Greatest in History VS Greatest in the Current Version

Chen Guan seized the opportunity as she spoke, pulling his left hand from his waist, spreading his five fingers, and slapping it toward Guan Jinyue's face.

Guan Jinyue tilted her head to dodge, releasing her grip on the hammer handle.

Taking advantage of this opening, Chen Guan stepped back two paces, steadying himself on the deformed floor of the carriage while gripping the iron hammer securely.

The protective layer of his Guardian ability circulated on his body's surface, colorless and luminous, completely invisible to the naked eye.

"Your physical condition... is a bit unusual."

Guan Jinyue's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly as her gaze swept over Chen Guan. Hand-to-hand combat made it much easier to detect the presence of a Guardian ability than weapon-based fighting.

Chen Guan didn't give her time to confirm. He had already swung the fourth hammer.

With this strike, he used the momentum of his body, rotating a full half-turn with the trajectory of the hammer. The hammer head swept in from the side, faster than the previous three strikes by a noticeable margin.

Guan Jinyue raised her right hand slightly.

Chen Guan felt as if someone had pushed him through the air from a distance. His entire body, along with the hammer, flew backward. His back slammed into the remaining iron wall of the carriage with a dull thud.

The protective layer of his Guardian ability flickered at the point of impact. The force of the collision was evenly distributed across his body. It hurt, yes, but it didn't cause any real damage.

Clearly, Guan Jinyue wasn't going all out. An attack of this level couldn't break through his defense.

He coughed twice, the sound low and muffled, pretending to be more seriously affected by the push than he actually was.

But the movement to stand up was swift.

Guan Jinyue watched him rise to his feet again, and a faint trace of surprise flickered in her eyes.

"You took that hit and you can still stand?"

"I'm thick-skinned and dense." Chen Guan switched the hammer to his other hand and rolled his shoulders a couple of times.

Guan Jinyue said nothing, but the time her gaze lingered on him grew longer.

A third-tier Summoner, after taking one of her attacks, should in theory have at least two broken ribs.

But this guy stood up, and he stood solid. No, he wasn't a Summoner—he was a Strengthener, specializing in self-defense.

Her experienced mind quickly saw through the secrets of his Guardian ability, and she grew cautious. Sure enough, anyone favored by a Trickster was never ordinary.

Guan Jinyue looked into his eyes. Moonlight spilled across her blade as she finally began to take things seriously.

Her sword intent spread through the night, like a layer of transparent gossamer covering the entire carriage, silent and still, yet dropping the air temperature by several degrees.

A serious Guan Jinyue was a completely different person from before. She was no longer the carefree girl but a drawn sword, cold and sharp.

"Thick-skinned and dense?" Guan Jinyue repeated flatly, her figure flickering slightly, and the next moment, she vanished from her original position.

Chen Guan's vision blurred before an overwhelming gust of wind-pressure surged toward him.

He instinctively raised the iron hammer across his chest in a defensive posture. But Guan Jinyue's speed exceeded all his expectations.

He didn't even have time to look up; he only saw a silver thread falling like a shooting star.

"Clang!"

The iron hammer and the sword blade clashed violently, erupting in a deafening screech of metal as sparks flew.

Chen Guan felt his hands go numb. A tremendous force transmitted from the hammer into him. Uncontrollably, his whole body sank, while his boots carved two deep furrows in the ground, sending up chips of concrete and gravel.

The impact of this single blow far surpassed any previous attack. It felt like being rammed head-on by a heavily loaded freight truck traveling at high speed.

The protective light of his Guardian ability flashed frantically across his body. Each flicker accompanied a faint hum, as if it were bearing extreme pressure.

Guan Jinyue's assault didn't succeed, but she showed no surprise. Her swordsmanship flowed like water. After the strike, her sword tip retracted naturally, tracing a silver arc through the air in a perfect half-circle.

Leveraging the reaction force, she flipped lightly in midair, directing her blade straight at Chen Guan's throat.

This transformation was incredibly fast. A heavy vertical slash turned in an instant into a deadly flat-cut aimed at slitting his throat.

Chen Guan snapped his head back violently, the blade passing so close it nearly grazed his chin. Having dodged, he realized his iron hammer was too far away to recover. So, he drove it forward in a quick thrust, attempting to push Guan Jinyue back.

But the moment her sword tip touched the iron hammer, Guan Jinyue didn't meet force with force. Instead, she skillfully slid her blade along the hammer's surface. Using the curve of the hammer head as a guide, the blade slithered upward like a living thing, then shifted, stabbing straight toward Chen Guan's wrist as he gripped the handle.

This sequence of moves was lightning fast. Before Chen Guan could even fully react, a chill was already crawling toward his wrist.

He released the hammer from his right hand, and rather than retreat, he stepped forward, throwing a powerful punch toward Guan Jinyue's cheek, his fist whistling with force.

At the same time, his released right hand caught the tail end of the hammer handle, making the iron hammer spin midair like a striking snake, aiming a tricky blow at Guan Jinyue's flank.

This sudden counter-shift was completely unexpected. Chen Guan's fighting style bore a reckless, primitive savagery, following none of the conventional rules.

Guan Jinyue's eyes narrowed slightly. She hadn't expected this "thick-skinned and dense" guy to react so quickly—and to dare trade blows with her at close range.

Facing Chen Guan's pincer attack, she didn't move her body. Instead, her sword turned into a blade of flowing light in an instant, first parrying his heavy punch. With a dull, thudding sound of flesh hitting metal, the blade and fist met.

Then, following without pause, as the blade parried the punch, the tip swept downward with precision and met the hammer's edge.

"Hum!"

Another brief, sharp buzz. The tip of the sword and the edge of the hammer collided, perfectly deflecting the attack.

Guan Jinyue's movements never stopped. While repelling both simultaneous blows, her sword struck like a venomous serpent, recoiling and then stabbing straight at Chen Guan's throat with the speed of lightning.

Fast, accurate, ruthless. A direct strike to a vital point.

Chen Guan only felt a bone-chilling cold at his neck. He had no time to dodge. No way to dodge.

At the critical moment between life and death, he pushed his Guardian ability to its absolute limit.

The protective layer on his body instantly flared up, almost solid and tangible.

The sword tip stabbed into the force-field. There was a sound like a sharp implement tearing into tough leather. The field rippled violently, light bursting everywhere, as if it might shatter in the next second.

But in the end, it held against the sword. The immense shockwave penetrated the barrier, shaking Chen Guan and making him taste something sour and sweet rise from his throat.

The tip of Guan Jinyue's sword was blocked, but there was no hint of frustration in her eyes.

Instead, her stare became sharper. Looking at the glowing Chen Guan before her, she understood the mechanism of this Guardian ability: only by crushing the limit of its power could she truly harm Chen Guan.