Wu Hai lunged at him in fury, his momentum fierce and imposing, the wind from his blade sharp enough to pierce the bone! Yet though Li Bufan was startled, he did not panic. His experience in life-and-death battles might not have been extensive, but the Heaven Rewards Diligence fate had granted him not only proficiency, but also keen insight into the battlefield and calm analysis.
The instant Wu Hai kicked off the ground and exploded forward, Li Bufan's gaze sharpened like a blade, precisely catching every detail!
What terrifying explosive power! The snow caved in so deeply beneath his feet, and his strength burst forth in an instant... This man's strength is absolutely above mine! He is definitely not someone who has only just entered Minor Mastery in Muscle Tempering—at the very least, he is at Peak Minor Mastery. He may even have touched the threshold of Great Mastery! Li Bufan made his judgment in an instant, and the pressure on him surged.
But immediately afterward, he spotted the crucial point!
Though Wu Hai was fast, his movements seemed somewhat "straightforward," lacking variation. His steps were heavy, and every landing sent snow flying in all directions. Though this made him appear overwhelmingly powerful, it also exposed the fact that his footwork was far from refined. It was more like he was forcibly driving his speed with the brute strength of his leg muscles rather than employing some exquisite movement technique.
His Muscle Tempering technique must primarily cultivate the upper body and torso, enhancing the power of his fist or blade techniques! Though his legs have been tempered too and possess plenty of strength, he has never specifically trained any advanced leg technique or footwork! A gleam flashed through Li Bufan's eyes. Meanwhile, my Spirit Monkey Three Leaps has reached Minor Mastery. More importantly, I have entered the Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique, which tempers the leg muscles far beyond the level of a Muscle Tempering cultivator who has not specifically trained leg techniques. My exertion methods are more refined as well. In flexibility and changes of direction, he is far inferior to me!
More importantly, his opponent had been blinded by rage. Though his attacks were fierce, they possessed three parts less calmness and seven parts more frenzy!
An opportunity!
In that flash of lightning and spark of flint, a tactic had already taken shape!
Just as Wu Hai charged halfway forward, his old force spent and new force not yet born, at the instant his body could not change direction—
Li Bufan moved!
Rather than retreating, he lightly tapped against a tree trunk with his feet like a spirit ape stepping on a branch. As his body drifted backward with the borrowed force, the hunting bow he had been gripping tightly was already raised!
He nocked an arrow, drew the bow, and aimed! His movements were lightning-fast and incomparably smooth!
Whoosh!
The first arrow shot through the air. It was not aimed at vital points such as Wu Hai's face or heart—his opponent would certainly be on guard, and he would be difficult to hit while moving—but precisely at an exposed, hard tree root on the ground ahead of Wu Hai's charging path!
Wu Hai was charging wildly toward him. Seeing the arrow fly toward the ground, he instinctively assumed that Li Bufan had missed and sneered inwardly, his speed not decreasing but increasing! Yet just as his next step was about to come down—
Crack!
The arrowhead slammed viciously into the hard tree root and exploded, splintered wood and snow spray flying everywhere! Though this sudden obstacle and disturbance did not directly injure him, it successfully threw his footing slightly into disorder, bringing his charge to a momentary halt!
That momentary pause!
Whoosh!
Li Bufan's second arrow had already flown! This time, its target was Wu Hai's right shoulder joint, exposed when his disrupted footing left it beyond the protection of his leather armor!
Wu Hai's pupils contracted. He had not expected the other man's archery to be so tricky! He hurriedly twisted and swung his blade to block, but in the end, he was a fraction too slow!
Rip!
The arrow grazed across his shoulder, sending up a trail of blood! Though it did not grievously wound him, it successfully tore through his fur coat, leaving behind a burning wound!
"You little bastard! You're courting death!" Having been toyed with and wounded twice in succession, Wu Hai finally flew into a complete rage. Reason was nearly burned away by his fury as he lunged forward again without a care, his blade light slashing toward Li Bufan like a bolt of silk!
Yet after the obstruction and interference from those two arrows, Li Bufan had already successfully widened the distance between them somewhat and thoroughly disrupted his opponent's state of mind and rhythm.
Without hesitation, he tossed his longbow behind him so it would not hinder close-quarters combat. Facing the blade light that came chopping wildly at him, he no longer met it head-on. Instead, he pushed Spirit Monkey Three Leaps to its limit!
His body was extraordinarily agile, like a spirit ape in the forest, shifting and dodging within an extremely narrow range. Each time the blade seemed about to strike him, it would always brush past him by a hair's breadth. The sharp blade wind scraped his skin painfully, yet it could not inflict any real harm.
Wu Hai roared again and again, his blade technique becoming ever more savage. Yet he constantly felt as though his strength could not reach where he wanted it to, an oppressive frustration rising whenever his slashes struck empty air. Li Bufan's footwork was too nimble. In this complex woodland terrain, he was like a fish in water, always able to use trees and boulders as cover, making it difficult for Wu Hai to bring his strength advantage into play.
"Rat! Do you only know how to hide?!" Wu Hai shouted furiously.
Li Bufan's eyes were icy, and he remained completely unmoved. He was waiting—waiting for an excellent opportunity. His opponent possessed tyrannical strength and ferocious blade techniques. A frontal clash was absolutely unwise. Though my Mighty Ox Fist has reached perfection, his realm is higher and his strength greater. If we clash head-on, I will most likely be the one at a disadvantage.
I must make use of speed, flexibility, and... that Great Mastery-level Nameless Fist Technique!
As he dodged, he carefully observed Wu Hai's blade patterns. His opponent's blade technique was broad and forceful, heavy and powerful, but somewhat lacking in variation. Especially in his berserk rage, flaws appeared everywhere.
After several perilous evasions, Li Bufan finally caught a fleeting opportunity!
Wu Hai's blade came down in a Mount Hua-cleaving strike and missed, hacking heavily into a nearby tree trunk. The blade embedded itself in the wood, and pulling it free would take an instant!
Now!
A cold gleam burst from Li Bufan's eyes. His body, which had been gathering momentum all this time, was like a spring compressed to its limit as it suddenly released!
He no longer retreated. Instead, he took the initiative to close in! With his body lowered like a spirit ape pouncing on prey, he instantly cut into the opening at Wu Hai's centerline!
Wu Hai was exerting himself to pull out his blade. Seeing this, a savage grin flashed through his eyes. He actually released the hilt, his blood and qi surging through his left fist as he launched a vicious straight punch at Li Bufan's face! He was confident that even without his blade, he could grievously wound his opponent with one punch through the suppression of his realm!
Yet Li Bufan seemed to have anticipated his reaction long ago!
His pouncing momentum did not diminish, but at the instant before contact, his body twisted slightly at an inconceivable angle, perfectly allowing the fierce fist to brush past his ear! The fist wind made his cheek sting!
At the same time, his right fist had already shot out!
It was not the brutal charge of the Mighty Ox Fist, but the first form of the Nameless Fist Technique—Sweeping Away a Thousand Armies! Yet this move was not used for sweeping attacks. Instead, it gathered the strength of his entire body and smashed viciously toward the opening beneath Wu Hai's armpit, exposed when he threw his punch!
The change in technique came as fast as lightning, its angle incomparably tricky!
Wu Hai had never expected the other man's close-range fist technique to be so broad and forceful, completely unlike the nimble style of his evasions! By the time he tried to defend, it was already too late!
Bang!
A dull, thunderous sound rang out!
Li Bufan's fist struck Wu Hai squarely on the vital point beneath his armpit! Though Wu Hai had tensed his muscles in an attempt to offset the force of the punch, the power of the Nameless Fist Technique after reaching Great Mastery was still not to be underestimated.
"Urgh!" Wu Hai let out a muffled groan of pain. His entire left arm instantly drooped, and even the circulation of his blood and qi stagnated! He staggered backward!
Li Bufan pressed his advantage without mercy, his footwork following closely. The flexibility of Spirit Monkey Three Leaps showed itself again as he clung to Wu Hai like a shadow! The second form—Directly Strike the Yellow Dragon! His fist shot out like a meteor, aimed straight at Wu Hai's heart!
Wu Hai was shocked and enraged as he barely raised his right arm to block.
Bang!
Fist and arm collided. Wu Hai felt a tremendous force crash into him, numbing his arm and forcing him back again.
Li Bufan's momentum surged like a rainbow. The third form—Feint to the East, Attack to the West! His fist blurred, seemingly striking at Wu Hai's face, only to change direction midway and smash viciously into Wu Hai's wounded right shoulder!
Crack!
A faint sound of bone breaking rang out! Wu Hai's shoulder had already been grazed by the arrow, and after suffering this heavy blow, agony pierced straight to his heart. His defensive posture completely collapsed!
"Die!"
Li Bufan roared, seizing this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity as the Mighty Ox Fist at the perfected realm finally erupted! Blood and qi seemed to surge over his right fist, transforming into the phantom of a roaring mighty ox. With an indomitable, decaying-the-rotten-and-pulling-the-rotten tyrannical momentum, it smashed viciously into Wu Hai's wide-open chest! Mighty Ox Horn Strike!
This punch gathered all the strength he had gained after his breakthrough, combined with the explosive force of the Mighty Ox Fist!
At last, terror and despair appeared in Wu Hai's eyes. He desperately tried to gather his blood and qi for defense, but the numbness beneath his armpit, the searing pain in his shoulder, and his disrupted breath prevented him from mobilizing enough strength in time!
"No—!"
Boom!!
The heavy fist stamped solidly into his chest!
Terrifying force smashed into Wu Hai's body! Like someone struck by a stampeding beast, Wu Hai was hurled backward, blood spraying wildly from his mouth as he crashed heavily into a large tree.
Li Bufan stood where he was, gasping violently. His fist was covered in blood and still trembled faintly. That chain of explosive attacks had nearly exhausted more than half his mental energy and strength. Fortunately, the Great Mastery Nameless Fist Technique had granted him the trait of enduring breath, preventing him from running completely out of strength.
Li Bufan panted heavily, his chest heaving like a bellows. The icy air entered his lungs, bringing with it a trace of burning pain.
That lightning-fast chain of explosive attacks just now—especially the final killing blow of the Mighty Ox Fist, which had gathered all his blood and qi—had nearly drained more than half his strength. The extreme tension of his mind had also brought a powerful sense of fatigue.
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