The match began with Lin Fang standing confidently at the center of the arena, his gaze fixed on Bai Jian with a smug expression.
"Now that I've reached the 9th level of Qi Condensation, you no longer stand a chance against me, Bai Jian," he sneered, his voice dripping with arrogance.
Bai Jian met his gaze calmly, his hand resting on Cloudsong. He was ready.
Lin Fang wasted no time, launching forward with a burst of speed, executing the White Cloud Palm.
His strikes carried the force of initial mastery, each blow delivering precise, explosive impacts.
Bai Jian felt the air tremble as the strikes neared him, narrowly missing as he dodged with White Mist Step.
Bai Jian's movements were light and fluid, his body shifting just out of reach with every strike.
He seemed to glide like mist, uncatchable. But Lin Fang was relentless, refusing to let him slip away. Anger flashed in his eyes, and he growled in frustration.
"You're just a rat scurrying around," Lin Fang taunted.
With a fierce shout, he unleashed another White Cloud Palm.
Bai Jian met the attack head-on, blocking the impact with a firm stance. The blow sent vibrations through his arms, but he remained steady.
Gathering his own qi, Bai Jian responded with the Heaven-Shattering Fist, his fist glowing with power as he struck directly at Lin Fang's center.
The force behind it was undeniable, and Lin Fang barely managed to block, his feet skidding across the arena floor.
The audience gasped, whispers spreading.
Lin Fang's face twisted with rage. "You'll pay for that!"
He gathered his qi, summoning the Twin Cloud Assault. Two dense clouds of swirling qi shot from his palms, hurtling toward Bai Jian with violence.
Bai Jian responded by channeling his own qi into Cloudsong, slashing forward with a Cloudrend Strike.
The misty aura around his sword cut through Lin Fang's attack, dissipating the clouds in an explosion of energy that pushed both back.
As they regained their footing, Lin Fang's eyes narrowed as he took in Bai Jian's composed stance.
A flash of realization crossed his face, his expression twisting with anger. "You... you're not at the 8th level of Qi Condensation anymore. You're at the 9th level? HOW?!"
Bai Jian smirked, his gaze unwavering. "There's a lot you don't know about me, Lin Fang."
Lin Fang was furious, and with a surge of qi, he pressed forward.
He launched into another round of White Cloud Palm strikes, each one filled with the explosive force of his qi.
But Bai Jian was ready, moving with precision as he activated White Mist Step, evading with perfect timing.
Bai Jian maintained his calm, expertly dodging and parrying each attack that Lin Fang threw at him, allowing him to exhaust his energy.
Then, in one swift move, Bai Jian saw an opening and took it. Activating White Mist Step, he slipped past Lin Fang's guard.
Channeling his qi, he struck with a Heaven-Shattering Fist directly at Lin Fang's shoulder. The impact reverberated through Lin Fang's body, forcing him off balance.
Lin Fang staggered, nearly collapsing, but Bai Jian wasn't finished. Taking a breath, he focused all his remaining qi into a final Cloudrend Strike, the energy surrounding Cloudsong pulsing with power.
As he prepared to strike, the watching elders' eyes widened, murmurs rippling among them. They sensed the intricacies in Bai Jian's technique.
In one fluid motion, Bai Jian swung Cloudsong. The cloud energy extended from the sword, cutting through the air with a fierce power as it closed in on Lin Fang.
The strike hit him square in the chest, the aura dissipating as Lin Fang's defenses shattered.
Blood seeped through his robes as he fell to his knees, a look of shock and humiliation frozen on his face.
"This... impossible. How could a weakling like you…" His voice faltered as he collapsed.
Bai Jian lowered Cloudsong, his expression steady. "True strength doesn't come from arrogance, but from resolve."
As Bai Jian turned and began to walk back to his side of the arena, a murmur rippled through the observing elders.
One of them, with a thoughtful expression, leaned toward Elder He, "This disciple... he doesn't seem bad at all. Quite the hidden talent."
Elder He chuckled, his eyes glinting with a hint of surprise as he watched Bai Jian. "In this world, everyone has their own fortuitous encounters. Bai Jian is no different, it seems."