Without his longsword, Qi Jianxing could still channel sword energy through his fingers. At the True Yuan Realm, such techniques were well within his reach, though the destructive power was noticeably diminished — roughly ninety percent of his peak strength.
Even with ten percent less power, I can still crush you easily! Qi Jianxing sneered coldly.
He was about to strike when he saw Yang Kai thrust both palms forward amid a hearty laugh.
Beast Soul Art! After holding back for so long, Yang Kai could finally unleash his full strength, and he was practically itching to do it.
White Tiger Seal. Divine Bull Seal. Both seals deployed simultaneously.
A thunderous tiger roar split the sky, followed by a deafening bull bellow. Qi Jianxing's expression changed drastically. He saw two savage-looking beasts hurtling toward him.
The two beasts were vividly lifelike, as if they were living creatures. Their fiery red bodies were strikingly beautiful, and their scarlet eyes burned with killing intent.
Qi Jianxing's mind reeled with shock, but he had no time to hesitate.
He pressed two fingers together, transforming them into a sword. Sword light flickered at his fingertips as he shouted sharply, "Thunder Gallop Sword!"
A bolt of sword energy crackling with arcs of electricity shot from his fingertip and struck one of the beasts dead-on. The hit dimmed the beast's color, but it barely slowed the creature down at all.
"Wind-Supporting Sword!" Qi Jianxing retreated rapidly, flicking his finger-sword repeatedly. Various sword techniques from the Nine Star Sword Sect filled the air, yet he still couldn't dispatch either beast.
Seeing them about to close in on him, Qi Jianxing bent his legs in terror and leaped upward.
He had barely risen ten feet when a razor-sharp killing intent descended from above.
Looking up, he saw Yang Kai hurtling down at him, head first, with a savage grin, throwing a punch straight at him.
The man had read his movements in advance and cut off his retreat.
In a panic, Qi Jianxing gritted his teeth and thrust three beams of sword energy skyward.
Yang Kai threw three rapid punches, shattering all three beams. But that brief delay gave Qi Jianxing enough time to twist his body, dodging the vital spots. Still, a palm strike caught him square on the shoulder.
A miserable scream escaped Qi Jianxing's lips as he plummeted toward the ground. In that moment of life-and-death crisis, this prodigy of the Nine Star Sword Sect erupted with unprecedented potential and fighting power. His hands moved ceaselessly, employing profound sword techniques that sent the two charging beasts flickering and wavering, nearly dispersing them.
The White Tiger and the Divine Bull lunged and snapped at him, but they couldn't lay a scratch on Qi Jianxing. His sword energy was still layered over his body — countless tiny streams of sword light formed a protective barrier on his skin's surface. Every attack from the White Tiger and Divine Bull was neutralized by these sword lights.
In mere moments, both beasts dissipated completely.
After all, these were attacks condensed from Yang Kai's own Yuan Qi, taking only the forms of demon beasts. Once the Yuan Qi was spent, they naturally ceased to exist.
"Heh heh..." Qi Jianxing let out a wretched laugh, regarding Yang Kai with a triumphant look. In his mind, expending a massive amount of Yuan Qi to conjure such phantom beasts was simply not worth the cost. With Yang Kai's seventh-layer Separation-Union Realm cultivation, he certainly couldn't summon them a second time. He would have been better off saving that Yuan Qi for direct combat.
But before the laughter faded, under Yang Kai's contemptuous gaze, another bull and another tiger charged out, identical to the ones before.
"How is that possible?!" Qi Jianxing cried out in disbelief.
"Even without lifting a finger, this single technique is enough to grind you down!" Yang Kai said, his expression cold and severe as he stared at Qi Jianxing.
Qi Jianxing's face went through a storm of emotions, settling into a dark gloom. He knew Yang Kai wasn't bluffing. Those Yuan Qi beasts were incredibly difficult to deal with. His sword body was already teetering on the verge of collapse, and if it took another round of impacts, it would shatter for sure. His true Yuan was massively depleted, and the arrogant confidence he'd had before had evaporated.
"But you and I are different. I don't underestimate any opponent. So... I'm still going to attack!" With those words, Yang Kai moved in coordination with the bull and the tiger, closing in on Qi Jianxing from multiple angles. The latter had no intention of just standing there waiting to die. With a furious roar, he set his finger-sword dancing once more.
This time, neither side held back. Both fought at full power. Any carelessness or hesitation could lead to utter ruin.
The battle was ferociously intense, fraught with mortal danger.
The two beasts dissipated once again. Yang Kai took two finger-sword strikes from Qi Jianxing, nearly getting his body pierced through. Blood seeped from the wounds, staining his clothes red.
Qi Jianxing fared far worse. Fighting one against three, his sword body had been completely destroyed, and his true Yuan was nearly spent. Gasping raggedly with a wretched expression, one arm hung limply at his side, the forearm a mangled mess of torn flesh bearing teeth marks — wounds from the White Tiger's bites.
His chest was caved in where several ribs had snapped, injuries from the Divine Bull's charge. That single horn on the bull's forehead had nearly impaled him clean through.
The two of them stared at each other from a dozen zhang apart. Yang Kai's eyes were cold and indifferent, while Qi Jianxing's face twitched uncontrollably. Though he could hardly believe he had been defeated by a Separation-Union Realm fighter, the reality before him left him no choice but to accept it.
Humiliation and unwillingness drove him nearly mad!
Yang Kai didn't press in for the kill. A dying counterattack from a True Yuan Realm cultivator was something he was wary of. He was waiting for Qi Jianxing's fighting spirit to fade.
"Heh heh..." Qi Jianxing showed no trace of fear. He kept sneering, catching his breath with several ragged gasps before saying in a grim voice, "I admit it — you really are strong. Stronger than most ordinary True Yuan Realm cultivators. But so what if you beat me? I'm a True Yuan Realm warrior. You can't kill me! If I want to leave, you can't stop me!"
With a burst of hearty laughter, Qi Jianxing stomped off the ground and shot thirty zhang into the air, hovering unsteadily in the sky. One arm dangled at his side while the other clutched his chest wound. Looking down at Yang Kai with an air of smug superiority, he declared, "This is the greatest difference between the True Yuan Realm and the Separation-Union Realm! I can fly through the air, and you... cannot. So I can leave whenever I wish!"
As he spoke, Qi Jianxing coughed up a mouthful of blood. He wiped it away with difficulty, then stared at Yang Kai with a crazed look in his eyes. "I will remember the humiliation of today. The next time we meet, I'll take your wretched life! You'd better pray you survive until that day!"
With that, he narrowed his eyes, as if trying to sear Yang Kai's face deep into his memory.