Chapter 10 - Which of us is the strongest?

A mad rush was happening all over the City of Glory. Dozens of apprentices and members of the Alchemist Association went to every shop and asked every person on the streets if they had even the smallest amount of Purple Grass Herb, willing to pay thousands of coins for just a few grams.

In contrast to all the commotion in the center of the City of Glory, in the fields on the outskirts of the city, the boys in Nie Li and Xiangju's group were running with weights on their backs, making laps all around.

-Ahhh, I can't take it anymore!- Lu Piao said, throwing himself to the ground, out of breath.

-Get up already! Your physique is the best after Xiangju and Nie Li, and you're still carrying half of our weight!- Du Ze said, almost kicking Lu Piao on the ground.

-But why do we have to train so much? My whole body hurts...- Wei Nan also complained, until Zhan Ming answered him.

-Did you forget what Nie Li told us? If we don't train our bodies properly, we could EXPLODE!-

Hearing this, everyone went back to running with even more intensity.

A little away from them, still in the plantation fields, Xiangju and Nie Li looked at each other seriously.

Both assumed battle stances, and with a serious expression, prepared to settle this.

-Are you sure about this, Nie Li?- Xiangju asked, though his voice showed concern, a big smile filled his face.

-It's the perfect time for this!- Nie Li said firmly.

The clash began swiftly.

Xiangju advanced at high speed, leaping towards Nie Li, completely destroying the ground where he stood, raising dust.

The speed of the boy with the scarf was like a bullet, and to anyone watching the fight, Nie Li seemed to be in big trouble.

"Hehe, this was easy!" Xiangju thought, quickly twisting his hip with all his strength and launching a kick that would hit Nie Li's face directly.

FWWSHHH - Nie Li ducked at the last moment, the wind generated by the powerful kick cut the tall grass just behind Nie Li.

-Too slow...- Nie Li whispered, launching a punch with surgical precision towards Xiangju's chest, who was still in the air.

BAM - Xiangju crossed his arms in an X-shape, being thrown at least 5 meters back.

"Damn, he got me on that one!" When the boy with the scarf looked towards Nie Li, the boy had already disappeared from his position. He was right in front of Xiangju, launching a downward kick like an axe chopping a tree trunk.

A dry sound echoed through the field, and the young boys who were running now stopped and started watching the situation.

Xiangju was heading towards the ground, the impact shaking his head so much that he couldn't even stand up. However, even with Nie Li's extremely sharp battle instincts, he hadn't predicted that his enemy would fall attacking.

BUMP - A punch to Nie Li's right flank sent the boy rolling at least 15 meters away, completely dirtying his clothes.

Both were lying on the ground.

In Xiangju and Nie Li's heads, only one thought crossed their minds...

"This guy... Is he trying to kill me?"

Nie Li tried to get up from the ground, but Xiangju's attack nearly broke his ribs, forcing the boy with orange hair to hold his wound to endure the pain a little longer. He could taste the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth.

The boys watched, holding their breaths in anticipation as they saw Xiangju get up from the ground.

His face was covered in mud, his posture looked like that of a zombie, staggering. When he stood up and they could see his face, a thin stream of blood ran down the boy's head, and his expression had a menacing smile.

"Damn." The word crossed everyone's mind as they watched him. Nie Li took a much more serious stance, as it seemed both wanted to end things with the next blow.

Xiangju glanced to his side, spotting a massive rock that dwarfed Nie Li in size. With a single, fluid motion, he gripped the boulder with one hand, veins bulging and muscles straining as he effortlessly hoisted it off the ground, lifting it above his head as if it weighed nothing.

The sight terrified the boys, Xiangju was finally showing the true strength of a 4-star Bronze rank.

The boy with the scarf forcefully threw the large rock towards Nie Li. Despite the rock weighing several hundred kilograms, it advanced towards Nie Li like lightning.

The trail the rock left had a burnt smell, showing the speed at which it moved.

At the last moment, Nie Li managed to roll to the side, avoiding the impact of what could be considered a meteorite, but... He came face to face with a predator.

Xiangju was face to face with him, with a crazy look.

-It's over.- The boy spoke softly, gathering all his strength in his right fist. The air around his arm seemed to swirl and compress as if preparing for the blow.

In a desperate attempt to stay alive, Nie Li launched an attack by bringing both hands together in a blade shape towards Xiangju's chest, ready to pierce the boy's heart.

When they were just a few centimeters from hitting each other...

"ARE YOU GUYS CRAZY?" Du Ze shouted while holding Nie Li. Wei Nan, Zhan Ming, and Lu Piao were holding Xiangju's arm with great difficulty, even though all of them had already reached Bronze Rank, the strength of a 4-star was too great for them.

Xiangju and Nie Li were breathing heavily, finally coming to their senses. They looked at the friends around them and, when they looked at each other, their faces tightened.

They didn't say anything, just pushed away the boys holding them and walked off in different directions.

-What was that?- Lu Piao, serious for the first time in a long while, asked, catatonic.

The quartet simply didn't understand anything. They picked up the weights they had thrown aside when they went to stop the fight and followed Xiangju and Nie Li.