"This…this verse is…" Before the person reciting the verse even appeared, Tie Shu was already drenched in cold sweat.

His eyes darted around, his whole body tense. He clearly hadn't seen the enemy yet, but he was already extremely nervous, as if the other party might appear in front of him at any moment.

Shhh…

A moment later, a soft sound was heard.

A peerless figure appeared before the demon army's lines.

The newcomer was dressed in white, with white hair, a face like jade, his robes fluttering gently in the breeze, possessing an extraordinary aura.

The cold and taciturn Feng Zhihen (Wind Trace) didn't even need to attack; merely standing before the enemy was enough to render them immobile.

His unparalleled cultivation was evident.

"Damn it…" Tie Shu unconsciously tightened his grip on his weapon, thinking to himself, "Here comes a guy strong as a monster…"

"Oh my, it's Uncle Feng." Ning Ning felt relieved when she saw Feng Zhihen. She turned her head with a smile and said to Ruo Yu, "Miss, there's no need to worry now. Uncle Feng is super reliable."

"I know…" Ruo Yu replied, putting away her sword as she spoke.

Clearly, Li Ruo Yu was quite familiar with the characters from the Pili series. When Feng Bujue first met Ruo Yu and Xiao Ling, he had complained that the nicknames Siyu Ruoli (Seemingly Rain, Yet Apart) and Beiling Xiaogu (Sad Spirit, Laughing Bone) had a very "Pili" feel to them. His guess was indeed correct; Ruo Yu had created the nicknames in the style of Pili, showing her love for the series.

"Mo Liu Jian, Feng Zhihen," Ruo Yu continued, "One of the three legendary swordsmen of the Demon Realm."

"Oh~ So Uncle Feng is such a famous person." Ning Ning wasn't that familiar with Feng Zhihen; she had only seen him a few times on the battlefield.

"Hey! You surnamed Feng… Don't tell me you're going to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament too?" On the other side, Tie Shu finally mustered his courage and said a few words to Feng Zhihen.

Feng Zhihen only returned two words: "Get out of the way."

A cold tone, a contemptuous gaze. The phrase "Get out of the way" made the demon soldiers subconsciously begin to retreat.

"Tch…" Tie Shu gnashed his teeth and muttered, "Fine… fine… anyway, your strength is enough to cross the bridge…" He then looked at Ning Ning and Ruo Yu behind Feng Zhihen, "But… those two…"

"Hmm?" Feng Zhihen interrupted Tie Shu with an interrogative interjection.

If this "hmm" were to be interpreted in detail, I think it should be translated as—Are you freaking courting death? Hurry up and shut your mouth and get out of the way?

Of course, a master like Uncle Feng wouldn't say the lines above. Even Brother Jue rarely says such lines.

True experts don't need to say too much. They only need to communicate with their opponents using some short questions or commentary… such as "Not bad," "You did your best," "The human world is filthy again," and so on. The calmer you sound, the more impressive you appear.

"Uh… okay… just… just let them pass too…" Tie Shu had already revealed his fear. Under Feng Zhihen's pressure, he could only obediently give a hand signal to his subordinates behind him, telling them to let them pass.

Thus, Ruo Yu and Ning Ning followed behind Feng Zhihen and walked across the suspension bridge ahead together.

"Hmph… you can only be arrogant for now…" After they had gone far away, Tie Shu resentfully muttered, "In front of Lord Orochi, Mo Liu Jian is useless…"

…

Let's split the story and look at Feng Bujue's side.

After the battle at Luan Shi Gang (Chaotic Rock Hill), he eavesdropped on Xiao Tan's conversation with two other NPCs for a while, gaining a general understanding of the Martial Arts Tournament.

Since the wilderness outside Luan Shi Gang was very open, with few shelters for him to hide in, he did not continue to follow the three.

After Xiao Tan and the others left, Brother Jue finally showed himself.

"Hmm… let me sort out the situation…" Feng Bujue muttered to himself as he walked out of Luan Shi Gang, "The Martial Arts Tournament arena is built directly below Gu Zhi Cheng (Ancient Ambition City). That area has been protected by a barrier. It's impossible to enter from the air. If I want to get in… I have to go through four suspension bridges guarded by demon soldiers and generals. And the basic condition for crossing the bridge is… that the demon general guarding the bridge has to acknowledge my strength."

While thinking, he had already set off in the direction of Gu Zhi Cheng (as long as you look up at the sky, you can see that floating demon city, so there's no need to worry about getting lost): "As a 'traveler from another world,' my notoriety here is undoubtedly zero… If I want to cross the bridge, I'll have to fight the demon generals. Assuming the demon generals guarding the bridge are also 'generic face warrior,' then their strength is probably not much different from that Jiao just now…" He licked his lips and took a breath, "Ah… this script feels a bit difficult. Just 'participating' in the Martial Arts Tournament already has a considerable barrier to entry. I'm not worried about the others… but can Huajian, who just reached level 40, get through the demon general's level…"

Bang—

Just as Brother Jue was leisurely making his way, a sudden change occurred!

A low gunshot rang out, and a golden light struck.

[Name: Holy Arbitration]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, Permanently Mastered]

[Skill Category: Shooting]

[Effect: Fires a shot with holy power, dealing massive damage upon contact with the target. (Must be fired with a rifle-type weapon, and the gun must contain at least one bullet.)]

[Consumption: Stamina Value 800]

[Learning Condition: Shooting Specialization A]

[Remarks: Can be used on spirits, dealing 200% damage to evil spirits, and restoring health to holy spirits when hit.]

"Holy crap…" Feng Bujue had already reacted before he heard the gunshot (Holy Arbitration's flight speed is faster than the speed of sound). In addition to instinctively blurting out an expletive, he instantly activated [Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu-Modified], twisting his body at super speed to perform a classic "kneeling back dodge bullet" maneuver.

At the same time, on a small hill a kilometer away…

"Hmph… As expected of zero-time difference calculation…" Gu Xiaoling saw this expected scene through the sniper scope, "She can even dodge bullets."

As she spoke, she ejected a shell, calm and composed, and fired another shot.

Bang—

Still [Holy Arbitration], completely the same as the previous attack.

"Again?" After the first shot, Feng Bujue already knew the other party's location, so dodging the second shot wasn't that difficult.

However, what Xiao Ling was using was, after all, an A-level skill. No matter how powerful Brother Jue was, he had to use Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu to barely dodge it. With his own physical skills, he certainly wouldn't have been able to avoid this attack.

"Alright… she should be falling for it soon…" After firing the second shot, Xiao Ling calmly aimed again and fired a third shot…

Bang—

Same skill, same attack method, different result.

This time, Feng Bujue failed to dodge the bullet…

When that golden light approached his brow, he realized… the speed of this third shot had changed.

All of this happened too quickly. Brother Jue hadn't even taken out the Death Poker yet, and he couldn't use [Shield] to block it. The only thing he could do… was to lean back as much as possible and use his arms to block this unavoidable attack.

Boom—

A deafening explosion announced that [Holy Arbitration] had hit its target.

The corners of Gu Xiaoling's mouth curled into a smile, but she didn't relax, because she knew… Feng Bujue was definitely not dead yet.

"The system prompt hasn't come yet…" Xiao Ling muttered as she looked at the cloud of smoke in the distance through the sniper scope, "With the captain… she must be using this explosion smoke to do something…"

Thinking of this, she raised the muzzle of her gun and looked at the sky…

As expected, Feng Bujue was already in the sky, and he was rushing towards Xiao Ling at an extremely high speed.

At this time, both of Brother Jue's forearms were bloody and mangled, and his survival value had dropped by more than 50%. In principle, the correct approach would be to prioritize escaping or healing.

But Brother Jue resolutely endured the pain and unhesitatingly chose to rush towards the enemy…

"An attack that can at least beat a person half to death only blew up your two forearms, huh…" Xiao Ling didn't seem flustered. With swift movements, she took out two Uzis from her satchel and stood up, "Presumably [Artemis' Embrace] saved your life…" As she spoke, the muzzles of the two submachine guns in her hands spat out flames.

"Tch… she found out so quickly." Seeing this, Feng Bujue activated Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu again, rapidly zigzagging and moving in mid-air to avoid the dense barrage.

"As expected of the captain… I haven't even fired yet, and he already realized that I'm using 'special ammunition'…" Xiao Ling thought to herself, "If it were someone else, they would probably take it for granted and assume… that an expensive special bullet wouldn't be loaded into a high-rate-of-fire submachine gun, and treat it like an ordinary bullet."

"As expected, it's enhanced ammunition… If I had taken it for granted that it was an ordinary bullet and relied on [Artemis' Embrace] to be immune to the effects of ordinary ammunition to resist it head-on… I would have been riddled with holes by now…" On the other side, Brother Jue, who was leaping and dodging in the air, thought to himself, "Damn it… the tycoon is indeed a tycoon. Shooting like this… is costing several RMB per second…"

The battle between these two was not only a contest of strength, but also a game of psychology and intelligence.

They could both come up with ingenious strategies that ordinary people couldn't react to, and they could both see through ingenious strategies that ordinary people couldn't react to. The most important thing was… they both had a good understanding of each other's abilities. This meant that it was almost impossible to win by surprise.

Therefore, in this battle, whoever was at a disadvantage first was very likely to be the final loser…

Right now, Brother Jue had fallen into this unfavorable situation… If he really lost in the end, there would be two reasons for his defeat: first, the environment here was more favorable to shooting-type players, and he had failed to discover the other party before the other party discovered him; second, it was because he had been "in seclusion" for too long, so he had no idea about the new equipment, new skills, and character growth that Gu Xiaoling had obtained during this period.

For example, that suddenly accelerated third shot… was designed under the premise that Brother Jue had insufficient information.

[Name: Yaotao Banzhu Chuan Fangxun (Half-Open Peach Sends Fragrant News)]

[Type: Weapon]

[Quality: Perfect]

[Attack Power: Strong]

[Attribute: None]

[Effect: Miracle Strike]

[Equipment Condition: Shooting Specialization A]

[Remarks: This is an old-fashioned Soviet-made carbine without any optical aiming equipment, but a sniper hero used it to create a miraculous record of 32 days of solo combat, 442 shots fired, 214 enemies killed, and himself unharmed… Many years later, this gun reappeared in the world, and a line of text has been engraved on its barrel - We are all sharpshooters, each bullet eliminates an enemy.]

Brother Jue wasn't unfamiliar with the effects of Xiao Ling's weapon, but… based on the four words "Miracle Strike" alone, he couldn't judge the specific effect, so he suffered a great loss just now.

"Heh… still charging over, huh…" After five or six seconds, the first magazines of the two Uzis were basically empty. Although Xiao Ling could almost seamlessly connect her bursts thanks to her cross-fire technique and superb reloading skills, the reduction in the barrage was ultimately inevitable.

Feng Bujue seized this not-quite-opportunity and used a self-created move, Yue Bu-Lian Shan (Moonwalk-Consecutive Flashes), to force his way through a bloody path at the cost of taking three or four bullets, closing the distance between the two in one fell swoop.

However, Xiao Ling still had a confident look on her face: "Captain, the real killer move… is about to begin."

"Ah… well done," Feng Bujue replied.

In this thrilling and perilous battle, these two could still talk very easily, even complimenting each other. This could be considered a manifestation of their psychological quality…

Clack—Clack—

In the next second, two sounds of metal embedding were heard… Shi Yue (World Slayer), Yun Xing (Fallen Star) appeared in response.

In this battle, Xiao Ling fully utilized the advantages of a gunner, effectively using "every bit of distance" between her and her opponent. Every time Feng Bujue closed the distance, he had to pay a price, and his situation became increasingly dangerous.

"Hmm… her Shi Yue and Yun Xing both have auto-correction, and she also has A-level Shooting Specialization. At this distance, it's almost impossible to dodge her bullets. I can only find a way to defend." In the midst of adversity, Feng Bujue's brain was running at full speed. His speed of thought, which surpassed the limits, made everything in front of him seem to stand still. "But my hands are crippled, so I basically can't use any props, and I can't use the Death Poker… [Artemis' Embrace] can't block her special ice and fire bullets either. At most, it'll reduce some damage…" He looked at the game menu at this point, "I lost a lot of health from [Holy Arbitration] earlier, and the injuries on my hands and [Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu-Modified] are all slowly reducing my survival value. At this moment, the remaining 19% of my survival value can last for at most… two shots."

Feng Bujue's estimate was very accurate. Setting aside attributes, the base attack power of Xiao Ling's two spiritual weapons was "extremely strong." It was impossible to completely defend against them with just equipment defense. At this distance, even if they didn't hit a vital spot, one shot would reduce his survival value by 7%-9%. After resisting two shots, Feng Bujue, who had only a single-digit amount of health left, would definitely die.

"I can't use my hands, so I can't take things out of my satchel… If I can't take things out, I naturally can't get a survival value supplement… Without survival value, Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu has to stop… And if I lose the support of super speed, at this distance of seven or eight meters, she can finish me off however she wants with that last bit of health I have…" Feng Bujue had already deduced in his mind what was going to happen next. "Then… the only hope for a comeback lies between these two shots…"

The intense pain and desperate situation did not have any negative impact on him. On the contrary, they made his mind clear and his thoughts flowed like a spring: "I have three seconds to end this battle… If she's not dead after three seconds, I lose. That is to say… I have to instantly kill her to win." Having thought this through, he had already reached a conclusion. "With my current posture, the distance between me and her, and this high-angle state… I only have one skill to choose. I'm afraid this is the only skill on me… that can forcefully instantly kill a level 46 player from the front."

Having seen this, I'm sure you all have a conclusion as well.

That's right… Qi Gong Cannon!

Feng Bujue's thoughts were as fast as lightning. All of the analyses just now were completed in an instant. After making up his mind, he tremblingly raised his two bloody, charred hands in front of him, and tried his best to bend his fingers, using his hands to form a trapezoidal "frame," aiming at Xiao Ling on the ground.

"Qi Gong Cannon?" Xiao Ling also reacted quickly. She knew that Brother Jue was running out of time and was preparing to go all out, "Hmph… don't dream about it…"

At this life-or-death juncture, Xiao Ling did not get hot-headed or act rashly. She knew very well… that the one who couldn't afford to delay was Feng Bujue.

Therefore, as the two guns fired in quick succession, Xiao Ling's figure shifted sharply… attempting to escape the Qi Gong Cannon's attack range.

"Hmph… too naive…" Feng Bujue smiled. Although two bullets had already hit him as he smiled, reducing his survival value to 4%, he still showed a victor's smile.

Boom—

In less than half a second, the Qi Gong Cannon had been unleashed.

The spot where Xiao Ling was standing was blasted by the violent energy into a deep pit that was trapezoidal and embedded diagonally into the ground.

[Player, Beiling Xiaogu, has died.] The system prompt announced Brother Jue's victory.

However, he didn't have time to celebrate anything. The first thing he did was to deactivate [Ling Shi Ju Shen Shu-Modified] and descend from the air.

After landing on the ground, the Qi Gong Cannon's effect on the caster continued, adding a feeling of exhaustion and dizziness to Brother Jue. But Feng Bujue still gritted his teeth and persevered, slowly kneeling down (he was afraid that falling to the ground would cause him to lose health).

"Supplement supplement…" As if reminding himself what to take, he repeatedly chanted these three words in his mouth. In a state of mental confusion, this kind of psychological suggestion might actually be a little useful.

"Hiss—" Enduring the severe pain, Feng Bujue reached into the mouth of his satchel with his injured arm. This action caused him to lose another 1% of his health.

It took a full ten seconds for Brother Jue to barely pull out the bottle of survival value supplement from his satchel…

"Phew… I'm saved…" Finally, with only 1% of his health remaining, he poured the medicine down his throat, continuing his life.