“It looks like I’ll have to show some real skill. I was planning to bring you back unharmed, but now I’ll have to break your arms and legs.”
Red Hound bent down, dragging his long blade on the ground, assuming a charging stance.
“Can’t you be less cruel?” Yang Liuqing’s scalp tingled at the words.
Breaking arms and legs—just thinking about it gave her phantom pain.
Perhaps dodging that dangerous blow earlier had built up a bit of confidence in her.
The tense atmosphere around her eased considerably.
With a calm mind, her focus naturally sharpened.
Ke Ling and Ke Li had been observing and knew every change in Yang Liuqing intimately. This Master grew calmer the more critical the situation.
At times like this, ordinary people would be panicking, or at least their breathing wouldn’t be so steady. Her mentality, her ability to adjust—it was far stronger than expected.
In truth, Yang Liuqing herself didn’t know she had such a talent. After all, before God’s Gate appeared, Huaxia was stable and safe. At most, she had to go hungry sometimes due to poverty.
She was far from any life-or-death situations.
Now, even Red Hound could clearly sense something off about her.
‘Was the legendary Magic Potion really that miraculous? Or were the high-priced materials he obtained mostly fake? An ordinary person, even if suddenly gaining immense power, wouldn’t undergo such a huge change in mindset.’
At this moment, Red Hound felt an illusion of facing a same-level Transcendent. Not just that—a seasoned, calm same-level Transcendent.
At first glance, it seemed there were openings everywhere that could be exploited easily.
But perhaps they were all deliberately exposed weaknesses.
The aura she emitted had that flavor. ‘The flavor of schemes and tricks!’
If Yang Liuqing knew how much he was overthinking in that instant, she would be dumbfounded.
She was just holding her sword, facing the enemy, without thinking of anything at all.
As a novice with only a bit more than zero combat experience, she had already done her utmost.
The atmosphere was tense. Red Hound was very cautious and didn’t rashly make a move. But this wouldn’t do. If he, a senior veteran, was overwhelmed by a novice’s momentum, his mindset would crack, making it hard to advance further in the future.
When two meet on a narrow path, the brave one wins. If not now, then when?
“Gone?!” In Yang Liuqing’s eyes, Red Hound, who had just been bending down preparing to charge, seemed to have never existed, vanished without a trace.
Such a bizarre situation was clearly abnormal. Either he used a special ability, or his speed was so fast that he moved to her blind spot in the blink of an eye.
Yang Liuqing thought the latter was more likely.
Left, right, back, or above? She could only guess now. If she guessed wrong, she’d likely lose an arm or a leg.
But rather than guessing, listening was more reliable. Suddenly, a subtle sound came from her left ear—very light and low. If she hadn’t paid attention, she would have thought it was an illusion.
In that instant, Yang Liuqing almost instinctively turned around and struck out with her sword.
Clang!
Sparks and sound appeared simultaneously.
Then she saw Red Hound, who had disappeared, reveal himself.
His long blade swung over, indeed using the blunt edge. He planned to cripple one of her arms first.
“…” Red Hound’s pupils contracted.
His face, covered by bandages, was surely filled with surprise.
‘I used my signature move, [Hound Body Movement], intending to finish the battle quickly. But not only was it seen through, the attack was directly parried. What was up with this guy? I thought I had overestimated her, but I still underestimated her!’
Yang Liuqing was also surprised, but it didn’t show on her face.
She could react because her body had been strengthened by the Magic Potion, giving her excellent overall physique.
That said, if she had been even 0.1 seconds slower to start, her left arm would have been ruined. After that, there would be no hope.
Red Hound’s strength clearly exceeded expectations by a lot.
The mutated Zhurou Rong was nowhere near his level. A senior veteran was indeed extraordinary. As a junior, she felt immense pressure.
Red Hound quickly snapped back to reality and vanished again.
At this distance, her hearing couldn’t keep up.
By the time she heard it, the attack would have landed on her.
Yang Liuqing had to rely on instinct.
Clang!
She blocked again successfully, but the powerful impact knocked her back several meters, and both hands were in trouble.
By the time she barely stabilized herself, Red Hound had already attacked from the right.
“Master, you can’t use your eyes to see or ears to hear. You need to sense the opponent’s aura!” Ke Ling quickly reminded.
The previous battle had gone too smoothly, making her forget that Yang Liuqing was a junior even among juniors.
It wasn’t that her foundation was poor—she had none at all.
Facing an opponent of this level, relying solely on eyes and ears to observe movements was far from enough.
Sense aura?
Yang Liuqing was baffled.
It would be weird if she knew how.
It’s like a first grader just learning addition and subtraction, then someone throws a calculus textbook at them.
Being able to read the words would be a talent.
“Xiao Qingqing, just rely on feeling. Don’t overthink it!” Ke Li knew she understood nothing, so she simply threw out a higher-level concept.
Return to Simplicity. Sometimes, the more primitive something is, the more useful it is.
Yang Liuqing followed the instruction, emptying her mind completely, letting her instincts sense the changes around her.
Immediately, a strange image appeared in her mind. Red Hound was circling around at high speed to attack from behind.
That was an absolute blind spot, something she logically shouldn’t be able to see.
But through sensing, she captured the corresponding image.
She didn’t understand the principle, only that it worked.
With a movement of her body, Yang Liuqing dodged preemptively.
This made Red Hound miss completely. His pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks.
‘Being blocked continuously earlier could still be chalked up to luck. But now, predicting in advance and dodging proves she’s sensing everything. What astonishing evolution!’
Red Hound felt like he was facing an amnesiac peerless master.
Despite appearing full of openings, he couldn’t gain any advantage.
‘She’s just relying on instinct, gradually catching up to my rhythm. If this continues, I’ll surely lose. At this point, I dare not hold back any longer.’
He immediately burst into extreme speed, intending to capture Yang Liuqing before she evolved further.
A flash of blade light.
This wasn’t an attack with the blunt edge.
The cutting edge swept out from the blade, splitting a crack in the plaza floor, heading straight for Yang Liuqing.
Seeing this, she decisively avoided it.
Such an attack was not easy to block. Nor was it necessary to block.
The blade light moved very fast, fading quickly.
Ke Ling immediately saw that this was a feint. But she didn’t warn Yang Liuqing.
Unless necessary, the two sisters wouldn’t give her hints.
That would only hinder their Master’s growth.
Just as Yang Liuqing dodged the attack, Red Hound’s blade came slashing down.
It was so fast it seemed to cut through the air.
She remained calm in the face of danger and raised her sword to block.
‘Was this heavy blow of mine something she could just block casually? Be careful, or I’ll split you and your sword in two! If I can’t stop my swing in time, I’ll only be wasting my efforts.’
Clang!
Sword and blade clashed.
The expected split didn’t happen.
Instead, a notch appeared on the blade.