“Perhaps…” Cao Qin said, stepping closer with nimble strides, “But before I speak… how about you take a few punches from me?”

Hearing this, Feng Bujue truly stopped dodging and instead unleashed the Nan Dou Flying Dragon Fist to meet the challenge.

In that instant, the two of them cried out softly in unison, each launching their fist techniques; surging battle qi erupted there and then.

This round of attacks was the first time Feng Bujue and Cao Qin had engaged in close-quarters combat.

They saw their fists collide, unleashing a myriad of afterimages.

Their four hands exploded in the air with rapid-fire bursts like a machine gun, a fighting speed that no human should possess.

"Actually, it's not bad... Isn't this similar to the Nan Dou Flying Dragon Fist..." During the exchange of blows, Feng Bujue had already assessed the power of the opponent's fist technique in his mind.

Indeed, for the first few seconds, that was the case...

However, after a few breaths, Feng Bujue's skill power was exhausted, but Cao Qin's fists still showed no sign of weakening.

At this point, Brother Jue realized what made that ultimate art so ultimate…

"Alright... you win!" This was the second time Brother Jue had used these three words to comment on Eunuch Cao, which was enough to show that the old eunuch's cultivation was truly admirable.

As the words fell, he moved.

Seeing the approaching fist shadows bearing down heavily, Feng Bujue, while the momentum of the Nan Dou Flying Dragon Fist had yet to dissipate, leaped away, taking a step and flashing several zhang away.

"This Horizontal Vertical Fist..." Seeing the other party retreat, Cao Qin had no intention of pursuing, but began his explanation in his usual calm tone, "...is the foundation martial art of the Western Regions Chan School. It is the first martial art that the Chan School disciples there learn after joining the sect."

"Oh?" Feng Bujue raised an eyebrow. "Then this sect of theirs must be quite strong. There must be experts as numerous as… droppings, right?"

"Uh..." Even Cao Qin, with his extraordinary composure, couldn't help but retort, "Shouldn't you say 'experts as numerous as clouds'..."

"Are there as many clouds in the sky as there are droppings on the ground?" Feng Bujue retorted almost without thinking.

Cao Qin's face froze, his mouth twitched slightly, and then he remained silent for two seconds, deciding not to discuss this issue with Headmaster Feng any further: "In short... the Horizontal Vertical Fist is a skill that is very easy to learn, but... that doesn't mean that everyone can dominate the martial world with it."

"I know..." Feng Bujue had actually understood what the other party meant from the beginning, he was just deliberately complaining, "Presumably... this martial art is easy to learn but difficult to master. The further you go, the harder it becomes to practice, so that most people never reach Eunuch Cao's level... before they have already passed away."

"Heh... Headmaster Feng is indeed quick-witted." Cao Qin smiled, "That's right, the Horizontal Vertical Fist's mental cultivation method is very shallow, even those with dull aptitudes and no martial arts foundation... can learn it. But cultivating this martial art has no shortcuts. Regardless of the cultivator's aptitude... to improve, one can only rely on diligence. But the progress of this martial art is very slow, and it is not like other peerless divine arts that divide realms by 'layers'... the Horizontal Vertical Fist only has one realm from beginning to end. The longer you practice, the faster and fiercer the fist becomes, without end."

"But a person's lifespan is limited, and... people's hearts are impetuous..." Feng Bujue continued, "Compared to painstakingly practicing for thirty or forty years to unleash the power of a peerless martial art, they would rather spend their time on skills that can make them second-rate experts in five to ten years." He shrugged and smiled, "Heh... no wonder this is a Chan School martial art..."

"Alas..." Cao Qin sighed and continued, "Headmaster Feng is absolutely right... Nowadays, even in the Chan School, there are not many people who can endure to practice this." He shook his head, "Many good skills... have declined and been lost in this way."

With that, Cao Qin lightly tapped his feet, and his figure suddenly disappeared.

"He can actually disappear from my sight?" In a flash of lightning, Feng Bujue wondered in his heart, "What's going on?"

Before he could decide, a palm wind arrived.

Feng Bujue sensed the fluctuation of the air current, and suddenly turned his head, seeing Cao Qin already approaching with a palm strike.

"Want to ambush me?" Brother Jue glared at Cao Qin and shouted this question. His expression seemed to say... I'm the only one who ambushes others, there's no way anyone else can ambush me.

Chi——

Facing the rapidly approaching enemy, Feng Bujue drew his cleaver with even faster hand speed, and swung it to meet the attack.

Clang!

In the next second, a metallic sound rang out between the two.

After the figures passed each other, a dark object flew into the sky and landed in the distance in a parabolic arc.

"You must think that I can't compete with your weapon barehanded..." Cao Qin, who had struck behind Brother Jue, said confidently with his back to Feng Bujue and his eyes closed, "But my Mountain-Moving Iron Hand is a barehanded skill that can break all weapons in the world. When a master of the Iron Hand skill unleashes their power, their hands are as hard as black iron and as heavy as Mount Tai... Don't even mention a cleaver, even if you were holding a hundred-jin iron hammer, it would still be shaken out of your hand and sent flying."

"Heh heh..." On the other side, Feng Bujue also had his back to the opponent and smiled sinisterly, "Are you talking about..." He slowly raised the cleaver still in his right hand, "...this cleaver?"

"What!" Cao Qin was shocked, the first time he had been shocked since the fight began.

After being stunned for two seconds, he looked down... and realized that his right hand was gone.

Only then did he belatedly realize... that the black shadow that had just flown out was not the opponent's weapon, but his own hand...

"How is that possible!" Cao Qin quickly used his left hand to press two acupoints on his right shoulder, stopping the bleeding, and turned around in shock.

This unexpected result undoubtedly made his "confident closed-eyes" gesture just now seem very shameful...

"Eunuch, don't tell me you thought... that the weapon I, Feng Bujue, use... is just an ordinary cleaver?" Feng Bujue raised the Must-Break Defense Blade and smiled, "Heh... I might as well tell you. The harder something is, the more fragile it is in front of my blade."

Cao Qin's body trembled slightly, and then the calm expression returned to his face: "Well... I was careless."

As he spoke, he secretly urged his true energy and began to use another ultimate art.

"But... this is also a good opportunity." Cao Qin raised his bloody right wrist, "It's a perfect opportunity for you to see a miraculous skill of 'Restoring the Mutilated and Filling the Deficient'..." As he spoke, many living flesh buds grew out of his wrist, constantly secreting a red gelatinous substance. These things grew and took shape at an extremely fast speed, evolving into bone marrow, blood vessels, muscles... and finally skin...

Before long, Cao Qin's hand had "grown" back. The newly born right hand had skin as white and tender as an infant's, which was obviously different from the rest of his arm.

"Eunuch..." Seeing this scene, Feng Bujue's first reaction was not to ask the name of this martial art, but to ask, "Since you have shown such a martial art, then I have to ask... are you really still an eunuch?"

Hearing this, Cao Qin smiled: "Headmaster Feng's focus is indeed quite peculiar..." His expression changed slightly, "But... it doesn't hurt to tell you..." He paused, "I... was already purified in my youth, and I only mastered this 'Luo Mo Heart Sutra' after the age of sixty. Restoring the mutilated and filling the deficient also has a time limit. After many years, the body has already adapted to the change, and even divine skills are powerless."

"Alright... Eunuch, you must grieve in silence..." Feng Bujue actually looked at the other party with sympathy.

"There's nothing to grieve about, it's all fate." Cao Qin replied with a nonchalant expression, "If I really had that intention, I could find a caihu (in the Ming Dynasty, palace people without children would choose eunuchs as companions, called dueshi, also called caihu), there have been quite a few women who have taken the initiative to find me over the years... but in my opinion, the feelings between men and women are too superficial. Not to mention blood relations, even sworn brotherhood is longer and stronger than that."

"Hmm... 'Bro-mance' huh... so you're into that..." Feng Bujue glanced at Cao Qin and continued.

"Alright, that's enough digressing." Cao Qin didn't understand what Brother Jue was saying, and just continued, "Let's talk about martial arts..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he moved again.

The Heavenly Severance Steps were activated, and his figure flickered in and out of sight...

The lightness skill was extremely fast and wonderfully subtle.

In the blink of an eye, Cao Qin had once again killed his way to Brother Jue's side.

"The Mountain-Moving Iron Hand just now was created by a tomb robber from the previous dynasty. This person had three ultimate arts in his life, namely the 'Mountain-Moving Iron Hand', the 'Bone-Shrinking Skill', and the 'Turtle Breathing Technique'. With these three skills, he could enter tombs and steal treasures as easily as taking something out of a pocket." As Cao Qin spoke, he was already circulating his true energy again. Suddenly, seven or eight purple light beads appeared around him, circling and spinning.

"And the Luo Mo Heart Sutra is said to have been created by Luo Mo after facing the wall for nineteen years on Jiuhua Mountain after crossing the river. A master of this skill has unparalleled inner breath and can recreate creation." Eunuch Cao struck and spoke with the force of thunder and lightning, without any mercy, while the tone of his speech was calm and composed, with ease.

As for Feng Bujue's side, he seemed a bit embarrassed, he could only dodge and parry. However... he remembered every word the other party said, and was still thinking and analyzing in real time.

"As for the Purple Radiance Divine Art that I am currently using... it was created by me fifteen years ago." Cao Qin controlled the light beads and formed a dense encirclement with his fist techniques, constantly compressing Feng Bujue's space for movement, gradually pushing the latter into a desperate situation, "The 'Purple Radiance Out of Body' realm that I have cultivated to, as you can see... can materialize true qi and condense it in mid-air, allowing me to use it at will to assist me in attacking or defending."

Hearing this, Feng Bujue quickly took out a water gun from his knapsack, namely the Stellar Cooling Cannon (Not!), and immediately shot it at Eunuch Cao, who was within reach...

After seeing the slingshot and experiencing the cleaver, Cao Qin didn't dare to be careless at all with the strange gadgets that Feng Bujue took out...

As soon as the toy water gun appeared, Eunuch Cao quickly controlled the purple light beads to strengthen the suppression, while he waved his sleeves and used the Xuan Wu Strength (Cao Qin could use this move while moving, but releasing it would affect his speed), just in case.

Biu——Biu——Biu——

As a result... the gun only sprayed out water, which made Cao Qin feel quite puzzled.

"What?" He shook his sleeves and asked as he chased, "Does Headmaster Feng want to use poisonous water or something?"

"What if I do?" Feng Bujue did not answer his question, but used a question to answer the question, in order to test for more information.

"If that's the case, then I don't need to block it anymore." Cao Qin said, and then stopped defending, "Many years ago, the late emperor rewarded me with a thousand-year snow clam, with which I cultivated the strongest martial art in the Poison Canon, the Poison Cocoon Body. Now I... am not only immune to all poisons, but can also absorb poison and return it to its source; if the hidden weapon in your hand sprays poisonous water, then just spray it on me."

"I see..." Feng Bujue pretended to read, "Phew... luckily I'm not using poison..."

"Oh?" Cao Qin doubted, "Then what is it?"

"Just something that can make you 'a little slower'." Feng Bujue replied.

"Hmm..." Cao Qin immediately groaned, because at this moment, he already felt himself slowing down, "Heh... Headmaster Feng, your methods... really open my eyes every time."

"You flatter me." Brother Jue used the item effect to temporarily distance himself from the opponent, and once again resolved the crisis of defeat, "Compared to Eunuch Cao's abilities, what are my petty tricks worth?" He used his left hand to attack with the water gun, and his right hand's cleaver to defend against the purple light balls, "Speaking of which... if I'm not mistaken, Eunuch Cao, you have already shown me the Fate Star Mystic Art, Breathless Art, Woman's Heart, Horizontal Vertical Fist, Four Symbols Divine Art, Heavenly Severance Steps, Mountain-Moving Iron Hand, Luo Mo Heart Sutra, Purple Radiance Divine Art, and the Poison Cocoon Body, these ten peerless martial arts, right?"

"Good memory." Cao Qin gave a positive response.

"Then there are two more..." Feng Bujue continued.

"The remaining two..." Cao Qin's expression changed slightly, "Are both 'untransmitted skills'."

"Oh?" Feng Bujue asked with interest, "Those are..."

Bang——

A gunshot interrupted Brother Jue's words.

Feng Bujue, who was focused on the battle and thinking, didn't notice that three enemies had arrived at his side and rear...

So, he was shot.

It was a sniper rifle bullet, and a special type of ammunition. Even though Feng Bujue's defense was very high, and there was the effect of the 1320 Mean Armor to help, this shot... still injured him very, very badly.

The unfortunate saving grace was that because Tie Haitang's sniping specialization was not fully trained, this shot did not hit his head... If it had been a headshot, then there would be nothing to say, it would have been a certain death.

Of course, "death" was also acceptable; because early on after the script started, before entering Burial Heart Valley, Hua Jian had already released the effect of the Staff of Asclepius "Immortal Power" on Feng Bujue, which meant that... Brother Jue actually had another life.

"Shot in the back... lung damage... corrosive special bullet... bullet not penetrating the body... internal bleeding... continuous destruction of internal organs... health value 15%... 13%... 10%..." In that less than half a second, a series of information flashed through Feng Bujue's mind, "Unable to breathe... rapid blood loss... death in four seconds... health value supplement... drink in two seconds... continuous blood loss... no means of healing wounds... Cao Qin's movements cannot be determined... subsequent attacks by the gunman..."

Phenomena, reasoning, conclusions, strategies... the amount of information processed in Feng Bujue's mind in a short period of time even surpassed the Derivative's tactical control analysis program.

"Option one, give up struggling, use the enemy team members' and Cao Qin's surprise after the resurrection to seize the initiative..." Soon, he came up with two plans, "Option two... rewrite!"