Zhang Baichi stared at the little girl in front of him. The longer the looked, the more red Li Yao's face became, until she finally couldn't take it anymore and lowered her head.
'She's not joking.', he concluded from her actions. Turning around to face Jian Fu, who set him up for the fight, Zhang Baichi looked annoyed. "What's this about, old man?"
He dropped the manners, but the old man seemed unperturbed and looked back at Zhang Baichi with an indifferent expression. "Don't worry about that for now. If you lose this fight, it won't have anything to do with you, anyways."
Zhang Baichi stared at the old man in silence for a few moments, took a deep breath and turned back to Li Yao. 'Fine, let's focus. A gap of 6 Layers is no joke. And there's a gap of a whole Realm as well.'
The little girl was still staring at the ground, trying to get her expression back to normal, but her cheeks were still rosy. Zhang Baichi mustered her in that time.
'She's strong. Incomparable to that Yu Hao guy, at least… System, what's my current strength like, now.', he mused and asked in his mind.
[Ding! Host's current physical strength is the same as an average 3rd Layer Qi Gathering cultivator. Due to the Black Heaven Qi, Host's Qi is also as strong as an average 3rd Layer Qi Gathering cultivator.]
'Fine, so we're about equal, which is good and bad. Since we have the same strength, it'll come down to technique and experience, both of which I'm lacking.' While Zhang Baichi tried to come up with a plan, Li Yao had calmed down again.
In her eyes, Zhang Baichi looked rather pitiful. He looked dishevelled and his cultivator was also quite low, but her master had secretly warned her not to underestimate him.
Still, it seemed like he had no idea what was going on here, anyways. Something felt very off to Li Yao because of that.
Zhang Baichi didn't notice her thoughtful expression or the pity in her eyes, but he no longer tried to come up with a plan. 'How much experience can a 12 years old girl have, anyways… I won't use the Fractured Star Sword Technique for now and try not to use the Black Heaven Qi.'
Soon enough, both of them had calmed down and were ready to fight. The Sect Master, who had been watching in silence so far, raised his hand. "Ready? Begin!"
His voice fell and Li Yao charged toward Zhang Baichi as if shooting out of a cannon. He was surprised by her decisiveness, but got up his guard in time, nonetheless.
Their wooden swords clashed together and neither of the two was forced back. Surprise flashed through the eyes of the Sect Master and Li Yao, and even Jian Fu widened his eyes.
None of them had expected Zhang Baichi's physical strength to be comparable to Li Yao, whose cultivation was so much higher.
He took a step back to free himself from the deadlock and attacked with the Breezing Winds Sword Technique, not speaking the name of the technique like others would, though.
Li Yao used the same Sword Technique to fight him and the two exchanged multiple blows one after the other.
The longer their fight went on, the more surprised the Sect Master grew. 'A brat in the 7th Layer of the Body Forging Realm can keep up with Li Yao? Granted, she's holding back, but this kind of combat prowess is incredible.'
He glanced at Jian Fu, expecting a smirk of his elder brother's face, but the latter looked just as surprised as the Sect Master himself. Confused, he sent a voice transmission over to Jian Fu. "What's wrong? You brought the brat here, so why are you surprised."
Jian Fu met his gaze and spoke without making a sound – another sound transmission. "I only expected him to catch your eye, not for him to fight little Yao like that."
"He's certainly managed to do that.", the Sect Master replied, "You said he fought people stronger than himself a few times, right? Tell me about it."
Jian Fu began to explain, and while the two older men were occupied with their conversation, Zhang Baichi and Li Yao continued their fight.
Zhang Baichi frowned, since he couldn't get the better of Li Yao at all; No matter what technique of the Breezing Winds Sword Technique he used, she always managed to match or even counter him.
'Well, that's to be expected. It's such a lame beginner technique - of course she would know it in and out.', Zhang Baichi complained in his mind, annoyed.
This whole time, Li Yao looked surprised again and again, but her hands moved calmly to black whatever attack he could muster, seemingly effortless. 'I need to break the stalemate.'
While thinking, his sword never stopped, and he soon executed another technique from the Breezing Winds Sword Technique. Li Yao moved to block, but her expression suddenly changed, and she dodged back.
Surprisingly, instead of the expected horizontal swing, a piercing move came towards her, forcing her to back off. Zhang Baichi had changed his attack in the middle of its execution, causing Li Yao's surprise.
However, this only gave him a brief window to catch his breath, as Li Yao charged into the fray just moments later. The two fought again, but even with his ever shifting rhythm, Zhang Baichi could only match her.
'What kind of technique is she using?', Zhang Baichi questioned. After he started interchanging the moves of the Breezing Winds Sword Technique, Li Yao started using a Sword Technique that he had never seen before.
Her attacks became more profound and regularly caught Zhang Baichi off-guard, while his moves managed to do the same, causing the match to become more tense.
The two old men were now watching in silence again, as their conversation had ended. The Sect Master's eyes were locked on Zhang Baichi and he seemed thoughtful the whole time.
Without many options left, Zhang Baichi suddenly grabbed his sword with both hands while executing the same techniques as before, causing his power to increase exponentially.
The Sect Master's eyes shone brightly when he saw this, but he continued to watch in silence. Still, it was clear that he was more than satisfied with what he was being shown.
Li Yao wasn't used to fighting with two hands and couldn't match Zhang Baichi's increase in strength. Neither could she keep the stalemate with just the techniques she was using, so her patterns changed yet again.
The two continued to fight, neither of them gaining an advantage over the other. Their swords clashed again and again while a breeze drifted through the training fields.
A few clashes later, Zhang Baichi's pupils constricted, and he jumped backwards at full force, bringing more distance between himself and Li Yao with each step, the clothes covering his chest cut open.
"Sword Qi! There's Sword Qi hidden in the wind?!", he blurted out, shocked by what Li Yao had managed to do.
He had barely noticed a faint layer of Qi wrapped around her sword and the same Qi diffusing into the air around them. Moments later, there was a breeze and his instincts warned him not to be caught in the breeze, causing him to jump back.
Only then did he notice the faint twinkle of light within the wind, the same twinkle he created while using the Fractured Star Sword Technique – Sword Qi!
Before, the Sect Master's expression showed pride when Li Yao skilfully executed the Sword Technique, he himself had created, only to be completely shocked by Zhang Baichi casually seeing through the technique within seconds.
Li Yao was just as shocked; Many people knew about this technique the Sect Master had created, and most would be cautious the moment they saw anyone executing its moves.
But no one ever managed to get off scot-free the first time they faced it, much less see through the technique and call her out on it.
Zhang Baichi's expression changed after his initial shock and he became much more careful. He glanced at the Sect Master, whose expression had returned to his former indifference, and glanced at his own sword.
'Should I use it…? Since Li Yao can create Sword Qi, a Spirit-Class Technique shouldn't be too extraordinary in the Sect.', he was, of course, thinking of the Fractured Star Sword Technique.
His thoughts didn't linger too long, as Li Yao didn't give him the time to ponder over everything. Since the cat was out of the bag, she didn't bother hiding her prowess any longer.
A wave of her sword called forth the winds around her. A layer of hazy Qi swirled around her like a storm and focused on her sword, fusing her Sword Qi with the winds, which then shot toward Zhang Baichi, intending to cut him in half.
He dodged the first attack, but a second followed in tow. A black aura surrounded Zhang Baichi as he finally spurred the Black Heaven Qi in his body into action. The Qi surrounded his weapon and he managed to block Li Yao's second attack.
Zhang Baichi's face was solemn and he glanced at the Sect Master, who frowned, confusing written over his face. 'Of course, he's confused since he never saw the Black Heaven Qi before.'
His eyes turned back to Li Yao and he took another deep breath as she was about to attack him again. "Fine. Be careful, I'll stop holding back as well."
A thin film of silvery light wrapped around his sword. The black Qi and silvery light intertwining around the sword, leaving behind a trail in the air as Zhang Baichi attacked Li Yao.
It was beautiful and mesmerizing, drawing Li Yao's eyes towards it. In a split second, she was certain that this was also Sword Qi, but couldn't wrap her head around how Zhang Baichi could create Sword Qi as well.
While she was lost in thought, Zhang Baichi had already drawn close and she only woke up when a shout echoed in her head, "Careful!"