Boom...
The blast of air forced Lin Shisan back several yards, his feet carving two deep furrows in the ground.
The line of blood at the corner of his mouth grew a little thicker, but the dragon-scale markings on his arms remained intact, only their luster dimming slightly.
Bai Youyou leaned against the dead tree, her gaze fixed on the battlefield between the two men.
Her expression looked fairly relaxed, but the fingertips of the hand pressed against her arm had gone slightly white, her knuckles taut.
Standing beside her, Zi Yuner finally could not help asking, "Youyou, this is already the fifth layer. Can Shisan still hold on?"
"He can. That dark-skinned boy is a sly one. He's still hiding his abilities."
"Look at his feet. His stance is even steadier than before. He's using Ning Jiuyou as a whetstone."
"A whetstone?"
"He's using Ning Jiuyou's cultivation to sharpen himself. Every time Ning Jiuyou raises it another layer, his responses grow a little faster. He's using Ning Jiuyou's anger to measure his own limits. Our dark-faced husband is full of tricks. He looks honest and simple, but he's actually shrewder than a monkey."
Bai Youyou paused, a small curve forming at her lips. "It was that honest simplicity of his that swept me off my feet."
Zi Yuner frowned, glanced at her, then followed her gaze back to the battlefield.
Indeed, although Lin Shisan was being forced onto the defensive, the distance he retreated each time was shrinking, and he regained his footing faster after every block. He was like a sword being hammered over and over, each blow making him a little more compact.
Ning Jiuyou noticed it too.
When his third claw strike came down, Lin Shisan did not retreat. Instead, he met it head-on.
The pale