"Life Shackles · Third Metabolism Lock, open!"
A fierce aura erupted from Zhao Qiu as he shot from third tier, four star to fourth tier, one star in an instant!
A flicker of surprise crossed Gu Yu's eyes. She hadn't expected Zhao Qiu to have a superpower like this, one that boosted his strength so dramatically.
Still, he was only fourth tier, one star.
She was fourth tier, two stars!
"Fire Cloud · Lotus Blossom!"
She swung her whip again, tracing a crimson arc through the air. Searing flames flowed along its length as it swept toward Zhao Qiu with a piercing whistle.
This lash was faster than before and came from an even trickier angle, cutting off Zhao Qiu's escape routes on either side and forcing him to retreat.
Zhao Qiu swiftly dodged, but the whip seemed to have eyes of its own. It changed direction just as quickly, lashing toward his shoulder from the side like a living creature.
Crack!
The tip struck his shoulder squarely, leaving a scorched wound. The lingering heat spread rapidly, burning a ring of blackened fabric around it.
This time, however, Zhao Qiu acted as though nothing had happened. Even after taking two lashes, his speed hadn't faltered, and he continued charging toward Gu Yu.
Now that he had activated the Life Shackles, his body's defenses had improved as well.
He was already tough to begin with, so although these attacks dealt considerable damage, they couldn't pose much of a threat to him in the short term.
"Trying to brute-force your way over here?"
Gu Yu saw through his intentions at a glance.
Zhao Qiu was a taijutsu-type Esper, and taijutsu-type Espers needed to get close to deal their greatest damage.
So the first rule when fighting a taijutsu-type Esper was to keep