When Wolf Liu's sword was still half a meter away from Evan Chu, Evan's body seemed to vanish into thin air, instantly flashing five meters away.
This was Evan Chu using the third and strongest footwork form of the Windchaser Sword Codex—Shifting Position. Unleashing this move consumed a huge amount of stellar force.
Evan could clearly feel the stellar force in his dantian drop by quite a bit. "Looks like I should use this move sparingly in the future—the stellar force consumption is just too high," he thought.
Even as that thought flashed through his mind, his hands didn't rest for a second. He instantly unleashed Phantom Shadow Finger, sending several strands of star-powered finger force shooting straight at Wolf Liu.
Right now, Wolf Liu was more shocked than anyone. His Tenfold Mad-Slaughter Slash was a top-grade Yellow-tier martial art, but even when he went all out, he hadn't so much as touched Evan Chu's clothes.
He couldn't accept this at all. Just then, a sudden, unprecedented sense of danger welled up inside him—he knew this threat came from Evan Chu.
Wolf Liu was able to break through to the sixth level of the Xuanwu Realm, so he was naturally a gifted prodigy. After his attack missed, he caught a glimpse of Evan Chu's movement and realized it was definitely some kind of invisible, hurtful martial technique.
He darted to the side in a hurry, reacting so quickly that even Evan Chu found it unbelievable. "I didn't expect Wolf Liu to react this fast. Looks like he really is a tough opponent," Evan thought.
Evan felt a little regret about not using the Frostbane Sword, but right now there was no time to dwell on it.
Wolf Liu's quick reaction meant Evan Chu's Phantom Shadow Finger didn't really hurt him, but one strand did hit his clothes, leaving a small hole.
"Evan Chu, I didn't expect I'd underestimated you! You think a lower-grade martial art like that can actually hurt me?" Wolf Liu had already noticed the small hole in his clothes.
He felt lucky for dodging Evan Chu's attack so quickly—if he'd been even a second slower, he might've been injured.
At this moment, Evan Chu gave him a sense of mystery. The footwork Evan used to dodge his Tenfold Mad-Slaughter Slash made Wolf Liu envious; if he could learn it himself, his strength would definitely rise to another level.
"It's not up to you whether you get hurt or not. You got lucky this time—next time you might not be so fortunate!" Evan had already decided: since he wasn't using the Frostbane Sword, he'd rely on movement and Phantom Shadow Finger to attack.
Wolf Liu was fast, but compared to Evan he was much slower. As long as he found the right opening, Phantom Shadow Finger would definitely land a heavy blow.
Wolf Liu's expression shifted slightly. In his eyes, Evan Chu abandoning his sword was clearly an insult—was Evan really so foolish as to fight bare-handed, or was he doing it on purpose?
His own strongest attacks were all with the sword, so there was no way he'd fight bare-handed like Evan. With a plan in mind, Wolf Liu laughed and said:
"You threw away your sword, so I guess your fist techniques must be even stronger! In that case, I'll stick to my longsword—don't say I bullied you by winning with a weapon."
"Despicable! Acting all high and mighty while using a weapon—damn it! Let's see how I kill you!" Evan cursed to himself.
Hearing this, Evan Chu showed a strange smile. "Let's see just how strong your sword skills really are!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Evan Chu unleashed Lingbo Microsteps, charging forward at lightning speed. When he reached Wolf Liu, Evan's stellar force instantly flooded his fist, and he threw a full-power punch straight at Wolf's head.
If Wolf Liu took that punch from Evan Chu, he'd be seriously injured or even killed. But Wolf Liu just wore a look of total disdain.
Seeing Evan's attack, Wolf Liu smirked. "You want to compete with me in stellar force? That's just asking for trouble—like a mantis trying to block a cart!"
Without hesitation, he quickly threw his own punch. It looked simple, but it was packed with stellar force.
Wolf Liu had planned to block Evan's punch with his sword, but felt that would be dishonorable. Plus, he wanted to show off his strength in front of the crowd.
Maybe that was the thought he'd regret most—Wolf Liu's fist collided head-on with Evan Chu's.
Both fists were packed with stellar force, and faint blue starlight flickered over their knuckles. The air around them seemed to roar from the force of their power.
Boom! A deafening crash echoed out! The massive shockwave from their fists and stellar force made the ground beneath them spiderweb with cracks.
The air couldn't withstand the force either—a whirlwind swept up the shattered earth and sent it flying.
For a moment, dust filled the air, making it impossible for the crowd to see the result of their clash.
Just as Evan Chu's fist was about to collide with Wolf Liu's, in that split-second, his other hand moved.
This was the result of mastering split-focus. After two months of intense training, Evan had learned to use both hands independently, launching different martial arts at the same time.
In that instant, Phantom Shadow Finger was unleashed at point-blank range. No matter how strong or quick Wolf Liu was, he couldn't dodge at such close distance.
Several strands of finger force, infused with stellar power, slammed into Wolf Liu.
When their fists collided, Wolf Liu instantly felt Evan Chu's power—Evan's force wasn't just equal, it was even greater than his own.
Evan's fist felt like solid steel, impossibly hard. In that moment, Wolf Liu realized a truth he couldn't believe.
Evan's stellar force-empowered fist was stronger than his own. That meant Evan's stellar force was even more powerful than his.
That could only mean Evan's cultivation was at least higher than his. Only someone at a higher realm would have such overwhelming stellar force.
If he knew Evan Chu was actually only at the fifth level of the Xuanwu Realm, who knows what he'd think.
Crack!
A faint sound of bone breaking rang out—Evan Chu's fist shattered the bones in Wolf Liu's knuckle joint.
The massive recoil sent Wolf Liu stumbling backward; with every step, he left a deep footprint in the cracked ground.
He only managed to stop after retreating more than ten steps. By then, his body was streaked with blood—the result of Phantom Shadow Finger's attack.
Wolf Liu couldn't help but let out a muffled groan of pain. The agony in his arm and body drained all the color from his face.
His stubborn nature kept him standing, but his eyes were locked on Evan Chu in utter disbelief. He couldn't accept it, but the pain told him it was real.
It was a reality he couldn't accept—he'd lost, and lost to someone everyone called a waste. At that moment, he realized that so-called 'trash' was anything but.
Evan Chu was a true genius—a prodigy who endured mockery and contempt from everyone, but held back in silence.
Evan wasn't feeling great either. After all, Wolf Liu had the strength of a sixth-level Xuanwu Realm expert and powerful stellar force. Evan's fist wasn't broken, but his whole arm was numb.
He couldn't even lift his arm. Looking at the eight footprints he'd left while sliding back, Evan realized his current stellar force was about the level of a seventh-level Xuanwu Realm cultivator.
Gradually, the dust cleared. Everyone could hear Wolf Liu's groans of pain—and finally saw the two fighters' condition.
"Wolf!" Harold Liu cried out in anguish, then shot forward in a blur to reach his son.
"How dare you hurt my son—I'll kill you!" Seeing his son's injuries, Harold Liu exploded in rage, unleashing a suffocating aura that crashed toward Evan Chu...