Fu Guo wasn't an opponent against whom Bai Qi would remain passive. And while he did hold back, partially, Bai Qi lunged forward as soon as he heard the gong.

Items, treasures, and even the additional rune or formation effects were severely limited. But one could use any weapon, even change them during the fight, so Bai Qi chose to first test the waters by using one of the sabers from the previous duel.

*Swoosh*

Saber nearly touching the ground, slightly behind himself, Bai Qi started forward, using a speed relative to his cultivation and even using one of the movement skills he learned but rarely activated, [Arrow Flight]. The latter was too basic for a real battle, but in a reduced stage, the increased speed on a straight line could be of use.

Fu Guo remained standing still, and only his right hand, the one which held a sword wrapped in cloth, slightly moved.

Just about to make contact with his opponent, Bai Qi rotated his body as he extended the saber in his left arm to the side, adding more strength behind the saber's slash by combining speed and movement.

*Clang*

Bai Qi's attack was about the one of an average 3rd level Warrior Lord, but Fu Guo blocked it with apparent ease. Without even moving his hand from the middle of the wrapped sword.

Bai Qi's eyes gleamed as he felt how his saber arm trembled from the impact. Switching the saber to his right, Bai Qi sent a downward slash with similar strength as before.

*Clang*

Yet again, a simple, even lazy movement of Fu Guo's was enough to block and for Bai Qi to feel how the saber nearly flew out of his grasp.

*Swoosh* *Clang* *Swoosh* *Clang*

Increasing strength bit by bit, quickening his cultivation, and reinforcing the saber with aura, Bai Qi released slash after slash. He switched the saber from hand to hand, circled, moved, and changed directions and heights. But to each of his attacks, one of the sides of the still wrapped sword was presented, blocking it with just enough force to break the slashes entirely.

By this moment, the force behind each of Bai Qi's attacks neared the peak of the level. And with the additional increase in speed and difficulty, not many of the people in the arena thought themselves capable of remaining unfazed in Fu Guo's shoes. Still, the latter did, not moving in the slightest and showing supreme control over himself.

Bai Qi's eyes shone with unmistakable pleasure. After all, in Fu Guo's face, Bai Qi found an opponent of the same cultivation that merited the use of nearly all of his abilities!

Thinking like that, Bai Qi extended his free arm and summoned the second saber, restarting the previous sequence, but now while dual-wielding.

*Swoosh* *Clang* *Clang* *Swoosh* *Clang* *Swoosh* *Step*

Bai Qi did not go all out, but his twin saber succession of slashes could have troubled even him in another setting. And Fu Guo was forced to take a step back at last, after finding that he could not block the two horizontal slashes coming from different directions, respectively aimed at the neck and his left leg, sent at a different speed but timed to cut him at the same.

***

In the beginning, Fu Guo did not expect much from his assigned opponent. He had observed the previous combat of Bai Qi and found him to be of average skill. Or at least it seemed so until Bai Qi lunged as soon as the gong sounded, showing prowess a tier above the one before.

Fu Guo had the right to be arrogant, with him being the current and undoubted leader among the participants. His thoughts quickly changed as slashes followed and connected to each other, all while increasing speed, difficulty, and most importantly, strength.

With surprise, and a hint of curiosity, Fu Guo thought as Bai Qi summoned his second saber, and the number of attacks doubled, hinting that his opponent could go even faster, stronger, and more accurate.

Only thanks to his own acceptance of the matter, Fu Guo did not feel wrong to take a step back, indicating that he could not have blocked Bai Qi's attacks in the same manner as until now.

***

"I wish that my hopes about you aren't mistaken." Fu Guo spoke up, and following his intuition, Bai Qi created distance right away.

It turned to be the right call, as a moment later, the spiritual and so durable cloth fell to the ground, revealing a simple straight sword in a wooden sheat.

Even such simple action, revealing a sheathed sword, was enough for Bai Qi to feel the threat, though he had moved to the opposite side of the stage.

"Here I come!" Fu Guo spoke up again, lowering his stance and his left hand gripping the sword.

*Slash* *Click*

Bai Qi's reactions were far above a Warrior Lord, and his senses were on the highest possible level of the realm, and still, he barely noticed how Fu Guo's sword left the sheath, slashed at the air, and then was sheathed again.

Acting on a hunch, not on what he actually was yet to sense, Bai Qi's sabers formed a cross in front of him.

*Clang*

The right call again, as he felt how something impacted against them, something that he could neither see nor feel!

Yet, it was not enough.

*Clank* Half of Bai Qi's right saber fell on the ground, leaving him with an absolutely even cut piece of spiritual metal.

*Crack* The other saber, having been behind the first one, cracked around the middle but did not break. And this had been a lucky occurrence for Bai Qi as if Fu Guo's slash continued forward for more -

*Tear* - The small cut on Bai Qi's cheek would have been the less of his worries!

"It seems my control is still lacking. I did not plan to destroy your weapons." Fu Guo's tone was apologetic as he slightly inclined his head.

Hearing these words, Bai Qi could only lightly smile at the same time that he shivered.

Bai Qi's shiver wasn't of fear or shock. He was long prepared for meeting cultivators that could pose him a threat. Not that he expected it to be one with similar cultivation or in this location, but still.

*Clank* *Clank* Bai Qi let off both damaged weapons. And they had only reached the stage's rune-covered wooden floor as Bai Qi sprang forward.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

Moving erratically, Bai Qi closed the distance again, raising his hand as his sword appeared, the [Blue Steel] brightly shining from the qi infused into it.

To an observer, Bai Qi's attack would look nearly the same as before, just with a different weapon. But Fu Guo wasn't a mere observer. He was not your average cultivator either. Bai Qi had yet to release the usually kept back, as he used a sword on counted occasions, sword intent. Still, Fu Guo managed to sense that his opponent wasn't a novice with the sword, something that was shown in him changing his manner.

What had initially been a simple block with the sheath, similar to the clothed sword's lazy movements from the start, changed into Fu Guo's moving to meet Bai Qi's attack, one hand on the grip, the other one on the sheath.

*CLANG*

But Bai Qi's sword intent, one barely noticeable before, released entirely as the blade connected. Several small physical manifestations of it, as splinters, flew from the blade's edge as it clashed with the wooden sheath and flew towards Fu Guo.

*Rip*

And a lucky, or maybe intended one, made a small rip on Fu Guo's scarf-like martial robe's high collar.

*Tear*

***

Fu Guo was shocked by the result of this clash. He had felt that Bai Qi was above the level shown at the beginning, and he also felt Bai Qi not being a novice to the sword path. Still, he was taken aback by Bai Qi's nearly peak 3rd step in the latter.

A 3rd step of the nine considered the true base of any path was not something unseen or unheard. But for someone who obviously did not follow just a single one, as previously Bai Qi had shown attunement with the sabers, it was to say something unexpected.

But the true shock came from just how Bai Qi managed to hide his sword mastery, disguise its level, and take Fu Guo, a 4th step Swordmaster himself, by surprise. Even the nearly instant reaction based on what he felt had not been enough.

Such thoughts crossed Fu Guo's mind as he felt how blood dripped from the swallow wound on his neck, the first wound he had received in all of his arena combats!

*Drip* *Drip*

Yet, genuine astonishment for Fu Guo came not from the wound but from Bai Qi's reaction, or lack of such, to the blood that dripped from it or Fu Guo's now revealed neck.

Cultivators were used to seeing and encountering undiscovered, unknown, and unseen things. Yet, what kind of young, not older than 16 years cultivator would not show any reaction to their opponent's veins being of vibrant yellow color? Or for the blood that flowed from the wound to be of brown hue with specks of, actual, gold?

The [Ni Tu] tribe;

The blessed sons of the Earth;

The descendants of [Tu Di Gong];

Humans that were not quite humans, the blood of a deity flowing in their bodies. Diluted as it may be, it still granted them a nearly absolute relationship with the Earth element, coupled with an innate affinity to the Wood and Metal elements.

Hindered in their control of any other elements, the [Ni Tu] bloodline was still considered one of the rarest and most precious of all, especially as opposed to most innate affinities it was versatile in means, cultivation methods, weapon masteries, personal talents, and most importantly, impossible to sense if not for being aware of them.

Nearly identical to the average man or woman, they still had the mark of their bloodline visible, it being the yellow-colored veins, and their blood being not only of a different color but also containing traces of different ores, minerals, and other riches of the Earth, depending on their cultivation method.

Ironically, what should have stunned Bai Qi, in turn, stunned Fu Guo. But at the same time, how was the [Ni Tu] tribesman supposed to know that their kind, rare as it was on this plane, was anything new for Bai Qi? That, for the latter, Fu Guo's race was anything but one of the myriads of different ones seen, met, fought, and befriended as an Immortal?

***

Bai Qi had sensed Fu Guo not being an average human since the start, so even if he had not met or heard of [Ni Tu] in this plane, he wasn't surprised enough to waver.

As his sword recoiled from the heavy block, Bai Qi's free hand clenched into a fist, which he immediately sent forward towards the stunned-looking opponent's navel.

Fu Guo had barely moved since the combat started. Thus, his back was nearly against the stage's boundary where each combatant started. And with him being half-stunned by the lack of Bai Qi's reaction and the latter's means, he only had one chance to dodge, which was to move to either side.

And he did so, choosing to vault towards his right, moving away from Bai Qi's right, sword-holding hand.

*Swoosh*

Bai Qi reacted right away, rotating his body, the sword in a horizontal slash, again aimed at Fu Guo's neck.

*CLANG*

A hard block, this time reinforced with aura and sword intent to avoid something like the previous exchange result, was Fu Guo's answer to this attack.

"You, just how much are you hiding?" Fu Guo's voice was pleasant to the ear, calm and collected, even though his inner self was in turmoil.

"Who knows? It may be less than you think. Or, maybe more?" Bai Qi half-smiled as he gave a mystified response. And before his left arm, now assuming a claw-like form, was sent as a follow-up, followed with his own question, "And you? How much a [Ni Tu] lineage cultivator is hiding by only using a sword?"