Chapter 80: Evenly Matched

As soon as Jiang Xiaotian spoke, the entire place fell silent.

Even Li Qing, who had shown no reaction up to now, turned his head to glance over.

Ouyang Zijin couldn't suppress her laughter and burst out, “Hahaha, Zhao Yin, looks like your Zhao family has made quite a few enemies. Who ends up falling today is still uncertain!” She was absolutely delighted. The enemy of my enemy is my friend, she thought. No matter what his motives were, since this man also bore a grudge against the Zhao family and chose to stand up now, he was definitely going to help her!

Zhao Yin's face darkened to an extreme. He was breathing heavily, the rage in his eyes nearly erupting into flames.

At this point, he couldn't be bothered to figure out which brat this was—better to resolve it first and ask questions later!

He turned directly to the two martial artists behind him, both at the peak of External Force, and ordered, “Kill him.”

No hesitation—Zhao Yin's words were a death sentence for Jiang Xiaotian.

This was how the Zhao family ran roughshod over Dragon City.

The two men, receiving their orders, charged toward Jiang Xiaotian like emotionless machines.

The two of them together posed an unusually thorny challenge.

Jiang Xiaotian watched as they split up, clearly intending to cut off all his escape routes.

He sneered coldly; External Force was nothing to fear.

Especially when facing the Zhao family—he was determined to deal with these bastards once and for all!

With a snap of his fingers, an eerie blue flame instantly enveloped his entire body!

“What…” Zhao Yin's eyes widened in disbelief—he had never seen such martial arts before.

Even Li Qing now showed a hint of interest in Jiang Xiaotian, his gaze fixed intently on him.

The two External Force experts, sensing the threat, did not stop. They continued to execute Zhao Yin’s command.

But Jiang Xiaotian had no intention of giving them the opportunity to surround him. In terms of speed, he held the absolute advantage.

He bent his knees slightly, found his footing, and shot out like a rocket, whipping up a fierce wind around him!

Bang! With a thunderous noise, the two martial artists hadn’t even managed to strike before they were sent flying like broken kites—one crashed into a tree, snapping it in half, while the other fell into the lake, fate uncertain.

Ouyang Zijin, the first to recover, immediately applauded enthusiastically, “Amazing! Brother, you’re incredible!”

But Zhao Yin couldn’t maintain his composure. Saying nothing, he raised his hand and unleashed his Internal Force, attempting to deal with Jiang Xiaotian in the same manner.

But Jiang Xiaotian was agile beyond belief, especially in this place rich with spiritual energy—his movements were even more nimble.

Zhao Yin couldn’t land a single blow; his beard quivered with rage. Just as he was about to close in, Ouyang Zijin’s mocking voice rang out, “You old wretch, is this all you’ve got? You think you can cripple me like this? Did you forget I have back-up? Go, help him!”

At her command, the martial artists from the Ouyang family surged forward, charging at Zhao Yin.

“You—!” Zhao Yin was nearly spitting blood from anger. First, he’d been toyed with by a mysterious brat, now he was being beset by the Ouyang family as well. Overwhelmed, he immediately looked to Li Qing. “Young Master Li! What are you waiting for? Hurry and kill that bastard! Or bear the consequences yourself!”

Li Qing, addressed by name, let out a quiet, bemused laugh, still maintaining his composure with hands clasped behind his back.

He had absolute confidence in his own strength, and after his observation, he was certain—this mysterious man was only at the peak of External Force. He’d merely caught them off guard with his bizarre martial arts.

At this point, Jiang Xiaotian had already extinguished his Dragon’s Wrath. For him now, it was still quite draining—such full-powered exertion could last only a minute or two at most.

Fortunately, the spiritual energy here was abundant; he could recover at any time.

He’d already torn off a piece of his shirt to cover half his face, allowing him to fight without concern.

But just as he was marveling at how easily he’d dealt with two peak External Force martial artists, a chill ran down his back.

He turned to see Li Qing smiling at him.

“My friend, your martial arts are impressive. How about letting me learn from you? If you agree, I’ll let you go, and the Li family will honor you as a distinguished guest!”

Jiang Xiaotian had no fondness for this effeminate man, and besides, he was in league with the Zhao family.

“Are you even worthy?” Jiang Xiaotian tilted his head, tone dripping with scorn.

Though Li Qing was a mid-stage Internal Force expert—and the toughest opponent Jiang Xiaotian had faced so far—he felt no fear and was even a little eager to try.

Li Qing, hearing this, showed no anger; he simply smiled faintly.

But in the next instant, somehow, he was already standing before Jiang Xiaotian. “Since you refuse a toast, you’ll have to drink a forfeit. If you won’t show your face, then die as you are.”

Jiang Xiaotian didn’t even see him move—just felt a sharp pain in his chest, the impact forcing him several steps back before his legs buckled and he dropped to one knee.

In that instant, all his spiritual energy surged to his injured area. The pain quickly lessened by half, and the wound began to heal.

This was the greatest strength of the Dragon’s Breath Technique—it could attack or defend, advance or retreat, enhance or heal.

Li Qing merely snorted before turning away, strolling off at his leisure.

“Don’t bother struggling. All your internal organs are shattered; you won’t live a minute. Take a moment to regret meddling—I hadn’t wanted to strike.”

Jiang Xiaotian raised his head with difficulty, squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth. “Wha…what? Since that’s the case, can you answer me one more question?”

Li Qing smiled. “Oh? What could a dying man possibly want to ask?”

“Did…did you…skip dinner?” As Jiang Xiaotian spoke, he stood up, patted the dust off his body, and didn’t look the least bit mortally wounded.

Li Qing was startled, then sighed lightly, flicking back his hair. “I underestimated you. Seems you’re quite the cockroach—tough to kill, aren’t you?”

As he spoke, he once again teleported behind Jiang Xiaotian.

But Jiang Xiaotian wasn’t a fool; would he fall for the same trick twice?

He immediately turned and met Li Qing’s fist with his own—a direct clash!

His fist, strengthened by spiritual energy, collided with the blow of an Internal Force martial artist. Jiang Xiaotian felt searing pain shoot through his fingers and couldn’t help but shake out his hand.

Li Qing also quickly withdrew, no longer daring to underestimate the man before him.

This guy was supposed to be a mere peak External Force practitioner, yet he’d not only taken a punch from him but could even fight him head-on without falling behind!

Who was this man, really?

What martial art was he practicing?

Li Qing had no choice but to be wary—especially of the state Jiang Xiaotian had just been in, wreathed in blue flame.

“Interesting. Very interesting.”

His fighting spirit was kindled, and just as he was about to unleash his full power, he paused, his expression growing grave as he gazed into the distance.

A moment later, Li Qing withdrew his killing intent and glanced at Jiang Xiaotian. “Consider yourself lucky. But I swear, I will kill you. Don’t think hiding your face will help—you can’t escape me.”

With that, he looked over to Zhao Yin, who was being held up by Ouyang Zijin. “Elder Zhao, withdraw. Someone’s coming—likely the Ouyang family.”