Chapter 42

Just as Hu Gao thought another boring confrontation was about to begin, a group of martial artists surged out from various branches of the Ordinary Hall, their faces etched with anger. They quickly surrounded Guo Desheng and his group. The one with the loudest voice shouted, "Biaozi Yang! Do you think our Hu family has no one? If you dare to cause trouble again, we will level your Guo family and drive you all out of Ningcheng!"

Jile's originally flushed face had somewhat recovered. These people who had rushed over from all directions were all Hu family members from the Ordinary Hall. He had never seen this group so united before. He remembered how he had been bullied countless times by martial artists from the four major families when he first came to the Battle Academy, and he could only rely on himself to deal with it. So when he saw Hu Gao, he naturally regarded this somewhat silly and cute person as his past self.

But now, Jile glanced at Hu Gao, who stood beside him with a calm and composed expression. This person, whom he had once wanted to protect and watch grow in secret, had risked everything to save his life just a few days ago.

Although he didn't know how Hu Gao had survived the lightning and thunder, it was truly ironic that he, who was regarded as a combat genius by the Transmission Elder, now had to rely on a junior to protect him.

Moreover, this guy, who seemed to care about nothing but money, was always so fearless and resolute. Had he been influenced by him and become stronger? If it were the old him, he would probably still be wailing in front of his father's spirit.

There were no shortage of Hu family martial artists in the Ordinary Hall. Seeing these agitated martial artists, even Guo Desheng, who held a treasure weapon, was somewhat flustered. His originally smug face turned a liver color. "I... My intention is simple. After you enter the Elite Hall, come and be my personal bodyguard. How about it?"

He had always bullied others and never thought he would be surrounded one day. Guo Desheng, emboldened, stammered out his threat, but it sounded completely different in the end.

Indeed, it was boring. Someone who couldn't even pass their own psychological test came out to bully others. Such a person was actually a true weakling. Hu Gao had seen many such people in his studies, who liked to follow seemingly powerful people to bully the weak. Once they were slapped by someone even more powerful, they were the easiest to reform and walk the so-called righteous path.

Jile also curled his lip, thinking Guo Desheng was a complete idiot.

"I have a question. Do you have any sisters or younger sisters in your family? If so, I might consider your proposal." Hu Gao turned his head, mimicking the style of Brother Hao Nan, and used his right thumb to dig his ear. "But looking at you, even if you have female friends in your family, they probably aren't attractive. So forget it, I have no interest in being your family's bodyguard."

"You..."

Guo Desheng was speechless. He hadn't expected Hu Gao to agree in such a situation. He only hoped Hu Gao would give him a way out, and they could disperse and find another opportunity to settle things. But he didn't expect Hu Gao's words to be so harsh!

"What do you mean? Don't you just want to fight me and defeat me completely? If that's the case, I'll give you a chance, but you have to put up the stakes first..."

Hu Gao smiled faintly. "I still have quite a few gold coins, so let's not use gold coins as the stakes. You don't seem to have anything on you, just a broken sword. I'll give you some face and use this broken sword as the stake."

When Hu Gao said this, even the Hu family martial artists burst out laughing. A broken sword? This was a treasure weapon, even the lowest level Human Rank Lower Grade treasure weapon cost 10,000 gold coins, and a Human Rank Middle Grade treasure weapon cost 50,000 to 100,000 gold coins. How could an ordinary person afford it?

"Rubbish, I'll make you regret it. Since you want to fight me one-on-one, I'll accept. I'll use my Shadowless Sword as the stake, and if you lose, you have to be my personal bodyguard and call me grandpa. Dare you?" Guo Desheng snorted, staring at Hu Gao.

"Fine, if I lose, you can do whatever you want with me, but if you lose, don't back out, or I'll be angry..." Hu Gao smiled faintly. He wasn't worried about losing; he was more concerned that Guo Desheng would back out after losing. But even if Guo Desheng backed out, he wouldn't let go of the benefits he had gained.

"Heh, I'll lose? Come on, I want to see if you're just talking big. Don't even be able to take one of my moves."

Guo Desheng was clearly very confident, not worried about losing at all. A peak Sixth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist with a Human Rank Middle Grade treasure weapon was practically invincible below the Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm. How could Hu Gao, a Fifth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist, be his match?

"Let's meet at the Battle Platform..." Hu Gao glanced at the Shadowless Sword in Guo Desheng's hand, then dashed toward the Battle Platform without another word.

Confident? Let him be confident. I'm just afraid he'll suddenly stop fighting.

Guo Desheng snorted, and the other Hu family martial artists, seeing Hu Gao's desire for a one-on-one fight, didn't say anything more, making way for him to pass.

"Brother Hu Gao is so confident, even against Guo Desheng with a Human Rank Middle Grade treasure weapon?" Jile watched the two leave, puzzled. His own strength was slightly stronger than Guo Desheng's, but he had to admit that if the latter had a treasure weapon, he would definitely lose. But just now, he saw only indifference and a hint of... greed in Hu Gao's eyes.

Greed for the Human Rank Middle Grade treasure weapon. "Brother Hu Gao, are you planning to rob a bandit?" Jile shook his head and hurriedly followed.

The martial artists of the Ordinary Hall were once again in an uproar. Compared to the tragedy of the Hu family in Ningcheng, Hu Gao's acceptance of Guo Desheng's challenge with a Human Rank Middle Grade treasure weapon was even more interesting to them.

Few people were optimistic about Hu Gao's chances, as Guo Desheng had the combat strength to challenge Seventh Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artists and was practically invincible in the Ordinary Hall. Even if Hu Gao could easily defeat Wu Yun and others, he couldn't match Jile.

"Come up, and don't run if you can't beat me." Hu Gao jumped onto the Battle Platform and sneered at Guo Desheng below.

"Funny, I'll run? You'll run." Guo Desheng sneered, leaped up, and drew his Shadowless Sword, pointing it at Hu Gao. The air seemed to shimmer with sword light, and the sword's momentum was intimidating.

The sword body swayed slightly, though the amplitude was small, it seemed to create countless sword shadows, making it hard to predict.

"Indeed, it's a good sword. I happen to need a good weapon, so I'll take this Shadowless Sword for now." Hu Gao's eyes lit up. He had already decided to take the Shadowless Sword for himself. Such a good treasure couldn't be left to others.

"Then let's see if you have the strength to make me want to run." With that, Hu Gao looked at Guo Desheng, his eyes full of provocation.

"Since you're asking for death, I'll grant it to you."

Guo Desheng shouted, his anger boiling. His wrist trembled, and sword energy burst forth, surrounding his body as he charged at Hu Gao.

"The sword is good, but your attack is too clumsy." Seeing Guo Desheng's movements, Hu Gao shook his head, feeling sorry for the treasure weapon.

He could see that Guo Desheng's sword technique was speed-based, attacking where the enemy couldn't defend, with full coverage. To counter such a technique, one had to be proactive, not just defend.

Hu Gao stood still, waiting until Guo Desheng was only three meters away. Then he suddenly lunged forward, his feet stomping the ground with great force, disrupting Guo Desheng's attack rhythm and making his face change. The sword energy on both sides also became unstable.

"Step back!"

Hu Gao's speed increased, and he punched out, easily breaking through Guo Desheng's defenses and charging straight for his chest.

"Ridiculous!"

Guo Desheng shouted, clenching his fists in front of his chest.

"Open!"

"I won't let you hurt me..."

Guo Desheng gathered all his strength in his left hand, determined to block Hu Gao's attack.

He hadn't expected Hu Gao's attack to be so clever, directly breaking through his defenses and posing a significant threat to him. He was about to be injured.

At that moment, the injury was minor, but the loss of face was major. He couldn't afford to lose face. As a peak Sixth Stage Condensation Shadow Realm martial artist with a Human Rank Middle Grade treasure weapon, he couldn't be injured by Hu Gao and be laughed at by others.

"Ha, let go!"

However, just as Guo Desheng was putting all his effort into blocking Hu Gao's attack, the direction of the latter's attack suddenly changed, striking his right wrist.

"Boom!"

The immense force made Guo Desheng's wrist give out, and the Shadowless Sword instantly fell from his hand.

"Oh no!" Guo Desheng was alarmed. He had seen through Hu Gao's feint, but it was too late to regret it. Without hesitation, he gathered all his strength in his fist and punched Hu Gao's chest.

Encircle Wei to save Zhao! Hu Gao had used a feint, and he would counter with a feint.

"Want to take advantage of me? No way!" Guo Desheng was elated, proud of coming up with such a plan in such a short time.

But soon, a doubt flashed through his mind. He saw that Hu Gao didn't dodge or block his attack, as if he hadn't seen it, and instead reached for the Shadowless Sword falling to the ground.

"Damn!" At that moment, Guo Desheng desperately wanted to remind Hu Gao, "I'm attacking you, block it, dodge it, can't you see?!"

Boom!

Guo Desheng gritted his teeth, a fierce light flashing in his eyes. His fist landed on Hu Gao's chest, and a powerful yellow elemental force surged out, like a mountain crushing down.

Jile below also let out a cry of alarm. Was Hu Gao so obsessed with the treasure weapon that he didn't care about his life? He was truly a madman!