In an instant.
Not only did Xiao Xuan feel no satisfaction at having severed his opponent's right claw with that spear strike, but a bone-deep sense of danger shot straight to his head!
After their brief exchange, Xiao Xuan believed his opponent was weaker than him.
So he should have nothing to fear in a head-on fight.
But with his opponent possessing a Soul Bone that let him burrow underground, that was another matter.
I'm in the open, and the enemy is hidden. I can't see a thing beneath the earth and rocks.
As soon as his injury eases a little, he could strike a fatal blow without warning from any blind spot beneath my feet!
Calm down... I mustn't panic!
Xiao Xuan took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.
Since his opponent could burrow underground, turning tail and running would be the stupidest possible act of suicide.
He would have a sliver of a chance if he stayed put and relied on his perception instead!
Xiao Xuan slowly closed his eyes and circulated the Soul Power in his body at full speed, holding nothing back!
Hum-!
Soul Power spread out once more, with Xiao Xuan at its center.
My body as the guide, ten thousand bamboo stalks as my feelers!
This was Xiao Xuan's first time using Lone Bamboo roots and stems to bring the underground within the reach of his perception.
But his perception range was noticeably smaller than it was aboveground, only about ten meters.
That's enough!
As long as that man dares show his head, ten meters is enough for me to strike first and burst his damned head with my spear!
Come on, let's see which of us loses patience first!
Spear in hand, Xiao Xuan stood in the cold wind like a towering old pine, utterly motionless.
Meanwhile.
In a shaded crevice in a rock formation several dozen meters away from Xiao Xuan.
Ma Xiu leaned against the cold, damp rock wall, biting down on a strip of coarse cloth as he desperately bound the stump of his right arm, blood pouring from it. Sweat covered his forehead, and his face was twisted.
The piercing agony made his whole body tremble uncontrollably, and his gaunt, shriveled, scarred face was full of violence and venom.
Damn it! Damn little bastard!!
Ma Xiu roared inwardly, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Xiao Xuan in the distance, who stood with his eyes closed. His killing intent was almost solid enough to gush out!
If he hadn't fused with a hundred-year Earth Mole Soul Bone, that last strike might have killed him!
Ever since Ma Xiu had obtained his Soul Bone, he had robbed homes and killed for treasure around Nuoding City, hardly ever failing!
He had even used the Soul Bone's ability to keep both the city defense camp and Spirit Hall helpless against him, playing them in the palm of his hand.
Yet today, he had come to grief at the hands of a little brat who hadn't even grown all his hair, and even had his right hand chopped off!
Humiliation!
This was an utter disgrace!
In truth, Ma Xiu hadn't been completely unaware of the danger in that last clash, but the pride of a desperado in his bones had done him in.
Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that a stalk of Lone Bamboo, common throughout the continent, could be so sharp!
There's something wrong with that little bastard's Lone Bamboo. I can't fight him head-on!
A cold glint flashed in Ma Xiu's eyes.
No matter how tricky your spear techniques or how sharp your bamboo, you're still a little brat who hasn't seen the world!
I'll attack from underground and see if you don't die!
An hour later, the bleeding from Ma Xiu's wound gradually stopped.
Glancing at Xiao Xuan, who was still standing in the bamboo grove, Ma Xiu gritted his teeth and activated the Soul Bone in his leg again!
Hum-!
An earthen-yellow glow circulated once more, and Ma Xiu's entire body silently melted into the soil beneath him!
Aboveground, the wind blew bleakly through the grove.
Without either of them noticing, more than an hour slipped by in the extremely tense standoff.
The cold wind swept through the bamboo grove. Apart from the rustling of bamboo leaves, not a sound could be heard.
A fine layer of sweat had appeared on Xiao Xuan's forehead. Maintaining such demanding, wide-range Soul Power perception for so long was no small test of his mental and physical stamina.
Could it be... that guy got scared off by me and ran away?
A trace of doubt crossed Xiao Xuan's mind.
After all, he had chopped off half the man's arm. Anyone who valued their life would surely have looked for a safe place to stop the bleeding and stay alive first. Who the hell would dare come back to counterattack?
I'll wait one last quarter of an hour... If there's still no movement, I'll have to go back down the mountain first.
Just as the thought crossed Xiao Xuan's mind and he prepared to draw back his Soul Power slightly.
Deep underground, a section of Lone Bamboo root within Xiao Xuan's perception was suddenly snapped by a swift, violent undercurrent of soil!
Xiao Xuan's eyes flew open!
He's here!
There was no hesitation, much less any unnecessary showmanship!
The instant that vicious disturbance underground drew closer and crossed the three-meter mark beneath Xiao Xuan's feet!
Xiao Xuan gripped the bamboo spear in both hands, his waist and stance working as one, and poured all the strength in his body into its tip in an instant!
Intermediate spear technique-Collapse Character Art!
"Die!"
A shout like rolling thunder burst from Xiao Xuan's throat as he aimed at the ground before his feet and drove the spear down!
Two-thirds of the bamboo spear in Xiao Xuan's hands plunged into the ground in an instant!
Puchi-!
Immediately afterward, an agonized scream erupted deep underground!
A thick jet of hot, dark-red blood spurted out, dyeing the snow and soil around Xiao Xuan a glaring scarlet!
Underground, Ma Xiu couldn't understand how his burrowing sneak attack had been discovered.
Xiao Xuan's gaze was icy, his killing resolve decisive to the extreme!
He swiftly followed up with two more thrusts.
Puff!
Puchi!!
Ugh... ah...!
When the second thrust landed, the anguished scream underground dwindled to faint twitching and whimpering.
When the third thrust stabbed down hard, a deathly silence fell deep within the soil. Not the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power remained, only a pungent, bloody stench of entrails filling the air.
Dead for good!
A fierce wind blew through the grove, carrying away waves of blood stench.
Xiao Xuan braced himself on the bloodstained bamboo spear with both hands, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath.
After a moment, Xiao Xuan finally let out a long breath, and his nerves, which had been stretched to their limit, finally relaxed completely.
Xiao Xuan wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and rubbed the flecks of mud from his face, still shaken.
But soon, joy took over.
After all, Xiao Xuan hadn't forgotten that the man underground had a Soul Bone on him. Though it certainly couldn't be very old, it was still worth a fortune!
Xiao Xuan quickly found a piece of hard deadwood nearby and began frantically digging into the ground.
A moment later, he forcibly dragged a black-robed corpse riddled with holes and covered in mangled flesh and blood out of the shallow pit.
Xiao Xuan stepped forward and tore off the man's mask, which had long been soaked through with blood.
A gaunt face, a fearsome scar across the right cheek, and those cloudy eyes, still wide open in death, filled with terror and unwillingness!
"Well, well! So it's you!"
The moment Xiao Xuan saw his face clearly, he couldn't help slapping his thigh in excitement!
Wasn't this Ma Xiu, the wanted criminal he had seen on a wanted notice before?!
"Hahahaha! I'm rich! Not only is there a Soul Bone, there's a thousand in bounty money too!"
Xiao Xuan grinned and laughed wildly, his eyes shining with golden light!