The training ground behind the mountain had been bleached pale by the winter sun. Wind poured in from the mountain hollow, carrying the lingering scent of ore and charcoal as it swirled across the bluestone slabs before dispersing.
When Lin Hang's Rockskin Palm came crashing down, wrapped in a heavy yellow-brown gale, Tang Wulin did not dodge.
He merely took half a step forward, driving his right foot into a groove between the bluestone slabs worn deep by countless footsteps. Then he raised his right arm and, unhurriedly, met the enormous palm, expanded to half a meter across.
The instant fist and palm collided, a muffled boom rang out, like a sledgehammer striking the face of a thick leather drum.
Lin Hang's expression changed slightly. It felt as though his palm had struck a warm iron anvil.
The rebounding force traveled from the base of his palm to his elbow, and his entire forearm went numb for an instant.
Gritting his teeth, he immediately followed with his second soul skill. His left palm, wrapped in the vibrating force of Crushing Pressure Strike, swept up from below and lashed toward Tang Wulin's waist with a short, heavy blow.
Tang Wulin shifted slightly to the side. The palm brushed past the edge of his outer robe, and the gust it stirred lifted one corner of his hem.
He did not use the Blue Silver Emperor, nor did he summon the Clear Sky Hammer. The Bloodline Power within him merely accelerated through one cycle in that instant. A faint layer of golden light surfaced at the side of his neck, spread along the line of his jaw to the base of his ear, then swiftly vanished beneath his skin.
Then he spread his fingers and seized Lin Hang's right palm before it could