Chapter 173

On the Dragon-Tiger Ring, Li Fei and the Chu family martial artist had been playing 'hide-and-seek' with each other for over ten minutes.

Even for a ring match, this was already quite a long time, and 'hide-and-seek' was actually quite tiring as well.

"Huff, huff..."

The Chu family martial artist gasped twice.

He had been exerting himself to the fullest in an attempt to catch up with Li Fei. After a full ten-plus minutes of chasing, his physical strength and Innate Qi were both greatly consumed, and the Rhino-Dragon Shield in his hand had also become a bit heavier.

You must know that the weight of this shield exceeded three hundred catties!

If this continued, he might not even be able to hold the shield by the end.

Li Fei certainly had consumption as well, but firstly, the physique of a martial artist who practices strength was stronger than that of a martial artist, and their physical strength was better; secondly, strength was more refined and durable than Innate Qi; thirdly, he wasn't carrying a shield weighing over three hundred catties in his hand, so his consumption was smaller than his opponent's.

Therefore, Li Fei was not afraid of such a war of attrition. If the martial artist who came up didn't have fire-attribute or metal-attribute Innate Qi, he could also defeat his opponent relatively easily.

This was the reason why Chu Bo gave up on the war of attrition strategy.

Just as the martial artist on the ring was hesitating whether to continue chasing, a powerful aura suddenly surged over.

Both he and Li Fei subconsciously turned their heads to look, and saw a man holding a long blade walking out of the restaurant where Chu Bo was located.

High-temperature steam was constantly rising from the man's body, and his clothes and pants were quickly ignited, then turned into ashes, revealing the full set of black protective clothing underneath.

His exposed skin was dark red, and there were flame runes on it, all emitting white steam.

The person who arrived was none other than Liu Zheng, who had taken the Realm-Breaking Pill. His implant was the most common fire-attribute implant 【Flame Pattern】, but at this moment, the aura emanating from his body was like an active volcano about to erupt!

"This is 【Flame Pattern】? Something's not right!"

On another restaurant, Zhang Zedong, who was also watching the battle by the window, showed a look of astonishment.

"This level of 【Flame Pattern】 is already comparable to a Dao-Foundation stage powerhouse."

Shangguan Xiao, who was on the side, said in a deep voice.

She herself was at the Dao-Foundation stage, so her judgment was enough to be convincing.

These words made the Zhang family members present panic.

"How is that possible?!"

"Liu Zheng is clearly only at the Qi-Transformation stage."

"It's impossible for him to suddenly break through his realm."

"Could it be the Realm-Breaking Pill?"

Someone guessed the truth.

A pill like the Realm-Breaking Pill was naturally extremely precious; after all, keeping such a pill on one's person was equivalent to having an extra life in a critical moment!

Even the Zhang family couldn't produce a few such pills, and they hadn't expected beforehand that Chu Bo would have one in his hands.

Obviously, this pill was a life-saving trump card Chu Bo had kept for himself, but it had been forced out by Li Fei now.

"Damn it, he actually even used the Realm-Breaking Pill!"

Someone from the Zhang family cursed.

Even Shangguan Xiao, who had always been full of confidence in Li Fei, couldn't help but feel a bit worried.

She wasn't worried about Li Fei's safety; after all, she had once seen Li Fei fight a Dao-Foundation stage powerhouse head-on.

But at that time, Li Fei was in the 'Blood Demon State'. If Li Fei used such a finishing move on this occasion today, his identity as the Green-Faced Ghost would be exposed immediately!

After all, the Green-Faced Ghost had the lives of many officials on his hands. Once exposed, even if Li Fei was a peerless prodigy, the Martial University wouldn't be able to protect him.

In that case, his bright future would be ruined.

So Shangguan Xiao also began to feel worried for Li Fei.

After incorporating a new implant, a Dao-Foundation stage powerhouse would receive enhancements on three levels:

First, the body receives a new strengthening.

Second, strength will be strengthened because of the integration of new Innate Qi.

Third, the existing implant will be strengthened, delaying the aging period, and at the same time, extraordinary abilities will be enhanced.

Now that Liu Zheng had taken the Realm-Breaking Pill, greatly stimulating the potential of the implant in his body, it was equivalent to obtaining most of the second enhancement and the third enhancement.

That is to say, at this moment, he was equivalent to more than half of a Dao-Foundation stage powerhouse!

Without exposing his true combat power, could Li Fei withstand this more than half of a Dao-Foundation stage powerhouse?

At this moment, Shangguan Xiao also had no bottom in her heart.

"Come down."

At the same time, Liu Zheng said to the Chu family martial artist on the ring in a hoarse voice.

Upon hearing this, the martial artist breathed a sigh of relief and jumped off the ring without hesitation.

This counted as voluntarily admitting defeat.

He walked toward Liu Zheng, who was steaming all over, and didn't dare to get too close.

"Give me the shield."

Liu Zheng extended his left hand toward him.

"Okay."

The martial artist handed the Rhino-Dragon Shield in his hand to Liu Zheng.

Liu Zheng took the shield.

In this way, he held a fifth-grade shield in his left hand and a fourth-grade blade in his right hand!

Not only that, he was also wearing a fourth-grade protective suit.

This protective suit was taken directly off Chu Bo's body and Liu Zheng was made to change into it on the spot.

Liu Zheng walked toward the ring step by step; in just these few steps, the shoes on his feet were also burned to ashes by the high temperature!

Sizzle—

As Liu Zheng leaped onto the Dragon-Tiger Ring and stepped barefoot on the Xuanwu Stone, it immediately made the sound of a red-hot soldering iron being put into water, and the sturdy Xuanwu Stone began to melt slowly!

Looking at Li Fei, who was ten meters away, Liu Zheng revealed a scorching expression, raised the fourth-grade exotic weapon in his hand, and slashed out from top to bottom through the air in front of him.

Swish—

The next second, red flame strength erupted from the blade.

A late-stage Qi-Transformation martial artist who practices strength can not only release strength externally but also make the strength take shape.

Taking shape is not for the sake of looking good, but to control the flow and structure of the strength, thereby using higher-level martial arts techniques.

The strength Liu Zheng practiced was Flame-Fierce Strength, which was more fierce than Flame-Flow Strength, but lacked agility, so he couldn't practice Chu Bo's famous killing move 'Returning to Ashes'. At this moment, the inspiration for this slash came from 'Returning to Ashes', only it was much rougher.

A huge flame blade more than ten meters long appeared on the ring, slashing toward Li Fei from top to bottom!

This slash was indeed rough, but it was also brutal enough and powerful enough!

Li Fei raised the Ghost-Slaying Blade and exerted his Jin Gang Strength to the fullest.

The Wall of Jin Gang formed again, blocking in front of the giant flame blade.

Bang!!!

The Dragon-Tiger Ring shook, and a violent gust of wind blew across the entire street, blowing away hats, shattering windows, and making the flags of the restaurant flap loudly.

On the ring, Li Fei maintained the posture of holding the blade with one hand; the clothes and pants on his body were all burned to ashes by the flame strength, revealing the full set of protective clothing underneath.

He had blocked this slash!

The protective clothing he was wearing was also fourth-grade, which had been lent to him by the Zhang family.

Relying on Jin Gang Strength and the fourth-grade protective clothing, plus the Tyrant Body, Li Fei had completely blocked this slash from Liu Zheng.

This scene made the Zhang family members in the restaurant collectively excited!

In fact, Li Fei had encountered more powerful attacks before; that was the strongest combat power under the 'Beast King'—Zhang Shan, whom he had fought against so far.

That night, Li Fei relied on the True Blood Strength he had just comprehended, plus the Tyrant Body strengthened several times in the Blood Demon State, and a third-grade protective suit, but still couldn't block the other party's Dark Flame Fierce Dragon Strength. (See Chapter 135 of Volume 1 for details)

Now his Jin Gang Strength defensive power was much stronger than True Blood Strength, and the fourth-grade protective suit was also stronger than the third-grade protective suit; the only difference was the Tyrant Body. Overall, the total defensive power was slightly weaker than back then.

But even if Liu Zheng took the Realm-Breaking Pill, the Flame-Fierce Strength that erupted beyond the limit was far inferior to Zhang Shan's Dark Flame Fierce Dragon Strength, so in fact, he couldn't break Li Fei's defense.

Crack!

Crack, crack, crack—

On the Dragon-Tiger Ring, a long crack spread from the long blade in Liu Zheng's hand all the way to Li Fei's feet!

"Is this the feeling of the Dao-Foundation stage?"

Liu Zheng looked at the crack at his feet and said in a somewhat intoxicated manner.

He knew that he hadn't actually touched the realm of the Dao-Foundation stage yet, but this powerful feeling still moved him very much.

This was the first and last time in his life he would experience such power.

"I hope you can hold out a little longer."

Liu Zheng, whose slash had been fruitless, said sincerely to Li Fei.

At the same time, huge gasps of surprise rang out all around.

People were all shocked by the huge flame blade just now!

"So strong!"

Zhao Yi in the crowd exclaimed:

"He shouldn't be able to beat such an opponent, right? Is he finally going to be defeated?"

She thought this way, looking forward to it.

On the ring, Liu Zheng began to charge.

Li Fei also began to charge; this was the first time he had actively competed with his opponent for the distance to exert strength.

Boom!!!

Two figures collided, blades clashing, the collision sounding like thunder.

Liu Zheng's blade strength was very heavy and deep; he stood firm without moving, while Li Fei took a few steps back.

The absolute strength gap meant Li Fei couldn't withstand such a head-on collision.

This was also the reason why Liu Zheng had absolute confidence in winning; he didn't need to kill Li Fei, he just needed to knock him off the ring.

"Come again!"

Liu Zheng grinned and laughed, rarely being so unbridled and arrogant.

He stepped forward and swung his blade to slash again.

Li Fei met the attack.

Brilliant golden light and flame strength collided three times in an instant, and Li Fei also retreated three times, having already been forced to the edge of the ring.

"It's over."

Liu Zheng thought with some regret, charging for the fourth time.

This time Li Fei didn't clash with him again, but ran to the right, trying to avoid the charge.

Liu Zheng's speed at this time was also above Li Fei's, and he could release strength externally.

He saw him sweep his blade horizontally, and the giant flame blade appeared again; this time it swept toward Li Fei!

Judging from the results of the previous few collisions, Li Fei would definitely be swept off the ring.

Li Fei's entire body was covered by Jin Gang Strength; he suddenly knelt on one knee, thrusting the Ghost-Slaying Blade in his hand deep into the Xuanwu Stone at his feet, with half of the blade inserted.

Bang—

The giant flame blade was intercepted when it swept across Li Fei's body, and Li Fei was also knocked backward by the huge impact.

He held the blade with both hands, the blade edge carving a deep mark on the ring, and finally stopped after retreating only a little over a meter.

No one knew that in fact, if Li Fei wanted to, he could have not retreated even once before.

It was just that that would have been too shocking.

Shangguan Xiao was worried about him exposing his true combat power, and he was also thinking about how to 'reasonably' win this match.

Swish!

Li Fei suddenly pulled the blade out of the ground, and Liu Zheng charged over with his blade.

Turning around and swinging the blade, the Ghost-Slaying Blade swept out horizontally, and golden blade rays were slashed out like surging waves, layered one upon another; finally, four layers of waves were superimposed together and collided with the blade in Liu Zheng's hand.

The Four-Fold Wave struck with strength was the limit Li Fei could achieve at present.

Taking advantage of the time this four-fold blade strength bought him, he twisted his waist and turned around, holding the blade horizontally in front of his chest.

Bang!!!

The blade edge wrapped in flames slashed heavily on the Ghost-Slaying Blade, and the surging power was like a volcanic eruption.

Li Fei borrowed the force to retreat; because he had just adjusted his stance, he first moved horizontally and then retreated toward the center of the ring.

Liu Zheng turned around and continued to chase.

Another round of collisions, and Li Fei was forced to the edge of the ring again.

But just as Liu Zheng was preparing to sweep Li Fei off the ring, Li Fei repeated his old trick, slashing out a Four-Fold Wave again, and then adjusted his stance.

Liu Zheng was also an experienced expert who had been through hundreds of battles, so he immediately made adjustments and temporarily changed the angle of his slash.

But Li Fei had perceived in advance that he would have such a change in moves, so he also followed suit, stepping forward half a step and using the Ghost-Slaying Blade to block the other party's blade edge in advance.

Clang—

The two blade edges collided again, and the Ghost-Slaying Blade slid along the other party's blade edge toward the hilt. When Liu Zheng exerted force for the second time, he could only exert pressure downward toward Li Fei.

The Xuanwu Stone at Li Fei's feet cracked, but he ultimately wasn't slashed back.

Liu Zheng couldn't break Li Fei's defense, and continuing to exert force was meaningless, so he voluntarily retreated a few steps and then exerted force to slash again.

Li Fei still used the Four-Fold Wave blade strength to block first, and then used the Ghost-Slaying Blade to actively parry Liu Zheng's blade.

After trying a few times, Liu Zheng found that although he could occupy the upper hand, he really seemed unable to do anything to Li Fei for the time being.

The effect of the Realm-Breaking Pill had a time limit.

In desperation, Liu Zheng simply threw away the Rhino-Dragon Shield he had been holding in his left hand all along.

He didn't know how to use a shield in the first place, and Chu Bo letting him hold this shield was just in case, but now this shield had affected his performance.

After throwing away the shield, Liu Zheng switched to holding the blade with both hands, and both the speed and power of his slashes rose by a notch.

Li Fei finally couldn't parry completely in time and was slashed backward step by step.

Soon, he retreated to the edge of the ring again.

"Go down—"

Liu Zheng slashed again with both hands holding the blade, breaking through the Four-Fold Wave blade strength and hitting the Ghost-Slaying Blade that Li Fei was holding horizontally in front of his chest, making the blade of the Ghost-Slaying Blade press tightly against Li Fei's chest.

But this time, Li Fei didn't retreat.

"Hmm?"

Liu Zheng revealed a puzzled expression.

Just now, he had relied on his absolute strength advantage to slash Li Fei back time and time again, but with this last strike, he felt as if he had hit a mountain—a Jin Gang Mountain!

Before he could figure out what was going on, Li Fei suddenly kicked out his right leg, sweeping heavily against his lower leg like a sickle.

This was the Hook-Sickle Leg that Li Fei hadn't used for a long time!

Such a move didn't have much lethality for Liu Zheng, but Li Fei wasn't pursuing lethality either.

The sudden huge force made Liu Zheng lose his balance, and his body tilted forward.

He retracted his blade wanting to retreat, but Li Fei's left hand, which had been empty all along, grabbed his wrist!

Exerting force, he pulled backward!

Liu Zheng was startled in his heart and immediately understood Li Fei's intention, subconsciously erupting with all his strength; Flame-Fierce Strength even erupted from the flame symbol on his wrist.

But Li Fei suddenly let go.

It was like a tug-of-war; one side was pulling backward with all their might, and the other side suddenly let go.

Liu Zheng: "."

The wrestling between martial artists, to some extent, was not essentially different from tug-of-war, except that the changes were faster and the exertion of force was more fierce, so it required very precise grasp of timing; otherwise, the opponent could adjust in time.

For Li Fei, who possessed 'Danger Perception', the timing of letting go was naturally just right.

At the same time, his right foot, which was hooking Liu Zheng, was also exerting force.

This time Liu Zheng completely lost his balance!

Li Fei's right hand swung the blade to sweep horizontally to the left, slapping heavily on the blade edge Liu Zheng was holding in front of him.

Bang—

With a loud noise, Liu Zheng, who had lost his balance, had no time to adjust at all and was swept flying by this slash.

The two were already at the edge of the ring at this time, so—Liu Zheng flew off the ring.

Bang!

He landed heavily.

The outcome was decided!

There is another chapter tonight.

(End of chapter)