Huo Zhenyu did not let his guard down just because Ling Lan's punch seemed feather-light as he had already suffered a loss from the previous attack, so he was even more cautious this time. In addition, Ling Lan's warning had given him sufficient time for preparation, so instead of considering it as Ling Lan taking the initiative to attack, it would be better called a mutual attack.
Reason being, Huo Zhenyu, who had prepared in advance, had chosen to attack to defend and directly used his strongest attack to confront Ling Lan's punch.
When experts exchanged blows, they did not require hundreds or even over thousands of blows like those in the lower realms — very often, one or two moves could determine the victor. Huo Zhenyu understood this and believed the opponent did too. Therefore, this move of the opponent was definitely not as simple as it seemed and was instead an earth-shaking punch.
