The longsword smoothly struck Lin Tian’s wrist, but Xiao Manxue didn’t feel the solid impact she expected—the blade instantly passed through the wrist, yet there was no sign of Lin Tian in sight.
"This is just a shadow!" Xiao Manxue internally exclaimed in shock.
"Hehe, Miss, don’t get distracted." Lin Tian suddenly appeared beside her, chuckling slyly.
Before Xiao Manxue could react, Lin Tian’s hands were already on her arm and shoulder, he hoisted her up forcefully and executed an over-the-shoulder throw.
Although Xiao Manxue tried desperately to adjust her body in midair, she couldn’t withstand Lin Tian’s immense strength and slammed heavily against the trunk of a large tree, making a "boom" sound.
The tree trunk couldn’t withstand the force of the impact and snapped in half, while Xiao Manxue rolled to the ground.
"Cough cough..." Xiao Manxue quickly stood up, coughing a few times. The impact had made her breathing rough, and her inner qi and blood churned.
"Lin Tian, that was a really shameless move." Xiao Manxue glared at Lin Tian and said angrily.
"Miss, what you’re saying isn’t right. If my attack counts as shameless, then what about you targeting the vital points of my lower body with every move? Isn’t that hooliganism?" Lin Tian retorted with a dissatisfied curl of his lips.
That little girl was definitely doing it on purpose. I was using the very authentic Black Tiger Heart-Pulling move; it’s just that your heart happened to be below your chest, Lin Tian thought innocently.
"I...who asked you to always bully me." Xiao Manxue’s face turned red, and she sounded somewhat aggrieved.
What do you mean by bullying you? Don’t put it in such an ambiguous way. Anyone who doesn’t know might think I’ve done something to you, Lin Tian felt even more innocent.
He straightened his expression and said seriously, "Miss, right now, it’s just you and me fighting. If it were an enemy, it would be a battle of life and death, either you die or he does. The enemy won’t show gentlemanly grace or pretend to be noble because you’re a woman. They might attack your eyes, your beautiful face, your chest, er, your heart. Can’t you accept that?"
Xiao Manxue was stunned, her gaze shifting, contemplating something.
"If that’s the case, there’s only one outcome for you, and that is death!" Lin Tian said solemnly, his face expressionless.
The word ’death’ weighed on her like a ton of bricks, and from Lin Tian’s eyes, Xiao Manxue seemed to sense the approach of death’s breath.
Lin Tian walked up to Xiao Manxue and stopped just a step away from her, looking at her, exerting an immense pressure. Xiao Manxue’s heart raced, and she thought about retreating, but a voice inside her told her not to retreat, that there was nothing to fear.
"Miss, your heart is bound, shackled by all kinds of messy things, which prevent you from fighting with a pure heart. Have you ever seen Ning Luoxi fight? That’s a heart full of courage and progress, and only with such a mindset can one constantly break through the barriers on the path of Ancient Martial Arts. If you’re , let alone reaching your master’s level of the Innate Realm, it would be difficult to even break through to the Postnatal Perfection Realm!" Lin Tian was unsparing with his words, each one ringing out loud and clear, shaking Xiao Manxue to the core.
"Courage and progress?" Xiao Manxue whispered to herself, then shut her eyes.
Lin Tian could feel an extraordinary energy flowing from her, invisible and intangible, yet unmistakably real.
Standing there, half an hour passed, and Xiao Manxue suddenly opened her eyes, which in that moment appeared to light up the entire forest.
Lin Tian exclaimed with surprise, "You’ve had a breakthrough?"
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