27 Alchemy VS Magic
"Senior Han what are you doing here, aren't you suppose to be cultivating right now?" You can hear anger in the bald guy's voice. It just that the words came out still sound polite. He just did not dare to challenge this guy right away.
"I got bored and I am not one to stay silent seeing someone got bullied." His voice is calm as ever, but this time there is some sort of authority in it.
"We just playing around here, no one bullying anybody. Isn't it true?" The question surely directed at the burly man. This time the anger subsided a little bit, in exchange of fear.
"Sure" It is the only answer come out of the burly man and the first word Lu Yan hear from him.
"Two seniors fighting a junior, sounds like bullying to me."
"Alright, how about one on one then. You are not going to interfere if that is the case right? A fair fight."
This bald guy still finding a way to finish his job. He is saying that while signalling the burly guy to step forward. What a persistence guy, but there is no way Han Fu will agree to this. Lu Yan is quite close to Han Fu, so he will protect him from them. Beside there is no way it will be a fair fight.
The difference between each stage of cultivation is much higher than the difference in their levels. A Qi Absorption Cultivator fighting a Body Refining one is certainly unfair. It is just as unfair as a grown up fighting a child.
"Sure, why not." This time Lu Yan's jaw drop hearing Han Fu answer. How can Han Fu think this is a fair fight? Or is he think he has a chance to win? Lu Yan sure know both is near impossible.
"Both of you should know though, that harming fellow disciple of our sect is prohibited. A simple spar is alright, but if you took it too far or hold grudge in the future because of losing. Win or lose there will be no rematch without the sect consent."
So, it is like that. He has to take the beating right now but at least he will be safe for the future. But why? Han Fu can just stop all of this right now. There must be a reason for everything Han Fu done, for now Lu Yan can only try to believe in him.
"Sure, sure. This is the end, there will not be any next time." The grin on his face and his words show what his intentions are. It definitely not a good one for Lu Yan. One thing he can be rest assured though, there will be one on one scenario in front of him. This sleazy bald guy will not dare to interfere.
Before the fight begin, Han Fu throw a bottle and a pill to Lu Yan.
"To make this fight fair, I have to give him these potions as a compensation for you magic. Any of you not agree with my arrangement?"
Potions are often made to enhance physical strength, just as magics are. Lu Yan himself just use some of it to run away, but Han Fu has just opened his eyes once again. Alchemy and magic are both part of cultivation, in short alchemy is just another form of magic.
With powerful potions in his disposal, he should not feel inferior to these goons here. He had what it takes to challenge them from the beginning, even without potions provided by Han Fu. Lu Yan will still respect Han Fu's help though, so he quickly gulps those two potions. Without his help he will die anyway, so he better not showing off with his own potions.
His opponents definitely wanted to show their objection for Han Fu, it just they cannot find the word to counter his logic. There is no surprise with that. The bald guy while chatty, does not look like he is a very clever guy. While the burly man might only know one word of "sure" for all Lu Yan knew from him.
The potions heated up Lu Yan's body, he knows by that time the potion is working. This also means he has to start the fight soon and go offensive. One of the drawbacks of the potions is they have time limit before they wore off. Magic is also dependant on the user stamina, but usually it last longer than potions effect.
Sure, stamina can be refilled with potions and potions can be consumed consecutively. However consuming potions at the battle is not practical, not to mention the application is hard to be calculated. Consecutive use of the same potions will reduce their effectivity, especially if consumed in short times. There are also side effects of overusing them and using multiple potions at once. Some of their ingredients might get dangerous if consumed together.
All of those drawbacks make the using of potions in actual battle rare. Potions are commonly used before the battle start or at the intermission. Having the time to do calculations and planning on potions usage is the key.
In this entire sect there is no one better than Han Fu in doing so.
The first few exchanges tells Lu Yan that their strength and speed approximately are at the same level. Han Fu must have been calculated this. That is the only thing Lu Yan can think off.
Lu Yan using a bend sword against the burly man with his iron gloves. His damaged weapon gave Lu Yan a little disadvantage, but his fighting technique are far superior. In only ten moves this difference already clear. The burly man has already taken two cuts and pushed back so hard by Lu Yan.
At this moment the burly man's body suddenly producing a red glow. A split second of confuse, then Lu Yan realize what is it.
Magic!
One of the potions given by Han Fu make him able to sense the flow of qi that fabricated into magic. Red means fire. Fire means an offensive magic. There is no way Lu Yan can be sure about it, but surely it is always better to be safe than to be sorry.
That quick thinking is how Lu Yan dodge a fireball thrown by his opponent. It is indeed tricky to fight Qi Absorption Cultivator and again he is grateful for Han Fu. Even in this moment Han Fu still able to teach him something important. In the future he must to remember to practice skills to sense magic used by others. Without it he will be helpless against other magic users.
Lu Yan know it will be at a more disadvantageous situation the longer the fights gets. This burly guy is slow casting his magic, with this in mind Lu Yan sped up his attack to make sure he never has the chance to do that.
In this moment Lu Yan realize another thing. It not his eyes that see the red aura before, as he able to see the magic channelling from the bald guy even though he stands behind Lu Yan. The bald guy quickly stopped his channelling when Lu Yan sense another magical aura sparked from Han Fu.
Without his friends help the burly man condition is getting more and more pitiful. Whenever he tries to cast some magic, he will create an opening for Lu Yan to land some attacks. While without any magic he got subdued with Lu Yan's superior techniques.
This guy looks like he is ready to give up any time soon. It is whether his pride or his difficulty to say the word "give up" that holding him back. With his opponent already lost his will to fight, Lu Yan decided to fasten up his attack.
Lu Yan's attack become scarily fast and aggressive. In quick succession the burly man's hair turns red with blood. It just at this moment, something unexpected happen to Lu Yan. His bended sword broke when it met with his opponent's glove.
A dim smile can be seen from the burly man's face, as he finally seen a chance for the first time in their duel. In times like this a great fighter separated from a good one. It is easy to dominate a weaker opponent, but to overcome a sudden disadvantage like this is what truly matters.
Wealth and luck can get your cultivation level progress faster than others. Keeping a calm mind and making a quick decision over an unexpected accident is an ability only a select few can gained. In this crucial moment Lu Yan can see the blade of his sword flying down and an iron glove charging into his face.
Blocking the hit is not an option without a proper weapon, even though most people will opt to do this. Jumping backwards is the easiest solution, rather than dodge a little bit and counterattack. The last option is full of risk, since his opponent will not stop with one punch.
Lu Yan thinking hard and fast until he came up with an idea. As the broken part of his blade fall he kicked it into his opponent. Instead of gone defensive Lu Yan is actually goes into an even more aggressive mode. The broken blade caught the burly man on his thigh and his broken sword dance around the burly man's neck.
Bloods spurting out the man's neck, but Lu Yan just stop his hand before his opponent's life spurted out as well.
"Yield!" Lu Yan decide to draw this match into the clear conclusion.
The burly man's face is pale for the lack of blood and extreme fear from his near-death experience just now. The word yes come out from his mouth is almost cannot be heard, but it filled with relieved. As he finally can find the word he wanted to say all along.
