Chapter 46: All Cards on the Table

Cang Luo ran the Gale Steps at full power, weaving in boxing footwork as he darted left and right around Chen Dalong, throwing occasional punches to harass and unsettle his opponent.

"Petty tricks. In front of me, you're nothing but a clown."

Chen Dalong had wanted to observe what was so remarkable about Cang Luo's movement art, but the other kept throwing punches to provoke him—truly courting death!

You really think I'm afraid of you?

You really think you can fight above your level?

Chen Dalong flew into a rage on the spot. No more defending—he channeled the Leopard Shadow Legs and pressed forward with a frenzy of kicks and stomps, meeting Cang Luo head-on. He wanted to end the fight quickly before any accidents happened.

Facing Chen Dalong's ferocious assault, Cang Luo dared not clash with him directly; all he could do was dodge and defend at the same time.

Cang Luo bent his body slightly, both arms raised in front of him to guard the vital points, his feet shifting and pivoting like a seasoned boxer.

However, since Cang Luo's speed couldn't match Chen Dalong's, he was struck by the Leopard Shadow Legs quite a few times.

But Cang Luo wasn't afraid—he could mobilize his attribute-less Yuan Power to defend and heal simultaneously, easing the pain.

This wasn't the first time Cang Luo had seen the Leopard Shadow Legs. Back when he dueled Chen Dahu, the other had used the same technique.

The Leopard Shadow Legs were a martial art combining movement and legwork. While the practitioner moved as light as a swallow, it also carried some offensive power—but you can't have your cake and eat it too, so the damage was a bit lacking.

Cang Luo figured that Chen Dalong had stopped using the Descending Dragon Palm and switched to the Leopard Shadow Legs to attack him, probably because the Descending Dragon Palm drained too much...

Cang Luo defended while analyzing the strength of both sides, a cold laugh rising in his heart.

Heh! If you've got the guts, one-shot me. Otherwise, once your Yuan Power runs out, it'll be your doomsday!

Chen Dalong kept attacking Cang Luo frenziedly with the Leopard Shadow Legs and finally caught an opening, sweeping Cang Luo flying with one kick.

Cang Luo was sent flying and rolled a few times on the ground. He wasn't badly hurt, but he pretended to be gravely injured, struggling to his feet as if he might collapse at any moment.

Seeing this, Chen Dalong contemptuously spat, then immediately pressed his advantage and charged at Cang Luo. The Descending Dragon Palm was poised to strike, ready to deliver the final blow to the swaying Cang Luo.

Seeing Chen Dalong take the bait, Cang Luo's previously swaying body suddenly tensed like a drawn bow. He flung a handful of sand at Chen Dalong, then surged after it, channeling the Thunder Rush Palm and charging at Chen Dalong without a hint of hesitation.

The sudden sand made Chen Dalong's stride falter, his figure slowing for a beat.

In that brief pause, Cang Luo's Thunder Rush Palm had already descended, landing square on Chen Dalong's face—but the other blocked it with his arm, though he was still knocked back several meters.

After steadying himself, Chen Dalong didn't curse Cang Luo for being despicable and shameless; instead, he was puzzled as to why Cang Luo was so tough.

The other had been swept by his legs dozens of times. Even with full defense, his arms should have swollen up by now, right?

But looking at him, he seemed completely fine.

What was going on?

Chen Dalong retreated a few steps, sizing up Cang Luo.

Cang Luo casually rubbed his arm and chuckled, "Chen Dachong, don't tell me you're already spent?

I've only just warmed up. Bring it on!"

Cang Luo's plan was to leverage his advantage of unlimited Yuan Power to drag Chen Dalong into a war of attrition, and when the time was right, activate Meiti Shengong and have Erha launch a sneak attack for a fatal blow.

Chen Dalong not only had higher cultivation than him, but also surpassed him considerably in martial art grade, proficiency, physical conditioning, and combat experience.

So he had to be extremely careful—after all, this was a matter of life and death.

Chen Dalong panted; his Yuan Power consumption was getting serious.

At the same time, his heart was filled with doubts—he couldn't understand why Cang Luo was so tough. Anyone else would have been beaten half to death several times over by now.

Could it be that the other had cultivated some advanced heart method with extremely strong defensive power and recovery?

Right, although this trash is only at Warrior Stage 7, he's an older disciple—a twenty-two-year-old Warrior Stage 7.

With such poor aptitude, his Yuan Power intensity definitely can't compare to a teenager at Warrior Stage 7.

But he has the age advantage—his Yuan Power reserves must have accumulated far more than a teenager at Warrior Stage 7!

Maybe even more than mine...

No, I have to end this fast, or I'll be worn down to death.

At that moment, Chen Dalong suddenly saw the light and finally understood Cang Luo's plan.

This trash, this despicable, shameless rat—knowing he can't beat me head-on, he wants to drag this into a war of attrition!

"Pah..." Chen Dalong wiped his mouth and secretly fished a Strength-Enhancing Pill out of his bracer and swallowed it.

The Strength-Enhancing Pill was a lower-grade Profound-rank pill that could temporarily boost strength and defense, almost raising his Warrior Stage 8 strength to Warrior Stage 9!

But once the effect wore off, he'd grow short of breath and weak, temporarily losing combat ability—so he had to end this fast.

A few breaths later, the pill took effect. Chen Dalong felt an invincible force surging wildly from his Lower Dantian, then flowing throughout his entire body.

Chen Dalong's expression turned grim. He didn't want to waste any time and immediately unleashed the Leopard Shadow Legs at full power.

His legs whipped through the air with tiger-like force, so fast that all one could see was a blur tearing through sand and dust, charging at Cang Luo like lightning.

"So fast!"

Cang Luo had barely finished speaking when he realized Chen Dalong was already right in front of him. Horrified, he couldn't dodge in time and could only defend with everything he had.

Helpless against the other's overwhelming force, Cang Luo was kicked flying over ten meters in an instant and slammed into a massive cedar.

"Cough..."

Cang Luo spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. His back and both arms throbbed with intense pain, but thankfully the endless stream of Yuan Power shielded and healed him, so it wasn't a fatal wound.

Cang Luo staggered to his feet and looked at the smug-faced Chen Dalong, doubt rising in his heart.

Hadn't he just shown signs of exhaustion earlier?

How had he recovered his fighting strength now?

And even stronger than before by a margin—had he been hiding his strength all along?

Looks like I'll have to play my trump card early.

"Trash is trash!" Chen Dalong cursed on the surface, but in his heart he was already secretly shocked.

He hadn't expected Cang Luo to still be able to stand, and even appear to have fighting strength left. What was the logic in that?

Is this kid's body made of cedar? How is it so tough?

Chen Dahu, unable to ponder further, launched another attack, this time aiming at Cang Luo's head.

By now, he no longer hoped to capture Cang Luo alive for torture; he only sought to kill him swiftly, or else once the medicine's effect wore off, he himself would be the one to die!

"Dragon-Subduing Palm!!!"

Chen Dahu roared and unleashed the Leopard Shadow Leg to close in on Cang Luo with speed.

With this palm strike, Chen Dahu gathered ninety percent of the remaining primal force in his Lower Dantian; within his palm, orange-red Yang-attribute primal force could be faintly seen boiling and surging.

The space around his palm even generated a patch of steam, as if the air itself were burning.

With this palm, Chen Dahu was confident he would blast Cang Luo's head into a rotten watermelon, avenging his younger brother Chen Dahu.

With this palm, Chen Dahu intended to wash away his shame: how could a fellow at Warrior Stage 7 require him to consume pills just to be defeated?

If this wasn't shame, what was?

Zhang Youliang was still watching; how could he possibly stand before his subordinates afterward?

"Die, you trash!"

Chen Dahu, his face twisted in ferocity, stared at Cang Luo, eager to see what expression he would wear in his final moments.

Was it fear?

Was it horror?

Or was it regret?

Unfortunately, Chen Dahu did not see the expression he had imagined on Cang Luo's face; he saw only Cang Luo's resolute countenance and eyes gleaming with cunning.

In that instant, Chen Dahu suddenly felt an ominous premonition, yet he truly could not think of what countermeasure the opponent might still possess.

Hesitating, he flashed forward to Cang Luo's side and, without a shred of hesitation, struck Cang Luo's forehead with his most powerful martial technique, the Dragon-Subduing Palm.

The moment his palm emerged, Cang Luo was, in his eyes, already a dead man.

At that very moment, he was even thinking about what treasures he would find upon searching Cang Luo's body.

Was it high-grade pills?

Or high-grade cultivation methods?

"Boom!!!"

The Dragon-Subduing Palm landed on Cang Luo's head with a deafening crash; Chen Dahu unconsciously revealed a faint smile...

"What are you laughing at?" Cang Luo asked calmly.

"What?!"

Hearing the person beneath his palm still have the breath to speak, Chen Dahu was instantly startled and withdrew his palm, stepping back.

Yet he suddenly discovered his right palm was firmly gripped by the opponent; no matter how he struggled, it would not budge.

Cang Luo's right hand protected his forehead, blocking Chen Dahu's Dragon-Subduing Palm, and firmly seized it, while his left hand began unbuttoning his shirt.

At this moment, Cang Luo's body was simply too hot, as if he had a fever; his entire body burned with abnormal heat, as though the cells, blood, and muscles within were on fire.

Yet he was filled with power; he knew this was the state of activating the first layer of the Meiti Shengong.

After removing his shirt, Cang Luo asked again: "I said, what are you laughing at?"

"You, how is this possible?!"

Chen Dahu was utterly stunned, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Cang Luo's upper body, which lacked a single hard muscle, unable to comprehend how such a frail body could possess such strength?!

With his right palm firmly trapped in Cang Luo's grasp, Chen Dahu found he could not break free no matter what; thus, he lifted his leg and kicked at Cang Luo's face.

Unfortunately, Cang Luo easily blocked it again; after blocking, Cang Luo reversed his grip and pinned him to the ground, then employed a joint-lock technique from the Military Boxing to lock him firmly in place, rendering him unable to move, though Cang Luo himself had no free hand to attack.

Chen Dahu struggled desperately on the ground, but Cang Luo, after activating the Meiti Shengong, was no weaker in strength than he, having already expended much of his primal force; therefore, he could not break free no matter what.

Moreover, the primal force within Chen Dahu's Lower Dantian was nearly exhausted, insufficient to provide even a single burst of power.

The two remained locked in stalemate; before long, Chen Dahu began to feel fear.

He feared the Strong Power Pill's effect would wear off; once it did, he would certainly be no match for Cang Luo, and death would be inevitable.

"Let me go!" Chen Dahu shouted and struggled.

Just then, his eyes suddenly brightened, for he saw someone stealthily approaching behind Cang Luo: it was his subordinate, Zhang Youliang.

Chen Dahu instantly felt a glimmer of hope; while secretly gathering primal force to launch a sudden attack, he exerted all his strength to lock Cang Luo even tighter, facilitating Zhang Youliang's ambush.

"Let you go? Fine, as long as you tell me who sent you and your brother to deal with me."

Cang Luo, temporarily unable to free a hand while restraining Chen Dahu, seemed not to notice Zhang Youliang at all.

In truth, every move Zhang Youliang made was under satellite surveillance; he remained completely unaware...

"I'll say it, I'll say it, it was, it was..."

Chen Dahu pretended to reveal the mastermind behind the plot, but his true intent was to distract Cang Luo and create an opportunity for Zhang Youliang to ambush.

Zhang Youliang's heart raced as he slowly approached Cang Luo; a single fierce kick to the back of Cang Luo's head would rescue Senior Brother Chen, leaving a chance to turn the tables.

He had not considered fleeing at this opportunity, but he realized that an injured man like himself could never survive walking out of the Beast Forest; thus, he decided to ambush.

Closer, closer; only a few steps remained.

Seeing that Cang Luo had not noticed him, Zhang Youliang was overjoyed; he immediately summoned all the primal force in his Lower Dantian to his right foot, preparing to launch his attack.

But just then, Zhang Youliang suddenly felt a chill in his heart; he suddenly saw not far away a Fire-Devouring Wolf, baring its teeth and grinning, strolling toward them.

Terrified, Zhang Youliang quickly retreated to flee, having long forgotten the plan to ambush Cang Luo and rescue Chen Dahu.

He could still distinguish between dying now and dying later.

The Fire-Devouring Wolf's strength equaled that of a human martial artist at Warrior Stage 8; although this one was somewhat thin and small, it possessed two wolf heads, one of which was spewing scorching flames, clearly preparing to attack him.

Zhang Youliang knew this was a mutated demon beast; mutated demon beasts possessed even greater strength.

How could he possibly match it? How could he not run?

Chen Dahu also spotted this two-headed Fire-Devouring Wolf and was instantly filled with dread.

He immediately whispered urgently to Cang Luo: "Cang Luo, hurry, hurry, let me go; only by joining forces can we kill it, otherwise you will die here too."

"Oh? Is that so? You seem quite afraid of them?"

Cang Luo smiled, suddenly turning his head to look at Zhang Youliang, who was fleeing, and said casually, "Erha, go finish off that guy."

"Awooo!"

With an excited wolf howl, Erha obeyed his master Cang Luo's command and pounced on Zhang Youliang, circling around to his front, opening his massive wolf jaws, and spewing a torrent of flames.

Injured and unable to dodge in time, Zhang Youliang was instantly buried in the sea of fire, his screams echoing endlessly...

Chen Dalong stared in shock at his subordinate Zhang Youliang, who was being consumed by the flames, and said in disbelief, "This... this is your beast pet?"

How... how is that possible!?

A martial artist of the Wu Shi realm, after summoning a beast pet, can still fight with Yuan power?"

At this moment, Chen Dalong's eyes were filled with regret; he knew he had lost this time, utterly lost.

He regretted it immensely, regretting that he had not investigated Cang Luo's strength thoroughly before rushing to attack.

He regretted not bringing enough gang members to help; alas, it was already too late...

Cang Luo smiled and said, "You guessed correctly."

Having finished speaking, Cang Luo called Erha over, letting the wolf head on the left open its foul-smelling jaws and lightly bite onto Chen Dalong's neck.

The wolf head on the right spat sparks at him, and the scorching embers left several burn marks on Chen Dalong's face.

With Erha restraining him, Cang Luo was able to release Chen Dalong and pat Erha's head as a reward.

Then, sitting aside, he ceased his cultivation and stopped circulating the Meiti Shengong; immediately, he couldn't help but spew a mouthful of crimson turbid qi, a side effect caused by the Meiti Shengong.

Upon internally observing his body, Cang Luo discovered that many of his organs had bloodstains on their surfaces, but under the healing of his infinite Yuan power, they had already recovered almost completely.

Knowing his body was no longer in serious danger, Cang Luo sneered at Chen Dalong, "I will ask one more time: who sent you two brothers to deal with me?"

Why are you dealing with me? Speak, and I can grant you a painless death; otherwise, I will let them bite you to death, bite by bite."

No, bite you half to death!"