Swoosh!
The next exchange was not an exchange. It was a dismantling. The watcher applied force in a sequence that addressed every defensive layer in order, Celestial Armor receiving the first contact, Iron Body Fortification's threshold being directly tested by the second, Eternal Guard's flat reduction being the third layer, and the physical damage that reached through all three being the fourth. The sequence took seven seconds and produced cuts that the previous cuts had not reached.
Lin Yi was on the island surface.
He processed where he was. Right leg still functional, barely. Left leg compromised. Chest cuts, shoulder cut, torso cuts, the new cuts. The total picture was not compatible with continued engagement.
The watcher stood at a distance and looked at him.
