Free Web NovelChapter 1534: Chapter 1534: Opposite Directions
The three words "coming soon" naturally came from Yun Xiao himself. As the Long Xiao Battle God in his previous life, he was deeply knowledgeable about every change in Ma Nu’s moves, even dissecting every single action.
In fact, Yun Xiao called out at the moment Ma Nu started to move, intending to force the opponent to change his attack strategy, but to his surprise, this Lu Family’s slave was so persistent.
At this moment, Yun Xiao understood Ma Nu’s intention; it was to rely on the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud cultivation technique and Meridian Techniques to forcefully suppress Lu Yanji.
Even though his ultimate attack position had been called out, Ma Nu was confident that this old fellow at the Heavenly Realm Middle Stage on the Tenglong Continent might not be able to avoid his fatal blow.
Unfortunately for Ma Nu, the transformation he’d been brewing for so long had already been understood by Yun Xiao, and at the most critical moment, Yun Xiao reminded the slight negligent Lu Yanji once again.
Thus, under Yun Xiao’s intentional reminder, Lu Yanji’s hair stood on end, and at the instant Ma Nu’s figure disappeared before his eyes, he lunged forward with all his might.
Though the action appeared somewhat awkward, Lu Yanji ultimately avoided the powerful blow aimed at him from behind, sparing himself from meeting a fatal end.
This time, Ma Nu didn’t use his short blade to wound the enemy but attempted to punch the key acupoint on Lu Yanji’s back. Had that punch landed, even if Lu Yanji survived, his combat power would have been greatly diminished.
In reality, if Yun Xiao hadn’t reminded him once again at the end, Lu Yanji might not have been able to dodge so promptly, potentially only barely avoiding being hit in the Dazhui acupoint.
"You damned brat, I will shatter each of your teeth!"
The second failure nearly caused Ma Nu’s heart Qi to explode, yet he himself hadn’t noticed the faint sense of unease rising from deep within his heart after Yun Xiao anticipated his moves twice.
"How exactly did that kid see through this?"
This was the source of Ma Nu’s unease. Despite being on the Tenglong Continent, where even the continent’s number one, Lu Yanji, was fiercely suppressed by him, what was that mere Lingyun Realm Early Stage boy anyway?
Yet, it was precisely this Yun Xiao at the Lingyun Realm Early Stage who repeatedly disrupted his plans. If possible, Ma Nu indeed wanted to strike first and kill that kid.
Unfortunately, with Lu Yanji present, even if Ma Nu had the intention, he didn’t have the ability; after all, the opponent was on the same tier as him, with Yun Xiao occasionally providing verbal assistance, it’s not just as simple as one plus one equals two.
"He’s aiming for your nape!"
"Watch your eyes!"
"Careful, he’s about to kick your rear!"
"..."
In the sky, the battle between the two Heavenly Realm Middle Stage powerhouses was intensely fierce, yet an interjecting cool voice made the fight unmistakably strange.
Of course, the crowd’s puzzlement only lasted initially. As time passed and they saw Lu Yanji repeatedly evade fatal blows each time Yun Xiao spoke, the odd feeling gradually transformed into admiration and amazement.
Truth be told, Yun Xiao’s name in the Tenglong Continent was already well-known at this point; only a handful might surpass him.
Even Hou Tianlie, a Lingyun Realm Late Stage expert, wasn’t absolutely confident he could defeat Yun Xiao one-on-one, showcasing his formidable strength.
On top of winning the dual champion of medicine and poison at the Meridian Refining Conference, Yun Xiao demonstrated remarkable Meridian Refining Technique, proving his brilliance in two fields.
And let’s not forget, Yun Xiao at Demons Mountain previously displayed extraordinary Beast Vein Technique, rescuing the Snow Stepping Flying Horse.
The special meridian array Yun Xiao used on the Snow Stepping Flying Horse remains an unsolved mystery to Hou Tianlie, a matter he holds in high regard.
Some people even recall Yun Xiao unraveling the Thousand Stars Blood Gathering Formation of the Holy Grade Heavenly Spirit at the Slaughter Spirit Battlefield, proving his profound understanding of arrays.
All these details suggest Yun Xiao might be capable of anything; now witnessing his familiarity with the techniques of a super expert from the Nine-layered Dragon Cloud, everyone is utterly shocked.
"Is there anything in this world he doesn’t know?"
Xiao Bailin, the Great Elder of Demons Mountain, also a Heavenly Rank Third Realm expert, voiced his shock after reminiscing Yun Xiao’s numerous exploits, echoing everyone’s sentiments nearby.
"My elder brother is omnipotent; you all just figuring this out?"
Following Xiao Bailin’s exclamation, another voice arose, leading everyone to look toward its source, revealing a fire-red mouse.
"Fire Cloud Rat Chi Yan!"
For Yun Xiao’s red rat that was both his demon pet and companion, high-ranking Beast Vein Masters like Hou Tianlie and Xiao Bailin were no longer unfamiliar with it.
And thinking of this, many experts from Demons Mountain couldn’t help but sigh, secretly noting that not only was Yun Xiao a prodigy, but his companions by his side were also extraordinary.
Meanwhile, Hou Tianlie couldn’t help but look proudly at his precious disciple Xu Hongzhuang, secretly thinking his luck was indeed good, for having received a disciple like Xu Hongzhuang made his life complete.
"Step back three paces to the left, move diagonally forward two steps, attack his right shoulder!"
As Hou Tianlie and others were filled with endless emotions, a voice different from before suddenly echoed from above, causing them to turn their gaze back to the battle in the sky.
This voice was still voiced by Yun Xiao, but after hearing the meaning of his words, everyone was thoughtful, pondering that it didn’t seem like he was instructing Lu Yanji to evade Ma Nu’s attack.
Such words seemed more like directing Lu Yanji’s movements to counterattack Ma Nu, but to shout out the actions so directly, wasn’t he afraid Ma Nu would be forewarned?
"President, execute everything in the opposite direction of what I said!"
Just as Lu Yanji was about to follow Yun Xiao’s shouted instructions instinctively, a voice as soft as a mosquito flew into his ears, letting him immediately realize it was Yun Xiao transmitting his voice secretly.
Cultivators who reached the Heavenly Rank already possessed abilities unimaginable by ordinary cultivators, such as this Secret Technique of Gathering Qi into a Line for secret communication.
This involved wrapping the sound in a layer of Sky Power, transmitting it directly into the intended ear so that no third party would hear it.
For instance, at this moment, when Yun Xiao openly voiced certain movements, he secretly transmitted a few instructions to Lu Yanji, making him understand Yun Xiao’s true intentions.
Voicing those actions openly while meaning the opposite was meant to make Ma Nu drop his guard. Perhaps this time, success was truly within reach.
"Haha, I just said this kid is merely extremely lucky!"
In contrast to Lu Yanji, who had already come to a decision, Ma Nu, who was completely unaware, smiled with a "just as expected" expression after hearing Yun Xiao’s shout.
This was because if Ma Nu’s Meridian Techniques were countered with Yun Xiao’s spoken actions, it could cause instant severe injury to his opponent.
At this moment, Ma Nu clearly forgot how precise Yun Xiao’s previous warnings were. He only knew that this time the opponent’s words were entirely wrong, intent on letting both the old and the young suffer the consequences.
Swish!
In the blink of an eye, as Ma Nu’s thoughts flickered, a cold flash appeared. The short blade he’d used at the beginning slashed towards Lu Yanji’s left shoulder at lightning speed.
Seeing this, even many cultivators from Demons Mountain couldn’t help but break out in a cold sweat, as they also hadn’t heard Yun Xiao’s secret message, believing that Lu Yanji would retreat three steps to the left momentarily.
If he did retreat like that, Ma Nu’s short blade could easily slice off Lu Yanji’s head with a simple adjustment, which seemed like a ludicrous move to the more experienced observers.
But at the moment when Ma Nu was full of confidence and the crowd below was slightly worried, they saw that Lu Yanji didn’t dodge to the left at all; instead, he stepped three paces to the right.
"This..."
Such a scene took not only the many cultivators below by surprise but also caused Ma Nu, who was the involved party, to miss his swing entirely, causing him significant discomfort from the exertion of force.
"Oh no!"
Despite being a genuine Middle Stage Heavenly Realm expert, Ma Nu realized something as his blade missed. A spark flickered through his mind.
In that moment, from the corner of his eye, he noticed his opponent retreating diagonally by two steps, an action completely opposite to Yun Xiao’s earlier instructions.
When these thoughts rose, Ma Nu vaguely understood something. If Lu Yanji’s movements, first avoiding three steps right and now retreating diagonally, were combined, they’d have completely different implications.
Yun Xiao’s previous mysterious guidance had filled Ma Nu with scorn, but upon some reflection, his back burst into a cold sweat.
He suddenly realized that if Yun Xiao’s guidance were reversed, it would perfectly exploit all his actions’ vulnerabilities, leading to the final strike.
"Indeed!"
Thinking of this, Ma Nu abruptly turned his head, first seeing Lu Yanji without hesitation, delivering a hand blade towards his left shoulder, an action that was again the complete opposite of Yun Xiao’s directions.
