Doctor Mo looked at his left hand with slight surprise before turning his gaze to Han Li, speaking disdainfully:
"Interesting. It seems you really haven't been idle this past year. To have developed such a peculiar technique... but do you truly believe these amateurish tricks can make you my opponent?"
"It seems I haven't had a chance to move my body in quite some time. It wouldn't be bad to personally get some exercise. I'll let you make the first move!"
Han Li ignored the verbal taunts. He had already decided to strike first, seizing the initiative.
He held the short sword in his left hand horizontally before him, drawing his opponent's gaze, while a white paper packet silently slipped from his right sleeve into his palm. With a flick of his wrist, a large cloud of white powder burst from the packet, instantly transforming into thick white smoke that enveloped Han Li's entire body. His form became blurred, almost indistinct. The smoke rapidly spread to fill the entire room, reducing it to a white haze where one could barely see their own hand. Then, eerily, Han Li vanished within the mist.
Doctor Mo frowned slightly, caught off guard by Han Li's maneuver, though he felt no real concern. With his vast experience, he had countless ways to counter such lowly tricks. Having already held his breath to avoid any tampering in the smoke, and with his profound internal energy, going several moments without inhaling was no trouble at all.
"Hmph, trivial tricks dare show off before me!" Doctor Mo snorted coldly. His right hand suddenly struck out with a palm blow into the mist. The white haze before him churned violently as if stirred by a giant club, instantly revealing a clear opening.
Seeing no sign of Han Li, Doctor Mo didn't stop. He unleashed over a dozen more palm strikes in all directions, completely dispersing the smoke from the room through the door. The room returned to normal, except for Han Li's disappearance.
"Strange. This kid truly has some skill, to actually vanish right under my nose." Doctor Mo was somewhat surprised, but remained unruffled. After all, he had been guarding near the door; not even a fly could escape his notice.
He carefully scanned the entire room—numerous bookshelves, a desk, and an armchair. Everything appeared normal, nothing out of the place. But how could a living person simply disappear in such a confined space?
Doctor Mo's expression remained unchanged, though a flicker of doubt crossed his mind. Confident in his abilities, he coughed a few times, then slowly and unsteadily walked toward the corner where Han Li had vanished, intending to investigate closely.
About ten feet from the corner, he stopped, his eyes narrowing. He sensed a faint, elusive killing intent permeating the area, directed squarely at him, poised to strike.
Doctor Mo's eyes glinted as he carefully scanned left and right again, but still detected nothing abnormal. Growing impatient, he thought, *Is no one here? Did he ascend to heaven or burrow into the earth?*
The phrase "ascend to heaven or burrow into the earth" struck him, and he felt he'd grasped a crucial point. Just as he was about to ponder further, he suddenly heard a "clang" from above his head.
"Not good!" Doctor Mo realized with a start that his opponent had been hiding on the roof beam. Without looking up, he thrust his palm upward with a swift, piercing blow, intending to stun the figure lurking there.
A rumbling sound followed the palm strike, interspersed with a few crisp "clangs."
Doctor Mo, puzzled, quickly looked up, only to freeze. Above him was nothing but emptiness—no trace of a ghost, only a black iron bell hanging from the roof beam, swaying from the force of his palm wind. The clanging sounds came from it, with no sign of Han Li whatsoever.
Just as Doctor Mo looked up, a streak of cold light burst silently from beneath his feet, stabbing with lightning speed toward his lower abdomen. The swiftness was beyond words; it wasn't until the gleam was about to pierce his clothes that Doctor Mo noticed in shock.
Doctor Mo, horrified, reacted in desperation. He executed an "iron bridge" technique, his body bending backward at the waist as if without a spine, barely avoiding the sword. The blade grazed his abdomen, slicing through his clothes in a thin, long gash, narrowly sparing him from being disemboweled.
Having dodged the strike, Doctor Mo didn't relax. As if spring-loaded, he slid several yards backward without moving his body, then finally dared to stand upright, looking with a mixture of shock and anger toward where the sword light had come from.
He saw the ground near his former stance slowly bulge upward, rising higher and higher until it took the yellow shape of a person—it was Han Li, combining the Soft Bone Art, Breath Concealment Technique, and Pseudo Concealment Technique.
Now, Han Li wore an earth-yellow outfit identical to the floor. In his left hand, he held the short sword that had almost succeeded, a look of regret in his eyes—clearly, he felt that last strike was a pity.
Doctor Mo's usual sallow complexion now tinged with green, his heart still pounding from the near-death experience. Though not a novice to danger, such proximity to death was exceptionally rare in his life, let alone at the hands of someone he had always looked down upon.
Taking a deep breath, his expression finally calmed, though his voice came out slightly hoarse:
"It seems I truly underestimated you, my dear disciple. That was a fine move—you've earned my full attention."
After this veiled threat, Doctor Mo slowly raised both hands before him, gazing tenderly at his own palms as if lost in a lover's embrace, completely forgetting Han Li's presence.
Han Li raised an eyebrow, sneering. Gripping the short sword tightly with one hand, he began advancing with small, deliberate steps toward Doctor Mo.
(End of Chapter)