It wasn’t a life-or-death battle, so who would be willing to tarnish their own image? Even a fool could see that they might have to work as a team later, and what was the point of the full-server livestream? It was easy enough to guess, so no one wanted to shoot themselves in the foot.
Although Wang Buyu being here meant she must excel in some area—maybe even be impressive—that area was definitely not combat strength!
In the end, with no other choice, Subway Line 5 figured he’d just slash her arm to draw blood. But when he charged forward, Wang Buyu actually dodged. Subway Line 5 turned and thrust again, and once more, she dodged!
Though her expression remained fearful and flustered, dodging two attacks in a row like that couldn’t just be coincidence!
Qi Xu had originally assumed Wang Buyu’s skill was simple mind-reading, but now it seemed... not so simple. Subway Line 5’s first move might have been premeditated, but when he adjusted mid-attack after being dodged, even if Wang Buyu could hear his thoughts, she wouldn’t necessarily have had time to react.
No one pre-plans every detail of an attack in their head; they constantly adjust based on immediate circumstances. From her clumsy dodging, it was clear that Wang Buyu really wasn’t skilled in combat.
But... dodging two moves perfectly in a row was just too illogical. Subway Line 5 attacked quickly too—there was no way he was going easy on her.
The only explanation was that Wang Buyu’s skill was at least level 2, and its type might be... prediction? Otherwise, none of it made sense.
Mind-reading plus prediction—that was way too overpowered.
Wang Buyu stiffly raised her knife to attack, but her moves were full of gaps, and Subway Line 5 dodged them easily. That gave him a bit of confidence again. But whenever he attacked, no matter how tricky his angle, she still evaded him completely.
The two fighters fell into a bizarre cycle: advancing, attacking, and both completely missing each other. Back and forth, who knew how many times—nearly ten minutes passed, and neither had even touched the other’s sleeve.
Frustration surged in Subway Line 5 again. Since this match only required drawing blood, he stopped dodging, let her knife slice into his chest, then shoved his own blade forward, aiming for her shoulder.
Wang Buyu hesitated for a moment, then chose not to move. She bit her lip hard and took the hit on her shoulder as well.
Subway Line 5 was suddenly at a loss. He had never fought an opponent like this. If she didn’t dodge, she wouldn’t dodge; and when she dodged, she kept dodging.
He tried attacking a few more times, and each time Wang Buyu barely scraped by...
The only way to avoid the stalemate was to stop dodging and take a hit—then she’d take one too, in sync.
Wang Buyu felt awkward too. She wasn’t sure if she was ruining the unspoken agreement. She didn’t dare lift her head, look at anyone, or listen to anyone’s thoughts.
Qi Xu sighed and stepped forward to break the deadlock. “Alright, you two. You could keep this up for another half hour with no result. Just take your knives and go stab yourself by the window to get it over with. Don’t waste my time—I’ve got a match with the master.”
Wang Buyu looked up at Invincible Black Whirlwind, touched. She wasn’t afraid of pain or injury, but some things were beyond her control. So...
Qi Xu walked to the center of the arena and gently patted Wang Buyu’s uninjured shoulder. “Don’t overthink everything all the time. Nothing matters more than how you feel. People who stress themselves out too much never live happily.”
Wang Buyu nodded vigorously. The black-haired monster merchant had told her the same thing. She could completely feel Invincible Black Whirlwind’s sincerity and goodwill...
What she loved most about Qi Xu was that when they talked, what was said matched exactly what she was thinking!
Wang Buyu gave a thumbs-up for encouragement, then quickly ran over to the window, worried about wasting her blood.
Qi Xu turned with a smile toward her opponent, Master Huixin, standing still with hands in her pockets, patiently waiting for him to finish chanting “Amitabha.” She showed no intention of attacking.
Just as Master Huixin grew puzzled, he suddenly sensed danger. But Invincible Black Whirlwind hadn’t moved at all—still standing there with a curl to her lips. He quickly sidestepped to the right and dodged a pink mist blade!
Before he could react further, Invincible Black Whirlwind vanished from in front of him, and danger pressed in from all directions...
Master Huixin’s pupils shrank. The hem of his cassock rustled from unseen energy. He swiftly formed hand seals, golden Buddha light bursting from his palms as he raised a translucent swastika barrier around himself.
Two dull thuds rang out as pink mist blades—seemingly coming from every side—slammed hard against the barrier, jarring his wrists.
Before he could steady himself, a smiling voice came from his left: Qi Xu’s.
“Master, are we just going to dodge? That’s no fun. Let’s attack.”
Master Huixin spun around sharply, only to see Qi Xu still standing in the same spot with his hands in his pockets. The voice had come from an afterimage. No sooner had he thrown a punch than the afterimage vanished, and the real threat coiled around him from behind!
This was Level 3 [Crimson Strike]—entirely free-form, how to mislead, how to teleport, all dictated by his own will, bound by no rigid patterns.
Qi Xu wielded dual blades, moving swiftly while weaving in teleports, as if he were everywhere at once.
Master Huixin finally understood just how troublesome the Invincible Black Cyclone was. Forget drawing blood—he couldn’t even lock onto a target before his own defenses were forced into action. He had faced many opponents before,
but none like this.
Master Huixin let out a low shout, and Buddha light flared from his fingertips. He actively drew the swastika-shaped barrier outside his body back into himself, and his skin seemed to turn entirely into gold.
Then, instead of dodging any further, he charged straight toward Qi Xu. Qi Xu, eager to clash head-on, teleported directly in front of Master Huixin.
Using the afterimages from his teleportation, Qi Xu slashed three times around Master Huixin’s body, each strike aimed precisely at the weaker points in his golden defenses—his joints.
Yet Master Huixin’s entire body felt like forged metal. He took the three blows without a scratch, while Qi Xu’s wrists and tiger’s mouth stung from the impact.
Qi Xu quickly switched tactics. Instead of stubbornly trying to hack through the golden body, he pushed his teleportation speed to the max.
His dual blades no longer came down in straight chops; instead, he used the sides of the blades for rapid sweeping, slashing, and poking. Master Huixin could never guess where or how this Invincible Black Cyclone would strike next.
And so, naturally, his defenses were always a step slow. And that split-second gap of slowness was all Qi Xu needed to find a weakness!
..........
