CHAPTER 63: EXTREME PHASE OF THE COMBAT

Han Xuhan understood very well that despite his momentary advantage over Shen Kai, he had almost zero chances of killing him directly.

Just by observing Shen Kai’s skillful movement and reaction speed while he had been caught off guard by the gravitational detonation of his shoes, Han Xuhan had gathered a rough idea of how much more enhanced Shen Kai’s physique was compared to his own ordinary body.

The comparison was laughable.

During their exchange of moves just now, Han Xuhan had attacked indiscriminately, his actions smoothly flowing one after one. He had envisioned and planned each movement multiple times mentally while blabbering back then.

Yet Shen Kai had managed to fend off all of his attacks.

Although most of those attacks were feints, the way Shen Kai controlled his upset balance, analyzed the trajectory of each knife, and managed to shield his vital organs, all while recovering from the sudden blast of the exploding shoe—there was no doubt that his accomplishment in the Martial Path was quite high, perhaps near the peak of the Physique Transformation realm!

Han Xuhan knew his limits well. He had to take things up another notch or this move would be the end of him, even though it looked like he was about to kill Shen Kai; that much he was certain of.

Shen Kai’s airborne body flew toward his raised glaive helplessly. His eyes showed a trace of despair and fear. But as Han Xuhan swung the blade of the glaive down sharply to strike his torso, Shen Kai’s helpless form vanished into thin air.

His glaive cut through nothing.

Dumbfounded, Han Xuhan recovered his balance from the botched swing and surveyed the space above his head where Shen Kai had just disappeared.

Teleportation?

That was absolutely impossible! Everything he had learned so far as a disciple of Crimson Snow Sect went against such a possibility. Not even Soul Reformation realm cultivators could wield the power of spatial manipulation consciously in such a state.

Controlled teleportation was more or less possible through some rare Mystic Arts, but for a Mystic Art to take effect, one had to channel his refined qi through meridians and complete a proper cycle.

How could Shen Kai do that one second after being gravity-bombed?

No matter how experienced a cultivator was in the Physique Transformation realm, completing a qi cycle in less than a second was a pipe dream.

Why the hell did the author not arrange for a peanut gallery to spectate this battle and shout their analysis loudly? Han Xuhan would have greatly benefitted from an explanation at this point.

Unable to rely on the good old cliches, he was forced to overthink again. And an inspiration hit him very quickly, thanks to the location of their battle.

The moment his eyes fell on the center of the clearing, where the portal to the underground tunnel lay, a new conclusion came to mind.

Yes, maybe that was an illusion technique! Shen Kai was proficient in the Martial Path, well enough to move freely even when he was airborne. As long as he could disappear from Han Xuhan’s eyes, he could worm his way out of the glaive’s trajectory.

Han Xuhan was fairly familiar with the supernatural abilities commonly seen in cultivation novels due to his obsession with them in his past life. So, not only did he manage to leap across the ladder of logic quickly, he also accepted it and adjusted his mindset accordingly with ease.

With this brief window of reversal on the battlefield, the fight entered a newer, more extreme phase!

Since his glaive had missed the body, where did Shen Kai go after casting the illusion? Which way did his body move? Han Xuhan could only assume the worst.

He immediately moved away from his original position at the fastest possible speed, while stimulating the qi he had imbued in the pair of exploding shoes.

These shoes were not under his feet, so he had to get near them first! If Shen Kai wanted to sneak attack him in his invisible state, he’d have to come into the danger zone too!

Boom! A shoe exploded just after Han Xuhan sprinted past it. He distinctly heard a muffled groan behind him, signalling that his plan had worked!

From the smoke, dirt, and surge of force produced by the explosion, a visible Shen Kai rolled out uncontrollably.

"Cough...cough...Agh!"

Han Xuhan had not been affected by the explosion as severely as Shen Kai, so he found the opening to execute another attack while his opponent recovered.

Rushing towards the fallen young man, Han Xuhan swung his glaive down with all the power and momentum of his body. But even lying down, Shen Kai had moves.

He pushed himself off the ground with just one hand, probably using internal Qigong, because his body pretty much spun away in the air like a drill, leaving Xuhan’s attacking range.

The tip of the glaive’s blade still managed to leave a deep cut on his back, though. And this was Han Xuhan’s first proper accomplishment in the combat.

Unfortunately, the power behind his strike was too great this time. Nearly the entirety of the glaive’s blade sank into the ground. As Han Xuhan was trying to pull it out in panic, Shen Kai got up to his feet and disappeared from his spot.

Immediately, his instincts screamed for him to go for defense. This glaive would not help with defensive combat. But it was his only weapon. Letting it leave his hands was tantamount to pushing himself into a corner.

However, if he kept trying to pull it out of the soil, Shen Kai would have open access to attack him in any manner he wanted without fearing retaliation.

Forced by the situation, Han Xuhan could only leave the glaive in its spot and ran towards the closest explosive shoe, sensing its location through the refined qi he had put inside its trigger.

However, as he ran past it and triggered the explosion, Shen Kai wasn’t affected at all. He was clearly not going to fall for this trick again. His heart sinking, Han Xuhan looked back and made a horrifying discovery.

Shen Kai had not chased after him to attack this time. Instead, he was kneeling quite far away, using his dagger to saw off the wooden handle of Han Xuhan’s glaive.

Crack!

With one final kick, he ripped the handle clean off the blade and threw it away. Han Xuhan felt that crack deep inside his heart.