"Can this damn system really be this ridiculous?! Targeted defense? Is it specifically designed to screw over villains like me?!"
"What do we do now?! Just wait to die?!" Qin Xiao felt like a skinned rabbit, standing naked in front of a hunter who was holding a sharp butcher's knife.
Yun Yiyi's voice was thick with sobs and filled with self-blame.
[Waaaaah... In the end, this was also my mistake. I didn't inform the host of this important limitation beforehand... It's all my fault for being so stupid...]
[Host, don't worry! I... I will do everything in my power... to help you survive! Even if it breaks the rules, I'll accept it!]
The next second, a vast and pure power surged into Qin Xiao's limbs and bones. His physical attributes, which had only been passively enhanced by the system, and his somewhat rudimentary fighting skills, now seemed to be infused with a true soul. Countless exquisite moves, combat awareness, and life-and-death experience flooded into his mind like a tide, instantly becoming integrated into his understanding, as if he were a martial arts master who had been through countless battles since birth.
[Ding! Special privileges activated! The host's passive skill [Martial Arts Combat Proficiency] has temporarily evolved to Prism Grade!]
Yun Yiyi's voice carried a sense of resolute determination and encouragement.
[Host, that's all I can do for you! The rest... is up to you! You must win! Good luck, host!]
Qin Xiao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart and his endless complaints about the damned system, his eyes sharpening again. A surge of power filled every corner of his body, and those fighting techniques that had previously existed only in theory were now deeply imprinted in his mind as if by instinct.
Very good. Although the process was a bit tortuous, at least we didn't just sit there empty-handed and wait to die.
He looked at Mo Meigui, who seemed to be adapting to the subtle change in his aura; a barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in her cold eyes.
...
On the outskirts of the city, in an abandoned factory site.
The pale moonlight cast long shadows of the two people, and the wind blew through the empty factory, echoing like a sob.
Mo Meigui held a strangely shaped black dagger in her hand. The blade was long and narrow, gleaming with a cold, dark light, like the forked tongue of a venomous snake ready to devour its prey.
Qin Xiao casually picked up a steel pipe about 1.5 meters long from the nearby pile of scrap, weighed it in his hand, and found it to be cold and heavy. He stretched his shoulders; his body, which had just gone through a "battle," was still a little sore, but at this moment, his adrenaline was surging, forcibly suppressing the feeling of fatigue.
"I shouldn't have been so indulgent," Qin Xiao cursed inwardly. "I just fed two, and now this deadly one comes along. Is she trying to drain me dry?"
Mo Meigui nodded slightly to Qin Xiao, a gesture of respect before the battle. The next instant, her figure vanished like a ghost, leaving only a faint afterimage; the breeze she stirred up didn't even stir the dust on the ground.
Wow, so fast!
Qin Xiao's pupils shrank sharply, and he barely managed to lift the steel pipe by sheer instinct, almost entirely thanks to the temporary buff from Yun Yiyi's [Martial Arts Combat Proficiency].
"bite!"
With a slight sound, the tip of the dagger hit the center of the steel pipe accurately. A cold force came along the steel pipe, making Qin Xiao's palm numb slightly.
"Is this woman on stimulants? Her speed and strength are just too outrageous!" Qin Xiao thought to himself, feeling a sense of foreboding.
An inch longer, an inch stronger. In theory, Qin Xiao's steel pipe has an advantage in distance.
But Mo Meigui's dagger was incredibly agile in her hands, each swing carrying a tricky and unpredictable angle, the blade flashing erratically, completely ignoring conventional attack routes. In the blink of an eye, the cold blade had already broken through the seemingly tight defense of the steel pipe several times, heading straight for Qin Xiao's neck, heart, and other vital points!
If it weren't for the frantic warnings from his Prismatic-level combat awareness, Qin Xiao suspected he would already be dead.
"Is this some kind of assassin? It's a human meat grinder!" Qin Xiao thought to himself as he dodged. "Yun Yiyi, if your system hadn't upgraded me any later, I would have been sliced into pieces by now!"
He let out a low shout, no longer passively defending, but flipping his wrist and wielding the steel pipe. It was no longer a simple block, but a powerful and domineering staff technique—the Demon-Subduing Staff Technique!
The steel pipe pierced the air, creating a whooshing sound. The moves were wide and powerful, each strike carrying immense force, with the faint sound of wind and thunder. This staff technique seemed to be a natural counter to Mo Rose's agile and unpredictable style, forcing her to temporarily halt her offensive.
"Damn, where did this stick technique come from? How did I learn it?" Qin Xiao exclaimed in surprise at his own skill as he swung the steel pipe, but his hands moved just as quickly as he could.
Mo Meigui was forced to retreat repeatedly, the dagger clashing against the steel pipe with a series of crisp clanging sounds, sparks flying in the pale moonlight. For the first time, a slight flicker appeared in her eyes, as if she hadn't expected Qin Xiao's fighting style to be so fierce.
"How about that? Didn't expect that, did you? I didn't expect it either!" Qin Xiao was secretly delighted, but on the surface he remained calm and continued to apply pressure.
Qin Xiao seized upon a tiny opening in her posture as she retreated, and with a swift and precise flick of his staff upwards!
"clang!"
With an even crisper metallic clang than before, the black dagger in Mo Rose's hand was flung high into the air, arcing through the air before plunging into the mud in the distance with a "thud," leaving only the hilt trembling slightly.
The end of the steel pipe, accompanied by the sound of wind being cut, was steadily pointed at Mo Meigui's fair neck. Just one more inch and it would pierce her throat.
"Surrender." Qin Xiao's voice rang out in the empty field, slightly panting after the battle. "You are no match for me."
Mo Meigui looked at him coldly, her face still expressionless, but a very faint strangeness seemed to flash deep in her eyes, like confusion, or something else.
“The intelligence was wrong,” she suddenly said, her voice clear and emotionless.
After a pause, she added another sentence, her tone still calm, but it almost made Qin Xiao lose his composure.
“Your cooking is delicious.”
Then, her gaze hardened.
"You're very strong too."
Before she finished speaking, she flicked her wrist, and hundreds of silver needles as thin as cow hair suddenly shot out from her sleeve, covering Qin Xiao like a rainstorm! The wide range and fast speed left no room for him to dodge!
"Damn it!" Qin Xiao cursed under his breath, "This woman has another trick up her sleeve?!"
He was prepared and wielded the steel pipe with impenetrable force, like a rotating iron shield, blocking all the flying needles and making a dense "plop plop" sound like rain hitting banana leaves.
"What is this? A hidden weapon gift pack?" Qin Xiao muttered as he parried, "Does the Dragon King Palace specialize in teaching you all these fancy tricks?"
Taking advantage of the moment Qin Xiao blocked the flying needles, Mo Meigui once again pressed forward, her steps as elusive as a ghost. In her hand, a three-edged military dagger gleaming with cold light appeared, which she silently thrust straight at Qin Xiao's heart!
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