Upon Su Qingcheng’s exclamation of battle, Guan Ding didn’t hesitate. He widened his eyes deliberately as a resplendent golden flash of light rushed out of them, temporarily blinding the girl. The audience was amazed that Guan Ding could use Tianqi out of his eyes, which was a very unique method of attack. Very few people had the skill and precision to be able to create attacks that came from the eye. However, Su Qingcheng was blinded for only a breath’s worth of time. Despite this, Guan Ding’s speed was ferocious. The girl’s pupils constricted as she prepared to receive the attack under the gazes of the amazed crowd.

“This girl, she’s simply courting death. How can she dare to take his attack head on?” Some of the spectators couldn’t believe their eyes.

“She must have another trump card?”

Su Qingcheng tuned out the noise from outside of the battle platform and focused hard on Guan Ding’s movements. He rushed at her with his right knee out and his left leg stretched back – soon she realized that he used his left leg to propel himself forward, using flame Tianqi to bolster his speed further. It was not dissimilar to her own method of using the flame Tianqi to speed up. Smirking at last, Su Qingcheng stepped back, and right when Guan Ding was about to strike her in the stomach, he gasped.

Su Qingcheng flexibly twisted her waist to the side in a flash, her legs maintaining their stable and rock-like position, causing Guan Ding to miss his strike and leaving him wide open for a counter attack. “How did you know?!” Guan Ding managed to heave out but Su Qingcheng only answered by driving one of her arms up and hitting Guan Ding in his own stomach instead. However, unlike the battle with Xiao Tie, she did not use a lot of Nightflower Tianqi, causing Guan Ding to only stumble backwards instead of being tossed to the other side of the platform like a rag doll. This kind of treatment showed the difference between mercy and ruthlessness.

“No way! Is Guan Ding that strong, or did Su Qingcheng deliberately hold back?”

Other experts in the audience were quick to point out that Su Qingcheng deliberately used less Tianqi in her punch than usual, meaning that Su Qingcheng treated the battle as more of a proper competition than a brutal battle to the death. After all, Guan Ding didn’t seem like such a bad person. Why would Su Qingcheng unleash her energy on a guy who was just fighting for those he loved? She would do the same in his position. She respected him as a martial artist.

Guan Ding quickly regained his composure as he realized that his Golden Eye Flash was useless on Su Qingcheng, so he switched tactics. This time he would decide to overwhelm her with a barrage of fast attacks. Leaping to take the chance, the young man fiercely leapt forward, letting tianqi envelop his fists and feet as he suddenly started to ferociously attack Su Qingcheng, leaving her with no room to strike back. Despite the abnormality of the Black Hole Fist, it only allowed her to anticipate and prevent herself from getting hurt from the attacks. In no way would it offer any offensive capabilities, which forced Su Qingcheng into a distinct disadvantage.

"This isn't fair," Su Qingcheng muttered hoarsely as she continued to bravely receive the attacks. Compared to Xiao Tie, Guan Ding was a notch more battle-hardened, however his tactics were straightforward and he did not resort to trickery or sinister plans. As a result, Su Qingcheng did not actually fear getting hurt. However, she knew deep in her heart if things continued she would exhaust herself and would not be able to continue fighting. The audience watched from afar as Guan Ding seemingly appeared to pummel a little girl who only seemed to be moving inches backwards in response to getting battered, receiving each punch or kick with her own counter-force with a palm or leg to block it.

"You're really abnormal," Guan Ding was also getting tired out as he was not stupid either; he realized that Su Qingcheng could also last quite a while and he ceased his attacks, causing the battle to go to an abrupt standstill. The audience went wild, realizing that the two of them had a tacit understanding and reached a stalemate. "This is really pointless. Why don't we both go all in and settle this with one blow?" he suggested plainly while Su Qingcheng nodded in response, switching into her Night Lily Stance. 

"I was really holding back, because I didn't want to hurt you too badly. You are really something," Su Qingcheng smiled. "But since it's come to this, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you and eliminate you today."

"Don't get too ahead of yourself. It was nice meeting you though, kid, maybe we'll meet again in the future." Guan Ding smiled as he stood still and let tianqi swirl into his right hand. A vortex could be seen emerging from it, similar to Su Qingcheng's own Star Vortex Fist. However, it definitely wasn't the same thing. Guan Ding was using the air around him to focus and filter out the impurities in that Tianqi to amplify his punch into an abnormally powerful level. When Su Qingcheng noticed this, she let flame Tianqi burst out from her feet as she jumped tens of feet into the air, before performing a fearsome dive kick right at Guan Ding. The faster she fell, the hotter and fiercer her legs became. Experts in the audience could see Su Qingcheng's figure now enveloped by a fearsome Tianqi, making her look like a meteorite falling from the sky.

"Guan Ding!! Prepare to take my Heaven Starfall Kick!" Su Qingcheng screamed out with determination.

Guan Ding didn't resist either as he prepared to take Su Qingcheng's attack with his fist. "Overestimating yourself, kid! Haaaaa!!" He threw his fist forward at the moment Su Qingcheng's feet would hit him. 

Foot colliding with fist! A huge explosion from the point of impact threatened to shatter and destroy the platform! Fortunately, nothing bad happened and when the dust settled, the platform itself was heavily cracked though it did not shatter. Two bodies were both on the floor. For a moment, it appeared as if both fighters knocked each other out with their ace attacks, causing everyone to sigh with mixed emotions. Such an intense match even ended with a cross-counter finish.

"Everyone! Looks like we have a--"

Before the announcer could conclude the match, a weak, feminine voice interrupted.

"I can... still stand!!"