Since I’ve been discovered, there’s no point in hiding here any longer.
Han Li took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the rock, his body shielded by a dazzling barrier, a magical instrument held firmly in each hand.
“It’s you!”
Upon clearly seeing Han Li’s face, “Senior Brother Lu” exclaimed in surprise—he actually recognized Han Li.
Han Li’s heart sank slightly at the other’s exclamation.
This “Senior Brother Lu” had only seen him once on the small hill months ago, and that was during a chaotic fight. Yet, he could recognize Han Li at a glance even after all this time. This indicated that either his memory was astonishing, allowing him to remember everything at a glance, or he was exceptionally meticulous and cunning.
Neither scenario was good news for Han Li.
In fact, he had a faint feeling that, in a certain sense, this “Senior Brother Lu” was the same kind of person as him—equally shrewd and equally ruthless.
Especially that arrogant front he put up in front of others—it was undoubtedly a smokescreen, just like Han Li’s low-profile demeanor. The only difference was that Han Li didn’t want to attract attention, while “Senior Brother Lu” deliberately made others underestimate him to conceal his true nature.
However, Han Li believed he could never be as shameless, ruthless, or vicious as the other. He merely adhered to a moderate path of keeping to himself.
Just as Han Li was feeling inwardly wary, “Senior Brother Lu” also grew serious, as if he had thought of something. His gaze toward Han Li turned fierce, not bothering to conceal his killing intent.
Han Li sighed. Originally, he had thought of trying to talk his way out of the situation, but judging by the other’s demeanor and cunning, there was no room for negotiation. Only one of them would walk away alive. There was no point wasting words—it was better to strike first.
With that thought, Han Li didn’t hesitate. He raised his left hand, and a steel ring shot out with a strange whistling sound, charging straight toward “Senior Brother Lu.” Then, he revealed his right hand, where a dark green gourd appeared, spewing five or six pitch-black spheres that closely followed the steel ring.
But Han Li didn’t stop there. His now-free left hand gestured in the air, and several red fireballs instantly materialized. With a slight flick of his sleeve, he enveloped the fireballs and then hurled them fiercely toward “Senior Brother Lu,” muttering a low “Go.”
Immediately, carrying a wave of scorching heat, the fireballs scattered in all directions, hurtling toward “Senior Brother Lu” from different angles.
In this series of attacks, Han Li had employed almost all his offensive means short of using a talisman treasure, especially the instant multi-fireball technique he had painstakingly learned from Wu Feng. His goal was to catch his opponent off guard and eliminate him in one swift, lightning strike.
In fact, if he hadn’t been unsure about his familiarity with the new magical instruments and their usability, Han Li would have unhesitatingly unleashed them all at once. After all, the new instruments were far more powerful than the old ones.
But almost simultaneously, “Senior Brother Lu” wasn’t idle either. With a flip of his hands, a large cyan flag about ten feet long appeared in his grasp. The flag shimmered with a faint blue light and was embroidered with a ferocious green flood dragon, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws.
It was only then that “Senior Brother Lu” clearly saw Han Li’s relentless onslaught. Surprised and exasperated, he grew furious.
He had brought out his most powerful magical instrument, the Green Flood Dragon Flag, with the intention of swiftly executing a killing move to silence Han Li permanently.
But he never expected that Han Li, after revealing himself, wouldn’t even say a word before launching a fierce and ruthless attack, clearly intent on a fight to the death.
Left with no choice, “Senior Brother Lu” abandoned his plan to attack. He held the flag in his right hand and reached into his waist with his left, pulling out a yellow talisman from his storage pouch.
After a reluctant glance at this high-level talisman, he gritted his teeth and lightly tossed it forward, rapidly chanting an incantation.
In an instant, Han Li’s steel ring, glowing with a faint yellow light, reached “Senior Brother Lu,” seemingly about to strike.
“Senior Brother Lu” pointed at the yellow talisman and shouted, “Wind Wall Technique, rise!”
With his command, the yellow talisman suddenly emitted a brilliant white light and transformed into a white tornado about ten meters high, lying horizontally in front of “Senior Brother Lu” and blocking the steel ring’s path.
With a “thud,” the steel ring plunged into the tornado but was immediately tossed about, flipping several times before being flung back.
The spheres that followed were even less effective, merely spinning helplessly outside the tornado, unable to even breach the fierce winds.
Seeing this, Han Li’s expression shifted slightly. He quickly extended his fingers, guiding the last-arriving fireballs to curve in two large arcs, attempting to bypass the wind wall and attack “Senior Brother Lu” from the sides.
“Heh! Think you’re clever?”
“Senior Brother Lu” sneered, deftly forming a hand seal with one hand and pointing to the center of the wind wall. The tornado immediately split into two parts, swiftly darting out to intercept the fireballs.
“Bang! Bang!”
Several explosive sounds rang out as the fireballs, unable to evade, collided head-on with the tornado.
The tornado trembled slightly before swallowing the fireballs, causing them to vanish without a trace. Han Li felt a chill in his heart.
Then, under “Senior Brother Lu’s” control, the wind wall merged back together, returning to its original form.
“Petty tricks, and you dare show them off? Junior Brother, though I don’t know your name or background, tonight you will die!” “Senior Brother Lu” laughed arrogantly.
He then clasped his hands together, gripping the Green Flood Dragon Flag again, and began waving it frantically.
Han Li grew nervous. His opponent was far more troublesome than he had anticipated, having easily dismantled such a fierce连环攻势. Although the large flag his opponent was waving showed no unusual signs yet, the solemn expression on “Senior Brother Lu’s” face made it clear that his counterattack was no joke.
It seems I have no choice but to use the “talisman treasure,” Han Li thought coldly.
However, since he lacked the ability to refine the “talisman treasure,” each time he used it, he needed to buy enough time to cast the spell to activate it against his enemy. For that, his defenses had to be absolutely secure.
With this in mind, Han Li glanced across at his opponent. The cyan flag “Senior Brother Lu” was waving had gradually grown brighter, emitting a piercing blue light from its surface, making the green flood dragon appear even more ferocious and terrifying. It seemed the opponent’s attack was about to be unleashed.
Han Li hesitated no longer. With a wave of his hand, the steel ring whistled back, hovering and spinning several feet above his head.
“Grow!” he commanded softly. The steel ring glowed with a yellow light and rapidly expanded, stopping only when it reached the size of a tabletop.
“Descend!” The steel ring obediently dropped, encircling Han Li and slowly rotating, forming a protective giant ring.
Han Li didn’t stop there. After putting away the gourd, he also summoned the newly acquired shield, enlarging it several times outside the blue barrier. It floated gently in front of him, emitting a black glow.
Thus, Han Li now had three layers of defense: the outermost was the giant steel ring, the middle was the Mysterious Iron Flying Shield, and the innermost was the blue barrier he had activated from the start.
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