Book 1 Chapter 46: The gap in power!
Facing this palm strike, which was aimed at his heart, Bai Yunfei suddenly took half a step backwards and clenched his right fist. Blue veins popped out of his arm and he struck a blow!
Overlapping Waves Art, Ninefold Fist Force!!
However, the moment Bai Yunfei threw this punch, which he had been planning for a long time, in front of him, Zhang Zhenshan’s eyes flashed with a trace of derision!
Just before the fist and the palm could collide with each other, when they were a very short distance apart, this palm suddenly turned into two palms, then four palms, which were respectively aimed at Bai Yunfei’s two shoulders, heart and face!
Under the astounded look in Bai Yunfei’s eyes, the palm strike aimed at his heart and his fist came into contact. But his right fist went straight through this palm — it was an afterimage!
Facing the palm strike aimed at his face, Bai Yunfei had no choice but to lean his head to one side hurriedly. Half of this palm then went past his face — this was also an afterimage!
Before he could have another reaction, an inconceivably great force already hit his left shoulder — only this palm strike was real!
What shocked him even more was that, as this palm strike came into contact with him, in addition to that enormous force of impact, there was also an even more formidable chill rushing into his body. When this chill entered his body, Bai Yunfei even felt that his soul was frozen for a moment!
All of this sounds complicated but in fact it happened and ended in the blink of an eye. Bai Yunfei’s right hand was even still maintaining its forward striking position, but his entire body was sent flying backwards like a disconnected kite, almost creating a blur.
“Humph! Ignorant kid! You think you can fool me just because you’re a little smart? Don’t overestimate yourself!” The derision in Zhang Zhenshan’s eyes intensified. Just when he wanted to lift his feet to give chase, he suddenly stood still, the expression on his face stiffening then turning into one of disbelief.
This was because while in midair after being sent flying, when Bai Yunfei was about to fall to the ground, he did a flip and landed feet first on the ground. Only after bending his knees to a half-crouch position with his hands placed against the ground and sliding backwards three or four meters was he able to stop.
As Bai Yunfei raised his head looking at a totally astounded Zhang Zhenshan in front of him, a streak of blood flowed out from a corner of his mouth. He had an urge to spout a mouthful of blood but he suppressed it forcefully.
“I misjudged it… Am I still really too naive? He’s a Soul Sprite and the head of the Zhang family with so much combat experience. How could it have been so easy for me to trick him?… In the end I was tricked by him instead. If not for his attack being inclined towards the centerline of my body and hitting a place that happened to be within the defensive range of the Goldsilk Soul Armor, my shoulder could have been crippled…
“Under the defense of the +10 upgraded Goldsilk Soul Armor, I was still injured so seriously. Plus, the most fearsome thing was that chill. If not for the defense of the Goldsilk Soul Armor giving me a small gap of time to channel my soulforce to resist it, it would probably have gone into my body by now. Then, even if I wouldn’t have been frozen all over, my movement speed would have dropped sharply!
“This is the power of the Soul Warrior stage? The power of elemental control…”
Now Bai Yunfei had already stood up. He wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth and took out the Fire-tipped Spear again then stared hard at Zhang Zhenshan in front of him. Zhang Zhenshan watched all of this with a lingering astonished and doubtful expression.
“How is this even possible?! After taking that palm strike of mine, it unexpectedly seems he’s just slightly injured! Even though I’m not in my best condition, a Soul Warrior shouldn’t have been able to withstand the force of a palm strike from a Soul Sprite like me so easily!
“Right! He’s wearing Han Xiao’s Goldsilk Soul Armor on his body! But that armor is merely a low human-tier soul item, how can it have such a high defense? Could it be… the amount of power I can use at the moment is even lower than I thought?”
Both men had their own thoughts and seemed to be considering countermeasures. For a short period of time, the situation unexpectedly turned into a deadlock.
Bai Yunfei did his utmost to channel his soulforce to disperse that trace of coldness in his body. At the same time, he cast a glance at the Fire-tipped Spear in his hands in an unnoticeable manner, his eyes flashing.
“I didn’t expect to be able to draw the scorching heat in the Fire-tipped Spear into my body! Just now, to disperse that trace of coldness in my body as quickly as possible, I subconsciously tried doing this and was unexpectedly successful!! But I was unable to discover this earlier… In that is the case, it just happens to be of some help in this fight!
“I can’t wait any longer. Both of us are recovering, but he’s definitely faster than I am! I must not let him return to his best or I’ll be in even more danger!”
At this point, Bai Yunfei clenched this teeth and gave the Fire-tipped Spear a shake. Using a strange footwork pattern, he turned into a string of blurs and rushed towards Zhang Zhenshan!
“He saw through me again? He’s obviously weaker than me but he has attacked me first the times in a row. This man’s mental ability is indeed exceptional!” Watching Bai Yunfei charging at him, Zhang Zhenshan’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. He then gave a cold snort and rushed up.
Knowing that the opponent was adept at using fists and palms to attack, this time Bai Yunfei watched out for his forceful approach all the time right from the beginning. Relying on the Wave Treading Steps’ speed and dexterity, brandishing the spear, he was unexpectedly able to force Zhang Zhenshan to retreat every time he wanted to charge up.
The Fire-tipped Spear had an extremely high damage and even an explosion effect, but most of its damage was focused in the tip and it needed to hit the target in straight thrusts for the explosion effect to be triggered. Right from the beginning Zhang Zhenshan had been able to tell that this spear was no ordinary weapon so he did not block the thrusts of the spear head-on like how he had blocked the stabs of the Glacial Piercer earlier. Therefore, even though Bai Yunfei looked very lively as he fought, he was unable to do anything to the opponent at all.
The two of them fought for several dozen bouts continuously. Because Zhang Zhenshan was afraid of the power of the Fire-tipped Spear, he was unable to counterattack for the time being, but he handled Bai Yunfei’s attacks with skill and ease. However, Bai Yunfei became more and more anxious as the fight progressed. He could already tell that the opponent was deliberately dragging out the fight. If this continued, he would undoubtedly use more energy than the enemy and the situation would become more and more disadvantageous to him.
Worried inside, Bai Yunfei could not help attacking much faster. After Zhang Zhenshan avoided another spear strike, Bai Yunfei suddenly repositioned his feet, taking half a step backwards and withdrawing the Fire-tipped Spear. Blue veins popped out of his right arm. It looked like he had exerted his strength in the blink of an eye. He then thrust the spear out all of a sudden at a speed unexpectedly several times greater than earlier!
Threefold Thrust!!
Facing this fast spear thrust, which was aimed at his stomach, Zhang Zhenshan’s eyes flashed with a trace of amazement, but he did not panic at all. The moment the tip of the spear about to come into contact with him, his entire body moved sideways without a warning sign, avoiding this blow easily! Then, with his body slightly leaning forwards, he unexpectedly rushed up to Bai Yunfei’s face in the blink of an eye!
Without lifting or lowering himself, and without a warning sign, he had moved sideways then rushed up just like that! It even appeared as if he had not made any movement!
A body-maneuvering soul technique, Ice Treading Steps!
Using this footwork pattern was like skating on ice. It did not require the user to sway left and right confusingly like the Wave Treading Steps, nor did it allow the user to move so fast as the Wave Treading Steps did. It only made it possible for the user to slide without any warning sign and in a surprising manner. When it was in use, the user’s body did not rise or fall, so unless you observed by staring at his feet, you would not notice any strange movement — but who would only stare at the opponent’s feet during combat?
Another focus attack with the spear had been avoided. Before Bai Yunfei could even bemoan this, the enemy had already ‘slid’ up to his face!
His eyes flashing with killing intent, Zhang Zhenshan raised his right hand and threw another palm strike, aiming for Bai Yunfei’s head!
The palm of his hand seemed to be surrounded in a layer of frost. The wind created by the palm spread out, sending a mass of cold air to Bai Yunfei, causing his hair to stand on end — this palm strike was probably even several times more fearsome than that palm strike from earlier!
Bai Yunfei’s pupils dilated. It was already too late to withdraw the spear so he clenched his teeth and pushed his feet against the ground with force. His body then suddenly jumped up backwards. Even though he would be in a difficult situation to ward off the enemy’s follow-up attack, he had to avoid this palm strike first! Because he jumped up, this palm strike which originally had been aimed at his head was now aimed at his chest instead.
With this backward jump, he was able to create a distance of about an inch between him and the palm. It looked like he had eventually avoided this palm strike by a hair’s breadth!
However, just when this palm seemed to run out of momentum, Zhang Zhenshan’s eyes focused and he let out a light snort. His right shoulder seemed to tremble slightly then his entire right arm seemed to wiggle in an unnoticeable manner. In just a moment, this already outstretched right arm unexpectedly became longer by more than two inches all of a sudden!
Under the astounded look in Bai Yunfei’s eyes, this palm hit him squarely in the chest!