Daisy greatly admired this adversary. The Drying Water strategy was indeed vicious. If it wasn't for the magic teleportation array, Daisy would have almost certainly lost this battle.
Sympathetic rivalry is a common trait shared between commanders on both sides of the battlefield. When equal forces clash, the war is a game of wits in the eyes of the commanding officers. Lives are but statistics to them, free from consideration; the outcome is all that matters.
Ruona held a Div Water Crystal Ball that had been crafted from a Div Crystal. After Master Otigha infused it with fire elemental mana, she showed Liu alleys of battle that occurred in the Lava Valley after he left.