The whole crowd was silent. No one expected a Body Quenching realm cultivator to defeat a mid-stage Qi Refining realm cultivator, not even in their dreams. However reality was almost impossible to change and it had happened infront of their eyes.
As for Varian, he walked of the platform while receiving impressed looks from people in the crowd.
The assessment continued and it was time for the young woman that accompanied Lin Chao to go up on the stage, she fought and won against another woman viciously. After her victory, she glared at Varian before leaving.
Jie Jian also went up but came down even quicker than Varian did.
An hour later it was time for the quarter finals to start. Varian got matched with the young woman who followed Lin Chao, they both stood against each other. They both stood there with analyzing eyes, Varian was a little impressed as even though she follows Lin Chao around she is stronger than him in many ways.
The fight was signaled to start and both rushed towards the other when suddenly the young woman pulled out a steel sword and swung directly at the speeding Varian. Her move was swift and sharp as she swung towards his left arm, aiming to cut it off, however Varian read her move and stopped in his track for a second before jumping backwards causing her to strike at empty space.
At this point, Varian realized that he wouldn't be able to advance with one move for the rest of the tournament, so he got a little serious and positioned himself with one open palm forward and a fist to his side while he lowered his center of gravity a little.
The young woman, contrary to her talkative nature the previous day said nothing the entire time and continued rushing towards him while wielding her sword. She swung at Varian's chest but,
*SWOOSH*
Her sword was deflected skillfully in one swift motion continuing in it's intended direction however it once again struck empty space. She was inwardly shocked but regained her senses and continued swinging for three whole minutes without any signs of getting tired. She started to get frustrated and decided to put some distance between them but, as soon as she jumped back Varian used the opportunity to closed the distance while she was
in the air and since she had jumped a fair distance in the air, she was unable to maneuver around the incoming fist aimed and her face.
Yes, her face. Varian doesn't discriminate against gender. His fists were rated E for EVERYONE.
"AAGHH"
As soon as the first hit her face she screamed in pain, however she didn't get a chance to breathe because Varian used flash step and appeared behind her and used his elbow to hit her in the middle of her spine almost crippling her.
"GHYAAA!"
That was all she could let out before she fell unconscious, like all of Varian's previous opponents.
* * *
Half an hour later, after all the weaker opponents were eliminated, Jie Jian and Varian stood opposite each other, both with a sword in their hand.
Everyone including Jie Jian raised an eyebrow as this is the first time they have seen him pick a weapon throughout the tournament. They thought he was just going to go through it with his bare hands.
Soon the match started.
"I would suggest you stick to your strengths and out down the sword. It would be a disgrace to the way of the sword if you lose using a sword." These words came out of Jie Jian's mouth as soon as the match started, his tone contained a hint of arrogance and disdain.
"..."
"Have it your way then, but don't blame me if you lose." Saying this he disappeared from his spot and appeared infront of Varian in a matter of seconds.
[Fast!...but]
*CLANG*
The sound of metal hitting metal resounded and sparks fell to the ground.
[That's heavy] - Varian
[Nice block] - Jie Jian
They both continued trading blow for the next five minutes untill Jie Jian realized something. His eyes wide open in shock, [His movements are become more refined. Is he using me as a whetstone?!]
Although he was dissatisfied, there was nothing he could do about what was happening. Every strike he made towards Varian was parried skillfully or was redirected. This caused him to frown a little and he started using his cultivation base.
* * *
Varian on the other hand noticed the same thing happening when he fought with Liming Long a couple days ago. Jie Jian's speed and power suddenly increased in the middle of the fight completely throwing off his flow and putting him on the defensive.
Each time his sword collided with Jie Jian's, he realized that it got heavier and sharper, the speed also increased in tempo causing him to barely be able to predict the trajectory of the moves.
He jumped back to put some distance between them but...
*WHOOSH*
A sharp beam of light came flying towards him before he landed on the ground. He gritted his teeth and put the double edged sword infront of himself to block, however that proved to be ineffective as the beam sliced the sword in half and cut him vertically from the chest downwards.
He was sure that if Jie Jian was a little bit stronger or his own body was even a little bit weaker he would have been cut right in half.
Without much time to think the next attack came flying right for him, however since he was now grounded he dodged with flash step while holding his broken sword.
He glanced down at it and changed the way he held it to a reverse grip and ran towards Jie Jian.
*SWOOSH*
He slashed the broken sword inches away from Jie Jian's face, or what was supposed to be his face under the cloak. Every time he swung the broken sword he would aim for vital points causing Jie Jian not to have any time to circulate his Qi and was now forced to defend.
This exchange kept going back and forth untile Varian realized something. [ Why am I still fighting? Second is good enough to move around freely right now. I need to quickly find a way to return to my world for 'them'.]
Thinking that Varian suddenly stopped attacking Jie Jian and dropped his sword and walked off the platform. His action shocked everyone that was spectating even the disciple in charge of overseeing was a little surprised, however he quickly dismissed the match.
Jie Jian however, was a little disappointed. Not because he felt annoyed that he won in such a way, he felt disappointed because Varian was the only person of similar age to him that could actually trade blows with him. He somehow didn't want the fight to end.