Tiger's Roar, Dragon's Coil — The Peak Duel
Eyes locked in deadly focus, Shi Kai, the Black Dragon Sect's Right Dharma King, suddenly surged his inner energy to its utmost limit. Muscles swelled, tendons stood out like iron cords, and an overwhelming aura flooded the arena. With a fierce shout, he unleashed the sect's most formidable martial art—"Thirteen Forms of the Tiger Palm."
With a resounding thud, both feet stamped the ground, his body rising as if propelled by an unseen force. His qi boiled like a storm-tossed sea, bursting forth in a single, earth-shaking strike—"Heaven-Shaking Tiger's Roar"!
The tiger is king of beasts—standing high, its roar shakes heaven and earth, sending all creatures fleeing. The palm strike crashed forth with crushing dominance, its energy like rolling thunder, kicking up clouds of dust as the very air seemed to echo with the phantom roar of a great tiger. Shi Kai's twin palms pushed out together, the whistling gale of his inner force sweeping forward like an invisible tidal wave, crashing straight toward the Heaven's Veneration Sect's Right Envoy, Luo An.
The Spirit Snake Slips Away
At first, Luo An stood motionless—eyes half-lidded, hands drawn in, his breath sunk deep into his dantian, steady as a mountain. Yet as the tiger palms bore down with the weight of an avalanche, his gaze sharpened. In the next instant, his stance shifted—light, fluid, like running water. His body darted and weaved like a fish through a stream, nimble as a hare, vaulting high, crouching low, darting left and right.
He refused to meet brute force with brute force. Instead, he focused entirely on evasion, employing the Heaven's Veneration Sect's elusive signature footwork—"Serpent's Wandering Step." His movements coiled and undulated like a snake, shifting unpredictably, vanishing like a shadow just as the tiger's claws closed.
Gasps rose from the crowd.
"Such agile movement! Who would have thought Luo An, at his age, could move so swiftly?"
But Luo An was not merely dodging. After a flurry of evasive steps, his eyes flashed cold light. His foot stamped the earth, qi surged upward, and his palm lashed out without warning—
"Serpent Emerges from the Cave!"
The strike was silent as death, swift as a phantom. The palm darted forward like a venomous snake flicking its tongue—unpredictable, ruthless, aimed straight for Shi Kai's brow. The cutting wind hissed—shhh!—as an icy aura pressed right to his face.
Shi Kai's eyes flared with killing light. Though startled, he did not panic. His left palm whipped back defensively, qi surging down to his legs as he leapt two steps back, tiger step flowing like the wind—barely evading the deadly strike.
Even so, the palm wind grazed his face, leaving his cheek stinging and a cold sweat upon his brow. He knew—had he been even a heartbeat slower, the venomous strike would have landed clean.
Tiger Coils, Dragon Guards
Shi Kai no longer underestimated his foe. Without hesitation, he shifted into the Black Dragon Sect's supreme defensive stance—"Tiger Squats, Dragon Coils."The tiger squats—poised to spring.The dragon coils—ready to defend and counter.
He sank his stance, body rooted like a boulder, inner force compressed in his palms. Suddenly, his legs exploded into motion, sweeping out with a vicious sweeping kick.
BOOM!The leg shot out like lightning, wind howling as dust spun into a choking cloud, sealing off Luo An's escape.
Luo An had been preparing to retreat, but seeing the oncoming strike close every path, he halted. A sharp cry tore from his throat as his body spun mid-air, employing the Heaven's Veneration Sect's secret agility—"Bending Willow in the Returning Wind." At the last possible moment, he twisted past the sweep and landed light as a leaf.
He instantly countered—"Serpent Coils the Tree!"His right palm darted out, force turning from hard to soft, qi flowing in a piercing spiral toward Shi Kai's shoulder—coiling, clinging, deceptively gentle yet carrying deadly penetration.
Shi Kai snorted coldly. The sound burst like a tiger's roar as he sank low, unleashing "Tiger's Roar Shakes the Mountain"—a palm of pure rebounding force. Luo An's palm met the tiger's roar—two waves colliding.
PENG!A shockwave ripped through the arena, sand and dust whirling as both men were driven back seven or eight steps before finding their footing again.
Heroes Recognize Heroes
The crowd stood stunned—this was a battle of constant reversals, tiger and snake vying for supremacy, each exchange a surge of lethal brilliance.
Shi Kai's chest rose and fell, his gaze steady but tinged with respect. He called out:
"Old hero, though your years are many, your qi remains strong. I salute you! Let us call this match a draw."
Luo An's breath was heavy, his inner energy nearly spent, yet he felt a quiet pride. Seeing Shi Kai's sense of honor, he returned the salute:
"In the martial path, the mind is as important as skill. The Right Dharma King's mastery is beyond reproach. You have my respect."
He turned and walked away with unhurried steps, dignity intact.
Even Black Dragon Sect Leader Murong Gui nodded in approval.
"The Heaven's Veneration Sect's old hero—aged yet unyielding—truly peerless! Tell me, does your sect have another willing to face us?"
From the Heaven's Veneration Sect ranks, a voice like a temple bell rang out:
"Heaven's Venerator Ding Ren will test the Black Dragon Sect's skill!"
The Next Challenge
Murong Gui's eyes narrowed.
If this battle is lost, the Black Dragon Sect's reputation will suffer.He smiled thinly and commanded:"Western Heavenly King—your turn."
Xiao Cheng, foremost of the Black Dragon Sect's Four Heavenly Kings, leapt forward like a hunting eagle, voice ringing:
"Western Heavenly King Xiao Cheng—your instruction, please!"
Without another word, his palms crashed forward, wind shrieking. Eight consecutive strikes sealed Ding Ren's escape paths. Ding Ren's footwork was strange and quick, fending off the onslaught, but Xiao Cheng pressed like a storm.
Another ten strikes followed in a blur—each locking onto Ding Ren's vital points, forcing him to the brink. Cornered, Ding Ren suddenly thrust out a lightning-fast punch aimed at Xiao Cheng's face. Xiao Cheng swayed aside and swept a leg low—sweeping kick! Ding Ren vaulted away, but Xiao Cheng was upon him in a heartbeat.
The clash reached a crescendo—palms collided with a thunderous PENG! Both staggered back seven or eight steps. Ding Ren barely regained balance when Xiao Cheng darted in like a leopard, palm cleaving down at the precise moment Ding Ren's strength had ebbed.
The blow landed square on his chest—blood sprayed from his mouth as his stance faltered. Xiao Cheng moved to finish him—
—but a sudden shadow dropped from the sky.
The Dragon Intervenes
With a roar, Wu Tong descended like a thunderbolt. His right palm crashed forward with overwhelming force, meeting Xiao Cheng's strike head-on.
PENG!The impact hurled Xiao Cheng back several steps, breaking his momentum and pulling Ding Ren from the jaws of defeat.
The battlefield fell silent—The next duel was about to begin, and the storm had only just risen.