Everyone hid behind the huge shield. Fu Liqun said, “Yu Hao! You can break the curse of the rich! Quick! Go!”
“How do I break it?!” Yu Hao turned frantic, “I can’t handle it either!”
Zhou Sheng remembered now and shouted at Yu Hao, “You’re not afraid of Money’s attack!”
Yu Hao, “I’m afraid! But if I get close to it, there may be a way!”
“Then…” Zhou Sheng said, “Let’s send out a rich one too. Kaikai! Go! Cover us!”
Chen Yekai ran out, flashed past, and left the cover of the shield. He drew his pistol, spun around, shook it, and his firearm transformed into a ball of light. Immediately afterwards, from within the light, snowflake-like bank cards showered down with a whoosh like flowers and went against the stream of gold coins. It was barely on even ground with the enemy, and both sides began bombing the other crazily.
Zhou Sheng carried his shield on his shoulder and jumped up. Yu Hao extended a hand, grasping a bank card from mid air. Chen Yekai’s black, private bank card instantly flashed and transformed into Yu Hao’s 2 million diamond card. And within a very brief moment, Yu Hao saw that in the depths of the palace, a statue stood within its courtyard.
“Drop dead!” Yu Hao shouted angrily, waved his hand, and the diamond card swirled over with a ‘whoosh‘; it turned into a sharp blade, a loud blare sounded in the courtyard, gold coins flew everywhere before landing all over the ground. The head of the statue was completely severed — it landed on the ground and rolled away.
Gold coins were strewn all over the palace, and the world turned quiet. The head of the statue was rolling on the floor; its craftsmanship was extremely exquisite.
“That battle was so vulgar.” Chen Yekai said, “No one’s allowed to talk about what happened today.”
Everyone burst out laughing at the same time. Chen Yekai shook his head helplessly. Fu Liqun bent down and picked up the head of the statue. He took a look before throwing it onto the ground, then said to Zhou Sheng, “Do I have no power to resist at all? And can only wait for you guys to escort me to the totem?”
Zhou Sheng said, “You have to believe in yourself first before you can possess strength.”
Yu Hao said, “The closer we get to your totem, the more easily the world in your heart can get influenced, and you will become stronger too.”
“Find your self-confidence,” Chen Yekai said, “And truly locate the source of your self-confidence.”
Fu Liqun raised his hand. Light particles began gathering within his palms; it was vague and indistinct, so no one could tell what it was. Everyone bypassed the courtyard. There was a staircase inside that automatically moved upward, and it led into the deepest part of the palace. Another door was found at its end, but upon arrival at the door, the second door opened up automatically, and they came up to the middle of a spacious platform that connected the two buildings of the palace.
A gust of wind that caught bits of sand blew over, and blistering hot gravel swept by. At the end of the platform was the third door, and another Fu Liqun stood in front of it.
“The gatekeeper is yourself.” Zhou Sheng said, “Hey, that’s interesting.”
Fu Liqun walked towards the center of the platform. The other Fu Liqun wore a suit of leather armour and was wielding a halberd in hand; black flames engulfed his body, and he made a gesture like he was inviting someone for a fight as he beckoned Fu Liqun, who was wearing a pair of suit pants and a shirt.
Ou Qihang was about to walk forward, but Zhou Sheng swung his jingubang horizontally across to stop people on their side.
“Let me do it myself ba.” Fu Liqun looked back and said to the rest, “Brothers, thank you.”
Yu Hao wanted to say something, but stopped. Zhou Sheng nodded in response and stood with Chen Yekai and Ou Qihang at one side of the platform. They watched Fu Liqun and Dark Fu Liqun stare at each other from afar on the battlefield.
“You can’t defeat me.” Dark Fu Liqun said, “Since you’ve already been banished, why come back again?”
Fu Liqun answered, “Yes, you’re right, I’ve always been running away for a very long time.”
Dark Fu Liqun said, “They let you come back, so you came back? Aside from Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao, do you even have any other motivations?”
When Yu Hao saw Dark Fu Liqun, he couldn’t help but recall Dark Zhou Sheng—Satan in his arena. Since the gatekeeper is Fu Liqun himself, then who would be in front of his totem? He couldn’t help but look up, only to see that on the other side of the palace, concealed within the dark clouds, the dust storms that obscured the sky seemed to be swirling over from there.
“No.” Fu Liqun said, “I’m doing this for myself.”
Dark Fu Liqun lowered his head slightly and stared at Fu Liqun. A gust of wind blew by. Fu Liqun appeared in blue sportswear attire from head to toe. His jacket was open, revealing his sturdy chest, and his lapels fluttered in the wind.
“You have never lived for yourself.” Fu Liqun said, “You have always been living for others all your life; for Cen Shan, for your friends, for the expectations your parents have of you…”
“Yes.” Fu Liqun nodded, “You’re right.”
A dust storm swept by. Fu Liqun crouched slightly, just like how he did on the basketball court. He watched his opponent’s posture closely. Sand blown over by the wind swept across the platform in an instant. Zhou Sheng raised his hand and blocked in front of Yu Hao.
Within the billowing dust storm, Fu Liqun’s earnest voice rang out.
“Ever since I was a kid,” Fu Liqun said, “I’ve never really lived for myself. I’ve never been able to break free from the evaluations other people had of me no matter what I did. Whether it was my parents, my teachers, or my friends…I thought I was an outstanding person. It’s just that all those displays were just for show.”
“So?” Dark Fu Liqun said from within the sandstorm, “Now you want to be yourself?”
“Not exactly.” Fu Liqun raised his finger. On his index finger, sand swirled and coalesced into a ball of light that rotated rapidly. The sand storm seemed to treat this rotating ball of light as its core as it formed into a whirlpool and was yanked over! The dust storm cleared up, and Yu Hao clearly saw the scene before him once again.
“I can’t become the person other people want me to be,” Fu Liqun said seriously, “I can’t live a marvelous life others imagine, but there is one thing I can be sure of. And that is——”
“No matter what I become, there will always be someone who will depend on me!” Fu Liqun shouted angrily, and the ball of light in his hand transformed again — it elongated into a halberd that looked almost the same as the one Dark Fu Liqun wielded, then his figure blurred as he fiercely shot over!
Fu Liqun and his dark self collided, stirring up a mad storm in the process. Yu Hao shouted, “Gege! Jiayou!”
Zhou Sheng shouted, “You can win!”
Fu Liqun was dressed in blue sportswear, while Dark Fu Liqun was clad in leather armour from head to toe. Both sides clashed resoundingly, separated, then collided again. Two halberds came to blows with each other and emitted many deafening clangs. Yu Hao’s vision was a blur as he watched; if it weren’t for their different attires, he would hardly be able to tell which was the enemy and which Fu Liqun was the one from their side.
He held Zhou Sheng’s hand, his palm covered in sweat, and whispered, “It’s too difficult. He hasn’t seized his totem yet, how can he defeat himself?”
Zhou Sheng answered, “He has a chance.”
Chen Yekai said, “Have you guys encountered such a situation before?”
“Only once.” Yu Hao said, “When I faced myself. But I only won after seizing my totem back.”
Ou Qihang said, “Why is it difficult to win?”
Chen Yekai said to Ou Qihang, “Defeating oneself is the most difficult thing to do. After all, the strength of both personalities are roughly comparable; this means that he must integrate his personality into himself before he can overcome the other obsessions in his heart.”
It suddenly occurred to Yu Hao that in both Chen Yekai and Ou Qihang’s dreams, their dark selves hadn’t seemed to appear. Did that mean that they had already integrated their personalities into themselves?
On the battlefield, Fu Liqun and his dark self crossed swords like a violent storm. Every blow triggered an upheaval in the air around them, and the shockwaves would sweep past the entire platform. At the instant they parted after exchanging blows, Dark Fu Liqun swept his halberd within a split second, and Fu Liqun bowed down to dodge it. Yu Hao, who was spectating at a side, shivered in an instant, and he shouted inwardly, there’s a good opportunity!
In the next moment, Fu Liqun’s swiftly stabbed over with his halberd! The tip of his halberd was lodged in Dark Fu Liqun’s throat, and it pinned him onto the gate!
“I won’t be looked down upon anymore!” Fu Liqun exerted all his might to shout.
“Until now,” Dark Fu Liqun smiled wickedly, “You’re still living within other people’s expectations…”
Immediately afterwards, black flames erupted from Dark Fu Liqun that knocked Fu Liqun away. The black flames swirled and whistled through the sky like meteors and landed, revealing the figures of Li Yangming and Huang Zheng.
Yu Hao, “!!!”
Zhou Sheng, “Damn it! He looked for helpers?!”
Fu Liqun retreated a little, dragging his halberd along. He gasped for breath for a moment. Yu Hao and Zhou Sheng immediately rushed forward, and while they dashed over, their clothes changed once again — they were now dressed in their basketball attires. The formation on the platform instantly turned into a 3 on 3 match.
“I’ve never looked down on you, Gege.” Yu Hao said, “You’ve always been our captain!”
Zhou Sheng shook his jingubang and said, “Let’s redeem ourselves here for the unwillingness we felt after our defeat that year!”
Fu Liqun instantly opened his eyes, and the corners of his mouth drew up.
“Is that the source of your confidence?” Dark Fu Liqun asked slowly.
The platform transformed once again and turned into a basketball court. Fu Liqun said, “The game has started! Let’s do this!”
In the next moment, all three of them rushed forward and stood with Huang Zheng and Li Yangming, who were led by Dark Fu Liqun. Zhou Sheng swung his jingubang. A whistle appeared in Fu Liqun’s mouth, and he blew it.
Amidst the sound of the whistle, Yu Hao crouched down to dodge the knife Li Yangming swung over. Li Yangming’s hoarse voice said, “You have everything, so you think…”
“That’s how arrogant I am!” Yu Hao shouted, “So? If you don’t like it, then hit me!”
In the next moment, Yu Hao made Li Yangming trip over his staff. Fu Liqun rushed from one side and lifted Dark Li Yangming with his halberd, which sent him flying upward. Zhou Sheng then swung over with his rod and sent him flying onto the gate. Yu Hao released both his daggers that flew over with a whoosh; while Li Yangming let out an anguished wail. He transformed into black flames and scattered into the air!
Huang Zheng roared madly as he rushed over. The three of them turned around again; Zhou Sheng swept over with his jingubang and forced Dark Fu Liqun away, who was trying to approach them. Yu Hao brandished his daggers from behind, Huang Zheng turned sideways to avoid them, and Fu Liqun rushed over again from the other side.
“Director Huang, I’ve wanted to beat you up for a fucking long time!” Fu Liqun roared angrily as he threw away his halberd. He immediately looked as if he had entered a berserker mode as his fists took turns beating Huang Zheng up madly one after another, and he eventually threw Huang Zheng off the platform!
Dark Fu Liqun retreated a little more. Fu Liqun gasped for breath, a ball of light appearing in his hand once again.
“It wasn’t a really good idea to summon those two whose strength only amounts to 5 points.” Zhou Sheng mocked Dark Fu Liqun.
Yu Hao said in a low voice, “Sometimes, the evaluations others make of us is far from as bad we imagine them to be. After these two thorns are removed from his heart, what else do you have left?”
Dark Fu Liqun sneered, “Do you think you will win even if you can pass through this door? Not necessarily…”
After he spoke, Dark Fu Liqun brandished his halberd and rushed towards Fu Liqun. Zhou Sheng and Yu Hao retreated at the same time, but Fu Liqun shouted loudly, then sprinted forward without any weapons in hand!
Dark Fu Liqun spun around, making a clean sweep with his halberd in the process, but Fu Liqun leapt up into mid air while he was dashing, raised his right hand, and his body leaned forward.
Chen Yekai and Ou Qihang cheered at the same time!
An intense ball of light appeared in Fu Liqun’s hands that burst out in all directions. Zhou Sheng shouted, “Slam dunk! Full marks!!”
In the next moment, Fu Liqun smashed that ball of strong light onto his dark self’s head. He pressed down on his dark self until he crashed down with a loud blast; bits of rocks flew everywhere, and the back of Dark Fu Liqun’s head was slammed into the platform ground.
“AAHHHHHH——” Fu Liqun roared angrily, and that ball of strong light suddenly began to decompose his dark self.
Yu Hao, “……”
“You……” Dark Fu Liqun’s voice trembled.
Dark Fu Liqun instantly turned into light particles that filled the sky. With a loud rumble, they were all sucked into Fu Liqun’s body. Fu Liqun’s entire body glowed with a bright light; leather armor started spreading across his skin and turned into a scale armour that covered his whole body, and a glowing halberd appeared in his hand.
—
