"Boom!"
The sound of the clash between hammer and sword appeared extremely dull. However, within the dullness, it had a power that could tear through everything.
At the moment the hammer and sword clashed, the whole world seemed to be dim.
The cold and dense spirit permeated the surroundings. The air seemed to fill with lead, it was suddenly extremely heavy. The last hammer of Junior Leopard caused the air around to drag and be solidified. It was heavily compressed, and increased the power of his hammer. The air was compressed and condensed into one point. It was pierced by the Sword Qi that came sneaking over, forming an extreme explosion. Yet the Sword Qi didn't seem to diminish with the big explosion and Junior Leopard's hammer also didn't seem to reduce in strength due to the explosion either.
What remained was the contest between the sword and hammer.
The point of contact between the sword and hammer flashed. Junior Leopard and Li Xiu's body flew back at the same time. Junior Leopard's hand lightened. He saw the twin silver hammers, crafted personally by his teacher, couldn't withstand such a strong force and were completely crushed.
"Damn it!" he scolded in his heart. His body stretched in the air. He was just like a big bird that was slowly floating down. He stabilized his figure in the air and landed on the floor. His face paled. Within the Dantian, there was a rush of a hot wave, flowing through his limbs and bones, slowly repairing the areas of the body that was injured by the impact.
In this round of collision, Junior Leopard's twin hammers got destroyed and he suffered light injuries.
What about Li Xiu?
The long sword was still intact without damage. It was as if it had come out of the furnace, emitting a sharp Qi force, which stunned Junior Leopard.
However, what balanced Junior Leopard's heart was that this guy's state wasn't that good. His face was pale and his mouth had a trace of fresh red on it. His gaze was lost and without spirit, as if he had just suffered a huge setback. His whole spirit seemed to be drawn away.
His robe was full of holes as well, which was hurt by the Sword Qi that was scattered by Junior Leopard. But he was not injured. However, from a rich gentleman's appearance, he had a beggar's look. The difference was too big.
Between the two of them was a 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep mud pit. There was broken twigs and rotten leaves around the pit. It followed one direction, forming a strange pattern, which looked like a radio-wave that was spreading around. It was striking.
Junior Leopard's expression stiffened. His figure rushed forward, and he threw out a punch. It didn't carry a trace of wind, however, this fist was extremely heavy, carrying the momentum that could destroy everything towards Li Xiu. Li Xiu's lost expression violently trembled, as if he regained composure at the last moment. However, it was too late. Junior Leopard's fist was already in front of him.
"My life is going to end here!"
A wave of despair flooded into his heart. Subconsciously, he closed his eyes.
However, after waiting for very long, his expected death never arrived. Li Xiu's heart trembled, and he opened his eyes.
"You have lost!" Junior Leopard kept his fist, "You owe me a sword!"
"I lost!" Li Xiu vaguely nodded. Before coming here, he had never thought that he would lose, and to lose so terribly. His Internal Qi was wrought until it became a mess, and his meridians were damaged. Now when he wanted to summon his Internal Qi, his body's meridians would be struck by numerous pins, extremely painful.
As for his opponent, apart from losing his twin hammers, he didn't suffer many injuries.
All of this indicated that he lost, thoroughly.
He struggled to stand up from the ground and he forcefully endured the pain through his whole body and he returned the long sword into the sheath. He wanted to say something, but he felt everything go black. His eyes rolled backward, and he passed out on the ground.
"No!" Junior Leopard blinked his eyes. He looked at Li Xiu who fainted on the ground and looked very embarrassed. "Aye, this playboy gives me so much trouble. Damn it, don't tell me you are faking ignorance and not holding up to your deal!"
He could only helplessly carry the fainted Li Xiu back.
"Where is this place?"
Li Xiu slowly opened his eyes. He only felt that there was pain and numbness all over his body. His eyes were bloodshot, and his mouth was dry. However, he forcefully endured his thirst and weakly asked.
Without hearing a reply, a warm bowl was put to his lips.
"Gulp, gulp!"
Li Xiu instinctively opened his mouth and began drinking. He had never thought that plain water could be so nice to drink. However, he only drank two gulps before that bowl was taken away.
"You just woke up, you should drink less. It is harmful to your body if you drink too much!" A familiar voice appeared beside him. He raised his eyes and saw Junior Leopard sitting on the edge of the bed. He put that bowl of water on the table beside the bed.
"It is you!"
"It is me!" Junior Leopard said, "I say, this is just a sparring match. Is there a need to stake your life? With the value of your life, I don't want to offend Pingzhou's Li Clan!"
Upon hearing Junior Leopard's words, Li Xiu's face became hot. In that last hit, for the sake of winning, he didn't care about using a secret technique to increase his own potential, forcing the Sword Qi that hadn't been compressed into the strongest realm. However, he didn't expect that he would still lose.
"How long have I been unconscious for?" He looked at his surroundings and asked.
"Relax, it is not long. Just a couple of hours!" Junior Leopard said, "In that last hit you hurt your meridians, but it is not serious. You just have to go back and rest for a while!"
"Oh, then, thanks!" Li Xiu looked at Junior Leopard. He didn't know what to say at the moment. His head was hot. He rushed into Junior Leopard's house to issue a challenge. In the end, he was beaten up and nearly died on the spot. Furthermore, he was rescued by him. This was too embarrassing and too awkward. As the Li Young Master, how did he meet with such a situation?
This was a situation he had never expected!
"Hey, don't faint. You should get up. Even though you have hurt your meridians, if you persist, you should be able to move freely. If you don't go back now, are you thinking of staying over at my house?"
"Ah? Oh... Ouch!" Hearing Junior Leopard's words, Li Xiu suddenly sat up. Following that was a loud cry. Obviously, his movements were too big, aggravating his injury.
"Aye, I can't figure it out!" Junior Leopard bowed his head and repeatedly shook, showing an expression of 'I lost to you'. He picked up a suit from the side and shoved it in front of him, "Your clothes are already in tatters. Wear mine first. Next time return it together with the sword!"
"Sword?" Li Xiu raised his head, confused.
"Hey, don't be like this. We bet on this. Don't tell me you want to break your words now?"
This time around, Li Xiu finally remembered and said, "Oh, I didn't mean that. However, now I am in Zhonghe City and not at home, I can only retrieve the sword when I reach home, so..."
"Go back home? How long will it take?" Junior Leopard frowned. He had neglected this point. Previously he only wanted to get a good sword and he had forgotten about this point. Now it was only three months away from that wedding in Yunzhou. That fella wanted to go home to retrieve the sword, but heaven knows how long it would take. Pingzhou was much further than Yunzhou!
"Are you in a hurry?" Seeing Junior Leopard frown, Li Xiu's heart rose. He was the Li Family's Young Master. Even though he was defeated, this was a just and honorable match. Those who were willing to bet had to be satisfied with losing. He didn't wish Junior Leopard to think that he was a person that went back on his promises. Hence he said, "I have a Genuine Weapon with me now. Its quality is extremely good. However it is a bit short, I'm afraid it is not suitable for you!"
"Dagger?"
Junior Leopard's eyes flashed. He thought of the coal dagger of Xue Wuya's. That dagger was very good and practical. However it was Xue Wuya's, so Junior Leopard did not dare to take it out. Hence when he saw Li Xiu and knew that he came from the Li Family, he thus had the idea of getting one from him. He never thought that this fella thought he wanted a sword not a dagger.
"A dagger is fine. However, you have to keep the secret for me. Don't tell anyone. And, if I use it, there shouldn't be anyone being able to see through this sword's background right?"
"Definitely not. This was gifted to me by a senior when I was 10. He passed away last year, no one has seen it. Hence, there won't be anyone seeing through this dagger's background!" speaking until here, Li Xiu's expression became strange, "Why do you have to be so secretive? Are you using the dagger to do bad things?"
"That is none of your business. Why are you asking so much?" Junior Leopard unkindly said.
"I don't think your injury is serious. Go back now. Can you pass me that dagger in two days?"
"No problem, I can pass it to you tomorrow!" Li Xiu said simply. He looked at Junior Leopard and suddenly had some apprehension as he said, "There is a matter that I have to ask!"
"What?"
"Ugh, that, how are my feats and sword techniques?"
"Hum?" Junior Leopard said strangely, "Your feats and sword techniques are not bad. Why are you asking this?"
"Only not bad?" hearing Junior Leopard's words, Li Xiu seemed relieved. However, at the same time his tone carried a sense of disappointment. You knew that people praised him for being a genius once seen every hundred years, his insight into sword techniques reaching the epitome and his future promising, which made him feel extremely good.
However, in Junior Leopard's eyes, they were only not bad. Subconsciously he felt somewhat dejected.
Of course, he wouldn't think that Junior Leopard was belittling himself. Afterall they were about the same age, yet he openly defeated by Junior Leopard. In terms of strength, he had the qualifications to assess him.
"Of course it is not bad!" Junior Leopard saw his dissatisfied look and smiled, "With your age, this should be not bad. I haven't met someone of your age who is so powerful!"
"Aren't you stronger than me?"
"That is because I have the advantage in the usage of weapons! Your fighting experience is not enough. I had deliberately lured you into my tempo. If not, it is difficult to say who would win or lose!" Junior Leopard comforted him. Even though he had 100% confidence that he could smash Li Xiu to death, however, it was okay to say pretty words now.
"Not enough experience?"
"Yes, your battle experience is too little. You held a sword to clash head-on with my hammers. Isn't that looking for trouble? However, you are strong enough to actually use your blade Qi to smash my hammers!" Junior Leopard said.
Upon hearing Junior Leopard's words, Li Xiu looked better.
"This fella's experience is too little. I gave you a hammer first before complimenting you. There shouldn't be any hatred!" Junior Leopard said in his heart, "Who knows how his dagger is, can it be compared to Xue Wuya's coal dagger!"