Chapter Twenty-One: Reckless

Because of a series of reasons, the battle had fallen into a stalemate from the very beginning. Liu Pan glanced at Liu Kuang, then at Jackal, and finally cast a fleeting look at Yemíng. Though their side was clearly at a disadvantage, Liu Pan felt no anxiety at all; he was still waiting. In his book, both Jackal and Yemíng were destined for great achievements, while Liu Kuang was fated to become the God of Madness himself. Thus, Liu Pan was curious to see, under such pressure and provocation, whether these three might break through their limits and offer him an unexpected surprise.

Liu Kuang was locked in a standoff with his two opponents. He could feel the growing intensity of weakness within his body. After all, he was facing two ninth-stage martial artists; if he were uninjured, he could have dispatched them quickly. But now—

It was precisely because his opponents were two ninth-stage martial artists—enemies he could have easily defeated on any other day—that what Liu Kuang felt most was a deep unwillingness. He could not accept being beaten by foes he would normally crush, so even as he endured attacks that were nearly unbearable, he gritted his teeth and stubbornly held on.

Jackal, for his part, was uncharacteristically silent. With his speed, he could have swiftly dealt with any opponent of equal strength, so long as he kept his weaknesses hidden. But now—

With each successive attack, Jackal became ever more keenly aware of his own flaws. He had focused so much on speed that he had neglected many other aspects of himself.

Jackal noticed that whenever he darted aside, his mind couldn’t keep up with his body’s instincts. Shifting three feet to the right had become a conditioned reflex—only after he had moved did he realize where he’d gone. In the heat of battle, such automatic movements could prove fatal. If this weren’t inside the Baiyang Sect, and if the rules didn’t forbid killing fellow disciples, he might already have been struck down the moment he moved, or even been killed outright.

As he gradually grasped how terrifying his weakness truly was, Jackal’s body began to tremble faintly. He was afraid. He had always believed in the supremacy of speed, but now he found he couldn’t fully control it. This realization filled him with anxiety, even shaking his faith in his own martial path.

All the martial arts in the world—can speed truly be unbreakable? Speed was fast enough, but what use was it if he could not master it? Knowing that death lay to his right, yet his body sti