Chapter Fifty-Two: Reunion with an Old Friend

After about five minutes, the space in the distance flickered, and finally a bare-chested man was teleported over. Although he was shirtless, his physique was quite ordinary, far below the standards of the bloodline wizard, and noticeably thinner than Qi Xiao. The audience sighed in disappointment; at this moment, they most hoped a muscular brute would come to tear this brat apart. Qi Xiao, however, focused intently on the man before him. Any opponent he could match with now would not be simple—muscles alone did not determine a wizard’s strength or power.

As the countdown ended, the spot where the frail man stood was left with only a shadow. In an instant, he closed the distance, now only ten meters from Qi Xiao, and continued to approach rapidly. His lips parted slightly, uttering a simple syllable. Yet the slender man was only affected for a moment before he resumed his charge, fists swinging. Clearly, the Command: Cowardice had little effect on him. But that brief moment was enough; Qi Xiao’s figure flickered, instantly moving away from the frail man, rendering his advance futile. Immediately, Qi Xiao began to chant on the spot.

The thin man narrowed his eyes, finding himself in a predicament. His forte was swift assault, but space wizards excelled at keeping distance. As Qi Xiao’s chant ended, a fire serpent flicked its tongue and lunged at the frail man. Then, anticipating his possible evasive moves, Qi Xiao unleashed five missiles at those points. The frail man bent his body in a way that defied human anatomy, dodging every attack. Two of the missiles, enhanced by Qi Xiao, had tracking capabilities and turned back toward the frail man, only to be extinguished by a burst of fist energy.

Watching the frail man keep a defensive posture, Qi Xiao realized he had likely switched tactics, aiming for a battle of attrition. Against a conventional space wizard, this was not a bad strategy—space magic was agile, powerful, but costly. However… using this approach against Qi Xiao was wishful thinking, for he was not just a space wizard, but also an alchemist.

He drew his elemental pistol, prompting an outcry from the audience, while the frail man appeared puzzled.

But as three bullets shot forth, the man instantly understood the audience’s reaction. He had intended to rely on his agile body to deal with the strange weapon, but as he twisted away, the flaming bullet exploded when it brushed by, detonating the two lightning-infused bullets as well. In a flash, he was hurled several meters onto the sandy ground, electric arcs flickering over his skin, his body trembling.

Qi Xiao knew well the maxim: strike while the iron is hot. If there were any real danger, the referee would intervene. Besides, despite his frail appearance, the man was probably from the Overlord Fist Gym, with excellent physical resilience. Two bullets, coated in frost, flew across the sand. The frail man slammed his fist into the ground, raising a cloud of dust.

Qi Xiao constantly released mental probes, having long since locked onto the frail man. Sensing his rapid approach, Qi Xiao raised his hand and erected a shield in the direction of attack.

“Dust of the Shield.”

A shield, nearly identical to the one Avril had used before, rose in earthy tones. The frail man struck it with his fist, feeling a numbing recoil in his arm. His expression finally lost composure. His sneak attack had been anticipated; retreat was now impossible, so he had to fight to the end.

The frail man’s face hardened. He transformed his fist into a palm, his calloused and scarred right hand glowing dark red, and with a knife-hand chop shattered the shield, its momentum carrying the attack toward Qi Xiao.

Unfazed, Qi Xiao’s figure flickered and appeared twenty meters behind. Yet the frail youth seemed to have anticipated this, withdrawing his knife-hand at the moment Qi Xiao vanished and charging directly toward Qi Xiao’s new location.

His left hand enveloped in a massive fist shadow, the frail man saw Qi Xiao smiling at him, and his heart sank. Sure enough, another shield shimmered before Qi Xiao like starlight. Not only did his full-strength blow fail to break it, it didn’t even leave a mark.

Sighing, the frail man knew this was his last chance; after this, victory was impossible. He conceded defeat.

Only after the match did Qi Xiao glance at the screen. The frail youth’s codename was the Infinite Fist Master. He hadn’t seemed so dramatic during the fight… With a complex expression, Qi Xiao gave the youth an encouraging look as he vanished into the teleportation light, unsure if his encouragement had been received.

Qi Xiao felt somewhat tired and decided to fight one more match before returning to the island.

The audience had quieted considerably, much like the library. They probably hadn’t realized that the shield Qi Xiao used at the end was still an alchemical device, and of excellent quality.

Qi Xiao had other solutions, of course. The frail man, knowing Qi Xiao could teleport, must have had contingency plans; Qi Xiao had anticipated this, using the match as a test of the strength of the Star-Moon Guardian. The results were very satisfying. He had only used the Star Sparse shield, yet its hardness was enough to withstand third-level spells without faltering.

Surprisingly, the final opponent was matched quickly—less than a minute—and teleported in. Qi Xiao knew him well.

“Little Bai!”

Their initial positions were far apart; his shout likely went unheard, so Qi Xiao waved to catch his attention.

Although Little Bai’s eyes were bound with bandages, his vision surpassed most wizards and was unaffected by sandstorms. Naturally, he recognized Qi Xiao, forming a smile with his bandages in the air.

Knowing Little Bai could see him, Qi Xiao returned the smile. But as the match began, both became serious, with no intention of holding back.

Though meetings had been rare since joining the organization, Qi Xiao kept in touch via letters with several friends from the recruitment tournament, and knew Little Bai practiced the mysterious art of summoning. Thus, he gave her no preparation time; as soon as the countdown hit zero, he teleported in front of Little Bai and shouted:

“Command: Cowardice.”

Little Bai was instantly stunned where she stood, but the bandages on her wrists coiled like serpents, seemingly ready to spring and hunt at any moment. Beneath the bandages, more layers were wrapped—no one knew how many. This was related to her talent and experience, so Qi Xiao had never asked. He knew these bandages were troublesome, and used Fire Serpent as a probe, since bandages were most vulnerable to flame.

The fire serpent was about to bite Little Bai, but the bandages overcame their aversion, hunting like pythons and wrapping the fire serpent layer by layer like a mummy, until it was completely enveloped and vanished.