As the words began and ended, killing intent surged.
High in the Walled City, two figures stood a step apart, fists cupped in salute as they faced each other. In their eyes, thunder and fire seemed to collide, flickering and shifting.
Boom!
By sheer coincidence, a clap of winter thunder exploded across the sky at that very moment.
Thunder rolled across the heavens, raising the curtain on a brutal battle.
As its lingering rumble faded, both men's eyes quivered at once. One narrowed his eyes, focusing with a vicious gleam; the other abruptly opened his eyes wide, his face taking on a sinister, ferocious look. With a flick of his right hand, he shook out a bloodstained white handkerchief, spread it into the wind, and covered his opponent's eyes.
The eyes it covered were Lian Youming's.
Lian Youming half narrowed his tigerish eyes. With the white handkerchief before him, his eyes darted rapidly, his astonishing eyesight focused as never before. His eyeballs spun wildly in their sockets, watching the edges of his vision.
"Heh!"
A soft chuckle suddenly sounded beside his ear. A small bulge swiftly appeared in the floating handkerchief, pressing straight toward him.
It was a sword-finger strike, coming with tremendous ferocity. As Gan Xuantong stepped closer, it shot like lightning toward the right eye beneath Lian Youming's mask. Unhurried and unruffled, Lian Youming sent layers of ripples through both sleeves, his force winding like silk. His hands swept outward one after the other, tracing a circle in the air and drawing both the white handkerchief and the sword fingers inside. Sticking and winding, deflecting and turning, he seemed to seal and close, to draw heaven and earth within his hands.
"Taiji Cotton Palm!"
Gan Xuantong's eyes widened, mockery crossing his face. His right arm shook like a