Facing the sudden incoming energy blast, Hong Fei moved his feet. The cyan stone slab was instantly covered in fine cracks, and after his body flashed through the air, the slab suddenly shattered. Each step was as swift as a galloping horse, yet he maintained stability even while moving at high speed.
Having lived for over a thousand years, Xu Wenwu was broad-minded and experienced. Seeing this, he dared not slacken; he threw punches through the air while observing Hong Fei's movement path. Suddenly, he twisted his fist. After five rings simultaneously charged, they combined their impact into an even larger and more terrifyingly powerful energy blast.
The direction he fired was exactly where Hong Fei was accelerating toward during the gaps in his rapid dodging and maneuvering. An excellent and precise prediction.
In an instant, golden light erupted beneath Hong Fei's feet. With the Dragon Power infusing his body, his rapid momentum came to a sudden, complete halt in a split second.
The massive deep blue energy ball grazed his ear and flew past, immediately blasting a large hole into the wall behind him.
Their eyes met, and both saw surprise in the other's gaze. Xu Wenwu had considered that Hong Fei would dodge, but he hadn't expected him to do so in such a direct and simple way. Hong Fei, on the other hand, hadn't expected Xu Wenwu's dynamic vision to be so exaggerated.
His speed just now had been truly fast; most people wouldn't even be able to see it clearly, and even if they did, their physical reactions wouldn't be able to keep up with their visual and neural feedback.
A good opponent.
Hong Fei no longer charged forward. After standing still, he clenched his fists, and golden energy suddenly surged.
Starting from his knuckles, a point of golden-red color quickly lit up on his skin, and then, like ink dropped into water, it rapidly spread in all directions. In the blink of an eye, both fists turned completely golden-red.
The boundary did not stop, but climbed firmly up his arms step by step. Wherever it passed, his clothes were like paper rapidly burning and spreading after being touched by high-temperature sparks; there were no obvious flames, but there was already an aura of destruction.
Both sleeves were quickly burned away, revealing the golden-tinged red flesh and bone beneath. However, this time it was not limited to his fists. After the Dragon Power reached his shoulders, it simultaneously converged into his chest, and obvious burn marks appeared on his clothes.
Two streams of energy extended inward from left and right. After converging, they erupted in a very small area, creating a dazzling explosive scene.
When the golden light slightly subsided, his upper clothing had been completely burned away, and in the center of his chest, a golden dragon head mark appeared. It had no wings, no short, thick body; its image was exactly the same as the divine dragon Hong Fei had once manifested. However, it was only the dragon's head, not its body.
The dragon horns reached toward the sky, its eyes were extremely majestic, and the delicate dragon mane and two dragon whiskers seemed to dance lightly under the cover of the air currents.
Pale golden energy currents steamed up along the contours of his upper body, and the falling snowflakes were sublimated and evaporated by the scorching Dragon Power before they could even touch him.
The Dragon Power and the pale white mist reflected each other, creating a scene of clouds and rosy mist.
Dragon Power Fusion Rate: 24.77%
Compared to when the Battle of New York ended, in about half a year of diligent training day and night, the increase was 2.63%. Although the progress was very obvious, Hong Fei was still not satisfied.
Because if he kept following this pace, he could only improve by about 5% in a year, and to reach 100% fusion, it would take another 15 years! Moreover, the Dragon Power Hong Fei possessed was only a part of it. By 2027, Thanos's bones would have been cold for many years!
Back to the matter at hand. Xu Wenwu observed the whole process. As the Dragon Power rose, his pupils vibrated slightly, and three furrows gradually gathered between his brows.
Hong Fei looked up: "Are you ready?"
How could Xu Wenwu be careless? He stepped forward, his arms retracting and swinging, one in front and one behind.
The azure Ten Rings seemed to be humming softly, and the flowing blue light illuminated his angular, serious face, making it appear even more resolute.
After a pause of one breath, both sides tacitly made their move at the same time.
At the beginning, both seemed to have grasped the other's psychology, throwing punches at each other through the air.
In an instant, blue and golden energy balls whistled through the air. Upon meeting, they suddenly burst, and the sparks of two colors fell to the ground with a sizzling sound, like gorgeous fireworks.
In the blink of an eye, both had already thrown dozens of punches, and at the same time, the distance between them was quietly closing.
Within three feet, Xu Wenwu changed his offensive, his right fist striking toward Hong Fei's chest with mighty, righteous force. Hong Fei suddenly raised his left hand, turning his fist into a palm, and his wrist swung upward simultaneously. While blocking, he took a step to the right rear.
His left hand was originally palm inward; upon contacting Xu Wenwu's arm, his fingers turned with the momentum, and with a light flip of his palm, he directly grabbed his forearm. At this moment, their bodies crossed, and their eyes met briefly.
The next instant, Hong Fei's right hand also pressed onto his elbow, and with both arms pulling with the force, Xu Wenwu was immediately thrown out by his own momentum. Seeing he was about to hit the ground, Xu Wenwu slapped the ground with one palm. A circle of blue light rippled out, and his body flipped in the air with the reaction force, finally landing steadily.
After standing still, he suddenly steadied himself and asked: "What is your relationship with Ta Lo?"
"I know what you are thinking, but in reality, there is no relationship. It's not only people from Ta Lo who know this."
Hong Fei stepped forward in a bow stance, his upper body straight as a spear, shoulders sunk.
His right hand arched to the right, turning into a hook hand, while his left hand turned outward and pushed forward, his arms stretched out front and back like long whips. At the same time, the omnipresent Qi followed his movements, swirling the accumulated snow around him into an exquisite circle.
The Dragon Power diligently transformed into special effects, and two divine dragons with illusory shapes and contrasting colors swam and intertwined behind him in one direction.
Watching his movements, Xu Wenwu had a moment of distraction in his eyes. It was as if he had returned to many years ago. That day, he went to Ta Lo for the first time.
After finally passing through that group of strange, dense bamboo forests, he thought Ta Lo was right in front of him, but what he saw instead was a scene by a pond with a completely different landscape. A waterfall splashed down into a pond. By the pond were shrubs and flowers, but even more vibrant was an extremely thick, verdant tree.
On the rock under the tree stood a figure with their back to him. Yingli. Xu Wenwu's wife, the one who made him willing to give up the Ten Rings he had worn for a thousand years since he obtained them. If it weren't for her, Killian might have already been dead before he even had a chance to trouble Tony.
Their first meetings had been violent affairs — Xu Wenwu clashing with Yingli, suffering defeat after defeat until admiration quietly took root. Their love story was written in bruises and broken bones. The martial arts Yingli wielded back then mirrored Hong Fei's movements now with eerie precision. But those who left Ta Lo forfeited the Guardian White Dragon's blessing, leaving only hollow techniques behind.
When Xu Wenwu's old enemies came calling — while he'd abandoned the Ten Rings to play househusband fetching groceries — Yingli fought with skill but no divine power. It cost her life.
"Your eyes give you away," Hong Fei observed. "You're thinking of your wife."
"Yet here you stand before me, while your heart lingers with a dead woman."
Hong Fei's taunt masked genuine testing. If he unleashed full power now, Xu Wenwu wouldn't last ten seconds. But where was the sport in that?
Hong Fei's hand snapped up, fingers curling into a claw. Golden light spiraled into threads that lashed around Xu Wenwu's arm — Dragon-Capturing Hand! The technique came with a thunderous draconic roar and irresistible force.
Xu Wenwu jerked awake from his memories. He wrenched the trapped arm toward his chest while the other hand slapped the ground. Five rings detached with a chime, their azure glow forming chains that anchored him as the golden threads pulled taut.
The stalemate lasted mere heartbeats before Hong Fei twisted his wrist. Xu Wenwu's body spun sideways — then abruptly reversed momentum as the grounded rings retracted. His free arm whipped forward, the detached rings reforming into a crackling blue lash aimed at Hong Fei's throat.
Hong Fei sidestepped. Xu Wenwu seized the opening to shake off the golden bindings. The remaining five rings joined the whip, doubling its radiance and power. He swung the reunited Ten Rings in a devastating arc.
Cyan paving stones exploded under the barrage. Shrapnel forced encircling Ten Rings operatives to scramble back. Hong Fei abandoned his Dragon-Capturing stance — instead, his hands blazed gold-red as they shot toward the whipping blue energy.
Death's Eyes granted perfect clarity. Through the blinding light, his fingers closed around two rings. Dragon Power surged through Hong Fei's body, muscles swelling as he roared and wrenched outward.
The sound of rending metal filled the square. Two rings tore free from the azure whip. Xu Wenwu's face flushed as he jerked back his hands — the remaining eight rings flew home to his arms.
The stolen rings dulled momentarily in Hong Fei's grip before his Dragon Power reignited them. Pure gold light erupted as they resized themselves to fit his wrists like they'd always belonged there.
Clenching his fists, the golden light on the rings shone brighter than Ta Lo's noonday sun. Power thrummed through Hong Fei's veins — a tangible upgrade. Across from him, Xu Wenwu's frown deepened. None of this made sense.
Without explanation, Hong Fei flipped his palms. The two rings launched themselves back toward their original master like homing missiles.
Xu Wenwu crossed his arms defensively as the attack landed. Twin metallic clangs reverberated through the air. Though his eight rings absorbed the impact, the sheer force still sent him skidding backward, boots carving trenches through the stone floor. When he finally caught his footing, Hong Fei stood before him, already poised for another strike.
Hong Fei's muscles coiled like drawn bowstrings, both rings now clenched in one fist. His knuckles became a weapon descending with lethal precision. Xu Wenwu barely raised his hands in time. A visible shockwave erupted outward, shattering the cyan stone beneath them into spiderweb fractures. The crushing weight of the blow forced Xu Wenwu's knees to buckle, yet his reflexes remained razor-sharp.
He rolled with the momentum, tucking into a backward somersault. Rising fluidly, he flicked his wrists — the eight rings realigned midair, forming parallel arcs that shot toward Hong Fei's face like guided missiles. But Hong Fei anticipated the counterattack, jerking his head aside before the rings could find their mark. With a deft twist of his fingers, Xu Wenwu recalled the whirling bands.
Both combatants now wore four rings on each fist. The momentary stalemate lasted only a heartbeat. Hong Fei's body erupted with blue energy, the crackling aura denser than ever before. He didn't dodge or feint — just drove forward with a haymaker punch that warped the air itself. Snowflakes vaporized in the wake of his knuckles as space itself seemed to fracture.
In an instant, the explosive light effects invaded everyone's vision, followed by a concussive boom that rattled teeth. Xu Wenwu hurtled backward like a ragdoll until his spine cratered the wall. Fractures radiated outward from the point of impact as dust rained from the ceiling. Hong Fei stood immovable, fist still extended, not a single step surrendered.