I Shall Steal The Heavens 116 Chapter 115: Breakthrough

We both collided in another clash that smashed a crater into the ground. Despite the destruction beneath and all around us, we continued to pummel each other with everything we had. Zhu Jiao didn't slow down, throwing a barrage of ferocious punches that almost tore the swords out of my hands. Firmly tightening my grip on them, I countered with ripostes after parrying and intercepting his gauntleted fists in hopes of delivering a fatal blow.

Blood splattered the air, minor cuts scratched across Zhu Jiao's body as I penetrated his defenses over and over again. in return, while Zhu Jiao was unable to hit me as many times as I struck him, the few blows that landed dealt severe damage, rattling my internal organs against my skeleton and causing me to spew blood. even so, I firmly held my ground and continued to trade blows with him, ducking under his fists as best as I could and using my footwork to confuse him. Faster and faster, both my footwork and sword strikes increased rapidly in speed as my body finally emerged from its dormant state after such a heated warmup.

Unfortunately, the same could be said for Zhu Jiao. As the battle progressed, his movements were becoming sharper, more precise and stronger.

"Ugh…!"

I fell back, faltering a little after a particularly powerful punch from Zhu Jiao knocked me off balance. Zhu Jiao pressed in, capitalizing on my slip to punch through my gut, but my figure vanished, turning into nothing more than a shadow. Reappearing behind Zhu Jiao, I brought my sword down with as much force as I could, but his Sacrer Armor held strong.

Boom!

Even so, my meteoric strike cleaved through the dense field of yang qi and opened up a huge wound on his back, sending blood spraying into the air. Despite wincing in pain, Zhu Jiao counterattacked without a pause, forcing me to parry his backhanded strike with both my swords. Even though I avoided a potentially fatal hit, I was sent hurtling across the arena. Landing on the ground, I continued to skid backward until I finally managed to dig my heels in. My shoes glowed red-hot from the friction, but I couldn't afford to pay attention to their current state.

Zhu Jiao was already bearing down on me.

I parried his punch by crossing both my swords above me, but the impact caused my legs to buckle. At least my body could withstand the tremendous force. The immense impact shattered the ground beneath my knees and toes, throwing up debris and rocks that disintegrated as they came into contact with Zhu Jiao's golden qi and my black aura.

"Huff…"

Pressing my knees and feet against the ground, I surged upward as I channeled more qi into my counterattack and successfully drove Zhu Jiao away. The relatively big guy hopped a few steps before regaining his balance.

However, just like Zhu Jiao, I wasn't the type to give him the chance to recover either. Springing from the broken ground, I dashed forward and reappeared right in front of him, swinging both swords down before he could recover his footing.

"!!"

Zhu Jiao parried both swords with both his arms, only for me to unleash a Black Dragon Blast at pointblank range. A two-headed dragon made entirely from destructive black qi uncoiled rapidly from my blades and detonated against Zhu Jiao's st.u.r.dy body with such force that even I was thrown several meters back.

"Whoa…"

Flipping myself over so that I would land on my feet, I skidded backward for another few meters, unable to halt my momentum. Looking up, I watched the raging inferno in hopes of catching sight of Zhu Jiao's figure within.

"Not bad…not bad at all."

Zhu Jiao strolled out of the conflagration, his body still shrouded in shadow momentarily. My eyes widened when more of his figure came into view, especially a gleam from what seemed like a golden breastplate that now covered his chest.

"You're the first person, other than Bai Ning Xue, to have pushed me to this extent."

"…!"

I couldn't help but take a step back when Zhu Jiao finally came into full view.

Unlike before, Zhu Jiao was no longer just wearing gauntlets. Instead, he was clad in a full-body armor that shone brightly admist the dark flames that burned ominously behind him. Other than the minimal portion of his face, he was completely covered in golden armor bearing the sacred symbol of the Golden Kirin. Protected from head to toe by armor, he appeared to be impervious to any physical or qi attack.

"Hmm…"

He lifted an arm and studied it, then gave the rest of his body an once-over. Then he looked up at and smiled.

"Thanks to you pushing me beyond my limits, it seems that I was able to further advance my technique and finally master it. This is the true form and application of the Golden Kirin Sacred Beast technique when used to upgrade the Golden Kirin Sacred Armor technique."

He glanced down at his armor, his smile turning wry for a moment.

"It's a pity that I was only able to fully master the application of the Golden Kirin Sacred Beast technique to the Golden Kirin Sacred Armor and not the other techniques, but still, I'm grateful to you. Without you as my opponent, I would never have been able to take this first step and make such a breakthrough."

"You've got to be kidding me…"

I groaned and shook my head in disbelief.

"Why?! Why, Heavens?! Why are you resorting to such clichés?!"

"Clichés?" Zhu Jiao frowned at me, bewildered. "What the h.e.l.l are you talking about?"

"Are you serious? Do you really not know?" then again, Zhu Jiao didn't read as much as I did, so I supposed it only make sense. "Haven't you watched enough anime or read enough wuxia/xianxia novels to recognize a bulls.h.i.t plot device when you see one? This deus ex machina? The whole protagonist suddenly makes a breakthrough in his martial arts when fighting and losing? Didn't Xiao Yan pull this bulls.h.i.t off in Battle Through the Heavens? Li Fu Chen, who claimed that combat experience was necessary in Eternal Reverence? How about Luo Zheng from Apotheosis, who randomly sits down in the middle of a duel to cultivate and make a breakthrough? h.e.l.l, even Chen Chang Sheng from Ze Tian Ji – which is one of the better wuxia/xianxia novels out there – is guilty of this bulls.h.i.t trope. What is it with protagonists and deus ex machina breakthroughs in their martial arts when they are in the middle of a f.u.c.king battle!?"

"Dude, you need to chill. Those are only stories."

"YET IT'S HAPPENING IN REALITY, RIGHT IN FRONT OF MY EYES?!" I yelled. "Isn't this too b.l.o.o.d.y unfair!?"

Zhu Jiao shrugged. Since he was benefiting from this bulls.h.i.t plot device, he had no complaints. I groaned and buried my face in my palms (while still holding my swords, so that was probably not a good idea).

"What is it with protagonists pulling out breakthroughs in cultivation and power levels out of their a.s.ses in the middle of a f.u.c.king battle!?"

"Um…sorry?" Zhu Jiao shrugged again, sounding not at all apologetic. He then smiled. "Sorry, but I'm shameless enough to make use of this 'unfair' advantage. Especially against you. I hope you won't hold it against me."

"!!"

Zhu Jiao almost disappeared before reappearing in front of me. Even when clad in full-body armor that looked extremely heavy and thick, his speed seemed to have increased tremendously. It made no sense, but then xianxia never made sense in the first place. There were a few hundred laws of physics broken whenever someone engaged in that fantasy world.

"Ugh…!"

I ducked under Zhu Jiao's first punch, bending my back backward and narrowly avoiding getting my face smashed in. Using my footwork, I managed to widen the distance between us, but Zhu Jiao refused to be shaken off my tail. Just when I thought I was safe, he was suddenly in front of me again, swinging his fist in.

"Argh!"

As one would expect, the power behind his attack had multiplied exponentially. Even though I succeeded in crossing my swords and parrying his armored gauntlet in time, I still felt like I was. .h.i.t by a truck. Blood spurted from my mouth as I was hurled across the air and slammed into the wall behind me. Coughing, I slid down helplessly, almost unable to stand.

f.u.c.k! That single blow almost knocked me out!

Gritting my teeth, I rose shakily to my feet, defiant to the last despite this implausible turn of events unique only to protagonists.

"WHY?! G.o.dAMMIT!" I raged as I tried to recoup what remained of my qi for one last, desperate retaliation. "Pulling bulls.h.i.t powerups from your a.s.s and resorting to deus ex machina plot devices…are you really that desperate for your protagonist to win?!"

"That's enough yelling, dude," Zhu Jiao told me as he delivered another punch that literally blew a hole through the wall behind me. It was fortunate that I ducked on reflex, or the hole would have been me instead.

Granted, it wasn't that Zhu Jiao intended to kill me. He wasn't holding back because he knew that I would be able to dodge his punch or successfully block it.

"Ugh…"

I realized that he was right. As much as I hated to admit it, whining about the fact after it occurred was useless and only annoyed both the spectators, my opponent and the existences beyond the fourth wall. Either I pull off a similarly dirty move (which was obviously unrealistic and impossible) or I started thinking of a strategy to deal with this bulls.h.i.t but predictable turn of event.

This was partially my fault, after all. I should have seen this coming. Despite claiming to have read so many martial arts novels and being aware of all the tropes, clichés and formula they used, I was stupid not to have antic.i.p.ated this. To be fair, I had just gone through almost thirty battles without encountering such a blatant deus ex machina, so obviously I had let my guard down and the thought had never crossed my mind.

I was stupid for forgetting that Zhu Jiao was the typical protagonist of a standard, cliché, formulaic wuxia/xianxia novel found all over the Internet. What was I expecting? A fair fight? Come on, there was a reason why people called the protagonists of wuxia/xianxia novels and light novels "cheats." They possessed almost every unfair advantage the writer could throw at them.

Well, too late to whine about that. Is there still a way for me to win?

Despite the nonsense occurring in reality, I was still determined to win this and overcome all this protagonist power bulls.h.i.t and slap the author in the face. I was going to defy fate and steal from the Heavens.

You wanted to help your f.u.c.king protagonist cheat and win? Fine then. I'll defy you. I'll slap your laughing face and overturn the ending you have planned for this story. I would love to see you lose your smug expression when I smashed your protagonist to bits despite your blatant biasness toward him. I'll overturn this stupid fate and steal the role of protagonist from the "real" protagonist.

"UWAAAAH!"

With a determined roar, I surged forward and met the charging Zhu Jiao in the middle of the arena. Zhu Jiao swung his armored fist at me and I dodged under him before slashing him. However, my blade merely scratched his golden, gleaming armor and left little more than a shallow mark. Stomping his foot on the ground and pivoting himself to face me, Zhu Jiao swung his other hand to punch me, but I read the flow of his movements and dodged that.

The only recourse I had was to read and master the flow of his movements. Liu, with a combination of my Heaven and Earth senses. I had to calculate Zhu Jiao's attacks with everything I had, predict his movements, his next step, his next move, and his next attack, integrate myself with his breathing methods and combat style, and learn his pattern of attacks. Only then would I be able to overcome him and evade every single strike he threw at me.

"!"

I jumped away as he kicked at me, his leg now armored in metallic boots. He stomped it back on the ground, carving a small crater into it. I gulped as I retreated. If I got hit by that, I would definitely suffer heavy injuries.

"Ugh…"

I glared at Zhu Jiao and took a deep breath. I wanted to win so badly that I had broken my self-imposed taboo and used Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps. No more holding back. Bai Ning Xue was right. I was going to regret it if I restrained myself and refused to use Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps. And I had faith that Zhu Jiao would survive everything I threw at him, just as he believed I could withstand his attacks.

As it was, he was attacking me with all his might. Even though each strike could potentially kill me, he didn't worry about that. He knew I would find a way to survive.

I'm going to give him the same respect.

Gritting my teeth, I dashed forward and struck him, my blades bouncing off his armor ineffectually. Zhu Jiao retaliated with a swing of his arms, and I ducked under them before trying to pierce through a weak spot. Relying on my Heaven and Earth sense, I detected the portions where the concentrations of qi were the weakest and struck with uncanny precision.

Or tried to, but unfortunately I wasn't a Mary Sue protagonist with impeccable aim. My thrusts were a little off, and as if sensing the danger intuitively, Zhu Jiao quickly batted my swords away and forced me back with well-taken punches.

The guy was definitely not pulling his punches.

"!!"

I spun away and narrowly avoided Zhu Jiao's fist, then used Tui to widen the distance between us.

Undeterred, Zhu Jiao threw out a punch that did not physically connect, but instead unleashed a broad beam of destructive golden qi.

"Golden Kirin Holy Blast!"

I narrowly avoided the blast, flipping my body in midair and landed almost clumsily. Stumbling for a second, I righted myself just in time to catch sight of Zhu Jiao's next move.

Instead of aiming a punch at me or dashing forward to close in, he was rearing his fist upward and plunging it into the ground. With that single punch, he shattered the concrete and sent all the rubble flying upward from the sheer force.

"?!"

I frowned as I intuitively retreated, unsure of what he was trying to do. Behind the shower of debris and half-obscured from view, Zhu Jiao smirked.

"Golden Kirin Holy Blast isn't the only ranged attack I have, you know!"

"No, I don't know," I muttered sarcastically, sure that I would be seeing his other ranged attack any time now.

Zhu Jiao reared back and began delivering a barrage of punches. At first, I was wondering if he was going to lanch some sort of Gatling blast attack, firing off a pseudo machine gun hail of golden beams, but he surprised me by punching the debris that were floating in the air around him.

That wasn't all.

"!!!"

The rubble were all fired in my direction, traveling at incredible supersonic speeds, with sonic booms crashing in their wake. They turned red-hot from the friction, but even as they crumbled from being abraded by the atmosphere, they were traveling at such velocities that even a single hit would prove to be fatal.

After all force equaled ma.s.s times acceleration. And their acceleration was terrifying.

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. As I predicted, the debris were flying at me at velocities too fast for my eyes to follow. I wouldn't be able to see them coming.

On the other hand, if I relied on my Heaven and Earth sense, I could better detect their trajectories and predict their movements. Without any time to waste, I began to move, slipping into the very essence of Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps.

Water does not go through the rocks through sheer force. Water gently goes around the rocks. Counter hard with soft. Don't meet your enemies head-on, especially if they have superior strength. Be pliable. Be flexible. Go along with the flow of your opponents. Flow like water.

"!!"

Zhu Jiao's eyes widened when he noticed what I was trying to accomplish. I was slowly but surely evading every single debris and rubble that he was flinging in my way. Using the minimal of movements, I subtly shifted and gently weaved through the storm of rocks, avoiding direct hits.

Even so, my evasion wasn't perfect. I wasn't a Mary Sue protagonist who could suddenly master perfectly a new technique or skill in the middle of a battle. I was bound to make mistakes. They were very little errors, but mistakes nonetheless. Sometimes I miscalculated my movements or misjudged the trajectories of the debris and ended up being grazed by the lethal rocks. Blood dripped from the grazes and scratches as I braved the hail of rubble and gradually closed the distance between us.

Be like water…

"No."

My eyes widened when I heard Master's voice. No, Master was dead. How could he…?

"Imagine a waterfall."

A…waterfall?

I shook my head, still dazed as I tried to walk past the incoming storm of debris. Ah, yes. It did resemble a waterfall.

"You're not the water. You're the rock. The rock within the waterfall."

That's…

"Does the rock feel any fear? Does the rock evade? No…the only thing the rock does is allow the water to flow around it."

The azure and black qi began to whirl around me, despite my movements slowing down. I strolled through the rampant storm of debris, avoiding them with the minimal movements, ducking my head under a particularly large rock, and then kicking up another piece of rubble to deflect an incoming debris. I only countered the debris directly flying at me.

All the rest, I could safely ignored. I only needed to focus on the ones that posed the greatest danger to my wellbeing.

"What the h.e.l.l is that?!" Zhu Jiao demanded as he finally halted his barrage. The rain of rubble slowed to a trickle before finally stopping totally. He backed away, seeing the look in my eyes behind my thick lenses. "What the h.e.l.l is that technique?!"

I smiled briefly. This panic coming from a guy who just pulled a breakthrough from his a.s.s and depended on deus ex machina and pure protagonist power to win everything through sheer bulls.h.i.t plot devices?

"Did you end up learning a technique you previously couldn't when I cornered you?" Zhu Jiao seemed to think that I was the same type of protagonist as he was.

c.o.c.king my head to the side momentarily, I paused and thought for a moment, and then shook my head.

"No. I've learned it long ago, and used it before. But it's not something I can use at will. It consumes too much mental strength and willpower. And I need to fight with my opponent for a long period of time before I can finally get used to his flow and attack patterns." I bowed my head slightly. "Sorry, but it's not the case that I was deliberately holding back and hiding this move from you. I really can't use it until I've traded quite a few blows with you and learned your combat style through physically experiencing your attacks."

"I see. Well…I've to admit that I'm impressed…but even so, I'm going to do my best and win this match."

Zhu Jiao kicked off the ground and lunged at me, throwing his heavily armored fist at my face. I merely stood still, waiting until the last moment before I dodged his fist by a hair's breadth. Despite being so close, his metallic gauntlet failed to even graze my cheek.

"!!?"

Zhu Jiao narrowed his eyes when I successfully dodged his punch with the bare minimum of movements. Taking a deep breath, he lashed out with his leg and swung it down in a devastating axe kick.

"Ha!"

It missed.

"!!"

Even as his heavy boot smashed a crater onto the ground, leaving me untouched, Zhu Jiao didn't pause. Bellowing, he moved in and continued throwing a ferocious barrage of punches and kicks, but I dodged every single one of them. those that I could not fully evade, I deflected by striking his gauntlet or boot with the flat of my swords, pushing them toward a different direction in a subtle manner that Zhu Jiao didn't even realize.

My opponent's strength, power, amount of qi, endurance and explosive acceleration are all above mine. Even so, I can't afford to panic. I can't afford to give in and fall to despair.

Back in Sen Lin Forest, I had faced magical beasts and demonic creatures much stronger than me, and survived. They were inimaginably powerful, like the Hydra, able to kill me with a single blow. Or the Ghost Bear, which despite succ.u.mbing to my attacks, was powerful enough to incapacitate me with a hit from its paws. Without the Green Dragon Spring water, I would have died from the injuries it dealt me those years ago.

Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps. Even if my opponent was much stronger and faster, then I shouldn't rely on my physical senses. I should shrink my qi perception to the thinnest layer possible.

Rely on the flow of qi and read my opponent's movements. Predict the trajectories of his attacks. Use the minimum amount of effort to evade.

That was the true essence of Liu, which I had combined with my Heaven and Earth senses from the Heaven and Earth Formula.

By reducing my movements, I can save time and effort and dodge my enemy's attacks, no matter how fast they are.

I narrowed my eyes as I dodged another of Zhu Jiao's punches.

As I thought, I still can't see the flow of Jiao's movements…but I can feel them. I can read the flow of his qi and predict the direction where his next attack will come from!

"!!!"

Zhu Jiao had noticed something was irregular, for he suddenly changed his attack pattern. His fist came flying from an unexpected angle, and instead of evading, I was forced to cross my blades and parry his strike. As before, the immense power from his punch lifted me off my feet and threw me a few steps back.

"Huff…"

Can't let my guard down, huh…

Taking a deep breath, I calmed my breathing and grinned to myself.

Now that I've broken my own self-imposed taboo and used Heavenly Sense and Earthly Steps, I have no choice but to win this match!

Refusing to yield an inch, I looked up and perceived Zhu Jiao's next attack calmly. Due to the earlier success, he had resorted to using the same pattern as before, thinking that it might work again. Even though I didn't have time to get used to this new variation, I forced myself to calm down and a.n.a.lyze it coolly.

"Hu…"

Exhaling, I rea.s.serted my sense of self. Once again, I was little more than a rock in the river, allowing every attack to go around it. Sensing the current and going along with the flow. The very essence of Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps.

While, by minimizing my movements and using the least amount of time and effort possible to dodge, I drastically increased the chances of success for my evasion, on the other hand, the risk of the technique backfiring on me had also rose considerably. If my opponent was able to take me by surprise with a new pattern, I wouldn't be able to adjust my movements and avoid his attacks in time. That was what happened earlier, when Zhu Jiao suddenly altered his attack pattern.

This was the single weakness of Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps. It was by no means an invincible technique, but a double-edged sword that carried just as many risks as success. Of course, that was mostly because I had yet to perfectly master it. My Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps, which was forged for use against foes significantly stronger and more formidable than me, was incomplete. I had yet to reach a stage that would mitigate those risks and raise the success by several more notches.

Even so, I refused to give up. This was my ultimate technique, and the only one that afforded me any chance of victory against an opponent as talented and powerful as Zhu Jiao.

Suddenly, Zhu Jiao withdrew his punches and laughed.

"Ha ha ha ha!"

"?!"

I stared at him, not comprehending his sudden outburst. Zhu Jiao merely shook his head and smiled at me.

"As I thought, Wu…you're the best opponent ever! I didn't think you could surprise me any further, and now you pulled this off! Only by fighting someone of your caliber will I be able to progress further with my own martial arts! Thank you!"

"You overestimate me," I told him flatly. Zhu Jiao snorted.

"You underestimate yourself," he replied. Then he grinned again as he studied me. "I see…so you're predicting the movements and the flow of my attacks. Impressive! This is really impressive! Even though you're not as fast as Ning Xue, you're evading my attacks much better than she ever did! You're really amazing!"

"!!"

I frowned at his statement. Even though this was the first time he was fighting against me like this, he actually managed to see through the essence of my Heavenly Flow and Earthly Steps! Zhu Jiao was really a frightening genius.

Can't he get any more Mary Sue-ish?!

Zhu Jiao rubbed his chin as he considered my strange movements.

"To be able to elevate your five physical senses to their peak, and even achieve a sixth sense – the qi sense and spiritual perception – I think you're the only one in our generation able to do this. Not only that, your movements are precise to the millimeter, and you're literally avoiding all of my attacks by little more than a hair's breadth! Truly impressive!"

I frowned, but then thrust my sword forward.

"It's useless," Zhu Jiao told me and chuckled as he batted my sword away. I staggered for a moment, then spun away to avoid his next punch. "You might be able to evade all of my attacks, but if you're unable to attack me effectively, it's useless."

My lip curled. "Unable to attack you effectively, eh?"

"Hah!"

Zhu Jiao punched at me again, but I dodged his fist. Whirling around, I dropped my sword and slammed my right palm into his side before unleashing a wave of frosty yin qi into his body. As Zhu Jiao retaliated with a backhanded blow, I ducked under it, then kicked my falling sword upward toward his seemingly exposed face.

"Hmph."

Zhu Jiao lazily c.o.c.ked his head to the side, and the tip of my blade scratched the side of his armored helm with little impact. He then rammed his elbow into my chest, but I had already stepped to the side in reflex while grabbing my sword at the same time and slashing him.

Clang!

Zhu Jiao warded my blow off effortlessly and his counter almost knocked me off my feet. Sensing danger, I quickly used Tui and widened the distance between us.

Did it work?

I watched Zhu Jiao carefully, but he only strolled forward. Glancing down with a frown, he swept his gauntlet across the spot of armor where I slammed my palm against earlier. Frost coated both his armored fingers and chainmail, and he flicked them away.

"That was quite the interesting attack," he remarked with a smile. "Would have work too, if all I focused on was physical attacks. Fortunately, my Golden Kirin Sacred Armor protects me from qi and inner attacks too, especially when boosted by my Golden Kirin Sacred Beast technique."

"What the f.u.c.k is that, literal plot armor or something?!" I growled, infuriated. Zhu Jiao smiled wryly and shrugged.

"It is what it is."

I gritted my teeth, vowing to wipe the smug smirk off my friend's face. Even though we were friends, I couldn't help but be annoyed by his seemingly cavalier att.i.tude.

I'm going to break through that d.a.m.ned armor of his no matter what!

Channeling my azure and black qi into both my swords, I dropped into an aggressive stance and allowed my qi to surge upward recklessly. Even though this was risky, Zhu Jiao had a valid point. I wasn't going to win if I focused solely on evasion.

I had to attack and find a way to break through his st.u.r.dy defenses as well. Not to mention wipe off that c.o.c.ky grin.

"AAAAH!"

With a shout, I charged forward and swung both my swords downward with everything I had, twin black dragons wreathing my blades and imbuing them with ferocious power. I was confident that I had enough strength to cleave even a t.i.tanium wall in half.

Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike!

However, Zhu Jiao caught my blades with his gauntlets. Grinning, he kicked at me when I struggled to pry my weapons out of his grasp. Having detected the flow of his attacks, I quickly released my swords and flipped myself backward, avoiding his heavily armored foot by millimeters. Landing a few meters away, I immediately stepped to the side and dodged another punch, only to manage to relinquish one of my swords when he let go of it to punch me.

Grabbing my sword with both hands, I spun around in the air and slashed at him with another Shadow Dragon Meteor Strike.

"Gah!"

This time, Zhu Jiao was actually forced back, his golden sphere weakening. A thin line appeared on his gleaming, golden armor, but he managed to hold his ground firmly.

Not for long.

I smashed my foot into his helm and unleashed another Seismic Step.

"AAAAAAARGH!"

The entire ground caved in under him, enveloping him in a cloud of dust and explosive qi. My second sword came flying out of the detonation and I s.n.a.t.c.hed it out of the air before landing a safe distance away.

"Huff…"

Skidding across the ground and dropping to a crouch, I raised my head and watched the cloud of dust billow outward. Even so, from my Heaven and Earth sense, I could detect Zhu Jiao's presence emanating a more powerful qi than before.

"You've got to be kidding me…" I muttered.

Zhu Jiao burst out of the dust and debris, his gleaming armor cracked and blood pouring out of his mouth. However, with a clench of his fists, he restored his Golden Kirin Sacred Armor in an instant, making it appear as if it was new.

"Regenerative armor? Now I've seen everything."

"Sorry about that," Zhu Jiao retorted with a shrug. Even though he regenerated his armor in a second, blood was still dribbling from his mouth. Clearly the damage I dealt directly to his body hadn't healed. He raised a fist and got ready to fire off a Golden Kirin Holy Blast at me. "But if you can't find a way to break my armor and deal a decisive blow, you won't be able to win."

"Hu…" I exhaled wearily, no longer bothering to mask my exhaustion. Closing my eyes briefly, I quickly studied the flow of qi around Zhu Jiao's body.

Then I smiled.

"You're right," I admitted as I opened my eyes and adjusted my gla.s.ses. "I guess it's time for my counterattack."