Environmental Interference, Temporarily Escaped

Dust began to rise.

At first, it was only the fine grains beneath their feet trembling slightly, as if gently stirred by an invisible hand. Then ripples spread from Chen Wuya's palm in widening rings, swiftly racing through the soft sand layer. At that very moment, the wind picked up, sweeping loose dust from the ground and, in the blink of an eye, drawing a grayish-yellow barrier between the two men.

Wu Chi frowned and instinctively took half a step back, his great axe held across his chest. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to see through the thickening cloud of dust, but all he could make out was a blurry figure shifting within it. That figure was not fleeing. Instead, it crouched low, like a hunting beast lying in wait beneath the sand.

"What the hell are you up to?" he barked, his deep voice overpowering the wind and sand.

Chen Wuya did not answer.

His right palm remained pressed against the ground as Misaligned Force seeped into the cracks between the grains like spider silk, continuously disturbing the structure beneath the surface. This move was not a killing technique, nor did it follow the orthodox paths of the meridians. It was simply true qi guided into the earth, using the terrain's recoil to sow chaos. The system determined: "Unconventional conduction path—Error Rationalization." A weak yet steady trickle of inner force flowed back into his dantian, briefly easing the stagnation in his meridians.

He knew his chance would last only this instant.

His left leg exploded with force. Keeping close to the ground, he rolled away, swiftly opening the distance under the cover of the swirling dust. Sand stung his face, but he did not dare stop. After three rolls, he pushed himself up with the momentum and dropped to