Whizzz Bam!!
After blocking Long Huang's attack, the Bandit King grabbed Long Huang's leg and threw him to the ground. And struck out with his axe, with its razor-sharp blade, sliced through the air menacingly, aiming for Long Huang's head as the axe approached, Long Huang quickly dodged without anyone noticing.
The axe struck the ground where he had lain just a heartbeat before, shattering the earth beneath it, creating a cloud of dust.
The others watching the fight thought it was already over, and some of the caravan members even began to panic, not realizing the truth of the matter.
Swish! Bam!
Long Huang was like a specter, slipping behind the brute like a shadow wreathed in darkness. In one fluid motion, he drove a powerful palm strike into the side of the Bandit King's, a precision attack that sent shockwaves of agony rippling through his body.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!
The Bandit King roared in torment; the sound of his voice was like that of a wounded beast, echoing off the rocks. In a twist that defied human limits, he sought to retaliate, his colossal axe arcing wildly in an attempt to slash Long Huang in half.
But Long Huang was already a step ahead, moving with the instinctual grace of a predator.
Swoosh!
"Come on, boy," the Bandit King growled, his voice like grinding stones.
"Let's see if your blood is as pretty as your face."
"Hmm." Long Huang just hummed, not even bothering to react to the taunts as he was blinded by rage and was under the influence of the killing intent of the blades of slaughter.
Woosh!
Swinging his axe in a wild, desperate arc. Long Huang dropped low, the axe whistling over his head, feeling the rush of wind as it passed awfully close to his head. In a calculated maneuver, he delivered a sweeping kick low to the ground, toppling the Bandit King, sending him crashing unceremoniously onto the dirt, followed by another kick to his chest, sending him skidding across the ground.
Thud!!!!
"You little bastard!" he bellowed, the frustration and disbelief threading through his furious voice as he sprang to his feet and picked up his seemingly unfazed by Long Huang's attack.
Swoosh!
The Bandit King moved with shocking speed for his size and appeared in an instant before Long Huang, and launched a powerful kick aimed at Long Huang's chest. Long Huang reacted just in time, bracing himself with both hands as the blow landed, sending shockwaves of pain coursing through his arms, numbing them in turn, causing Long Huang to stagger back.
"It's high time I gut you, pretty boy, and send you back to your parents as a gift from me to them," said the Bandit King, his voice filled with renewed confidence.
"Yeah, boss, hurry up and kill the little bastard," shouted a bandit in the distance.
"Shut....huff...huff...UP!"
Long Huang said as his mouth hung low as he grasped for breath, his voice colder than the steel axe in the Bandit King's hand.
Adrenaline surged through him as he locked eyes with the Bandit King; Long Huang could feel his heart pounding against his ribcage, the sound of it echoing in his mind, mingling with the sounds of rustling leaves and distant shouts from other bandits.
His mind raced with only the thought of killing the man in front of him as quickly and as painfully as possible, but he kept his composure because he felt something was off.
His attacks weren't as effective as they were in the beginning. He was sure each of his attacks landed squarely, but the Bandit King shook them off like insect bites.
His eyes assessed the man before him as if wanting to see through him, then he saw it—a faint, thin layer of protective qi hardening over the exact spots his fists and feet had landed.
He'd spent so long fighting beasts, he'd forgotten human cultivators at the Blood Tempering Realm could actively defend parts of their body with qi.
Finally understanding the situation, Long Huang's lips formed a grim smile as he said.
"A turtle's shell is hard, but not impossible to break. Let's see how long it lasts."
Huff...
With a sharp exhale, he executed his Wind Deer steps and vanished. The Bandit King kept his guard up, expecting a sneak attack from the side or the back, but Long Huang had a different plan. As he neared the Bandit King, Long Huang shifted his stance and unleashed the relentless torrent of his Ocean Wave Fist Art.
First Move: Crashing Tide, Second Move: Rolling Current, Third Move: Tidal Surge
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His fists moved in a continuous, flowing rhythm, not as single strikes, but as an endless series of concussive waves. The first punch landed on the Bandit King's chest. The second hit the same spot. Then, a third met the Bandit King's jaw with a force three times his base strength, the qi layer began to crack, causing the impact to resound like thunder.
CRACK!! Cack!!!
As the qi layer cracked, even the crack of bone reverberated through the stillness, as the Bandit King was sent crashing to the ground once more.
Zhao Gun's eyes widened in disbelief, his heart racing as he stood frozen, mouth agape.. This was Long Huang, an ordinary individual with a weak bloodline, barely at the Meridian Tempering Realm of cultivation, yet he fought with an intensity and skill that defied belief.
"This is impossible!"
Every movement was brutal and precise. This wasn't merely a confrontation between cultivators; this was an exhibition of raw power and a battle to the death. But to others, it was a one-sided horror show. Long Huang stood over him, chest heaving, his knuckles raw and bleeding.
"Come on now, where's your spirit, Bandit King!"
Blood dripped from the Bandit King's nose and mouth as he staggered back using his axe to support himself, uncertainty creeping into his once-mighty gaze.
"N...o, th...is ca...n't be," said the bandit King as some of his teeth fell from his mouth.
For the first time, fear flickered beneath his bravado, an ember of doubt igniting in the shadow of Long Huang's relentless onslaught.
Whoooshh!!
Long Huang surged forward like a wolf locked on its prey, not permitting the Bandit King any moment of respite. He feinted left, luring his opponent's focus, then propelled his knee into the Bandit King's ribs with thunderous force.
Boom!
Crack!
AHHHHHHHHHHH!
The sound of cracking bone filled the air, and the Bandit King roared in pain and fury, swinging his axe in a wild, desperate arc. But Long Huang grabbed his wrist with an unyielding grip and twisted it without a shred of mercy.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Clang!
The axe clattered to the ground as the Bandit King screamed in pain.
"Im.....pos...sible!" the Bandit King wheezed, eyes filled with disbelief.
"Y..ou're ju...st a k..."
"That's enough out of you."
Long Huang silenced him with a brutal kick that battered into the Bandit King's throat, a blow that robbed him of breath. The Bandit King crumpled to the earth, choking, the ground rising to meet him in his humiliation.
Long Huang looked down at the defeated tyrant and planted a foot firmly on his chest, asserting his dominance with a feral intensity, and leaned low, the fire in his eyes blazing as brightly as the sun, filled with killing intent.
"Earlier, you asked me if I was afraid."
"So let me tell you, I fear nothing and no one."
Long Huang's words echoed in the Bandit King's mind like thunder. In that moment, the Bandit King thought to himself, 'I now understand that saying, that there's always a higher mountain.'
Boom!! Pop!!
Long Huang stomped on the Bandit King's head and smashed it like a watermelon.
"And a word of advice for your next life"
"Be careful with your words."
The silence that followed was so quiet that the heartbeat of the caravan members could be heard; each one was too scared to move.
"How can this be?"
Their leader, the feared Bandit King, a cultivator at the Peak of the Blood Tempering Realm, lay motionless in the dirt, his once-proud features now caked with grime and blood, rendered lifeless by the hands of a mere child they had dismissed as nothing more than an arrogant upstart.
As the sunlight glinted off the scattered weapons, a heavy silence enveloped the pass, pierced only by the soft rustle of leaves.
The remaining bandits, who had been lurking at the edges of the chaos, froze in place, their eyes wide with disbelief. Fear gripped their hearts as they took in the sight—some, overwhelmed by the horrifying sight before them, even vomited.
Long Huang glanced at the now-dead Bandit King. Even though it was his first time killing a human, it was no different from killing a beast. And he had seen much worse in his nightmares..
Clang!
Zhao Gun's sword slipped from his grip, clattering against the rocky ground. His mind raced, struggling to reconcile the scene before him with everything he thought he knew about Long Huang. Ordinary bloodline. Meridian Tempering Realm.
"This can't be, how?"