Under the twilight, the youth's figure caused Fire Crow's heart to be shaken.
He was a well-experienced scavenger. If it was a newbie in his shoes, they'd definitely be shocked despite the fact that their cultivation level clearly surpassed the other party.
Even he felt shaken, but that was quickly suppressed by the viciousness and fury of being injured. At this moment, his eyes revealed intense killing intent.
"B*stard, I'll pluck out your teeth one by one as my spoils of war."
As Fire Crow spoke out in a deep voice, he tugged off his clothes and revealed a skinny upper body.
Not paying any heed to the injury to his ear and chest, he performed a set of mudras with both hands. When his face flushed red, a fireball that was even larger than the ones earlier suddenly appeared.
Upon seeing this, Xu Qing's eyes narrowed and he abruptly moved.
"Scatter!" Fire Crow let out a low bellow and the big fireball in his hand split into five smaller fireballs that headed straight for Xu Qing.
After that, explosive sounds instantly resounded and flames covered the ground. Amidst all the burning, Xu Qing's figure dashed out once again. He launched two consecutive punches as he did before to shatter the barrier.
Although his body would inadvertently be pushed back from the impact, in addition to suffering burns from the high-temperature flames, his speed didn't reduce at all. His killing intent also didn't slacken in the slightest.
Just like that, using such a method that ignored his own injuries, he started a fierce battle in the jungle against Fire Crow.
The battle became increasingly intense.
It was true that Xu Qing wasn't a match for Fire Crow.
Regardless of whether it was the spirit energy barrier or the fireballs, they were all very disadvantageous for Xu Qing. The former made it hard for him to perform close-range attacks, while the latter posed an extremely great threat to him.
However, Xu Qing's recovery ability was astonishing, and it allowed him to quickly recover after he got injured. His injuries didn't affect his battle prowess.
Besides, his stamina was as abundant as at the start of the fight. Although the prolonged pain from his body would form a mental torment, he, who grew up in the slums, had nurtured a tolerance that surpassed that of ordinary people.
The most important thing was... the spirit energy that contained a high density of anomalous substances didn't have any influence on Xu Qing at all. However, to Fire Crow, it was completely different.
It was still fine for the ear's injury, but the injury on his chest became increasingly aggravated. The most important thing was his spirit energy...
Even though his cultivation base was at the fifth level of Qi Condensation, he was unable to withstand such a depletion. Hence, he could only passively absorb spirit energy to replenish his consumption.
Moreover, the pressure Xu Qing brought him in the intense battle caused him to have no time to catch a breath at all. With that, the amount of anomalous substances in his body kept surging and accumulating.
Very soon, the anger that Fire Crow felt in the beginning transformed into nervousness. In the end, anxiety actually appeared on his face.
He had noticed that something was amiss with his body and that there was a problem with this young man!
Anyone else at the third level of Qi Condensation, or even at the fifth level, wouldn't have been able to hang on for so long in the face of such fireball attacks. They would have turned into dried corpses long ago.
He felt that even if he was in Xu Qing's shoes, he wouldn't be able to do what he did.
However, this youth in front of him, despite his injuries increasing and looking serious, his speed and power didn't diminish in the least.
This made the unsettled feelings in Fire Crow's heart grow increasingly intense.
At this moment, the anomalous substances in Fire Crow's body kept on increasing, and he was getting close to mutation. This caused his breathing to become even more anxious.
"Fire Crow, you trash! Hurry up and end the battle!!"
In the far distance, the Bloodshadow Team Captain who was fighting Captain Lei had no choice but to be distracted as he spared some attention to the situation here. When he looked at this scene right now, he roared angrily.
He wanted to help, but Captain Lei suddenly exploded forth with attacks to obstruct him, making it hard for him to leave. Right now, he could only feel anxious.
Moreover, Captain Lei could already tell that Xu Qing's battle plan was to drag out the battle until Fire Crow mutated.
Although he didn't know why Xu Qing was confident nor why he was able to perform as usual amidst his injuries and pain, everyone had their own secrets. Captain Lei understood this point. He had his own secrets too.
Therefore, he had no intention to probe further. What he could do was to not allow the Bloodshadow Team Captain before him to go over to help.
The battle continued.
Fire Crow cast three other fireballs but was still helpless against Xu Qing. Hence, he, who was already anxious, now that he was scolded by his captain, the negative emotions in his heart completely erupted and turned into craziness.
He abruptly raised his right hand and hammered his chest, spurting out a large mouthful of blood. After that, he quickly swung his left hand and caught some of the blood before the droplets fell onto the ground.
As he chanted an incantation, the blood in his hand quickly turned black.
At the sight of this, Xu Qing's eyes contracted and he felt an even more intense sense of crisis. He charged out and wanted to disrupt the other party's spell.
However, this time around, Fire Crow's spell was cast extremely fast. At the instant Xu Qing moved, Fire Crow lifted his head abruptly and his expression became distorted. His gaze then flashed with cruelty as he waved his right hand.
The black blood in his hand instantly swelled up to form a ball of blood that was the size of a human head.
It seemed to be bubbling inside, and it flew toward Xu Qing with astonishing power.
"Die!" Fire Crow let out a low and sinister bellow.
Perhaps because the spell this time was too exhausting and the anomalous substances in his body continued to increase, his legs were trembling weakly at this moment.
On the other hand, the killing intent in Xu Qing's eyes abruptly intensified. Just like Captain Lei had thought, he was indeed prepared to drag out the battle until the other party mutated. However, it wasn't exactly correct either.
Xu Qing had never given up on the thought of killing his opponent in his process of mutation.
Although he was no longer holding onto the dagger and iron stick, he still kept on looking for an opportunity to deal the killing blow.
This chance finally appeared now when Fire Crow showed his fragility.
Almost at the instant the black-colored ball of blood fired over, Xu Qing's advancing figure hastened his speed.
He didn't dash toward Fire Crow in a straight line but shifted his direction slightly to where Barbaric Ghost's corpse was at.
Barbaric Ghost's corpse was covered in burn marks from Fire Crow's large area of effect fireball attacks. But in this place, other than the corpses, there were also... Barbaric Ghost's weapons!
[1] A line from a poem by Li Shang. A translated version of the poem, 'To a Friend in the North on a Rainy Night' can be found here: /2010/11/23/298/