The thought made Ke YongAn calm and accepting. In that calmness, Ke YongAn stood still as the fist approached. It seemed the world had slowed down. The only audible thing was the thumping of her heart.
Ke YonAn suddenly noticed something. She was able to see...the trajectories of every attack all around the arena! But...how?
It seemed as though dodging the fist would be extremely easy now. Ke YongAn sequenced her feet to the side and dodged the fist easily. Now that the whole body was revealed, Ke YongAn did not hesitate to counter-attack. A loud Pa! resounded and caused the arrogant boy to stumble. Disbelief was written on his face as he looked Ke YongAn over.
There is nothing special about this girl! What happened? Du Jian thought. It must be a fluke, a simple fluke!
Ke YongAn blinked her eyes as everything resumed in a normal motion. She couldn't see the trajectories anymore. In her confusion, Du Jian attacked.
Ke YongAn was unable to evade the blow and was only able to use her arms to block. However, when paired against a 7th rank, Ke YongAn could only lose out. The attack was extremely fierce and painful as she was blow a few dozen meters away and right into the center of the battlefield. Her bones were fractured(but not broken) and blood dripped down from cuts caused by the wind pressure.
There was a ringing tone buzzing in Ke YongAn's ears as her vision became unfocused. If she was hit again, she really wouldn't be able to take it.
Shaking her head fiercely, Ke YongAn forced herself to focus. She trained her eyes on her surroundings, as staring at Du Jian would do no good.
The frantic one-sided battle began again. Du Jian had recovered from the last blow and attacked like a tiger gaining wings. Ke YongAn on the other hand knew her defeat was imminent. The only way she could win was to bring back that strange perception.
When Ke YongAn was faced with even a sliver of chance, she would take it.
I need to escape first! Of course, that was easier said than done. It could be seen that Du Jian was getting increasingly impatient and his expression more fierce, causing Ke YongAn to be pressured.
"I'm sorry!" Ke YongAn shouted, turning and dashing toward a group battling that little genius.
Ke YongAn did not dare look behind and trained her eyes to the front, using her footwork to the limit.
Unfortunately, although the turn and dash was sudden, Du Jian was still faster than Ke YongAn, flashing before her to block her path. With no hesitation, Ke YongAn ignored everything else and charged forward!
This caught Du Jian off guard, as he had expected Ke YongAn to leap back and thus Ke YongAn was able to pass, although blood had gushed out of her mouth from the impact.
Mingling with the group, Ke YongAn seemed to be courting danger, but with everyone too absorbed in their battle, Ke YongAn was not given much trouble.
It was here that she stopped, in the middle of all the chaos. Du Jian hovered at the edges, thinking of a way to cut in. He initially decided to not put in much effort and defeat Ke YongAn, but the battle still dragged on for too long. Ke YongAn had ignited Du Jian's anger. Who was he? A genius and at the 7th rank! But he couldn't even defeat a 5th rank that easily?!
Du Jian decided that he would not hold back anymore.
Ke YongAn thought back to the time when she was about to get hit. She furrowed her brows. Was it because she became extremely accepting? Or was it because she was relaxed? Or...
Serenity within the heart and focus of the mind!
Realizing this fact, Ke YongAn closed her eyes as the battle was too distracting. Du Jian seemed more incensed at that action and seemed to throw caution to the wind.
He leapt straight through, and being on equal standing with an 8th rank, none of the attackers could stop him.
Ke YongAn's eyebrows unfurled as she slowly slipped back into that feeling. Even with her eyes closed she could hear the wind generated from the moves and thus able to pinpoint the person. Her eyes gradually opened, but in other's naked eye, it seemed a sudden snap and something was looking at the very depths of their person. Ke YongAn's eyes still looked their natural brown, but there seemed to be a light flickering deep underneath.
Her lips curled into a small and natural smile.
Seeing that small smile, Du Jian felt in his instinct that he was going to lose. But he pushed forward with unwavering confidence. This serious strike of his could not only defeat an 8th rank with one strike, but even cause trouble to a 9th rank.
However, just as Du Jian's attack connected, he realized he hit nothing but air!
Instead, he was the one sent flying!
Unfortunately, Ke YongAn was too weak compared to a 7th rank, and coupled with their tough bodies, it only caused Du Jian to feel pain. But that pain burned with humiliation.
"HAHA, feel great honor that you get to witness this Young Master's full power!" He laughed heartily, although it seemed on the verge of insanity.
If Ke YongAn was not busy keeping a calm and clear heart, she would have lamented the fact that spoiled children were too bad-tempered.
Meanwhile, that Nine Passages Stage genius seemed to be increasingly interested in Ke YongAn. If she was this talented already, why would she need the help of that greedy pig elder Rong? And why is she was only at 5th rank? Could it be she was hiding her strength?
Du Jian, like an arrow leaving a full drawn crescent bow, blurred to everyone's naked eyes.
Although Du Jian became faster, in Ke YongAn's eyes, he was still slow.
Just like that, without trading any blows, Ke YongAn could evade everytime. It seemed as though she was able to read the moves beforehand!
"You!" Du Jian was full of anger from the humiliation, and he realized no matter what he did, he could not hit Ke YongAn.
Finally, Du Jian used a shocking skill.
Ke YongAn herself was extremely surprised, almost to the point that she slipped from the state.
Serene heart, calm mind. Focus! She repeated inside her head, gradually calming down.
Du Jian did not attack, nor did Ke YongAn, because they both couldn't. Ke YongAn was under pressure from the Qi being summoned, and Du Jian needed all of his concentration.
Touched on before, skills that included Qi were very rare in the Qi Strengthening Stage. One needed enough Qi and the suitable body to unleash the skill. For Ke YongAn, who was still in the 5th rank, her body and Qi were insufficient. Also, because the Qi kept being condensed and the impurities drained away, there was actually less Qi than before. Ke YongAn did not possess as much Qi even when comparing against a 5th rank!
Ke YongAn could not predict where the attack of Qi was going to land, causing her to sigh.
Even if she couldn't defeat a 7th rank, and was going to lose, she was still considered extremely powerful. Even in centuries, those who could jump ranks to fight against more powerful opponents were only a handful!
However, just as the Qi was about to land, a shout came out of nowhere.
"Stop! The top 10 have already been decided!"