Instincts kicked into overdrive mode!

  Bubai’s legs kicked off hard against the battle doll’s belly.

  Bam! The force launched him away while the goddess was forced back in the opposite direction!

  But that didn’t stop the winter’s wrath coming out from her mouth!

  An avalanche’s whisper turned into a howl…

  A stormy fury of frost blasted towards Bubai, forcing him to cross his arms to shield his eyes!

  The biting ferocity of the icy chill threatened him like a pack of wild wolves, shoving him back and gnawing him all over.

  Feeling the freezing cold sting his forearms, causing a part of them to go stiff, Bubai felt cold inside.

  What a powerful spell!

  This ice version of the galestorm was almost like a mini blizzard! It was literally being hit by the power of nature!

  Worse yet, there seemed to be something else lurking in it?

  When his legs kissed the ground once more, Bubai dug in and slid to a stop.

  Facing the dying force of the storm, he finally got a chance to assess his condition.

  The front of his body was thinly frosted over.

  Aside from being a little numbing, it was not a major issue.

  But his heart sank when he saw half an arm that iced up like a popsicle.

  Lining up on it was a triplet of crystal clear ice needles that were stuck a quarter of the way in.

  “To actually use the storm’s force as cover to fire these… How sneaky. This piercing power… if my arm didn’t shield my eyes…”

  They’ll definitely be goners. Even a brain freeze wasn’t out of the question. How terrifying.

  These were probably the real threat that set off his danger alarm, huh?

  Alas, his Bubai tingle wasn’t omnipotent.

  It lets him lock down where the danger was coming from, but how to react is still up to him.

  Since he could sense where the danger was coming from, preemptively reacting was easy, even if he can’t see the incoming threat.

  Gotta say. Pretty reliable against straightforward threats like an ambush or an unseen skillshot.

  Unfortunately, the tingle is, in the end, just a tingle, and wasn’t an overpowered foresight that lets him see the true nature of any incoming threat.

  If it’s something hidden in plain sight within another more obvious menace, like those icy needles in the AOE spell, how can he even react?

  After all, when he saw the icestorm spell, his first instinct was that the danger came from the snowstorm itself and not from within it!

  Unless he had spiritual sense activated like a radar, it was nigh impossible to actually see the ice needles buried behind the blinding layer of frosty air!

  Even if he was wary of ambushes thanks to the earlier lessons against the wind storms, he still wasn’t prepared this time.

  After all, Illusory Beast Steps was his fallback for a sure killer move.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  It wasn’t something he could just spam every time he faces a little danger.

  Heck, even if he used it, he’s pretty sure the illusion can’t fool a puppet utilizing extra detection mechanisms beyond that of a pure mortal sight and sound.

  From scent and motion tracking to vitality detection, Qi sensing, etc.

  It was unknown which modules were installed on this human-refined battle doll, but even a mid-tier must have at least one or two, let alone this doll downgraded from a higher-tier.

  Since he got locked on from the start, it’ll be hard to hide from the hunting dog.

  Perhaps the only way to avoid her bite was to know what moves she’s trained with beforehand.

  Intel makes all the difference.

  Since he had no intel regarding her abilities beforehand, eating this hit was a forgone conclusion.

  “For real though… who would've guessed that pretty little mouth of hers would shoot these bad boys that could drill any men straight till kingdom come.”

  Bubai didn’t know if these icy needles were poisonous, but he could sense the chill from them freezing up his bloodstream inside out.

  “Brrr… should’ve worn my arm guards. Oh well…”

  Sharply inhaling, Bubai flexed out the frozen arm... Crack. Crack!

  And slammed it into the ground! Bam!

  The icy shell sheathing his arm shattered into shards, and even the needles snapped loose.

  His blood got pumping and Qi surged to his arms to fight the numbing cold, warming them up for recovery...

  After popping a blood rejuvenation pill, Bubai let the injured arm hang limply at his side and adjusted his breath, letting out a foggy breath.

  “Fortunately, a little cold is nothing.”

  When Tai Yingui camping in the turtle-shell barrier heard this, he clicked his tongue.

  “Geh. You’re lucky that ice arts are a bit watery here in this desert. Otherwise, you’d be saying goodbye to that arm.”

  Bubai rolled his eyes, assessing the wide circle of frosted ground around him. Merlin’s beard, ya call that watery?

  Still, never hurts to boast a little. Two can play that game.

  “Sorry to disappoint. Even if this was the snow-capped mountains, I’ll still be perfectly fine.”

  Tai Yingui snickered. “Relying on that physique of yours? Keep bragging.”

  Bubai sneered back. “At least I don’t need to rely on a golden spoon.”

  That did little to wipe the smugness off Tai Yingui’s proud face.

  “Money is also power. Looking at you, you probably can’t even afford to fill the pool in your tower. A poor peasant like you would never understand…”

  “But I’m generous. If you give up now, I don’t mind letting Leng Meng here give you a good lesson to help you understand what it means to take the golden road to heaven.”

  “Pooh! Only the weak gives up.” Bubai rolled his shoulders. “Just wait. Once I get rid of this broken doll that lost her fangs, you’re next.”

  “Gehehe… What big words!”

  Tai Yingui thumped his tortoise shell like a riled-up spartan banging on his shield. “Go on! I want to see just how you’ll handle me and my doll after that little love tap she gave you!”

  There was no time for more word games.

  Bubai’s eyes snapped over to see the goddess with frost-kissed eyebrows already ice skating towards him.

  Oh dear Merlin! As someone who championed gender equality in fights, he actually didn’t hold back at all and kicked her pretty hard...

  Even if it’s just his pre-foundation strength, normal mortals might’ve croaked after a kick!

  Yet here she was, without a single bruise, let alone a dent!

  Heck, she was even coming back for more, and she was closing in fast!

  “Women, what a nuisance.”

  But Bubai can’t take this nuisance lightly.

  Sure, her sword got banned, but that didn’t mean this mid-tier doll is powerless!

  Aside from the fact that she can cast spells like a Qi-refiner, the inherent strength of her refined artifact-like body was still there!

  Whoosh! The goddess’s slender arm carved an arc towards him.

  Step. Bubai leaned back slightly, narrowly evading those long, pure white nails of hers that slashed at his throat like blades.

  He could feel the chill on them, much like her sword. Too bad their reach was much too short.

  That meant her defensive zone has shrunk down, enough for melee counterplay!

  The hunter’s aggression awakened.

  Just when the eagle’s claws were ready to strike back, the goddess’s other hand came swinging in!

  Fwoosh! A cotton-padded fist lunged at his throat, looking a bit strange and funny.

  Digging his foot in to stabilize himself on the slippery surface, Bubai’s claw met the fist head-on!

  Pat! Paper beats rock. The claw easily caught the fist bagged by his pouch!

  Not having a sword really did make all the difference in her danger rating.

  But this ice goddess’s danger didn’t stop there.

  Seeing the frosty breath leaking from her mouth, Bubai could already guess what’s coming next.

  “Not uh, you don’t!”

  Yanking down on her captured fist, Bubai destabilized her, giving him an opening.

  His knee immediately shot straight up for an uppercut!

  Wham! Her jaws were kicked shut so hard that her entire body snapped back, cutting off the impending storm!

  His leg then snapped forward and gave her belly another hard boot, sending her flying away!

  Riding the rebound force of his own kick, Bubai launched himself back, just in time to evade a glob of magma the size of a boulder that came smashing down!

  Ssshhh! With steam sizzling up before his eyes, Bubai slid back across the frosted field and shot a glare over at Tai Yingui, who just finished rebooting his tortoise-shell barrier.

  Mr. Smugface leisurely popped a pill and wickedly snickered.

  “Gehehe, don’t worry. I promise... I won’t miss next time.”