"I would assume Bai Qi felt a type of inspiration. Otherwise, there is no way to explain him missing Teng Lang's finisher." An aged woman bearing the colors of the Yi clan commented to one of her companions, a 1st level Warrior Lord dressed as one of the [Yi Company] fighters.

"I agree, Master. He was fighting so well and avoided so easily before. So, he couldn't have messed up without reason." The young man, a boy even, nodded.

"Wei, what would you say? You did say your friend was impressive, but I hardly believed you before." A female 2nd level Warrior Lord, her martial robes reinforced with scales of an unknown beast, asked while turning to the fourth member of their small group, one that had entered the arena as Bai Qi and Teng Lang's fight started.

"...He did enjoy clashing head-on with new opponents, and it remains the same. As for the miss, who knows? I am not someone to have a say." After thinking for a few moments, Wei answered.

If Bai Qi stood there to see him, he would note that Wei hardly changed and, at the same time, he did. The same short hair, half-armored robes, and stern face. Well, he did allow a short beard on his face, and the robes and armor were of Spirit-tier materials, but that was not the point.

Something in Wei's aura and posture had changed. From the silent, unsociable bearing, he now looked more like a fighter than a bandit, and even the light trace of bloodlust in his aura wasn't one of a killer but someone who followed the path of warfare.

"Now, let's stop discussing and start observing. Yuwen Hanying is several ranks above Teng Lang, and we are yet to see how the wound will affect this new conqueror prospect." The aged woman, leader, or senior of their small group spoke, and the three of her young companions immediately obeyed.

"[Mountain Slicing Sword], Yuwen Hanying, Rank 19 of Earthen Lord Ranking Board." Yi Bingwen announced her name, but with her on stage already, he immediately gave a start to the combat.

"I wouldn't oppose you taking a few breaths to deal with that wound. There is no honor in besting an opponent who isn't at his peak." Motioning with the strange, more chopper than a sword that appeared as soon the bell sounded, the long-haired beauty spoke up again. Yuwen Hanying's words were polite, even kind, yet Bai Qi couldn't help but feel something amiss.

The young, probably a year older than him, peak 3rd level Warrior Lord didn't appear as if lying or faking. And her manners were the opposite of her two brothers. But somehow, he felt that if he accepted, he would put himself in the wrong position. Unsure if it was paranoia stemming from the events during the last fight or if the feeling was correct, Bai Qi still chose to follow it.

"I thank you for the consideration, but I accepted to fight without time-outs. And so I will." Bai Qi half-bowed and summoned his sword, the [Blue Fury].

***

Inspiration, paranoia, or even the feeling of defeat after missing the moment [Two Ax Butcher] namesake weapons shoot from his back during that last attack, nearly cutting Bai Qi in half. No matter what it was, Bai Qi's decision to refuse a hold, one not guaranteed by anything, probably was the right one. He had only summoned his sword, and Yuwen Hanying's attack was already halfway.

The slash that the three feet long, nearly foot-wide, richly adorned blade released, a mix of aura and sword intent, would be dangerous even for Bai Qi's full-strength defenses, not to say if he had dropped them to heal the two-inch-deep cut on his right side, just below his ribcage.

Deciding on caution over arrogance, Bai Qi wished for the activation of [Counting Steps], disappearing from the attack's path. And as soon as he emerged from the void-like corridor formed by the constantly evolving movement technique, he released a slash of his own, not weaker than his opponent's.

Yuwen Hanying's eyebrows arched as she felt that Bai Qi had equaled her attack without taking time to focus, but except for that slight surprise, she remained calm and collected. And although she first wanted to meet it head-on and gauge Bai Qi's sword intent, she glided away with a movement skill, as her opponent did before.

"Introductions out of the way. Should we now fight?" Bai Qi never was above the odd commentary during combat, and Yuwen Hanying's solemnity, which he felt somehow faked, made him only more interested in her reactions.

Bai Qi did get a reaction, but not the desired one. *Slash* *Slash* Yuwen Hanying's sword drew two arches, each releasing a slash like before.

Bai Qi lightly smiled at the thought, deciding to accept the invitation. *Slash* *Slash* Repeating even the movement, Bai Qi released two of his own. Although, he prepared to activate [Counting Steps] if required, as even he could not predict the result of the clash between their attacks, with them being of the same strength.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

The four aura and intent slashes flew to meet each other.

*Clash*

And they clashed right in between their masters in the same instant.

*Shatter* *Shatter* *Shatter*

After grinding against each other for a few moments, three slashes ceased to exist, the aura and intent fueling them shattering.

"Interesting!" Bai Qi could not help but exclaim as he shattered the slash that flew towards him, one so weakened that he didn't even cover [Blue Fury] with aura.

*Slash* *Slash* *Slash*

Without a word, Yuwen Hanying now released three slashes.

*Slash*

Bai Qi didn't plan to play for a long time, so he released a single one after a slight delay, infusing aura several times more than the previous ones.

Three slashes half a man's height and not thicker than an arm met a massive slash that covered nearly a quarter of the stage's width.

*Shatter* *Shatter* *Shatter*

Yuwen Hanying's three slashes shattered instantly, and while weakened and diminished, Bai Qi's slash continued towards her.

The strongest and youngest of the Yuwen branch's siblings lowered into a low stance, preparing to break the upcoming attack. Yet, her composure vanished just a moment later, as Bai Qi's slash suddenly stopped moving and remained still a couple of feet out of her range.

"What the..?!" She exclaimed what nearly every one of the observers thought. And indeed, such slashes could be controlled on the user's will, but doing so required an aura control far above the strength used.

"It would not be right to allow it to hit you." As Bai Qi's words entered Yuwen Hanying's ears, she shivered. After all, how she hadn't noticed him moving beside, just a bit behind, her?!

*Slash*

Reacting to the voice, she darted to the side as she bent her arm to slash at the position she felt Bai Qi on.

But her sword encountered nothing. As she stopped, her senses concentrating on finding her opponent, she met with another shock. Bai Qi had not moved from his original spot. "How?" She asked without thinking.

"There's nothing to hide, a simple void rip." Bai Qi calmly explained, his voice sounding near her again.

"Tricks!" Yuwen Hanying wasn't a calm and solemn person as she acted, and Bai Qi using such a trick, outplaying her, made her inwardly curse.

"Just a mere invitation to fight earnestly." Bai Qi shrugged. Cautiously yes, but it didn't mean Bai Qi would be content with a staring match while they sent slashes against each other. {Maybe it was too condescending, but it's not like I can spend aura and intent I may require later. Easier to force her out of balance, drive her to attack me} Bai Qi sent a command to the suspended slash, making it dissipate, its remaining aura returning to him.

"So you want to fight earnestly, I see." Yuwen Hanying's voice and expression held none of her previous calm.

***

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

The heavily adorned, Earth-tier chopper-like sword, [Mountain Slicing Sword], swung at Bai Qi repeatedly. With his [Blue Fury] being of lower quality and thus requiring far more aura to block the opponent's weapon, Bai Qi chose to deflect and redirect the attacks, never clashing directly. As for the hits he couldn't meet like that, he dodged them with small, perfectly-timed movements.

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

Yuwen Hanying had bitten the hook, line, and sinker, even though Bai Qi's taunts had been very tame, not enough to provoke her brothers even. She had launched forwards, closing distance, and had not stopped once from continuously slashing while hounding after the moving Bai Qi.

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

Bai Qi would be happy to continue such a fight for a long time, his opponent spending and exerting a lot more than him. Yet, even if he counted on unlimited time, he would not.

With over half of the attacks aimed at his right side, Bai Qi could only think about Yuwen Hanying.

Attacking your opponent's weakness was a reasonable strategy for any cultivator path.

Yet, to not notice your opponent's lack of such? Continue to senselessly attack without taking the time to understand the situation? Hounding on an opponent when the latter clearly showed he didn't care about your attacks? And, failing to notice how your opponent deliberately missed chances to give you time to change your approach?

All of that showed two things - Lack of experience and, worse, an absolute lack of depth on your weapon's path.

Bai Qi always attempted to learn something from his encounters, no matter if the opponent was weaker than him. But, there was nothing to learn from Yuwen Hanying.

*CLANG*

Bai Qi's [Blue Fury] flew up, stopping Yuwen Hanying's downward slash before it started.

*Swoosh*

Without allowing her to move the sword, Bai Qi's left leg shoot towards her abdomen.

*Thump*

And while Yuwen Hanying's aura cover resisted the attack, she was still forced to slide several feet backward.

"You, you are strong, stronger than Fu Guo. Yet, I am unsurprised by your draw with him. His sword was far deeper than yours, even if he didn't count with the support of a treasured weapon or had such good instructors." Bai Qi sighed as he lowered his weapon, shaking his head.

"You dare to compare me to a stray?!" Dropping any pretense of politeness, Yuwen Hanying shouted back as she glared at Bai Qi with rage.

"I climbed this stage not only to prove myself worthy of the title but also to learn from my opponents." Bai Qi ignored her words, continuing in the same bitter voice, "But, I can only say that I don't see anything to learn from an opponent so quick to anger and so slow to react."

"You damnable bastard! A damn dog barks at me, the future leader of a tertiary branch of the great [Yuwen Family]?!" Yuwen Hanying growled back, but Bai Qi didn't react at all. Thinking this, an evil smile crossed her face.

*Swoosh* *Clang*

She vaulted forwards, her sword aimed at Bai Qi's neck, but the latter stopped the attack without effort. Still, Yuwen Hanying knew that would happen, and her smile grew even more.

*Swoosh* *Swoosh*

The sleeves of her long dress fluttered as the swords connected, and two talismans flew out of them.

*Swoosh*

As the talismans floated towards Bai Qi, Yuwen Hanying broke contact, jumping back with all her strength while pinching the fingers of her left hand in the [Activate] seal for the talismans.

*BOOM* *Shhhhshsh*

An explosion of blinding light, followed by a mist-like vapor, covered Bai Qi. Yuwen Hanying laughed as her sword rose upwards, her aura flaring, prepared to release the strongest of her skills, her trump card, on her defenseless, sense-deprived opponent.

"DIE; Cleave the Mountains, Sacred Sword of Mine!" She shouted as nearly all of her current available aura and qi gathered in the treasured weapon of her family...