He couldn’t compare to characters from comics. Their limits, their histories, their many facets—these weren’t things built over months or years. All it took was a single Chapter... a side story.
Zheng Fan moved faster than Chu Fengjiu. His hands pressed against the ground, palms up, and in an instant, he transformed from a bipedal, ape-like figure into a four-limbed crawling creature! His speed skyrocketed!
Chu Fengjiu’s gaze sharpened. Before he could even react, Zheng Fan was already upon him. Chu Fengjiu promptly swung his sword, creating a flurry of light. Buoyed by his vital energy, he laid down three defensive barriers around himself. But after closing in, Zheng Fan didn’t attack. Instead, he began to move, sticking close to Chu Fengjiu’s body. His speed was simply too great; Chu Fengjiu’s eyes could barely keep up!
What in the world was this damn thing!
Chu Fengjiu had completely lost his composure. No matter how formidable his opponent—even a Seventh Rank or Sixth Rank martial artist—he wouldn’t have fallen into such a state of mind. At least with them, everyone followed established patterns, proceeding according to convention. Victory or defeat, life or death—it all came down to individual skill! But this thing that had suddenly appeared before him followed no discernible pattern whatsoever.
It was like peeling an onion; Zheng Fan’s rapid movements seemed to strip away Chu Fengjiu’s layered defenses one by one. Zheng Fan’s speed was so incredibly fast that Chu Fengjiu didn’t dare launch a reckless counterattack. He knew that if a single strike missed, he would expose his vital points directly to his opponent.
However, Chu Fengjiu couldn’t maintain this passive defensive posture for long. Finally, a gap appeared in his defenses—right above his head.
Zheng Fan suddenly sprang up. His left arm, like that of a puppet, rotated half a circle and smashed downwards!
"Seeking death!" Chu Fengjiu rejoiced internally. This was a weakness he had intentionally revealed! In this kind of life-or-death struggle, the greatest test was actually of wits. Chu Fengjiu believed he surpassed his opponent in both mental acuity and experience!
In an instant, the flexible sword in Chu Fengjiu’s hand suddenly split from one into three. They began to flicker rapidly, aiming to envelop Zheng Fan’s head.
Perhaps in the next second, Zheng Fan’s head would be instantly shredded, like a head thrust into a large industrial fan in some future workshop.
However, while Zheng Fan was mid-air, a dull thud suddenly came from his chest. His armor cracked open. It was as if someone had applied a counterforce to his chest in mid-air, causing his airborne trajectory to momentarily halt.
Immediately after, using his waist to generate force, Zheng Fan’s body began to reverse its motion. He transformed from a downward punching posture into one where his upper body leaned back and his lower body thrust forward. Not only did his head dodge Chu Fengjiu’s sword attack, but his feet also took advantage of the momentum to stomp fiercely downwards!
Both feet landed solidly on Chu Fengjiu’s chest!
Chu Fengjiu spat out two mouthfuls of blood as his entire body was sent flying backward, crashing directly into the tree behind him.
The tree snapped and crashed to the ground.
"This..." Chu Fengjiu’s mouth was full of bloody froth, his face a mask of disbelief.
He wasn’t an unparalleled master. Among the Silver Armored Guard, there were many stronger than him. It wasn’t that he couldn’t be defeated, nor that he couldn’t lose. He certainly wasn’t such a sore loser as to think he couldn’t die. But what he didn’t understand, what puzzled him, what he couldn’t accept, was that his opponent, from beginning to end, hadn’t emitted any light from his body! He had clearly been defeated using a martial artist’s combat methods, by pure fighting skill, yet there was no glow of vital energy! How was this possible!
Zheng Fan landed on the ground. Chu Fengjiu leaned against the broken tree, his eyes fixed deadly on him. Zheng Fan’s body began to tremble, his chest heaving violently.
Just then, Chu Fengjiu heard a rustling sound in the distance. It had to be the nearby Silver Armored Guard reinforcements arriving.
Zheng Fan braced himself on the ground with his hands, his mouth wide open. "Aaaargh..." He continually let out hoarse sounds of agony. "Aaaargh..." His face began to contort ceaselessly. He was in immense pain.
Chu Fengjiu’s mouth fell slightly ajar. He had lost, but it seemed his opponent was also having some kind of problem! If this continued, even though he had lost, he would live. But his opponent, this monster, he would die!
A wave of intense elation surged through Chu Fengjiu. His chest began to heave, instantly aggravating his wounds, and mouthful after mouthful of blood gushed uncontrollably from his lips, as if it cost nothing. Chu Fengjiu knew his body was most likely crippled. He didn’t know how many ribs in his chest were broken, and his spleen was undoubtedly severely damaged. In the future, he probably wouldn’t be able to undertake field assignments anymore.
But at this moment, nothing was more alluring than the prospect of survival! As long as I can survive! As long as I can live! Just live! The Silver Armored Guard isn’t without desk jobs!
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!!!
Suddenly, the rhythmic sound of galloping hooves echoed, followed by battle cries from the distance. Thɪs chapter is updated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝗇𝗲𝘵
Chu Fengjiu froze. He wanted to move away from the tree, but his body simply wouldn’t budge. His injuries were truly too severe, too incapacitating. In this condition, he couldn’t even circulate his vital energy. If he tried, his own chest would rupture first.