Chapter 174: Echo Duel
Jiang Ruoxue's smile vanished instantly, for there was a fundamental difference between an "accidental touch" and "deliberate caress."
This man gave her a very strange feeling.
Qi Xia keenly noticed the odd atmosphere between Dr. Zhao and Jiang Ruoxue. He exchanged a glance with Dr. Zhao, nodded slightly, and walked toward Old Sun before him.
"Bro, I really don't want to touch you. Won't you reconsider?"
"No." Qi Xia said coldly. "Since you won't listen to reason, I'll just have to use force."
The moment he finished speaking, before Old Sun could react, Qi Xia took a sudden step forward and spun to throw a punch.
Old Sun was startled for a moment and instinctively swung the stone rod in his hand toward Qi Xia's head.
Logically, anyone should have raised their arms to protect their head at that moment, because even if they hit their opponent, they would certainly be injured themselves.
But Qi Xia didn't dodge. He took the blow directly on his crown.
Strangely enough, the stone rod in Old Sun's hand seemed to be made of sand. The instant it touched Qi Xia's crown, it disintegrated like foam into countless fragments.
"Huh?"
Before Old Sun could express his shock, his chin took a solid punch.
The blow was heavy and precise. His vision went dark, and he instantly lost his balance.
He slowly fell backward and ended up sitting on a rock.
The rock was like a seat, catching him perfectly.
Qi Xia frowned. He felt that the large rock had been placed there from the beginning, but that couldn't be right.
This was the middle of the road. How could a big rock be here without him noticing?
The next moment, the rock suddenly changed. It crumbled into sand as if eaten by termites, and Old Sun finally fell.
But just as he was about to hit the ground, the sand solidified back into rock, only to turn to sand again.
Seeing him finally on the ground, Dr. Zhao let out a long sigh.
Qi Xia felt like he might be losing his mind.
What was all this...?
An "Echo" duel?
Seeing Old Sun knocked down by Qi Xia's punch, Xiaoxiao's expression changed.
"Interesting..." She walked forward slowly, her muscles gleaming like gemstones under the dark red sky. "Qi Xia, looks like you've had some training."
"I'm just improvising. Your friend underestimated me." Qi Xia shook his right hand, but a cold sweat was already trickling down his forehead.
He knew how terrifying this woman was.
She possessed immense physical strength and an Echo called "Imputation." Any damage inflicted on her could potentially be transferred to someone else.
If he threw a punch, even if he hurt Xiaoxiao, he might be the one to fall.
So... how was he supposed to fight?
But Xiaoxiao seemed completely unconcerned. She clenched her fists and charged at him.
Qi Xia's face tightened. He tried the same tactic, setting up his stance and throwing a punch at her face.
But his punch was far slower than Xiaoxiao's. In just a split second, she struck him in the chest.
The punch was as hard as iron.
"Ugh!"
Qi Xia was knocked to the ground. For a full ten seconds, he couldn't breathe. The feeling was unbearable.
Against an unarmed enemy like this, Dr. Zhao's Echo, which destroyed the surrounding environment, was useless.
"Old Sun, tie him up," Xiaoxiao said. "He must become one of the Extreme Path."
"Cough... alright..." Old Sun slowly stood up, apparently unharmed. "I really didn't expect this kid to have such technique. I'll have to be more careful next time."
Just as Old Sun approached Qi Xia with a vine, a deep voice rang out not far away.
"Damn, you're really cocky..."
Everyone froze and looked toward the source of the voice. A burly man nearly two meters tall walked slowly toward them, followed by two women.
Qi Xia, lying on the ground, turned his head with difficulty and instantly felt much more at ease.
"Zhang Shan... Aunt Tong... and... Yunyao?"
"Damn. Who are you three? Trying to kidnap someone from our Gate of Heaven?" Zhang Shan walked slowly toward Xiaoxiao, his expression unusually cold.
There was quite a bit of blood on his clothes. He must have just participated in some game.
Xiaoxiao felt a bad premonition.
The last time she saw this man, he didn't have an Echo, but he had killed a bear with his bare hands.
Zhang Shan looked Xiaoxiao up and down and couldn't help but smirk. "Nice muscles. And you use them for such dirty work?"
Xiaoxiao was intimidated by Zhang Shan's presence and couldn't say a word.
Meanwhile, Yunyao also saw a familiar face. To be honest, it was one she'd rather not see.
"Hey, Yunyao." Jiang Ruoxue smiled and waved.
"Don't 'hey' me. I don't want to talk to my ex." Yunyao looked away coldly. "What exactly are you doing? Kidnapping isn't the Extreme Path's style."
Dr. Zhao helped Qi Xia up, and the two slowly moved toward Zhang Shan and the others.
"Kid, are you okay?" Aunt Tong stepped forward to support Qi Xia.
"I'm fine." Qi Xia waved his hand.
Jiang Ruoxue continued to smile at Yunyao. "Kidnapping isn't the Extreme Path's style? Then tell me, what is our style?"
"I won't say." Yunyao said with obvious displeasure. "You deceptive, manipulative woman... I don't want to talk to you."
"Haha!" Jiang Ruoxue laughed at Yunyao's words. "Little Yun, you're still so cute. Maybe I shouldn't have dumped you."
"Please get it straight. I dumped you after I found out who you really were." Yunyao gave the three before her a cold look. "I suggest you stop now. If the six of us really fight, you know the consequences."
Old Sun tugged at Xiaoxiao from behind and whispered, "Who is this big guy? Have we fought him before?"
"Yes..." Xiaoxiao answered softly. "If he's gotten an Echo this time, we might be finished here..."
"All three are Echoers?" Old Sun asked again.
"Yes. Top-notch fighters." Xiaoxiao took a step back. The situation was tricky, but she really didn't want to give up on Qi Xia.
Aunt Tong smiled and spoke, "Children, since you've been blessed by the 'Mother Goddess,' why do you use it to do wrong?"
"Wrong?" Xiaoxiao snorted coldly. "Why is what you do right and what we do wrong?"
"Get lost." Zhang Shan waved his hand. "I'll let this slide today. But if you try to kidnap someone again, I won't be so kind."
Seeing Zhang Shan's attitude, Xiaoxiao hesitated.
If this man had truly obtained an Echo, why would he be so polite?
Was he bluffing?
But bluffing was sometimes a tactic. She couldn't let her guard down.
"Zhang Shan..." Xiaoxiao called out. "How about we make a bet?"
Zhang Shan and Yunyao exchanged a look. "What do you want?"
"We're the Extreme Path. We can't just give up like this." Xiaoxiao said. "But we really want Qi Xia to join us. How about we settle it with a game?"
"A game?"
"I know an 'Earth'-level game where we can fight. Let's decide things there. What do you say?"