As soon as Ming Feizhen lunged forward, Kongcang retreated several metres, ditching the idea of taking a hostage because a human shield didn’t even seem feasible.
There was no way Miguo Branch didn’t have decent fighters when they had been operating for years. Kongcang’s second-strongest status wasn’t just an empty title. As the type to figure out how to deal with a loss before thinking about how to win, he had his retreat route mapped out before he arrived on the scene. Seeing as his poison didn’t work, he immediately focused chiefly on getting away.
Ming Feizhen waited for Kongcang’s presence to disappear before dropping onto his bottom.
“Brother!”
“Don’t come close.” Ming Feizhen raised a hand as he swallowed the blood that came up to his mouth, though some still leaked, then recalibrated his breathing. “… I’ve never come across this poison.”
Having become practically immune to poison ever since commencing his journey in Yijin Jing, Ming Feizhen deliberately let Kongcang poison him to unveil Kongcang’s façade, and it became his first time being the victim of poison. Although Kongcang mentioned it was designed to counter Shaolin’s disciplines, technically speaking, it was formulated to disable practitioners with highly developed internal strength. As such, practitioners of Shaolin’s disciplines would feel the most pronounced effect. Ming Feizhen had his Wudang discipline to fall back on when the poison first kicked in, but the speed at which he could circulate true qi and the volume he could mobilise dropped off as time passed.
The nigh-tasteless and nigh-odourless poison couldn’t really corrode humans’ meridians, but it could create an obstacle for true qi flow. Once the poison’s life reached its end, the victim would regain normal movement. Fights were decided in split seconds. The inability to move as desired for that split second was all it took to suffer defeat. Kongcang had a testimonial to back this statement up.
“Give me some time to recollect myself. His poison is a pain in the neck.” It was Ming Feizhen’s first time not being able to utilise Yijin Jing whatsoever. Luckily, he could switch to Tai Chi to gradually excrete the poison out of his system. “It’s going to take some effort, but I’ll be done in about ten minutes.”
“You almost had this old one.” Of course, the man who returned would be Kongcang.
While he was on the run, Kongcang reflected on Ming Feizhen’s final attack. Given Ming Feizhen’s abilities, there was no reason for him to stomp the ground so hard or put on an invincible aura. Why would he have to waste all that extra energy when one straightforward punch could settle the fight? Hence, Kongcang decided to find out if he was just imagining things.
“Hohoho, this old one didn’t believe Zhuo Fengru when he said you’re a Wudang disciple, but judging from the way you’re expelling the poison, you do know Tai Chi, huh? Are you a Wudang disciple who learnt out Shaolin skills in secret or a monk who defected to Wudang? This piques this one’s interest.”
The non-combatants shivered as though some ferocious beast just licked their necks.
“There’s no point banking on the kid. He deliberately let this one poison him, only for his plan to backfire on him. Don’t go presuming his advanced mental cultivation knowledge is going to do anything. The last person to try it took ten minutes, and he was a full-grown adult.” Kongcang closed the distance, then held his hand above Ming Feizhen’s dome. “Any last words?”
Ming Feizhen slowly exhaled, then opened his eyes. “Hero Zhuo.”
Kongcang bound forty-five degrees forward, then looked over to check. Zhuo Fengru was unmistakably still lying on the ground, much to his relief. Suddenly, he felt a violent dig in his back. With no time to figure out how Zhuo Fengru just apparently warped over, Kongcang hurriedly started Vajra Realm in hopes of counterattacking. Before he could complete his goal, though, Zhuo Fengru was already in his face.
“So what if you have Vajra Realm? With your speed, it may as well be called Vajra Turtle Shell,” insulted Zhuo Fengru.
Kongcang gasped blood as Zhuo Fengru stung him on the chest.
Zhuo Fengru then chopped Kongcang on the clavicle with his fingers. “Until you have the same degree of mastery as Lord Miguo, you won’t even stop one of my attacks. You sacrificed your pride for this pitiful speed and weakness?”
In an internal and external skill contest, Kongcang closed the gap significantly between him and Zhuo Fengru thanks to Vajra Realm. Alas, Zhuo Fengru outclassed him in the speed department. Needless to say, Shaolin had qinggong disciplines, but none of them advocated for focusing purely on offence to maximise speed.
Kongcang had imagined numerous times how long it would take for a victor to be decided between him and Zhuo Fengru, but never in his wildest imagination did he see himself losing after only two attacks.
Zhuo Fengru, deeming it unnecessary to confirm he had defeated his fallen foe, went to check on Xu Yanran. “Yanran, are you all right?”
Deep down, Xu Yanran was elated her father checked on her first when he had just fought. “Yes, I’m all right.”
Even though Zhuo Feng felt apologetic to Xu Yanran all his life for not personally raising her, he planned to take the secret to the grave. He slowly exhaled and then suggested, “We need to get moving. Let’s leave with our money, as a family of three… We’ll find a peaceful place to settle down and go from there.”
Xu Yanran had trouble getting accustomed to her new identity, so she looked to Hua Qing.
Hua Qing opined, “Hero Zhuo, in light of the circumstances, how about we plan our next step together.”
“If this was only about this old one and his brother’s grudge, he would help you. Howbeit, he has a family, so he can’t afford to take the risk. What do you say, Young Hero Ming?”
