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Ma Lu, like Yuan Xiaoyun, gestured with his hand, and two streaks of azure light rose from the deck before landing in his palm.

However, Ma Lu lacked Yuan Xiaoyun's miraculous mind connection and had to lower his head to see which cards he had drawn. After checking them, he didn't rush to play them and instead glanced at Yuan Xiaoyun's life points in the bottom left corner.

Yuan Xiaoyun's life points weren't much, just 114 points in total.

But since he had inherited the mantle of his father, Ren Tongtian, it was highly likely he also had an Extraordinary Skill like the Withered Zen Skill which could disguise itself, for self-healing.

Therefore, those might not be his actual life points, and Ma Lu reckoned there could very well be a second phase to it.

He began with the Ice Skin Jade Body Technique on his side, adding 9 points of True Qi to himself and adorning the invincible Ice Skin State.

Yuan Xiaoyun let out a slight sound of surprise. Ma Lu had demonstrated his Inner Strength before everyone earlier; back then, he had used the Dragon Capture Skill at the Third Layer. He hadn't expected that it would change when they actually clashed.

In theory, if a person practiced many Martial Studies, they could adjust their deck before each battle; Yuan Xiaoyun did just that.

He secretly practiced the Martial Arts left behind by Ren Tongtian, but publicly he still used the Martial Studies of the Beggars' Sect when sparring with others, to ensure that his identity would not be exposed.

However, Inner Strength was not included in this, as different types of True Qi would conflict with each other within the dantian, making it difficult for them to coexist.

"It seems you also have quite a few secrets on you."

Yuan Xiaoyun looked at Ma Lu intently.

Ma Lu didn't respond and instead played a Moonlight Solitude card, a Lightfoot Card whose base effect was to draw another card.

Moreover, within the same turn, every time damage was dealt, an additional card could be drawn.

As soon as Ma Lu finished drawing, he immediately thrust his sword toward Yuan Xiaoyun.

Yuan Xiaoyun remained unflustered in the face of danger, and when the Longsword nearly reached him, he finally pushed out his right hand, sketched half a circle in the air, and touched the tip of the sword.

The next moment, Ma Lu felt a stagnation in his True Qi, and the strength in his hand dissipated by ninety percent.

The last thrust left only a shallow wound on Yuan Xiaoyun's arm.

The number above the red figure in Yuan Xiaoyun's bottom-left corner decreased from 114 to 105.

The move Ma Lu had just executed was the Soul Severing Spear's Second Form—Gut-Wrenching. The power of this move was mediocre, only 29 points.

And Yuan Xiaoyun still had a parry value of 23 points. Even with the addition of the Chef's Knife, this strike only dealt 9 points of damage and also triggered the effect of Eternal Life Armor, giving Yuan Xiaoyun an added layer of the Healing State.

Under the Healing State, Yuan Xiaoyun would recover 4 life points every turn, and this healing effect would persist for 6 turns, totaling a recovery of 24 life points for him.

In other words, that last sword strike from Ma Lu not only failed to injure Yuan Xiaoyun but ended up giving him an extra 15 life points. Explore new worlds at My Virtual Library Empire

However, under the effect of Moonlight Solitude, Ma Lu did manage to draw another card.

"Where is your Innate Pure Yang Palm? Why aren't you using it?"

Yuan Xiaoyun said, "Could it be that you're worried it'll be learned by my Hundred Faces Thousand Forms? But if you don't use the Divine Technique taught by your master and rely solely on these basic moves, how could you possibly harm me?"

Ma Lu ignored Yuan Xiaoyun and proceeded to play a Black Snake Tongue card.

It was the opening move of the Black Snake Swordsmanship, with slightly less power than Gut-Wrenching, at only 20 points, but it came with the Coiled Snake State.

The Coiled Snake State did not affect the target of the attack but Ma Lu himself, boosting the power of his next attack by ten percent.

With no parry value left on Yuan Xiaoyun, he had to take the brunt of this attack, and his life points further dropped from 105 to 75.

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But his face showed no hint of panic as he watched Ma Lu slap down another Fire Toad Strength card to replenish his depleted True Qi before he spoke again.

"It seems I underestimated your ambition; it looks like junior brother intends to defeat me in a single round."

Ma Lu didn't deny it, "Senior brother, that Hundred Faces Thousand Forms of yours looks quite troublesome. To be safe, it's better not to let it return to your hand."

He wasn't sure exactly how much life Yuan Xiaoyun had left, but in his hand, he still held an Eight Steps Sunward card.

This was the Seventh Form of the Innate Pure Yang Palm, with a power reaching 103 points.

Under the state of Coiled Snake and perseverance of the Chef's Knife, it could deal 170 points of damage to Yuan Xiaoyun, which should be enough to empty his remaining life bar.

Having said this, Ma Lu switched from using his sword to his palm and advanced step by step. With each step he took, his momentum grew by threefold. After making a total of eight steps, the power he had accumulated also reached its peak.

His palm was like a red-hot anvil, steaming with wisps of heat.

Then Ma Lu struck out with his palm toward Yuan Xiaoyun's chest.

Yuan Xiaoyun was hit by this fierce, incomparable palm strike and performed a vanishing life bar trick on the spot, with 75 points of life instantly evaporating.

But after that, he didn't fall, nor did he enter a second phase to reveal his true life bar.

Ma Lu noticed that the number above the red figure in the bottom left corner wasn't 0, but 1, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

Hmm, could this be the legendary... life lock?

But isn't life lock usually something that only action game bosses have? How can it be applied in a card game?

Yuan Xiaoyun, having taken this palm strike, was a bit pale, but a hint of smugness flashed in his eyes.

"More than twenty years ago, Ren Tongtian died under master's Innate Pure Yang Palm. Do you think I'd make the same mistake twice?

"Ever since I inherited his mantle, I have been living in fear, worried that one day master would discover my true identity and decide to eliminate me thoroughly.

"So during that time, I was frantically searching for a way to counter the Innate Pure Yang Palm; and as luck would have it, I really did find a martial art that specifically counters the Innate Pure Yang Palm."

While speaking, Yuan Xiaoyun revealed a card in his hand.

This card was named Undying Yin Body, a Body Protection Card, with quite a peculiar effect.

If subjected to an attack that causes more than 100 points of damage in a single round, the Undying Yin Body can absorb the excess damage, and when this card is played, convert the stored damage into life.

The damage Ma Lu had caused to Yuan Xiaoyun in this round had already exceeded 100 points.

At this point, Yuan Xiaoyun had only 1 point of life left, and while Ma Lu's turn had not ended, he couldn't attack Yuan Xiaoyun again, as the effect of Undying Yin Body had been activated.

Any attacks Ma Lu played next would be absorbed by the Undying Yin Body, and then when it was Yuan Xiaoyun's turn, that damage would be transformed back into his life.

Therefore, Ma Lu played a Body Protection Card directly, ending his turn.

"It's my turn again." Yuan Xiaoyun ignored the fresh blood oozing from his chest, casually drawing two cards

He didn't play a card, but slowly said, "First, I activate the effect of Hundred Faces Thousand Forms. This card will randomly transform into one of the moves you used last round and return to my hand."

As Yuan Xiaoyun spoke, a card from the graveyard area lit up, and then the card's face changed.

"The card transformed by Hundred Faces Thousand Forms is——Eight Steps Sunward!"

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