"Crack—"
A faint sound of bones cracking mingled with the whooshing wind. Li Qiao's powerful palm strike, seemingly about to hit Li Yi, was imposing. As the attack approached, Li Yi's lips curled into a faint smile - the strike was powerful, but that was all.
Narrowing his eyes, Li Yi stepped forward just as the palm was about to hit him. Li Qiao's face showed excitement, while the crowd cheered. But the middle-aged onlookers, with their keen eyes, knew if the palm hit, Li Yi would be bedridden for at least half a month.
"This Li Yi, truly a waste! Defeated in one move!"
This thought echoed in everyone's mind. However, before they could fully process it, Li Yi unexpectedly stepped forward, dodging the palm strike that brushed past his face.
With a swift movement, Li Yi was already beside Li Qiao, his hand casually swinging backward...
"Slap!"
A crisp sound echoed as a red handprint appeared on Li Qiao's face, blood trickling from his mouth. He was stunned, never expecting Li Yi to dodge his attack, let alone retaliate with a slap.
The onlookers were shocked, their excited expressions freezing instantly. The red handprint on Li Qiao's face silently spoke the truth.
As Li Yi turned back, Li Qiao's face was livid. Li Yi didn't pay attention to his expression, instead calculating in his mind. He nodded slightly, pondering. Although the cultivation of Yuanqi in this world was mysterious, the low-level combat techniques seemed not as powerful as he had imagined. Did the creators of these techniques not consider that power alone was useless if the moves couldn't hit the target?
"How is this possible?"
"It must be a fluke! Definitely a fluke!"
After a moment of silence, the crowd erupted into an uproar again.
Among the young generation of the Li family, Li Qiao was rumored to be the top expert, especially after demonstrating a mid-level Xuanwu combat technique during their encounter. Yet, the fact that he was struck by a slap from Li Yi was beyond anyone's belief. It was clear to all that Li Yi hadn't used much strength, merely slapping with the flow.
The younger members couldn't appreciate the precision and combat experience required for such a seemingly effortless dodge and slap. However, to the Fighters watching, it was a different story. With Li Qiao's strength, they would typically need to counter his Bone Shattering Palm with raw power, but Li Yi dodged it with ease, leaving them in shock and disbelief. Was it just a fluke?
On the stage, Li Qiao's face went through several changes before regaining some semblance of composure, though the vivid slap mark remained. He inhaled deeply and said with a strained voice, "Impressive, Cousin Li Yi. I was careless and suffered a slight loss."
Li Yi internally shook his head at this performance. Despite Li Qiao's claim of a minor loss, his true thoughts were apparent to any astute observer. His attitude, arrogance, and limitation in skills suggested limited future achievements.
"Cousin, I yield," Li Yi responded with a faint smile. "Let's call it a day... With your powerful skills, I stand no chance. I was just lucky to dodge your attack, otherwise I'd be lying on the ground right now."
Li Qiao grunted, "You haven't forgotten our family's rules, have you, Cousin? If you step onto the stage, you can't leave until the fight is decided. I'll get serious now, so be careful!"
"How can I leave the stage without a clear victory?" Li Qiao thought, taking a deep breath as his frustration turned into a murderous intent. He raised his hands simultaneously, "High-grade Xuanwu: Seven Revolving Cuts!"
The entire crowd gasped. Although Li Qiao had mentioned mastering a high-grade Xuanwu technique, no one expected it to be the Seven Revolving Cuts—a high-level technique where each new rotation adds power, rivaling a low-grade Zhuque technique at its highest form.
Li Qiao's hands moved rapidly, generating fiery red Qi between his palms, signifying his practice of the high-grade Xuanwu Fire Cloud Decision. The technique, known for its fiery attacks, could incinerate weaker opponents within a few exchanges. One rotation, then two appeared in his palms, and finally, the third rotation formed, indicating the technique's power.
Li Qiao lunged at Li Yi, his palms swirling with violent Qi.
"Third rotation!" someone exclaimed from below.
The Seven Revolving Cuts with three rotations was immensely powerful. However, the technique was immensely draining on Qi. Despite Li Qiao's nine-crystal Yuanqi level, his ability to sustain this attack was unknown.
Li Yi watched Li Qiao's hands, a slight smirk on his face, "Interesting." Instead of waiting, he lunged forward, seemingly ready to face the attack head-on.
"Boom—" Li Yi's left hand deflected Li Qiao's fierce palm strike, directing it aside, while his right hand swung in a sharp backhand slap.
"Crack—" The sound was louder than before. Li Qiao, struck by the slap, reeled, his vision darkening and body tumbling off the stage.
The crowd, initially ready to cheer, was left speechless...
Despite Li Qiao's use of a high-grade Xuanwu technique, he was outmatched by Li Yi's slap?
On the stage, Li Yi rubbed his hand and looked at the symmetrical slap marks on Li Qiao's face, showing a charming smile. He simply said, "Cousin, you're indeed impressive. Your face is quite thick. My palm hurts from just two slaps. I guess I can't continue this fight. How about you give me some face, and let me concede?"
Ignoring Li Qiao, who was turning shades of green and white below, Li Yi lightly jumped off the high stage and headed towards the gate. Although Li Qiao wasn't seriously injured, at that moment, he lacked the strength to even get up. He just stared at Li Yi's retreating figure, filled with shock and fear. Was this still the useless cousin he knew?
However, this thought was fleeting in Li Qiao's mind. Soon, it turned into resentment. "Li Yi, even if you won this time by fluke, the upcoming clan meeting won't be so easy for you!"
While Li Qiao harbored resentment, Li Yi was also contemplating, rubbing his slightly numb palm. The difference in the level of combat techniques was indeed significant. Although he had merely deflected Li Qiao's palm strike, the reverberating force almost shattered his wrist.
Besides the insufficient physical strength of his body, Li Qiao's last move, a high-grade Xuanwu technique, was also a contributing factor. At this point, Li Yi began to understand why these so-called combat techniques seemed to lack specific moves, focusing purely on the application of Qi. It seemed that controlling these techniques in the initial stages of training required considerable effort, and forming specific moves was not easy.
While the high-grade techniques might differ, at least at the Xuanwu stage, they likely lacked distinct moves. Although these techniques were somewhat powerful, to Li Yi, they seemed rather crude. A technique with mere brute force, he thought, was like a barbarian swinging a club – powerful but useless if it couldn't hit the target.
Hence, he didn't bother learning them. If Li Qiao knew that his hard-earned high-grade Xuanwu technique, learned at the risk of Qi backlash, was dismissed by Li Yi as unworthy of learning, he might be infuriated to death...