By contrast, Su Chen...
He still stood quietly where he was, tall and straight, his expression calm. He had neither released his Martial Soul nor summoned a single Soul Ring beneath his feet.
This extreme contrast only made the onlookers more curious. They also wondered if Su Chen was... scared senseless? Or had he realized he was outmatched and given up?
Watching Su Chen's "complete lack of reaction," the unease Wang Dong had felt over his arrogance faded. In its place came irritation at being dismissed and the thrill of crushing her opponent.
"Take this!"
Wang Dong gave a soft shout. The Light Goddess Butterfly wings behind her fluttered, and she shot forward like an arrow loosed from its bow, covering several meters in an instant. Her long, straight right leg, with its startlingly elegant proportions, swept toward Su Chen's waist with a sharp whistle, like a whip lashing through the air!
The kick was incredibly fast and packed with force. It also carried Soul Power of the light attribute. If it landed, even an ordinary Soul Grandmaster would likely have several bones broken.
Yet faced with this fierce kick, Su Chen's expression remained perfectly calm. He did not even release his Martial Soul. At the instant Wang Dong's leg was about to reach him, he simply drew one foot back slightly and turned his body at just the right angle.
"Whoosh!"
Wang Dong's kick, which she had been certain would land, merely brushed past the hem of Su Chen's clothes and struck empty air.
"What?" Wang Dong was startled. She hadn't used her full strength, but that didn't mean her kick was easy to dodge. He had avoided it so casually without even using his Martial Soul?
As Su Chen dodged, his gaze instinctively swept over the long leg Wang Dong had kicked out, and he couldn't help feeling a little surprised.
Those legs... A flicker of barely perceptible interest crossed Su Chen's eyes. When Wang Dong exerted herself, the taut lines of her legs were smooth and full of strength. Their length was astonishing, taking up almost all of her height, and they were straight and shapely, without a trace of excess flesh.
Paired with her uniform, which had grown slightly tight after Martial Soul Possession, those long legs made an especially striking impression.
As expected, she inherited her mother Xiao Wu's genes completely. Su Chen understood. One of the most famous features of that woman, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit who had taken human form, was her long, straight legs, which combined strength with flexibility.
Though her first strike had missed, Wang Dong didn't panic. She pivoted with the momentum, and her left leg lashed out like a scorpion's tail, aiming at Su Chen's lower body from an even trickier angle!
At the same time, the Light Goddess Butterfly wings behind her fluttered lightly, adjusting her balance and speed and making her second kick even faster and harder to defend against.
Yet Su Chen simply shifted his feet, leaning to the side, arching backward, or pivoting lightly. Each time, with only the smallest movement, he narrowly and precisely evaded another of Wang Dong's attacks.
His movements flowed like water, as though he had already anticipated every path her attacks could take. He strolled through the shadows of her legs as if taking a leisurely walk through a courtyard.
After several attacks came to nothing, Wang Dong's surprise turned to grim concentration. Su Chen hadn't released his Martial Soul or Soul Power, yet his footwork was exquisite and his reactions lightning-fast, far beyond anything she had expected! Dodging with nothing but physical ability and combat instinct was even more frightening!
So strong... Those two words surfaced in Wang Dong's mind of their own accord. This guy was definitely not as simple as he seemed!
Watching the expressions shift in Wang Dong's eyes, Su Chen knew the moment was right. The faintest hint of a smile touched his lips. For some reason, that smile made Wang Dong, who had been watching him closely, feel alarm bells ring in her mind!
The next second, Su Chen moved!
His movements were nothing like the light, nimble dodges from before. He burst forward with astonishing speed! A faint afterimage remained where he had stood, while his true form vanished from Wang Dong's field of vision like a ghost!
Wang Dong's vision blurred, and Su Chen disappeared. Then a chill swept over her back!
Behind me! Her battle instincts stopped her from turning around. Instead, she immediately lunged forward, beating her butterfly wings hard to create some distance.
But she was still too slow.
As if he had already anticipated her anticipation, Su Chen appeared behind and to her side. His hand, like a blade still in its sheath, struck the side of Wang Dong's neck with precise, controlled force.
The strike contained no Soul Power, but the subtle force behind it had reached an almost inconceivable level.
Wang Dong felt a numbness in her neck. A strange force instantly spread through half her body, and her Soul Power, which had been flowing smoothly, faltered. The radiance of the Light Goddess Butterfly wings behind her dimmed for an instant. Her body seemed to have had its bones pulled out, leaving her with almost no strength. Her balance went completely out of control.
"Ah!" She cried out as her body pitched forward against her will.
And right in front of her stood Su Chen, who had just withdrawn his hand and settled back into place.
In the blink of an eye, Wang Dong's soft body went flying straight into Su Chen's arms, face-to-face.
"Mm!"
Their bodies pressed close together. Su Chen caught her firmly, but the sensation in that instant brought a genuine flicker of surprise to his calm eyes.
Wang Dong's body... was softer and lighter than he had imagined. Not frail, but supple and springy, brimming with youthful vitality.
Though their clothes separated them, Su Chen could still clearly feel the soft, full curves of Wang Dong's chest against his. And after she released her Martial Soul, the outline beneath the front of her uniform seemed even more prominent than before...
At the same time, an exceptionally delicate fragrance drifted into Su Chen's nose, like a fresh breeze after rain mingled with sunshine and flower nectar.
The scent was quite special, unlike any perfume. It seemed more like Wang Dong's natural fragrance, pleasant and refreshing, and it put him at ease.
Wang Dong was completely dazed. The numbness in her neck was quickly fading, and her strength was returning, but what left her mind utterly blank was that she had actually fallen into the arms of this detestable guy! And... they were pressed together so tightly!
She could clearly feel the firmness and warmth of Su Chen's chest and smell the clean, spring-water-cool scent he carried.
She had never been so close to a member of the opposite sex. Her cheeks instantly burned, turning red all the way to her ears. Even her fair neck flushed pink.
She hurriedly tried to push Su Chen away and stand up, but her body was still a little weak, and she couldn't manage it right away.
Su Chen helped her get her balance, then casually let go and stepped back, putting some distance between them, as though that intimate contact had never happened.
Still, his gaze lingered thoughtfully on Wang Dong's flushed cheeks and gently rising chest.
Once she was steady, Wang Dong lowered her head. Her short pink-blue hair fell forward, hiding most of her face. Only the tips of her ears, red as could be, remained visible.
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