but seeing this friend of his display such skills, he was astonished.
”Man, that was amazing!” he called out and took a step towards Xue Wei. ”That has to be one hell of a movement technique! I have never seen anyone use a movement technique before; I bet you are the only one within the entire Tiankong City with one! Your uncle must have passed it on to you before he left?”
Shen Mu spoke just loud enough for people to hear what he said, and a clamor instantly broke out. So the strange movements were due to a movement technique! They were all enlightened, and many looked at Xue Wei with jealousy.
Xue Wei just shrugged his shoulders. ”We should hurry back home,” Xue Wei said as he hurried next to Shen Mu.
He had no more energy in his body, nor did he have a sturdy frame and all of them should be able to beat him easily. Even Li Jian had been inching closer to Xue Wei, but he dared not touch him now that he too had used all his Qi, whereas Shen Mu was by his side with all his Qi intact.
”You were lucky this time!” Li Jian sneered, feeling as if he had lost all his face. He had not lost when it came to cultivation base, neither had he lost because of his strength being inferior, but because the other had an evasion and movement martial art.
Xue Wei had to admit that he had been lucky. Li Jian and his ninth layered strength were many times stronger than he had expected. If not for his cool-headedness and Li Jian losing his calm, then the outcome of the battle was likely to have been different.
Xue Wei knew that the Azure Light Finger took around forty percent of his Qi, and a fully charged Shattering Mountain Palm was the same.
A bit of perspiration dripped down his forehead as he thought about how close he had been to being beaten up, and not just him but also Shen Mu.
Although Xue Wei could feel the loss of energy and was somewhat feeble, his mental state had never been better. He had been bullied and abused for so long, and now he finally had been able to pay back those debts by just a little. He had been able to show that he was not trash, and he felt as if his shoulders were a thousand times lighter than what they had been before.
His usually expressionless face turned into a smile, and his clenched hands slowly opened. He felt free for the first time, and he looked into the sky above, thoroughly enjoying himself. He felt restored.
Shen Mu could feel that Xue Wei had spent all his energy and nodded his head before he escorted Xue Wei back to the mansion. When they returned, they noticed that the manager was waiting outside for them.
When the manager saw Xue Wei being walked home by Shen Mu, he was at first surprised, but then he noticed Xue Wei's state and his eyes turned dangerously dark.
”Manager Su, do not worry,” Xue Wei said with an uncharacteristic grin on his face. ”Li Jian is much worse off than I am.”
”Mu, thank you for following me home. When I am at home, Li Jian will not dare do anything to me, so I am safe now,” Xue Wei turned to Shen Mu and told him. This was the first time that Xue Wei referred to Shen Mu by just his first name, and Shen Mu couldn't help the smile that spread on his lips. It seemed that Xue Wei finally acknowledged their friendship.
”Don't sweat it,” Shen Mu grinned back and waved at Xue Wei as he turned around. ”Train hard and show that Li Jian that not everyone is as useless as him. He just recently broke into the ninth layer of the Ordinary Warrior rank, so I will expect it to be a half year if not a year before he becomes an Earth Warrior.”
Shen Mu started walking down the street, when he turned around and said one last thing to Xue Wei, ”Show them all just how strong you are after your next secluded cultivation!”
Xue Wei nodded his head solemnly and reached into his robes where he found the bag filled with medicinal plants.
”Manager Su, please have the maids fill up a bath for me,” Xue Wei requested, and the manager nodded his head solemnly.
Although he was incredibly curious about what Xue Wei had meant when he said that Li Jian was looking much worse, he did not dare ask. He was confident that after a short amount of time, the guards and the maids would have brought a rumor back for him to hear.
Xue Wei did not go directly to his room. Instead, he went to the back where the training grounds were located.
He closed his eyes and remembered the feelings he had experienced when fighting Li Jian, and how he had narrowly escaped every attack by relying on the Forbidden Rush ability.