Jian Li watched silently as the man she faced seemed to swell in size.
The golden glow enveloped him and fierce energy irradiated from within. Zhang Yi raised his head, roaring with an unspeakable rage that made him appear like a raging fire that wanted to devour everything.
The spectators watched with bated breath as Jian Li slowly closed the distance, preparing for her next attack.
"This will be a close one!", Meng Liang announced enthusiastically as he looked at both of them, excited by the match-up.
Zhang Yi readied himself as his fists tightened and he inhaled deeply.
"Alright! This time, I'll finish it!", he said.
He looked determined, and there was no trace of his previous anger. It had disappeared, leaving nothing in its place. Instead, his gaze burned brightly.
A large grin appeared on Jian Li's face as she saw his demeanour. She was certain he wouldn't give her the slightest chance of victory anymore. But, despite this fact, she remained composed as she stepped forwards with a smile.
Her movements were quick as her feet barely touched the ground as she walked. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation and she seemed calm. There was also something else.
Something different... something hidden behind that facade.
There was something else. Something unknown... something hidden in her heart.
The spectators gasped in unison, watching as Zhang Yi unleashed his full might at Jian Li in the middle of the stage.
He attacked with such speed and ferocity that he looked as if he had been transformed into a demon that wanted only one thing: destruction.
Zhang Yi was relentless in his onslaught as he attacked relentlessly with punches, kicks, slashes, elbows and any other means necessary to catch Jian Li off guard.
The sounds of clashing metal and shattering bone filled the air, causing many in the audience to gasp as Jian Li fought desperately against Zhang Yi.
She was trying to deflect the blows that were raining down on her from all sides, but couldn't counter effectively as Zhang Yi's flurry of blows didn't seem to have an end.
Zhang Yi continued his onslaught without stopping or giving her any respite.
She had to avoid every attack, but each of these evasive actions only bought her precious seconds, as she could only watch as the strikes kept coming at her, increasing in frequency and power.
"Dammit, this isn't working.", Jian Li thought to herself.
She had lost track of time as her consciousness began to waver and fade in and out. Her vision became blurred and everything turned dark as her consciousness began to fade.
Suddenly, her senses came back as her awareness slowly began to recover. The speed of Zhang Yi's attacks gradually slowed to a crawling speed.
"Haha..."
Laughter rang throughout her mind, sounding eerily familiar to someone who she had heard earlier.
Her inner world shivered, as she felt Cor's presence briefly come and go. The feeling vanished just as quickly, as Zhang Yi's fist gradually resumed its speed.
Jian Li refocused on the battle at hand as her eyes darted about looking for any opening.
"This can't last much longer... I have to do it now.", Jian Li thought to herself.
Her mind went blank for a few moments before her eyes flashed and she summoned wooden weapons in the air all around her.
The feral Zhang Yi instinctively held back on his punch as his jaw twitched, realizing he had made a huge mistake.
The wooden weapons had no substance to them as they shortly began to fall to the ground as if blown by some unseen breeze.
Jian Li barely deflected his distracted punch and still took heavy damage as she responded with a slash of her sword. She had to be faster.
"Hmph!", Zhang Yi sneered at her as she wasn't fast enough and he easily parried her blow, blasting her sword out of her hands.
But something was wrong. The moment Zhang Yi felt the lacklustre strength behind Jian Li's strike, his instincts screamed out in warning.
Zhang Yi had put his all into his strike as he had expected Jian Li to do the same.
Jian Li's eyes narrowed as she already began readying her all-out strike in her other hand before she had even summoned her second sword.
The crowd roared with delight as they witnessed Jian Li fight back, and they were impressed by Zhang Yi's incredible display of strength and technique.
Many believed he had beaten Jian Li and the match was over.
But then they realized what happened and started shouting in confusion, asking themselves what just happened.
Jian Li put all her might into the final attack.
The arena exploded into a storm of noise as those paying attention were astonished and impressed by what had transpired.
Zhang Yi was struck with such ferocity that he got blasted away and crashed to the ground, rolling several times until finally stopping in the middle of the stage.