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nTranslator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

nA headless body dropped to the ground, splashing water everywhere. There was still a puzzled expression on the now-severed head of Shao Yi.

nHe was thinking, “Didn’t the kid already let his guard down? How was he able to react in time?”

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nHe was thinking, “Why would a sword shoot out of a person’s chest?”

nHe was thinking, “The kid was completely unable to resist even that one attack of mine, so why was I sent flying?”

nThump.

nWater splashed as the head bobbed in the puddle.

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nXu Xiaoshou clenched the muscles in his chest as he rose from the ground. He pulled the sword out of his chest and took a look at the hole there, which almost went straight through him to his back.

n“Sh**, this hurts…”

nInnate Level Physique, Sharpness, spiritual source shielding. All three of these added together, and still that man had been able to punch a hole right through him.

n“The peak of Origin Court level really is insanely powerful!” he noted to himself.

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nThe injuries all over his body were almost completely done healing.

nHe waved his head and burned the dead body away, leaving only that head with a puzzled look on its face behind.

n“Puzzled, huh?

n“You should be.

n“If you’d been able to figure everything out, I’d be lying on the ground now instead…”

nXu Xiaoshou was still reeling from shock and fright. If it hadn’t been for Recoil coming into effect at the very last moment, he would have probably suffered yet another stab.

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nIf one of his vital organs had been hit, he thought that not even Eternal Vitality would have been able to heal him.

nHe touched his chest. Deep down, he was impressed.

n“Innate Level Recoil sure is something. The more damaging the opponent’s attack, the further away they’ll be sent flying.”

nThat meant if anyone out there wasn’t able to kill him with one shot, that first shot would widen the distance between them.

nAnd when he apparently had more information than the other, he would definitely be able to buy more time to get prepared, just like with the Reverse Style he’d just pulled.

nThat was simply no way out of such a predicament.

nFurthermore, with both Eternal Vitality and High Spirits at work, no one would be able to fight a war of attrition against him, so long as his opponent didn’t manage to score a one-hit kill.

nHe rescinded the Infernal Spiritual Source, which was wrecking the place, after High Spirits came to mind. The rain was no longer vaporizing, and was able to fall normally.

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n“That Fundamental Passive Skill sure is terrifying,” he thought.

nIt had enabled him to maintain the harrowing mood throughout the entire ordeal all on his own, and had even burned that assassin almost to a crisp with the Infernal Heavenly Flames.

nWhen he checked on his energy reserve, he found there was only a small bit of spiritual source left.

nYet, that bit was regenerating at a rate visible to the naked eye.

n“Who would be able to withstand something like this, eh…”

nXu Xiaoshou mourned his future enemies, as those three major Fundamental Passive Skills of his were utterly insane.

nEven Breathing Technique had been converted into a method of attack.

nHe wondered just how dejected that man had felt when he’d sucked the pill dry right then and there.

nHe shook his head. His face was drenched by rainwater, which cooled him down somewhat.

nPeak of Origin Court level…

nDespite the fact that someone at such a level was very powerful, they were still weaker than what he’d expected.

nHe wondered if that perception had anything to do with the fact that the man he’d fought had only been able to pull one effective attack on him from start to finish.

nAfter that battle, he’d become fully aware that the huge gap between himself and those Innate Level veterans wasn’t so big that he couldn’t close it as he was.

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nThis made sense. Conventional powers were indeed not his forte. In fact, one could even say that they were his greatest weakness.

nYet, conventional wisdom dictated that one’s powers were the basic determining factor that decided how well one could do in combat.

nThis explained the fact why, despite knowing his situation and knowing that he had more up his sleeve, people would nonetheless somehow underestimate him one way or another.

nHe deemed that so long as he could make good use of this, he could bring enemies far stronger than him down all the same.

nThe rain kept falling, and he stood under it in silence, sorting out all the thoughts in his head.

nSoon, he forcibly suppressed his thoughts and came back to his senses.

n“There’s one more…

n“The battle may not be over yet.”

nXu Xiaoshou looked at the ground. The only loot he’d gotten from the battle was two short swords and a head, as he’d burned the rest.

nInterrogating the man hadn’t been very useful. Even though the man had willingly answered all of his questions, he didn’t dare to believe any of what he’d said.

nThe only thing he knew with certainty was that the man who’d run away was probably of a level higher than the one who’d died.

nWorse still, that man might come back.

nHe was more inclined to believe that people were cold-blooded, and more so in the case of those two, given that they were killers. There was no certainty that the one who’d run would come back to retrieve his partner.

nBut then again, what if he did?

nIn actual fact, a lot of what-ifs that he’d speculated in that battle had come true. The cunning one who’d run was the truly meticulous and calculative one—the type to fight with their brains.

nHuff…

nXu Xiaoshou exhaled heavily, feeling worn inside and out.

nYet, he had to keep alert all the same, as that other man might just be waiting for him to let his guard down.

n“How should I go about this?

n“Pre-emptive strike, wait for the assassin to come, or trap him?”

nIn a split second, dozens of thoughts raced through his head, yet he rejected them all.

nIf he were unable to bear overwhelming force down on that assassin and kill said assassin before he was able to react, then these thoughts would’ve been for nothing.

nFurthermore, the one who’d escaped was still nonetheless at Voidness Level.

nThat was two whole levels higher than the level he was at.

nXu Xiaoshou was exasperated. He wondered who exactly he’d offended to warrant them sending such terrifying assassins at him.

nFurthermore, according to his experience, the assassins sent at him should’ve only been a little stronger than he was, and he could’ve then used them as stepping stones to facilitate further growth.

n“This really isn’t working as it should. How should I go about it, then?

nHe started pondering. If the one who’d escaped were to return, what should he do in order to kill him?

nDeveloping powers were out of the question.

nInnate Level Physique…

n“Yeah, this may be of some use,” he thought.

nBut, when fighting up close and personal, one or the other would definitely end up killed. Too risky.

n“Well then, that leaves Infernal Heavenly Flames and Innate Sword Will…”

nHe could afford to splurge with the former, yet he definitely couldn’t use it as his main attack, as it would simply take too much time.

nAs for Innate Sword Will…

nXu Xiaoshou wracked his brains. He would be able to win.

nOnly something like that would enable one to kill someone of a higher level, no?

nAcquired Sword Will could already take on those at Innate Level, so with his sword will now at Innate Level, it wouldn’t be preposterous to think that it could kill someone at Voidness Level.

n“Very possible indeed.

n“I can’t afford to get close, yet I have to score a one-hit kill…”

nXu Xiaoshou’s eyes lit up. “Blade-draw!”

n“Indeed.

n“Only the fourth style, Blade-draw, that I’ve created would allow me to do that!”

nHowever, he quickly became dejected again.

nAfter making it into Innate Level, the spiritual source it would cause to use that technique was simply too terrifying. That battle with Mo Mo had ended up with him depleting his energy reserve with just two such moves. Useless, then?

nHe guessed that not even High Spirits would allow him to instantly recover from such a splurge.

n“And what if the guy survives after me using that move twice?” he thought. “Am I gonna just fight him barehanded, then?

n“Well, it’s not like it’s not an option.

n“I guess that guy probably doesn’t have some Innate Elemental power as ridiculous as Sealing Power right?

n“No, no, no. Too dangerous.”

nXu Xiaoshou shook his head, thinking that unless he had a great deal of spiritual source that he could field in an instant, he would otherwise…

n“Huh?

n“Hold on!

n“Recovering large amounts of spiritual source in an instant?

n“That seems possible, no?”

nHe then shuddered, and his legs wobbled, as he came up with this terrifying thought.

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