Chapter 322: Fist and Ruin II

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“Bei Hong of the Eternal Flame Clan vs. Chen Guo of the Infinite Mountain Sect!”

The cheers tell the whole story. One can barely hear Bei Hong’s name while Chen Guo’s is chanted without end. It would be normal for such a large disparity to make one nervous, yet Bei Hong stands in the ring with his head held high. The people in the audience are all irrelevant to him.

Only Chen Guo matters.

The man looks down at him, not out of disrespect but purely due to physical limitations. Someone as tall as Chen Guo cannot meet his eyes in any other way. His powerful Qi has already spread throughout the ring. Unlike the aura of other cultivators, Chen Guo’s Qi does not blaze like a bright flame. It simply hovers in the space around him, unmoving and almost solid in appearance.

Earth Realm, Level Nine.

Bei Hong smirks and allows his own aura to flow out. The act should be as natural as breathing, yet Chen Guo’s Qi is so unbelievably dense that Bei Hong needs to push it away before his aura can have any space. It is the first time in his life something quite like this has happened, and it only heightens the anticipation in his Qi.

Earth Realm, Level Six.

“You are strong,” Chen Guo says. A simple statement. One that might ring false considering Chen Guo’s power, but his words are too heavy to be anything but the truth.

“You are not going to ask me to surrender?” Bei Hong asks.

“Perhaps I would have before,” Chen Guo says, noticing how Bei Hong’s aura pushes against his own. “However, I will not insult you by doing something so inane. You stand here, so you understand the risks. No more words are needed between us.”

Bei Hong agrees.

In the blink of an eye, both fighters meet in the center of the ring, their fists drawn back. Bei Hong’s body has turned gold. Chen Guo’s eyes are grey like stone.

Their fists ram into each other.

The ensuing shockwave slams into the barrier with immense force, accompanied by a sound not unlike the ringing of a bell. Multiple people in the audience feel the force wash over them, leaving their ears ringing. The arena trembles in the middle of the sky, and the city below them shakes without end, kicking up a wave of dust all over the city.

Bei Hong is blown away.

His back hits the ring three consecutive times, leaving a deep crack each time. Only the barrier stops him from tumbling out. Bei Hong’s whole body heaves as he stands up.

His fist is crushed.

His fingers. His hand. His bones. All of it is nothing more than a flat stump where his wrist ends now. That is the result of getting into a contest of pure power with Chen Guo. A lesser person would be screaming in pain, but Bei Hong holds it in. The taller fighter says nothing, but Bei Hong can feel the question in the weight of his stare.

“You knew it would end like that, so why do it?”

It is a good question. One many people in the audience are wondering about, and one that is causing Lu Mei’s palm to meet her face because she already knows the answer. Bei Hong grins through the pain and waves his stump around to get used to it. He lightly bounces on his feet. Once. Twice. Thrice.

He accelerates into a golden comet.

Chen Guo dashes to meet him. The number of steps he needs to take to reach Bei Hong is somehow shorter than it should be, but it doesn’t matter. Bei Hong is still faster. He ducks under Chen Guo’s fist, feeling the immense force behind it despite Chen Guo failing to even graze him.

[Golden End]

The technique explodes in Chen Guo’s chest, but just as Brother Huang warned him about, it is Bei Hong who feels pain as his remaining fist makes contact. Punching Chen Guo feels like making contact with something far larger than the cultivator’s already impressive frame. Bigger than the arena and perhaps even bigger than the entire city.

It doesn’t matter.

Before Chen Guo can even react, Bei Hong adjusts his stance and unleashes another [Golden End]. His fist protests, yet it does not break. Chen Guo finally moves, swinging his arm in a wild arc. Bei Hong leans back and dodges by inches, then raises his fist in an uppercut that knocks Chen Guo’s arm off course.

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It leaves the disciple of the Infinite Mountain Sect wide open.

[Golden End]

[Golden End]

[Golden End]

Even though Chen Guo’s aura is so dense that moving close to him feels like trying to push through honey, Bei Hong is still the faster one of the two. The elixir made by the Eternal Flame Clan guarantees that. His body becomes a golden blur as he lands blow after blow on Chen Guo.

And yet, Chen Guo remains standing. He brings both his fists up and slams them against the ring.

It shatters.

The shockwave threatens to blow Bei Hong off his feet, forcing him to anchor himself to the ring using his Qi. This becomes increasingly harder as the ring cracks and breaks into hundreds of pieces. The power of Chen Guo’s blow is so strong that some people in the audience fall off their seats.

Amazing.

Absolutely amazing.

Bei Hong’s grin is so big and wide that every single one of his golden teeth is visible. He can only be thankful to Qing Jin for this opportunity. Someone as strong as Chen Guo would usually rely on the pure advantage provided by his superior cultivation for most of the fight. That would lead to a long, probably satisfying brawl that would, nevertheless, fail to provide what Bei Hong truly wants. Not anymore. Thanks to Qing Jin, the stakes have changed. Chen Guo will not leave anything to chance.