Li Xiaoya could no longer spare a thought for the pain wracking his body. He turned and ran, racing the Earth Yellow Rat through the woods. But even with the Gale Technique, he was clearly slower than the rat, and it closed in on him step by step.
"Fifty feet!"
"Thirty feet!"
"Ten feet!"
"Five feet!"
"Three feet!"
"Squeak!" Seeing that it was about to catch Li Xiaoya, the Earth Yellow Rat kicked off with all four legs and let out a strange cry, raking viciously at his back. If those claws landed, they would tear straight through him!
"Now!"
Li Xiaoya roared, twisted his footing, and suddenly toppled to the left. The Earth Yellow Rat lunged at empty air, then twisted its calf-sized body in midair. Its long, slender tail whipped toward Li Xiaoya as he fell.
Before he even hit the ground, Li Xiaoya abruptly turned over. "Die!" he shouted, flinging up both hands. Seven or eight talismans shot out, transforming into fireballs that streaked toward the airborne Earth Yellow Rat's belly.
Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom! A chain of explosions struck the Earth Yellow Rat's belly. With another boom, the blast hurled Li Xiaoya thirty feet away before he finally crashed to the ground, leaving him dizzy and dazed.
The Earth Yellow Rat's belly had been blasted to a pulp. Its tail, already blown into two pieces, whirled through the air a few times before dropping to the ground. A great cloud of bloody mist sprayed down, filling the air with a nauseating stench of blood tinged with the reek of scorched flesh.
Li Xiaoya lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Though he had planned it all beforehand, that instant between life and death had still stretched his nerves taut. His heart was still pounding,