I Shall Steal The Heavens 147 Chapter 146: Stalker

Having already explored the ancient tomb without them, there wasn't much of a reason for me to tag along except to help them bypa.s.s traps. So when I spotted Zhu Jiao leaving the tomb, ahead of the White Tiger Sect, I took notice.

"Hmm? Zhu Jiao is returning this early?"

I guess he was satisfied with what he had already obtained. Given that he had gotten a large haul in the form of Pure Yuan Pills, the Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets and very possibly other stuff, I didn't blame him. Moreover…

"Hey! You forgot to return me to him!"

Unseen, the ghost of Qi Lin chided me. In all that excitement during the confrontation with Liang Shao Yang, Jiang Jun Hao and the rest, I had completely forgotten about him. Feeling the golden amulet in my pocket, I smiled sheepishly.

"Whoops. Sorry. I'll go return you now."

Just as I was about to leave, I spotted Jiang Jun Hao leaving in the same direction as Zhu Jiao, his eyes intently focused on the latter. He smiled, but as his eyes rested on Zhu Jiao's departing figure, they narrowed ominously.

"…"

Clearly something was up.

"Hey, guys. Sorry, but I'm going to leave early. I've gotten my hands on some stuff, and I don't want to be too greedy and h.o.a.rd everything in the ancient tomb to myself. You guys can have the rest." I waved my hand.

"Hmm?" Tang Qi Hong stared at me suspiciously, having seen through the lame excuse. She knew me well enough to know I wasn't that type of person.

"I see." Lian Rou was more sensitive, though, especially when she caught sight of Zhu Jiao disappearing into the distance, and Jiang Jun Hao following him. She nodded and waved me away. "You had best hurry then."

"Eh? What's going on?" Tang Qi Hong asked, confused. "Why does Fei Wu need to hurry?"

Tong Xue was bewildered at first, but when Lian Rou shot him a glance, he suddenly understood and laughed. "Oh, no…just that some conflicts will be happening outside the ancient tomb. Fei Wu is being a busybody as always."

"Why bother?" Zi Xiao Ji asked, inadvertently being callous. "Other people can take care of themselves."

"The person in question is a good friend," Lian Rou put in. Tong Xue blinked, and suddenly understood as the pieces fell into place for him.

"Right…Zhu Jiao just parted ways with the White Tiger Sect and is on his own."

"What?!" Tang Qi Hong groaned and slapped her forehead. "That guy is being way too reckless! Why did he have to go off on his own?"

"Typical protagonists," I muttered under my breath. "Always wanting to be the lone ranger, trying to do everything on their own because they think it's cool. The readers don't help either, often flying into a rage whenever the protagonist teams up with 'useless' teammates or get burdened by other people. It's like these edgelords don't have friends in real life or something."

I probably was closer to the mark than I ever knew, but that wasn't the point. For now, I should hurry before I completely lost track of Zhu Jiao.

"I'll see you guys back at the sect," I told them, and then jogged off in the direction where I last saw Zhu Jiao.

Unfortunately, Zhu Jiao was a lot faster than I expected. I had to break into a run, and despite me using my footwork techniques, I wasn't able to catch up with him. It was as if the guy was riding a flying, winged tiger and crossing the entire Heavenly Fire Mountain Range in half a day. As fast as I was after all that training and daily running, even I couldn't keep up with a flying tiger.

Of course, I was mistaken. Zhu Jiao wasn't riding on a flying tiger like a certain Lin Dong. He had no reason to. After all, he had a flying Kirin. Seated atop his flying Kirin, the two of them soared over the entire Heavenly Fire Mountain Range breezily. It was a miracle I managed to keep up with the two of them at all.

"Huff…huff…"

I tried yelling for them, but they were too far away to hear me.

"d.a.m.n it…I'm still out of range for my cell phone."

Glancing down at my cell phone, I saw that there was still no signal. The bars were empty and were overlaid by a cross that indicated that there was no service. Otherwise I would have called him long ago and told him to wait for me.

"Where did that Jiang Jun Hao go, anyway?"

There was no sign of that Heavenly Way Sect b.a.s.t.a.r.d. I wouldn't be surprised if we had left him behind in the dust. After all, I was among the fastest in the younger generation, and Zhu Jiao was literally riding a flying Kirin. Unless Jiang Jun Hao had a similar mount, he would find it very difficult to keep up on foot.

To my dismay, it turned out that Jiang Jun Hao did have some other means of travel other than on foot. I had completely forgotten how he landed in the campsite earlier that day.

VROOM!

A thunderous roar echoed throughout the mountain range, followed by a blazing shadow that swept above it. A red-haired guy riding a blazing, flying motorbike, streaked through the heavens, its engines shrieking in vengeance. Yup, Jiang Jun Hao arrived on his motorbike, so naturally he would ride it to leave.

However, for now, he didn't plan on living. Instead, he steered his motorbike in the direction of Zhu Jiao and his flying Kirin.

Seated atop his flying Kirin, Zhu Jiao slowly turned to glance at the mountainpeak from where the motorcyclist emerged from. Under the rays of the sun, dazzling light was reflected off the fiery red metallic frame of the roaring motorbike. Saddled atop the motorcycle, the rider gripped its handlebars with one hand while his other hand held a golden spear. His handsome face was creased in an arrogant sneer as he glared at Zhu Jiao.

"Jiang Jun Hao!"

Zhu Jiao's eyes darkened when he recognized the figure riding atop the flying motorcycle. He gritted his teeth.

"What are you doing here?"

"Hmph. Liang Shao Yang and all the others are too complacent, refusing to consider you a threat."

"…who?"

Zhu Jiao stared at Jiang Jun Hao dumbly. The latter glowered at the former, waving his golden spear impatiently.

"Liang Shao Yang! The leader and head disciple of the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect!"

"Ah. Him." Zhu Jiao c.o.c.ked his head to the side, puzzled. "But why would he care about me? I'm not from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect and I've never offended him."

"Well…well…that's because you're the protagonist and he's clearly the antagonist! You'll offend him sooner or later and he'll try to kill you! Just because!"

"You're not making any sense." Zhu Jiao shook his head, baffled.

"Xianxia stories rarely do," I muttered, but I was still too far away for either of them to hear me. Jiang Jun Hao cleared his throat.

"A…anyway, I have no desire to leave a potential disaster alone! After what happened today, you definitely bear a grudge against my Heavenly Way Sect! If that is the case, then no matter what, I must take your life today!"

Riding atop his motorcycle, the red-haired spearman in golden clothing slowly looked down on Zhu Jiao below, his voice filled with murderous intent.

"WHY?!" I yelled, clutching my head in frustration. "That makes NO f.u.c.kING SENSE!"

Finally I was close enough and the two of them whirled around to stare at me.

"Wu? What are you doing here?" Zhu Jiao demanded, astonished. I reached into my pocket, retrieved his golden amulet, and threw it at him. He caught it, but continued to stare at me blankly.

"First, I'm here to return you that." then I turned to glare at Jiang Jun Hao. "And secondly, I spotted this guy stalking you, so I got suspicious. I should have known that he was up to no good! This f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"You…!" Jiang Jun Hao growled, but I cut him off before he could curse at me.

"And your logic is f.u.c.ked up! What do you think this is, ancient China? Why the f.u.c.k do you resort to killing every single time? Oh, so you incurred a grudge with Zhu Jiao. Instead of…I don't know, compromising and resolving the matter diplomatically and peacefully, you decide to murder him because you're afraid of potential disasters in the future? What sort of stupid logic is that? If you're that afraid of his potential, shouldn't you be befriending him instead? What kind of idiot just resorts straight to killing? It's still an early stage of the grudge and there's room for you to compromise and negotiate and reconcile, but you choose to kill him? If he escapes, wouldn't you be sealing your own f.u.c.king doom? You just closed off any doors for reconciliation and negotiation!"

Shaking my head, I pushed my gla.s.ses up.

"And to make matters worse, this is the modern twenty-first century. Murder is outlawed. You're from the Heavenly Way Sect, an orthodox sect that is one of the eight major sects that is propping up the Martial Arts Alliance as one of their main pillars. And you, as one of their most famous disciples, is committing crimes and murdering people in the dark because you're afraid of incurring their grudge? What kind of martial artist are you?! Spouting all that bulls.h.i.+t about the righteous way, about justice and fighting the evil demonic sects, but then turning around and committing high-handed atrocities when someone offends you? Orthodox sects and paragons of justice, my a.s.s! What Martial Arts Alliance?! You're nothing but a b.l.o.o.d.y hypocrite!"

"Oh, shut up!" Jiang Jun Hao hollered. "This has nothing to do with you, you insignificant two-bit mob character who just serves as a foil to the protagonist!"

"How come he's breaking the fourth wall as well?" Zhu Jiao asked me. I shrugged. Perhaps I wasn't the only one who reincarnated into this world from a different timeline. It was entirely possible that Jiang Jun Hao was also someone from my original timeline who reincarnated into this world. Most likely an edgelord reader who demanded that protagonists solve everything in their stories by mercilessly killing everyone who crosses their paths, no doubt.

Zhu Jiao then shook his head and glared at the figure in golden robes riding atop the fiery, red motorcycle, and his gaze turned chilly. He clearly recognized this b.a.s.t.a.r.d as the true mastermind behind today's events.

Sensing the icy glare, Jiang Jun Hao turned back to Zhu Jiao, his mouth curling into a nasty smile.

"Hand over the Spirit Treasure Weapon and I will leave your dead body intact!"

"What kind of stupid ultimatum is that?!" I yelled again, throwing my hands up in exasperation. "If you're going to kill Zhu Jiao either way, why the f.u.c.k would he listen to you?!"

Ignoring me, Jiang Jun Hao slowly dismounted off his motorcycle and jumped to land on top of a mountainpeak. His aura of qi burst forward, like water from a dam that just opened, pouring out in an overwhelming manner to suffocate both me and Zhu Jiao.

Neither of us were impressed or affected.

Zhu Jiao laughed. "Compared to Lei Yong Chun, you still have a long way to go. Showing off your pathetic aura like that…don't you feel embarra.s.sed, Jiang Jun Hao?"

Despite the immense pressure that weighed down on him, Zhu Jiao didn't even tremble. He raised his head defiantly and scoffed. While he clearly recalled the last time he fought Lei Yong Chun, in Wu Ling Academy that night over a year ago, and lost terribly despite ganging up on the White Tiger Sect head disciple with the other student council members, he found Jiang Jun Hao's attempts to cow him laughable.

Shaking his head in amus.e.m.e.nt, he then dismounted from his Golden Kirin. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the Kirin, and the legendary creature disappeared just like that.

"Don't humiliate him further," I told him. "The poor guy doesn't even know that he isn't able to intimidate us at all."

"I'm still enough to kill the both of you!" Jiang Jun Hao sneered as he infused his golden spear with his qi. Raging qi swirled about the long weapon, rising in potent fury to match the emotions of its arrogant wielder. "Don't even think that anyone will come and save you. The White Tiger Sect are too busily scavenging for treasures to know that I was hunting you down, and even if they do, they'll be too late by the time they arrived."

"You do realize that I noticed you stalking Zhu Jiao from the beginning, right?" I pointed out. "And in fact, the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect realized it too. But they let me come alone. You know why?" I grinned. "That's because they know Zhu Jiao and I will be more than enough to take down the likes of you, even without their help."

"Shut the f.u.c.k up!" Jiang Jun Hao snarled. His body still radiating that immense killing intent, he stepped into the air and began walking toward Zhu Jiao, as of there was an invisible floor hovering in midair. The b.l.o.o.d.y b.a.s.t.a.r.d was actually capable of walking across the heavens!

To be fair, it seemed like a simple concept. With my Heaven and Earth senses, I could see him condensing a layer of qi under his feet, solidifying it so that he can walk without falling through the air.

What a cheater.

As if he was climbing a flight of stairs, Jiang Jun Hao approached Zhu Jiao before finally coming to a stop right in front of him, floating in midair.

"If you think you can kill me, you're welcome to try!" Zhu Jiao beckoned him with a hand.

I could see that my friend was visibly p.i.s.sed off after the events of today. Even though we all agreed to back off in the burial chamber, Jiang Jun Hao refused to let go of the matter and persistently pursued him.

Zhu Jiao was clearly thinking that if the guy was such a glutton for punishment, then he would oblige and beat the h.e.l.l out of him.

Bang!

Zhu Jiao then punctuated his declaration by drawing his Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets and equipping himself with them. He stomped on the ground, his unyielding golden qi leaving cracks in the solid rock.

"You brat. Today I'll clearly display to you the true power of a Pure Spirit Stage pract.i.tioner!"

With a sneer, Jiang Jun Hao raised his golden spear and thrust it into the air. Extremely potent qi flowed out from his hands and imbued the divine weapon with sheer, destructive power and he abruptly switched the trajectory of his thrust and speared right for Zhu Jiao's heart!

I winced as the sonic boom hit my ears, Jiang Jun Hao's attack literally ripping the air apart as it disappeared into a golden blur that aimed right for Zhu Jiao's chest. Stone that were dozens, even over a hundred meters below, crumbled instantly to dust from the sheer destructive power of the attack, before billowing upward from the numerous sonic booms.

"Oh, really?"

Zhu Jiao rolled his eyes, c.o.c.ked one arm back, and then punched the streaking spear. With a mighty boom, the collision resulted in an immense explosion that knocked the two back, and even buffeted me, quite some distance away, with terrible shockwaves. On either side of me, rocks shattered and the mountains trembled from the sheer impact.

"Oh, how scary…" Zhu Jiao s.h.i.+vered mockingly, wrapping his arms – his right gauntlet still smoldering from the defensive punch earlier – around him. "I didn't think you would strike with such a pathetic attack. The sheer embarra.s.sment from launching such a weak strike is making me tremble in fear!"

"Shut up!" Jiang Jun Hao screamed. He thrust his spear forward again, but Zhu Jiao merely batted it away and counterattacked with a hook that nearly caught his opponent in the jaw. But despite being enraged, Jiang Jun Hao was still a formidable prodigy from the younger generation after all. He barely managed to parry the armored fist with the shaft of his golden spear.

Clang!

"Kuh!"

Jiang Jun Hao stumbled backward, cursing as his arms shook from the ma.s.sive impact. He tried to stabilize his trembling spear by tightening his grip, but his fingers had gone numb from the blow and his movements few leaden.

"Such power…!"

"Come on! Come on!" Zhu Jiao yelled as he bore down on Jiang Jun Hao. "What's the matter? Didn't you say you're going to kill me?"

"Gah!"

Jiang Jun Hao was knocked back when he tried to parry Zhu Jiao's next punch, tumbling helplessly in midair as he was unable to halt his momentum. He flipped his body over and slammed his feet against the ground, skidding to a stop, but Zhu Jiao was already on top of him again, c.o.c.king his fist back before delivering another powerful punch.

Crack!

Raising his golden spear with both hands, Jiang Jun Hao intercepted the devastating punch. The ground around him cracked and splintered from the tremendous impact, unable to withstand the destructive power radiating from Zhu Jiao.

"Guooh!"

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Jun Hao spun his spear and knocked Zhu Jiao back. As Zhu Jiao landed on the ground, he seized the opportunity to thrust his deadly spear forward in an attempt to impale him, but Zhu Jiao deflected the spear to the side before ramming his elbow into Jiang Jun Hao's face. The spearman's inhuman reflexes saved his nose from being broken and he dodged his head to the side, the gauntlet screeching past the s.p.a.ce centimeters away from his face.

"…!"

Even so, blood dripped from his cheek, a result of a slight graze from the golden gauntlet. Snarling, Jiang Jun Hao yanked his spear back before clubbing Zhu Jiao, but the latter parried the strike with his armored forearm and then retaliated with a counter that would have punched a hole through the Heavenly Way Sect disciple's chest had he not whirled away in time.

"d.a.m.n it!"

Jiang Jun Hao clearly realized that he had vastly underestimated Zhu Jiao and he was growing increasingly desperate. However, Zhu Jiao wasn't going to let him go so easily and he closed in, seeking to press his advantage.

Clang! Bang!

The two of them exchanged furious blows, the ground crumbling underneath their feet as they traded hundreds of attacks over the next few minutes. Thrust, punch, parry, block, strike, deflect, attack, evade. Their movements were so fast that no ordinary martial artists could follow them, their spear and arms disappearing into s.h.i.+mmering golden blurs that reflected the sunlight in a dazzling display between two G.o.dlike warriors.

Even the mountain range was unable to endure their conflict, rocks disintegrating from the sheer impact every time their treasure weapons collided fiercely. Sparks rained from their clas.h.i.+ng metallic weapons, falling upon the ground and igniting small fires all over the spa.r.s.e gra.s.s that grew over the dull rock of the mountains.

Clang!

Repelling another strike from Zhu Jiao, Jiang Jun Hao retreated to put as much distance between them as possible. He was breathing heavily, his face red and drenched in perspiration. Zhu Jiao was also looking as if he had exerted a bit too much, but he smiled.

"What's the matter?" he taunted. "I thought you are supposed to be some big-shot Pure Spirit Stage prodigy? Why are you still unable to kill a Qi Fusion Stage pract.i.tioner like me?"

"Are you even at the Qi Fusion Stage?" I muttered, wondering about the large amounts of artificial qi that he had received. If these stupid stages were based off quant.i.ties of qi alone, then all the Wu Ling Academy students could easily be at the Pure Spirit Stage or even Nascent Soul Stage, provided they received lots and lots of qi.

"Shut up!"

Unable to refute his opponent, Jiang Jun Hao resorted to silencing him. With a roar, he struck with his spear again.

"I can't believe I'm forced to use the full power of my Heavenly Spear against the likes of you!"

His spear vanished into a golden streak of light that flashed across the horizon. Zhu Jiao set his mouth grimly in a thin line and his Golden Kirin aura flared up, wrapping him in his trademark Sacred Armor.

With a bellow, he punched the flying spear away before it could even so much as scratch his breastplate.

Clang! Bang!

The Heavenly Spear was sent spinning wildly away until Jiang Jun Hao leaped up and s.n.a.t.c.hed it back. He eyed Zhu Jiao's Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets greedily, and licked his lips, desire burning in his eyes.

"I see…the only reason why you're able to fight evenly with me even though I'm of a higher stage is because of those treasure gauntlets. Those treasure gauntlets have boosted your power immensely and made up for the huge gap between you and me. If I can just get my hands on those treasure gauntlets, who knows how much stronger I will become…?"

"Hey! Aren't you giving the wielder too little credit?" I snapped irritably. "Even the most powerful Spirit Treasure Weapon in the world would be a useless piece of junk in the hands of an unskilled user. If Zhu Jiao didn't know how to use those Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets properly, then no matter how powerful they are, he wouldn't be able to stand against you! It's not always about the treasure weapons, you know! The wielder matters much more!"

And as the cliché went, as long as the expert was of a high enough level, even a mere blade of gra.s.s would turn into a devastating weapon in his hands, enough to cut even mountains. But these idiots were far too obsessed with powerful weapons and h.o.a.rding treasures that they neglected the wielders' skills.

He was going to pay for underestimating Zhu Jiao.

Without a word, Zhu Jiao launched himself at Jiang Jun Hao again. Refusing to engage the moron in a debate, he preferred to let his actions do the talking. Jiang Jun Hao found himself driven back, desperately parrying and intercepting Zhu Jiao's attacks while yielding ground inch by agonizing inch. The frustration was evident in his face.

"Get lost!"

With a roar, he knocked Zhu Jiao back as best as he could. Golden qi flowed around him and detonated, the powerful shockwaves forcibly hurling both parties apart.

"Ugh!"

"…!"

Stumbling back, Jiang Jun Hao managed to flip his body over in midair and landed on his feet, but a trickle of blood escaped his lips. Despite taking some damage from his desperate attack earlier, Jiang Jun Hao had no regrets. If he continued to weather the blows from Zhu Jiao, he would find himself cornered soon enough.

Despite being buffeted by the shockwaves, Zhu Jiao managed to come to a stop, evidently not taking as much damage as Jiang Jun Hao. I noticed that he had yet to master Man and Sword as One, or he would have unleashed the full power of the Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets and perhaps clad himself in full-body armor as he did during the tournament final against me last year.

Well, it was a new weapon he had only just recently acquired after all. Even with plot armor and protagonist power, he couldn't possibly master it in less than a day.

"You asked for it!" Jiang Jun Hao hollered. "I didn't want to use this technique because I'm afraid of breaking my Spirit Treasure Weapon, but you leave me no choice!"

"Since when are those Heavenly Golden Draconic Gauntlets your Spirit Treasure Weapon?!" I yelled, throwing both my hands up in exasperation. The nerve of this b.a.s.t.a.r.d…he was so thick-skinned and shameless that he might as well be a hippopotamus.

Ignoring me, Jiang Jun Hao infused as much of his qi into his spear as possible. Recognizing the danger, Zhu Jiao lunged forward to stop him before he could launch his attack, but before he could, Jiang Jun Hao hurled his spear at him.

"Heavenly Way Golden Dragon Heaven-Shattering Spear Strike!"

RUUOOOOOOOOOOOOR!

A gargantuan golden dragon materialized around his flying golden spear, its immense fiery form wreathing the weapon and causing its relatively tiny frame to vanish inside the blazing inferno. The serpentine dragon uncoiled and charged at Zhu Jiao, its ma.s.sive body seeming to cover the heavens. Its huge fiery jaws yawned open before slamming shut to engulf the Golden Kirin Sect disciple in h.e.l.lish flames.

"That's one h.e.l.l of a long name," I grumbled with a shake of my head. "Seriously? Couldn't you have shortened it or something? And more importantly, why did you have to go and shout out the name of your technique?"

"Enough of your bulls.h.i.+t." Jiang Jun Hao snorted as he turned toward me. "After I kill that loser Zhu Jiao, you'll be next to die. I can't have witnesses leaving the scene and reporting back to the Alliance about this."

I actually laughed at that. "What makes you think you'll be able to kill Zhu Jiao?"

Jiang Jun Hao's expression darkened and he glowered at me for a moment before his lips curled into a sneer.

"Stop bluffing. I'm sure you're regretting it now."

"Huh? Regretting what?" I blinked and stared at him, puzzled. Jiang Jun Hao ground his teeth so hard that the cracks were audible.

"You should have joined hands with Zhu Jiao when you had the chance, instead of leaving him to fight and die on his own. Maybe, if the two of you weaklings worked together, you might still have a tiny chance of surviving. But now it's too late. With Zhu Jiao dead, there's no way you'll be able to defeat me or escape!"

He threw his head back and roared in laughter like a villain instead of the orthodox martial artist that he was supposed to be.

"Heh." I chuckled. Jiang Jun Hao blinked and glared at me.

"What's so funny?"

"You." I shook my head. "Already a.s.suming that you've killed Zhu Jiao. He's much tougher than you think, and I know he'll be able to defeat you on his own, without me lifting a single finger."

"Liar!" Jiang Jun Hao scoffed. "If that's really true, why are you here? You claimed that you were worried about him when you saw me following him…"

"…stalking," I corrected.

"Oh, shut up! You were the one who said it yourself! That you followed us here when you saw me shadowing your friend! Why would you do that if you're so confident that he'll be able to defeat me?" Jiang Jun Hao grinned as he attacked what he thought was the hole in my logic. "You would have just left him to deal with me alone. The fact that you're here means that you know Zhu Jiao would definitely lose to me!"

I pushed my gla.s.ses as I continued to chuckle. "I think you're misunderstanding something. Yeah, I am here to help Zhu Jiao fight, but not against you. I have full confidence that he will defeat you on his own. But I'm here to a.s.sist him when that sect elder of yours inevitably emerges to save you when he drives you to a corner."

"What…?"

Jiang Jun Hao's face turned as pale as a ghost. Before he could finish his question, however, the golden dragon that had manifested around his golden spear suddenly twitched and squirmed, its face twisted in agony.

"What's going on?!"

With an explosive bellow, Zhu Jiao tore his way out of the dragon's body, ripping the golden scales apart and exiting through a gaping wound. Secondary detonations followed in his wake as destructive qi collided and ignited around the golden dragon's serpentine body, causing the enormous spirit to fall.

"Impossible!"

"GUOOOR!"

But even as it fell, it defiantly curled up and lunged at Zhu Jiao again. Despite the fatal wound that it had sustained, the golden dragon remained a formidable foe. Its ferocious aura undiminished, it sped across the sky with destructive power, with sonic booms rippling in its wake as it broke the sound barrier.

Zhu Jiao merely reached out and grabbed it.

"?!"

Jiang Jun Hao's eyes widened in disbelief. Even though Zhu Jiao's figure was tiny in comparison to the gargantuan golden dragon, it was as if the golden dragon had shrunk suddenly. Or perhaps Zhu Jiao and the Golden Kirin aura that shrouded him grew exponentially. In any case, Zhu Jiao was suddenly able to wrap his armored fingers around the neck of the startled golden dragon and crush it.

In mere milliseconds, the golden dragon shattered, dispersing harmlessly into countless b.a.l.l.s of golden light that drifted across the mountain range.

"Thanks for the weapon."

Zhu Jiao closed his fingers around the shaft of the trembling Heavenly Spear. He pulled it upward, as if attempting to tame it.

"You dare…!!!!!"

With an enraged bellow, Jiang Jun Hao disappeared into a blur and suddenly appeared in front of Zhu Jiao again, taking the latter completely by surprise. Even with his superhuman reflexes, Zhu Jiao was barely able to react in time, bringing his arm to just parry the devastating kick that Jiang Jun Hao threw at his head.

Bam!

The violent collision jerked the Heavenly Spear out of Zhu Jiao's hands and sent him flying across the Heavenly Fire Mountain Range. The armored Golden Kirin Sect disciple disappeared in a cloud of debris and dust when he crashed heavily into the mountain, causing slight tremors to reverberate across the area.

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d…trying to s.n.a.t.c.h my Heavenly Spear?!"

Growling, Jiang Jun Hao clutched his golden spear tightly and cradled it to his chest, as if afraid that Zhu Jiao would suddenly appear and s.n.a.t.c.h it away again. His eyes narrowing into murderous beads, he infused it with even more qi.

"I'll kill you!"

"I'm getting sick of hearing that line." I sighed and shook my head.

"What the…so you do have a bit of fight left in you after all."

Emerging from the mushroom cloud of debris, Zhu Jiao stood up straight and brushed the dust off his clothing with a grin. Despite cras.h.i.+ng into the mountainside with the force of a meteor, he looked virtually unhurt.

Just how tough was this guy's Golden Kirin Sacred Armor? Or maybe it was plot armor that was protecting him?

Jiang Jun Hao blanched for a few seconds, but then he shook his head and then used the same technique as before.

"You brat, you're lucky to be able to witness the true power of my Heavenly Way Sect's Heavenly Spear before you die! Heavenly Way Golden Dragon Heaven-Shattering Spear Strike!"

"Do you really have to shout that stupidly long name every time you use that move?" I demanded, feeling my temples throb from the sheer absurdity of it all.

Boom!

The golden spear flashed across the sky again. This time, Jiang Jun Hao followed it, leading the attack personally. The qi surrounding his body seemed to explode, manifesting in a golden light that stretched for over ten meters long. Shrieking forward, the intimidating golden dragon materialized around both wielder and weapon again and emanated a terrifying aura as it charged toward Zhu Jiao.

Zhu Jiao glanced up, his eyes momentarily blinded by the dazzling golden light. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to dodge the spear in time because of the high speed it was moving at, he took a deep breath and braced himself for impact. c.o.c.king his hand back, his potent qi blew up and took the form of a roaring Golden Kirin that enveloped him protectively and aggressively.

"Golden Kirin Divine Fist!"

Clenching his fingers tightly, Zhu Jiao punched forward, meeting Jiang Jun Hao's glowing spear with his gauntleted fist.

Boom!

At the moment of collision between the two formidable forces, the entire mountain range trembled as potent waves of qi washed over it.