Chapter 51: The Green Beam

At this moment, the confidence he had built up dwindled by almost half.

Not long ago, Gao Pan was certain that he surpassed his opponent in many ways. He had a better quality armour, and his fist’s power was mightier. He had assumed that once he drained his enemy of energy and stamina, he would be the victor.

However, the reality was far from what he had assumed it to be. After delivering more than several hundreds of blows, Xu Yi’s armour was still intact. His energy was undepletable.

What caused Gao Pan to be irritable and anxious was the conceited challenge he had issued earlier: The loser of the fist fight will be the mother fucker!

As the common saying goes, “Shit is no good to be eaten!” In this case, he was worried that he had to take back his boastful words in shame.

What made it worse for him was the million spectators out there. All of them had rooted for him to win the duel. They had crowned him as the God of War. Their thunderous cheers and screams were deafening.

At this moment, if he were to retreat, he would suffer a massive loss of face. How would he be able to show his face again in Guang’an Prefecture?

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They fought another three rounds. An exhausted Gao Pan suddenly moved backwards and retreated almost three yards. He hastily moved left. His silver spear was strewn several yards westward.

There was dead silence at Gao Pan’s retreat. The crowd suddenly halted their cheering and shouting as if they were choked.

Gao Pan could suffer it no longer. When he delivered his final blow, he was already light-headed. He had depleted every ounce of his energy.

When faced between the options of saving his life versus saving his face, his decision was plain and simple — just like Xu Yi.

The only distinguishing factor was that Xu Yi had never been bothered with what others thought of him. However, Gao Pan, a lauded warrior, was terribly embarrassed.

Gao Pan’s exhaustion was within Xu Yi’s expectations. The duo had made accurate predictions of each other. Just like when Gao Pan had anticipated Xu Yi’s close distance combat strategy.

What was omitted in Gao Pan’s contemplation was Xu Yi’s extraordinary stamina and mind power. Xu Yi had optimised his strengths in his combat strategy.

Although he had already predicted that Gao Pan was unable to persevere, his opponent’s sudden retreat clearly subverted his expectations.

After an exchange of several hundred blows, Xu Yi had been conditioned. Gao Pan’s robust armour would tweet with every punch that Xu Yi could land. The tweeting was getting louder and louder. Xu Yi speculated that the golden armour might reach its breaking point soon.

Xu Yi was interested to find out the threshold of the golden armour before its crack. He had channeled all of his focus to secure his victory. He was therefore oblivious to Gao Pan’s energy levels.

After recovering from his shock, Gao Pan hastily retreated over ten yards. He was a stone’s throw away from his silver spear.

Gao Pan was akin to an arrow at the end of its flight, a strong force that had been exhausted. Even if he retrieved his silver spear, Xu Yi would have lost his fear for him.

There was a simple solution to this situation. Xu Yi did not wish for more trouble. He stomped his left foot on the ground. The enormous explosion of power caused a shallow pit on the iron-steel floor plate. His body surged forward like a hurricane.

The silent viewing platform instantly exploded with jeering, insults, hysterical cries, and piercing screams. This cacophony sounded as if it were the beckoning of the devils attempting to confuse the world.

Gao Pan’s retreat and escape was a huge blow to the spectators.

Initially, most of the folks were certain that Gao Pan would be the winner. Xu Yi and his use of crafty ploys had signalled to the crowd that he was no match for his opponent.

Everyone had banked on Gao Pan as the ultimate winner. However, in the duel, they only heard the painful cries of Gao Pan. The wretched opponent in a green robe, on the other hand, was steady and calm. The result of the duel seemed to be sealed.

If Gao Pan won, many folks would have made a pile of money through their bets on him. Those compulsive gamblers had staked everything they had on him in order to make a massive windfall.

However, at this point, Gao Pan had made an escape attempt. The crowd was unable to handle such an unexpected twist of fate.

Some folks made excuses for Gao Pan’s escape. They assumed that it was Gao Pan’s strategy to run away. However, such a hypothesis was tested invalid.

Because Gao Pan had declared the challenge to Xu Yi: “The loser of the fist fight will be the mother fucker!” How could the God of War deploy such a tactic as to runaway? Where would he put his face? The obvious conclusion would be that he could take it no longer and had to back off!

His escape brought catastrophe to many of the folks who had placed their bets on him.

The gamblers were enraged. The crowds went uncontrollably wild. They started to throw all sorts of items towards the dueling arena. Some crazy folks sprung from the viewing platform. Fortunately, there were automatic safety nets to cordon off these destructive behaviours. Otherwise, the vast and spacious duel grounds would have collapsed.

Gao Pan was oblivious to the commotion and noises around him. His composure allowed him to focus solely on the snakehead ring that he wore on the index finger on his left hand.

Gao Pan was highly cognizant of his condition. His energy levels were depleted. His mind power was exhausted. In such a poor state, what good would it do even if he could retrieve his silver spear?

Therefore, Gao Pan had put his last hope on the snakehead ring. Despite its hefty price tag at ten thousand taels of gold, that was his last resort…and his last hope.

His pursuit of the silver spear was merely to distract Xu Yi. He needed an opportunity, a chance to turn the snakehead’s direction.

Because he had deliberately worn the snakehead ring in a reverse way. Firstly, he had thought that he had the golden armour as protection and his invincible silver spear. He had never contemplated the use of the snakehead.

Secondly, he had to aim the green beam precisely in order to strike. If he recklessly faced the snakehead outward, he would be caught. That would make him miss the opportunity for a sneak attack.

Since it was meant to be a secret weapon, it had to be used stealthily in order to be effective.

Due to his retreat and the distance between the competitors, Gao Pan had a huge open opportunity. He effected his change on the ring’s direction. It was obscure and easy.

When the snakehead was successfully turned around, Gao Pan’s anxiety dissipated. He continued to stagger towards the silver spear.

Ten yards, three yards, one yard…

Everyone would have thought that was the moment of truth. There was complete silence. Everyone, including those who had scolded and blamed Gao Pan, pinned their last hope on the silver spear.

It was as if Gao Pan could turn the tide around and win the duel if he could retrieve that silver spear.

Aligned with everyone’s anticipation, Gao Pan’s enormous feet were in contact with the silver spear. In a flash, the viewing platform exploded with a thunderous bolt.

Gao Pan was calm. Xu Yi was focused.

At this moment, there were just the two of them.

Gao Pan’s big feet did not kick up the silver spear. He turned away. Despite having his back facing his opponent, Gao Pan could clearly sense that Xu Yi was three yards away from him.

This is the moment to strike!

He calculated it precisely. Once he completed his turn, Xu Yi would be a yard away. He would press gently on the snakehead, and everything would go according to his wish.

He had witnessed the velocity of the green beam. No one could have dodged it within a yard.