The Mandarin's Fury

The moment Xia Yu made his move, Tony started calling James Rhodes. Rhodes was in a helicopter, searching the entire desert for him. Less than ten minutes after Stark's call, a helicopter appeared above Tony's car. Once aboard, Tony badly wanted to turn back and see how Xia Yu was doing.

But then he thought about what Xia Yu had told him. Xia Yu could have escaped, but if Tony went back, he would become a burden again. Tony thought of the man who had intercepted them on the way, who could control lightning, lasers, and other things with a wave of his hand. He didn't know whether Xia Yu was a match for him. This was all to save Tony. Thinking of Xia Yu, who was still buying him time, and Yinsen, who was already dead, Tony Stark was overcome with guilt.

News of Tony Stark's return quickly reached the United States. The heads of several American intelligence agencies in the area swiftly gathered at the U.S. military base. With Tony Stark insisting that he wouldn't go back until Xia Yu was found, the agency heads and the local military commander cooperated with a level of efficiency never before seen between their departments and forcibly sent Tony Stark back.

Who would dare leave him there? If anything happened to him, they could all spend the rest of their lives eating sand there. Of course, before putting Tony on the plane, the officials assured him repeatedly that they would search for his friend Xia Yu with the same resources they had used to look for Tony.

Natasha was still in New York. The battle between Hulk and Abomination had nearly destroyed half of Harlem. S.H.I.E.L.D. hadn't been kind enough to clean up the U.S. military's mess. Instead, after Bruce Banner escaped, it had sent people to keep him under constant surveillance. Natasha had some free time for the moment, and when she heard that Tony Stark had returned safely, she was overjoyed. Her big boy would be coming back too. Natasha wondered whether she should go to Los Angeles and take him on a date, so he wouldn't go sneaking around with other women at Tony Stark's parties again.

Natasha's happiness didn't last long. Xia Yu's watch transmitted a location, and there was only one reason it would automatically send his coordinates.

Xia Yu's life was in danger...

As for what had happened between Xia Yu and the Mandarin, Xia Yu's Gatling-gun barrage had enraged the Mandarin so deeply that he had forcibly activated a ring's skill to hunt Xia Yu down, regardless of the cost. The two raced across the desert, one behind the other, kicking up two long trails of billowing yellow sand.

Xia Yu was furious. Running too fast wasn't necessarily a good thing. Visibility was already high in the desert, and with a cloud of yellow sand trailing behind him, he looked like Zhu Bajie had arrived. He was far too obvious a target. And how was that old man, the Mandarin, so fast? Damn it, were those rings on his ten fingers? They were skill slots, with every kind of skill imaginable.

The Mandarin was gaining on him. Xia Yu flipped his hand, and a crate of grenades appeared. That was right, a whole crate. He glanced back at the distance between them and made a rough estimate. He took one grenade, pulled the pin, and silently counted a few seconds. Then he swung his arm and hurled the whole crate of grenades behind him.

The Mandarin was chasing him with his head down, imagining how he would tear Xia Yu limb from limb once he caught him. As the distance between them shrank, he felt a trace of joy at the prospect of revenge. Then he saw a mass of dark shapes flying toward him, filling the sky. What were those?

"Boom! Boom, boom, boom!" That grenade exploded in midair. Xia Yu had thrown dozens of them, and they detonated in a chain of explosions. He hadn't thrown them at random; he controlled them with Internal Energy. Grenades exploded not only in front of the Mandarin, but also seven or eight to either side of him. The Mandarin was caught off guard once again.

The blast sent him flying onto a nearby dune. Another ruby on the ring on his left index finger cracked. The Mandarin's face turned purple with rage. That was for saving his life, and it couldn't be restored. Every use left him with one fewer. Over the years, he had exhausted his skills and faced life-threatening dangers, but he had never used it.

"Aaaaaah!" The Mandarin threw back his head and howled in rage. No matter the cost, he would kill that brat today. But just then, Xia Yu's voice suddenly rang in his ear again. "What are you yelling about in broad daylight? Did your hemorrhoids burst, or did someone screw you up the ass, you old bastard?"

Xia Yu had used Thousand-Mile Voice Transmission to curse him. But when the Mandarin heard him, he suddenly calmed down and thought, He sent his voice over from who knows how far away. That's another special ability, and he pulled all those things out of nowhere. This kid must have a secret. Once I catch him, I'll get it out of him first, then torture him properly.

The Mandarin was smarter this time. Rather than following directly behind Xia Yu, he pursued him from an angle. From a distance, their trails of yellow sand looked like two parallel lines some ten meters apart. As long as the Mandarin got close enough, he could use a ring's skill to stop Xia Yu.

Xia Yu was anxious too. The old fox was chasing him from about ten meters to his left, where he could dodge anything Xia Yu threw in advance. What could he do?

Suddenly, Xia Yu's eyes lit up. An abandoned village had appeared ahead. Xia Yu was delighted. The desert was bare, with nothing in it, but as long as there was a village with buildings, he could fight a guerrilla battle. With all the weapons in his ring, no matter how many rings the Mandarin had or how powerful they were, there had to be limits to their use. Xia Yu could wear him down until he died.

Naturally, the Mandarin saw it too, and a trace of anxiety appeared in his eyes. The brat had so many weapons of every description and such unpredictable abilities. It would be trouble if he got into the village. One wrong move and the Mandarin himself could fall here. At that thought, a fierce light appeared in the Mandarin's eyes, and he glanced down at the ring on his right index finger.

Xia Yu was about to reach the village. Perhaps the ring on the Mandarin's right index finger didn't have enough range, because he first fired a ray of icy white light at Xia Yu. It was the ability of his left little finger, and Xia Yu had experienced it before. It couldn't hurt Xia Yu at all, but it could slow him down. If he dodged, the Mandarin would catch up.

Xia Yu had no choice. He covered his left hand in Nine Yang Divine Skill Internal Energy and raised it to block the white light without looking back. The movement slowed him down just a little, but that little bit gave the Mandarin, who had long been ready, the opening he needed. The skill on his right thumb finally activated.

Every hair on Xia Yu's body stood on end, and a sense of dread filled his entire awareness. It was a person's instinctive reaction to mortal danger. Although he saw nothing, his body still reacted on instinct. Internal Energy poured endlessly from every acupoint in his body toward his left side.

The Nine Yang Divine Skill's ability to automatically protect its user was pushed to its limit.

Bang! With a tremendous crash, Xia Yu was sent flying sideways for more than a hundred meters before landing heavily on the scorching sand.

"Pfft." He spat a mouthful of blood a good seven or eight meters. All his internal organs had been injured, the entire left half of his body was numb, and his arm and ribs seemed to have fractures as well.

This was the Mandarin's most powerful direct attack, a shockwave capable of delivering up to 350 tons of force. But the Mandarin couldn't draw on that much power now. On top of that, he hadn't intended to kill Xia Yu with the blow, so he hadn't used all the strength he currently had. There were also the Nine Yang Divine Skill's properties, Xia Yu's body strengthened by the Dragon Elephant Prajna Skill, and his foundation in the Yijin Jing. Flying more than a hundred meters across the desert had also dissipated much of the impact. All these factors combined had allowed Xia Yu to take the Mandarin's attack.

Were Xia Yu's injuries serious? They were quite serious. But thanks to his powerful physique and the healing properties of the Nine Yang Divine Skill, he could recover for the most part by lying there for a few hours.

The Mandarin didn't know all that. He was afraid he had hit Xia Yu too hard and killed him. There were still plenty of secrets he hadn't dug out of him, and he hadn't yet taken revenge for the Gatling-gun barrage.