Chapter Fourteen: Childhood Friends

Chen Hongxu’s forceful opening was meant to intimidate the crowd—otherwise, in their current circumstances, once the other party emerged from the dense forest, he could simply step forward, exchange greetings, become acquainted, and clarify his intentions, friend or foe, at a glance.

Yet there was another, more obscure reason behind Chen Hongxu’s actions. When the man approached, the weapon spirit in his mind informed him this was the same fellow who had crept toward him during the last incident in the jungle—and alone, no less. The kind of man who kills without blinking; if he couldn’t be cowed, he would surely become a troublesome adversary.

The burly man withdrew his gaze from the palm print on the ground, surveying the positions of Chen Hongxu and his companions with a hint of surprise. He discreetly glanced at Fan Caobao, then spoke, “Strange, friend. I don’t recognize you. Attacking so suddenly and fiercely—aren’t you afraid of causing unnecessary misunderstandings?”

Chen Hongxu clasped his hands behind his back, chin lifted, his manner light and composed. “It was merely a test; where is the deadly intent in that?”

“A test?” The three others present exclaimed in disbelief, even the burly man himself, despite his strength, was unsettled.

Seeing their obvious skepticism, Chen Hongxu shrugged and slowly raised his arm, pointing at the burly man. “Would you like to try?”

The burly man hesitated before finally nodding in agreement; after all, at times like these, it was important for him to gauge everyone’s abilities.

Unlike Fan Caobao’s gleeful mischief, Gu Jisong, as Chen Hongxu dashed forward, calmly remarked, “Be careful. This man is reportedly the captain of Team G, notorious for ruthlessly seizing black cards. He’s very strong.”

Gu Jisong was not truly benevolent; in such circumstances, if even a master like Chen Hongxu, whose inner energy radiated outward, were defeated, then his own meager abilities would be virtually irrelevant for the task ahead. Besides, he couldn’t be sure whether, once he lost his usefulness, others wouldn’t conveniently relieve him of his black card—Team G’s reputation was far from stellar.

Chen Hongxu couldn’t fathom Gu Jisong’s intentions, but he nodded in acknowledgment of this gesture.

Old grievances surged in Chen Hongxu’s heart; thus, he wasted no words and charged straight at the burly man, engaging him directly. Using the momentum from above, he managed to suppress the burly man right from the start.

To defeat an enemy at their strongest is the surest way to shatter their confidence. Thus, Chen Hongxu did not skirmish or circle; he and the iron-muscled man clashed like two savage beasts, colliding and tearing at each other. The trees that obstructed their movements toppled with careless swipes, while the rain-washed rocky ground beneath their feet was pitted and fractured by their stomping blows.

Though Chen Hongxu had no intention of unleashing his full strength and revealing his hand, he grew increasingly alarmed as the fight went on. If all five who crept toward him last time had this level of power, he wouldn’t have escaped with four; even three would have been too much for him.

The burly man, usually impassive, was even more shaken than Chen Hongxu. How could this slender young man unleash such overwhelming force? The big man knew his own limits; though he seemed to hold his own, he couldn’t maintain this level for long, while his opponent remained relaxed and smiling.

Suddenly, the burly man’s eyes narrowed. His punch, seemingly no different from before, paused ever so slightly mid-swing, causing a strange tremor in Chen Hongxu’s heart.

The wind-driven fist whistled toward him; if he responded with the same strength as before, something would go wrong. Having practiced for years, Chen Hongxu trusted his instincts.

The best course now was to dodge—the man’s long arms would never catch him if he was determined to escape. Yet this contradicted his intent. Chen Hongxu’s pupils contracted, his mind racing through countless possibilities.

“Expose myself? So be it. Before overwhelming power, what can you do?” Resolving to stop hiding, a tangible red glint flashed in his narrowed eyes. The faint red aura that had danced across his body suddenly blazed, becoming almost tangible armor, dazzling and impossible to look at directly.

That was not all. Not only did the energy radiate visibly, but he now hovered slightly above the ground, as if stepping onto something unseen. From his chest, a blood-red lotus flower appeared and circled his body, ethereal yet real.

The burly man stared in shock at the youth’s transformation, grunted, and with a mighty swing, knocked his own punch off course, unbalancing himself to the point that he collapsed and sat gasping on the ground, gazing at Chen Hongxu, whose eyes burned with murderous intent like a deity.

Chen Hongxu’s clear gaze, mistaken for murderous rage, was merely the manifestation of his energy. He did not seize the moment to finish his opponent—not that he didn’t want to, but he was powerless to do so, for the weapon spirit in his consciousness chattered on, grave:

“With your trifling strength, you dare externalize the weapon embryo? You waste its spiritual energy, and you can’t even control your own body. Let’s see how you manage.”

In his consciousness, the shadow of Chen Hongxu’s body bore little resemblance to his real-world, floating, godlike form; instead, he crouched on the ground like a child who’d made a mistake, tracing circles with his finger, listening for any hope in the spirit’s words.

Chen Hongxu gave a sheepish laugh, shamelessly saying, “Beauty, with our close relationship, you can’t let me die, can you? Besides, you embezzled the vertical eye I stole yesterday from Tang Zhaoti Temple, and I haven’t complained.”

“Stole?” The weapon spirit caught the word and snorted.

“Borrowed—borrowed!” Chen Hongxu quickly corrected himself.

The spirit frowned, then abandoned explanation, shooting Chen Hongxu a coquettish glance. “I’ll help you retrieve the weapon embryo, since you called me ‘beauty’ and you’re at least honest. But I’ll need five or six days to recuperate before I can appear again. Will you miss me?”

Chen Hongxu swallowed; he truly dared not answer, unsure of her intentions.

“Go on, then!” The spirit cast a half-amused glance at the head-scratching Chen Hongxu and stopped teasing him.

…

With his mind clear, Chen Hongxu knew he had been reckless. Using his full power against this now dazed burly man would guarantee victory, but in pursuit of a ‘perfect’ effect, he had revealed the weapon embryo—something beyond his control—bringing trouble upon himself.

Now, Chen Hongxu stood firmly before the burly man, all signs of his earlier transformation gone. He fought off the emptiness of drained strength, raised his gaze to the sky, and asked, calm and composed, “Do you concede?”

The burly man, fearful, glanced at the spot where Chen Hongxu had floated moments before. The scorched traces proved this man could utterly defeat him. He nodded in defeat, sighed, and reached for a black card from his waistband, offering it to Chen Hongxu.

Chen Hongxu was puzzled, but Fan Caobao, rushing forward with an admiring look, explained.

Fan Caobao, familiar as ever, slung his arm over Chen Hongxu’s shoulder and addressed the still seated burly man, “You’re being too formal, Bear. Put away your backup-team black card gambling routine. What, do you look down on my brother? Let me tell you, we’re all on the same side. This is my sworn blood brother—my childhood friend, you know?”

The burly man called Bear, seeing that Chen Hongxu didn’t object, took it as tacit approval and grinned sheepishly, “A flood in the Dragon King’s temple…”

Chen Hongxu’s silence was due first to his ignorance of what the black card meant, and second, to his utter shock at Fan Caobao. Childhood friends? They hadn’t even known each other for twenty-four hours!