186: Chapter 186 The Secret of the Previous Word

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The dust and smoke gradually dissipated.

Two figures reappeared in everyone's sight.

Ye Fan stood where he was, covered in blood, but his back remained straight. His fists were still dripping blood, and his robes were tattered, but his eyes remained bright and resolute.

He had not fallen.

Wang Teng's face turned completely grim.

He had thought that the previous strike would be enough to make Ye Fan lose his combat ability, but that Ancient Desolate Saint Body was actually still standing. Not only was he standing, but the Battle Intent in those eyes was even more blazing than before.

"He didn't die even from that..."

Wang Teng gritted his teeth, an indescribable irritability rising in his heart.

He was Wang Teng, the Reincarnation of an Ancient Emperor, and the number one person of the Northern Plains' younger generation. He considered his talent peerless, with no one among his peers able to surpass him. Yet this Loose Cultivator in the Dragon Transformation Realm had actually withstood a full-strength blow from his Peak First Heaven of the Sendai Realm and was still standing tall.

This was impossible.

Wang Teng took a deep breath, suppressing the irritability in his heart. His eyes became deep and eerie, as if a galaxy was flowing in the depths of his pupils and fate was intertwining.

The Foreword Secret.

One of the Nine Secrets, it could strengthen Divine Sense, allow one to foresee future movements, and anticipate the opponent's Move during battle.

Unlike those offensive techniques, the function of the Foreword Secret did not lie in directly increasing combat power, but in allowing him to always be one step ahead in battle.

If you can see the opponent's next Move, you can make preparations in advance.

If you can foresee the opponent's movements, you can always seize the initiative.

The corners of Wang Teng's mouth curled up slightly.

"Ye Fan, do you think you're something special just because you blocked one of my Moves?" His voice carried a hint of mockery. "Let me show you what a real gap looks like."

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved.

Ye Fan threw a punch, the golden fist radiance tearing through the air and heading straight for Wang Teng's face. This punch condensed the power of the Eight Forbidden; its speed was extremely fast, and its power was incredibly fierce.

But Wang Teng seemed to have already foreseen the trajectory of this punch.

He tilted his body slightly, avoiding the fist radiance by a hair's breadth. At the same time, he struck out with a palm, aiming straight for Ye Fan's waist. The angle of that palm strike was extremely tricky, hitting exactly in the blind spot of Ye Fan's dodge.

Ye Fan's pupils constricted slightly, and he hurriedly turned his body to block.

"Bang—!"

The palm print landed on his arm, making it go numb and causing his body to stagger two steps to the side.

Wang Teng did not give him a chance to breathe.

His figure flickered in the Void Realm; every palm, every punch, and every kick precisely anticipated Ye Fan's actions. Before Ye Fan's punch could even strike out, he had already avoided the attack path; before Ye Fan's figure could even Move, he had already blocked all paths of retreat.

Ye Fan's brow furrowed.

He was very familiar with this feeling.

When he fought Ji Zi before, Ji Zi's Great Void Technique also made it difficult for him to capture the opponent's position. Ji Zi relied on void traversal to make his punches hit empty air time and again. Meanwhile, Wang Teng relied on the Foreword Secret to anticipate his every attack, making his fists always a step too slow.

One relied on space, the other on foresight.

The result was the same—he couldn't hit his opponent.

But Ye Fan did not panic.

From that battle with Ji Zi, he had already learned one thing—when facing an opponent who can anticipate your Moves, the most violent way to break it is to be faster than them.

So fast that even if they can anticipate it, their body cannot keep up.

Ye Fan took a deep breath, pushing the Eight Forbidden to the limit.

Within his body, his golden blood Qi was like boiling lava, surging and roaring through his Meridians. That power flooded into his legs, pushing his speed to a new height.

He charged out again.

He threw a punch.

The corners of Wang Teng's mouth curled up, the Foreword Secret operating, instantly "seeing" the trajectory of Ye Fan's punch—coming from the front, straight for his chest. He tilted his body slightly, preparing to dodge.

But before his body could even Move, Ye Fan's fist was already in front of him.

"What?!"

Wang Teng's pupils suddenly constricted.

His Foreword Secret had clearly anticipated the trajectory of this punch, but his body simply didn't have time to react. Ye Fan's speed was much faster than he had anticipated.

He could only barely raise his hand to block.

"Bang—!"

The golden fist radiance slammed into his arm, making his entire arm lose sensation. His whole person flew backward, flipping several times in the air before he could barely stabilize his figure.

Ye Fan did not stop.

He charged out again and threw another punch.

Wang Teng gritted his teeth and activated the Foreword Secret again. He could "see" that Ye Fan's punch would come from the left, so he dodged to the right in advance. But just as his body moved, Ye Fan's punch had already slammed into his shoulder.

"Bang—!"

Another punch.

Wang Teng let out a muffled groan, a trace of blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth.

His face turned completely grim.

Speed... was faster than his body's reaction.

Is this the Ancient Desolate Saint Body? Not only does it have astonishing defensive and recovery capabilities, but even its speed is so terrifying. He could clearly anticipate the opponent's attacks, yet he was unable to dodge because his body couldn't keep up.

This feeling was even more frustrating than being hit directly.

But Ye Fan was not unscathed either.

Although Wang Teng's body couldn't keep up with his foresight, his attacks were still sharp. Every time Ye Fan approached, Wang Teng would trade injury for injury, striking Ye Fan with a palm.

Blood was also overflowing from the corner of Ye Fan's mouth, and several more wounds had appeared on his body.

But the recovery capabilities of the two were worlds apart.

The power of the four drops of Immortal King essence blood in Ye Fan's body was surging, constantly repairing his damaged body. Those wounds healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and those bruises dissipated with startling speed.

Wang Teng, however, did not have such treatment.

Every time he was hit by one of Ye Fan's punches, another internal injury was added to his body. Those internal injuries accumulated, causing his aura to become turbulent and his movements to slow down.

Ye Fan keenly noticed this.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

Attrition.

This was his strategy.

So what if Wang Teng could anticipate his attacks? His speed was so fast that Wang Teng's body couldn't keep up; in every round of confrontation, he could land at least one punch on Wang Teng, while Wang Teng could at most only land one palm on him.

Trading a punch for a palm seemed fair.

But his recovery capability far exceeded Wang Teng's; he could last for a hundred rounds, two hundred rounds, three hundred rounds—how many rounds could Wang Teng last?

After ten rounds, Wang Teng's aura began to grow turbulent.

After twenty rounds, Wang Teng's movements began to slow down.

After thirty rounds, blood began to constantly overflow from the corners of Wang Teng's mouth.

As for Ye Fan, although he was also covered in wounds, his aura was still vigorous and his movements were still swift. Those four drops of essence blood were like an inexhaustible fountain, constantly replenishing his stamina and vitality.

The more Wang Teng fought, the more alarmed he became.

He found himself trapped in a dead end—his Foreword Secret could anticipate Ye Fan's attacks, but his body couldn't keep up. He could hit Ye Fan, but Ye Fan's recovery was too strong; those injuries simply couldn't cause a fatal impact.

Whereas every punch Ye Fan landed on him left an internal injury that was difficult to heal.

If this continued, he would be ground to death.

"Impossible... This is impossible..."

Wang Teng gritted his teeth, his eyes full of unwillingness.

He was Wang Teng, the Reincarnation of an Ancient Emperor, and the number one person of the Northern Plains' younger generation. He had obtained the Legacy of Emperor Langu, practiced the Desolate Era Sacred Art, and possessed such a Heaven-Defying secret technique as the Foreword Secret. How could he possibly lose to a Loose Cultivator in the Dragon Transformation Realm?

Such a thing was absolutely impossible!