Seeing General Feihu lunge toward him, Rulu quickly rode the wind out over the center of the pond. The water beneath his feet froze rapidly, forming a two-to-three-meter-wide sheet of floating ice. Rulu nded on the ice in the middle of the pond and held his position there.

  General Feihu surveyed the pond — it was roughly thirty to forty meters across. He figured that if he gave chase, he would only end up in the water, which would put him at a disadvantage. So he waited patiently on the bank, pnning to strike when Rulu came ashore.

  "Safe for now — the question is how to deal with General Feihu." Rulu stood on the floating ice at the center of the pond and watched the General on the bank. He swept his hand out, drawing water from the pond into the air and shaping it into three ice bdes, which shot toward General Feihu at high speed.

  General Feihu didn't dodge. He swung both fists into the bdes — with a series of crisp cracks, the ice bdes shattered against his knuckles and fell to the ground.

  "Ice bdes are useless. Let's try this." Rulu swept his hand again. A white vortex ced with tiny ice shards materialized in front of him from thin air, growing rger and rger until, a minute ter, it had become a swirling frozen whirlpool two meters in diameter.

  With a rushing howl, the white frozen vortex spun at high speed and flew toward General Feihu. General Feihu broke from his position, attempting to dodge, but the vortex was wide and fast. Within seconds it overtook him, enveloping his entire body. Ice formed over him at a visible rate, and ten seconds ter he was encased from head to toe in crystal-clear solid ice — a perfect human sculpture.

  "Did that do it?" Rulu stared unblinkingly at the frozen General Feihu. Against an ordinary person, this technique would cause loss of consciousness — or even death — within moments from the cold. He wondered whether it would be effective against a level-four Refining body Ultra-capable.

  A crisp crack rang out. A fissure split open across the ice encasing General Feihu. He straightened his body, thrust both arms outward with explosive force, and the ice shattered all at once, shards cascading to the ground with a ctter.

  "You little— you think that's enough to beat me?!" General Feihu snarled at Rulu through chattering teeth. His whole body trembled from the cold, but his voice still rang with power. The frozen vortex, it seemed, had not done him any serious harm.

  "It's not working. A level-four Refining body Ultra-capable's regeneration is too strong. Unless I can deal him lethal damage in a short window, I can't kill him." Rulu's mind raced through options for bringing General Feihu down, but nothing came to him after a long while. In the distance, voices began to carry across the air — soldiers from the Governor's compound had noticed the commotion by the pond and were making their way over.

  "Can't drag this out any longer. Time to take a gamble." Rulu leaped from the ice and nded on the bank. Seeing Rulu come ashore, General Feihu immediately charged along the bank toward him. Rulu did not run. He raised his hand and drew water from the pond up into a column that surged toward General Feihu.

  "I'm not even afraid of bullets — you think a bit of water will stop me?" General Feihu gave a cold ugh and kept charging straight at Rulu without flinching from the water column.

  The column suddenly swelled and burst apart, transforming into a vast, dense white mist that swallowed both General Feihu and Rulu whole. The fog bnketed General Feihu's vision, causing him to lose sight of his target and breaking off his attack.

  General Feihu moved briskly through the white mist, scanning his surroundings carefully, trying to find Rulu. But the fog was extraordinarily thick, with visibility so low that nothing beyond five meters could be made out. He searched for a good while without catching any sign of Rulu.

  Suddenly General Feihu heard rapid footsteps behind him. He spun around to look, and glimpsed a dark figure approaching from behind, holding something resembling a pistol. General Feihu immediately wheeled and charged at the shadow, but the moment the figure saw him coming, it retreated in the opposite direction and vanished into the mist without a trace.

  "You little rat — all you do is hide. If you've got the guts, come out and face me properly." General Feihu called out loudly, trying to draw Rulu into the open. Silence answered him. The dark figure did not attack again.

  "Fine — enjoy your hiding. Our men will be here any moment. Let's see how long you can keep it up." General Feihu called out again. About half a minute ter, he heard faint footsteps behind him — the soft, creeping sound of someone stealthily closing in.

  "So you've finally decided to come out. Good. This time I'll have you." General Feihu hunched over, lowered his head, and pretended not to notice anyone behind him, standing perfectly still.

  The dark figure drew closer and closer, entering within five meters of General Feihu. The figure aimed the pistol-shaped object at the upper part of General Feihu's back, attempting to target his head — but General Feihu remained hunched forward with his head down, presenting only the broad expanse of his back. Unable to get a direct shot at his head, the dark figure continued creeping closer from behind, looking for an opening to deliver a killing blow.

  General Feihu watched from the corner of his eye. The moment the dark figure was less than two meters away, he spun around in a fsh. The figure immediately raised the pistol at General Feihu's head and tried to fire — but before it could, General Feihu shot his left hand out and seized the figure's right wrist.

  "Down you go!" General Feihu bellowed, grabbed the figure's wrist, and swung with all his might. The figure's feet left the ground, sweeping over General Feihu's shoulder and crashing down toward the earth.

  With a heavy thud, the figure hit the ground back-first, the impact so powerful it left them pinned ft, unable to move a muscle.

  "Ha — I win. Now die." A look of triumph spread across General Feihu's face. He picked up the pistol that had fallen to the ground, aimed the muzzle at the dark figure lying on the ground, and pulled the trigger.

  A dry click. The trigger was pulled, but no bullet came from the barrel. General Feihu paused, raised the gun to eye level, and looked — the magazine had been removed beforehand. The gun was empty.

  "What's going on? You attack me with an unloaded gun — are you trying to get yourself killed?" General Feihu was momentarily baffled. Then, all at once, he felt a chill at the back of his head. Something hard pressed against the base of his skull. He turned to look — a bck pistol was floating in mid-air, its muzzle pointed directly at his head.

  Before General Feihu could react, the trigger of the hovering pistol pulled itself. A bang — fire burst from the muzzle, and the bullet struck General Feihu square in the forehead. A bloody hole opened in his brow. His body swayed, and he toppled to the ground, an expression of utter disbelief frozen on his face.