Chapter 219: There's Really No More
"A gift from your little wife?"
Chen Yao, who had already retreated to the side, heard this. A frosty look spread across her beautiful face. 'You should have just kept your mouth shut!'
After the words left his mouth, Zhou Fan also realized they were a bit much. 'But,' he thought, 'since Cyan Dragon already announced the origin of his sword, wouldn't I lose face if I didn't say anything?'
"Ahem, who gave it to me isn't important. As long as it's the sword that cuts you down, it's a good sword!" Zhou Fan coughed awkwardly, forcing an explanation.
The next instant, Zhou Fan and Cyan Dragon's eyes narrowed simultaneously. They unleashed their top speed and charged at each other, intent on killing.
Each clash of their longswords produced a sound that would make anyone's heart pound with panic. Yet, the two fighters seemed unaffected, continuing to go all out.
The battle raged on like this for about five minutes. In the instant they broke past each other, Zhou Fan quickly took out a Recovery Pill and swallowed it.
Seeing them pause, Chen Yao stared intently. Neither seemed to have any major injuries, but Zhou Fan's face looked paler than Cyan Dragon's.
"Shameless! To think you'd resort to taking pills! Without them, you would have been defeated in ten more moves at most!" Cyan Dragon cursed with contempt when he saw Zhou Fan take the pill.
He had always disdained the use of medicinal pills. In his eyes, they were useless; true strength came only from oneself. And with his current power, he had never met anyone who could injure him so badly that he would need pills to recover.
"Don't like it? You can take one too. Don't tell me you don't have any?" A mocking smile played on Zhou Fan's lips. He took out the small porcelain vial Lingling Daoist had given him and gave it a little shake. Then, with an infuriating tone, he said, "Better hurry. I don't have many left myself—only two more!"
"Die!"
Cyan Dragon roared and charged forward again. He was determined to see what would run out first: Zhou Fan's pills or his own Inner Strength.
However, the second time they broke past each other, Zhou Fan once again pulled out a Recovery Pill and swallowed it.
As he took the Recovery Pill, some color returned to Zhou Fan's face. His Inner Strength, which had been nearly depleted, was also partially replenished.
At this point, both men had a sword wound on their right shoulder deep enough to have nearly severed the arm, but it did nothing to diminish their fighting spirit.
Cyan Dragon was furious that Zhou Fan had no sense of honor befitting a master, but there was nothing he could do. Before Zhou Fan took the first Recovery Pill, Cyan Dragon had been able to completely suppress him. But after he'd taken it, they had fought to a standstill in their next exchange, nearly trading an arm for an arm.
Now, Zhou Fan had taken yet another Recovery Pill, which filled Cyan Dragon with rage.
"It's over! I'm out of pills! I'll fight you to the death!" Zhou Fan roared as if he'd gone mad, charging straight forward with his sword. Seeing this, Cyan Dragon didn't hesitate for a moment, meeting his charge head-on.
This time, every move they made was lethal, each one aimed at killing the other with a single strike.
But neither of them was truly insane. When they realized an attack might lead to mutual destruction or even taking each other down together, they would decisively alter their moves.
Both men had their own calculations. Cyan Dragon didn't want to get seriously injured here; he was only passing through Nanjiang City and had more important things to do. If he was badly hurt because of Zhou Fan and it affected his upcoming mission, the loss would far outweigh the gain.
As for Zhou Fan, his thinking was even simpler. After discovering that the gap in strength between him and Cyan Dragon wasn't as large as he'd imagined, he planned to use his Recovery Pills to wear his opponent down, trading wound for wound.
Not far away, Chen Yao couldn't make out their figures at all. She could only tell them apart by the color of their longswords flashing through the air, but she watched with immense worry, terrified that Zhou Fan would be hurt.
And so, the third time they broke past each other, each leaving two more wounds on the other, Zhou Fan—after claiming he had no more Recovery Pills—pulled out another one and swallowed it. Cyan Dragon was so angry he nearly swore out loud.
"As the dignified Nether King, the founder of the Netherworld King's Hall, aren't you afraid of losing face? Taking pills again and again in the middle of a fight—is that something a master should do?" Cyan Dragon's face was now quite pale. The battle with Zhou Fan had taken too great a toll on him. At this point, he had less than thirty percent of his Inner Strength left.
Unless he used his ultimate technique, if Zhou Fan had even one more Recovery Pill, the outcome of the fight would be uncertain. But his ultimate technique was his trump card, something he wouldn't use unless his life was in danger.
"Are you nuts? Just because you don't have any pills, I'm not allowed to take mine? But don't worry, this time I'm really out. That was the last one!" Zhou Fan rolled his eyes and held out his empty hands, his expression daring Cyan Dragon to come and check for himself.