When Su Zhan attacked, her sword blade shot straight toward Li Xingyue’s heart.
The strike should have been unstoppable, yet it was caught between two hands and could advance no further.
Blood continuously seeped from Li Xingyue’s palms, flowing down along the sword’s edge and dripping onto the ground, staining the hem of her robe red.
In the previous strike, Li Xingyue hadn’t reacted at all.
She had only seen Su Zhan suddenly vanish and instinctively raised her hands to guard herself, barely managing to block the blow.
But calling it a block wasn’t entirely accurate.
It was more like Su Zhan had stopped her thrust on her own.
The moment the blade was caught, the force behind Su Zhan’s sword disappeared.
She hadn’t used her full strength during their previous spar?
Li Xingyue thought with some alarm.
Perhaps she had, but Li Xingyue shouldn’t have been this slow to react.
It must have been because of that half pill.
Most of the Heart-Devouring Pill’s power had already been refined, but some residual poison still lingered in her body, numbing her reflexes.
That had to be it. However, this time you’ve willingly handed your weakness right into my hands.
Li Xingyue formed arrays with both hands, intending to apply gravity from both sides to snap the sword in two.
A sword cultivator without her sword was nothing more than a declawed cat—completely at her mercy.
Unfortunately, her plan failed. The instant the array activated, Su Zhan swiftly withdrew her sword.
Blood splattered from the blade as she raised it high.
A long streak of light burst from the sword tip, seemingly connecting to the sky, stretching from the sunlight down into her hand.
In the next moment, that streak of light came crashing down from above.
Li Xingyue stood her ground and only had time to tilt her body slightly.
Her long hair fluttered from the wind stirred by the sword qi, but she remained completely unharmed.
“Missed on purpose? Or did you think I would retreat into the house?”
Li Xingyue said indifferently.
“Since I stepped out and stood here, I never intended to dodge.”
Su Zhan remained silent, simply staring calmly at Li Xingyue as if trying to read something in her expression.
Finally, her gaze fell on Li Xingyue’s palms.
The still-bleeding palms trembled faintly.
They unconsciously clenched into fists before loosening again after noticing Su Zhan’s stare.
“Since you’re not afraid, why is your hand shaking?” Su Zhan said calmly.
“Haven’t you noticed? Your body is very honest, but your mouth isn’t.”
“Junior Sister, I suddenly realize you’re quite a strange girl.”
Li Xingyue smiled, but there was no warmth in her expression.
This move was even faster and sharper than the last, fast enough to send a chill through one’s bones.
“She told you not to hesitate. I told you not to make a move. So why did you attack, yet still hesitate?”
This strike had been deliberately off-target from the very beginning.
Even if Li Xingyue hadn’t dodged, it wouldn’t have injured her.
If anything, it looked more like a show of force than a killing blow—only the momentum was grand.
“So you really can’t react in time,” Su Zhan said indifferently.
From this, it seemed killing Li Xingyue wouldn’t be that difficult.
Although Su Zhan couldn’t use her full strength, Li Xingyue’s current condition was equally poor.
At the very least, the oppressive aura she gave off was less than half of what it had been during their previous spar.
“Can’t it simply be Senior Sister showing leniency to her junior sister? Didn’t she say the same thing last time… that she would let Junior Sister have three moves?”
Li Xingyue let out a cold laugh.
But she was only saying this.
She had already secretly circulated her spiritual power and set up arrays around her body, preparing for Su Zhan’s next attack.
“Very well.”
Su Zhan nodded and raised her sword once more.
This time, Li Xingyue didn’t dare to be careless.
She attacked first before Su Zhan could strike.
With a light tap of her foot, the stone bricks cracked.
The blood that had fallen to the ground rose together with stone fragments.
A fierce wind surged upward, swirling protectively around her.
“Floating Life Array, activate!” she commanded.
The blood dispersed into the wind and mist, dyeing the swirling vortex a faint scarlet.
The crabapple trees in the courtyard swayed and rustled.
Su Zhan didn’t dare charge forward recklessly and quickly retreated several steps.
During their previous spar, Su Zhan hadn’t been able to clearly discern the boundaries of this array. Now she could.
The array’s range was neither too large nor too small.
It could encompass half the courtyard.
Sand and stones whirled around Li Xingyue, completely under her command.
A wind array, huh.
Su Zhan swung her sword twice more toward Li Xingyue, but the attacks only scattered some of the dust.
The wind array could neutralize spiritual power attacks upon contact. She would need to close the distance.
It seemed that during their previous spar, she hadn’t been the only one holding back.
“Junior Sister, stop wasting your energy. Just obey your Senior Sister,” Li Xingyue said unhurriedly. “Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude.”
“Then let’s see,” Su Zhan replied indifferently.
She held the long sword behind her back with one hand while her left hand formed a sword incantation in front of her.
Su Zhan focused her mind and breath.
The light on her spiritual sword grew brighter.
With a clear cry, it shot forward like a streak of flowing light.
“Sword flight? It is indeed much faster than before. But without your sword, how will you protect yourself?”
Li Xingyue narrowed her eyes at the flying spiritual sword, snorted coldly, and raised her hand to activate another array.
The wind field around her suddenly split into two streams.
One surged upward to collide with the spiritual sword, while the other shot straight toward Su Zhan.
An array suddenly appeared beneath Su Zhan’s feet. The sharply increased pressure made her body tilt.
She lost the chance to use her movement technique to dodge and could only take the hit head-on.
Su Zhan maintained her sword incantation, continuing to empower her flying sword and accelerating its already fierce attack even further.
Listening to the howling wind beside her ear, she was struck in the abdomen by the turbulent airflow. She let out a muffled groan as blood spilled from the corner of her mouth.
Her entire body was sent flying, smashing through the wall on the other side of the courtyard before she finally stopped.
On the other side, the sword light pierced through the remaining airflow and shot toward Li Xingyue, aiming straight for her heart.
Li Xingyue twisted aside to dodge, but she was still a step too slow.
The spiritual sword’s edge grazed across her chest, slicing through the sleeve of her right arm and drawing a gush of blood.
This strike had nearly crippled her right arm.
“Junior Sister’s techniques are truly impressive…”
Li Xingyue gripped her hand with a dark expression.
In the past few years she had killed sword cultivators before, but none had been as fast and ruthless as Su Zhan.
How could one describe such speed?
It was so fast that she couldn’t even lock onto the spiritual sword in time to use a gravity array to block it.
Generally speaking, sword cultivators followed two main paths: speed or power.
Most sword cultivators who sought to break all techniques with one strike focused on power, while fast swords often had limited destructive power and were used only as feints.
Su Zhan’s sword was not only incredibly fast but also terrifyingly powerful.
Previously, no one had successfully combined both, as they were usually incompatible.
Su Zhan had not used this fast sword during their spar, causing Li Xingyue to misjudge her true strength.
Every strike aimed for vital points, willing to suffer heavy losses as long as the enemy was injured. Was this the Ruthless Dao?
Li Xingyue thought as she looked at Su Zhan, who was once again forming a sword incantation.
She rejected her own thought.
No, this girl was more like a reckless fool.
She raised her left hand and pointed it toward Su Zhan in the distance.