Ow. By Merlin’s beard, that bloody hurts…

  The Qi breaching his meridians only made the pain worse, but…

  Before any could even get close to touching his organs, they already got dispersed by the innate resistance of his physique.

  Simple as that.

  Sure, his ribs ached like hell, and the faint metallic taste in his mouth wasn’t exactly pleasant, but this result was well within Bubai’s expectations.

  He dared to take that hit and trade injuries for a reason!

  Bubai never enjoyed being the fool betting his life on the turn of a card.

  He likes being the dealer and stacking the deck in his favor.

  In every fight thus far, each and every blow he chose to take was a calculated risk he was sure of surviving through!

  Pain? He can bear that. But he will never actually gamble with his life!

  This time was no different.

  Laymen are stuck in catfights, but elites add purpose to every move.

  A little loss in a bout may very well be a little test for the road ahead.

  For Bubai, the fist bump earlier was what gave him a rough gauge of this Qiu Feng’s penetration power.

  Let’s just say his three-legged kungfu wasn’t even close to touching the standards of Xiao Lan’s sword energy in her pre-spiritsword status!

  An apt comparison would be: a pale imitation of true skill, a firework trying to outshine the sun.

  This was hardly surprising though, considering the principle behind Qi externalization.

  What makes it possible?

  Certainly not from Qi circulation or breathing technique alone. Otherwise, any cat and dog in the Qi Refinement realm could achieve the same.

  The core reliance of Qi externalization was the marriage of spiritual power and gathered Qi: True Qi!

  Refining Qi was essentially branding it with spiritual power.

  This single step changes its quality from something anyone can digest to something dyed in a cultivator’s colors.

  That’s what makes it a poison for others.

  Since the Qi was no longer digestible, it will simply be a mass stuck in a cultivator’s body, clogging up the meridians and disrupting the Qi flow.

  If it doesn’t get cleared out, it would be like a stubborn illness.

  Typically, the natural cycle of Qi circulation achieved through meditation can eventually do the trick.

  Of course, how long this takes still depends on the power gap between both sides.

  Since the quality of refined Qi can vary, so will its power once externalized.

  If a foundation builder hasn’t consolidated their cultivation or possesses an unstable foundation, they will naturally have subpar externalization power or a lack thereof.

  For reckless desperadoes setting fire to their very lifespan in order to forcibly merge spiritual power with Qi…

  Obviously, their externalization power should be no better.

  Let’s just say it’s already quite remarkable this cheater can achieve Qi externalization at all!

  A forbidden pill was indeed a forbidden pill.

  But power-wise? Too crude.

  Against an actual Qi Refiner, this level will still cause internal injuries and could even be fatal.

  But against a fellow foundation builder? Haha.

  If a cultivator can achieve Qi externalization, their Qi can naturally be mobilized internally for defense.

  Offense and defense were just two sides of the same coin. Qi was the best counter against Qi!

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  Injuries to one side or the other might occur due to the clash, but it also spells the end for the weaker side.

  The stronger a cultivator, the stronger their resistance against foreign Qi invasion.

  There’s no need to go into details regarding the disparity between him and this cheater.

  Even in his current suppressed state, just the higher quality of his own Qi strands was enough to give the guy a run for his money!

  This Qiu Feng’s lackluster power still want to hurt his organs? Fat chance.

  Oh, then why did he spit blood?

  Actor 101 Style, Secret Killer: Blood Spewing Technique! Haha.

  Still, a martial technique unleashed by a genius wasn’t just for show, especially since it got buffed by foundation-level power.

  Even the metal heart protector sewn inside his robe got bent under the force of that palm!

  Though his quick-thinking footwork kicked off at the last beat to lighten the blow, the pain still made him feel a bit stuffy.

  On the bright side, his foe shouldn’t be feeling any better.

  Wiping the blood off his lips, Bubai looked at the silently-screaming Qiu Feng doubled over on his knees while clutching his manhood like a lifeline.

  If his life were a Chinese novel, the perfect line to describe his state would be: “qiú fēng bù dé, qiú sǐ bù néng”.

  Poor Qiu Feng. Can’t pray for wind, can’t beg for death.

  All this one-pun man could do was glare at him with those bulging, bloodshot eyes that was practically screaming “I’ll murder you.”

  Dusting off his chest as if nothing had happened, Bubai got up and gave the man a devil-may-care shrug.

  “Hey, don’t look at me like that. It’s your fault for not protecting it. Heh.”

  Not that there was time for the bloke to react with how fast he pulled that off.

  “Ja... shame… less!”

  Shaking from head to toe, Qiu Feng spat out a strangled croak, then a mouthful of bluish-black blood.

  Oh, the poison got squeezed out already? Bubai sighed inside. Well, that was quick.

  “Jaja… really thought... your little kick... will work?”

  Gasping for breath, Qiu Feng tugged open the seams of his trousers to take a peek down, but his levelheaded face quickly changed to outright horror.

  “No! Why is it all shriveled up, ja?!”

  Bloodshot eyes locked onto Bubai and an angry roar rocked his eardrums, “You—What poison did you use on me?!”

  “Oh, that?” Bubai blinked, looking every bit the innocent.

  “Um... it’s Bubai Nine Generations Killer. After getting hit, you’ll lose it and never give birth to monkeys ever again.”

  For a moment, the world stood still. Then, the next roar felt like a sonic quake. “WHAT?! You dare?!”

  “Amitabha, why would I not dare?” Outwardly, Bubai nodded like a monk chanting scripture.

  Internally, Bubai nearly laughed himself into a backflip. This idiot actually believed his nonsense?!

  Did somebody’s intelligence really get kicked straight out the door? If so… oh, this is gold!

  Perhaps he finally hit the jackpot and got a real fool for once?

  Or did doping drugs come with a side effect of eating away at his brain cell?

  Well, whatever the case, one thing was quite obvious: who the idiot was now dead set on killing.

  "I… I’ll kill you! I, Qiu Feng, swear to the heavens... I WILL KILL YOU!"

  "Yeah, yeah. Save your breath and get in line." Bubai was hardly surprised by the venomous oath.

  There’s an old saying: cutting off a cultivator’s road of cultivation births a life-and-death grudge as eternal as the heavens.

  For dual cultivators, that little brother down below was their golden ticket to immortality. So… yeah.

  This half-eunuch probably won’t rest until he dragged him down to the very depths of the eighteenth layer of hell.

  Well, not that it changed much. It was back to the previous cycle...

  “Go DIE, JAAAAAH!”

  The madman wildly charged over like a maniac ape, but this time, there was a noticeable difference.

  Compared to before, this Qiu Feng’s speed had drastically plummeted.

  Hard not to see why.

  His balls got busted. Still being able to run instead of crawl already makes him a real man among men!

  But real man or not, he won’t gain a shred of sympathy from Bubai.

  His steps grew lighter. His own speed was set to “flying kite mode” and he unceremoniously ran away.

  A hand fished out his last two mid-grade fireball talisman from his sleeve.

  "Too little, too late. Fortunately…" Bubai threw a glance over his shoulder.

  How miserable. At that tortoise pace, poor boy was just another practice dummy!

  The fingers clipping the talisman sneaked a backhanded play - Fwoom!

  The first blazing comet streaked over, but…

  The maniac plowed right through it!

  Patches of cement-gray skin were fading back to its original yellowed color once again...

  Stoneskin. Yuck. It’s almost as annoying as that turtle shell two rounds back.

  But why didn’t this Qiu Feng keep this on earlier to protect himself and his precious little brother?

  Well, if he had to guess...

  One: Can technique activation be faster than his kick? Nope, at least not down at this level.

  Two: There obviously wasn’t enough Qi...

  Really think it’s cheap to do any sort of full-body defensive skill?

  Even if there was attribute affinity, the cost probably wasn’t far off from his own Illusory Beast Step!

  Add to that a smorgasbord of other Qi-burning stunts…

  The Qi shockwave against his needles, Qi externalization for offense alongside defense, the cost for churning out martial skills...

  Know that this battle hasn’t even lasted five minutes!

  With how fast his Qi was getting guzzled, Qi Recovery Pills aren’t even enough to fill the gaps in his teeth!

  Any late-stage Qi Refiner’s dantian would’ve dried up by now!

  This life burner was literally running on borrowed time, courtesy of that Blood Sage Explosion pill.

  Ever since the start of the battle, that forbidden pill had been fueling this enemy chaser…

  Even now, Bubai could actually sense the other’s body acting like a black hole, sucking up all the Qi wherever he passes...

  Tsk. Tsk.

  Fun fact. If he activates his mysterious formation to suck the area into a Qi-starved void, these forbidden pill-poppers will probably have nothing to run on!

  But even without such game-breaking counters, there was an undeniable truth: recovery rate had their limits.

  Even for foundation builders, abilities can’t be spammed nonstop.

  Otherwise, prodigies will become worthless toilet paper!

  This Qiu Feng was a genius, but not to that level.

  That’s why Bubai was still willing to play around with him instead of directly throwing down his real trump cards.

  But playing around didn’t mean he was careless. His strategy still has no room for mistakes.

  Tap. Tap. Splash.

  Running across what’s left of the scattered patches of water, Bubai toyed with the last talisman sponsored by the water boy and cast a glance back at the dog chasing after his tail.

  Noting the faint signs of stiffness that slowed down the wheezing chaser’s every move, Bubai flashed a lazy grin.

  “Ah, there it is. About time that took effect, huh?”