Despite the injuries he had suffered, Gui Xiong remained unimpeded in his attacks. He charged forward with a bellow, throwing a barrage of punches that blasted concrete out of the walls, furniture and floor.
I fought back as best as I could, threading my knives through weak points and thin currents. Lines of blood splattered the surroundings, causing Gui Xiong to recoil. Even so, he remained an immense threat and obliterated my knives.
It was unfortunate, but having only recently attained this new enhanced qi perception and not having the time to get used to it or practice, I did not have the precision and skill to control the knives in the air. I was only keeping them aloft through generating gusts of wind from the surrounding qi, to levitate them momentarily, but I couldn't control their movements accurately. Simply put, I could make them float, but I did not have telekinetic abilities to throw them at Gui Xiong. Well, I could blow them toward him, but it would be useless against his Ghost Bear Tempered Body.
If I wanted to hurt him, I needed to accurately cut through the weak currents and thin lines of qi that I perceived with my sixth sense. What, did you think I was going to call it Mystical Eyes of Death Perception or something? Nah.
However, I realized that the supply of knives were dwindling. Not many of the Ghost Bear Clan members were wielding knives to begin with, and I was expending them at an unsustainable rate. If I kept this up, I might run out of knives in less than five minutes.
Not only that, I was beginning to feel my mind burning. A throbbing headache that almost seemed to explode out of my skull.
Instinctively, I understood what was occurring. I was burning out my sixth sense and overloading my brain. I couldn't keep this up for long. If I continued relying on my enhanced sixth sense in such a fashion, I would destroy my own mind.
"…in other words, I have to finish this fight as quickly as possible, huh?"
My eyes still closed, I lowered my head and raised both of my knives. Twirling them about, I then spun and slashed a charging Gui Xiong. He was forced to retreat, but he countered with a vicious hook that smashed the ground. I could see the shape of a massive bear's paw overlaid over his fist, the qi-formed claws shimmering in deadly fashion.
Rising up, he then backhanded me, destroying one of my knives.
However, I had seen a weak point and moved in to seize the opportunity. It was a dangerous maneuver, one that could cost me my life if I miscalculated. Unfortunately, I had no choice but to take the risk. I didn't have much time left, and dragging this out would only guarantee my defeat.
So I stepped within the arc of his arm and plunged my knife into the spot where I saw had the thinnest amount of qi. Tracing the line, I sliced off the entire arm, causing the disembodied limb to drop haplessly onto the ground.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Gui Xiong bellowed in agony and staggered back, blood pumping out of his stump like a hose. He retaliated with his remaining hand, smashing the knife in my hands and turning the blade into shrapnel. I had to simultaneously sweep them aside while dodging Gui Xiong's follow-up kick, jumping atop his whipping leg and propelling myself above.
While flipping myself in midair, I seized the final knife that was still hanging in the air. This was the last one. After it got destroyed, I would have to return to fighting with my bare hands.
And that would put me at a massive disadvantage.
No. I would deal with it when it came. For now, I had to use the small window of opportunity that I had bought for myself, to finish off my opponent while he was still in shock at losing his arm.
Dropping back onto the ground, I crouched down to avoid getting swatted by Gui Xiong's remaining right arm. Whirling aside to deflect his kick, I then stabbed his thigh and traced the weak line of qi all the way to his groin. Blood splashed my face and shirt, but I ignored the warm, wet sensation and continued upward.
"Fucking brat!"
Gui Xiong had lost all sense and brought his fist down to hammer the top of my head. I had seen it coming, and I managed to throw myself to the side. Whirling about, I then stabbed his chest – the bright, glowing red spot that I deemed was his weakest point.
If I could just strike that spot, I should theoretically be able to end this battle once and for all.
However, Gui Xiong was not a veteran of a thousand battles for nothing. Instinctively realizing that his life was in danger, he brought his arm up to parry the blade. I shifted it, but I was too late. Metal met bone and the knife snapped off at the hilt.
Even so, I had ruptured the tendons in Gui Xiong's remaining arm and it now flopped uselessly at his side.
But the battle was far from over. And I no longer had any knives or weapons.
With a roar, Gui Xiong kicked me with his unwounded leg, but I managed to swerve to the side. Blood from his torn thigh dripped down from the exertion, but the guy was still full of vitality. I was amazed that he hadn't bled to death yet.
No. I couldn't count on that to happen.
Gui Xiong moved forward, sensing a momentary lapse in my offense. He stomped on the place where I had been a few seconds earlier, shaking the ground. Then, before I could recover my balance, he lashed out with a kick that caught me by the side and sent me hurtling onto the ground.
"Guh!"
Fortunately, the power behind his kick had been heavily reduced because of his injuries. Even though he hadn't passed out, the huge loss of blood was having a clear effect. He was breathing heavily and looking very pale (somehow I could tell despite not being able to see).
"Even if I die, I'll make sure I'll take you down with me!"
Putting one last burst of strength into his shaking limbs, Gui Xiong lunged at me, his leg raised for a devastating kick. I threw myself to the side, just barely avoiding the deadly blow. The shockwave from his attack buffeted me and I found myself hurled into the wall.
Coughing, I rolled to my feet. Gui Xiong was approaching me again, getting ready for another kick. If it landed, it would surly obliterate my body.
However, even that wasn't the real problem. The main issue I was facing was the splitting headache. My brain burned, feeling as if it was on fire. I let out a sharp gasp and almost staggered.
I was at my limits now. I was on the verge of collapse. My mind was about to burn itself out from my overuse of my enhanced sixth sense.
And my enemy still wasn't down yet.
With a snarl, Gui Xiong stomped toward me. Taking a deep breath, I sprang to my feet and put everything into this one last strike. Swerving away from Gui Xiong's last kick, I then launched myself at him.
I could see that pulsing spot of red qi that was swirling in his solar plexus. It was currently unshielded, yet it was like a node…the main source of qi. If I could hit him there…
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
With a yell, I slammed both of my palms into that spot. With his arm hanging uselessly at his side and one of his legs thrown up for a kick, Gui Xiong had no way of defending himself. He was completely open to my attack.
At first, I felt as if I had just struck a brick wall. Then there was an explosion of qi and the both of us were hurled apart from each other. Blood gushed out of Gui Xiong's mouth as he crashed onto the ground, his eyes glazed. He slumped over, his qi fading rapidly.
His life signs were diminishing.
Staggering to my feet, I studied him one last time.
Then my sixth sense burned out my mind and I sank into blissful oblivion.
*
"Huh…I didn't think that the target would break through to Earth realm in the middle of a fight. Was it because he was pushed to his limits? Because he was near death?"
The hooded man named Han Sha approached the prone, fallen form of the boy. Even though he was a demonic practitioner, he still felt uneasy at what he was about to do. It didn't sit well with him to strike an opponent who was already down.
However, his feelings didn't matter. His mission was clear. He was to eliminate the leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect before he could take his role. That was the whole reason why he was sent to the past in the first place. To prevent the boy from growing up into the dreadful Celestial Divine who struck fear into the hearts of all demonic practitioners. He had braved the Nine Heavenly Temporal Tribulations and traveled through time to a foreign world, just to cut the tree when it was still a bud.
Already the target's growth had surpassed his calculations. If Ba Bai didn't screw up in his mission and succeeded in assassinating the future leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect, then he wouldn't have to resort to this nonsense.
Han Sha felt some frustration. His cultivation hadn't recovered fully yet. That was why he relied on these gangsters and taught Gui Xiong how to cultivate. He had to stay under the radar, which meant he couldn't suck qi essence from people, much like Jin Bai He did. And look at what her antics had landed her in. Now she was dead, by her own hand if his reports were accurate.
Perhaps her conflicting memories caused her to show mercy to the target, thus giving him a chance to survive and grow stronger, but Han Sha had become wary of the future leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect. The boy had survived against all odds and emerged stronger than anticipated, thwarting the attempts of not one, but two demonic cultivators sent back to assassinate him.
No. Han Sha had to be very careful. He wasn't afraid of death, but he wasn't enthusiastic about throwing away his life for nothing either. He would achieve nothing if he got himself killed.
"Already he is at the Earth realm." Han Sha sighed and shook his head. Perhaps he had been overcautious. He was at the Heaven realm, after all, still unable to restore his cultivation back to Astral Stars realm even after a year. Theoretically, he should be able to defeat the boy easily.
But so should Ba Bai…and he paid for underestimating his opponent with his life. As for Jin Bai He, she reincarnated into a body that had no cultivation whatsoever and had to start from scratch. That was why she had resorted to sucking qi essence from other people – to speed up her cultivation as quickly as possible.
Han Sha took a deep breath and raised his hand. The boy was down and helpless. There was nothing stopping him from killing the boy now. It was kind of odd, how this frail-looking nerd in front of him would become the leader of Heaven and Earth Sect in future, but Han Sha didn't care. He had witnessed the Celestial Divine's prowess for himself.
It was time to finish this once and for all.
Before he could deliver the finishing blow, however, he suddenly froze.
"W…what is this?!"
He couldn't help but shudder in fear, whirling around frantically. But he didn't see anybody.
Yet he could feel the tremendous weight of someone's gaze, and the killing intent pressing down upon him like a sea.
"!!!!"
Han Sha jumped to the side instinctively, and just in time too. The ground he was standing on erupted into flames, and he was forced to back away. Swinging his hooded head from side to side, he watched the area with wide eyes while fleeing.
"A master at the Yellowed Lands realm…no, perhaps even the Blackened Skies realm?!"
Han Sha understood that he had no chance of winning, and he dove into the shadows, disappearing as he ran for his life.
"That lucky brat!"
As he escaped, Han Sha shot a hateful glare at the helpless boy. He was so close to killing the brat. So close to achieving his mission and changing the future. If only this monstrous master didn't show up out of nowhere!
Now he had no choice but to flee as quickly as he could…or he would be utterly incinerated into ashes.
"I'll be back," he vowed, glaring at the boy. This wasn't over. Not by a long shot.
As long as Han Sha was alive, he would continue to scheme new plans of assassination. He simply couldn't allow the boy to live and become the leader of the Heaven and Earth Sect in the future. Not if he wanted the demonic sects to survive and attain their ambitions.
Cursing under his breath, Han Sha melded with the shadows and vanished completely.