Life and Death Struggle

Wu Hai charged with fury, his momentum fierce and his blade's chill biting to the bone! Yet Li Bufan, though startled, kept his composure. His experience in life-or-death combat wasn't vast, but the [Heaven Rewards Diligence] destiny granted him not just proficiency, but sharp insight and calm analysis of the battlefield.

The instant Wu Hai stomped the ground to burst forward, Li Bufan's gaze cut like a blade, nailing the fine details!

"Such explosive power! The snow caves in that deep, strength surging in an instant... This guy's strength is definitely above mine! He's no novice at Muscle Tempering—at least peak minor success, maybe even brushing the threshold of major success!" Li Bufan's mind made the call in a flash, pressure mounting.

But then, he spotted the key flaw!

Wu Hai's speed was high, but it was too "straightforward," lacking variation. His footfalls were heavy, each step blasting snow aside—impressive in force, yet revealing that his footwork was crude, relying on raw leg muscle to shove himself forward rather than any refined lightness or agility.

"His Muscle Tempering technique must focus on his upper body and torso, boosting his fist or blade power! His legs are tempered too, strong enough, but he's never trained in proper legwork or footwork!" Li Bufan's eyes gleamed. "And me—my Spirit Monkey Three Leaps is at minor success, and more crucially, Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique at entry level hones my leg muscles far beyond any Muscle Tempering cultivator without dedicated leg training. My technique is more refined; in agility and direction changes, he's no match for me!"

What's more, the man was blinded by rage—fierce in attack, but lacking three parts calm, brimming with seven parts frenzy!

"Opportunity!"

In a flash, the tactic crystallized!

The moment Wu Hai was mid-charge, old strength spent, new strength not yet born, his body unable to shift direction—

Li Bufan moved!

He didn't retreat. Instead, like an ape stepping on a branch, he lightly tapped the tree trunk with his foot, borrowing the force to drift backward while raising the hunting bow still gripped in his hand!

Nock, draw, aim—lightning fast, flawlessly smooth!

"Whoosh!"

The first arrow shot through the air, not aimed at Wu Hai's face or heart—he'd be on guard and hard to hit mid-motion—but precisely at the ground ahead of his charge, a bare, hard tree root!

Wu Hai was charging full tilt, saw the arrow hit the ground, assumed it was a miss, and sneered inwardly, speeding up instead! But just as his next foot was about to land—

"Crack!"

The arrowhead slammed into the tough root, bursting apart, splinters and snow spray flying! This sudden obstacle and disruption, though not directly wounding him, threw his step into slight chaos, stalling his momentum for a beat!

That single pause!

"Whoosh!"

Li Bufan's second arrow was already loosed! This time, it aimed straight at Wu Hai's right shoulder joint, exposed where his leather armor didn't cover, thanks to his stumbled step!

Wu Hai's pupils shrank—he hadn't expected such tricky archery! He twisted hurriedly to parry with his blade, but was a hair too slow!

"Rip!"

The arrow grazed his shoulder, drawing a spray of blood! Not a serious wound, but it tore his fur coat and left a stinging gash!

"You little bastard! You're asking for it!" Taunted and wounded in succession, Wu Hai's fury boiled over, reason nearly consumed by rage. He lunged again recklessly, his blade slashing like a ribbon of light at Li Bufan!

But after those two arrows' interference, Li Bufan had already widened the gap and thoroughly rattled his opponent's focus and rhythm.

Without hesitation, he tossed the longbow behind him to keep it from hindering close combat. Facing the wild blade, he didn't meet it head-on but pushed Spirit Monkey Three Leaps to its limit!

His form was nimble as a forest ape, darting and dodging within a tiny radius. The blade seemed about to land each time, yet always missed by a hair, the fierce wind scraping his skin raw but failing to deal real damage.

Wu Hai roared again and again, his blade growing more savage, but always felt powerless, striking empty air with a stifling frustration. Li Bufan's footwork was too agile, and in this complex woodland, he was in his element, using trees and rocks as cover, keeping Wu Hai from leveraging his strength advantage.

"Coward! All you do is run?!" Wu Hai howled in rage.

Li Bufan's eyes were icy, unmoved. He was waiting—waiting for the perfect chance. The man's strength was overwhelming, his blade ferocious; a direct clash was foolish. Mighty Ox Fist was perfected, but with his opponent's higher realm and greater power, a head-on fight would likely leave him the loser.

He had to use speed, agility, and... that major-success-level Nameless Fist Technique!

While dodging, he carefully studied Wu Hai's blade patterns. The man's style was broad and heavy, powerful but lacking in variation, especially in his rage, where openings appeared frequently.

After several close calls, Li Bufan finally seized a fleeting opportunity!

Wu Hai's blade came down in a mountain-splitting chop, missed, and slammed deep into a tree trunk, the edge stuck—a moment needed to pull it free!

Now!

Li Bufan's eyes blazed with cold light. His body, coiled like a compressed spring, released in an instant!

He didn't retreat but closed in! Crouching low like an ape pouncing on prey, he slipped straight into Wu Hai's open center!

Wu Hai, struggling to yank his blade, saw this and sneered. He let go of the hilt, his left fist surging with blood energy, and threw a vicious straight punch at Li Bufan's face! He was confident that even without the blade, his realm advantage would let him crush the kid with one blow!

But Li Bufan seemed to have anticipated that reaction!

His pounce didn't slow, but at the moment of contact, he twisted his body at an almost impossible angle, letting the fierce punch whistle past his ear! The wind stung his cheek!

At the same time, his right fist shot out!

It wasn't the brute force of Mighty Ox Fist, but the first form of the Nameless Fist Technique—Sweep the Thousand Armies! Yet this wasn't a sweep; it gathered all his strength, slamming into the exposed gap under Wu Hai's armpit from the punch!

The shift was lightning-fast, the angle vicious!

Wu Hai never expected such a broad, heavy close-range fist style, so different from Li Bufan's evasive agility! He couldn't recover in time!

"Thud!"

A dull, heavy impact!

Li Bufan's fist landed solidly on Wu Hai's armpit weak point! Though Wu Hai tensed his muscles to absorb the force, the power of the Nameless Fist Technique at major success was nothing to scoff at.

"Urgh!" Wu Hai grunted in pain, his entire left arm going limp, blood flow stuttering! He staggered backward!

Li Bufan pressed the advantage, his footwork closing in, the agility of Spirit Monkey Three Leaps on full display, shadowing his foe! The second form—Directly Strike the Yellow Dragon! His fist shot like a meteor, straight for Wu Hai's heart!

Wu Hai was both shocked and furious, barely managing to raise his right arm to block.

Bam!

Fist met arm. Wu Hai felt a surge of immense force, numbing his arm and forcing him back again.

Li Bufan pressed on with unstoppable momentum—the third move: Feint to the East, Attack to the West! His fist flickered, seeming to strike at the face, but changed direction mid-swing, slamming viciously into Wu Hai's already injured right shoulder!

Crack!

A faint sound of bone splitting rang out! Wu Hai's shoulder, already cut by an arrow, now took this heavy blow. The pain seared through him, and his defensive stance completely collapsed!

"Die!"

Li Bufan roared, seizing this golden opportunity. The perfected Mighty Ox Fist finally erupted! His right fist seemed to surge with blood and qi, forming the phantom of a roaring mighty ox, charging forward with an unstoppable, devastating momentum, and smashed straight into Wu Hai's wide-open chest: Mighty Ox Horn Strike!

This punch gathered all his power after the breakthrough, amplified by the explosive force of Mighty Ox Fist!

For the first time, terror and despair flickered in Wu Hai's eyes. He desperately tried to gather his blood and qi to defend, but the numbness under his arm, the searing pain in his shoulder, and his disrupted breathing made it impossible to muster enough strength in time!

"No—!"

Boom!!

The heavy fist landed solidly on his chest!

The terrifying force slammed into Wu Hai! His body, as if struck by a rampaging beast, flew backward, blood spraying from his mouth, and crashed heavily into a tree.

Li Bufan stood still, panting heavily. His fist was covered in blood, still trembling slightly. That chain of explosive moves had drained most of his energy and spirit; only the enduring breath granted by his mastery of the Nameless Fist Technique kept him from collapsing.

Li Bufan gasped for air, his chest heaving like a bellows. The cold air seared his lungs with a faint sting.

That lightning-fast burst, especially the final Mighty Ox Fist killing blow that condensed all his blood and qi, had nearly emptied his strength. The intense mental focus also left him deeply exhausted.