In the blink of an eye, Aksai had killed two of his opponents, using the element of surprise to his advantage.
He had employed automated Spirit spell execution for the first time against mortal robbers a few years back.
At that time, he had also added the Vine Whips Spell into the equation, introducing whip-like movements to the sprouted vines laced with Ice Spears. The result of that combination could be imagined.
The mortal robbers' bodies were like cottage cheese as the Ice Spears sliced through their flesh and bones. A bloody and brutal kill site was created when the spell combination was executed by the neural link fabric.
The scene of the kill site was gory enough to scare off even its creator. Aksai couldn't eat properly for a few days after that incident.
Of course, Aksai didn't attempt to mimic the same kill site at this point.
Firstly, these weren't mortal robbers but cultivators. The Ice Spears couldn't achieve the same slashing performance as they did the last time.
The cultivators could erect natural Spirit barriers around their bodies, hampering the Ice Spears' trajectories and rendering the whip-like attacks less effective.
Secondly, the cultivators had access to various talismans. His opponents this time also wore leather armors. As such, Aksai found it necessary to add piercing power to his attacks, preventing his opponents from retaliating. He needed to kill them straight away.
Clank. Clank.
The sounds of weapons being dropped echoed in the surroundings. The sounds came within a quick succession of each other, making it come across as an echo.
The two attackers whose hearts had been pierced dropped the sword and spear they were holding almost simultaneously.
Expressions of shock, anger, and grief were painted across their faces as they knelt before crashing to the ground. Of course, these expressions went unnoticed by their killer because of their masks.
One of the attackers fell on his back while the other on his face. Blood started gushing through their pierced chests, releasing the smell of blood into the air.
However, Aksai had no time to marvel at his success. This was because the lead attacker woman had somehow managed to avoid getting impaled by Aksai's surprise attack. He soon found out the reason for it.
The lead woman had an advanced defensive talisman on her that strengthened her natural defense layer. It also invoked a Wind Barrier in front of her, which absorbed the force behind Aksai's targeted attack and reduced its lethality.
The Ice Spear attached to the vine was cracked before breaking into many pieces like broken glass. The attack couldn't kill the leading woman, but it did force her to stop in her tracks and be surprised by Aksai's lethal attack.
"You…"
The last woman standing gnashed her teeth and tried to make sense of what just happened. She looked at Aksai with bloodshot eyes, yet she couldn't move due to being intimidated by what he could do.
She could have never believed that a simple spar mission would end up taking the lives of her allies and also put her in harm's way.
There was no doubt in her mind that she would have died if she didn't have the advanced talisman Lian had given her for emergencies.
Aksai sensed the killing intent erupting from the woman, which was missing a few moments ago. He nodded internally when he sensed this killing intent, feeling it to be normal. To him, the robbers who carried the intent to spar with him were absurd.
Only a few seconds had passed since Aksai started casting his spells, and his spells ended up killing two opponents. However, he didn't stand frozen in his position. As soon as he confirmed that the leading woman was not dead, he started pulling away from her.
After all, the leading woman surviving his surprise attack wasn't in Aksai's calculations.
This was the reason he didn't want to battle with cultivators, especially those who had achieved a semblance of success in their cultivation as well as on the battlefield. He cursed his luck for having met a woman who was in the 6th stage of Spirit Refining. Although she was in a lower mini-realm than him, he could guess that she had more battle experience than him.
"You… you'll pay for this."
Seeing Aksai pull away from her actually gave the woman some courage in her heart she was desperately looking for.
The reason she had frozen in her steps was because her fleeting thoughts made her consider the possibility that someone like Aksai, who was a Mudra-casting Maestro, must have a powerful master behind him. He could also be an inner or direct disciple of some elder in the Purple River Sect.
Even if she were to kill or injure the guy, she wouldn't be able to get away with the repercussions that would follow suit. After all, she was only the subordinate of Lian Lakir.
Even though she had warmed the young man's bed many times, she didn't think he would stand up for her when a big force behind Aksai came to confront the Lakir family for their impudence.
However, rationality was forgotten when the woman saw Aksai getting away from her.
She decided to kill him and be done with the revenge first and foremost. She could always escape from Wuyum County and find shelter somewhere else.
[ Advanced Light Steps ]
The masked woman produced another advanced talisman in her hand and activated it. She quickly closed in on Aksai, and gripped her sword hard before slashing at him with all her might.
Aksai was waiting for the riled-up Spirit essence in his body to calm down before he could execute another set of Spirit Spells through automated activation.
He was startled when the woman closed the distance between them so fast and actually launched an attack on him with zero downtime.
"Aaaaah!"
Aksai screamed unintentionally as he prepared himself for the confrontation.
He held his sword and activated the runic patterns on it with his Spirit essence. Unlike spell-casting, most of the elementary weapon-based Spirit attacks didn't need any preparations or downtime. They could be used as long as one had Spirit essence to spare. This was the reason why he had selected such a simple sword with straightforward runic pattern, which only amplified his Spirit essence-based flying slash to some degree.
[ Spirit Slash ]
Aksai's Spirit essence was condensed into a flying weapon slash. However, he didn't release it through his blade but used it to strengthen his defense instead.
After all, he only had 7th stage Spirit Refining cultivation. If he used his Spirit essence wantonly, he'd die without his opponent breaking a sweat.
Aksai was also not very proficient in swordplay. If his flying weapon slash were to miss, he would be even more vulnerable to his opponent's attacks than before.
Aksai's real-life battle experience was a whole lot of nothing. The only time he had practiced swordplay on his own was when he was bored and had nothing to do after being done with the farming work.
He didn't have a manual related to sword skills nor a teacher who could teach him the way of the swords.
As such, retaining the weapon-based slash to enhance the piercing damage of the sword as well as increase its defensive capabilities was the best method Aksai could come up with given his situation. He immediately acted on it, using his sword to block the woman's fully charged sword slash.
Swoosh. Zoon. Clang.
Even though Aksai was in a mini-realm higher than the woman, the latter's battle skills and her swordplay bridged that gap, allowing her to establish her dominance right from the first clash.
With her first direct contact, she almost made Aksai drop his sword, making him feel as if a current had run through the arm he was holding the sword with.
She didn't stop there. Turning around, she rotated her wrist and handled her sword with extreme precision and agility, channeling the force behind it to attack Aksai from the other side.
Aksai was scared by the woman's momentum and her battle presence. He couldn't help making an ugly face when she didn't even give him a chance to form automated Mudras.
Thankfully, Aksai had previously prepared a talisman in his free hand which he had obtained from Aunt Reta on loan. He activated it at this point and created an Earth Wall between him and the woman's incoming attack.
Of course, Aksai didn't stop there. He also moved his sword and tried to block the attack at the same time, knowing full well that the woman's attack would only be slowed down by the Earth Wall talisman but could not be completely blocked.
However, the woman attacker was faster than Aksai gave her credit for.
As soon as she sensed Aksai's talisman's activation, she used her right foot to jump upwards. She then used the preliminary wall's surface as a launchpad to jump even higher and rotate around herself midair to generate momentum behind her sword attack.
When she came crashing towards Aksai on the other side of the wall, she had gained huge momentum. Her position was right and her speed was unmatchable. She made her attack imminent with her own skills.
Plus, her sword hand had palpable force behind it. She didn't even have to use the weapon-based Spirit Spell to deal with an amateur like Aksai. She even criticized herself for thinking that someone like Aksai could be a seedling of some bigshot.
As long as she didn't allow Aksai to cast his Spirit Spell, there was no way for him to capitalize on his obvious advantages. She herself didn't dare to cast any Spirit Spells against him because she knew that when it came to the speed of Spell casting, Aksai would beat her by a long mile.
Why fight an opponent in something they were good at?
[ Fire Arrow ]
Aksai made another use of the talisman to target the 6th stage Spirit Refiner woman, a feeble attempt he needed to make for his own satisfaction.
However, she easily dodged it midair by kicking the completely formed Earth Wall, which actually accelerated her descent toward Aksai.
'Forgive me, Young Master Lian. This dog is too cunning and too vicious. I'm afraid he would bite the hand that feeds him. I'll have to finish him right here right now.'
The woman thought to herself as she brandished her sword in front of her before twisting her wrist. When presented with an opportune time, she finally used her weapon-based Spirit Spell. The battle sense to use right cards at the right time could only be honed by regularly engaging in death battles.
Zoom. Swoosh. Clang.
Aksai's sword was broken into two when he used it to block the woman's attack this time. The three-inch sword was broken almost in half. The broken blade flew in one direction, carrying the momentum the woman had unleashed on it.
A broken sword remained in Aksai's hand which lost its Spirit sheen after the runes over it were damaged.
"Aaaah!"
Aksai's painful scream was heard.
The thumb which he was holding the sword was dislocated because of the woman's attack. His skin between his fingers was also ruptured, oozing blood.
It was a miracle that he could still hold onto the sword after facing the full force of the woman's forceful yet precise attack. It said a lot about the desperation with which he clung onto his weapon.
The woman turned around on her right heel as soon as she landed, rotating like performing a graceful dance before launching a kick on Aksai's chest.
Aksai was forced to lose his balance and land on his butt. He looked at the woman with trepidation and fear while gnashing his teeth. He had to say that she was the toughest opponent he had in his life.
After Aksai's weapon had been damaged and she was so close to him, the veteran female warrior had nothing to worry about. She used her sword to push Aksai's sword away from her before stepping onto his chest. At this point, she could only see Aksai's sword as nothing but a broken toy in kid's hand.
Looking down, she observed Aksai's figure with hate and anger in her eyes before speaking up in a cold tone.
"The 7th stage Spirit Refiner, huh? You actually hid your cards really well. But this is the end for you. Remember this in your afterlife– a dead genius is no genius."
The woman didn't say much and slashed at her opponent, ignoring the fact that the man had taken out a weird and harmless painting in his free hand.
Swoosh. Zoom. Void.
Just before the woman's sword could sever Aksai's head from his torso, he vanished into thin air like a ghost.
Before the woman could express her surprise, though, she found out that a broken blade had managed to pierce her neck.
Aksai not only managed to get away from her during the nick of time, but he also appeared behind her back in the next moment and launched a sneak attack on her. Not even a 2nd order talisman could have allowed him to pull of something like that.
Aksai used the moment when the woman was processing the shock of his previous disappearance to his advantage to land this strike.
Aksai simply coated his broken blade in his Spirit essence and twisted it while it was lodged inside the woman's neck from behind. He then grabbed the hilt of his blade before kicking the woman's back the same way she had kicked him a moment ago.
Not even a minute had passed since Aksai had started his confrontation with the three opponents.
Even though he had stacked all his advantages and used them at the right time as much as he could, he only barely managed to neutralize his opponents.
Suffice it to say that the Spirit farmer in him was shaken.