They attacked back and forth for a while once again, and the old woman was quite predictably at a much greater disadvantage than before. When she seemed to gain the upper hand for just an instant, the saber and shield started to glow with the white light, but this time Jiao had a smile on her face. It was just too bad the big shield and the tilt of Jiao’s face blocked the old woman from noticing it. Just as the two armaments detonated again, Jiao disappeared.

The explosion of two weapons was interrupted by the detonation of the ground underneath the two of them. The secondary blast diffused the primary blast and Jiao dashed towards the golden barrier that was erected in the distance. For a casual observer it might look like she was running away, but when the blast cleared the old woman’s eyes widened and she rushed to follow.

With the two of them gone it was also quite apparent that Xiaoqing was no longer there either. Her location was suddenly given away by a loud clang emitted from a place far ahead of the old woman. Inside the huge trench that had been carved by her violet blade skill, Xiaoqing was facing off against Jiao. Jiao’s thick metallic gauntlets and boots along with the pronounced blue veins standing up all over her skin formed a large contrast with her petite frame, long soft black hair, and the previously bright and floral yukata.

Right behind Jiao, there was a large crack at the place where two layers of the Formation Arrays met. It was a location hidden from the two nearest members of the Lang Clan that raised the barrier and the trench in the ground made a natural dip to hide the crack from view. The old woman had detonated her weapons directly towards this spot, using their power to form this gap all in the hopes that Xiaoqing could escape out of it. Unfortunately, she didn’t realize that Jiao was in mid-air and from that high vantage point, one glance was all it took for her to see the crack forming. With all of her effort for nought, the old woman looked devastated. The only saving grace was that the bell floating over Xiaoqing’s head had enlarged and formed a shield around her when Jiao struck.

Xiaoqing was hurled backwards and the old woman rushed up in time to help steady her. Jiao smiled at the two of them and then she lifted her hand and snapped her fingers. The crack in the barrier behind her sealed up instantly. Then a bluish green aura appeared around her body, sliding under her boots and gauntlets to leave every other inch of her sheathed in glowing energy.

“Have you used up all your emergency measures yet?”

Jiao looked at the old woman with a bit of pity, “I am usually quite merciful when dealing out death, but I have a deep grudge with that Toad. I’d be sorry for having you caught up in it, but since you’re her bodyguard you’re an accomplice to at least some of the atrocities she’s committed. Shall we end this farce?”

With these words, Jiao disappeared, her speed many times higher than before. There was a series of blasts all around the two other women. The walls and floor of the trench were turned into shrapnel from Jiao’s rapid changes in direction. The old woman brought out another pair of weapons and tried to protect her charge. Then without realizing what was going on, she suddenly felt a weakness inside her and she noticed a small cut upon her ankle. She had no idea where it even came from, but she felt it was the source of her weakness. She doubled over, feeling her internal organs spasm, and before she could recover from the sudden weakness she felt the world spin. She saw the side of the trench and then the darkness of the night sky, then there was a plop and she saw someone towering over her. This person was wearing the same clothing she was and for an instant she thought they were saved.

This happy thought was dispelled when that person leaned forward and she could see the lack of a head upon its shoulders.

Witnessing the death of the woman who had been like family to her, protecting and advising her for so many years, Xiaoqing finally felt terror set in. Deep down she knew that when she fled by herself this was likely to happen, but it was entirely different seeing it for herself and also knowing she had nowhere to go.

Jiao saw that look of despair and retracted the jade blade that had been extended from the side of her knee. Angling downward the blade had been used like a scythed chariot, only requiring one little cut in order for the virulent poison of her Jade Mantle to infect the old woman. When she passed she didn’t just cut her, but the tip of the blade snapped off, burying into her skin and delivering a much greater dosage of the poison. She invented this method to make use of her utterly monstrous strength and the speed it gave her. As long as she caught someone while running past, they would be doomed.

Walking closer to this woman that had been her rival from the first time they met as little girls, Jiao smiled at finally getting the chance to deal with a member of the vile Yue Clan. Jiao had never been a fan of her own Clan’s practice, selling their young women to others in order to build connections and earn resources, but that merely disgusted her. In comparison to controlling people’s minds and erasing their free will, arranged marriages were not so bad. The Yue Clan was just too careful and well connected to be caught red-handed and they had other groups do most of their dirty work, just like the Yi Yang Group.

“So, you’re finally going to get revenge on me for saying you had a man’s face and boy’s chest, huh? All these years and you still haven’t matured at all. I have no idea how you got so strong and I hope that wretched poison you inject yourself with kills you. Well, even if it doesn’t, at least it shows the world how ugly you really are on the inside.”

Xiaoqing released her most vitriolic insults, but Jiao merely smiled, treating her words as air. The final desperate attempts of a condemned person with their head on the chopping block. She walked closer and closer with a nonchalant smirk, staring into Xiaoqing’s eyes to watch the collapse of her mental state.

Many miles away, a soft voice spoke with a worried tone, “Grandmother is putting herself in danger just because she wants to hear that woman beg. We need to remind her before it's too late!”

The target of this impassioned plea was at the highest position of the command center with a dozen screens on the wall in front of him and two more floating near his lap. Yating, the Clan Head, just waved his niece away, “Don’t underestimate her.”

Just as he finished giving his advice the projected display of Jiao’s battlefield suddenly turned black. He reached out and pulled two fingers on the screen zooming the view in. With this enhancement he saw tiny crackling arcs of white energy, which confirmed the feed was still intact, but didn’t answer the question of what had just happened.