Chapter 149 - 128: Slay
Peng Jie’s heart skipped a beat. The power of that axe strike was greater than he had anticipated. It seemed this Xie Yuan truly had some skill.
But this alone was far from enough.
Peng Jie snorted, slapping the axe blade aside with one palm. He then closed the distance, his fierce palms striking straight for Xie Yuan’s chest!
The moment he unleashed the palm strike, Xie Yuan felt a fierce wind sweep across the stage. It rushed toward him, the pressure so intense it felt hard to breathe!
What a tyrannical palm strike!
Backed by his higher cultivation level, the power of this palm strike was in no way inferior to the Eight Trigrams Mountain-Shaking Fist. If it struck a vital point on his chest directly, even the Golden Bell Shield might not hold.
The palm strike was immensely powerful. With his axe blade knocked away, Xie Yuan’s chest was left wide open. He appeared to be at an instant disadvantage, causing the members of the Escort Agency below the stage to grow frantic.
However, Xie Yuan’s expression was calm, showing no signs of panic.
He simply went with the momentum of his axe being knocked aside. Gripping the middle of the handle with one hand and the end with the other, he turned it horizontally. The steel handle of Crescent Moon blocked Peng Jie’s palms. He was even borrowing his opponent’s force, using the momentum from the parry to block the incoming strike.
BANG! Peng Jie’s palms struck the horizontal axe handle. He failed to damage the specially forged weapon, only managing to send Xie Yuan sliding back three steps, which conveniently created some distance between them.
Xie Yuan was already prepared. While still sliding back, he raised the axe high with both hands and brought it down in a vertical chop, just like Chopping Wood!
The axe howled viciously, looking as if it could split the entire stage in two. Seeing its momentum, Peng Jie’s pupils shrank. He took a long step to the side, choosing not to meet it head-on.
His Body Technique was not slow, and he dodged far enough away. He expected that Xie Yuan wouldn’t be able to control the momentum of such a powerful, heavy blow and would strike the ground, giving him an opening to counterattack. However, for some reason, just as the axe was about to hit the stage, it suddenly carved an unexpected arc, accelerated again, and swung horizontally at him!
The strike was completely unexpected. Peng Jie had never imagined it was possible. ’How can a great axe move in an arc like that?’
He no longer had time to dodge. He could only channel all his power, his palms erupting with a yellow light as he blocked the axe blade!
BOOM! His palms seemed as if forged from diamond, and the axe blade failed to break the skin. However, the immense force sent Peng Jie flying sideways, nearly knocking him off the stage.
Xie Yuan flicked his axe blade, righted it, and slammed the butt of the handle onto the stage. The large platform trembled from the impact.
He laughed heartily.
"Hahaha! Sect Leader Peng, didn’t you just say you were going to make me regret this? How is it that in the middle of our fight, you’ve ended up at the edge of the stage? Trying to run away?"
Half of Peng Jie’s foot was already off the stage. He glanced back, his expression grim. With a heavy snort, he stepped back toward the center of the stage.
The spectators on both sides stared in a daze. They watched Xie Yuan stand in the center of the stage, looking full of vigor as if he were waiting for Peng Jie to challenge him.
This scene was not at all what any of them had imagined.
’Xiaoxie... he’s actually this strong now?’
The members of the Escort Agency snapped out of it, their faces filled with excitement.
In that last exchange, Xie Yuan had completely seized the initiative. He anticipated Peng Jie’s reactions and the development of the situation, nearly forcing his opponent into a dead end with just a few swings of his axe!
It was a brilliant exchange!
Not only were his moves brilliant and his judgment precise, but the power of his axe was not the least bit weak.
If not for the slight difference in their cultivation, Peng Jie would have already been defeated...
But to be able to force Peng Jie into such a corner with only a Third Training cultivation, Xie Yuan had already won more than half the battle!
Xie Yuan watched Peng Jie approach step by step, his face grim. Though he continued to taunt his enemy, hoping to enrage him into revealing an opening, he was growing more cautious internally.
From the last few exchanges, he could tell that Peng Jie’s Blood Qi was exceptionally dense, definitely top-tier among External Training cultivators. He was not to be underestimated.
He had gained the upper hand in the first round by relying on his superior Cultivation Technique and the variations of his first two axe strikes. But judging by Peng Jie’s expression, it was clear he was about to get serious.
Xie Yuan silently circulated the 4th Layer of his Body-Nourishing Art. His internal breath, like a small river, began to rush faster through his meridians, filling him with a sense of abundance.
Peng Jie walked faster and faster, his presence growing stronger with each step. As he took his final two strides, just as his momentum was about to reach its peak, Xie Yuan suddenly stepped forward and struck first.
This move caught Peng Jie by surprise. While he was building his power, an opponent—especially one with weaker cultivation—should have become increasingly passive.
Yet Xie Yuan’s energy sense was so sharp, and the qi in his chest so abundant, that he had actually managed to attack first!
Peng Jie’s gaze hardened. He stopped waiting and, using the momentum of his forward step, unleashed the punch he had been charging.
The yellow light on his fist was dense and solid, like a boulder on a desolate peak—unbreakable. With this punch, the Vajra Sect Leader was using his full strength.
With a RUMBLE, the True Qi inside Xie Yuan’s body surged. He also held nothing back, bringing his axe down from above in a chopping motion he had practiced countless times!
As fist and axe collided, a piercing shriek of metal on metal erupted. Everyone else in the training hall instinctively covered their ears.
Both men shuddered from the impact, their eyes locked on each other in a momentary standoff.
Xie Yuan’s eyes shone with excitement and eagerness, while Peng Jie’s held nothing but shock. And more shock.
In that exchange, they were evenly matched.
The fact that he could take that blow meant Xie Yuan could now contend head-on with a top-tier expert of the Fourth Training in External Training. And if that was the case, he would not lose this fight.
As for Peng Jie, the shock of facing an arrogant young man who truly possessed the strength to fight him despite being a full cultivation level weaker was indescribable.
The standoff lasted only an instant before they erupted into a torrential onslaught of blows.