They just needed to wait for their man to speak. This magical duel was a no-win situation!
"Who goes first, you or ?" a Monk standing beside Yuan Daozi asked. He was the one set to compete against Xia Liang in the art of healing.
Xia Liang glanced at the Monk, then at the boy in the wheelchair. He chuckled and stepped forward. "Let's not waste ti. I'll go."
With that, Xia Liang slowly approached the Zhou family's son and began sizing him up, his expression unreadable.
In the distance, Yuan Daozi exchanged a look with District Head Zhou. They both smirked and nodded. Even if you have so way to make a cripple walk, it won't work here. After all, we've already made our arrangents. No matter what you say or do, the Zhou family's boy will not stand up! You can't win this magical duel!
anwhile, as he observed the Zhou family's son, Xia Liang slowly opened a transparent box from his pocket. He then patted the boy's shoulder, and while he was distracted, Xia Liang placed the box's contents on him.
From afar, Yuan Daozi and his n couldn't resist speaking up. "Have you looked long enough? If you can't heal him, you can't heal him. Stop wasting everyone's ti!"
Yuan Daozi and the others began to laugh.
Xia Liang slowly backed away from the boy, watching him with a faint smile from a short distance. Seeing that Xia Liang was about to make his move, the surrounding guests grew excited, their eyes fixed on the two. Only Yuan Daozi and his group looked on with smug confidence.
Looking at the Zhou family's son in the wheelchair, Xia Liang spoke slowly.
"Get up!"
His words echoed through the backyard. The eyes of the other guests filled with nervous anticipation. They had all heard the rumors of how Xia Liang had pulled Old Master Fang back from the Ghost Gate with a single sentence. They also knew that just one sentence from him had allowed Old Li to walk again. Now, for the first ti, they were about to witness it in person.
But after a few seconds, the boy in the wheelchair still showed no response. In fact, his expression seed even more dejected than before.
Seeing this, Xia Liang chuckled softly. "Let the ridians circulate a bit longer."
"You could let them circulate for a year and the Zhou family's boy still wouldn't be able to stand," Yuan Daozi laughed heartily. He knew the boy would never stand up unless one of their people perford a spell. "It seems the so-called Master Xia is just a charlatan. Let us handle this." After today, there will be no place left for Xia Liang in Jinling. Opposing our Daoist Association is a death sentence.
The Monk from the Daoist Association smiled and walked toward the Zhou family's son, preparing to cast his spell. He and Yuan Daozi exchanged a knowing glance. Doubt and suspicion began to flicker in the eyes of the other guests.
Only Xia Liang maintained his faint smile. He spoke to the boy again. "Kid, take a look at your shoulder. What's on it?"
Hearing this, the boy instinctively turned his head to look. He glanced over casually, only to see a spider half the size of his palm perched on his shoulder!
This was soone who was terrified of spiders, so much so that he'd flee at the re sight of one from a distance. The sudden sight of such a large spider on his own shoulder made him shriek in terror. He leaped three ters into the air and scrambled more than ten ters away.
Only when he realized the spider was gone did he breathe a sigh of relief.
But then a thought struck him, and he turned to look back at the crowd. Yuan Daozi's face was ashen as he stared, and the mbers of the Daoist Association around him were also gaping in disbelief.
Only Xia Liang clicked his tongue and addressed District Head Zhou with a clasped-fist gesture. "Congratulations. Your son has recovered from his serious illness and will no longer need a wheelchair."
"Th-thank you," District Head Zhou forced out through gritted teeth, unable to show any of his true dissatisfaction.
The other guests, as if they had just witnessed a miracle, sward forward to offer their congratulations.
"It truly is Master Xia! With just one sentence, a man disabled for three years can run so fast! It happened so quickly I couldn't even see it!"
"Indeed, Master Xia is truly extraordinary."
Watching Xia Liang, who still wore a slight smile, Yuan Daozi clenched his fists in hatred and shot District Head Zhou a venomous look. He had never imagined that a single spider would completely derail their plan. And yet, he couldn't very well announce that the Zhou family's son had never been crippled in the first place. All he could do was grind his teeth and swallow his fury.
"Master Xia, you certainly have your thods," Yuan Daozi said, his voice strained.
"You flatter ," Xia Liang replied, struggling to suppress his laughter. The sight of Yuan Daozi, pale with suppressed rage and unable to speak his mind, was simply too amusing.
Earlier, Xia Liang had learned through the System that the Zhou family's son was terrified of spiders, so he had prepared accordingly. He just hadn't expected the results to be quite this spectacular.
After a few monts of silent laughter, Xia Liang's expression turned serious. The fun and gas were over; it was ti for real business.
Yuan Daozi's face had turned completely glacial. He stared at Xia Liang and said coldly, "These gas are aningless. For the final round, how about you and I have a proper duel?"
"Alright," Xia Liang nodded with a smile. "I wonder what Daoist Yuan would like to propose for the duel?"
"For this round, we will use our lives as the wager. A duel to the death!"
"Fine."
Seeing Xia Liang agree so readily, Yuan Daozi let out a cold sneer. I've relied on this ultimate technique throughout my many years of travel. Competing with ... you're asking to die!
"Are you both certain?" soone in the crowd asked nervously. "This could lead to a fatality."
"Let's begin," Xia Liang said with a calm smile.
"Enough talk! Light it!" Yuan Daozi bellowed.
A flathrower ignited a ring of gasoline drawn around them.
BOOM!
A wall of fire erupted, instantly encircling Xia Liang and Yuan Daozi. The flas ford a large rectangle, divided in the middle by another wall of fire, leaving the two n standing in separate, unburned clearings. Though neither was in direct contact with the fire, the temperature inside the enclosure soared wildly.
Yet Yuan Daozi seed to feel nothing at all.
Outside the ring of fire, the guests watched with bated breath.
"I've long heard that Daoist Yuan is impervious to fire and water. I'm already struggling with the heat from this distance, yet they seem completely unaffected."
"The last ti Daoist Yuan signed a life-and-death contract to fight in the flas was ten years ago, wasn't it?"
"I never thought I'd get to witness such a spectacle with my own eyes!"
This trial by fire was Yuan Daozi's signature technique, the very move that had made him famous. In a fire circle reaching several hundred degrees, the two would compete to see who could last the longest. The survivor was the winner. In past magical duels, Yuan Daozi had used this very move to eliminate countless rivals. Having lost the previous contests against Xia Liang, he had no choice but to go all in. As long as Xia Liang was human, he couldn't possibly win.
On the surface, both n were trapped in the flas, but Yuan Daozi had made countless preparations. The patch of grass where he stood concealed an iron plate whose temperature could be adjusted. It was normally unnoticeable, but in a trial by fire, it beca crucial. Cold air would blow from its periter, creating a barrier against the intense heat. Coupled with his clothing, which was made from top-tier heat-resistant materials, he could remain in the inferno for hours. A pig thrown in there would be cooked through. He refused to believe Xia Liang could erge unscathed.
Yuan Daozi sneered. "No normal person could survive ten minutes in this fire," he muttered. "Kid, you brought this on yourself!" The corners of his mouth curled up uncontrollably as he pictured Xia Liang, unable to bear the heat any longer, stumbling into the flas to be burned alive.
And it seed events were unfolding just as he had envisioned.
Only a few minutes had passed before Xia Liang, who had been sitting on the ground, got to his feet.
"The kid can't take it anymore! And he had the gall to accept this life-or-death duel!" Wang Daoyuan scoffed from outside the flas.
The other guests grew tense.
And indeed, Xia Liang slowly began to walk toward the wall of fire that separated the two n.
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