There were two Daos [1] and one of them had been sitting in the little jungle waiting for Li Kandao. When Lin Huai rushed over, Li Kandao was not there yet. Lin Huai did not show himself and just hid nearby to witness the battle.
If it was based on their strengths, these two had already surpassed the strength of average students. Lin Huai even felt that if the both of them were nurtured properly, they might have a reputation as skilled swordsmen in China in the future. These two men were just too talented; Li Kandao had a superior aura of intimidation while Dao Zi was superior in the act of slaughter. Their talents could not be found even among tens and thousands of people. It was rare to have two of these people in a city but who knew that the two of them appeared in the same city and even in the same school; this could only mean that one of them would certainly get hurt.
Lin Huai lay his back against the trunk under the shade of a tree with a toothpick dangling from his mouth. His eyes suddenly lit up and an intimidating figure appeared at a distance; Li Kandao had arrived.
As Li Kandao walked over, he saw Dao Zi and frowned, “Why are you here? Isn’t Xiao Jing supposed to be here?”
Xiao Jing was one of the girls under Gao Mengchao. She was also the person whom Li Kandao was supposed to have a date with at the trees tonight.
Dao Zi flashed his dagger as his cold-blooded eyes looked at Li Kandao mercilessly, “You don’t need to look for her. She’s not coming.”
“I get it now.” Li Kandao glanced at his surroundings and realized there was nobody else. Then, his eyes turned back to Dao Zi and said, “You’ve come out to set this trap up for me?”
“Yes.” Dao Zi looked at Li Kandao and said coldly, “There can only be one of us in Yulan College. Two of us is just one too many. We’ll see whether the Dao that remains is you or me.”
Li Kandao chuckled. “You will regret this. I know that Mr. Hu and the others were apprehensive of you but you are not my match.”
“That is still too early to say.” Dao Zi was not fazed at all when he was facing the confident Li Kandao. “Before one of us makes a move, you won’t know if you’ll win or lose. No matter how strong a person is, he will have his flaws.”
Dao Zi’s eyes sparkled with a murderous intent as he said, “You also have your flaws!”
Li Kandao burst into laughter and held his machete which he always brought along with him as he dashed toward Dao Zi. He screamed loudly while his machete smashed down, aiming at Dao Zi’s head; the sound from the force of the machete was thunderous, like a thousand pound force.
Even Lin Huai was shocked by the attack. Although this terrifying blow could not be compared to the more notorious killers, it was already considered the best among average people. Li Kandao’s talent was really mind boggling.
Dao Zi was not fazed by the attack and quickly stepped back. Li Kandao dashed toward him once again as he slashed maniacally but Dao Zi just kept backstepping.
It looked like Dao Zi was at a disadvantage and was even inching closer to defeat. However, Dao Zi’s face did not look panicked at all from the start.
Suddenly, Li Kandao switched his blade techniques and changed it a few times consecutively. While Dao Zi was dodging from the attacks, he felt a pain in his shoulder. He did not need to see to know that his shoulder was bleeding profusely; Li Kandao had managed to slash a wound on his shoulder.
Then, Li Kandao paused his attacks. Dao Zi had retreated to a safe distance of around five or six metres away. He took a deep breath and lowered his head to check his shoulder; the wound was so deep that his bone was almost visible.
“I’ve told you, you’re not my match.” Li Kandao’s eyes were gleaming with excitement. “You managed to dodge so many of my slashes and I could barely hurt you. Your strength has surpassed Yulan’s Four Tigers but compared to mine, you still have a long way to go.”
Li Kandao talked so confidently as if Yulan’s Four Tigers were insignificant in his eyes, but that was the truth.
Dao Zi smiled and provoked him, “You’ve only made such a small cut on me. It’s still too early to determine the winner and loser. Li Kandao, one of us will be down for sure today.”
“You’re right, and that person is you!”
Li Kandao charged forward again as he laughed. “Come, let’s see who will be the one that will die under the knife. Could you even consider that tiny dagger of yours a blade?”
Li Kandao’s blade techniques became more erratic and fiercer and his strength was also becoming stronger. Lin Huai watched from the side and he was taken aback; Li Kandao’s techniques had almost reached an expert’s level, also known as the Observable Energy Stage.
In the martial arts, they would occasionally divide them into three stages: Observable Energy, Hidden Energy and Neutralizing Energy. When one had reached the Observable Energy Stage, it meant that one’s skills had reached the top level and could be categorized as an expert.
In the case of Li Kandao, his strength still needed some work to become truly an expert but his strength at this moment kept on rising and was almost reaching the Observable Energy Stage; he was not far away from being an expert.
Li Kandao’s strength became stronger and stronger while Lin Huai was just dumbfounded; he kept gasping internally as it was really a rare sight to be able to witness such an expert in school.
However, it was still too early to determine the winner between the two men.
Lin Huai continued watching as Dao Zi was slashed once again. There was a gash on his chest and his breathing became more rapid from the blood loss and all the dodging. The result was evident and he was getting closer to losing the battle.
Lin Huai still did not plan on stepping out to help him as he watched on calmly. Li Kandao laughed as he raised the machete in his hands and at this instant, Li Kandao’s chest was exposed and Dao Zi immediately struck his dagger at him.
The dagger in Dao Zi’s hands flew out like the knife in Xiaoli Feidao[2]. It was as fast as lightning as it glided through the air and instantly struck at Li Kandao’s chest.
Li Kandao lowered his head and was shocked as he looked at the dagger that was stabbed in his chest. At this moment, Dao Zi pounced toward him fiercely; he pulled the dagger out and pointed it at Li Kandao’s throat.
Li Kandao slowly placed down the machete that was in his hands. His face had turned pale and there was a look of disbelief on his face as he mumbled, “How is it possible that I’ve lost?”
From the perspective of their strengths, he was indeed more superior than Dao Zi, and that was why he could not accept the fact that he had just lost to Dao Zi.
Dao Zi was panting heavily but his voice was still steady and leveled as he said, “You’ve asked me if this dagger in my hand is worthy to be called a blade. So do you understand now? It is a good blade as long as it can kill!”
“A blade that kills is a good blade. Haha! Hahaha… You’re right, a blade that kills is a good blade. I’ve lost, so what are you going to do with me now?”
Dao Zi replied coldly, “I can let you go. I’m planning on fighting you again the next time. The reason you’ve lost this time is because Brother Huai had told me about your flaws.”
Li Kandao’s eyes widened as he asked, “What’s my weakness?”
Blood was oozing out from his chest but he did not seem to care about it. Instead, he was more interested in the answer; it was as if his flaw was more important than his life at that moment.
Dao Zi answered, “Brother Huai told me he had met you before and you are an overconfident person. An overconfident person like you will be a terrifying person in the future but what you lack is that you have never lost a fight before. Thus, overconfidence will be your weakness if you do not lose a fight. He even told me that my chances of winning will increase with the length of my blade and I could not just rely on my dagger to win against you in a close combat. Until now, I am still unable to do it but I can use it as a flying dagger. Do you know that I have been practising my flying dagger skills by myself for the past two days?”
There was a hint of bitterness on Li Kandao’s face.
Dao Zi asked, “Now that you have lost, I can be the only one in Yulan College. So I’ll ask you this. Do you want to die or leave this place immediately and never come back?”
Li Kandao hung his head and said dejectedly, “I will leave this place.”
“Good!” Dao Zi released the dagger which he was pointing at Li Kandao’s throat and said, “You can leave now.”
Li Kandao asked, “You believe my words?”
“People like you will not tell lies because you do not think it’s worth it.”
“Yes, we are actually the same kind of people.” Li Kandao smiled as he covered his chest which was bleeding profusely and slowly walked out of the woods.
Dao Zi was breathing heavily as he slumped to the ground. He had sustained two wounds just now and blood was also trickling out of them. In addition to that, he had just been in a hard-fought battle and his energy was depleted. That was why he could not even stand up anymore.
At this moment, Lin Huai walked over and took out a bottle of blood-clotting medicine from his pocket. He was a bodyguard and he could face danger any time, anywhere, which was why he must have these items with him.
Dao Zi lifted his head and looked at Lin Huai; his eyes had a hint of excitement and he said, “I won, Brother Huai, although my victory was kind of miserable.”
Lin Huai smiled. “It was a battle between life and death. We only see the result and not the process. You only have one life so nothing is more important than the result.”
“You’re right.” Dao Zi continued, “They will be short of one man tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Lin Huai nodded. “Pan Haifeng has been dealt with and as for Li Guangzhi, Zhou Minghu will deal with him tomorrow. Now three of the Yulan’s Four Tigers have been exterminated and Li Kandao is also gone. Zhou Minghu will now be nothing left but a paper tiger.”
Dao Zi said, “Brother Huai, about the battle tomorrow… ”
“You don’t have to join anymore.” Lin Huai added, “I will send you to the hospital first. I can handle the fight tomorrow by myself.”
Dao Zi frowned and answered, “Brother Huai, Zhou Minghu is not just some average person. From what I see, he is even more terrifying than Li Kandao.”
“Yes, they have different characters.” A smile appeared at the corner of Lin Huai’s mouth. “Zhou Minghu is an ambitious and ruthless person while Li Kandao is just all brawn and no brains.”
While Lin Huai was talking, he helped Dao Zi up. The both of them left the scene and disappeared into the gloomy night.
That night, all was silent and peaceful in the woods, except for the stench of blood lingering there.
It was the calm before the storm.
The next day, Li Kandao and Pan Haifeng did not show up but Zhou Minghu did not assume anything because people like them always hung out at night and it was common for them to sleep during the day. However, what made him furious was that he had waited for the two of them until classes had ended and yet they still did not show up. They should have known that it was an important day; the gangsters in the whole school had already gathered at the field, waiting for Zhou Minghu to delegate men to each of the gang leaders.
Zhou Minghu became upset as he stubbed out his cigarette. He stood up and said coldly, “We won’t wait for them anymore, we’ll go now!”
“Alright!” Zhang Hongdi and Li Guangzhi who were feeling extremely uneasy followed Zhou Minghu from behind.
[1]Dao directly translates to knives, which is a common character in both Dao Zi and Li Kandao’s names.
[2] Xiaoli Feidao is a series of wuxia (martial arts) novels authored by Gu Long.