Wu Xu's First Battle as a Super

"It has begun." When Shu You announced that it had begun, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet held no weapon in her hands. Originally, Han Qingyu and the others had thought she was putting on airs by entering bare-handed, assuming someone would bring her weapon in later—just like ancient generals who had squires specifically assigned to lead their horses and carry their sabers. Maybe they would bring her shoes into the arena along with it. And then she would put them on right there in the ring. After all, in the world of source energy, the dead iron plates on the soles of one's shoes still had their uses. "This woman's feet really are pretty..." the Little Prince mused aloud. Yet no one brought anything. The battle erupted without a single word exchanged. Amidst the roar of source energy, the butt of Wu Xu's long spear slammed heavily against the dead iron floor. Leaning slightly back, he catapulted backward in rapid retreat. In the first clash, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet took the offensive. "Claws!" Rusty Sister shouted abruptly. They really were claws. The moment she struck, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet swept both hands forward, her sleeves snapping back. Around the midway point of each forearm, she wore a ring-shaped brace. The braces had a gold-like luster, though lighter and dazzlingly bright. From there, connecting dead iron extended forward, looking like a pair of bracelets around her wrists. Then the dead iron extended further, dividing along the backs of her hands into four branches like an exoskeleton, attached to the backs of all four fingers except her thumbs. The claws were long, nearly twice the length of her fingers. At the same time, they looked extremely thin and sharp. They even gleamed with an interplay of gold and red light. This was the first time Han Qingyu and the others had ever seen a weapon so "unsuited for a battlefield"—and likely Wu Xu's first time as well—which was why he had chosen to retreat first. *Kong... tong!* It was the sound of a massive sheet of iron bulging violently upward and slamming back down. The dead iron-plated ground heaved fiercely beneath her as Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet lunged forward, airborne. Her choice of weapon doomed her to fight at close quarters. Especially when Wu Xu was wielding a spear. *So fast!* Han Qingyu marveled inwardly. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's body had blurred into a phantom in midair. In their vision, without any footing whatsoever, that phantom darted left and right through the air, carving out a zigzag trajectory. It truly made her look like a cat. This defied common sense, for she neither had footholds nor sustained bursts of source energy, yet she executed rapid, continuous midair turns. Then again, nearly every Super possessed something that defied reason. So in that sense, it was completely normal. *Clang!* For the vast majority of people present, it wasn't until they heard that sharp ring that they realized the two had actually made contact. And by the time that sound registered, Wu Xu had already parried at least twenty of Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's strikes. *Ding-ding-ding-ding-ding...* The Binggu Spear whirled like a whirlwind as Wu Xu retreated continuously. *Thwack!* Suddenly, the sound of metal sinking into flesh cut through the clashing din. *So fast?!* *The difference in strength is that huge?!* The onlookers thought. Only now did the image finally come into clear focus. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's body stretched straight in midair, one leg slightly bent while her left arm thrust forward—the claws of her left hand had plunged into the right side of Wu Xu's chest. Yet, jerking her head up in midair, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet wore a look of sheer panic. The claws had not penetrated deeply; it felt as if they were encased in super concrete, meeting immense resistance. At the same time, Wu Xu's left hand clamped onto the bracelet around her wrist. *His special trait...* There was no time for her to think further. Because the swept Binggu Spear was already howling toward her flank. "Yah!" With a short, sharp cry, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet arched her upper body backward with all her might, kicking up her right leg toward Wu Xu—aiming for his arm, and simultaneously toward the left side of his chest, forcing him to defend. *Rip!* Leveraging the force, she finally wrenched her wrist and claws free. Several holes were torn in the right chest of Wu Xu's combat uniform, but no blood surged out. Then, *Dang!* As the sound rang out, Wu Xu stood holding his spear horizontally, while Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet remained in her arched backflip, her outstretched foot stepping directly onto the spear shaft. Claws! Claws were on her feet as well. It was a structure similar to that on her hands: above her ankles were bracelet-like structures serving as braces, from which dead iron extended, splitting along the tops of her feet into three prongs. Unlike those on her hands, the claws on her feet were much thicker and shorter; they barely extended forward before hooking downward. At the same time, the front part of her sole was a relatively wide, thick plate of dead iron, making it look truly like a cat's paw. It was this plate that currently hooked over the shaft of the Binggu Spear, trying to press it down. Right before Wu Xu's eyes. *Whoosh—shhh!* Wu Xu tilted his head away without looking, flicked his wrist, and set the Binggu Spear spinning violently. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet was flung away. Touching down, *Skrrr—* the claws on both feet gouged six long furrows front to back across the dead iron plating on the arena floor. Then she came to a halt. For the moment, she did not attack again. "She really does look like a cat," Rusty Sister murmured. "Yeah. But is it alluring?" Wen Jifei asked. "A bit," He Tangtang said. Even though Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet was still wearing that plain outfit and had a completely unadorned, bare face, the presence of those four sets of claws on her hands and feet gave her an eerie sort of sultry allure. At the same time, she stood there, heaving for breath. Her chest rose and fell heavily. "Not enough," the Little Prince muttered. By now, they had all completely relaxed. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet was no match for Wu Xu. This didn't mean the raw gap between her and Wu Xu was colossal, but rather that their traits were completely mismatched. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's attack style and weapons meant that against someone of the same level without an overwhelming advantage, she basically relied on speed and attack frequency to win. Those who died by her hands would generally end up riddled with wounds, dying only after losing massive amounts of blood or being crippled first. As for Wu Xu... if he stripped off his clothes right now, the wound in his chest that had just been punctured would probably have stopped bleeding already, perhaps even beginning to heal. Once the Binggu Spear was fully unleashed, that too was an advantage. Under such circumstances, trading wounds for a kill: so long as he succeeded once out of ten tries, Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet would be dead. *She can't beat me,* Wu Xu thought. *I don't want to fight anymore.* Because knowing the outcome was enough. There was no enmity between them, nor was this a duel to the death... and fighting like this felt awkward. For instance, just a moment ago, Wu Xu had felt uncomfortable staring at Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's feet. "I..." Wu Xu began. *Whoosh!* Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet gritted her teeth and lunged forward, pressing a palm against the ground. Her figure moved even faster and more bizarrely than before, one hand striking toward Wu Xu's face while the other lurked low, primed to strike. *Sigh.* Wu Xu sighed in his heart. Then, *Boom!* With his right hand, he brought the long spear straight up and slammed it down heavily onto the ground. The air stirred by the spear's motion turned immensely heavy, like a hammer crashing down through midair. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's movement hitched slightly. At that exact split second, *Clang!* Wu Xu's left hand drew the heavy sword and slashed horizontally. *Ding!* Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet twisted sideways, crossing her claws to barely block the slash. She was knocked flying backward through the air, flipping over before sticking the landing. Up to this point, Wu Xu hadn't even launched a real offensive, let alone a killing blow. *Looks like the Supers of the City of Iniquity aren't that strong aside from Shu You. Wonder how that Eric, ranked second, compares.* As Han Qingyu thought this, he was almost entirely oblivious to the fact that both he and Wu Xu were freaks of nature. Way back on the Cloud Piercer Leaderboard, both of them had already made the top ten. Now, the world viewed them as candidates likely to ascend the Dome Leaderboard in the future. Inside the arena, Wu Xu spoke with slight difficulty: "You can't beat me." With that, he hoisted his spear, turned around, and walked away. He was done fighting. "Wait. I haven't gone all out yet." A voice came from behind him. This was the first time Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet had spoken; she knew Chinese. "Holy shit... my bones just melted," He Tangtang said. "Yeah, mine too," the Little Prince said. You couldn't describe that voice as merely pleasant to hear, because "pleasant" was usually used for the melodious murmur of a mountain spring, the gentleness of the wind, or words like crisp, clear, and bright. Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet's voice wasn't like that. It was like an alluring snare, like a tipsy woman with enticing lips whispering directly into your ear. Wu Xu turned his head back numbly. "I'm much faster than what you've seen." That horizontal slash just now hadn't been full force; Nguyen Thi Minh Nguyet knew that, which was why she looked him straight in the eyes as she spoke. Then—*Rip!* The shirt and trousers she wore were suddenly blasted apart by source energy, fluttering down in shreds... Beneath them, only the most essential parts of her entire body were concealed by sheer, delicate coverings. "...I use my skin to sense changes in the air. That allows me to move with the slightest energetic vibration." Having seemingly realized Wu Xu was an honest, straightforward man, she explained. Having said this, she lifted her right foot half a step forward, truly poised just like a cat.