Consumed by furious regret, Zhang Zhenshan refused to grant another moment's respite. Fist clenching, murderous intent blazing in his eyes, he charged at Bai Yunfei once more!
Bai Yunfei had just reached his decision when he saw Zhang Zhenshan seize the initiative. His expression shifted slightly. He shook his mostly recovered right arm, took a deep breath, and raised his spear to meet the charge.
This renewed clash saw both fighters exercise far greater caution. Bai Yunfei remained wary of his opponent's elusive footwork and the ever-threatening possibility of his arm lengthening unnaturally. Zhang Zhenshan, in stark contrast, treated Bai Yunfei's Flame Spear with extreme trepidation. He barely attempted to deflect thrusts with his palms now, relying almost entirely on evasion. Bai Yunfei's Rippling Steps continued to be a significant thorn in his side.
Yet, after another twenty-something exchanges, Bai Yunfei gradually slipped into a disadvantage. He took several palm strikes from Zhang Zhenshan in succession. Fortunately, these blows lacked the devastating power of the earlier ones. Zhang Zhenshan's dwindling Soul Force reserves made him wary of reckless elemental attacks. Protected by the Golden Silk Soul Armor, Bai Yunfei managed to hold on.
Though on the back foot, not a trace of panic marred Bai Yunfei's face. His eyes flickered with calculation amidst the defensive maneuvers and counterattacks, as if silently measuring something…
Zhang Zhenshan ducked low, evading a horizontal spear sweep, and retaliated instantly with a leg sweep aimed at Bai Yunfei's ankles. Bai Yunfei swayed, retreating half a step to avoid it.
Seizing the opening, Zhang Zhenshan shot upwards without pause. Ice Glide Step activated, his body slid forward like a phantom. Capitalizing on Bai Yunfei's slight imbalance from retreating, he closed the distance in a blink. His right hand shot out, fingers curled like talons, aiming once more for Bai Yunfei's throat!
Bai Yunfei had no choice but to jerk his head and torso backward, narrowly avoiding the grasp. Simultaneously, the Flame Spear vanished—he was about to summon the Frost Spike to counter—but Zhang Zhenshan sneered coldly.
The claw transformed into an open palm. Zhang Zhenshan's arm abruptly elongated two inches! The palm slammed down onto Bai Yunfei's left shoulder!
The sudden change in attack left Bai Yunfei no room to dodge. He took the blow solidly. The force spun him uncontrollably to the left. His earlier backward momentum combined with the impact destroyed his balance. He stumbled two steps, ending up with his back facing Zhang Zhenshan—and crucially, didn't activate Rippling Steps to evade further!
Zhang Zhenshan's eyes glinted with savage triumph. His right arm barely needed lifting. Without a moment's hesitation, another palm strike hammered onto Bai Yunfei's exposed back! This blow carried significant weight; Zhang Zhenshan was confident it would inflict further injury and shatter Bai Yunfei's balance completely.
Sure enough, a muffled grunt escaped Bai Yunfei. He stumbled another half-step. It seemed he would buckle under the blow's force, knees hitting the ground!
Zhang Zhenshan's killing intent intensified. He surged forward without pause. His right arm drew back slightly, gathering power. Almost instantly, a layer of icy mist coalesced around his right palm. The hand itself seemed to transform into solid, glacial ice. Tendrils of frigid air writhed from it—a sight chilling enough to make an onlooker shiver.
Soul Skill: Icy Palm!!
He had used this Soul Skill earlier in the fight, but only with minimal ice elemental power. The second attempt had been forcibly altered mid-execution into Long Arm Fist due to Bai Yunfei's evasion.
This palm strike, however, consumed half of his remaining precious Soul Force. It was a blow charged with deadly intent!
The cold radiating from it was palpable! The very air around the palm seemed to freeze solid. The strike stirred the atmosphere in its vicinity, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, as it drove unerringly towards Bai Yunfei's exposed skull!
Yet, Zhang Zhenshan, wholly focused on exploiting this perceived 'opportunity' to finish his foe, failed to notice several critical details: the flash of cunning light in Bai Yunfei's eyes the instant his first palm connected; the absolute lack of panic on Bai Yunfei's face after turning; and most importantly, the bulging, vein-corded muscles of Bai Yunfei's right arm, hidden against his body, coiled like a spring!
Just as Zhang Zhenshan thrust the Icy Palm forward, Bai Yunfei's stumbling, forward-leaning posture abruptly stabilized. All trace of unsteadiness vanished. Using his forward right foot as a pivot, he whirled around with explosive speed! His eyes blazed with fierce determination, locking onto the oncoming icy death. His own right fist, propelled by a sharp tearing sound through the air, lashed out!
Waves Cascade Art: Ninefold Fist Force!!
CRACK-SHIIING!
Fist met palm in a thunderous detonation! Both figures were hurled backward simultaneously through the air!!
Tumbling through the air, a strained, bitter smile touched Bai Yunfei's lips. Gritting his teeth, he managed to twist his body, landing heavily. He staggered backward uncontrollably for over a dozen steps before finally regaining his footing.
This was the third time he'd been sent flying. Each flight was more desperate than the last, each landing farther away. Each impact inflicted deeper wounds.
A wave of freezing energy surged up his fist, only forcibly halted at his shoulder by sheer will. His entire right arm was ghastly pale, as if flash-frozen. Sensation was almost entirely gone. Bai Yunfei marshaled a torrent of Soul Force, violently forcing it down the numb limb. Regaining a sliver of control, his fist relaxed slightly. The crimson Flame Spear materialized instantly, and his hand clamped onto it with desperate strength.
A wave of searing heat pulsed from the spear shaft, flooding into his arm. Bai Yunfei breathed an inward sigh of relief. He focused intensely, circulating Soul Force through his arm repeatedly, synergizing with the spear's invasive heat to purge the invading glacial cold.
Zhang Zhenshan was also thrown back, but his condition was markedly better than Bai Yunfei's. A slight twist mid-air allowed him to land firmly on his feet.
However, when he lifted his gaze to Bai Yunfei across the distance, his eyes once more flooded with shock and utter disbelief. There was even a flicker of… bewilderment.
His entire right arm trembled uncontrollably. Excruciating, drilling pain radiated from deep within the limb. When Bai Yunfei's fist had struck, the initial force hadn't seemed overwhelming—certainly not against his Soul Spirit realm defenses. But in the split-second following that impact, layer upon layer of concussive force had erupted!
It felt like a nail being hammered into stone, blow after relentless blow! Wave after wave of shock pulsed from the point of impact on his palm, traveling violently up his arm!
Wherever these shockwaves passed, the flesh, tendons, and bones of his arm were subjected to repeated, brutal impacts. One or two waves were manageable. Three or four were tolerable. But when the eighth and ninth waves struck in relentless succession, even his Soul Spirit physique, caught unprepared while his focus was entirely on delivering the Icy Palm, buckled!
Muscles along his entire arm shrieked as if on the verge of tearing. His bones seemed to emit faint creaking sounds. A sheen of cold sweat even broke out on his forehead.
"Is this… the Soul Skill Zhao Ping mentioned? The one that injured Wei Xu?! This power… it's magnitudes stronger than he described!!" Zhang Zhenshan thought frantically, pouring Soul Force into the injured limb to heal the damage. "But the most inconceivable part is his defense! I landed those two palm strikes squarely! Based on his previously demonstrated resilience, he shouldn't have been able to withstand them with so little effect! He actually managed to feign defeat, setting up that counterattack! That means… he knew when taking my second blow that it wouldn't cripple him! How…? How is that possible…?"
No matter how Zhang Zhenshan struggled to comprehend, no matter what theories raced through his mind, he couldn't grasp the truth. This was a secret known only to Bai Yunfei!
When Zhang Zhenshan had unexpectedly shifted from claw to palm and extended his arm with Long Arm Fist to strike Bai Yunfei's left shoulder, Bai Yunfei had initially intended to evade immediately with Rippling Steps. But the instant the thought formed, a trickle of Soul Force involuntarily flowed into his Golden Silk Soul Armor. The force transmitted through the armor by the palm strike became… muted, significantly weakened!
Golden Silk Soul Armor's supplemental effect triggered: 5% chance to increase defense by 50% for three seconds when struck.
Success!!
The long-awaited effect had finally activated! Joy surged in Bai Yunfei's heart. He instantly abandoned any thought of evasion. Instead, he rode the force of the blow, pretending instability and loss of balance. He deliberately stumbled, turning his back to his opponent!
As he turned, his right arm had already begun coiling power. His mind raced: Three seconds… Not the optimal opening yet!
Then came Zhang Zhenshan's follow-up strike—stronger, faster, delivered without pause!
Still within the armor's three-second enhanced defense window! The Golden Silk Soul Armor had boosted its protective power by half. Zhang Zhenshan's confident second strike, which should have crippled, inflicted far less actual impact than anticipated!
Finally, when the Icy Palm descended, Bai Yunfei, after nearly three seconds of deliberate gathering, launched his devastating counterattack! He had successfully wounded Zhang Zhenshan and forced him back!!
Against any other opponent of Bai Yunfei's apparent strength, Zhang Zhenshan's relentless assault would have ended without surprise, just as he envisioned – death by a crushing palm to the skull.
But this chain of attacks, designed to kill, had failed. It failed against the supplemental effect of Enhanced Equipment!
Because his opponent was Bai Yunfei!
The confluence of events had led to this stalemate: both fighters nursing grievously wounded right arms.
Bai Yunfei stood motionless, eyes locked onto Zhang Zhenshan, who was similarly recovering. Feeling the injury in his right arm was finally suppressed, he breathed a silent sigh of relief. There was no time for careful recuperation now. His gaze flickered almost imperceptibly around their surroundings, his mind racing.
"I can't keep fighting! My Soul Force is critically low. If I want to escape using Rippling Steps, I can't afford to waste any more! Every additional exchange increases the danger!"
"Damn it!! It hurts to give it up… but there's no other choice now!"