While I was chanting a curse, the system said I was Xiao Yan?

"Is this your technique?"

Tianyan withdrew his fist and flexed his fingers.

Arisaka Jiro grinned, revealing a set of slightly crooked teeth: "Clever, but no reward!"

He moved the side of his neck that had been hit by the fist, making a "crackling" sound.

His technique is called "Reversal of Strength and Weakness," and its power is exactly as the name suggests: the stronger the attack, the less effective it is on him; conversely, the weaker the attack, the greater the effect.

This is why he generally doesn't reveal information about his spells. Ordinary sorcerers can improve their strength by disclosing information about their spells, but he can't!

Revealing his spell information would be tantamount to suicide for him; the slight increase in spell power would be far less beneficial than concealment, or even lying and misleading others!

He spread his arms as if to show off some amazing masterpiece: "Your fists are heavy, and you have the strength of a first-level sorcerer at such a young age, but!"

It felt like a mosquito bite on me!

Tianyan looked at him and remained silent for a moment.

Arisaka Jiro's smile deepened: "What, you don't believe me? You can try again."

Without hesitation, Tianyan unleashed another punch, faster and heavier than the previous one, increasing the output of his curse power by more than one level.

The punch landed on Arisaka Jiro's chest.

A muffled thud.

Arisaka Jiro swayed for a moment, then regained his balance. He looked down at the spot where he had been hit, dusted off his clothes, and looked up, his smile unchanged.

"It feels pretty good."

He said, "Again."

Tianyan's brows furrowed even more.

The feeling of his fist hitting Arisaka Jiro was like hitting a ball of cotton; the force was dispersed, absorbed, and transformed, with only a tiny amount actually affecting the target.

This is called "the reversal of strength and weakness".

The greater the force, the less powerful it is!

Tianyan withdrew his fist and did not continue to attack.

Arisaka Jiro tilted his head: "What? You're not fighting anymore?"

Tianyan did not answer, but instead looked at Arisaka Jiro again.

Its speed isn't fast, at least slower than Naoya's; its strength isn't great; and its attack power is limited.

"What, you're out of ideas already?"

With a dagger in both hands and a grin spreading across his face, Arisaka Jiro began to hop around in place, as if warming up: "If you're out of tricks, then it's my turn."

He lunged forward and thrust out two knives, one to the throat and the other to the heart.

Tianyan did not dodge.

He didn't even grow any additional bone armor; he simply used the basic bone armor's defense to take both blows.

"Ding ding"

With two crisp sounds, the tip of the dagger slid across the bone armor, leaving a shallow white mark, without even piercing the skin.

Arisaka Jiro's expression finally changed.

Tianyan lowered his head, looking at the two shallow marks on the bone armor on his chest, then looked up at Arisaka Jiro, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved up.

You can't break my defenses.

Tianyan's tone was as calm as if he were stating a fact: "Your knife can't even pierce my bones."

Arisaka Jiro clenched his molars.

Tianyan was right.

His technique, "Reversal of Strength and Weakness," grants him immunity to powerful attacks, but it's not an offensive technique, so his attack power... is indeed not that great.

Although his strength and speed were good thanks to the power of his curse, and his dagger was more than enough to deal with ordinary curse spirits and sorcerers, it was no match for the level of defense that Tianyan possessed.

The two seemed to have reached a stalemate.

It can be said that the two are incompatible. Tianyan can't beat Arisaka Nirō, but Arisaka Nirō can't beat Tianyan either.

In past battles, Arisaka Jiro relied on his magic to withstand attacks, depleting the opponent's magical power while continuously attacking with his dagger, leaving wounds, just like hunting, constantly making the prey bleed until the prey died.

However, the technique of this kid in front of me is quite troublesome, almost like hiding in a tortoise shell.

Furthermore, as the battle dragged on, Arisaka Jiro felt there was a possibility that his technique might be guessed, and if that happened, he would be in real trouble, so...

"I need to find a chance to get out of here. That woman only paid me a few bucks; it's not worth risking my life here."

A glint flashed in his eyes, and he couldn't help but twirl the dagger in his hand, pondering how to retreat.

The woods were quiet for a moment.

"Explosive Steps"

Tianyan stomped his right foot on the ground, creating a shockwave, and shot out like an arrow.

Arisaka Jiro's pupils constricted as he watched the figure that appeared in front of him almost instantly.

So fast!

I thought this kid would be on the slower side, but I didn't expect him to be this fast!

Against an opponent this fast and tough, we must run away immediately!

He shifted his body half a step to the side and then stopped, a smile curving his lips as he met Tianyan's fist head-on.

He was going to use his own technique to block the attack!

"Eight Extremes Collapse!"

Tianyan's right elbow, carrying the force of a thunderbolt, slammed heavily into Arisaka Jiro's chest.

The sound wasn't loud; it was like someone punching a thick piece of rubber—dull, with a strange elasticity.

Arisaka Jiro slid half a step backward, his feet leaving two shallow marks on the floor, but he did not fall down, nor did he show any sign of pain.

He looked down at his dented clothes, then looked up at Tian Yan, and his smile widened.

"Hey Sato, did you not eat? That punch was way too soft!" His voice carried an barely suppressed smugness.

"It made a lot of noise, but the actual impact was much weaker! It wasn't even as powerful as that previous punch!"

The bone blade popped out from behind his left elbow and slashed at Arisaka Jiro's waist and abdomen with a backhand strike.

The bone blade sliced ​​through, tearing a gash in the clothes, but only leaving a faint white mark on the skin, without even a drop of blood.

Arisaka Jiro looked down at the white marks on his waist and abdomen, and his smile widened.

"Look, you can't even scratch my skin."

It seems the slashing attack is ineffective.

Tianyan ignored his taunts, withdrew his attack, and threw out his right fist again.

"Bang!"

The instant the fist made contact with Arisaka Jiro's chest, a black lightning bolt exploded from the point of contact, drawing a twisted and ominous black arc through the forest, turning everything around into black and white.

Black Flash!

The destructive power of 2.5 times, plus the hidden force injected beforehand, was all poured into Arisaka Jiro's chest!

Arisaka Jiro's body flew backward, his back slamming into a tree, the thick trunk snapping in two without any resistance!

"Click" "Click"

It flew for twenty or thirty meters, crashing into five trees that would take three people to hug, before finally stopping at the sixth tree.

Arisaka Jiro straightened up from under the tree, patted the spot on his chest where he had been hit, and looked panicked.

"Black Flash!"

His voice held a lingering fear: "To be able to unleash a black flash at such a young age—if it weren't for my special technique, that punch would have killed me!"

"That damn logo!"

"Wasn't it supposed to be a simple task?!"

Footsteps sounded not far away. Arisaka Jiro looked up at the sound and his face darkened.

Damn it! This kid is still chasing me!