Yang Xiao smiled faintly and said:
"This is a piece of sincere advice. If you choose not to listen, you will be the one regretting it."
At this moment, Zhong Cailing arrived overhead with five hundred members of the Flying People Team and she descended alone.
"Brother Dong, whatâs going on? How did this person take control of this stronghold and bring over such a large military force?"
"Bell, perfect timing. You go back to Xiangfan City yourself and call over another three thousand men. If we donât level this stronghold today, I wonât be able to calm the hatred in my heart."
"Right away."
Zhong Cailing immediately soared into the sky, leading a few subordinates towards Fengyang Town.
Xue Dong, meanwhile, continued to exchange verbal jabs with Yang Xiao to stall for time, waiting for the arrival of his main troops before deciding on a final battle with Yang Xiao.
"My friend across here, Iâve yet to inquire your distinguished name. You dare to attack my Divine Dragon Stance and yet, do you not dare to leave your name?"
Yang Xiao laughed and said:
"Heh, thereâs no harm in telling you. From Kongming Cityâs Nanmu City, I am Yang Xiao!"
"Yang Xiao?"
Xue Dong felt that this name sounded so familiar, yet he couldnât remember at that moment.
Now was not the time to think about this, so he continued:
"Yang Xiao, I admire your courage, leading just thousands to seize my territory. Are you underestimating me, Xue Dong? I now give you a last half-hour to lead your men back obediently, or else, after half an hour, I will initiate an annihilation battle against you."
Gong Yu approached Yang Xiao from behind and whispered:
"Boss, let me go up now and finish them off directly, to save us the trouble later."
Yang Xiao said:
"To eliminate Xue Dong, we must do it in front of all his subordinates. Thatâs the only way to have a real impact. Donât we want to take over Xiangfan City, to have his men follow us? Schemes and tricks canât truly win them over. Only by showing our real strength and defeating him in front of his followers can we command their awe and loyalty."
Yang Xiaoâs voice was neither too loud nor too soft, but with Xue Dongâs and othersâ Enhanced Gene Advanced Cultivation, their hearing was extremely keen; they listened intently to the conversation between the two men, and everyone felt a sudden thump in their hearts.
With such a large military force from Yang Xiao, if they truly decided to rush over and surround their little more than a hundred men, there was a chance they could be annihilated.
However, hearing Yang Xiaoâs tone of wanting to defeat Xue Dong in front of everyone, wasnât that a bit too presumptuous?
Naturally, Xue Dong was furious, his lungs about to explode as he shouted:
"Yang Xiao, you gutsy brat, you donât need to wait for my troops to come over. If youâve got the guts, come out right now for a one-on-one fight. If you can defeat me, Iâll die without resenting you, and Xiangfan City will be yours in the future."
Yang Xiao laughed heartily and replied:
"No rush. Didnât you say youâve called over many people? Once your guards have arrived if you still have the courage, then I can send one of my brothers to fight you. As long as you can beat my brother, Iâll immediately retreat with my men and never set foot in Divine Dragon Stance again."
After saying his piece, Yang Xiao gestured to Gong Yu beside him and added:
"This is my brother, Gong Yu. Enhanced Gene Intermediate Cultivation. Hmm, a year ago during a fight, he had one of his hands cut off by someone."
Upon hearing this, Xue Dong was even more furious.
"Fuck, Yang Xiao, are you insulting me? Do you know my Genetic Evolution Level? And you dare send an intermediate Enhanced Gene underling, one with a severed hand, to challenge me? Alright then, come on, come on, we donât need to wait, I want to fight you right now."
Saying this, Xue Dong stepped forward more than ten meters, waving at Yang Xiao to confront him.
Gong Yu, naturally prideful and once setback, found his combat power soaring after training in Shaolin Ancient Martial Arts upon returning to Nanmu City with Yang Xiao. His confidence was restored.
Ever since Gong Yu had lost a hand, his biggest taboo was to be called a cripple; in Nanmu City, Yang Xiao sternly warned everyone not to joke or tease Gong Yu about his missing hand.
When Gong Yu heard Xue Dong calling him a cripple, his blood boiled, and he stepped forward, saying to Yang Xiao:
"Boss, let me go and fight this!"
Seeing Gong Yuâs expression, Yang Xiao knew Xue Dongâs remark had struck a nerve, and refusing Gong Yu now might cause him much consternation.
Pushing Gong Yu forward in front of everyone was intended to establish his authority among the bystanders. After all, Gong Yu now possessed exceptional combat power and was clever. All he needed was a stage to prove himself.
Whatâs more, Yang Xiao felt Gong Yu was talented and capable of great responsibility. Given the opportunities, Gong Yu should be able to handle the future role of King of the North City.
The battle now facing Xue Dong was just such a stageâsufficient to fully restore Gong Yuâs confidence and elevate his life to a new height.
Yang Xiao nodded and whispered into his ear:
"Be careful, donât take it lightlyâXue Dong is, after all, at the Enhanced Gene Peak level. Remember your advantage: Ancient Martial Arts. Donât clash head-on using Soul Skills."
Gong Yu nodded his head and strolled out.
Next to him, Xiao Lan couldnât help but blurt out:
"Gong Yu!"
Gong Yu turned his head to look at Xiao Lan.
Xiao Lanâs face turned slightly red as she said softly:
"Be careful."
Warmed by the concern of a beauty, Gong Yuâs confidence soared. He smiled, nodded his head, then stepped forward and said to Xue Dong:
"Xue Dong, today youâll witness how a one-handed cripple beats a two-handed pig like you."
Xue Dong was taken aback, thinking, "Holy shit, this cripple actually dares to challenge me? Are all these people nuts? Each and every one of them so arrogant?"
Has the world changed? Is it a world of madmen now?
Xue Dong was already very angry that Yang Xiao had just brought three thousand people to snatch the Divine Dragon Frame.
If Yang Xiao had brought ten thousand people to snatch it, he wouldnât be angry but would have respected his opponent. However, bringing three thousand was far too arrogant; it was a huge underestimation of him, Xue Dong. It was an insult to Xue Dong!
And now, here was an individual with an Enhanced Gene Intermediate level, a cripple, daring to challenge him.
He suddenly remembered a cold joke, so in front of everyone, he whooshed off his shirt, even peeling off his Armor, revealing the Green Dragon Tattoo on his arm, and raising his arms, he shouted loudly:
"The weather has been cold lately, is it that unless I show off the tattoos on my body, you wonât respect me?"
Yang Xiao, Gong Yu, and the others were dumbfounded as they watched Xue Dong.
"Is this even a tactic?"
Even Xue Dongâs own men were befuddled, thinking, has Brother Dong gone too far with his humor?
At this moment, the rumbling sound came from afar, and the dust soared into the sky; a thousand of Xue Dongâs elite troops had already arrived first.
Soon, Xue Dongâs subordinates led the thousand elite troops over, and formed a confrontation about 300 meters away from Yang Xiaoâs forces. Coupled with the five hundred members of the Flying People Team that Zhong Cailing had brought earlier, Xue Dongâs side greatly increased its momentum.
Moreover, they all knew that Zhong Cailing had gone back to summon more troops, and more forces would soon arrive; at least they wouldnât lose in numbers to the other side.
Gong Yu said with a faint smile:
"Xue Dong, tattoos canât scare me, I advise you to put your Armor on; at least it can add 10 to your defense."
Xue Dong laughed and said:
"My Basic Defense is 68 points right now, even without wearing the Defensive Armor, I will still surpass you."
"Mm, what you said is correct. My Basic Defense is only 55 points, and with the Armorâs 8 points of defense, I only have a total of 63 points of defense; you certainly are higher than me."
"Heh, kid, you scared of my tattoo, arenât you?"
Xue Dong said with a chuckle.
Gong Yu said coldly:
"For the mere fact you called me âcrippleâ, I will break one of your legs."
After speaking, Gong Yu extended his right hand, pinched a flower-picking gesture, and wore a charming smile.
Xue Dong was stunned, not sure what Gong Yu was up to, and laughed out loud:
"That hand gesture of yours is just like a eunuchâs, with that flower-picking finger, I hate gays the mostâ"
Before he finished speaking, Gong Yuâs hand gesture changed, and with a swing of his right hand, five sharp threads of Killing Aura burst forth, shooting towards Xue Dong.
Monk Ben Yin, who was watching the fight, exclaimed in surprise to Yang Xiao:
"Gong Yuâs finger skill is on par with yours!"
"Heh, he specializes in the various finger techniques among the Shaolin Seventy-two Skills. In terms of pure proficiency, he has long surpassed me."
Specialization is the key; Gong Yu focused on cultivating nine types of finger techniques among the Shaolin Skills, indeed surpassing Yang Xiaoâs proficiency early on. The only shortfall was Yang Xiaoâs own genetic advantage, which made his Combat Power somewhat more robust.
(Three updates complete, thanks to the generous tip of 2500 Qidian Coins from âTurbulent Eastward Flowâ.)