17. Chapter 17, Never Miss

A massive, circular Earth Rock Lid suddenly appeared above Ye Yuexin, its surface shimmering with a cyan hue after being infused with chakra. It looked incredibly hard.

It smashed down toward Ye Yuexin with great speed. The lid was about five meters in diameter; its surface area was simply too vast.

Furthermore, because the distance was so short, there was no way to dodge it.

The crux of the matter was that the coordination between the earth slabs in front and behind him and the lid above was far too tight.

It felt like a death sentence.

Time was running out. His potential was forced to the surface.

Ye Yuexin utilized wind to propel himself toward the side while simultaneously weaving hand seals.

"BOOM!!" The two earth techniques collided.

Smoke instantly engulfed the entire space. One could tell just by the sound that the impact was immense.

If he had been caught in that, the damage would have been absolutely pulverizing.

Dust filled the air.

Ye Yuexin crouched on the ground beside the smoke, gasping for air.

A section of his clothing behind him had vanished. That had been incredibly close.

Ye Yuexin felt that he had been a hair's breadth away from death just now.

Because the distance was too great, he hadn't even been able to perform a Body Replacement Technique.

Therefore, Ye Yuexin had simultaneously used footwork to shift to the side while attempting the substitution.

Lin Mu's ninjutsu was simply too fast—no, it would be more accurate to say the coordination between the two techniques was too tight.

Even at Ye Yuexin's limit speed, he had barely managed to avoid it. He had dodged it by a fraction of an inch.

That was why the back of his clothes hadn't cleared the impact zone and had been instantly shredded by the three converging forces.

Following such high-intensity exertion, Ye Yuexin felt his legs beginning to go numb again.

A dull ache throbbed incessantly.

He was currently covered in dirt from the explosive dust, looking utterly disheveled.

But he could not afford to relax yet. Lin Mu had already launched another attack.

Sensing the flow of chakra beneath his feet, Ye Yuexin's heart tightened, and he instantly leaped to the side.

"Pfft, pfft, pfft!" The spot where he had just been standing was now bristling with Earth Ground Spikes. "I knew you wouldn't be taken out so easily." Seeing Ye Yuexin burst out of the smoke, Lin Mu seemed even more excited.

However, judging by the slight beads of sweat at his temples, he likely wasn't having an easy time either. From the beginning until now, Lin Mu had already performed five ninjutsu. Moreover, judging by the power of "Earth Collapse" and "Earth Rock Lid," they appeared to be high-level techniques.

Without speaking to Lin Mu, Ye Yuexin charged toward him once more.

In the current battle, Ye Yuexin had completely settled into a state of calm.

His "Flying Blade" mode deepened. In this state, Ye Yuexin's perception became incredibly granular.

He could even faintly sense the flow of Lin Mu's chakra.

Seeing Ye Yuexin charge again, Lin Mu gave another contemptuous laugh, as if the result would be the same no matter how many times Ye Yuexin attacked.

He mocked, "Little brat, is this all you have in your repertoire? You truly disappoint me. Do you think you can defeat me just by relying on your use of Wind Release?"

"You underestimate the strength of an elite jonin!! Let's finish you off now." Once he finished speaking, he had already completed his hand seals. Ye Yuexin was still two meters away from Lin Mu.

"Earth Release—Earth Ground Spikes!!" Instantly, jagged spikes erupted from the ground, covering a ten-meter radius centered on Lin Mu.

This was an area-of-effect attack. His judgment was truly ruthless.

Ye Yuexin had not yet fully merged with the wind; he could only use it for short-distance propulsion.

Therefore, for Ye Yuexin at this moment, this was an unavoidable attack.

In Lin Mu's eyes, only that strange wind attribute was worth noting; the rest of Ye Yuexin's taijutsu was not worth mentioning.

This was because many Earth Release techniques were designed to counter taijutsu.

This was the most damaging area-of-effect Earth Release technique he possessed. He truly intended to finish Ye Yuexin off with this move.

Realizing the danger while in mid-air, Ye Yuexin twisted his body, attempting to change his trajectory.

But it was nearly impossible to completely avoid such a wide range.

In a split second.

Ultimately, Lin Mu's ninjutsu was faster. Just as he was about to escape, Ye Yuexin was instantly pierced by a dozen jagged spikes.

He hung miserably upon the earth spikes.

"Hahaha..."

But the next moment, in Lin Mu's excited eyes, Ye Yuexin turned into smoke with a "pop."

"Stinking brat!!" Lin Mu felt a sudden sense of being toyed with.

The previous technique had wasted nearly a third of his chakra. All he had managed to take out was a Shadow Clone!!

"Didn't you find it strange?" A voice came from the side, and at that moment, Ye Yuexin walked out from Lin Mu's flank.

His gait was slightly limping, and paired with his tattered clothes, dust-covered face, and disheveled hair, he looked exactly like a beggar.

Ye Yuexin's chakra was completely exhausted now. He was trembling just from standing.

Yet, he had already won this battle.

It was at this very moment that Lin Mu realized something was wrong.

He touched his upper garment, only to see his hand covered in blood. His pupils dilated instantly. When had a flying dagger appeared at his throat?

No one had noticed when the flying dagger had suddenly appeared on Lin Mu's neck.

It had manifested from nothingness with such seamless harmony, as if the blade had been there all along.

This perfectly verified that old saying: the moment you notice the flying dagger, it means you are already dead.

"I... underestimated... you." These were Lin Mu's final words. Once spoken, all signs of life vanished from his body.

It was true, though; he had indeed underestimated Ye Yuexin, just as Ye Yuexin had underestimated an elite jonin, given the injuries he had sustained.

Fortunately, however, it was Ye Yuexin who had won.

Back when the smoke had filled the air, Ye Yuexin had used his remaining half of chakra to create a shadow clone that dodged out from the side.

His true self had used the Transformation Technique to hide in the rear. It was precisely when Lin Mu was casting his ninjutsu that Ye Yuexin's flying dagger had been unleashed.

Under a unique state of mind, Ye Yuexin's blade seemed to vanish; Little Li's Flying Dagger never misses its target. By the time the blade reappeared, it was already at Lin Mu's throat.

A thunderstorm suddenly broke out in the sky as Lin Mu's body slowly toppled backward. The rain washed away the blood flowing from Lin Mu, turning the ground red in moments.

Ye Yuexin walked over slowly. He pulled out the Little Li's Flying Dagger and returned it to its sheath, then gently closed Lin Mu's eyes. "You are the first person I have truly fought in the real sense. I will bury you in a moment."

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