Chapter 138

"Huh?"

Wang Yu swept his gaze around, letting out a surprised little "huh."

With his terrifying spiritual sense, he had detected two anomalous fluctuations on the training ground, both quietly approaching him—one to his left, one to his right, advancing from opposite sides.

"Observing Qi Technique"

After a swift mental shift, Wang Yu formed a hand seal with one hand, murmured incantations, and a yellow spiritual rune flashed deep within his pupils.

Instantly, everything around him emitted a faint yellow aura.

He focused his gaze again on the two anomalous spots drawing near, and was startled to see two faint black mists slowly drifting forward.

These two mists were nearly completely transparent; without first pinpointing their exact locations with spiritual sense, even the Observing Qi Technique alone could never have detected them.

Yet no matter how hard he observed with the Observing Qi Technique, the two mists were identical, revealing no difference whatsoever.

Wang Yu changed his mind, deciding he no longer cared to distinguish truth from deception—he raised one hand, uttered a spell, and two pale crimson fireballs materialized in his palms, shooting toward the mists with a "whoosh" and a "whoosh."

"Boom!" "Boom!"

One fireball struck something solid, exploding into a massive blaze; a faint black shadow emerged silently within the flames, flickered a few times, then dissolved away.

The other fireball slammed into empty ground; rolling heat surged outward, and a slender figure suddenly appeared, evading the roaring fire.

"How did you find me?"

The slender woman's body remained shrouded in a faint black aura, blurring her form, yet the shock in her voice was unmistakable to anyone.

"Why use the word 'find'? Isn't seeing enough?" Wang Yu said calmly. In the next instant, he flipped his hand, and a four-foot-long bone knife suddenly appeared in his grasp; he merely sheathed it at his waist and gripped the hilt with one hand.

Seeing this, the slender woman's face changed drastically. She formed a hand seal, and her figure grew faint again, ready to vanish.

But at the same moment, Wang Yu shouted, "Drawblade Technique!" His body shot forward like a released crossbow bolt, and a brilliant slash of blade-light flashed across the space where she had vanished.

"Clang!"

The woman's blurred form reappeared from thin air, now holding a massive black shield that perfectly blocked Wang Yu's bone knife.

But in the next instant, Wang Yu roared, switched to gripping the hilt with both hands, his arms thickening further, and slammed the blade down with all his strength onto the shield.

"Boom!" The black shield and the blurred woman dissolved into a cloud of black mist, leaving the bone knife slicing through empty air.

"Damn!"

Wang Yu was startled, but another woman's figure burst forth from the shadow beneath him, swung a gleaming short dagger, and a faint black conical shadow struck him unexpectedly on the back.

"Puff!"

Wang Yu staggered slightly, then immediately steadied himself without a hint of distress, whirled around, and slapped his palm toward the woman—his five fingers spreading wide, growing vaguely enormous in the blur.

"Boom!"

The woman gasped, her body instantly shooting backward like a black thread.

The enormous palm struck empty air, emitting a piercing, explosive shriek that sent rolling shockwaves rippling outward.

The woman, having halted at a distance, watched this scene and felt a jolt in her chest.

Had she reacted a fraction slower, she would already have lost—yet she immediately recalled something else, fixing her gaze fiercely on Wang Yu as he turned back, and asked in disbelief:

"How can your flesh and blood withstand a strike from my artifact without any injury?"

"Don't you know?" Wang Yu shrugged casually. "Those of us who cultivate the Strongman Art all have thick skin and tough flesh. Perhaps your artifact is a bit dull—you should get a sharper one." He rubbed his shoulder, calm and unhurried. No one noticed that a faint golden mist had formed over the spot on his back that had been struck—so thin and obscured by his clothing that the woman had missed it entirely.

"My Soul-Seeking Dagger is dull?" The slender woman murmured, glancing down at her short dagger, a flicker of doubt crossing her face.

But in the next instant, her other hand flicked upward, and a black ribbon shot forth, hurtling straight toward Wang Yu.

"Come on!"

Wang Yu seemed to have anticipated this—he swung his arm and hurled the bone knife directly at the black ribbon.

A white flash split the ribbon cleanly in two, causing it to pause momentarily mid-flight.

In that brief instant, Wang Yu drew a deep breath, his body swelling instantly by a full size; he opened his mouth and exhaled a vast wave of mist, his upper torso swelling again, tearing his clothes apart to reveal a vivid, fearsome tiger head tattooed on his back.

At that moment, the black ribbon surged forward, ready to wrap around him.

Wang Yu's arms blurred, his ten fingers curling slightly.

"Ssssh!" A storm of claw shadows erupted before him; the moment the black ribbon touched them, it shattered into countless fragments that scattered in all directions.

Immediately after, Wang Yu crouched low, his limbs exploding with force—he leapt like a wild beast, bounding straight toward the woman.

"Hurry!"

The woman formed a hand seal and uttered a low command.

The fragments of the black ribbon rained down like a storm, hurtling toward Wang Yu—and mid-flight, they reformed into black ribbons once more, flashing away and wrapping around Wang Yu before he could dodge.

The woman rejoiced, muttering incantations as faint silver spiritual runes appeared on the black ribbons.

But in the next instant, the black ribbons began swelling wildly, growing larger and larger.

"Boom!"

The bulging black ribbons were violently torn apart from within—a pillar of crimson fire shot skyward. Wang Yu stood within the fire, one hand forming a seal; the black ribbons vanished instantly in the roaring flames.

"My artifact!"

The slender woman stared in anguish, but in the next instant, Wang Yu suddenly flicked his sleeve—tiny glimmers of cold light flashed out, and three willow-leaf daggers shot forth.

The woman tensed, her body twisting into a black thread as she shot sideways.

But Wang Yu, from afar, merely pointed a finger into the air—the three willow-leaf daggers turned instantly, continuing to pursue the woman's fleeing form.

The woman had no choice but to form another hand seal, altering her direction—but the three daggers followed suit, turning with her, never losing pursuit, their speed increasing with every moment.

The slender woman panicked, forming a hand seal to activate another secret technique—when suddenly, a gust of wind swept before her, and a towering figure blocked her path, striking out with a punch without a word.