Chapter 123: Should I Initiate or Not?

Qin Chuan watched the Five-Colored Red Spirit Beast move, yet remained completely still. With the beast's monstrous speed, moving too early would be courting death.

The beast's scythe strike was merely a probing attack. Landing a hit would be ideal, but missing was fine too; the main goal was to force Qin Chuan to use a displacement skill. Faced with an opponent whose speed far exceeded his own, Qin Chuan’s only reliance was his superior predictive ability—a trump card that had secured victory in all his past battles. This time was no exception.

As the beast raised its hand, the red scythe arrived almost instantly. Its speed was truly heart-stopping. Zizi’s heart jumped into her throat.

*Whoosh!*

The red scythe missed, grazing past the edge of the blade.

"Ding! Sword body damage: 1%."

With the beast’s sharpness rating of over 1600, even a near-miss dealt damage to Qin Chuan.

*Whoosh!*

No sooner had Qin Chuan dodged than the beast turned with grace and swung the scythe again. Once more, the strike missed, and once more, Qin Chuan’s sword sustained damage. The situation was dire; at the beast's attack speed, Qin Chuan would soon suffer massive damage. Furthermore, as the sword’s integrity declined, his own attributes would continue to drop. Before long, a direct hit from the beast would likely spell disaster. If Qin Chuan were to activate an immunity skill now to tank the hits, he would struggle to land a counterattack and would lose his only means of self-preservation.

The Five-Colored Red Spirit Beast remained calm and steady, continuously swinging its great scythe, firmly holding the upper hand. Since Qin Chuan hadn't used any skills, the beast refrained from using its own, wary of the unpredictable nature of skills in the Spirit Realm. With the beast in control, using a skill prematurely would be unwise.

For the next few seconds, Qin Chuan felt as though he were trapped in a raging storm.

*Clack!*

The faint sound grated on the nerves of Zizi and Sleeper. It was clearly a sign of significant damage to Qin Chuan’s blade.

"Chuan, you must hold on!"
"Big Brother, you'll be fine!"

Hearing the sound, a glimmer of satisfaction appeared in the beast's eyes. "Even if you don't use your skills and keep dodging, you will eventually be shredded by my blade wind."

The beast pressed its advantage, victory seemingly within reach.

"Ding! Sword body damage..."

As the attacks continued, the damage to Qin Chuan’s sword grew more severe, and his ability to dodge faltered.

*Clack!*

Another sound echoed, accompanied by a visible crack. His damage had reached 20%. Zizi and Sleeper couldn't help but cry out.

"Sister Zizi, the situation is dire!"
"Yes, we must intervene!"
"Agreed!"

The beast, however, felt the opposite; a gleam of excitement flashed in its eyes as victory drew near. Yet, in this desperate situation, a faint, elegant curve appeared at the corner of Qin Chuan’s mouth.

"Counterattack, initiated."

After dodging a strike, Qin Chuan leaped into the air. Zizi was stunned into silence: "What?! Isn't that suicide?"

Sleeper was equally shocked: "Big Brother, has your spirit core been damaged?"

It certainly looked like suicide. Dodging was already difficult on the ground; leaping into the air made it nearly impossible. Even if he used "Blink" to close the distance, it was uncertain if he could land a hit, and he would surely be met with a storm of retaliation.

Yet, Qin Chuan jumped without hesitation—a leap that was nothing short of spectacular. To the beast, this was a pleasant surprise, and it immediately swung its scythe.

"Blink!"

Qin Chuan finally used his life-saving skill, appearing right beside the beast and delivering a strike.

"Heh, you think you can hit me like that? You're too naive."

The beast had been wary of Qin Chuan’s displacement skills and was prepared. Though Qin Chuan’s current sharpness couldn't possibly cause real damage, the beast dodged out of caution. With an impossible motion, the beast twisted its body, perfectly evading the blow.

"This is the end for you. Red Scythe: Whirlwind Slash!"

The beast seized the opportunity to unleash its wide-range skill, gaining immunity to all damage during the execution. The timing was perfect; the beast was certain it would land the killing blow.

Because Qin Chuan had blinked from five meters away, he had no remaining displacement skills to escape the coverage of this attack. He was surely doomed.

The beast’s judgment was accurate—Qin Chuan was out of displacement skills. However, he did have 1.8 seconds of immunity. He had used himself as bait, luring the beast into a false sense of security and relaxing its guard, creating the perfect window to strike.

The rapidly spinning scythe cut across Qin Chuan’s sword and slid off without dealing a single point of damage. The beast’s jaw dropped.

"Damn it! I never expected his secondary effect to be immunity instead of displacement!"
"But I am in an immunity state as well, lasting 1.5 seconds. What can you do?"

Though caught off guard, the beast quickly regained its composure. Generally, ranged skills involved multiple displacements or soft crowd control; an immunity effect as a secondary stage was rare.

"Repair sword body!"
"Ding! Repair successful. Consumed 20 million evolution points."

Qin Chuan repaired his blade instantly; 20 million points were a trivial cost now. With 1.5 seconds of immunity remaining, his timing overlapped perfectly with the beast's skill. Qin Chuan didn't waste a second and began to hack away with basic attacks. His blade slid off the beast’s body, dealing no damage.

"Damn, he’s immune while using his skill?"
"Fine, let's see whose immunity lasts longer."

This was unexpected, but Qin Chuan quickly formulated a new plan. Previously, he had been in a state of absolute calm to dodge, which prevented his rage meter from building. Now, under the safety of his immunity, he could let loose and channel his fury.

In a feat of extreme skill, Qin Chuan landed eight strikes in 1.5 seconds, his rage meter skyrocketing.

"Ding! Congratulations, host. Rage meter full. Damage increased by 150%, and knock-up effect applied."

The beast’s skill had finished, and Qin Chuan’s freshly charged power was ready. The next strike would be the one to turn the tide. Yet, Qin Chuan found himself in a dilemma.

"Damn it, should I follow through with this strike or not?"