Evenly Matched

After a long silence, Alex slowly straightened up, narrowed his eyes slightly, and said in a low voice, "Again!"

Alex was not a stubborn fool. From their earlier exchange, he knew that in terms of pure strength and fighting skill, he was clearly no match for Mandarin. So, without hesitation, he used his ability. He used the energy he had just absorbed to instantly repair his right arm, though that was all he did.

Mandarin paid no attention to Alex’s little trick. With a light laugh, he stomped his right foot and shot into the air like a rocket. He flipped in midair, then descended like a heavenly Buddha. As he slowly raised one palm, Alex was reminded of movies from his previous life and nearly burst out laughing.

But Alex soon could not laugh anymore. He discovered that Mandarin’s move truly resembled the legendary Buddha’s Palm. Like Fire Cloud Cthulhu in the movie, he felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. Before he realized it, half of one leg had sunk into the sand.

"Damn it, picking on me because I don’t know Toad Style Kung Fu!" Alex cursed as he strained to raise both hands and crossed them to block Mandarin’s palm.

It took more than a dozen successive palm strikes before Mandarin’s force was finally dispersed. By then, Alex could barely feel his hands. Looking down, he saw that his bloodshot palms had swollen to more than twice their original size.

Mandarin seemed to have exhausted his strength as well. Following the force of Alex’s final palm, he lightly sprang away and landed steadily on the ground, his face somewhat pale.

After using energy to remove the swelling from his hands again, Alex looked at Mandarin with a little more hatred—and a little envy. No one from China could help yearning for the miraculous martial arts found in wuxia novels. Alex had once thought they were all fictional, but now it seemed that was not entirely true. The martial arts Mandarin used clearly belonged to that category.

After the envy came worry. The situation was obvious: if they continued fighting hand-to-hand, Alex definitely would not last. Yet he was reluctant to break their agreement. After struggling with the decision for a while, he chose to use his ability for the sake of his life—but only Energy Absorption, at least to make himself more resistant to being hit.

Sebastian Shaw’s Energy Absorption could absorb all forms of energy. The energy generated by every one of Mandarin’s attacks could likewise be absorbed.

Once he made up his mind, Alex finally felt more confident. His fighting also gained a fearless ferocity. With Energy Absorption, Alex was like a massive sponge, while Mandarin’s attacks were like surging tides. No matter how fierce the waves were, the sponge would ultimately absorb them all.

Alex used all the energy he absorbed to enhance his physical condition. As time passed, his body grew stronger and stronger, and the force of his counterattacks became increasingly fierce.

Finally, after another collision, Alex and Mandarin both took a step back.

Mandarin stared at Alex in disbelief. He had witnessed every change in Alex. At first, Mandarin had thought Alex’s improvement was merely potential being forced out under pressure, and that it would eventually reach its limit. But now, Mandarin realized that Alex’s growth seemed endless. From being sent flying by him at the start to now being able to fight him evenly, it was truly astonishing.

"Your performance is genuinely astonishing!" Mandarin exclaimed sincerely, his gaze toward Alex carrying a little more approval.

Alex gave an awkward dry laugh. He neither showed off nor deliberately concealed anything; he simply remained silent.

Seeing Alex like this, Mandarin said no more and changed the subject instead. With a proud expression, he said, "In that case, let me show you China’s true secret arts!"

"Chinese Sorcery?" Hearing that, Alex recalled the battle in China. Mandarin had used all kinds of miraculous spells and talismans then. Alex had once been immobilized by a binding spell and nearly lost his life.

Alex spoke softly, but Mandarin still heard him. His casting motions immediately stalled. Turning to look at Alex, he asked in surprise, "You know about it too?"

Alex put on a relaxed expression and shrugged casually without answering. Seeing Mandarin cast his spell, Alex then thought of The Ancient One in the Mysterious Valley of the Snowy Region. A simple Wind Bind had rendered him completely unable to move. For a moment, he actually felt some regret.

Seeing that Alex was clearly preoccupied, Mandarin snorted coldly. His fingers, which had just paused, began moving again, swiftly forming hand seals. His green robe instantly billowed outward and fluttered without any wind.

Alex stood at a distance, watching Mandarin with full vigilance. After witnessing The Ancient One’s spells, Alex instinctively feared Mandarin’s Chinese Sorcery a little more. He even secretly prepared Teleportation, ready to flee the instant anything went wrong. Compared with empty pride, Alex cared more about his own life.

As he was thinking, Alex suddenly noticed something strange about the energy around him. It seemed to be gathering into something. When he turned to look at Mandarin again, Mandarin’s wide eyes were fixed on him. But upon closer inspection, one would realize that Mandarin was not actually staring at Alex—he was staring beside him!

Realizing this, Alex immediately raised his guard and silently prepared Energy Control as well.

At that moment, accompanied by Mandarin’s sharp cry, Alex discovered that the energy around him began to vibrate violently. In an instant, it transformed into a sea of lightning, with surging silver bolts twisting wildly around Alex’s body like giant serpents.

Alex looked at the electric snakes darting everywhere around him with an expression that was almost laughable. Then he sighed softly. Energy Absorption and Energy Control activated at the same time, and the vast sea of lightning vanished in an instant, all of it absorbed by Alex.

Seeing his carefully prepared spell dissipate in an instant, Mandarin was initially stunned. It took him a long while to recover. He looked up at Alex, his expression turning dark. "It seems you’ve improved over the years as well!" Only then did Mandarin realize that he had severely underestimated Alex.

In their past battle in Shancheng, Alex had displayed some abilities. But compared to the Alex of today, they were simply incomparable—aside from his still weak and monotonous fighting skills.

"Stop wasting time. Go all out!" Alex glanced at Mandarin and simply took the initiative to speak. There was no point dragging this out any longer. You use your Ten Rings, and I use my abilities. Neither of us is at a disadvantage.

Mandarin stared at Alex with a sinister expression. After a long silence, he slowly raised both hands. A chilling gleam flashed in his cold eyes. "Since you want to die, I’ll grant your wish!"

As Mandarin spoke, all Ten Rings on his fingers lit up. The multicolored gemstones shone with an unusual radiance.