As Ang continued his research, he was unaware that a secret battle was taking place between two grand-masters in the Midway district.
"This is getting nowhere.." said Madam Jian, smiling.
"Then let's end this with one final test of strength", Madam Qian replied, equally maintaining a happy face.
Neither wants the onlookers to know what is actually happening. They are talking about how to handle their current stalemate, and neither wants to back down while crushing each other's hands.
"Well, we don't want our clothes to shatter in front of everyone now, do we?" said Jian, indicating how their inner garments had been snapped earlier.
"Then why not we judge by the Art of Pleasure?" said Madam Qian, after looking at their erect nipples, which were now out of their inner garments and pushing through the Kimono.
"Well, looks like I'm making you horny. Why don't you admit it and become my bitch. I might consider giving you a taste of my body." replied Madam Jian mockingly.
"Oh, it looks like someone got provoked. Is it because you can't wait to be touched by me? I mean, look at those nipples of yours. They don't seem to be lying. You can just say so, and I might even let you taste my juices." Madam Qian replied even more mockingly.
"Oh! So bold, why don't we go for instant pleasure Art then? are you daring enough, bitch?" Madam Jian said, getting proved by Madam Qian.
"Then let's do it, shall we? Don't blame me if you can't handle it, cunt." replied Madam Qian, equally provoked by Madam Jian.
They both know the consequences of their actions, yet they would rather deal with the aftermath later than back down now. They suddenly remembered their past when they first used this. This memory only made them more angry and stubborn.
Madam Fang Jian observed the surroundings and stated, "We might need to use some art to create a distraction for the onlookers."
"Agreed! I would love to see you get embarrassed, but I do not want to be a part of it.", responded Madam Cong Qian.
They had a short conversation, smiling and holding each other's hands. General An and General Ai were at a loss for words. They never expected to see a day when these two women would talk to each other with such smiles again, "Maybe they don't hate each other that much after all", thought Ai to herself. On the other hand, General An remembered when she first met these women around 180 years ago. They were two very talented young warrior-level cultivators at a true age of only 21 years and cultivation age in their mid-thirties. They were filled with talent, ambition and hope for the future. "They used to hang out a lot due to their like mindsets. I wonder what made them hate each other so much. Well, at least they are talking with a smile now. Let's give them some more time to catch up.", said General An to General Ai via voice transmission Arts.
As their discussions were complete, they finally let go of the other's hands.
"Dual cast gust arts, Release" Stated the two simultaneously.
Instantly, gusts of wind started to run rampant in the area, lifting the dust into the air. For a few seconds, everyone lost sight of the Family heads. Due to the high-ranking artifacts they wore, no one noticed any Art fluctuations from them.
But the Generals were prepared, so they quickly acted. "Disperse Art, Release", shouted General An Nipo, "Stabilize Art Release", shouted General Ai Niho. These two arts are one of the dependent Arts; Although they work independently, they have a multiplier effect when cast in unison. Disperse Art, disperses any Art that is in work and Stabilize Art to stabilize the effects of that Art. In this case, Disperse stopped the Wind Art from continuing, and Stabilize made the dust in the air settle back to the ground immediately.
Once things settled, to their surprise, the two family heads were still involved in their conversation as if nothing had happened. General Nipo even activated Vision Arts immediately after the winds blew to observe the Family heads in case of any emergency. But to her surprise, they were involved in their conversation as if nothing had happened. She suddenly thought, "Is it an illusion?". She immediately threw the spear, with the point backwards in the direction of the Family heads. If it was an illusion, it would break. Otherwise, Everything is good, and it's not like they can get seriously hurt by such an attack.
"Well, they responded faster than we expected.", said Madam Cong Qian, watching the spear that headed in their direction.
"Well, we were faster, so it doesn't matter, right?" said Madam Fang Jian while she flicked the approaching spear with her fingers.
"Can't you see that we were in the middle of a conversation here, General?" Madam Qian said in a warning tone.
"Please send an explanation report to us after this.", added Madam Jian in a serious tone.
"My Apologies. I might have imagined things. I shall do as you say," General Nipo apologized. Well, I guess I was imagining stuff. But, the hard part is how do I explain this to her ", she thought to herself, looking in the direction of General Ai Niho, who was clearly disappointed by her actions just now.
"I think that was a bold move, General", said Ai Niho, walking towards An Nipo.
"Well, are you not angry?" asked An in surprise.
"I am. You almost caused a War, just so you know", replied Ai.
An was silent. Ai tapped on her shoulder and said, "But I am glad you did that."
"What do you mean?" asked An.
"I don't know why, but I have a feeling that something happened. I am confident that they were the ones who triggered the gust Arts. But why?" said Ai, looking at the two family heads.
Unlike the other families, which constantly try to overpower their competition, the Niho and Nipo families share genuine comradery.
They fought side by side on multiple battlefields for countless years, protecting the continent from external threats. They do not care for politics, as they spend most of their time at some camps in border areas. So, they respect and trust the decisions made by their comrades.
"If they were strong enough to do something in such a short moment, can we even stop them if they decide to start fighting?" thought An, remembering how Jian flicked her spear that contained the strength of a grand master-level cultivator.
"Even though I threw it without the intent to kill, that attack had the strength to throw back a grand master-level cultivator several feet away. But to think all it took was finger flick..." said An in a dejected manner.
"Well, now we know why they call sword cultivators the strongest," stated Ai.