Chapter 192: Xue Shaonu vs The Masked Woman

The Masked Woman gathered her power and swiped at Xue Shaonu who blocked with her forearm while following through with a palm strike. The Masked Woman blocked and held her hand. They spun around, Xue Shaonu freeing herself and thrusting her palm. The Masked Woman took two quick steps back to beat her range.

The Masked Woman grabbed Shaonu’s outstreced hand and pulled her down to off balance her. Shaonu leaned forward and her leg whipped up behind her like a scorpion’s sting, slamming the heel into the Masked Woman’s head.

The Masked Woman stumbled back.

Xue Shaonu dashed forward and thrust her palm to the wman, who blocked the strike. The first pulse sent the Masked Woman stumbling back. The second opened her guard while the third knocked her to the ground.

Xue Shaonun dove in and thrust her palm downward to the felled Masked Woman. She rolled out of the way and dove back, allowing Shaonu to thrust into the empty ground. This sent out 5 pulses into the ground, making the ground concave inwards.

She looked up in time to see the Masked Woman finish forming her Needle Sphere. She pointed the sphere at the younger girl. “Needle Stream!” Needles were sent shooting at Shaonu.

“Heavenly Leap!” Shaonu dodged by jumping high into the air.

The Masked Woman rushed beneath Shaonu. She used her ki to create a hand blade ande leapt up. She focused her ki and extended the ki blade way past the edges of her fingers, forming a dagger.

Shaonu’s upward movement stopped and she began to fall down. She saw The Masked Woman coming for her with her sharp ki technique. Shaonu twisted her body, dodging and thrust her palm into the assassin’s side.

Five pulses sent the Masked Woman hurtling to the ground at an angle. She crashed into the ground, throwing up a cloud of debris while Shaonu landed gently on the ground. From the cloud of debris, The Masked Woman ran out both hands behind her back. She brought one hand out from behind her back and thrust it out, sending a rain of ki needles at her.

“Heavenly Leap!” Shaonu leapt up, dodging the ki needles as they followed her up. She landed in front of the boulder and dashed for the Masked Woman. The Masked Woman brought her other hand in front, revealing a second ki needle sphere!

Shaonu slid to a stop and did a back flip as the Masked Woman let more ki needles fly. She flipped over the boulder, the needles stabbed at her hand while she was doing a hand stand mid-flip, causing her to collapse and hit her head as she fell behind the boulder.

The Masked Woman ran forward, already gathering the ki to make another sphere above her palm.

“Pulsing Palm!”

The Masked Woman could hear Shaonu shout

The boulder trembled, then rolled forward, slowly it at first but then it would jerk forward suddenly before speeding up. It was soon rolling at regular speed. The Masked Woman dodged it, her Ki Needle Sphere fully formed before she shot another volley of needles behind the rolling boulder where Shaonu was suppose to be. Her needles found emptiness instead.

Shaonu landed behind her and thrust her palm for the Masked Woman’s back. The Masked Woman twisted around, dodging the palm thrust. She counter with an elbow to Shaonu’s nose, breaking it and causing blood to stain her lip.

Shaonu stumbled back, dodging more of her attacks. She was able to get some space between her and the assassin.

The Masked Woman gathered her ki and created a serrated edge along the side of her hand, just as Shaonu gathered ki on her palm for another Pulsing Palm. Shaonu knew that she needed to get her attack before the Masked Woman slashed her with her technique.

Shaonu’s palm connected with the woman’s masked face. She was sent away with three pulses, sending the woman tumbling painfully on the ground. Shaonu allowed herself a smile, a thrusting motion of a move like Pulsing Palm was much faster than the swinging motion that the assassin had tried to perform, which meant she was able to make her move connect before the assassins.

A tiny strea of blood stream of blood trickled from the corner of her smile. Her fingers touched it and she looked at her stained finger. Her eyes widened as she looked at her front and saw blood blossom from the diagonal slash on her front. She realised though a thrust was faster than a swipe, it did not change the fact that the assassin was faster than her.

She fell to her knees as her breath became shallower.

A cruel laugh could be heard as the Masked Woman got up. “Poor little girl,” she said, “the fact that you survived my ki slash long enough to hit me with that palm of yours is impressive. A few more pulses and you could have broken my neck.”

Xue Shaonu grimaced as she got back to her feet.

“Oh well,” The Masked Woman said as her blade hand grew a ki blade. “I guess I should finish you off.”

Xue Shaonu turned around and ran for the boulder once again. The Masked Assassin gave chase.

Xue Shaonu leapt behind the boulder and stumbled to her knees, coughing blood. She turned around and thrust her palm to the boulder. With five ki pulses, the boulder was off.

“Not this time!” The Masked Woman began shouting and the blade on her hand increased from the size of a blade to one of a sword, blood squirted out of the eye holes of her mask. She swiped down on the boulder and cleanly cut it in half.

Xue Shaonu fet despair coming over her as the Maksed Woman dashed for her. She dodged the first strike but was swept off her feet. The Masked Woman then kicked Shaonu in the ribs so hard that she suspected that she may have broken a rib. She held her side, trying to gget away but was kicked in the head before the Maksed Woman yanked her hand away and kneed her side. This time Shaonu was sure that 3 ribs had been broken.

She cried out in pain before getting a kicked to the face. Shaonu got to her feet and lunged at the Masked Woman with a palm but it was caught and she was thrown onto the ground before being kicked at the chest. Shaonu tumbled along the ground, with the worl getting darker with each tumble.

She stumbled onto her feet and thrust at the Masked Woman when she was in range but the Masked woman slashed at her again, making the diagonall wound an X. Shaonu coughed more blood, her vision darkening to almost blindless as her body ffell forward limply.

Before her body could hit the ground, the Masked Woman reached out and grabbed her by the hair, strainined every follicle on her sculp. She hefted Shaonu’s bruised and bloody face up as a ki blade formed in her hand.

“I must admit, I enjoyed beating you a little too much.” The Masked Woman said. “But every second I waste on you, thet punk gets further away. Not to worry, I’ll finish you off now,” She used Shaonu’s hair to angle her head back and expose her neck, “and I’ll take your head as a suvinoir of what happens when someone stands in my way!”

The Masked Woman brought her hand down for Shaonu’s neck but a chilling wind grew between them, swilring as it increased in size and threw the Masked Woman one way and the Shaonu’s body the other.

Someone leapt onto the ground from the sky and grabbed Shaonu’s body before it could hit the ground. The Masked Woman flipped in the air, landing on her feet while looking at the newcomer.

“Well well well,” The Masked Woman said as she sstraightened up, “So, you’ve come back, Wang Zen.”

Zen’s eyes went from Shaonu’s body cradled in his arms bridal style, to the Masked Woman. His eyes lacked any softenes and held only anger, fuled with a killing intent.

“Who else ae you going to throw in my way?” The Masked Woman said as she began walking closer. “Who else are you willing you sacrifice to me to survive another minute?” her voice screeched.

“No one.” He said, the intensity in his eyes not wavering and his killing intent spiking up with his next statement. “I will no longer run from you, cause you’re starting to piss me off!”