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.@@novelbin@@

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.

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!