In the practical training room, Zhou Yishang and the swordsn all had eyes wide with amazent.
Ji Xinghuo’s composite bow had an effective range of only 220 ters; beyond this distance, the accuracy would significantly drop, making it difficult to pose a threat to the target.
With their distance surpassing 300 ters, could this arrow be of any use?
Before this thought settled, everyone saw Ji Xinghuo’s hands move swiftly, firing four arrows in one second, fast enough to create afterimages.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
Four arrows followed almost the sa trajectory, angling upward, passing through layers of tree branches and leaves without any interference or deceleration, swiftly falling toward Ling Yufei’s position.
As the arrows flew over 300 ters, nearing the target, their trajectories finally exhibited so minor differences.
Ling Yufei was in stealth mode, completely unprepared for the incoming arrows, but her reaction was extrely quick. As the first arrow flew in, she sidestepped twice to avoid it; imdiately afterward, the second arrow, aid at her new position, shot straight for her neck.
She used a Flash Step again, but the third arrow arrived.
She had to Flash again!
After using Flash Step three tis, like a pre-rehearsed performance, Ling Yufei’s pathways and landings were always t with an arrow.
Moreover, the arrows’ shooting directions also intercepted the path she could have taken to hide behind a tree.
On the fourth Flash Step, Ling Yufei’s star power and physical fitness rapidly depleted, her body sore and numb but before she could get her bearings, another arrow had arrived.
Thud!
The arrow pierced her left shoulder, instantly rendering her entire arm incapacitated in combat.
Ling Yufei decisively dropped the recurve bow she was holding, her figure blurred, and finally, she slipped into the shadows, hiding behind a large tree.
A hint of bewildernt flickered in her sharp eyes.
Until now, she hadn’t seen where Ji Xinghuo was; she could only roughly judge the direction from the trajectory of the arrows.
The swordsn watching couldn’t comprehend but were greatly shocked.
They didn’t understand why the composite bow in Ji Xinghuo’s hands could kill a target more than 300 ters away. Why couldn’t Ling Yufei, a Shadow Dancer, avoid the arrows despite her quick reaction? And how could Ji Xinghuo so easily pinpoint Ling Yufei’s location?
A series of question marks popped into the swordsn’s heads.
Then, they saw Ji Xinghuo release four arrows and not even look at the results, as if he had already predicted that Ling Yufei would be hit.
His figure faded, his body absorbing sounds, sprinting through the forest.
By the ti Ling Yufei treated her shoulder wound, Ji Xinghuo had already circled around to another direction, positioning himself on her west side.
Ling Yufei, unaware of this, thought Ji Xinghuo was still in the south, continually hopping in the shadows, quietly advancing toward the southern part of the woods.
The distance between the two rapidly closed.
Ling Yufei kept searching for Ji Xinghuo’s traces while he had already silently climbed to the top of a large tree behind her, seizing the high ground.
"It’s over!"
The positions of both parties were clearly displayed on the screen, and the swordsn watching couldn’t help but shake their heads when they saw this.
Ji Xinghuo, watching Ling Yufei 200 ters ahead, drew his bowstring.
The arrow split the air, shrieking as it flew.
Ling Yufei, as if she had eyes on the back of her head, nearly disappeared the mont Ji Xinghuo released the arrow, dashing dozens of ters through the shadows.
When she jumped out from the shadows, an arrow t her head-on.
It turned out that Ji Xinghuo’s composite bow had not aid at her original position but had anticipated where she would erge from her Shadow Escape.
Clang.
Ling Yufei parried the arrow with her sword, her figure staggering, spawning four afterimages around her.
Attempting to confuse Ji Xinghuo’s shooting target, her real body used a Flash Step, dodging behind a nearby tree. As a master of firearms, finding cover was a basic skill, and she had chosen this tree thoughtfully; it was neither the closest nor the thickest but offered adequate protection.
However, in the next instant.
Thud.
Ling Yufei suddenly fell to the ground, an arrow having pierced her ankle, disbelief filling her eyes.
"This is impossible!"
Not just Ling Yufei, the watching swordsn all had expressions as if they had seen a ghost.
Becuase Ling Yufei was shot in the middle of using Flash Step!
Ji Xinghuo’s arrow was utterly unfooled by the afterimages; he not only directly found Ling Yufei’s real body but also hit her ankle as she moved in her Flash Step.
Many swordsn knew Flash Step, very aware of how fast Flash Step’s burst speed was, truly as fast as lightning.
Sotis, Flash Step was so fast that even the eyes couldn’t catch up.
An Agility Type Mutant in the midst of using Flash Step is almost impossible to hit, with lee combat being difficult, let alone long-range.
Ling Yufei’s shooting skills were extrely proficient, and she had never hit an enemy while they were using Flash Step.
Yet, Ji Xinghuo had achieved it with a bow and arrow!
Moreover, with a composite bow that was generally diocre in performance.
Therefore, Ling Yufei’s first reaction was that it wasn’t possible, but the severe pain shooting up from her foot told her she had indeed been hit.
"Could it be luck?"
Everyone guessed so.
Zhou Yishang and Min Chongwu, however, did not think so; the two exchanged glances, seeing shock in each other’s eyes. A year and a half ago, Ji Xinghuo had relied on unbelievable Archery Skill with just a training bow to kill the Super Mutant Ji Zongbang, and now, his archery was even more fearso!
Ji Xinghuo jumped down from the tree top, walking toward Ling Yufei.
He did not attack again; a Shadow Dancer who had been shot through the ankle and shoulder, losing her most crucial speed and without any long-range weapons, retained only less than twenty percent of her strength.
The outco of this match had been decided.
Ling Yufei watched Ji Xinghuo approaching, knowing it was impossible to turn the tables, and nodded, "I lost this match."
She exited the Spirit Realm.
Ji Xinghuo also exited, seeing Ling Yufei sit up from the adjacent projection chamber, expressionlessly saying to him, "Again."
Best of three.
She had to win two consecutive matches to erge victorious.
Despite the fact that Ling Yufei did not say any formalities and showed no expression on her face, everyone present could see that she was extrely reluctant to accept her loss in the first round.
After speaking, Ling Yufei lay back in the projection pod and re-entered the Spirit Realm World.
When Ji Xinghuo entered, he found himself in a different location than before, standing in an open area without any cover, located to the east of the forest from before.
He imdiately used his magnetic field sense to locate Ling Yufei.
She had already located herself.
Ji Xinghuo thought for a mont and discarded the composite bow and quiver, holding the Demon Sound Longsword in his left hand and walking toward Ling Yufei.
"What is he planning to do?"
The watching swordsn were all confused, not understanding why Ji Xinghuo would give up his greatest advantage, even discarding his bow and arrows.
Soon, Ling Yufei stealthily reached the edge of the forest.
When she saw Ji Xinghuo, her face stiffened for a mont, and then annoyance flashed through her eyes.
She guessed Ji Xinghuo’s intention, that this round, he was not planning to compete in archery but intended to defeat her in lee combat.
"Underestimating the opponent never ends well."
Ling Yufei muttered to herself and pulled back the recurve bow, firing an arrow at Ji Xinghuo.
The recurve bow in her hand was Superpower One Star, comparable in power to the composite bow, albeit slower in arrow speed but with a higher shooting frequency. She did not hide her position and targeted Ji Xinghuo, shooting arrows one after another.
Ling Yufei’s Thousand Spirit Skillful Hand had reached the third level and using the recurve bow, she could fire three arrows in one second.
Each arrow targeted Ji Xinghuo’s evasive direction.
He was like a practice target.
Shoo!
Ji Xinghuo had started sprinting toward her before she shot the first arrow; the arrow shot straight at his eye, but he tilted his head slightly, and it whisked past his ear.
Then he took a step to the left, just missing the second arrow aid at his right chest.
Arrow after arrow ca like a storm of bullets.
In his high-speed run, Ji Xinghuo moved slightly left and right, sotis ducking, sotis sidestepping, sotis cleverly flicking with his longsword, or suddenly accelerating or decelerating, intermittently using Flash Step to move forward. Although his absolute speed was not very fast, he could always dodge all the arrows.
Every arrow Ling Yufei shot missed by a tiny margin.
No matter how she calculated the lead ti, predicted Ji Xinghuo’s direction and position, or how tricky the angle of her shots, the result was always off!
One making full efforts to shoot, the other easily evading.
As Ling Yufei’s quiver quickly ran out of arrows, Ji Xinghuo had already closed to just over forty ters from her. She could now see the subtle expressions on Ji Xinghuo’s face.
Concentrated, composed, yet strolling as if in a leisurely garden.
She felt imnse pressure; although she was most skilled with firearms, she confidently thought her archery was not far behind. Yet, she never imagined missing in such a scenario.
At this mont, a thought involuntarily erged in her mind—even if she switched to firearms, she probably could not hit Ji Xinghuo.
If that was really the case, the gap in strength between them...
Ling Yufei did not dare to imagine.
She forcibly suppressed other thoughts and shot her last arrow, which, unsurprisingly, missed again. Then, throwing aside her recurve bow, she drew two swords, one long and one short, to et Ji Xinghuo.
The thirty-plus-ter distance closed instantly, and they ca into close quarters combat.
Ling Yufei vanished, and the next instant, she leaped out from the shadow behind Ji Xinghuo, concentrating Shadow Blade on the short sword, and thrust directly at Ji Xinghuo’s heart from behind.
Clang.
Ji Xinghuo turned around, his Demon Sound Longsword flicking the short sword.
The two weapons barely touched, and Ling Yufei imdiately retreated to offset the giant force transmitted from the short sword.
At the sa ti, her body moved against physics, instantly reversing from retreat to advance, unexpectedly, her whole figure turning into a dark shadow rging with the right-hand longsword, thrusting straight at Ji Xinghuo’s heart.
Boom!
A sound of thunder, and lightning flickered.
The advancing Ling Yufei was struck by the lightning coming head-on, her body vibrating at high frequency, turning into overlapping illusionary shadows that blocked the lightning attack.
Illusion Flash!
This was an ability many Shadow Blades, Rangers, and Agility Type Mutants dreamt of, capable of resisting physical attacks and energy damage, utterly harmless to the body if tid right.
Ling Yufei, braving the lightning, thrust her longsword into Ji Xinghuo’s heart.
But she felt no resistance on the sword.
She had only hit an afterimage.
Instant Step!
Ji Xinghuo’s Instant Step did not move him far, just half a ter to the side, still in front of Ling Yufei. His Demon Sound Longsword was already slashing down.
Ling Yufei imdiately used Flash Step to distance herself.
Whoosh!
A large transparent white air burst from Ji Xinghuo’s sword, the Ultrasound Sword Energy predicting in advance, covering Ling Yufei’s Flash Step landing spot, making it impossible for her to avoid.
Ling Yufei was not wearing armor, and imdiately felt as if she was being slashed by thousands of knives, wounds spraying blood over her body. But these were only superficial injuries; the real danger of Ultrasound Sword Energy was its ability to inflict internal trauma, causing bleeding in her organs.
She bore the pain and tried to enter the shadow, only to see Ji Xinghuo’s empty left hand pointing at her.
A transparent spear shot toward her.
Sound Spear!
The transparent spear, moving at the speed of sound, instantly pierced Ling Yufei’s body, causing her entire body to stiffen and lose the ability to move.
Another white Sword Qi ca slashing down, landing on her neck, plunging Ling Yufei’s world into darkness.
She abruptly sat up in the projection pod, her head aching like it was being stabbed, a side effect of dying in the Spirit Realm World.
"Uh..."
Ling Yufei, enduring the headache, climbed out of the projection pod and saw Ji Xinghuo also leaving the Spirit Realm, looking relaxed and composed, clearly finding these two rounds of combat quite easy to win.
"I lost," Ling Yufei took a deep breath and sincerely said, "You truly deserve your reputation as a Mutant in the heavenly ladder. I’m not as strong as you!"
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