Just as Xiao Man spotted him, Chen Mu spotted her. He was in astonishingly good form today, his perception many times sharper than usual.
In the shadows, he raised his head and narrowed his eyes slightly. He recognized Xiao Man. While watching the battle earlier, he had already noticed how formidable this female Card Adept was. Her understanding of energy and control over her perception were far beyond his reach.
Had his perception not increased dramatically lately, even that would have fallen far short of hers. Making a calm comparison, Chen Mu realized with a jolt that he was no match for her as he was now. Strangely, however, he felt no fear. His state of mind was utterly different from when he had encountered Lu Xiaoru earlier. There was not a trace of a novice's characteristic panic about him.
Now, Chen Mu was like a seasoned hunter, composed and without the slightest alarm, watching her from his hiding place in the shadows. He probably did not even realize that the way he narrowed his eyes bore a striking resemblance to Wei'a.
Their gazes held for several seconds. On this ever-changing battlefield, several seconds was a long time. Yet the air between them seemed to have frozen, and neither made a sound.
Suddenly, Chen Mu moved. Like an agile wildcat, he shot out of the shadows. Driving off with his feet and pushing the [Big Loach] card to its limit, he traced several wildly elusive zigzags and vanished among the ruined walls within a breath.
Xiao Man's face turned somewhat pale.
She was so shocked that she watched him leave at his leisure without reacting at all. For an experienced Professional Card Adept, such a response was a fatal, elementary mistake. Yet she had no attention to spare for that.