Library of Heaven’s Path

“I see!”

Seeing how Fan Xiaoxing was struck to the point where he was completely astonished, possibly forgetting even his own name, Fan Xiaofeng’s eyes lit up as he nodded in agitation.

Xiaoxu was indeed an amazing person! He had seen through the crux in an instant.

If it had been him, not only would his attack have failed, the other party might even have been able to turn the tables on him. However, with just a couple more punches, the other party would be completely incapacitated, thus sealing the outcome of the battle.

While it required more moves, there was no denying that this was a much safer option. Perhaps, it might even be the most efficient way to end the battle!

“Do you think that it’s impossible to counterattack just because he has been struck in his face several times consecutively?” Fan Xiaoxu suddenly asked.

“Ah? Is it still possible to make a comeback after that? I’m afraid that I don’t really know how to cope with such a situation,” Fan Xiaofeng replied in embarrassment.

Had he been in Fan Xiaoxing’s place, those few punches would have surely destroyed him. He would have lost his cool and possibly lost the battle too.

Hit a person but not their face; this was a common saying among the populace. It was considered a huge humiliation to have one’s face struck.

“Situations where you don’t know how to retaliate often contain the greatest opportunity to turn the tables. Since the enemy has been focusing their attack on his face, they’re bound to be open elsewhere, like the chest or the crotch,” Zhang Xuan said.

“This…” Fan Xiaofeng widened his eyes in realization. “Indeed! In a battle, the head is the most protected area. In order to land consecutive hits on the head, it’s inevitable that one will have to get into extremely close quarters with the other party. At a moment like this, striking elsewhere can achieve unexpected results!”

Peng peng!

While they were speaking, Fan Xiaoxing was still getting struck in his head. He could almost see stars spinning around him.

“I can’t count on those two b*stards to save me…” Seeing how those two were engrossed in their discussion, showing not a sliver of desire to save him, Fan Xiaoxing wiped the tears from his eyes.

He had thought that he would be saved by the arrival of his comrades, but it felt like things had only gotten worse with their arrival.

That being said, there was some logic to what they were saying. Those fellows were too engrossed in hitting his face, so they had unintentionally dropped their defenses around other places.

“I have no choice but to give it a try!” Suffering another punch, Fan Xiaoxing gritted his teeth and kicked his foot upward.

Peng!

He happened to strike one of the assailants’ in the crotch, and the latter immediately fell to the ground like a shrimp.

“I succeeded?” Seeing how he had managed to defeat one of them so easily, Fan Xiaoxing immediately felt a surge of confidence. His heart could not help but beat in exhilaration.

It was true that those two were unreliable as allies, but their analysis of the battle was indeed spot-on.

While barely defending against the onslaught of the remaining three cultivators using his zhenqi, he pricked up his ears and listened intently.

At this point, the other two were still in the midst of their discussion.

“The four of them are coordinating tightly with one another, and the cultivator whom Xiaoxing has just kicked happened to be their leader. His abrupt incapacitation has introduced a moment of fluster among the rest as they struggle to readjust their collaboration formation. If I were in his position, I would use the Qingping Fist together with our clan’s Flowing Water Conception to suppress the rest of them!”

“Using the Qingping Fist together with the Flowing Water Conception is indeed a good idea. However, the key right now should be to take down the gray-robed man, who has taken over the role of maintaining the collaboration formation. As long as he is around, the formation will remain a threat. No matter how agile and flexible your movements are, it’ll be hard for you to overwhelm the remaining three of them when they are covering one another tightly.”

“Ah, you’re right! But how should we deal with that gray-robed man?”

“It’s pretty simple. You can use the Sunflower Steps to back away before jabbing your finger forth three inches to the left. The gray-robed man will then charge forward in response, and that will present an opportunity to take him down!”

…

“I should give it a try!”

Fan Xiaoxing was not too inclined to believe that such a move would really lure the gray-robed man into dashing forward, but he did not have many options. Thus, clenching his teeth tightly, he activated the Sunflower Steps and retreated two meters back. After which, using his finger as a sword, he jabbed forth with imposing momentum.

Due to the nature of the collaboration formation, Fan Xiaoxing’s retreat caused the trio sustaining the formation to be drawn in his direction. The gray-robed man maintaining the formation ended up being pulled over as well, causing him to come into the line of attack of the jab that Fan Xiaoxing had launched.

A burst of sword qi struck the gray-robed man’s jade token squarely.

Kacha!

With a look of disbelief on his face, the gray-robed man was embraced by a brilliant burst of light as he vanished.

“It worked?” Fan Xiaoxing was stunned.

He had thought that those two were just prattling on about nonsensical theories, but who could have known that their suggestions would turn out to work in practice? Having gotten rid of two of his opponents so easily, his heart pounded wildly in excitement.

Also, it was only around this moment that he realized that the discussions, which had been spoken openly a moment ago, had switched to zhenqi telepathy, which meant that his opponents were unable to hear those words.

It seemed like it was not that the two of them did not want to save him but that they hoped for him to win this battle with his own strength.

Just that, there was still one last doubt. The two of them should not have been too much stronger than him, so how were they able to come up with such ingenious attacks one after another?

Even casual pointers from them actually allowed him to achieve victory so easily.

Was it about how spectators had a clearer view of what was happening compared to those directly involved in a situation?

Knowing that this was no time for him to be deep in thought, he continued pricking his ears up to pay careful attention to what was being said.

The other party’s voices continued.

“Since their collaboration formation has been undone, should we focus the attack on one of them first to take him down quickly before going for the other?”

“Of course not! While the threat of the collaboration formation has been resolved, the fact that they are no longer in a decisive advantage anymore means that the last two remaining opponents will be far more wary of you. If you assault one of them, the other will make use of whatever opening you show to take you down. What you should do at this moment is stand your ground and focus on defense!”

“Focus on defense?”

It was because he thought that the words of those two made perfect sense that he had moved according to their instructions earlier. However, at that very moment, Fan Xiaoxing could not help but frown doubtfully.

Even without the collaboration formation, he would still be unable to cope with the assault of two equally powerful opponents simultaneously. It had not been easy for him to take down the other two opponents, so he should make use of this momentum to take down the remaining two! If he became defensive at such a moment, it would only be a matter of time before his stamina was whittled down!

“I don’t necessarily have to do as they say. Those two fellows can’t always be right anyway…” Recalling how those two refused to charge in to help him, choosing to stand by the side to watch the commotion instead, Fan Xiaoxing gritted his teeth in anger.

With a cold harrumph, he raised his palm and charged toward one of the opponents.

Pah pah pah!

Focusing all of his zhenqi into his palm strike, just as Fan Xiaoxing felt like he was going to finally overpower the opponent before him, his heart jolted fearfully as his eyes narrowed in shock.

Unknowingly, a foot had appeared right in front of him.

Pah!

He was struck in his vitals, causing him to fly all the way back. The excruciating pain from the kick nearly caused him to blank out.

“You were right, Xiaoxu! He focused his offense on one person, and that allowed the other party to grasp hold of his weakness!” Fan Xiaofeng exclaimed in excitement upon seeing that the theory was indeed true.

“Indeed. If he had chosen to go on the defensive, those two would have swiftly fallen into a state of fluster. After all, they have just witnessed two of their comrades being wiped out in a moment of inattention, and they have lost the safety of the collaboration formation. At such a time, they would surely be more anxious than ever to defeat him. If only he had waited three move moves, the panic that they are feeling would have been magnified manyfold, causing them to make much riskier movements in hopes of ending the battle quick. That would have created an ideal opportunity to strike… It’s truly a huge pity,” Fan Xiaoxu said.

“A battle is all about grasping timing and seeking opportunities. If there are no opportunities in sight, you just have to create one!”

“Yes, you’re right!” Fan Xiaofeng nodded vehemently in agreement.

“Grasping timing and seeking opportunities…” Suppressing the excruciating pain that he was suffering from, Fan Xiaoxing forced himself to his feet and raised his guard once more.

Seeing that Fan Xiaoxing had stood up once more, the two opponents flinched slightly in astonishment. Anxiety and fear could be seen reflected on their faces.

With a ferocious roar, one of the opponents charged forward.

His charge might have seemed reckless, but in truth, he was trying to create an opportunity for his comrade.

Understanding this logic, Fan Xiaoxing knew better than to move recklessly this time around. He immediately scrunched his body together and charged toward the second opponent.

Meanwhile, the second opponent noticed the openings that the first opponent had exposed to Fan Xiaoxing, and he was intending to move in coordination to cover the first opponent. However, not expecting Fan Xiaoxing to not fall for the bait at all and go for him instead, the second opponent was rammed down in an instant, causing a stream of blood to gush down his nose.

“It worked!” Seeing how everything had worked out well, tears of joy began streaming down Fan Xiaoxing’s eyes.

Those two unreliable b*stards… they had not forsaken him yet!