Chapter 9 Stronger Than You've Imagined (Part One)

'He saved my life, didn't he?' Denali thought.

Scanning Austin up and down with her eyes, she realized that he looked so familiar that she really felt that she must have met or seen him somewhere before.

A bit of dirt mixed with the blood on Austin's lower lip, and he raised a hand to wipe it. He couldn't help but feel disappointed when his sneak attack had failed. However, it helped him gauge the difference in strength between himself and his opponent.

There was obviously a huge gap between the second and the ninth level of the Energy Gathering Realm. Thus, he couldn't win over such a high level of power.

It was clear that even though Rafat was seriously injured, he could still beat Austin easily.

The wind blew gently through Austin's dry, matted hair. This was the first time he had fought someone since his recovery.

This current opponent he was facing was at the ninth level of the Energy Gathering Realm. He was much more powerful, and Austin felt greatly pressured.

"Shut up, damned thief!" Austin shouted fearlessly.

The sandy rubble scratched against the ground as Austin stepped forward and continued.

"Who are you and why did you come here? How dare you insult a female disciple of Sun Sect! Do you want to be an enemy of the whole Sun Sect?

Stop and surrender now, otherwise you will regret it!"

Austin sounded righteously aggrieved when he said those words. He also mentioned Sun Sect several times in an attempt to weaken Rafat's fighting spirit.

The use of psychological approach was one of the best tactics in a battle. To make an enemy more afraid meant a better chance of winning. Austin knew something about psychological warfare, so he used it.

"Hey brat, stop mentioning Sun Sect. If the masters or elders of Sun Sect came, then I'd be a little afraid. But you're just a grunt disciple, and I can kill you easily," Rafat spat out with contempt.

His lips curled into a sneer, then his body subtly stood in a battle stance.

Meanwhile, his right hand seemed to raise up slightly as he spoke.

Austin noticed this and quickly took a step backward, then held his breath.

Rafat's eyes widened at Austin's course of action. "Ah, you are a cunning boy. I can't believe you saw through my tricks," he said in shock.

The black smoke that Rafat just attempted to make now was the reason Trent and the other four female grunt disciples had fainted.

Now, he wanted to do it again to Austin so he could kill him. However, Austin had always been aware of the black smoke.

An elusive frown formed on Rafat's lips when he felt a stab of pain from his injuries. Although he had swallowed a healing pill, it didn't seem to be effective.

The wound was still red with blood, and a small amount of it pooled by his feet.

It seemed that he had been hurt quite badly by that secret weapon--so his top priority now was to find a place to heal it.

With that in mind, Rafat didn't think twice.

He took out another pill and swallowed it. "No more nonsense, boy. The matter has nothing to do with you. Why did you have to stick your nose into it? Just die," he said viciously.

Rafat suddenly jumped up and floated in the air right after he finished talking, then he attacked Austin.

"Hey, let's talk first! Remember, you're in Sun Sect so don't be so arrogant. Are you sure you want to anger Sun Sect? We can still talk, maybe there's a chance to fix this," Austin said.

He took a few steps backward and went into a defensive stance.

"Boy, do you think I don't know what you're thinking? You just want to buy time and make my injuries worse! Don't even think about it!" Rafat bellowed.

He was furious. Without saying anything more, he suddenly flew to Austin at a great speed.

Austin knew that Rafat had practiced a special kind of body movement skill--his movement was so strangely quick that it was impossible for Austin to dodge his attacks.

"Go to hell!" Rafat howled again.

He rushed forward and continued to charge at his opponent.

Like a hawk's talons, Rafat roughly grasped Austin's neck as his fingers filled with black vital energy.

In turn, Austin's face twisted in pain when he felt the power of the vital energy fill him.

The ninth level possessed immense strength, and he found it hard to endure the blow.

Thus, he had no choice but to retreat in a hurry and shield his neck with his arms and hands.

When Rafat saw Austin's weakened state, he suddenly changed his direction in the middle of the blow--his hands went down and beat Austin's lower body.

There was a slightly scratching sound that came from Austin's torso.

He backed a few steps and looked down, only to find out that the fabric on the belly of his clothes had been torn to pieces.

There were five deep marks of blood claws on his skin, and a strange force seemed to enter his body.

"Ahh!" he winced in pain. The sharp jab of the strange force made him twist and grunt in agony.

However, at the same time, he also felt his blood boil in anger.

He took a deep breath and looked at his bloody abdomen.

Suddenly, Austin felt no pain at all. He was even a little excited now.

His blood's risk-taking factors seemed to have instantly awakened from a long, dead sleep.

More than three years later, he was faced once more with a life and death situation, which made the blood in his chest burn again.

Like a boat that sailed against the current, cultivation would be pushed backward if it didn't progress forward--so Austin had decided to be brave in the face of a challenge and fearlessly confront it.

Yes, his enemy was at the ninth level--but he would not admit defeat that easily. Even if he was up against a powerful army, he would not back down!

He knew that if he chose to be nervous in front of a much stronger enemy, it would be impossible for him to realize his pursuit of martial arts.

What's more, he had been the top outer disciple three years before. He had previously challenged many people who were at higher levels than him, and he had defeated them.

It was his strong will to do martial arts that pushed him to practice hard and do his best to improve his strength.

He had always been fighting for the will of martial arts, and would always be!

The fighting spirit within Austin rose higher. His eyes had a firm and aggressive look as he stared down his opponent.

Just like a sword about to be drawn from its sheath, he was reckless and intimidating.

When Rafat felt Austin's fierce fighting spirit, he couldn't help but be alarmed.

He had never seen such a strong fighting spirit in another person.

What made him more surprised was that it came from a grunt disciple, who was just at the third level of Energy Gathering Realm. It was truly incredible.

Denali couldn't help but stare at Austin too, her eyes bright with amazement.

'Well, I'll do my best in battle then, ' Austin thought.

He mustered all the fighting spirit he could in his heart and took a deep breath.

Then like a fierce tiger on the hunt for its prey, he lurched forward and launched a stormy attack on Rafat.