After the referee announced the start of the match, Xu Jing did not rush to attack like the previous challengers. He merely stood quietly at one side of the ring, tall and straight as a pine, radiating a sharp aura like a famed sword sheathed in its scabbard—its cold gleam already intimidating before it was drawn.
The two stood five steps apart, their gazes meeting in midair and faintly sparking invisible flames.
Sensing an oppressive pressure far heavier than any of the previous duels, the referee immediately stepped down, leaving the stage entirely to them.
No probing. No words.
Almost at the very instant the referee leaped from the ring, Xu Jing moved!
That single step was swift as thunder racing across the land, yet it landed without a sound. One moment he had been standing still; the next, he had invaded the space before Lu Jue, moving so fast he left an afterimage in everyone's eyes!
A hand chop tore through the air like a genuine blade, slashing straight at the side of Lu Jue's neck!
The angle was vicious, the burst of force brief and abrupt. Whether in speed or power, it surpassed Yan Hao and his like by an unknown number of leagues!
Lu Jue's pupils contracted slightly. At last, a trace of genuine gravity crossed his usually calm face.
Instead of retreating, he advanced. His left arm suddenly swung up like an iron whip, the muscles in his forearm taut as he met that fierce hand chop head-on!
"Smack!"
A crisp yet dull sound exploded. Lu Jue's body swayed faintly, and a subtle crack sounded beneath his feet. Numbness and soreness spread through the spot where his left arm had blocked, and the force contained in his opponent's hand chop made his heart turn cold.
Yet