"This is classic," Apollo muttered with a hint of amusement in his voice. "After defeating a bad guy, he comes back for revenge. Cliché but… you arrived at the right time."
"You are just a beggar! A f*cking beggar! How dare you ruin my life!" Bernie shouted, his voice so hoarse that some of the words became incoherent. But the beggar could still understand him.
Bernie started walking towards Apollo, his steps unstable, and one might think he would fall immediately. But he remained determined.
Seeing this, Apollo raised an eyebrow. He remembered that this guy was a Half-step or at the 1st-Step Foundation Building stage when they first fought. At that time, although it took some time, the beggar still managed to defeat the thin man.
Apollo sniffed, and the smell of alcohol entered his nose. Just based on the smell, this guy was extremely drunk.
"You!" Bernie stopped a few feet away from the beggar. "Are you happy, huh?! Do you want to laugh?! Lau—hiccup! Laugh at me!"
"Hey man, think through your actions wisely," Apollo tried to persuade the man. "I get it, okay? You lost something after I defeated you, but is it really my fault? Isn't it because you were not competent enough to defeat me?"
"F*ck you! Hiccup! It's impossible for someone like me to be defeated by a beggar! Hiccup! You must have done something!" Bernie shouted at the top of his lungs.
It seems talk no jutsu won't work on this guy, Apollo thought. "So you want revenge?"
"Hell yeah! I'll f*cking kill you! Hiccup! Tear you into pieces and eat your flesh!" Bernie's face became red as blood vessels threatened to erupt.
"You've been talking too much; let's just get this over with," Apollo said with a sigh. He was confident that this was going to be an easy battle, as the beggar had already defeated this guy when he was still at the Half-Step Foundation Building stage. His strength was far beyond that point already, and Apollo didn't think much of his opponent besides him being drunk.
Furthermore, Apollo also wanted to see if he could cut this guy with his wooden sword. Killing someone? From the looks of it, this thin man would definitely kill him; no doubt about that. Apollo was not a person who would let others bully him. If someone was going to kill him, he would make sure he did the same.
"Don't, hiccup! Underestimate me! I've been dreaming about this! Hiccup! Hahaha!" Bernie laughed out loud, his hoarse voice sounding like a monster in this dark night. Then he raised his hand and pointed towards the beggar.
"I have taken great effort just to steal this one."
Hearing this, Apollo squinted, and his relaxed face turned serious. What does he mean by that? He stole something? What is it? The beggar's doubt was immediately answered in the next second.
"Die, beggar!" Bernie declared, and suddenly, in front of his palm, a bright red whirlwind appeared, causing the grass around them to sway chaotically.
Apollo's eyes widened. He felt a threat coming his way.
With a whooshing sound, the red whirlwind flew towards the beggar's direction. Feeling the stinging air, Apollo utilized his Simple Movement Technique and jumped to the side. This technique is just like the Simple Sword Technique, requiring movement that has to be perfected. Apollo also wanted to master this technique before the Advancement Examination began.
But right now, he had to make use of his current progress with the Simple Movement Technique.
As the sound of ground tearing from the attack echoed, Apollo saw that the thin man was preparing to send another attack.
"I have to stop him!" Apollo's eyes became cold. He bent his knees and, with the strength of a 4th-Step Foundation Building Cultivator, dashed towards his opponent!
"Beggar! I won't let you!" Bernie shouted and immediately sent the red whirlwind towards the beggar, even though the whirlwind was not yet at its full strength, just like the first attack he sent.
But it was enough to push Apollo backwards.
Apollo crossed his hands, blocking the red whirlwind. "Argh!" He gritted his teeth while his body was pushed 3 to 4 meters away from the thin man.
After the attack disappeared, Apollo could feel a burning sensation on his arms. Glancing at them, he saw that they were red. Fortunately, the only thing he received was a bruise on his skin that covered the side of his arms that blocked the attack.
"Hahaha! Hiccup! Take this!" Bernie laughed with excitement upon seeing that he succeeded in hurting the beggar. He raised his hand once more to prepare for another round of attack.
Apollo squinted while his mind worked. The second attack was much weaker compared to the first release. Bernie had to channel his Qi for each attack, which needed a few seconds to use at full strength.
The beggar immediately found a weakness. I have to disrupt him before he can use the full strength of his attack, Apollo thought. With this in mind, Apollo used one of the movements from the Simple Movement Technique that allowed him to cross a distance quickly. Coupled with his raw strength, the beggar almost became a blur and instantly appeared on the side of the thin man.
"Gotcha," Apollo smirked while using the Stab attack, aiming at Bernie's neck.
However, in the next second, Bernie pointed his hand at the beggar, the red whirlwind in front of his palm following along.
"Sh*t!" Apollo cursed, but without time to shield himself, the small red whirlwind landed on his body, sending him backwards.
The beggar flipped a few times before he landed on his feet. He looked at his chest and saw that the robe was shredded. Fortunately, he didn't receive much injury.
Because it was sudden, Bernie had to immediately send the red whirlwind in order to protect himself.
"You can't defeat me, kid! Hiccup! You will never be able to defeat me! I'm above you!" Bernie shouted with a crazed laugh.
Apollo went silent. He recalled what had just happened, and a plan came to mind. The thin man was definitely weaker and slower than him, but because Apollo didn't know what his opponent could do, he found himself at a disadvantage. However, that's only going to happen at the start.
Now that he knew that the red whirlwind stayed in front of the thin man's palm even if he moved around, Apollo came up with a strategy. All he had to do was—
Suddenly, a strong wind assaulted him, messing up his hair and creating a flapping sound in his clothes. Apollo raised his wooden sword in front of him out of instinct, and what happened next made him discard his plan.
"Or this will do," Apollo muttered, a smirk forming on his face as the red whirlwind that was sent towards him while he was deep in thought was cut in half by his wooden sword.