"All right!"
At those words, Lian Youming did not hesitate in the slightest. His feet raced forward, and his right hand turned over to grip his sword hilt.
With a ringing hiss, Gall-Illuminating left its sheath, its gleaming blade blazing with cold light.
The instant the sword cleared its sheath, Lian Youming attacked without the slightest hesitation. Sword light spilled from his hand like liquid silver pouring over the ground, the tip flying diagonally forward to stab at the old man's chest. The old man abruptly checked his running stride, circled around to Lian Youming's right, and, without blocking or parrying, struck later yet arrived first, jabbing his bamboo staff at the Jiquan acupoint beneath Lian Youming's armpit.
A sharp pain struck, and Lian Youming realized with a start that his breathing had become obstructed, slowing even his assault.
Having landed his blow, the old man who called himself "Shorty Xu" twirled his bamboo staff and thrust it through the air. At once, overlapping staff shadows enveloped Lian Youming like a driving storm.
Under this move, Lian Youming immediately felt as though an all-pervading killing intent filled every direction.
He sprinted, wanting to escape this predicament as quickly as possible. His feet left the ground, his body stretching out like a white crane soaring into the sky. As he raced and skimmed along, dead leaves on the mountain path rolled aside like surging waves, as though a raging dragon had passed through, startling the crows in the woods into incessant cries.
"Crane-Step Ascending to Heaven? Fine footwork."
Yet even after Lian Youming unleashed the Eight Trigrams Sect's authentic footwork, the old man stayed with him like a shadow, never falling behind. Though short in stature, he moved astonishingly fast, lively as a monkey, darting like a clear breeze and evading