Rings Within Rings, Schemes Within Schemes (2)

"What did you say?" Cao Wan'er glared furiously—did she just call her a psycho?

"What do you mean, 'what'? Are you deaf?" Ivy Shen shot back, and while Cao Wan'er was still fuming, she darted forward.

"So reckless," Cao Wan'er snorted with disdain, waiting for Ivy to take the bait. In truth, her martial arts were formidable, but now that Ivy was badly wounded, she probably couldn't even move.

"Take this!" With a loud shout, Cao Wan'er charged straight at her.

"Damn it!" Ivy cursed, quickly dodging backward.

The two faced off—one lunging, the other leaping back.

Cao Wan'er gripped a piece of armor, now turned into a deadly weapon. She kept lunging at Ivy Shen, but Ivy kept retreating, always maintaining about a foot of distance between them.

Seeing this, Cao Wan'er grew even more furious. This woman kept backing away, yet her martial arts should be fast enough to catch anyone trying to escape—so why couldn't she catch Ivy Shen? Enraged, she went all out.

Facing Cao Wan'er's rapid aerial attacks, Ivy Shen had no chance to strike back, but in terms of qinggong, the difference was clear.

Cao Wan'er pressed forward step by step, while Ivy Shen kept leaping back—even though Cao Wan'er seemed to have the upper hand, she'd already lost at the footwork, since her qinggong was nowhere near as quick as Ivy's.

"Let's see how you keep dodging!" Always confident, Cao Wan'er grew annoyed seeing Ivy Shen retreat so quickly. She flicked her armor piece at Ivy, her speed so fast that the armor seemed to become deadly blades flying toward her.

Ivy Shen had no choice but to dodge. Spotting an opening, Cao Wan'er curled her lips into a wicked grin and unleashed a vicious palm strike—just as her master had taught her—smashing it into Ivy's chest.

But what she hadn't expected was that, as she struck Ivy's chest, Ivy still had the strength to fight back. She couldn't believe that someone so badly injured still had such powerful inner energy. If Ivy hadn't been so strong, her organs would have been shattered by now.

Ivy Shen leaned against the wall, ignoring the blood at the corner of her mouth, and gave a cold smile. "So? Satisfied yet?"

Heh, so you really are a demoness. I didn't expect your martial arts to be so deep. If I let you escape today, you'll become a future threat. I'll finish you off now, just in case." With that, she steadied her breath and charged forward again. Cao Wan'er knew Ivy was at a disadvantage due to her injuries, but even so, her strength couldn't be underestimated. No matter what, she had to eliminate Ivy today, or she'd regret it later.

At that moment, the two finally clashed hands. Cao Wan'er ruthlessly struck at Ivy's bandaged chest—the brutality was obvious.

Ivy Shen faced her despicable moves without even frowning.

Soon, Cao Wan'er gained the upper hand. She smiled smugly, spun around, grabbed Ivy's left arm, and struck her wounded shoulder with a fierce, fast palm.

"Pfft—" Ivy Shen spat out a mouthful of blood.

But in that split second as Ivy spat blood, Cao Wan'er was caught off guard—because Ivy suddenly twisted aside with incredible speed, her shoulder joint cracking as it dislocated. Without hesitation, she stabbed a silver needle into the back of Cao Wan'er's neck.