Defeat

"You thought my ability merely blocked foreign objects from entering, that you could deal with it just by going around it?" The man seized Tsi Qing by the throat and yanked him before him. Having lost the lower half of one arm, Tsi Qing could not resist at all. He could only brace his feet desperately against the ground, showing his refusal to yield.

Anyone with eyes could see that such resistance was utterly futile.

The gap between their strength was simply too great.

Yet the instant the two drew close, Tsi Qing suddenly opened his mouth.

Coiled atop his tongue was a handleless short dagger!

Since he could not break through the enemy's defenses head-on, and circling behind through the air would give the other side time to react, then what about now?!

The moment he opened his mouth, Tsi Qing spat out the sharp blade with all his strength. It flashed white as it shot straight at the Qi practitioner's face.

"You—"

The man finally lost his earlier cold composure. He shoved Tsi Qing away and sharply tilted his head aside, barely evading the unforeseen strike.

"Cough, cough... cough..." Tsi Qing crashed to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood. He looked at the man with mockery in his eyes. "What, not using that spellcraft you're so proud of this time? It may look as though it is everywhere, but in truth, the caster has to guard against it in advance, right?"

If he had not noticed it beforehand, he would not have set up defenses in every direction.

For just as Tsi Qing had guessed, this technique not only required time to complete, but also hindered its caster.

"..." The man turned his head back, his expression frighteningly grim. A shallow cut had appeared on