Chapter 39 Wild Dance Like a Dragon

Chapter 39: Chapter 38: Wild Dance Like a Dragon

The airflow emitted a faint yet terrifying HISS, like a high-speed spinning saw blade. Alarm bells blared in Han Ning’s mind. With no time to recall his vines, he hastily dodged to the side. At the same time, his mind raced, activating the [Tree Skin Technique]. Brownish-green wooden textures rapidly covered the outer side of his right arm.

SLASH!

The pale green Wind Blade slashed viciously against his bark-covered right arm. The instant it made contact, the resilient wooden skin was sliced open with a deep gash, sending wood chips flying. The tremendous impact sent Han Ning stumbling back a few steps. His right arm burned with pain; the Tree Skin Technique was nearly shattered by a single blow.

[Tree Skin Technique (Middle Level) Skill Level +2, Current 14/200]

"Fast reflexes," Chen Feng said. Having landed his attack, he didn’t press the advantage. Instead, he pulled back again, his silhouette flickering continuously through the curtain of rain. He left behind a trail of afterimages as his voice drifted erratically. "But you won’t last three minutes just by taking a beating."

As if to prove his point, his figure accelerated once more, transforming into a cyan wind shadow that was almost impossible to track with the naked eye. He weaved and darted back and forth within a ten-meter radius around Han Ning, occasionally seizing the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Fierce Wind Blades slashed at Han Ning from all directions like the scythes of a Death God.

"He probably needs a certain amount of time to recover after releasing a Wind Blade," Han Ning deduced, recalling how Chen Feng had decisively retreated after his initial strike failed to finish the job. Pushing his Spirit to its absolute limit, he commanded the vines to dance wildly around him—guarding, blocking, and striking out.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

The vines constantly clashed with the Wind Blades.

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

Though the vines were incredibly tough and the Wind Blades couldn’t cleanly sever them, each collision left deep cuts on their surface from the high-speed rotating currents. Wood chips flew into the air, and his Spiritual Power was rapidly draining. Meanwhile, whenever a Wind Blade was smashed apart by the vines, it would swiftly reform in Chen Feng’s hands.

[Vine Technique (High Level) Skill Level +3, Current 8/500]

Han Ning wore a solemn expression, dealing with Chen Feng’s onslaught with absolute seriousness.

"What’s wrong? Is this all you’ve got?" Chen Feng easily evaded the encircling vines time and time again, his voice laced with blatant mockery. "Too slow, way too slow! I’ll finish you off in thirty seconds!"

He waved both hands in rapid succession. Several twenty-centimeter-long Wind Blades shot forward in a triangular formation, completely sealing off Han Ning’s room to dodge left or right.

"Sigh, even with the Vine Technique breaking through to the High Level, it still can’t keep up with this guy’s movement speed. Sure enough, not every Awakened is as useless as Chen Yan," Han Ning thought.

In the split second before the Wind Blades could strike him, a sharp glint flashed in Han Ning’s eyes.

"Rapid Growth!"

Instead of trying to chase down that elusive silhouette with his vines, he locked his target directly onto the area where Chen Feng’s real body was. In an instant, the Spiritual Power within him accelerated the vines under his control.

[Spiritual Power: 12/25 → 7/25]

[Rapid Growth (Middle Level) Skill Level +1, Current 79/200]

An eerie green light suddenly surfaced on the vines Han Ning manipulated. It slowly wafted and burned like a vapor, emitting a low hum. Their flying speed skyrocketed. Some shot straight across the surface of the water in pursuit, some rained down from the sky in deadly arcs, and others thrust up from below right at Chen Feng. They danced wildly like dragons, their trajectories nearly impossible to track.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

One vine after another pierced through the airflow, closing in on Chen Feng from all directions at an astonishing speed. Like an open palm, they caged him right in the center. Immediately after, under the precise control of Han Ning’s will, the dense cluster of sharp Wooden Thorns gleaming with a cold metallic light on the surface of the vines snapped off their main bodies like springs compressed to their absolute limit.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

In a flash, hundreds of sharp Wooden Thorns transformed into a dense, dark green storm of death. Like a legendary torrential downpour of needles, they blasted toward Chen Feng’s location from every angle at a terrifying speed.

"What an astonishing attack method... This kind of destructive power, this speed... It’s probably not far off from those Leaders," Lu Yunping murmured not far away. He stared blankly at the demonically dancing vines and the sky full of shooting thorns.

This sudden turn of events entirely exceeded Chen Feng’s expectations. The mockery on his face froze, replaced by extreme shock and horror.

"What?!" His proud speed seemed utterly pale and powerless before this absolute domain of death, formed by high-speed Wooden Thorns covering a radius of several meters. Not to mention, right behind the Wooden Thorns were over a dozen rapidly gathering vines.

"I can’t dodge this," he thought. Looking at the seamless barrage of Wooden Thorns, a look of panic finally surfaced on his face. He only had enough time to command the gales to form a high-speed spinning, pale green Wind Shield in front of him.

THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!

A series of scalp-numbing, rapid-fire impacts rang out. In the blink of an eye, the resilient Wind Shield endured over a hundred terrifying piercing strikes. The pale green Wind Shield fluctuated violently, letting out an overwhelmed groan. Although most of the Wooden Thorns were shredded or deflected by the high-speed spinning airflow, no fewer than twenty sharp Wooden Thorns relied on their Penetration Power to forcefully break through the Wind Shield’s Defense.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

The continuous sound of Wooden Thorns piercing flesh echoed.

"Argh!" Chen Feng grunted in pain, his body reeling as if he had taken a heavy blow.

His utility jacket was torn open with over a dozen holes. Blood flowed from the wounds, staining his shredded clothes red. The most dangerous Wooden Thorn had flown mere millimeters past his temple, taking a lock of hair with it and leaving a deep bloody gash across his cheek.

BANG! SWOOSH!

Like an open hand, fifteen vines hovered with their tips aimed at various parts of Chen Feng’s body. They lingered like a shadow of death looming over his head, primed but not firing. Chen Feng crashed heavily into the murky puddles beneath him, kicking up a large splash of water. He struggled to get up, but the searing pain wracking his body halted his movements, leaving him half-kneeling in the water, gasping heavily for breath.

He looked at Han Ning in utter disbelief and said with great reluctance, "I yield!"

"Is that it?" Han Ning showed a disappointed expression and casually waved his hand.

The Wooden Thorns crumbled into Energy Particles and scattered, leaving only a faint scent of blood lingering in the air. Having expended Energy in their burst and detached their thorns, the fifteen vines appeared somewhat wilted, their surface luster significantly dimmed. They slowly retracted to Han Ning’s side, swaying gently like loyal guards. Lying in wait off to the side, snow cake finally saw an opportunity to act. It dashed out, halting right between Han Ning and Chen Feng, and bared its teeth at the latter, ready to attack at a moment’s notice.

Keeping his vines active, Han Ning slowly walked over, stopping just a few steps away from Chen Feng. He looked down at him, his voice perfectly calm.

"It seems I didn’t need three minutes. Twenty seconds was enough to take you down."

Clutching his bleeding wounds, Chen Feng forced a bitter smile. "Cough... cough, cough... Impressive. I misjudged you. Your strength... far exceeds my imagination."

He took a deep breath, suppressing the roiling blood in his chest, and conceded cleanly. "You win. You’ve passed the test. I, Chen Feng, am a man of my word!"