Dull explosions echoed intermittently through the small forest, kicking up dust and splinters with every impact. Among the trunks and the ground cracked by the blows, a figure moved with precise speed. Jin leapt to the side while carrying two wounded guards under his arms; their bodies barely weighed anything to him. He carefully tossed them toward some bushes, out of the immediate path of the fight, and in the same motion pushed off the ground to retreat.

  A shadow fell from above.

  Without hesitation, Jin grabbed one of the iron spears lying on the ground and used it as an improvised lever to deflect a heavy curved sword descending with brutal force. The impact made the metal vibrate and ran through his arms like a shock, but he managed to alter the angle enough to prevent the blade from splitting in two a guard who had barely reacted.

  The guard fell backward, pale, saved by the smallest margin.

  Jin frowned, and this time there was no trace of amusement in his expression. This stupid bald man… Since activating his strange technique, he had not stopped trying to kill the guards instead of facing him directly.

  The bandit leader reappeared through the dust, his body still swollen and covered in throbbing veins, with a crooked smile. He had understood something.

  Upon discovering that he could not reach Jin with his superior speed—not when the latter reacted through pure instinct and anticipation—he decided to change strategy. Instead of chasing him directly, he attacked the most vulnerable ones, forcing him to move and expend energy.

  “What’s wrong, disciple of an important sect? Are you a babysitter now?” he mocked as his figure blurred again.

  Jin tightened his grip on the spear until the metal creaked faintly.

  So you want to play that way…

  Muffled explosions continued to rumble among the trees as the bandit changed positions again and again, trying to force Jin to react. Inside, Jin’s irritation boiled; outwardly, his expression remained calm, almost indifferent.

  He drove the spear into the ground and looked at the bald man with his sharp golden eyes.

  “I think I have to apologize to you. I thought you were a retard and a walking cliché… but it turns out you’re simply annoying. Although thanks to the fact that you’re still a fool, I was able to bring you right to this clearing in the forest.”

  The bandit leader frowned, confused by those words. He looked around for the first time with real attention; they were now in a place without trees too close—a perfect open space.

  Before he could fully process it, Jin raised his voice without taking his eyes off him.

  “Han Ping, how much longer are you going to take?”

  From a distance an agitated voice sounded.

  “It’s coming, Brother Jin! Beat that bald bastard up!”

  Something long and wrapped in black cloth shot through the air in a perfect arc. Jin made an elegant leap, extended his hand and caught it precisely mid-motion. Upon landing, his feet cracked the earth beneath him.

  He held the wrapped object firmly.

  Jin untied the black cloth with a fluid motion. The fabric fell to the ground, revealing a long spear of beautiful silver color. The shaft was decorated with elegant black patterns that seemed to flow like living ink, and along the metal delicate golden runes could be seen engraved with exquisite precision. It was not an ordinary weapon.

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  Feeling the balanced weight in his hands, Jin slightly adjusted his grip and smiled kindly at the bandit.

  “Well, my friend with clear baldness problems… it’s time to dance properly.”

  The veins on the muscular man’s head seemed to throb more strongly. Since meeting those two brats, they had not stopped calling him bald. His jaw tightened and a laugh filled with rage burst from his throat.

  “Ha, ha, ha! Do you think that just because you have an elegant spear you can do anything? I may not be able to catch you when you run… but exchanging blows directly was a stupid decision on your part, brat.”

  Blinded by fury, he activated his abnormal movement technique again. His body blurred and the ground exploded beneath his feet as he launched himself straight at Jin with brutal speed, his curved sword descending with monstrous force.

  The bandit’s arrogant smile did not fade.

  He was convinced that this time he would crush the young man once and for all.

  The bandit’s body blurred again, disappearing from common sight. To any ordinary observer, his speed was absurd, impossible to follow with the eyes.

  But Jin did not need to. He slightly closed his eyes and sharpened his perception. He did not need to see. He could hear the faint whistle of wind being cut, the specific crunch of earth under the target’s weight, the vibration of air displaced by exaggerated muscle mass.

  There.

  The silver spear moved before the curved sword fully appeared.

  Clang!

  The clash was brutal. A shockwave swept across the clearing, lifting dust in concentric circles. The bandit reappeared right in front of him, surprised that his attack had been intercepted with such precision.

  Without giving him time to react, Jin spun the shaft and launched a lateral thrust. The bandit responded with another descending slash. Sparks flew in all directions as they exchanged movements at a speed that made it difficult to distinguish who was attacking and who was defending.

  Although Jin’s body was extraordinarily strong thanks to his body technique, his arms still vibrated with each impact. The bald man’s strength, amplified by that grotesque transformation, was not something that could be ignored.

  Without a doubt this bald man has a strange technique…

  Another clash shook his shoulders.

  It even seems like something I’ve read before…

  In the middle of the fierce exchange, a spark of understanding began to form in his mind.

  And when he reached that conclusion, instead of worrying…

  Jin grew a little excited.

  Seeing that he could not land a single clean hit on that brat, the muscular man’s rage grew like fire fed with oil. Every time his sword descended intending to crush him, the silver spear was already there, deflecting and redirecting his attacks; it made no sense.

  But along with fury, fear began to clear his mind.

  His breathing grew heavier. The veins bulging on his skin throbbed violently. He could feel his blood draining at an alarming rate. At this pace… this technique will consume more than necessary. If this drags on… I’ll be finished.

  The spear grazed his side and left a bleeding line on his hardened skin. Not deep, but enough to remind him that he did not control the fight.

  Making an instant decision, he channeled Qi into his sword and unleashed a concentrated wave of energy. The strike did not seek to injure him, but to push him back. The compressed explosion hit Jin’s spear and forced him to slide several meters backward, leaving furrows in the earth.

  Without hesitating even half a second, the bandit spun on his heels. His movement technique activated again and his figure distorted as he escaped in the opposite direction, plunging into the trees.

  His mocking laughter echoed as he retreated.

  “Brats! Your father forgives you for today! I hope I never see you again!”

  The voice faded into the forest, blending with the sound of branches breaking under his hurried escape.

  Seeing the bald bandit turn around and run away without the slightest shame, Jin stood stunned for a few moments.

  Not only him.

  Several meters away, Han Ping watched with eyes wide open, his sword still in his hand, unable to process that the fearsome enemy who had dominated the fight moments earlier had simply… fled.

  The forest fell into a strange silence for a couple of heartbeats.

  Then Jin blinked.

  “…Eh?”

  Recovering his senses, he abruptly turned his head toward the direction where the bald man had disappeared among the trees. The emotion in his golden eyes immediately shifted to alarm.

  In the next second, he shot after him.

  “Don’t run, bald man! Stop running!” he shouted as he forced his way through the branches. “At least leave your bag with your stuff! Damn it, my loot is getting away!”

  His figure advanced at great speed, but not the same speed as the bandit leader; Jin had to rely on the brute strength of his legs and his body control to propel himself between the trees.

  I’m an idiot…

  He leapt over a fallen trunk and landed without losing too much momentum.

  How did I not practice a movement technique before?

  In the distance, he could barely make out the sound of branches breaking, growing more distant each time.

  Frustration crawled up his back like a tingling sensation.

  He clenched his teeth and accelerated as much as he could, determined not to let his valuable—and very bald—loot escape so easily.