NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 424 - 424: Could it be the Ninth Stage_1
Chapter 424: Chapter 424: Could it be the Ninth Stage_1
He couldn’t help but think of his own Fire Qi Shield, powerful though it was, but its flaws were also obvious.
An old saying goes, “You can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
In battle, there is no pure defense, nor is there pure offense.
Thus, when he executed both the offensive and defensive techniques of Fierce Prison Heavenly Gang simultaneously, it necessarily led to a bias in True Qi. If the attack’s power increased, the defensive capabilities would naturally decrease correspondingly.
Even if one solely focused on defense, would it protect the whole body or just a specific part?
The enemy’s attack could be wide-ranging or concentrated on a single point, and they certainly wouldn’t inform you of the target location in advance.
Therefore, defense is passive, a tactic of striking after the enemy, one misjudgment could lead to the failure of defense.
But at this moment, Xu Fan, who was deploying defense techniques, did not seem to suffer from these issues or so-called flaws. It was as if his entire being was dipped in bronze paint, his body shining with a golden brilliance, leaving no vulnerability uncovered.
Listening to the trembling sound of the fists colliding, the defensive power must be formidable.
For a moment, Li Fuqiang was full of anticipation.
“Dear nephew, I’m making my move,”
Li Fuqiang said as a warning, then immediately stepped forward into a front bow stance, shifting his weight onto his right thigh. He brought his hands together to form a seal, then suddenly spread his fingers and snatched toward the center of his weight. The True Qi that was continuously gathering at his right leg’s center was violently sucked into his palm.
In that instant, Li Fuqiang seemed to become the eye of a storm.
Around him, the wind roared, quickly forming a tornado. The howling of the wind grew louder and more terrifying, to the point that Qian Zongsheng and the other three spectating from the Heart of Heaven Pavilion were like old men in their twilight years, looking as though they were about to collapse.
The disturbance caused by Gangshi Tyrant was far greater than this, as the previously calm river water below Li Fuqiang began to churn and surge violently, emitting a large amount of white mist. The small fish and shrimps in the river were all tragically killed on the spot by this sudden disaster.
The fingers of Li Fuqiang were slightly bent, and he held his hands above and below in front of his chest as if cradling something insubstantial. The surging True Qi was continuously absorbed into this “empty cradle,” forming a large energy ball that was as red as fire, as brilliant as the sun. Light filtering through the gaps in his fingers cast upon Li Fuqiang’s face, making him look like a supreme deity.
The energy ball glowed intensely red, its surface pulsating with light, its power astonishing as if even a tiny spark could melt bones and dissolve gold.
The Fierce Prison Lion, Li Fuqiang, became famous precisely through this move, Gangshi Tyrant, having slain numerous strong opponents with it.
Qian Zongsheng watched intently, pondering whether he could find a sliver of opportunity to survive this move if he were to face it and resort to using all his trump cards.
The answer was: he was not sure.
Xiao Bai and the other two stared blankly, their nerves taut without realizing it, facing such powerful energy capable of destroying a detached villa, none dared to even breathe loudly.
However, Xu Fan’s reaction seemed out of place; he still smiled lightly and calmly, showing not the slightest sign of distress, as if the large energy ball in front of him was just a basketball being passed to him.
“Go!”
With a low shout from Li Fuqiang, his body and stance united, he raised his hand and the energy ball was hoisted over his head and smashed towards Xu Fan, resembling a pass.
However, as soon as the energy ball left his hands, it rapidly transformed, turning into a fiery red lion. As soon as it took shape, it let out a massive roar.
The fiery red lion had not fully materialized; only its front half appeared while the rest was the energy ball. Although it looked somewhat comical, its aura was fierce and domineering, terrifying to witness.
“Is this Gangshi Tyrant? Indeed… supremely domineering!”
“Tonight’s trip was so worth it, to think that I could even see Chief Steward Li unleashing his signature move.”
“Such a domineering martial arts technique, it feels even more terrifying than the legendary Samadhi True Fire. If it were me facing it, I would definitely be smashed into a meat pie, then burned to ash.”
“Do you think this is a joke? Chief Steward Li’s move is used to instantly kill Martial Arts Grandmasters.”
Xu Fan’s eyes lit up; he was fortunate to witness the manifestation of True Qi.
But he quickly sighed inwardly, realizing that the fiery red lion was incomplete, so this True Qi manifestation had a huge flaw.
From this, it can be seen that the Ancient Martial System is far behind the Cultivation System.
The fiery red lion roared towards him, its entire body brimming with wild energy, yet Xu Fan simply watched it approach at high speed, neither dodging nor avoiding, and astonishingly, he abandoned any defense.
Li Fuqiang couldn’t help but be taken aback. Could it be that Xu Fan was so intimidated by the fiery red lion’s overwhelming energy that he forgot to defend?
Such a low-level mistake could be extremely deadly.
He was already prepared to forcefully retract the fiery red lion, even if it meant being gravely injured or on the brink of death, he couldn’t let the fiery red lion strike Xu Fan.
Because such a hit, even if it doesn’t reduce the victim to ashes, would certainly blow a huge hole through the body.
When the fiery red lion came within a meter, Xu Fan finally made his move, crossing his arms in front of his chest. This simple action seemed almost perfunctory.
“Boom!”
The fiery red lion collided with Xu Fan’s crossed arms, sparking flames and blinding light.
Qian Zongsheng and the others squinted their eyes to shield them from the bright light and prevent damage to their sight.
But because the area was filled with shining brilliance, they couldn’t see the scene clearly at all.
“Boss… Xu Fan isn’t just… gone like that, is he?” Fei Ying spoke carelessly without a trace of worry.
Xiao Bai smacked him on the head fiercely and said resentfully, “If you can’t speak properly, then shut up. See the Chief Steward there? He hasn’t moved, so Xu Fan must be fine.”
Fei Ying rubbed his head, giving Xiao Bai a look full of grievance.
A head can be broken, blood can flow, but the hairstyle must not be messed up!
You little rascal, your touch is neither light nor heavy. Can you not hit the head next time?
“Dissolve!”
Amid the dazzling light, with a low shout from Xu Fan, the fiery red lion rapidly disintegrated and soon vanished into the void.
The ball of energy also dissipated quickly, causing the glow to weaken and disappear.
Xu Fan’s figure reappeared, still as if cast from gold, completely unharmed. Even his air wings fluttered gently on their own, showing not the slightest sign of change.
Qian Zongsheng and the others were stunned, their gaze frozen, their expressions fixed, and even their hearts stopped.
After a long moment, gasps of astonishment filled the air.
Is he even human?
“To actually…!”
Li Fuqiang also had a complex look in his eyes, filled with nothing but shock.
Perhaps the four observers had not seen clearly what means Xu Fan had used, but he had seen everything perfectly clear.
This strike, powerful enough to instantly kill a Grandmaster, had been caught barehanded by Xu Fan, without even scratching his skin.
Then the torrential energy from the ball surged towards Xu Fan, only to be completely blocked by his protective Gang Qi.
In other words, he had been thoroughly defeated in this exchange.
If this were to be spread to the Ancient Martial World, probably no one would believe it. They would definitely think it was hype or an exaggerated rumor.
Only fools would believe it!
Li Fu narrowed his eyes to slits, and two words flashed through his mind: Ninth Stage!