Omen and Flaw

Chen Feng caught the lightning-fast attack, a faint trace of approval flashing through his eyes, like a teacher seeing that his student had improved.

"Not bad." His voice remained as steady as ever. "To pinpoint my position by instinct alone, your battle instincts have been honed to an impressive degree."

Hit had no time to respond. He even treated Chen Feng's words as a brief chance to catch his breath between attacks.

The instant Chen Feng grabbed his ankle, Hit twisted with the motion and slammed his captured leg downward.

At almost the same moment, both his fists turned into afterimages, moving too fast for their outlines to be seen!

His left fist shot straight at Chen Feng's face, while his right blasted toward his chest and abdomen.

Every punch was imbued with the power of Time-Skip. As his fists cut through the air, space itself gave off a low hum, as though it were about to be torn apart.

His punches came as densely as a torrential downpour, as violently as a galaxy crashing backward, nearly sealing off every route of retreat for Chen Feng.

Every fist carried enough destructive force to grind mountains into ash.

Yet Chen Feng was still evading.

Faced with an assault that would have made any powerhouse pale, his movements changed.

He no longer dodged with large motions. He merely tilted his head now and then, drew in his abdomen, or tapped his toe against the ground and shifted sideways a few inches.

His movements looked casual, yet they were so fast that the naked eye could not follow them at all—leaving only pale silver afterimages layered in place.

His body seemed to have completely shed all weight and inertia. Amid Hit's storm-like barrage of fists, he moved like willow fluff in the wind, like flowing mercury, weaving through with lightness and fluid grace.

Every sidestep and every stride made it seem as though he knew in advance where Hit's fists would land. He was not frantically dodging; rather, it was as if he had been waiting there all along, only to leave effortlessly at the right moment.

Hit's punches grew faster and faster, the shadows of his fists almost weaving into a black-red curtain. Their power rose in wave after wave, and even the shattered arena floor was being carved into finer fragments by the force of his blows.

Yet the cold flame within him gradually dimmed beneath this relentless barrage, turning into bottomless despair.

He felt as though he was not attacking an opponent at all, but futilely trying to grasp a wisp of wind, or pierce an illusion—struggling against the flawless laws of nature themselves.

Hit raced across the surface of the shattered celestial body, every push from the ground sending dust and stones flying.

The force of his fists tore through the air with piercing shrieks, every strike aimed at Chen Feng's vital points—his throat, heart, and temples.

But no matter how Hit changed his moves or increased his speed, Chen Feng always managed, at the final instant, to elegantly turn aside, tilt his head, or take half a step back, allowing those devastating fists to brush past the edge of his clothing without even stirring a ripple.

The gap between them was painfully clear—despairingly so.

This was not a matter of technique or strength—it was the invisible but utterly insurmountable gulf between realms.

"Why..." Hit gritted his teeth until they creaked. Veins bulged at his temples, and sweat mixed with stardust as it dripped down.

His voice was hoarse, as though each word had been forcibly squeezed from his chest, filled with unwillingness and confusion. "Why can you dodge all my attacks so easily... as if you knew them beforehand?"

Chen Feng's figure remained elusive, like willow fluff drifting in the wind.

He even had the leisure to casually brush the stardust from his shoulder between openings.

Hearing Hit's question, he answered calmly, his voice still clear amid the roar of energy, "Because before you attack, I have already 'seen' it."

"Seen it?" Hit abruptly stopped, his feet plowing two deep trenches into the ground.

He stared fixedly at Chen Feng, his pupils shrinking. "With your eyes? Impossible! My Time-Skip has already surpassed the limits of vision!"

"Not with my eyes." Chen Feng gave a slight shake of his head. As Hit erupted into another wave of attacks, his body slipped away lightly again, like water flowing around a reef.

"Ultra Instinct does not rely on reaction speed to forcibly dodge attacks. It allows my body... to directly 'sense' your 'intent.' Before you gather your strength, in that instant your energy begins to stir, even the moment your gaze focuses and your killing intent condenses—those signals are like ripples spreading across a lake after a pebble falls in. Following those 'omens,' my body naturally moves ahead of time."

Hit's face went pale at once, then flushed red from surging battle intent and icy realization.

A chill crawled up his spine.

That meant every bit of training he had endured and every killing move he possessed was completely exposed in Chen Feng's eyes.

Chen Feng did not even need to look at him. As long as he could "listen" to Hit's body, he could know everything.

For a warrior, that was practically a complete denial of his very existence.

"Then what if..." Hit growled, as the energy within him erupted like madness!

His figure suddenly blurred. He no longer charged directly, but began teleporting at high frequency and without pattern through the gaps in time created by Time-Skip, gaps ordinary people could not perceive at all!

In the blink of an eye, dozens of Hit's afterimages seemed to appear around Chen Feng, each assuming a different attacking stance—a straight punch, a sweeping kick, an elbow strike, a finger thrust... real and false were impossible to distinguish.

The air itself was churned into turbulence, while sharp sounds of tearing air came from every direction at once!

"What if my 'intent' itself... is fake?!"

Hit's true body was hidden among countless feints. His eyes were cold as iron, and his killing intent, energy fluctuations, even the preparatory movements of his muscles were all scattered, disguised, and layered among dozens of phantoms.

This was no longer a simple attack, but a meticulously designed trap for perception!

For the first time, a nearly imperceptible movement touched Chen Feng's brow, breaking the calm-water stillness of his expression—a trace of static had appeared in his senses.

At that very instant, Hit moved!

All the phantoms vanished. The place where his true body appeared was neither where Chen Feng currently stood nor any direction indicated by the feints. It was—the next foothold Chen Feng had instinctively chosen to dodge toward after sensing the "false intent"!

This time, Hit no longer sought a direct fatal blow. He poured all his power and the speed of Time-Skip into predicting the step Chen Feng would take after choosing his "optimal evasion"! His fist was cold and precise, striking directly into Chen Feng's inevitable path!

This attack completely ran counter to the principles of Ultra Instinct.

Since your body automatically moves to the safest place, then I'll strike that very place!

Boom—!

A muffled impact rang out, like a meteor striking the ground.

Chen Feng's figure visibly swayed for the first time. Following the force of the punch, he slid backward, his feet dragging two long marks across the hard star core before he steadied himself.

He raised a hand and rubbed his struck left shoulder, where a distinct numb ache spread through the flesh.

Looking up, he saw Hit in the distance, breathing heavily, his eyes as cold and sharp as a hunting hawk's.

At last, a trace of genuine surprise appeared in Chen Feng's eyes.

"You hit me." Chen Feng spoke, and that unexpected assessment made Hit's blood boil more fiercely than any praise could have.

Hit panted hard, his chest heaving.

That series of extreme feints just now—especially the final strike—had nearly drained more than half his strength and focus.

Yet he did not pause for even a second. He did not even look to see whether he had succeeded.

The moment Chen Feng finished speaking, an energy halo exploded beneath Hit's feet. His figure became a bolt of black lightning tearing through space as he charged in to kill once more!

This time, he completely cast aside all form and technique. All that remained was the most primal, most frenzied assault.