Chapter Eight: Steal My Wife? I'll Knock You Out

Kuang Chi’s wild eating habits were nothing like those of a normal person. His left hand, which made him too ashamed to show himself and often plunged him into deep self-consciousness, was by no means useless. As the saying goes, when you lose something, you gain something else in return. Heaven may often turn a blind eye, but in some things, it is still fair. Just as those with wealth may not have happiness, or those with love may not find joy, so too do people with abundance not always feel content.

Kuang Chi’s left hand, though the source of his deepest shame, had also brought him extraordinary benefits. When channeling the True Qi of the Mad Dragon into his Heaven’s Wound Fist with his left hand, its power was more than double that of his right. The black qi dragon was not so easily dealt with—especially when wielded through the peculiar energy circulation of the Heaven’s Wound Fist.

Bier, unfamiliar with Kuang Chi, was caught off guard and suffered a heavy loss as the qi dragon sent him flying. Presented with such an opportunity, clever Little Hua certainly would not let it slip by. The whip in Kuang Chi’s hand needed no conscious guidance; under Little Hua’s control, its tip moved like a living serpent and hooked another piece of fabric from Bier’s chest. Perhaps Little Hua had grown too weary from the prolonged battle, for this time, the fabric taken seemed a bit excessive.

What happened to Bier Hyde next proved once again that Heaven’s eyes are not entirely blind. While he was popular among women, he lost much of his standing among his male peers. Now he drew loud, mocking jeers from the men at the edge of the arena—a chorus that soothed Kuang Chi’s heart, making him feel, at least, that he was not alone in his misery.

Seeing the pretty boy before him with his bare chest exposed, Kuang Chi burst into hearty laughter and stopped his attack. But letting Bier off the hook was out of the question—sometimes words are sharper than any whip. With a broad grin, Kuang Chi pointed a finger at Bier’s chest, his left hand clutching his belly as he doubled over in laughter.

After a while, he spoke, his words striking like a thunderbolt: “Pretty boy, I always thought your face was pale enough, but I never expected your chest to be even paler—rare indeed, damnably rare!”

With that, Kuang Chi couldn’t bring himself to look again at Bier’s handsome, crimson face and laughed even harder. The men in the crowd, naturally, were not slow to join in. The entire arena erupted in laughter and sharp jibes, though who cared for the faint scolding voices among them?

Bier glanced down at his own chest, shot Kuang Chi a murderous glare, and, face burning, charged at him once more. This time, Bier was truly serious; he drew upon one of the Hyde family’s famed, recently mastered techniques—the Rageflame Dragon-Slaying Slash.

In truth, this was a sword technique developed by the Hyde family tens of thousands of years ago, refined over millennia specifically to counter the Kuang family’s martial arts. It was indeed powerful, but Bier seemed to have forgotten one thing: the Kuang family’s whip specialists over the ages could be counted on one hand. The Hyde family’s famous swordplay was not effective against whip users.

Even so, Bier’s fighting talent was undeniable. Against Kuang Chi’s inexperienced martial skill, if not for the extraordinary Ghostshadow Whip technique—and the timely use of a bit of Little Hua’s energy—he would have long since cried for mercy.

Yet, the duel remained evenly matched. On the surface, it seemed that Kuang Chi, short and stout, was being relentlessly attacked, forced to leap up and down to evade Bier’s onslaught.

At this moment, Bier truly lived up to his reputation as the “Angry Lion,” as Zixia had called him.

Kuang Chi’s short, plump body could not keep dodging much longer. In one careless moment, Bier closed the distance between them, exposing the whip’s disadvantage at close range. Bier would not waste such a golden opportunity, sticking to Kuang Chi and launching a fierce assault.

Helpless, Kuang Chi gritted his teeth—the whip vanished from his hand, and with a mighty swing, he unleashed the Heaven’s Wound Fist.

“If the whip can’t reach you, then I’ll fight without it! My Heaven’s Wound Fist is perfect for close combat,” Kuang Chi thought.

Abandoning evasion, he charged straight into Bier’s arms. Caught off guard, Bier’s left thigh took a direct hit from Kuang Chi’s fist.

But who could blame Bier? The three-meter greatsword in his hand was unwieldy at such close range.

Compared with the Ghostshadow Whip, Kuang Chi was far more proficient with the Heaven’s Wound Fist. Its raw destructive power suited his taste, and he devoted much more time and effort to mastering it.

Bier, to his credit, acted decisively. Seeing Kuang Chi pressed close and unable to shake him off, he simply hurled aside his weapon and ignored his leg’s injury, grappling with Kuang Chi barehanded.

But Kuang Chi was no fool. Without Little Hua’s support, his cultivation was not quite on par with Bier’s. He had only landed a hit thanks to the Heaven’s Wound Fist’s subtlety and Bier’s surprise. In a true brawl, he would surely come off worse.

Seeing Bier abandon his weapon, Kuang Chi retreated, laughing heartily. Inexplicably, the long whip reappeared in his hand.

Bier was stunned—his own weapon was gone, while Kuang Chi’s had reappeared as if by magic. What else could he do but dash madly for his discarded greatsword?

Kuang Chi would not let him retrieve it. With a cold laugh, he flicked his wrist.

If Bier wanted his weapon back, the Ghostshadow Whip would not let it happen—especially not with Little Hua’s help. The brutal spectacle repeated itself.

In the end, Bier, beaten beyond recognition, collapsed in the arena as a professor by the sidelines shouted for the match to stop.

Even then, Kuang Chi’s whip was only intercepted by nearly ten professors from the academy.

A middle-aged man of about fifty, his expression icy, used his true energy to address Kuang Chi: “Student Kuang Chi, the Noble Duel Code clearly states that to avoid unnecessary harm during duels, one must not use divine beast weapons or merge with divine beasts in battle. You cannot claim ignorance of this.”

It seemed they had caught him out—he had gotten carried away in the final moments and revealed his secret.

Of course, Kuang Chi wouldn’t be foolish enough to admit it outright.

He stiffened his neck and straightened his back, declaring loudly, “What do you mean, merge? My weapon is merely a part of my divine beast’s body. Does the Noble Duel Code forbid weapons made from divine beasts?”

He twisted logic to the extreme. The nearly ten figures before him were famous martial arts masters of the Imperial Academy and even the Carro Empire. Anyone with sense would trust them over Kuang Chi alone.

But this was truly an unprecedented situation. There was no precedent, and Kuang Chi insisted he had not merged, only used a part of his divine beast as a weapon. For the moment, no one could do anything about him.

The professors were stymied. Without concrete evidence, they could not accuse Kuang Chi, for even a hint of doubt would be seized upon by the Kuang family elders—especially his doting grandfather, the current head of the family.

In the end, since Bier was already unconscious and with these uninvited “troublemakers” intervening, the duel was left unresolved.

Votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes, votes. :)