I Shall Steal the Heavens 251 Chapter 250: Poisonous Duel

"You…what?"

"I freed them," I replied. "They are not your guinea pigs. They are human beings like you. They have the right to a peaceful life without violence."

The Black Venom Cultist burst out laughing. "They are mere weaklings! Food for the strong! The weak has no rights! They are nothing but fodder…materials used for the strong to become stronger! To think of them as humans is the height of stupidity!!"

…what the fuck?

Yet another bullshit strong eat the weak, survival of the fittest fallacy. Just what is wrong with these people? You can murder other people because you are strong and they are weak? You can conduct horrible experiments on other people, poisoning them, killing them, imprisoning them, just because you are stronger than them?

Essentially this was nothing more than glorified bullying. That was what this was. Picking on the weak was bullying. Hmm…now that I thought about it, xianxia stories were basically glorified stories about bully protagonists, who lived by the principle "I am in the right because I'm stronger than everyone else, so I can do whatever I want."

For the love of…

Too tired to rant and point out the utter flaw in his logic, I just prepared for battle. Power came with responsibility, and I had a duty to protect the victims. I had to prevent these bastards for abducting those people again to conduct their inhumane experiments. Scum like these didn't deserve to live on this Earth, and it was best to kill them before they could carry out their atrocities on new victims.

I wasn't fighting them or killing them because I was "stronger" than them. I was doing so in order to protect other people. The "weak" – I hated that word. Just because someone couldn't fight didn't mean he or she was weak. Everyone had their own strengths. Even if I had somehow climbed the ranks of martial artists, that didn't mean I was "strong" or "weak." It just meant I had chose the path of the warrior, and with the strength I earned from it, I was going to take up the responsibility of protecting other people.

Just like how the people who chose to be farmers had a duty to provide the population food.

Just like how the uncle who chose to run a cafe had a duty to serve good coffee.

Just like how the bank staff were responsible for keeping our money safe and ready for withdrawal.

Just like how teachers were responsible for teaching students not just martial arts but knowledge about history, science, lliterature, language and math.

Just like how doctors who had taken the Hippocratic Oath to save the lives of patients.

Not everyone had to be martial artists. Not everyone had to be warriors. The whole idea that you could do whatever you want was ridiculous. People lived by relying on each other. Everyone has a role to fulfil. Just because you were physically stronger didn't mean you went around bullying other people. Who would serve you coffee if you killed the café owner for not obeying you? Who would grow crops for you if you killed all the farmers after plundering their fields?

Truly, the real height of stupidity were these dolts thinking they could massacre everyone and get away with it just because they were "strong" – that wasn't strong. They were just delusional bullies who never considered the drastic consequences of their actions.

In any case, they were going to be dead anyway, so I wasn't going to waste my breath correcting their worldview. Not that they would listen to me in the first place.

"Be careful, Da Du," the first guy who had arrived warned the gigantic Black Venom Cultist. "He's skilled. He already killed Er Hu."

"So I see." The man named Da Du gave a disgusted stare at Er Hu's corpse. "How pathetic, dying to a scrawny brat like this."

He refused to take me seriously and was treating me like a victim.

Cracking his knuckles, Da Du stepped forward and gloated, his hands giving out toxic fumes as his flesh changed into a sickly color. "Don't worry. This will be over soon. I'll catch up with you, so go chase after the prisoners. We need them for our new round of experiments."

"Hah!" I snorted at that. Did these guys not realize that their base camp was being under siege by the Martial Arts Alliance?

Da Du seemed to have noticed my skepticism, for he smiled.

"Don't worry. It might seem that we've been assaulted by a group of powerful martial artists, but they're no match for our poisons. No matter how much stronger they are than us, they won't be able to survive once they're poisoned!"

With a laugh, he lumbered forward.

His fellow Black Venom Cultist nodded when he saw that Da Du had the situation well in hand, and he began to make his move, but six qi beams punctured his body, causing him to topple over lifelessly.

"Hmm?" Da Du raised an eyebrow when he caught sight of my floating mobile turrets, their barrels smoking. "That's an interesting Spirit Weapon you have there."

"…"

I didn't respond. I honestly didn't want to reveal my Snow Aegis so soon, but I had no choice. I couldn't allow that Black Venom Cultist to pursue my friends and the recently freed ex-prisoners. Well, it didn't matter. I still had other weapons to use against Da Du. Taking a deep breath, I raised Azure Lotus Sword and Shadow Fox.

"Heh! Useless resisance!"

Da Du chuckled, and then lunged at me.

I slashed at him right before he could reach me, temporarily driving him back, but the massive Black Venon Cultist shifted his trajectory with a speed that belied his immense size, twisting around to punch from my blind spot.

Clang!

I parried his poisonous fist with Shadow Fox, and then tried to cut his hand off at the wrist, but his instincts were good. Da Du quickly retracted his hand, and countered with his other fist. This time, I blocked with Azure Lotus Sword, but the massive amount of force from his punch actually drove me back, sending me skidding a few meters backward.

"Hah! Be careful, kid! Just one hit from me, and you'll die!"

Da Du was laughing boisterously. He was so confident that he thought he could afford to give me a warning. What a kind person.

Unlike him, however, I had no intention of revealing my trump cards. I wasn't stupid enough to tell him that I was immune to his poisons. And besides, this was good practice for me. I wanted to see how long I could last without taking a single punch from him. It would be ideal if I completely evaded all of his attacks for the whole battle.

Relying on Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps, I evaded his punches while retaliating with my dual swords. Da Du had developed such a powerful frame that my blades weren't able to penetrate his poisonous flesh. At least not unless I infused them with more qi. Tightening my grip on their hilts, I executed a Heavenly Draconic Meteor Strike.

"!!!"

Da Du realized the danger and quickly retreated, but it was too late. My swords opened up a couple of superficial wounds on his arms, causing caustic blood to spray out. The moment the dark red fluids hit the grass, they began hissing and bubbling.

What was he, an Alien? To think that he had acidic blood…!

"Heh." Da Du was grinning when he saw my expression. "If you hurt me, you'll end up getting hurt yourself too! This is the power of the Black Venom Cult!"

"I'm sure," I replied dryly as I used a footwork technique to retreat. Tui, in other words. Da Du's gigantic fist swung through empty space, and I left a nick on his arm, causing more of that terrifying blood to spray out.

"Kuh!"

As confident as Da Du was, he was sharp enough to realize that he might succumb to a death from a thousand cuts if he continued to allow me free hits like this. He momentarily retreated, and grabbed a couple of stuff from his storage device.

"That's…"

Da Du had drawn an arm guard. He was putting it own, covering his forearms and knuckles in armor, but leaving his fingers and palm exposed. All the more to grab me and poison me. I could still see the sickly color of his flesh, which continued to emanate those ominous-looking toxic fumes. Definitely something to avoid at all costs.

"That's better."

Grinning, Da Du lunged at me again, his palms toward me. He made a grab, but I countered with a slash from both my swords. Da Du reacted quickly, bringing both his arms up and parrying my blades with his armored forearms.

"Very good!" Da Du guffawed as he forced me back with a swing of his hand. I backed off, eliciting another chuckle from him. "It's been so long since I've been forced to use this tekko! Entertain me more!"

I ducked under another of his palm strike, and scythed my sword toward the underside of his arm. Da Du deflected my Shadow Fox away, and then sent a backhand toward my face. Fortunately, I used Tui to retreat to safety, putting some distance between myself and him.

"Heh! Afraid now? Even though you're the one who's armed with swords?"

Da Du mocked me with a laugh. I scowled, but didn't rise to the bait. Instead, I dropped to a lower stance, my swords closer to the ground than before. Da Du frowned, but retained his confidence and continued on to charge forward without any caution. I stabbed up at his chest with both swords, forcing him to twist about and deflect the blades.

"Hah! Too slow!"

Da Du chortled as he smacked the side of my head, or tried to, only for me to duck under his armored arm. I tried to reverse the grip on my swords and eviscerate him, forcing my huge opponent to take a step back.
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"Kuh!"

Da Du suddenly realized that he couldn't underestimate me, and clasped both his hands to bring down a heavy hammer blow on my skull, or at least on my spine. Crossing both my swords, I received the impact head on, my legs buckling and the ground shattering underneath my feet. Gritting my teeth, I bore the full brunt of the attack, and then kicked out at his abdomen. Da Du staggered back from the unexpected impact, and my Azure Lotus Sword flashed forward.

"!!"

Da Du clutched his bleeding cheek, where my azure blade had cut through his skin. His expresision transformed completely.

"You brat!" he roared, lashing out at me. I jumped back, fending off a few of his strikes with my sword, and countered with a thrust.

Unfortunately, Da Du was able to deflect my stab with his tekko.

Damn. This was going to be a difficult battle. But I knew that already.

"Just die already, you weakling!"

"Hah!" this time, I couldn't help but retort. "What does that make you then, someone who can't even kill a weakling?"

"Don't get too full of yourself, fucking brat!" Da Du bellowed. "Your death will only be a matter of time!"

He tried to grab me with his poisonous palms, but I all but happily danced out of his grip, and slashed at him, forcing him to parry my blades with his armored arms.

Spinning around, I delivered a series of slashes that forced Da Du back into the defensive. We exchanged several furious blows, and I was heartened to see that I was actually matching him blow for blow.

"Ugh!"

Da Du was growing increasingly frustrated as he attempted to pummel me, only to find that my defenses held firm. I blocked more of his blows, and launched a couple of counterattacks that sneaked past his defenses and left more bloody cuts on his face and torso.

"Fucking brat! Get off!"

With a roar, Da Du forcibly threw me back with a massive punch. I somehow managed to block his blow with my crossed swords, but once again I was sent skidding back from the impact. Da Du thought he could seize the opportunity to capitalize on what he thought was a moment of vulnerability, rearing up to deliver the finishing blow.

I smiled.

"What are you grinning about, brat?!"

Bellowing, Da Du punched a hole through me, only for my figure to shimmer and disappear right before his eyes.

Appearing behind him, I stabbed him, but Da Du's reflexes and instincts were top notch. Growling, he whirled around and caught my Shadow Fox.

"!!"

This time, I was the one who was caught off guard. As I tried to tug my Shadow Fox out of his grip, Da Du smashed an elbow into my face. I somehow managed to block his elbow strike with Azure Lotus Sword, and was sent staggering.

"Ugh…"

Letting go of Shadow Fox momentarily, I grabbed Azure Lotus Sword with both hands and delivered a Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike at pointblank range, black qi raging and swirling around me in a devastating manner.

"?!"

His instincts screaming danger, Da Du quickly crossed his armored arms to block the strike, but my black qi collided with him violently and exploding with such force that the big guy was sent hurtling backward.

"Fuck!"

Swearing, Da Du managed to flip himself up in midair and land on his feet heavily, blood trickling from his mouth and several of his wounds. Heaving, he wiped the blood from his mouth and rose defiantly to his feet to glare at me.

Retrieving my Shadow Fox, I raised both my swords in an offensive stance. My arms continued to tremble from Da Du's elbow strike from before, but I forced myself to conceal the involuntary movement. Not that it would escape Da Du's notice.

He smirked when he saw my arms shaking.

"Can't take much more, can you?" he taunted.

"I'm not the one bleeding all over like a stuck pig," I pointed out, not unreasonably. Da Du's expression darkened.

"Shut the hell up!" he screamed as he launched himself at me. I spun gracefully out of the way and left another two cuts on his shoulder and side, sending another two caustic sprays of blood into the trees and grass.

Twirling my swords, I whirled around after passing by Da Du and then stabbed him in the back, but credit to him, he deflected them. The bigger guy retaliated with a punch that forced me to block him, only for me to be sent hurtling backward.

"Argh…"

I coughed out a mouthful of blood as I staggered, but quickly used Duo to evade his next punch, which would have taken my head off if it landed.

"Heh." Da Du seemed pleased that his attack was effective, and he reared his arm back for a second punch. "You're finally falling apart."

Well, I always knew this was going to be a tough battle.

Da Du dashed forward and punched at me again, but I managed to dodge it while slicing deeply into his torso once again. He spat out some blood, but I also evaded that, and then slashed at him, forcing him back into the defensive. Da Du kicked out, and I blocked with my knee, only for me to be knocked off balance and sent sprawling on the ground.

Laughing triumphantly, Da Du sought to stomp on me, but I quickly rolled away and jumped to my feet. Before I could fully recover my balance, however, his palm strike caught me right in the chest. Or would have, but I hastily crossed my swords in time.

Even so, his blow sent me stumbling several meters back, the powerful vibrations causing me to spit out some blood.

"Gah…"

Coughing, I tried to right myself, only for Da Du to bear down on me with a barrage of rapid palm strikes.

Kicking off the ground, I vanished once again. Da Du spun around to counter my backstabbing attack, only for his hands to pass through empty space.

"?"

I hadn't used Duo to counterattack, but to escape. I had reappeared quite some distance away, managing to keep myself safe from any potential retaliation. Da Du straightened himself, and then launched himself in pursuit again.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath and relied on my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps instead of my vision. Da Du punched at me, but I managed to sidestep his strikes and cut through his defenses. Da Du swore as he deflected one of my blades, but Shadow Fox scythed through his shoulder.

"Gah!"

Blood spurted into the air, but I quickly avoided it by moving to the side. Slashing at Da Du's back, I tried to pierce through a vital spot (like his kidneys), but he slapped my swords away before punching at my head. I ducked by bending my head backward, and then kicked at him, but his defense was solid as ever.

I was slowly bleeding him out, but he would obliterate me before we ever reached that stage. Da Du was still too strong, too skilled for me to take him out in a battle of attrition.

"You'll be joining your Martial Alliance pals in the underworld!" he hollered as he swung his palm at him. "Dying slowly and agonizing from my poisons!"

I parried his palm strike with my blade, and managed to cut his hand by aiming for the unprotected portion of his skin. He hissed in pain and drew back in reflex, but I wasn't able to capitalize on my advantage because he kicked out at me.

"Oof!"

I doubled over as his foot thudded into my midriff and sent me staggering. Before I could defend against his next strike, his palm struck my face and left a burning sensation as the venom blazed through my skin.

"Kuh!"

But I wasn't done yet. Gritting my teeth, I stabbed Da Du, but he realized my intention and shrank back, so my retaliation was only superficial. The poison user punched me heavily, more out of panic than vengeance, and I was flung back.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done.

"Ugh…"

I lay helplessly on the ground, my vision spinning and my mind blanking out in a red haze of pain. The venom burned through my skin, only to dissipate harmlessly against my boosted immune system. Shaking my head, I tried to get up.

Da Du grinned at me as he tried to stem the bleeding.

"So how does it feel?" he sneered.

"How does what feel?" I responded, stil somewhat dazed. Da Du frowned and stared at me when he realized something was wrong.

"My poison should be working through your system now," he snarled, suddenly uncertain of himself. "I've practiced several poison skills and combined them into a single extremely potent cocktail. Even a rank 7 Ghost Bear would die instantly from it." He then smiled. "Hmph. You must be using your qi to suppress the poison. No matter…you'll expend too much qi from trying to control it, and you will die eventually."

This idiot talked way too much. Instead of showing off, he should have dove in and finished me off. But now it was too late, and I had recovered. What was it with villains and their obsessive, compulsive need to deliver such cheesy dialogue?

Swinging my swords, I delivered another vicious Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike that blasted Da Du off his feet. As he staggered back, I jumped at him again, forcing him to parry my strike, but I unleashed yet another Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike.

This time, I actually added something new that I had developed during my training, boosting its power further.

Crack!

"?!"

Da Du's eyes widened when his tekko actually shattered from the powerful impact, blood leaking from cuts all over his arms as both my attack and shrapnel cut through his skin. Staggering back, he tried to retaliate with a swing of his poisonous arms, but I rammed my head right into his fist, causing my forehead to split apart.

Not that I cared. According to Da Du, I had already been poisoned, so taking another direct attack from his venomous techniques made no difference. It might accelerate my death, but either way my fate was sealed.

Except that he was completely unaware of my immunity to poison, thanks to Heaven and Earth Formula. And that wasn't even counting the Hellfire Badger thing that helped me out with the resistance to venoms.

"What a powerful attack!" Da Du heaved as he staggered backward, rotating his wounded arms in shock. But he narrowed his eyes and smirked. "I understand, though. Your only chance is to finish this fight as quickly as possible, to take me out before you die. That is why you're going all out and using up all of your qi. But at the rate you're expending your qi, my poisons will spread faster throughout your system and you'll die quicker!"

"Do you always talk this much?" I asked dryly. Then I dashed forward and delivered a Heavenly Draconic Meteor Strike. Now that his tekko had been broken, there was no reason for me to use Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike.

"?!"

Da Du was sent staggering back as more injuries erupted across his body, his blood spraying across the air. Coughing, he threw his arms out to defend himself, but I sliced them off.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Da Du screamed as he stumbled backward, his blood fountaining out of his stumps like a volcano. He stared at me glassy-eyed, unable to believe what had just happened. As my swords had already scythed through his arms, I spun around and delivered a roundhouse kick to his midriff that sent him falling to his rump.

"How…how is this possible?" his eyes widened when he realized something was amiss. "Why aren't you poisoned?!"

I merely smiled before I ruthlessly beheaded him. There was no reason to tell a dead person the truth, after all.

Chapter end