CH 63

Chapter 63: Duel

The day's classes quickly came to an end, and Xiao Qingyang was in a good mood. Here, he could not only systematically learn about potion-related knowledge but also absorb spiritual energy for cultivation. It was truly a win-win situation, no wonder so many people wanted to attend school.

Just as the last class ended and Xiao Qingyang was packing up to leave, Li Qiang, a tall and robust guy, blocked his way.

"Xiao Qingyang, have you forgotten about our duel? Are you planning to sneak away?" Li Qiang said sarcastically.

Only then did Xiao Qingyang remember that he still had a duel with this person in front of him. After a whole day of classes, he had already put Li Qiang out of his mind. If it weren't for him standing in front of Xiao Qingyang, he would probably have forgotten who this person was.

"Of course I haven't forgotten," Xiao Qingyang replied calmly.

Even if he had forgotten, he couldn't say so.

"I'm glad you haven't forgotten. I've been waiting all this time. If you surrender now, apologize to Xiao Qinglan, kneel down and call me grandpa, we can let this matter go. Otherwise..." Li Qiang clenched his fists, making his knuckles crack, and looked at Xiao Qingyang with a malicious threat. His intentions were clear.

"Let's go," Xiao Qingyang remained calm, not paying any attention to Li Qiang's words.

Even though his physical condition was not as good as the other party's, he had many means of self-defense. He was not afraid of Li Qiang at all.

Seeing that Xiao Qingyang didn't show any respect, the malice in Li Qiang's expression intensified. He said, "This is what you asked for."

The students in the classroom had originally planned to leave, but upon hearing the conversation between Li Qiang and Xiao Qingyang, whether out of pure curiosity or concern for Xiao Qingyang, they all followed them to the school's dueling platform.

The news of a duel on the first day of school quickly spread to other colleges, and more and more students gathered around.

Usually, the participants on the dueling platform were either supernatural beings or mech warriors, and their battles were extremely exciting. Just watching them made one's blood boil.

Therefore, many people enjoyed coming to the dueling platform to watch others duel.

But today, there were two pharmacists standing on the dueling platform, which was a first. After hearing the news, everyone was extremely surprised.

"Pharmacists? What kind of duel can they have with their small physiques? It's completely uninteresting," someone in the audience complained discontentedly.

"One is muscular, the other is weak. What's there to compare between them? The muscular one can knock the other down with a single punch, right? Aren't pharmacists usually weak in physique and know little about combat skills? At most, they can exchange blows with their fists."

"Pharmacists, huh? It's rare to see them around. Even if that skinny one is a future pharmacist, it wouldn't hurt to get to know him. Maybe I can buy potions from him in the future," said one of the supernatural beings.

For supernatural beings, potions were important, so building a good relationship with a pharmacist was crucial.

"Do you think if that weakling gets beaten down, and I save him, he'll be grateful enough to give me potions?" 

The onlookers had various discussions and topics, but most of them revolved around pharmacists.

Although the fancy moves between pharmacists seemed uninteresting to them, the identity of the participants was intriguing. Therefore, the number of onlookers not only didn't decrease but instead increased.

Li Qiang looked satisfied seeing the crowd below. Soon, it would be his time to show off his skills. He wanted others to know that the pharmacist profession wasn't just for physically weak individuals. His physique could rival that of a mech warrior.

"Xiao Qingyang, even if you want to surrender now, you won't have a chance. When you lose in front of the entire school, let's see if you still have the face to stay here," Li Qiang smirked, his previously ordinary face becoming even more repulsive.

Xiao Qingyang frowned, clearly annoyed by Li Qiang's excessive talking.

Dwarves often dueled among themselves, and even cultivators frequently sparred, but they usually went straight into battle without much idle chatter.

"Can we start?" Xiao Qingyang asked directly.

He didn't care about how many people were in the audience. He just wanted to get started, finish quickly, and then return to his dormitory for cultivation.

So much time had been wasted, and he had absorbed far less spiritual energy. Xiao Qingyang was dissatisfied with Li Qiang for this, and his dissatisfaction would be evident in the upcoming duel.

Li Qiang didn't get to see the panic on Xiao Qingyang's face as he had hoped, nor did he hear any pleas for mercy. Instead, he felt a provocation, fueling his anger even further.

"Since you want to die early, I'll grant your wish," Li Qiang said, swinging his fist and launching an attack.

Li Qiang's speed was not slow, after all, he possessed a B-grade physique, and his swinging fists brought along a gust of wind.

He was confident in his own abilities, honed since he was young. Originally, when his B-grade physique was detected, his family arranged for him to pursue the path of a mech warrior. But later, he luckily awakened his spiritual power, leading him to choose the path of a pharmacist.

Against a supernatural being or an exceptional mech warrior, he might have had no chance to defend himself. But when facing a pharmacist, he could easily crush his opponent in minutes.

However, the scenario that Li Qiang had imagined of crushing his opponent did not happen. Instead, his powerful strike was easily evaded by Xiao Qingyang, and Li Qiang nearly lost control and rushed off the dueling platform due to exerting too much force.

Li Qiang reluctantly halted his forward charge, glaring angrily at the relaxed Xiao Qingyang behind him. He resentfully said, "I only used fifty percent of my strength. You were lucky to dodge that punch. You won't be so lucky with the next one."

Xiao Qingyang didn't take the threat to heart. He had already assessed his opponent's combat abilities from the previous strike.

Although his opponent possessed strength and combat skills, his arrogant and overconfident nature made him impulsive, which diminished his actual strength.

Li Qiang swung his fist again and charged forward. It was evident that this time his strength was even stronger than before, causing the spectators in the stands to sweat for Xiao Qingyang.

If that punch landed on Xiao Qingyang, even if he didn't die, he would suffer severe injuries. Some timid individuals even closed their eyes in fear.

However, with a simple turn, Xiao Qingyang effortlessly evaded the attack once again.

Several times in a row, Li Qiang failed to touch even a corner of Xiao Qingyang's clothes, instead resembling a bull being toyed with and manipulated.

"This kid has good luck. He managed to dodge every time," someone in the stands couldn't help but comment.

"It's not just luck," another person responded quietly.

Most of the people watching this duel were usually idle or prone to fighting, and while there weren't many truly formidable individuals among them, it didn't mean there were none.

Han Weizhe was one of them, the top-ranked sophomore at the Academy of Supernatural Abilities.

He had only come out of boredom upon hearing that a duel was taking place, but he didn't expect to witness a duel between two pharmacists.

Initially uninterested, he was ready to leave, but seeing Xiao Qingyang evade several fatal attacks from his opponent piqued his curiosity, causing him to stay and watch.

"If you're a man, don't keep dodging, you coward!" Li Qiang, provoked, spoke without restraint, attempting to anger Xiao Qingyang.

The whispers from the crowd below made him feel extremely embarrassed. He couldn't shake off the feeling that those people were discussing him, mocking him, and he attributed it all to Xiao Qingyang.

Therefore, Li Qiang directed all his shame and anger toward Xiao Qingyang.

As cultivators who communicate with the spiritual energy of the world, they are able to perceive some of the goodwill or malice displayed by others, and the intense malice emanating from Li Qiang was hard to ignore.

Xiao Qingyang felt that if he couldn't teach Li Qiang a lesson and deter him this time, his troubles would likely continue to arise in the future.

Right now, all Xiao Qingyang wanted was to learn more about potion-related knowledge in the academy, absorb spiritual energy for cultivation, and he didn't have any spare time to give to unnecessary people.

"Come on, I won't dodge this time," Xiao Qingyang said calmly.

Upon hearing this, Li Qiang couldn't help but sneer inwardly, thinking that Xiao Qingyang was simply a fool who took everything at face value. As long as he didn't dodge, he would definitely beat him to the ground.

"That's what you said. If you keep avoiding, your whole family will die!" Li Qiang, worried that Xiao Qingyang would continue to evade, blurted out the threat without thinking.

At this moment, Li Qiang had completely forgotten that Xiao Qingyang was from the Xiao family, and Xiao Qinglan... was also from the Xiao family.

Xiao Qingyang raised an eyebrow upon hearing the threat but remained silent.

If he didn't want to teach Li Qiang a lesson, he would continue to dodge. He even wanted to keep dodging and let Li Qiang's curse come true.

After all, he didn't care about that family. If Li Qiang's curse were to come true, he would have avenged the original owner and saved a lot of trouble.

Li Qiang once again swung his fist and charged towards Xiao Qingyang. This time, he exerted all his strength and was determined to inflict serious injury on Xiao Qingyang.

True to his word, Xiao Qingyang no longer evaded, but he wasn't foolish enough to directly clash with Li Qiang's fist.

He knew his own physical condition best at the moment. He couldn't simply rely on strength alone, as he was sure he couldn't overpower Li Qiang. He had to be clever about it.

So, the onlookers in the stands witnessed Li Qiang forcefully charging forward, his fist almost about to hit Xiao Qingyang's face, but in the next instant, Li Qiang collapsed straight to the ground, groaning in pain.

Onlookers: ?

What just happened? Shouldn't it be the skinny-looking guy who fell to the ground? Why did it suddenly change? And it seems like he's in pain.

What happened in between?

"Do you admit defeat?" Xiao Qingyang stood condescendingly in front of Li Qiang and asked.

"H-How is this possible? What... what did you do?" Li Qiang simply couldn't believe that he had lost.

He could sense that Xiao Qingyang's strength was not strong at all, definitely inferior to his own. How could he be defeated in an instant?

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Translator’s note: In the previous chapters I might interchange alchemy, alchemist, potion masters, pharmacists. They’re all the same.