Chapter 362: Blood Flower
Lin Feng raised an eyebrow and, without hesitation, his body blurred as he dodged Wang Lu's fatal blow.
But just then, Wang Lu came to a sudden halt. A cold sneer played on his lips as, with a flick of his wrist, he abruptly hurled the dagger!
The dagger soared in an arc toward Lin Feng's throat, its speed a near-invisible blur.
Lin Feng's expression flickered. Tapping his toes to the ground, he drifted back five or six meters, narrowly dodging the dagger as it streaked toward his chest.
SWOOSH!
The dagger drew a spray of blood through the air before embedding itself in the ground, gouging out a deep hole two fingers wide!
Wang Lu sneered and shot his right palm forward. In an instant, a torrent of immense Inner Strength surged from his arm, transforming into a tidal wave of energy that crashed violently toward Lin Feng.
But Lin Feng's eyes were ice-cold as he swung an iron rod he had casually picked up, smashing it forward.
BOOM!
An earth-shattering boom echoed as violent ripples of force raged outward, churning up waves of soil and filling the air with a thick cloud of dust.
"Cough, cough!"
Wang Lu coughed violently, a trickle of bright red blood running from the corner of his mouth. It was clear the last exchange had left him with a slight injury.
'What a formidable brat!'
He sighed to himself. He'd never imagined that this young man, who was younger and at a lower cultivation level than him, could actually push him this far.
"Brat, no matter how many aces you have up your sleeve, you're not escaping death today!"
The words had barely left his mouth when he lifted his right leg and viciously kicked out, aiming the immense force straight at Lin Feng's chest.
His whip kick set off a chain of sonic booms, even leaving visible trails where the air itself seemed to tear.
POW!
A muffled boom resounded. Wang Lu's kick landed squarely on Lin Feng's chest, but to his astonishment, Lin Feng merely slid backward instead of being killed outright.
'Such a masterful force-mitigation technique!'
He gasped in shock. That kick would have pulverized anyone else's bones, yet Lin Feng had somehow used such a technique to neutralize the blow. It was truly astonishing.
Lin Feng, for his part, had been sent flying several dozen feet. He steadied himself, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and fixed Wang Lu with a grave stare.
"Heh. How about that? Impressed by my attack?"
Wang Lu sneered. He had held back on that strike; otherwise, that single kick would have been enough to kill Lin Feng!
"You're strong," Lin Feng said flatly, "but beating me won't be so easy. The Lv Family's martial arts are decent, I suppose, but that's all they are!"
Lin Feng spoke calmly, but an endless fighting spirit surged in his eyes. Though perilous, the recent exchange had provided him with invaluable experience. His gaze sharpened. He knew it was time to get serious!
"Oh? Interesting. You actually took that last hit?"
Wang Lu was somewhat surprised by Lin Feng's words. Although he had reined in much of his power, that last strike was still nothing to be trifled with.
Lin Feng's reaction had been even more surprising. 'He not only survived my attack but seems to have learned something from it. This Lin Feng is definitely no simple character!'
VMMMM!
Lin Feng raised the index and middle fingers of his left hand and slowly held it forward. As his fingers shifted, a faintly visible, spiraling vortex of blue and white energy began to materialize in his palm.
The blue-and-white spiral of energy churned and spun in Lin Feng's hand, looking remarkably like a living silver dragon.
HISS!
An ear-piercing hiss of displaced air sounded as Lin Feng's figure abruptly vanished. When he reappeared, he was already just over twenty meters from Wang Lu.
WHOOSH!
In an instant, Lin Feng was upon him. He bent his left elbow sharply, launching a strike at Wang Lu's neck from a vicious angle.
At the sight, Wang Lu's pupils contracted, but he didn't panic. With a sharp motion at his waist, a dagger appeared in his right hand.
The dagger flashed with a cold light, aimed straight for Lin Feng's chest!
CLANG!
The next moment, Lin Feng's hand clamped down on Wang Lu's wrist. It felt like being caught in a steel vise; the immense resistance sent a numbing sensation up his arm, making it nearly impossible to break free.
"Ngh?!"
Wang Lu's brow furrowed. He hadn't expected Lin Feng to be so fast. He poured strength into his wrist, attempting to break free from Lin Feng's grip.
But the hand gripping his wrist was immovable. Lin Feng's other hand shot out in a fist, smashing into the soft flesh under Wang Lu's ribs!
CRACKLE... CRACK...
A sickening crunch echoed. Wang Lu felt as if several of his ribs had snapped, but in the same instant, he managed to fling Lin Feng away.
HUFF!
Lin Feng's back slammed hard against a tree. He slowly let out a shaky breath, steadying his breathing. A searing pain burned in his chest; that last blow from Wang Lu had nearly crippled him!
His eyes narrowed, fixed on Wang Lu in the distance.
'This guy really lives up to the name of Innate Master. Though our clash was brief, it's obvious Wang Lu is much stronger than that Chen Jianren guy.'
'Otherwise, I wouldn't have suffered such a serious internal injury from that exchange, while he only retreated half a step!'
"Hahaha! Not bad. You've given me a few surprises, I'll admit, but that's as far as you go!"
Wang Lu let out a savage laugh. Two more pitch-black throwing knives appeared in his hands. With a flick of his wrists, the two knives shot toward Lin Feng's chest, whining as they ripped through the air.
The knives were so fast they left two shrieking sonic booms in their wake.
BANG!
A dull thud echoed as the two knives sliced clean through a large tree next to Lin Feng—a tree as thick as a bowl—felling it instantly. The trunk was covered in a dense web of gashes.
Lin Feng's eyes narrowed. 'This is a crisis!' he knew.
He felt a surge of anxiety, but his expression remained placid. He knew that the more critical the situation, the more imperative it was to remain calm.
'Now that he's shown his hidden weapons, I just need to defend against them,' he thought. 'Once he runs out, I can launch my own attack!'
SWOOSH! SWOOSH!
The two throwing knives zipped back and forth through the air, darting at Lin Feng. He moved continuously, each step perfectly calculated to evade the deadly projectiles.
'This bastard. Is he trying to play a waiting game with me?'