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With a sudden and violent attack, Garen's arm caught the tip of Golden Hoop's head—and like the giant claws of a vicious beast—he clasped it tightly as if he were going to crush it.

This was the Acceleration Technique of the White Cloud Secret Method. Combined with any other action, it could achieve the effect of instantaneous acceleration to create a sudden attack.

This was the first time Garen had used White Cloud Combat Arts in a real battle. White Cloud Combat Arts required an imposing momentum to it: every single action had to exhibit a crushing force.

When his palm was about to catch Golden Hoop's forehead, Golden Hoop produced a dagger out of nowhere and stabbed upwards, aiming for Garen's wrist.

The move was swift and agile. The tip of the dagger seemed to instantly accelerate, as if some special force technique was used.

Whack!

Garen turned his palm sideways to avoid the blade, then he hit Golden Hoop's wrist with the side of his palm. With a swoosh, the dagger flew out of his hand and landed in the bushes.

Golden Hoop took the opportunity to back up a few steps, opening up some distance between them.

””

”You think you can win by force? Fool!” Golden Hoop reached his right hand behind his waist, and suddenly, four small black throwing knives were flung towards Garen.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The four throwing knives flew out in a flash and accurately struck onto Garen's chest.

Garen didn't manage to respond in time. He wanted to cross his arms to protect his chest, but when he raised his arms, the throwing knives had already pierced his clothes.

The throwing knives merely ripped his clothes and were nailed to his skin, but they didn't cut through the skin.

He grabbed one of the knives and threw it at Golden Hoop. A violent whirling sound followed. The throwing knife turned into a round disk and flew straight at Golden Hoop, but he evaded it with ease.

Garen flung the three remaining knives in succession, but they were all casually avoided by Golden Hoop. This time, Garen took the opportunity to pick up the double-barreled rifle while Golden Hoop was distracted.

Bang!

White smoke came out of the barrels as the shot hit a tree trunk and left a black indent. Some leaves and bark fell off the tree like raindrops from the force of the blast.

Golden Hoop was extremely fast. He started dodging once Garen showed signs of his next actions, which made him impossible to aim at. After a few evasions, he seemed to realize that Garen's reactions were not as quick as his, and his eyes narrowed into a sneer. His astonishment at Garen's physical change earlier instantly faded.

””

”I thought you wanted to kill me? Do you think you can?”

””

”Go to hell!” Garen roared. He raised the double-barreled shotgun and flung it at Golden Hoop like an iron bar. Garen's force caused the gun to give a loud, piercing whistle in mid-air. This was to no avail either: Golden Hoop turned his body to the right and easily avoided it.

”What's the use of having a ton of strength? If you can't hit me, it's all in vain,” Golden Hoop jeered. With yet another dagger in hand, his body suddenly drew close. He did a slight flick with the dagger, then stabbed towards Garen's wrist.

Angled upwards, this stab was quick and precise. He had targeted the moment when Garen's large range of motion created some space.

”It's over.” A trace of malice flashed across Golden Hoop's eyes.

At this instant, Garen squinted as he swung his right arm backwards, avoiding the dagger in a flash.

The slow pace he had a while ago had seemingly transformed. His right arm flung out like a rubber hose at a lightning-pace and hit Golden Hoop's left arm.

The speed of this attack was different from before. Only a glimpse of a shadow could be seen from the swinging arm. His speed had almost doubled!

Golden Hoop stared wide-eyed. His dagger was only halfway through the stab when he felt a crack in his right arm, which was then followed by a burst of pain. Suddenly, his body turned light as it involuntarily leapt towards the right.

Wham!

Golden Hoop crashed into the bushes. After some ruffling, he created a trail in the shrubbery, trampling over a large amount of plant and leaves. He went on for a good seven to eight meters before colliding against a large white rock.

Garen stayed put and didn't give chase. As his body gradually restored to its original state, he shook his right arm a little as a relaxed smile broke across his face.

”You really thought I was slow? Even though I'm not as fast as you, I'm not that slow. I deliberately said I wanted to kill you first, then acted like a clumsy doofus. All of it was to lure you to stay and duel with me, and to make you think that you could get rid of me easily without wasting too much time, with the added benefit of relieving yourself of your hatred towards me. Too bad…”

He slowly walked over. He saw Golden Hoop try to hold his body up from the ground, but his every attempt was met with the same result: he kept falling flat every time. It wasn't just his right arm; when he was stumbling through the bushes, it was obvious that there was an unnatural distortion in his left arm—it was broken.

”I am not as fast as you. If you ignored me and directly pursued Dale Quicksilver and his companion, then I wouldn't have been able to stop you. Good thing you were agitated by me enough to stay put.” It was the first time he had used the combat arts strategy taught by Fei Baiyun in an actual combat. The fact that it worked like a charm gave him an immense sense of relief.

Golden Hoop's face was livid. Fresh blood slowly dripped from the bottom half of his body. He must have cut himself somewhere when he was stumbling through the bushes.

”You got hit by four of my knives, but you weren't… cough, cough… weren't even injured. Even so, don't get too cocky. Someone will avenge me!”

Upon finishing the sentence, purple blood instantly spilled from the corner of his mouth. His head bent askew, his eyes clouded over, and he eventually stopped breathing.