Wu Ziying's speed, far beyond what she'd shown before, clearly caught Xiao Kong off guard.
Before the black flames covering his body could even flare to life, the girl's lithe figure had already rushed up to him, bringing her sword down at his neck.
Clang—
The standard-issue longsword collided with the black-and-blue spiritual sword, sending out a blinding shower of sparks.
At the critical moment, Xiao Kong barely managed to block the strike with his sword.
But with her sensitivity boosted tenfold, Wu Ziying's reflexes were clearly far superior to his.
After her first strike failed, the girl flashed aside, leaving an afterimage where she'd stood as her real body appeared behind Xiao Kong. She slashed again.
Even though Xiao Kong dodged with all his might, this strike still caught him on the shoulder blade.
The black flames burned away his skin and flesh, but his skeleton remained completely intact. Jin Hao's Walking Corpse could pierce it with its fangs and claws, but a sword couldn't.
The strike cut clean through part of Xiao Kong's shoulder blade, burying it deep in his breastbone. It looked painful just to see.
Yet Xiao Kong seemed not to feel a thing. Black flames burst from him like erupting lava, hurtling toward Wu Ziying behind him.
But Wu Ziying was simply too fast. She dodged before the flames could reach her.
After two exchanges, Xiao Kong had failed to inflict any real damage on Wu Ziying, but black flames had already wrapped around her standard-issue longsword and were beginning to creep toward her body.
Wu Ziying, however, remained unruffled. She casually twirled her sword, shaking off the black flames.
The principle was simple: before swinging the sword, she only needed to coat it in a layer of spiritual power.
Before the black flames could