Golden Dragon Tang Wulin 2

Chapter 485 - The Rising Sun of the West Mountain

“I refuse to believe this!” Xie Xie cried. His third soul ring lit up, a clone splitting from his body. Now he controlled four hands at once to snatch the broom.

Not a single crack marred the man’s smile. He gently swayed in place, moving the broom out of Xie Xie’s grasps by a hair’s width each time. 

For a while, their figures overlapped as Xie Xie continued his assault, and the man easily evaded. There was still plenty of time left in their bet. 

Xie Xie drew out all of his strength, pushing his speed and control to the max. Yet even with both clones moving fast enough to blur, even after he tried every trick in the book, the broom always eluded him, swerving beyond his fingers at the last moment. 

Xie Xie clicked his tongue. At this point it was clear as night and day that it wouldn't be easy to win against the seemingly harmless man. But he couldn’t admit defeat yet. He refused to. As long as there was time left, he still had a chance. 

“Time’s up!”

In a blur, the broom struck both Xie Xie and his clone on the head. The clone and original fused back together, and Xie Xie groaned in pain as he gasped for breath.

“Who sent you flying earlier?” the man asked, brushing aside their bet for the moment.

Xie Xie’s expression froze. Not a word left his lips. Unlike the man, he was still fixated on the bet. He could have sworn that the broom had been in his hands several times, but in the blink of an eye, it disappeared. 

“Well, regardless of who threw you, it’s obvious that your skill doesn’t match up to theirs. Passable speed, but compared to your peers your skill certainly leaves much to be desired.  You won’t be able to keep up like that. The issue isn’t with your stance, but the moment you strike. You react too slowly, so your target has plenty of time to attack, counter, you name it.” He shook his head. “This also means your lethal power isn’t enough. For an agility-type, lethality is even more important than speed. Do you understand?” the man said, all smiles. 

Xie Xie studied him, eyes narrowing. “Agility-types are all about fast attacks! Why would how lethal I am be more important?” 

“Because attacking is the core of everything! Speed allows you to catch up to your target, but what’s the point if you can’t take them out? With all those mechas and battle armor out there, who doesn’t have a strong defense nowadays? Your attack power isn’t enough. All you have is speed. Raise your dagger for me.” 

In his shock, Xie Xie had forgotten to withdraw his martial soul. Without properly understanding or registering the order, Xie Xie’s body obeyed and held up his Light Dragon Dagger. A breath later, and the man’s figure twisted out of sight. 

Xie Xie missed it completely. All he felt was a prickling pain in his shoulder and a light push on his dagger. When he whipped his gaze to the direction of his pain, hungry and curious to see what had just transpired, his eyes went wide. A strand of hair pierced through his dagger like the world’s most flexible needle, caught and impaled into the flesh of his shoulder. W-what happened? That’s just hair! 

Confused or otherwise, there was no denying reality. The erect hair loosened and went limp. Pouring a bit of soul power into his dagger, Xie Xie easily destroyed the hair. But his shoulder still stung. He couldn’t fathom what had just happened.