Chapter 111: The Final Resistance
“Yes, you have never heard of it before, but I can personally instruct you.”
“As for the Vermilion Bird Academy, you need not worry. So long as you agree to serve under me, you may study there in peace.”
Xia Ming continued, still full of self-importance.
“Even those from the imperial city may not necessarily get such an opportunity. I can understand why you are so excited.”
“By your logic, I should be grateful to the point of tears, then?”
Li Jiansan’s tone was mocking. Even someone as dense as Xia Ming could hear the faintly strange edge in his words.
“Isn’t that so?”
Xia Ming’s smile dimmed slightly, and his expression changed as well.
Lin Feng’s face darkened. How had a man so arrogant and overbearing survived until now?
“You want me to be your underling? That is beyond ridiculous.”
Li Jiansan thrust out a palm, and a huge boulder beside them instantly shattered.
At the sight, Xia Ming pondered for a moment, then smiled again.
“I was careless just now. With your strength, it would indeed be beneath you to serve under me. How about this: I’ll make friends with you now. In the future, you can do things for me, and I can also share some of my cultivation resources with you. What do you say?”
His smile once again carried that familiar air of superiority and confidence.
Such an opportunity was something others could only dream of. He was certain Li Jiansan would never refuse.
A teasing smile appeared on Li Jiansan’s face. “Make friends with me? Are you worthy?”
After Li Jiansan spoke, Xia Ming’s face turned extremely ugly. He stared at Li Jiansan in shock.
He had never imagined that Li Jiansan would not only reject him, but also mock him to his face.
He had already compromised so much, and yet this country bumpkin from some backwater place dared...
Dared to refuse him, and even sneer at him. He was simply, simply courting death!
Xia Ming’s expression suddenly darkened. “Brat, since you don’t know what’s good for you, I hope you won’t regret it later!”
With that, Xia Ming turned and was about to leave.
Li Jiansan said coldly, “Did I say you could go?”
Xia Ming stopped. “What now? What more do you want?”
“You sent people to kill me before, and now you think you can just walk away? Isn’t that a little too naive?”
Xia Ming suddenly burst into laughter. “What, are you saying you still want to fight me?”
“I admit, you do have a bit of ability. But compared with me, you are still far off!”
“Too much nonsense.”
To Xia Ming’s surprise, Li Jiansan attacked him directly without the slightest hesitation, sending a fierce and merciless strike straight at him.
Xia Ming’s pupils contracted sharply. He had not expected Li Jiansan to dare strike at him outright.
A thunderous blast rang out. Violent force, carrying a whirlwind of sword energy, roared forth like it meant to destroy everything.
In his moment of distraction, a piece of Xia Ming’s clothing was actually torn away by Li Jiansan.
Xia Ming’s face grew even darker. “You... you dare wound me!”
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His expression grim, Xia Ming stamped his foot. The ground around him shattered in every direction.
At the same time, a terrifying aura burst from his body, surging outward like a tidal wave in all directions and stirring up a violent gale around them.
Xia Ming said in a gloomy voice, “Brat, I’ll make you die!”
Fully unleashing his aura, Xia Ming’s cultivation had actually reached the fourth level of Foundation Establishment.
Li Jiansan smiled faintly. “Fourth level of Foundation Establishment? Is that the capital you are so proud of?”
“Killing you is already more than enough!”
As soon as Xia Ming finished speaking, he sprang into the air and slammed his body brutally toward Li Jiansan.
“You want to kill me? You don’t have that ability.”
Li Jiansan met him head-on with a thunderous punch.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Their fists collided, and waves of shock swept outward in all directions, instantly kicking up clouds of dust and flying stone.
After taking Li Jiansan’s blow, Xia Ming’s expression also turned grave.
“How can this brat possess such strength? He can actually withstand me for so long...”
He was clearly surprised by Li Jiansan’s power.
One must know that he was born with tremendous strength. Among martial artists of the same rank, few could match him in pure force. Even some higher-level cultivators would avoid him three streets wide when it came to strength.
And yet now, Li Jiansan possessed power on par with his own.
How could a country bumpkin from some remote place wield such terrifying strength?
“Get lost!”
But Xia Ming’s expression shifted. He suddenly increased the strength in his hand, trying to drive Li Jiansan back.
However, Li Jiansan stood there like a towering mountain, steady and immovable. Xia Ming could not shake him in the slightest.
“Go, go, get lost!”
Xia Ming kept pouring more strength into his hand, but in the end he could not hold on and was blasted backward by Li Jiansan.
After staggering back several steps, Xia Ming tucked his numb arm behind his back and stared at Li Jiansan in shock.
“With this level of strength, you still think you can instruct me in cultivation?”
Li Jiansan looked at Xia Ming, his voice rich with ridicule.
Xia Ming could not refute him. Shame burned through him.
“Brat, I underestimated you before. You do have some skill. How about this: I can introduce you to the Vermilion Bird Academy in the imperial city. You can follow by my side and serve under me, and you may also cultivate at the academy. Of course, when I have time, I can guide your training.”
After saying this, Xia Ming suddenly recalled the words he had spoken before, and even he found them laughable.
“You want me to befriend you? What exactly do you think qualifies you? Your natural sense of superiority, or that arrogant, insufferable attitude of looking down on everyone?”
Li Jiansan did not stop. He kept speaking, making sure Xia Ming understood just how ridiculous his earlier arrogance had been.
Xia Ming’s face burned as though he had been slapped repeatedly across the face, yet he had no reason to strike back.
“Shut up, shut up! Brat, shut your mouth!”
Xia Ming said with a savage expression. By now, he was already furious to the extreme.
“Shadow of Gods and Demons!”
With a loud shout, Xia Ming’s power suddenly surged.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
His strength erupted from his body like a bursting mountain torrent.
Buzz...
The power he unleashed rapidly condensed in the void into a shadowy form of gods and demons. It burst forth with an incomparably dazzling golden radiance, instantly robbing the surrounding world of all color.
Moreover, that phantom seemed to carry the aura of the ancient primordial age, and upon it lay an appalling pressure.
As Li Jiansan watched Xia Ming’s technique, he could not help growing curious.
The technique this fellow was using...
Even though he had already witnessed it before, he could not help but feel deeply intrigued now, as if seeing it for the first time.
What kind of martial art was this?
Within that power, there seemed to be something extraordinarily unusual...
Seeing Li Jiansan momentarily stunned, Xia Ming said coldly, “Brat, are you finally afraid?”
“It’s already too late. You have no chance of surviving.”
“Being killed beneath this technique is an honor for you.”
Boom!
Like a divine being, Xia Ming lifted a hand, and that terrifying shadow of gods and demons immediately carried an unmatched and horrifying force as it crashed down upon Li Jiansan...