Evan Chu stepped forward and stood there quietly, looking at Selena Yale. "Don't hold back," he said. "If you hit me and it doesn't hurt, I'll be miserable."
Selena Yale glared at Evan Chu and said, "Maybe you're the only person in the world who'd ask someone to beat him half to death on purpose. I really don't get what kind of crazy martial art you're cultivating to end up like this."
Evan Chu laughed. "Slutty woman, I don't think your attack power is all that impressive. Why not give it a try!"
Selena Yale was both annoyed and amused to hear Evan Chu call her such a crude name. Of course, she understood exactly what he was up to—he was trying to provoke her, to make sure she hit him with everything she had.
"Lin Feng, I actually love hearing you talk like that. How else do you think I fell for you? I'm a bad woman, so your words don't bother me at all." Selena Yale laughed.
She didn't attack right away. Instead, she wanted to see Evan Chu's reaction after realizing she'd seen through his little scheme.
Evan Chu's expression changed just as expected. He looked at Selena Yale with suspicion all over his face. "Seriously? You really want me to call you 'slutty woman'? Are you crazy or something?"
"Heh, even if I'm crazy, I'm still your woman. Even if you dump me, I'm still yours. Don't forget, I'm carrying your child." Seeing Evan Chu's expression, Selena Yale felt absolutely delighted. He was always bullying her, but now that she had the upper hand, she wasn't about to let this chance slip by.
Evan Chu was speechless. "Fine, you're tough. Come on, let your man enjoy your attack power and see if you can break through my defenses."
Selena Yale laughed. "I'll make sure you're satisfied—so much you'll never forget it!" With that, she gathered Stellar Power in her palm and struck at Evan Chu with a swift blow.
Selena Yale used about sixty percent of her strength with this palm strike. She was testing Evan Chu's defenses and didn't dare go all out—if she accidentally killed him, she'd regret it for the rest of her life.
With a loud bang, Evan Chu was sent flying several meters, while Selena Yale herself was forced back a few steps by the recoil.
Evan Chu quickly climbed up from the ground and laughed. "Are you just scratching an itch for me? With that kind of strength, you might as well be swatting flies. Use your strongest attack—preferably with a weapon. Otherwise, even a hundred hits won't do anything."
"Are you hurt? Are you okay?" Selena Yale ignored his words and instead asked about his condition.
"Do I look hurt to you? Use your strongest attack, don't let me down. My woman should be able to help me for real. How can you be the master of a pavilion and still be this weak? I don't even know what to say to you." Evan Chu taunted her again.
This time, Selena Yale really seemed to get angry. She quickly summoned a long sword, and water element surged along the blade. "Since you want to see how strong your big sister is, I'll show you right now!"
At that moment, Selena Yale's clothes rippled without wind. She shouted, "Heaven's Thousandfold Tide Cut!" Her sword instantly transformed into a storm of sword shadows, each filled with fierce sword-qi and water-element power, slashing rapidly toward Evan Chu.
As the sword shadows struck Evan Chu, he found his body was automatically generating layers of earth and stone defenses—Earthshift in action—even though he hadn't consciously activated it. He found this a bit unbelievable.
Evan Chu didn't realize that Earthshift was fundamentally a defensive martial art. Of course, once he fully mastered the Fivefold Element-Shift in Ninefold Stellar Transformation, Earthshift would also have tremendous offensive power.
As his strength grows, Earthshift's most terrifying attack will be to summon a giant mountain to crush his enemies. For now, Evan Chu can only make a few earthen spikes appear from the ground.
With the earth and stone defenses, one-third of Selena Yale's attack was blocked. Another third was stopped by Evan Chu's own Starforge Body at the Fifth Layer, so only a third of her power actually landed on him. This meant most of her attack was neutralized, and his injuries weren't serious.
Selena's sword strike sent Evan Chu flying several meters again. She'd thought this hit would seriously injure him, but not only was his defense monstrous—his recovery speed was just as terrifying.
The wounds she'd just left on him were already healing before the pale-gold blood had even dried. Selena Yale couldn't help but gape, her mouth wide enough to fit a whole egg.
"Are you even human? That kind of attack barely fazes you! Your defense and recovery are absolutely insane—I don't think I can finish your training for you," Selena Yale said in disbelief.
"No defeatist talk! Show me your real power. If a Saint Martial expert is only this strong, I might as well bash my head into a wall and save you the trouble!" Evan Chu retorted immediately.
Selena Yale's pride flared at Evan Chu's words. Heavenly Fragrance Pavilion was one of the Nine Great Sects—if she couldn't seriously injure someone just standing there, it would be a total humiliation.
She shook her longsword, and a razor-sharp sword-qi appeared. A sword light more than two meters long slashed straight at Evan Chu—this was her true full-strength attack. Since his defenses were so absurd, she didn't hold back at all.
With a thunderous bang, Evan Chu was sent flying in a perfect parabola, landing more than ten meters away. This strike truly showed Selena Yale's Third-Layer Saint Martial Realm power.
Even with Evan Chu's monstrous defenses, this sword left him seriously wounded. Several cuts were deep enough to expose bone, and pale-gold blood kept flowing. Pain flickered across his face.
Evan Chu quickly climbed up, acting completely unfazed. "Keep going. That sword wasn't hard enough. Hit me another ten or eight times—hurry up, or my wounds will heal and you'll have wasted your effort."
Hearing that, Selena Yale slashed again. Evan Chu was knocked back to the same spot, but this time he got up much more slowly, sweat beading on his forehead.
His wounds deepened, and you could almost see his internal organs. Evan Chu walked up to Selena Yale and said, "Keep going. Show me your strongest power. Don't let me down."
Seeing Evan Chu's wounds, Selena Yale's heart softened and she hesitated to strike again. "Lin Feng, if you keep this up, you really might die. Let's stop here, okay?"