Xaio Shui grinned as he launched his attack. This fool thought he had been getting pushed back. It was true that he had underestimated this man. He never would have expected someone at the Human Limit Realm could be so strong, but he wouldn’t do that anymore. He understood after their last exchange that he could not afford to hold back, galling though it was to admit.

Even though his attack must have come as a shock, Jian Wu still somehow deflected his technique. He used the flat of his blade and tilted it at an angle. The beam of sun chi glanced off the blade and careened into space, where it disappeared into the sky. That was okay, though. All this had been done to buy time, nothing more.

[Domain of Undying Flames]

Heat erupted all around them as the world was dyed red. A blazing inferno engulfed the entire battlefield, a vortex of searing heat and flames that defied extinction. Jian Wu leapt back as though to gain distance, but it was no use. Xaio Shui had complete control of flames within this domain. He sent the flames at Jian Wu, hoping to burn away that mask so he could complete the task given to him by that person. However, the man proved more formidable than he thought, swinging his sword and slicing through the flames like they were made of papermache.

Xaio Shui frowned before he created several pillars of fire that erupted underneath Jian Wu, but the man moved like he could see what was happening before it even happened, leaping into a series of backhandsprings that kept him just ahead of the flames. With a wave of his hand, Xaio Shui manipulated the pillars he already unleashed and had them curve around Jian Wu to attack from behind. The man was engulfed in fire, causing him to smile.

Then the flames dispersed.

Xaio Shui’s frown returned.

Jian Wu was unharmed.

Just what kind of power is that?!

Xaio Shui had never seen someone with the esoteric abilities his opponent was displaying. Techniques phased through him like he was a mirage. He couldn’t tell if the man was somehow impervious to his techniques, or if he was moving so fast all Xaio Shui hit was after images. Even now he thought for sure this attack had hit Jian Wu, and yet the man was standing there like nothing had happened.

Is this what that man warned me about? Is this the Dao of Space?

The cloaked figure who requested this of him had said that Jian Wu used a unique cultivation method that granted him the ability to manipulate space. Xaio Shui only knew hearsay about the Dao of Space. It was an extremely strong dao that let the user bend space to their whims. The domains of various sects like the Heavenly Sword Sect were all created using a form of spatial manipulation.

What little he knew of this dao was that it wasn’t something just anyone could learn. That this man could use it proved he was dangerous. Xaio Shui didn’t know why that person wanted him to destroy that mask of his instead of just killing him, but he wouldn’t question it. One did not look a gift horse in the mouth.

“You’re pretty strong,” Xaio Shui complimented, though it came alongside an arrogant sneer. It didn’t matter how much this fool fought. Now that he had activated his Domain, it was only a matter of time before Jian Wu fell by his hand.

“Well… thank you, but compliments mean very little coming from someone like you,” Jian Wu said.

Xaio Shui’s lips thinned. “And just what do you mean by that?”

Jian Wu shrugged. “I mean compliments about my strength coming from someone weaker than me don’t mean much.”

“Weaker… than you? You think that I’m… weaker than some pissant who’s only at the Human Limit Realm?”

Him? Weaker than Jian Wu? Absurd. Did this man not understand how cultivation worked? Xaio Shui was at Deva Realm, while this fool was only at the Human Limit Realm.

“I don’t think that. I know that.” Jian Wu raised his sword and pointed it at Xaio Shui. “You are weak. I’ll prove it to you right now.”

“Ah ha! Ah ha ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha! Hahahahahahahaha!!”

Xaio Shui threw his head back and laughed, both out of the sheer ludicrousness of this man’s statement and also anger that someone could so daringly insult him to his face. The flames around him burned hotter than ever before. They writhed and danced as if timed to the rapid beating of an enraged drummer. After he had his fill of laughter, Xaio Shui glared at Jian Wu, who had not moved from his spot.

“You’re courting death with those words. Allow me to show you the difference in our power.”

The flames congealed around his hand and became a javelin, which he tossed at Jian Wu. He expected the man to use his phasing ability, but instead, the masked cultivator raised a hand. A black void appeared before him. Xaio Shui watched in shock as his fire javelin disappeared within it.

“Grrr! Then try this on for size!!”

Spreading his arms wide, Xaio Shui created numerous tiny spheres that resembled the sun. They were all made form condensed sun chi and were hot enough to burn flesh and turn bones into ash in a matter of seconds. He launched them at Jian Wu without a care. However, each and every one of them vanished through a strange black void. His opponent didn’t even move.

“You’re wasting your chi,” Jian Wu said with his arms crossed. “Give it up.”

“Give up?! I’ll never give up! I WON’T LET SOME WEAK HUMAN LIMIT REALM CULTIVATOR LOOK DOWN ON ME!!!”

Xaio Shui had never felt so much rage before. With a roar, he compressed all of his remaining chi into his Domain. If he couldn’t destroy this man with normal attacks, then he would turn up the heat. The temperature in the Domain quickly rose. It became so hot the arena tiles turned a bubbling red. Waves of heat created distortions in the air. A normal human would have been burned to ash by this attack.

Jian Wu just stood there.

“Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit dammit! Why won’t you die?!”

Seeing his opponent stand there like his attack did nothing incensed Xaio Shui. He didn’t care about that man’s promise, or his reward, or even winning this tournament. He wanted this man to burn. He wanted to watch him turn to ash. He hated Jian Wu with every fiber of his being.

Using up whatever chi he had left, Xaio Shui compressed his Domain until it was only around Jian Wu. By doing this, he could make his Domain even hotter, though it took a great toll on him mentally. The strain of maintaining a Domain was already great, and he was only at the Deva Realm. What he was doing was something that should only be attempted upon reaching the Seeker Realm.

Blood ran down his nose and mouth as he gritted his teeth. The glare on his face was probably quite ghastly, but he didn’t care. He stared at Jian Wu as though attempting to burn him with his eyes alone.

Jian Wu sighed. “It’s obvious to me now that you lack true strength. Let me guess, you’ve been cultivating in the safety of your kingdom without a care in the world? I bet your master fed you tons of alchemy pills to help you get stronger faster. You reached the Deva Realm relatively easily. A man like you who has never suffered a loss, never struggled to obtain anything, cannot beat me.”

“SHUT UP! WHAT DO YOU KNOW?!”

Jian Wu’s words incensed Xiao Shui. So what if he had never struggled a day in his life? Who cared if his strength came from alchemy pills? He was at the Deva Realm! Few people ever reached this realm and he was one of them. That alone was proof of his strength. He would not let this sniveling little shit call him weak!

“Haaaah. Fool.”

The air shifted and Xaio Shui felt his spine grow numb. What… was this feeling? It felt like he had just been cut by a freshly sharpened blade. Before he could ponder it further, the sword in Jian Wu’s hand gained a dark blade edge. It was the blade had encapsulated the night sky. The contrast between the blackened edge and pure white steel was as beautiful as it was terrifying.

Jian Wu brought his sword upward in a single swing from left hip to right shoulder. A tear appeared on Xaio Shui’s Domain, growing larger the moment it appeared. He tried to maintain it, but he had already run out of chi. Blood spewed from his mouth as he coughed, falling onto his hands and knees, heaving for breath. His insides burned. It felt like he was being burned alive by his own flames.

“What?”

Xaio Shui gawked. His Domain… what happened to his Domain? Did this man cut through it? No. No no no no no! That was impossible! Domain’s couldn’t be cut through so easily! It would have taken someone with a higher cultivation than him to do something like that!

“This is a joke… this is a bad joke…”

This had to be a twisted joke, a delusion created from a figment of his imagination. There was no way this could be real. No way no way no way! It had to be fake!

Footsteps echoed to him.

He froze.

Clop. Clop. Clop. Clop.

The sound of boots on a hard surface echoed to him, causing Xaio Shui to look up.

“Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!”

He squealed when he spotted Jian Wu walking toward him with calm, measured steps. This young man had just taken everything he had thrown at him like it was nothing. His domain had been sliced through with a single swing, his attacks nulified in an instant. Xaio Shui felt a shiver crawl up his spine. Unable to fight this compulsion, he fought against the pain of his burning insides and scrambled backwards.

“S-stay back! You monster! Stay away!!”

Yet Jian Wu would not listen. He continued to walk forward, forcing Xaio Shui to scramble backward on all fours. He didn’t care about how shameful this might look. All he could see was this man’s masked face, dark eyes glaring at him from behind two eyeholes.

His opponent stopped. Xaio Shui thought maybe Jian Wu had listened to him, but that hope was dashed when the man tossed his sword up, caught it by the handle, and threw it at him like it was a javelin. Xaio Shui screamed in fear. However, the sword whizzed by his face, close enough to cut it. Sharp pain stung his cheek as blood ran down the wound. His breathing stilled as he slowly craned his neck to look at the sword, which had became embedded just behind him, preventing him from moving.

Jian Wu continued walking forward as Xaio Shui tried to think of a way out of this situation, but his mind was frozen in indecision. He could scarcely think anymore. What was happening? Why was it happening? What did he do to deserve this? He couldn’t for the life of him think of a way out when his mind was plagued with thousands of thoughts that were as hard to catch as sunlight.

Finally, Jian Wu reached him. The man knelt down. Xaio Shui found himself staring into dark eyes. Those eyes terrified him. There was no light within those eyes. Was it the shadows of the mask playing tricks on him? He didn’t know, but looking into those eyes made him so terrified that it was taking everything he had not to relieve himself.

“Surrender,” Jian Wu commanded.

“I… I… surrender,” Xaio Shui said, all the fight gone. He no longer cared. He didn’t care about winning, about losing, or about his deal with that masked man. He just wanted this all to end.

“The winner of this round is Jian Wu,” Huǒ Yan announced.

The crowd went wild with applause, but Xaio Shui was too lost in his own torment to hear it.