Despite being a very prideful individual that was confident in his own capabilities, the Black Dragon Gang head knew his limits and Adam was someone that was too tough for him to face. However, since Adam was weakened and fatigued, he had been given a golden opportunity to take down someone higher than him on the Top Cultivator Ranking and also make them his subordinate.

But he also prepared himself to retreat and escape at any moment if he needed to, as despite being a power-seeking opportunist, self-preservation always came first.

Earth Upheaval - Swallowing Waves

Large waves of earth, just like the one's found on the beach, encapsulated Adam from all directions and bore over him. It was a skill that used great amounts of energy, but would crush opponents in one fell swoop, even those that were Master Level Cultivators like them.

However, it wouldn't work against Adam, who suddenly unleashed a burst of flames from his body that broke the skill that the Boss of the Black Dragon Gang had used.

One couldn't help but be shocked and Adam had somehow been able to break a powerful Earth Attack with a simple burst of fire energy, or so it seemed. There was actually much more skill behind it than what met the eye, but it was still amazing.

"How is that even possible?!" Adam's opponent exclaimed as he jumped backwards and created some distance between himself and Adam, preparing himself for a counter attack that he was expecting.

However, to his surprise, Adam didn't bother attacking him while he was vulnerable after just using a lot of energy in a powerful attack, and was amused by his frightened actions as he asked, "What's your name?"

It was an odd question to ask an opponent in the middle of a battle, in which they were both fighting with the intention to kill the other, but his opponent answered anyway. 

"Bai Niu. The name's Bai Niu," he answered, as he kept his eyes on Adam, afraid to even blink or let his guard down for a split second.

"So, Bai Niu. Do you have anything you want to say before I kill you?" I asked Adam, before continuing, "I am sure you have realised that you have no chance against me,"

"Hmph. I admit you are powerful, and the explosive power of your fire is unbelievable powerful, just like a bomb, but it still isn't enough. You are merely tiring yourself out more, and I will come out on top," scoffed Bai Niu, who despite feeling doubtful and on edge, still put up a strong front.

He was a Master Level Cultivator and hadn't been suffered a humiliating defeat his entire life, never once facing an opponent who frightened him as much as Adam. He was overly ambitious and his ambitions had led him to do some unforgivable things, but Adam wasn't in a rush to kill him, interested to see more of his capabilities.

So far he was certainly impressive and Adam was wondering to himself whether his friends would be able to handle such a powerful, experienced and ruthless opponent. Cole would have an advantage against him, since an opponent that was very fast seemed to be Bai Niu's weakness.

His skills truly were impressive, but had quite long activation times and were very wide-scale attacks. If faced with a fast opponent, all they would need to do was land one decisive attack, but at the same time, Bai Niu was also very cautious.

The one Adam felt would struggle against him the most was Elizabeth who was unlikely to be able to break past his defences, but he was sure they would all put up a good fight. While Marco and Chase would also put up a challenge against Bai Niu with their raw power and unbelievably strong physiques.

As for Angela, her attacks would be very similar to Bai Niu in the fact that they were wide-scale attacks, but her ice-wielding capabilities were more versatile and could be easily activated. And Wayde would need to use his flames wisely and if he could unleash enough fire power with his Lion Fire Spirit, he might be able to break Bai Niu's attacks just like Adam did.

However, all in all, their own skills, combat prowess and efficiency would decide whether they could handle Bai Niu, since there was no such thing as a completely undefeatable opponent or utterly overwhelming advantage.

One that uses a fire elemental affinity was not necessarily at a disadvantage against one with a water elemental affinity, and it was the same for all forms of energy. It all depended on the wielder, and in this case, Adam was the superior wielder of energy.

Adam walked over to Bai Niu and didn't initiate an attack, while he had also retracted his daggers to his body. 

Seeing it as Adam being overly arrogant, Bai Niu used another one of his Earth Skills, but this one was one that would help him in close combat. His attempts at defeating Adam from a distance had all failed and although Adam's daggers were frightening, he didn't have another choice.

Adam seemed to no longer plan to use his daggers or maybe couldn't use his daggers anymore, in the mind of Bai Niu, and since he prized himself in his Martial Arts just like many others in China, he launched himself towards Adam.

The gap in speed was clear, but he was confident in his own fighting capabilities and that with his defence, experience and skill, could overcome any disadvantage.

Seeing him launch himself towards him, Adam smiled to himself and was interested to see what he was capable of in close combat and how he would use his Earth Elemental Affinity, which had shown to be very powerful.

"This is getting interesting," mumbled Adam to himself as he watched Bai Niu coat his body in what appeared to be rock that was compressed and reinforced with energy.

With the armour he produced, he launched a powerful fist towards Adam, and their battle in close quarters began.