Looking at the soon-to-be-dead man posing there like he’ll pull off some big move, Wu Dawei sneered and rushed over.

  “Heh! What second gi dao? I don’t know what tricks you’re pying, but don’t think I’m just gonna stand around and let you suc—” SHUA!

  The water in front ripped apart, splitting open a gulf! But what shocked Wu Dawei more was that his target—

  Vanished?!

  But he didn’t even get a chance to blink when a scarred palm appeared right in front of his face!

  “Whu—MMF?!”

  His face got grabbed and smmed straight down like a nail—WHUMP!

  All water got bsted away from the force of the impact!

  Wu Dawei almost bcked out from the pain blooming in his skull like fireworks, but he was no pushover!

  His strong willpower kept him sober and his instinctive counterattack wasn’t slow at all!

  A reverse-gripped dagger homed in for the kill like a poisonous fang!

  But just when it was halfway there—SNAP!

  A cw cuffed his wrist and bent it like bamboo—CRACK!

  “Ghkk—!”

  He felt his wrist break from that, but that pain did not stop his other hand from activating his backhand!

  A talisman. This one didn’t spark with thunder, but ignited—BOOM!

  “AAAEUGGHHH!”

  A raw scream drowned out the explosion and a figure came flying out from the blooming inferno like an arrow with a tail of smoke.

  The figure cwed the ground and skidded backwards, gouging out a scar through the water until he eventually screeched to a stop.

  With smoke hissing from his half-scorched body, Bubai spat out a mouthful of blood and looked up with a bloody grin.

  “...Gotcha. Hehe...”

  His eyes reflected the same wildness as the fmes still raging out front.

  Those eyes then dropped to the spoils clutched in his scorched hands.

  In one: a freshly torn arm complete with its half-cauterized, bloody stump.

  In the other: the storage pouch he managed to swipe at the st second.

  Verdict? Worth! Definitely worth it!

  But even with all this, it wasn’t time to celebrate.

  Bubai set his sights back on the steam that was slowly clearing.

  This fight wasn’t over.

  Above the arena.

  The scarecrow-thin Tai Yinjun almost shot to his feet in shock.

  “What speed! What strength! They’re all already beyond most full-fledged early-stage foundation builders! Even many at mid-stage will eat dust trying to keep up! This—”

  The scarecrow then pointed accusingly at the old geezer in bck.

  “Gah! Old Fart, you still wanna insist that dollie ain’t a foundation builder?!”

  “Hoho… Old Thief, there’s no need to get so excited...”

  Stroking his beard like a sage, the smiling Ma Pei countered in a tone of hating iron for not being steel.

  “Surely you’ve all heard about those evildoers possessing physiques strong enough to put them on par with those holy ones above.”

  “These days, a physique that can be pitted against pipsqueaks at the foundation level isn’t anything special and can’t enter my eyes. Hohoho...”

  The breadcrumbs dropped there got the other elders thinking.

  Even Tai Yinjun squinted his eyes thoughtfully, but his mouth did not stop barking.

  “Gah! Not special, my foot! To be able to keep that dollie alive even after all that, it’s almost the same as a quasi-golden body!”

  Off to the side, the bald Jia Gufan snorted.

  “Keh, no need to exaggerate it that much. Sure, this kid’s got decent willpower, but if we talk about physique…”

  “Which of us surnamed Jia hasn’t bcken a lung or two when we were young? This kid’s level? Compared to us, it’s only so-so!”

  The two old geezers almost rolled their eyes in perfect harmony at the third party that butted in.

  Please. Keep bragging! Think every cat and dog is built differently like these muscle freaks?

  Even if you want to downpy the price, that’s not how you do it!

  Because all of them can tell, that below was an absolute treasure!

  Even the usually-self-isoted Feng matriarchs didn’t let go of this chance to pry for more info.

  “Hehe. So-so or not, it’s hard to say, nor do we care. Us sisters are more curious where that little boya is getting his Qi from...”

  “It doesn’t look like it’s from any pills. Is that boya squeezing out his life force through some forbidden technique?”

  Ma Pei curled his lips like a riddler. “Hohoh, who knows?”

  Ma Badao lightly blew on his cup of tea and casually remarked, “Old Stallion, that young blood of yours sure hides many secrets.”

  “Hohoho... Isn’t it better this way?”

  One by one, the elders exchanged knowing gnces and half-smiles.

  But in the end, all looked away without making a single offer. None said a word more.

  Some, like the hand-steepling Grand Elder, didn’t even show his tail once.

  They were all like predators lounging in the tall grass, waiting for just the right moment to pounce.

  Ma Pei’s smile slowly froze and he cursed inside.

  Hmph! Old scheming foxes!

  Fine. Py it that way. Who can’t py the waiting game! Let’s see who gets impatient first!

  Down below.

  The rising steam was impatient to see the Gu fight and politely got out of the way...

  This finally let Bubai see the enemy he was waiting for.

  The water ghost was now on one knee, clutching his empty sleeve while gring over with eyes that can kill.

  “You... insolent rat! How dare you!! If you commit suicide now, I can still let you keep an intact corpse. Otherwise—”

  “Otherwise what?” Bubai sneered. “Bh bh all you want, but I can see you’re at the end of your ropes. Haha...”

  “I think the Feng Shui here is quite good. A sea of water. A mountain of onlookers in the background. This makes the perfect pce for your grave, don’t you think?”

  “Heh, I think this spot’s better suited for you!” Wu Dawei spat back and got onto his feet to look down at the vermin.

  “By the looks of it, you can’t even stand! Even if I’ve lost an arm, what makes you think you can still compete with me!”

  “Oh, I dunno…” Bubai smiled like a crook and confidently stroked the prayer beads on his wrist. “Why don’t you come try me?”

  Noticing the completely undamaged bracelet, Wu Dawei’s eyes narrowed.

  To go undamaged throughout their fight, the quality of that bracelet must not be worse than high-grade!

  Could that be a powerful artifact? This rat still has a backhand?

  His heart sunk. He didn’t know if the other was just bluffing, but he didn’t dare make the first move.

  Bubai simirly didn’t dare to make any other move. Not that he can.

  After that outburst, he felt his body’s about to fall apart.

  It’s still questionable whether these torn muscles, burnt nerves, and scarred bones of his will still obey him.

  Truth be told, this heavily-injured state really wasn’t the greatest time to pull off this hat trick of his.

  Maybe he should’ve gone all out from the start, and things might’ve turned out differently.

  Then again... was it possible to catch this water ghost off guard when the other was in tip-top condition?

  Too many variables led up to this point. He’s lucky it all worked out.

  Unless he exposed that st ace of his, this was probably the best advantage he could gun for.

  Now came the real million-spirit-stone question: Should he push his luck?

  Hmm...

  Nope. Once bitten, twice shy. He learned his lesson earlier. Impatience never commanded success!

  There’s no need to mess things up since he got the upper hand.

  Sure, the enemy’s heavy storm wiped the field of traps, and he basically got the other’s Doraemon bag in hand…

  But that doesn’t mean this ghost doesn’t have any more tricks up his sleeves!

  Just look at that undamaged robe of his!

  Who knows how many seeds of pleasure that jerk stashed in that! Who knows if there’s other secret means?

  Better to be safe than sorry.

  So don’t get impatient and fall back to square one. Save a hand and dey. Time is on his side.

  But to do this, he must never show weakness!

  So, even though his muscles protested, Bubai forced himself to stand straight like a bamboo rod, then grinned back ferociously while rolling the prayer beads on his wrist like an old monk.

  Wu Dawei’s sole hand formed a seal and he vigintly gred back at the other.

  The water pped at their waists, hostile eyes cshed like flint and steel, but neither made a move.

  The psychological warfare is real. Who will crack first?