Han Li and "Senior Brother Lu" channeled their magical power without ceasing into the "Sword Talisman" and the "Green Flood Dragon Banner," pouring every ounce of their minds and bodies into controlling the two artifacts as they clashed against each other. Neither dared show the slightest negligence or carelessness.
But doing so meant they had no surplus mental energy or magical power to deploy any other means of defeating their opponent. Both knew full well that the moment either side grew careless, the result would be instant destruction of the artifact and death—there would be no coming back from that.
And so, as the Green Flood Dragon and the enormous sword clashed in a blinding display, the struggle between Han Li and "Senior Brother Lu" had devolved into a battle of attrition—a contest to see whose magical power would run dry first.
By the time both realized that the amount of remaining magical power was the decisive factor in this fight, they simultaneously adopted the same strategy to replenish their spiritual energy. Each pulled out a spirit stone and gripped it in hand, using it to offset the continual drain on their reserves.
The only difference was that Senior Brother Lu held a low-grade wind-attribute spirit stone, while Han Li held a mid-grade earth-attribute spirit stone. This discovery made Senior Brother Lu's face darken considerably, his expression a mixture of shock and fury.
For a Qi Refining stage disciple like Han Li to possess a mid-grade spirit stone—the kind that only Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect could obtain—was something Senior Brother Lu had never imagined in his wildest dreams. Everyone knew that mid-grade spirit stones replenished spiritual power far faster than low-grade ones. In terms of replenishment, he was at a serious disadvantage.
However, Senior Brother Lu quickly recovered his composure. His magical power had been far deeper than his opponent's to begin with, and even if the other's spirit stone replenished energy a little faster, it certainly wouldn't last long. After all, the tiny amount of power being restored paled in comparison to the relentless drain of sustaining their battle.
With that thought, "Senior Brother Lu" calmed himself once more and steadied his focus.
But when Han Li's next move came into view, Senior Brother Lu's expression shifted again, tinged with a flicker of bewilderment and disbelief.
Han Li had voluntarily dropped his blue protective barrier—right in front of "Senior Brother Lu"—and openly exposed his true body for all to see.
Even as sharp-minded as "Senior Brother Lu" was, this move left him thoroughly confused. He couldn't fathom what Han Li could possibly be planning.
Did the boy have no fear that a single wind blade would end his life in an instant?
Senior Brother Lu's thoughts churned rapidly. Without much hesitation, he decisively raised his left hand and traced a gesture through the air. A faint green wind blade began to take shape.
But before "Senior Brother Lu" could fully form the blade and hurl it across the battlefield, the enormous sword tangled in combat with the Green Flood Dragon suddenly blazed with brilliant light. Seizing the moment when Senior Brother Lu's attention had wavered to conjure the wind blade, it wrenched itself free from the flood dragon and shot straight toward "Senior Brother Lu" himself.
Senior Brother Lu's heart lurched in alarm. If he insisted on completing the wind blade and launching it, it might very well kill Han Li—but under the slashing blow of the great sword, he would certainly die as well. Both would perish together.
Though there was still a wall of wind standing before him that hadn't dissipated, if this sword could hold its own against the Green Flood Dragon conjured from the banner, then a mere wind barrier would be pierced through as easily as if pricked by a needle. It wouldn't stall the blade for even a heartbeat.
This outcome was absolutely not what "Senior Brother Lu" wanted. He still had a great future ahead of him, a brilliant life waiting to be lived. He would never willingly bury himself in this desolate wilderness alongside some nameless nobody whose very origins he didn't even know.
Without a second thought, he hurriedly flicked his left hand to dispel the wind blade, then poured every last drop of magical power he could muster into the flood dragon banner, summoning the Green Flood Dragon back toward him.
True to its nature as a spirit form conjured from a wind-attribute artifact, the Green Flood Dragon responded with astonishing speed. Under Senior Brother Lu's full-powered command, it raced back and intercepted Han Li's great sword mid-flight, and the two clashed once more.
Seeing this, "Senior Brother Lu" let out a long, relieved breath, drenched in cold sweat.
From then on, Senior Brother Lu attempted several more covert attacks on Han Li during the course of the fight. But each time, Han Li used the exact same method to forcefully repel the attempt, leaving Senior Brother Lu utterly powerless against an unshielded Han Li. The frustration gnawed at him, and with no other option, he could only rely on his deeper reserves of magical power and grind the battle out bit by bit.