Fighting Bai He (Part 2)

Bai He was greatly startled. He understood Yan Chihuo's intent: the first few punches had been weak, making him mobilize his mana. That created gaps in the flow of mana through his body, which Yan Chihuo then seized to attack.

Bai He thought to himself, This brat is so crafty. But how did he discover the gaps in the flow of my mana?

With a bang, the punch struck Bai He squarely in the abdomen. Neither Bai He nor Yan Chihuo moved. Bai He secretly cried, What a close call!

Yan Chihuo, however, thought, What a pity!

At that critical instant, Bai He had ultimately managed to mobilize a trace of mana and block the punch. Yet the mana he had summoned was too little; it could only protect himself and could not knock Yan Chihuo back.

Yan Chihuo did not pause. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—he threw another three punches. Like the earlier ones, these three carried no force. Bai He understood that Yan Chihuo was preparing to repeat the same trick, and he sneered inwardly. Fool me once, the fault lies with you; fool me twice, the fault lies with me. Does this Yuan Wan really take me for an idiot?

Yan Chihuo threw three more punches, still without force. When Bai He moved his mana over, Yan Chihuo's shoulder twitched slightly. Bai He saw it clearly and knew Yan Chihuo was about to throw a fourth punch. Though he did not know how Yan Chihuo had discerned the gaps in his mana flow, he knew this punch would certainly strike one of those gaps. If he was the slightest bit careless and his body swayed even a little, Bai He would lose.

Thus, he immediately drew his mana back and stationed it near three separate areas within his body.