Chapter 174: Echoing Spell Duel

Jiang Ruoxue, who had just been smiling, instantly withdrew her smile, as there was a fundamental difference between "accidentally touching" and "deliberately stroking."

This man gave her a very strange feeling.

Qi Xia keenly noticed the odd atmosphere between Zhao Yisheng and Jiang Ruoxue. He exchanged a glance with Zhao Yisheng and nodded slightly, then walked toward the elderly Sun.

"Buddy, I really don't want to lay a hand on you. Are you sure you won't reconsider?"

"No need to reconsider," Qi Xia said coldly. "If words won't work, might as well just fight."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Qi Xia stepped forward abruptly and threw a spinning punch before Lao Sun could react.

Lao Sun was momentarily stunned and instinctively swung the stone stick in his hand toward Qi Xia's head.

Normally, anyone would rush to protect their head, or they'd end up injured even if they landed a hit.

But Qi Xia didn't dodge at all, taking the blow directly on his skull.

Strangely enough, the stone stick in Lao Sun's hand seemed to be made of sand, shattering into countless fragments like foam the moment it touched Qi Xia's head.

"Huh?"

Before Lao Sun could express his surprise, his chin took a solid punch.

The punch was hard and precise, leaving him seeing stars and losing his balance instantly.

He slowly toppled backward and ended up sitting on a rock.

The rock was like a seat, perfectly catching Lao Sun.

Qi Xia frowned, thinking the large rock had been there all along, but on second thought, that didn't make sense.

This was right in the middle of the road—how could there be a big rock he hadn't noticed?

In the next moment, the rock suddenly changed, crumbling like it had been eaten by termites, turning into sand as Lao Sun finally fell.

But just as he was about to hit the ground, the sand reformed into a rock, only to turn back into sand moments later.

Seeing Lao Sun finally collapse, Zhao Yisheng let out a long sigh of relief.

Qi Xia felt like his mind might not be clear.

What on earth was going on...?

Hui Xiang combat?

Seeing Lao Sun knocked down by Qi Xia's punch, Xiaoxiao's face changed.

"Interesting..." She slowly stepped forward, her muscles gleaming like blocks of gemstones under the dark red sky. "Qi Xia, looks like you've got some skills."

"I'm just improvising; your friend underestimated me." Qi Xia shook his right hand, but a bead of cold sweat had already formed on his forehead.

He knew this woman was extremely dangerous.

She had immense physical strength and a famous Hui Xiang called "Jia Huo."

Any harm inflicted on her could potentially transfer to someone else.

So, if he threw a punch and hurt Xiaoxiao, he might end up hurting himself.

In that case... how should he fight?

But Xiaoxiao showed no hesitation; she clenched her fists and charged at him.

Qi Xia's expression tightened, and he quickly repeated his earlier move, adopting a punching stance and swinging a fist at her face.

However, Qi Xia's punch was much slower than Xiaoxiao's. In the blink of an eye, she sidestepped and struck his chest.

The punch was as hard as iron.

"Urgh!"

Qi Xia was sent flying to the ground. He felt like he couldn't breathe for a full ten seconds, the pain excruciating.

Against an enemy fighting bare-handed, Zhao Yisheng's Hui Xiang that destroyed the surroundings couldn't be activated.

"Lao Sun, tie him up," Xiaoxiao said. "He must become part of 'Ji Dao.'"

"Cough, cough... Got it..." Lao Sun slowly got up, seemingly unharmed. "I didn't expect this kid's attacks to be so tricky. I'll have to be more careful next time."

As Lao Sun approached Qi Xia with some vines, a deep voice rang out nearby.

"What the hell, so arrogant..."

Everyone froze and looked toward the source of the voice, where a towering man, about 1.9 meters tall, was slowly walking over, followed by two women.

Qi Xia, lying on the ground, turned his head with difficulty and felt a wave of relief.

"Zhang Shan, Tong Yi... Yunyao?"

"What are you three up to? Trying to kidnap someone from 'Tian Tang Kou'?" Zhang Shan slowly approached Xiaoxiao, his face ominously cold.

He was covered in blood, likely from some recent game.

Xiaoxiao sensed trouble.

The last time she saw this man, he didn't have a Hui Xiang, but he had killed a bear with his bare hands.

Zhang Shan sized up Xiaoxiao from head to toe and couldn't help but smile. "You've got some impressive muscles. Using them for dirty work?"

Overwhelmed by Zhang Shan's presence, Xiaoxiao found herself speechless.

Meanwhile, Yunyao spotted a familiar face, though she didn't really want to see it.

"Hey, Yunyao," Jiang Ruoxue said with a wave and a smile.

"Don't 'hey' me—I don't want to talk to my ex," Yunyao replied coolly, looking away. "What are you even doing? Kidnapping isn't your 'Ji Dao' style."

Zhao Yisheng helped Qi Xia up, and the two slowly moved toward Zhang Shan and the others.

"Kid, are you okay?" Tong Yi asked, supporting Qi Xia.

"I'm fine," Qi Xia replied, waving it off.

Jiang Ruoxue kept smiling at Yunyao. "'Kidnapping' isn't our 'Ji Dao' style? Then tell me, what is our style?"

"I'm not saying," Yunyao said, glaring at Jiang Ruoxue with annoyance. "You deceitful player... I don't want to talk to you."

"Ha!" Jiang Ruoxue laughed, amused by Yunyao. "Little Yun, you're still as cute as ever. Maybe I shouldn't have dumped you."

"Please get this straight—it was me who dumped you after I found out who you really are." Yunyao gave the three a cold look. "I advise you to back off now. If we six really fight, you know what'll happen."

Lao Sun tugged at Xiaoxiao from behind and whispered, "Who is this big guy? Have we fought him before?"

"Yeah..." Xiaoxiao whispered back. "If he's gotten a Hui Xiang this time, we're probably done for..."

"Are all three of them Hui Xiang users?" Lao Sun asked.

"Yeah, every one of them is a top expert." Xiaoxiao took a step back. The situation was tricky, but she didn't want to give up on Qi Xia.

Tong Yi smiled and said, "Children, you've been blessed by the 'Mu Shen'—why use it for wrongdoing?"

"Wrongdoing?" Xiaoxiao snorted. "Why is what you do right and what we do wrong?"

"Get lost," Zhang Shan said, waving his hand. "We're letting this slide today, but if you try kidnapping again, I won't be so nice."

Faced with Zhang Shan's attitude, Xiaoxiao hesitated.

If he already had a Hui Xiang, why was he being so polite?

Was he bluffing?

Bluffing could still be a tactic, so she couldn't let her guard down.

"Zhang Shan..." Xiaoxiao called out. "How about we make a bet?"

Zhang Shan and Yunyao exchanged glances. "What are you planning?"

"We're 'Ji Dao,' so we can't just give up," Xiaoxiao said. "We really want Qi Xia to join us, so let's settle this with a gamble."

"A gamble?"

"I know of a 'Di' level game where we can fight it out. What do you say?"