Despite Shen's words, he didn't dare to take things slowly. He deployed his aura, his Aural Realm, and his Aura-Material Suppression. He also saturated the air with his qi, hoping Sinaht tried to engage in a willpower battle against him.

Sadly, Sinaht wasn't lying when he said he had heard about Shen, and it evidently wasn't just in passing. The elf kept his energy contained in his body.

Still, despite Sinaht's careful nature, his willpower expenditure increased significantly. Within Shen's Aural Realm, any Law that wasn't the same as the ones in his Path was harder to use, and it was much worse for Laws from the Axioms of Spear, Wind, Lightning, Water, and whichever Axiom True Boundlessness came from. Sinaht's five mastered Laws were one each from Wind, Water, and Earth, and two from the Sword. Two out of five added extra pressure on him.

Shen also went all-in on his Aura-Material Suppression. A water jet, Stream, became permanent between him and the elf, filled with lightning that battered his foe. Every other water drop was shaped like a Spear or gaseous—Windy. Everything was filled with Killing Weapon, and the closer Sinaht got to Shen, the harder Shen's True Boundlessness pushed against what it perceived as a limiter on his freedom of movement. It also further strengthened the Shaft in the small spears, which better withstood the contrary force caused by the approaching enemy.

On top of that, Lightning, Wind, and Water surrounded Sinaht, all filled with Conductivity and Killing Weapon. From now on, Shen would keep randomly increasing and decreasing how hard he pushed the elf in all directions to keep him on edge and force him to waste extra focus and effort to stay steady and use his moves.

Shen invested big chunks of his willpower in the Laws he applied to his surroundings to ensure Sinaht couldn't overpower his control. It was essential in this battle. Losing his hold over Sinaht at any time could prove lethal.

The elf's Wind Law wasn't about speed but elusiveness. Shen partially denied that by making Reality itself produce physical elements around his foe. He always knew where Sinaht was. But even then, even with the high elf inside Shen's aura, Shen still had to focus hard to spot the guy who seemed to be a harmless part of the surroundings.

Affecting other people's minds like that, in a way one's mind didn't reject as an attempt invasion, could only be accomplished with mastered Laws or Realizations. Mastered Laws could only do it if the Path Walker actively willed so, which took willpower, and the result was evidently much weaker than even a Realization's passive effect. It still could be a game-changer if not countered. Fortunately, the technique to defend against passive Realization effects also worked against mastered Laws. Shen filtered the feedback he got from Reality through his aura connection, and it became easier to spot Sinaht.

Or rather, it became less challenging. The guy still moved by using profound secrets of the Wind. Shen couldn't filter that out any more than he could filter light out if he wanted to see. Sinaht was moving in ways that Shen's mind simply couldn't follow.

Sinaht was also fast, even if his Wind Law wasn't about speed. He was around seven times as fast as Shen after being pressured by Shen's opening salvo. On top of that, rapiers were weapons of speed, skill, and opportunity, and two of his mastered Laws were from the Sword, meaning he would move the weapon even faster than he could move. If the elf got close to Shen, Shen would lose; there was no way around that.

As for the other two Laws, from Water and Earth, Shen had to make half-guesses.

He wasn't sure but felt the Water Law was similar to the Tides he had learned under Liya. Something about the inevitability of the currents that remained steady for time untold.

For now, Earth had yet to make an appearance beyond how well Sinaht dealt with the water jet going against him. Mere water couldn't stop or push any C-rank, but he was stabler than expected—though not as sturdy as he should have been if his Earth Law was directly related to stability. Shen guessed it was a middle ground of Water's inevitable continuity and stability. It was a way to surprise a foe with a firmer, stronger rapier strike on top of the expected high speed.

Shen liked Sinaht's Path immensely. It wasn't fancy and didn't deal with more mystical Axioms, like Annihilation or even Darkness. The elf sought the most straightforward Laws to accomplish his goals.

Sinaht felt solid and lethal...

...which meant defeating him would be that much harder.

Sinaht kept approaching quickly despite Shen's setup. A close-range battle was inevitable, but Shen had to control how close his enemy got. Shen was outmatched in stats, Laws, and probably experience, too. Hopefully, although younger than Sinaht, Shen had learned things better and faster and gone through experiences that better prepared him for what was coming.

In other words, this fight would show how valuable his training under Liya, his elite combat training, his learning ability, and even his talent were—and how well he could bring all that to bear when it mattered.

Even so, possible superior skills would only let Shen remain in the fight longer. Any mistake, and he would lose. Sinaht, on the other hand, had to do the wrong thing at the wrong time, maybe multiple times, and Shen had to take advantage of it over and over again.

Shen's smile widened as he started moving back to give him the slightest assistance to react to Sinaht's attacks at the right time...

...and the high elf didn't follow.

As soon as Shen stepped back, the elf stopped moving. He then started slowly returning to the middle of the room.

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Shen's smile faltered, then widened; at long last, a foe that was not braindead!

Sinaht had the high ground here because Shen wanted to capture the elf, while the elf would rather not fight Shen. Sure, Sinaht was taking a risk, as Shen might just wait for more people to arrive, but Shen had gone rusty after years unchallenged. He had just shown how much he was enjoying it, and even his earlier taunt—the effect of which had been short-lived—had revealed his self-confidence. Unless he had lied, the elf could confidently assume Shen would rather fight one-on-one.

Shen was on a timer as much as Sinaht. His elements would take weeks to months to grind the elf's B- armor down. He had to attack before someone else came to claim the Bounty, not to mention he was still a Brigade Commander with other responsibilities. He couldn't waste time there.

Shen's initiative had been swiftly and efficiently denied—and that's why he was smiling.

If Sinaht was half as bright as Shen gave him credit for, he would still test Shen a little. But it wouldn't last long because the high elf was also on a timer. Maybe a few exchanges.

Then, the genuine fun would start, and it would be like good old times.

Although Shen used his aura and externally applied his Laws, his primary weapon was himself. The actual vessel of his Path was his True Self, which was limited to his body until he could deploy his domain.

Stats mattered; he couldn't deny Reality and its rules. How mastered a Law was mattered; it limited his power. But a collision of Paths was much more than a mere comparison of numbers.

If Sinaht had a domain, Shen would be crushed. Without it, Shen had a chance, and his Path had been about overcoming odds ever since he sought a solution to his damaged soul back in his childhood.

It had been so, so long since Shen had the opportunity to fight head-on!

He wasn't stupid enough to not try to solve his battles from a distance just to have fun, but now that some long-distance tools were useless—for instance, Sinaht wouldn't fall for the mind trick he had used against Vinamour—and others were countered, the battle could only go one way.

Shen's True Self trembled in excitement as he rushed against Sinaht for what promised to be a visceral fight—until one of his tricks caused his victory or defeat.

With no alternative, Shen rushed toward Sinaht. The elf wouldn't let Shen have it easy and also rushed at Shen. The opposing vectors added to Sinaht's speed advantage, demanding even more skill from Shen.

Shen thrust his spear to stop the elf from getting too close. Sinaht used a Wind-based footwork ability that made him be in three places at once, side by side. Not look like he was in three places; he was actually ignoring some spacetime rules with his mastered Law of the Wind.

Thanks to his training, Shen knew that, when used defensively, Sinaht's move was meant to confuse an inexperienced or unskilled opponent. It made Sinaht more vulnerable, as any injury to any of his "three" selves—though they were technically one in three places—would hurt him. The elf was not, however, changing his original position. He could do that, but there would be some signs that were currently absent. So, he just wanted Shen to modify his attack to target "another Sinaht." Sinaht would then cancel the ability, and Shen would find himself in a terrible position.

Shen took that move to mean the elf considered him a menace. Even in their first clash, Sinaht was already trying to gain an edge through more than stats and Law—or testing how Shen reacted to it.

The cultivator kept his spear locked on the original target, and Sinaht canceled the ability while sidestepping. Shen turned his trust to the side and into a slight swing, and Sinaht, despite his higher speed, was forced to step back.

Shen could only deny Sinaht's significant speed advantage because he was paying total attention to every microscopic detail in Sinaht's body, soul, and surroundings. Shen started reacting as soon as the elf did anything.

Sinaht tried to circle around Shen, who had no trouble rotating. The elf tried to approach again, but Shen kept thrusting and keeping him at bay.

After a few similar exchanges, Sinaht stepped back and raised snorted. "You cannot defeat me like this."

His voice was unworried, and his body was relaxed, but his soul was just a tad too tight. He was waiting for Shen to reply, thus getting slightly distracted, to launch a sneak attack.

Shen chose to spring the trap and hopefully profit. He opened his mouth, and Sinaht acted before Shen released any sound.

The elf became invisible and moved twice as fast as before. On top of that, his presence vanished. Even Shen's aura had trouble locating him. Without Reality keeping the water jet between them, Shen might react too slowly to remain on his feet, much less profit.

Sinaht moved until he was diagonally behind Shen and approached—only to be met with a diagonal swing of Shen's spear, which started as soon as the elf moved. As if raising in answer to the elf's mocking, this swing was aimed to deal damage. Shen's had a speed disadvantage, but in some instances, he could use the elf's speed against him. The faster Sinaht came, the less time he had to react to Shen's strikes.

The attempt didn't work, as Shen knew it wouldn't. The elf dodged, then tried to keep coming diagonally. Shen was already stepping back and to the side, and still moving his spear. Conductivity assisted him the most, and Sinaht ended up retreating once more.

When he stopped this time, there was almost some respect in his eyes.

Sinaht said, "I concede you can force me to fight seriously, but I cannot guarantee your survival if I do. Your death would weigh down on me; the Bounty on me might turn into an Execution. Isn't it unfair for you to force me to become a worse criminal for your personal entertainment?"

There were no signs of a sneak attack this time, but Shen was still cautious as he replied, "Isn't it unfair of you to ask me to walk away for your benefit, which would be a criminal offense of my own?"

You could ignore a Bounty target, but negotiating with them to let them go was a minor offense. The Alliance didn't want people to use the Bounty Subsystem to locate and blackmail targets.

Sinaht smiled from the corner of his lip. "Take it as a threat, not a request for my own good. It's shameful but not illegal to fear for your life."

"Cut the crap," Shen replied. "You can surrender now or kill me and get killed by a B-rank. If you can kill me, of course. The way I see it, you'll be the one beginning for mercy soon enough."

The elf shook his head, ignoring the taunt. "I can kill you and surrender immediately after, before I'm killed by a B-rank. If I'm to get captured, I shall at least put down the worm who forces me to such a position. A worse punishment means little to me, and it shouldn't even be that bad, as I'm still acting in self-defense and shall have some leeway. You have much more to lose than I do."

Shen nodded. "You have a point, but I'm an Exemplary Brigade Commander, and I'm deployed. I can either fight you alone or keep an eye on you as I wait for assistance to arrive. Anything else would be unacceptable, as an Exemplary Brigade is held to high standards."

He couldn't actually say the words, but his meaning was evident: Sinaht was to take it as a gift that Shen was willing to fight alone and potentially get defeated before he requested assistance. That was the most he could do.

Whether either of them would end up with a fatal injury because of an intense fight was up to luck and how far they were willing to go.

Sinaht sighed. "So be it."

Then, the mana in his body exploded, and he disappeared. Shen's elements also ceased. The high elf was hiding so well that even Reality could no longer find him.

Sinaht was done testing Shen, and his gloves were finally off.