Chapter 38: Dancing Wildly Like a Dragon

A subtle yet nerve-wracking “hiss” issued from the airflow, resembling the sound of a high-speed rotating saw blade.

Alarm bells rang wildly in Han Ning’s mind. There was no time to retract the vines; he could only quickly sidestep and, with a sharp turn of thought, activate the Tree Skin Technique.

A brown-green wooden texture swiftly spread over the outside of his right arm.

Ssshh!

A pale cyan wind blade slashed fiercely against the arm covered in bark.

The tough wooden skin was instantly sliced deeply upon contact with the wind blade, wood chips scattering like rain.

The massive impact sent Han Ning staggering backward several steps, his right arm burning with pain. The Tree Skin Technique was nearly shattered by that single strike.

[Tree Skin Technique (Intermediate) Proficiency +2, Current 14/200]

“Quick reflexes,” Chen Feng remarked, landing a strike but not following up. Instead, he created distance once more, his figure flickering continuously through the rain, leaving behind fleeting afterimages, his voice elusive and unpredictable.

“But just taking hits won’t last you three minutes.”

As if to prove his words, Chen Feng accelerated again, becoming a nearly invisible streak of teal wind, darting back and forth within a ten-meter radius around Han Ning, weaving and dodging.

Occasionally seizing the chance to strike.

Ssshh! Ssshh! Ssshh!

Sharp wind blades sliced from all directions toward Han Ning like the scythe of death.

“He must need some time to recover after releasing those wind blades...” Han Ning recalled Chen Feng’s decisive retreat after a failed strike and reasoned inwardly.

He focused his spirit to the utmost, commanding the vines to wildly dance, guard, and counterattack around him.

Pat, pat, pat!

The vines clashed relentlessly with the wind blades.

Ssshhh!

The vines were incredibly resilient; the wind blades could not sever them completely. Yet each collision carved deep scars into their surfaces, wood chips flying, and spiritual energy rapidly depleting.

The wind blades dispersed by the vines would quickly recondense in Chen Feng’s hands.

[Vine Technique (Advanced) Proficiency +3, Current 8/500]

Han Ning’s expression remained grave as he earnestly countered Chen Feng’s offensive.

“What? Is that all you’ve got?” Chen Feng taunted, effortlessly evading the vine’s encirclement time and again, his voice dripping with mockery.

“Too slow, too slow. I’ll finish you within thirty seconds!”

He swung both hands, releasing several twenty-centimeter-long wind blades in a “品” (three-pronged) formation, sealing off Han Ning’s lateral escape routes.

“Even if the Vine Technique reaches advanced level, it still can’t catch up to this guy’s speed.”

“Not every awakened one is a useless idiot like Chen Yan, after all.”

Just as the wind blades neared their target, a brilliant flash sparked in Han Ning’s eyes.

“Rapid growth!”

He ceased trying to chase the elusive figure with vines and instead locked his target on Chen Feng’s actual position.

In an instant, spiritual energy within him surged, accelerating the vines under his control.

[Spiritual Energy: 12/25 → 7/25]

[Rapid Growth (Intermediate) Proficiency +1, Current 79/200]

The vines Han Ning manipulated suddenly shimmered with an eerie green light, slowly steaming and burning like a gas, emitting a low, resonant hum.

Their speed skyrocketed; some flew close to the water’s surface in a straight line pursuit, others arced down from the sky, while some thrust upward from below, striking at Chen Feng’s lower body in a wild, dragon-like dance, their trajectories nearly impossible to track.

Swish, swish, swish!

One vine after another pierced through the air, closing in on Chen Feng from all directions with astonishing speed.

Like an outstretched palm, they enveloped him at the center.

Then, countless sharp wooden thorns, densely packed and gleaming with a metallic chill on the vine surfaces, were released with precision by Han Ning’s willpower, like highly compressed springs snapping off from the vine bodies.

Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!

In an instant, hundreds of sharp wooden thorns formed a dense, dark green storm of death, reminiscent of the legendary “Rain of Pear Blossoms” needles from ancient tales, exploding toward Chen Feng’s area from all angles with terrifying speed.

“An astonishing offensive technique... this level of destructive power and velocity... probably not far off from those leaders,” Lu Yunping said blankly from a short distance away, watching the vines dance like fiends and the thorns swarm the sky.

This sudden turn of events utterly caught Chen Feng off guard.

The mocking expression on his face froze, replaced by sheer shock and horror.

“What?!”

His pride in speed seemed pale and powerless before this absolute death zone, spanning several meters, composed of high-speed wooden thorns.

Moreover, behind the thorns, more than a dozen vines were rapidly converging.

“No way to dodge...” he muttered, eyes wide with panic as he faced the impenetrable thorns.

He only had time to summon a raging gale, conjuring a rapidly spinning pale cyan wind shield before him.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

A dense, scalp-tingling barrage of impacts struck.

The resilient wind shield withstood over a hundred terrifying penetrations in the blink of an eye.

The pale cyan shield trembled violently, emitting groans of strain.

Although most of the wooden thorns were shredded or deflected by the high-speed airflow, no fewer than twenty sharp thorns pierced through the shield’s defense by sheer penetration power.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! Pfft~

Continuous sounds of thorns piercing flesh rang out.

“Ugh!” Chen Feng groaned in pain, his body struck heavily.

His work jacket was torn with more than a dozen holes; blood poured from the wounds, staining the ragged fabric crimson.

The most dangerous thorn skimmed his temple, pulling a strand of hair and leaving a deep blood-red scar across his cheek.

Bang!

Swish~

Fifteen vines spread like open fingers, their tips aimed at various parts of Chen Feng’s body, like a shadow of death looming silently above him.

Chen Feng crashed heavily into the murky pooled water below, splashing water everywhere.

He struggled to rise, but the intense pain restrained his movements; he could only kneel halfway in the water, gasping heavily.

His gaze toward Han Ning was filled with disbelief; reluctantly, he said, “I surrender!”

“That all you’ve got?” Han Ning showed a hint of disappointment and waved his hand carelessly.

The wooden thorns dissolved into particles of energy, leaving only a faint metallic scent of blood lingering in the air.

The fifteen vines, drained by the energy release and loss of thorns, drooped slightly, their surface sheen dimmed as they slowly retracted beside Han Ning, swaying gently like loyal guardians.

Snowcake, lying nearby, finally seized the moment and dashed swiftly between Han Ning and Chen Feng, baring its teeth and ready to attack at any instant.

Han Ning maintained control of the vines and calmly stepped a few paces in front of Chen Feng, looking down at him from above with steady voice:

“Looks like it didn’t take three minutes after all. Twenty seconds was enough to finish you.”

Chen Feng clutched his bleeding wounds, forcing a bitter smile:

“Cough... cough cough... impressive. I misjudged you. Your strength... exceeds my expectations.”

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging blood, and conceded decisively:

“You win. Test passed. Chen Feng keeps his word!”