Chapter Twenty-Six: Fierce Battle

Chen Qi maintained his flamboyant smile on the surface, but inwardly he became extremely cautious.

“That girl’s agility must be at least eight points. Should I raise mine to eight as well?”

He quickly dismissed the thought.

“There’s no growth in always fighting someone weaker than yourself. Enemies won’t always be weaker. I need to learn how to defeat the strong while being weak.”

“So what if I make a fool of myself?”

With a final, uncertain mutter, Chen Qi held his breath and raised his sword.

...

The match began!

A sharp crack echoed as the bamboo swords collided!

Right from the start, both contestants chose to seize the offensive.

Chen Qi had been training his Basic Footwork for some time and was eager to display his swordsmanship at last.

As the bamboo swords clashed again and again, Chen Qi began to change his tactics.

He dipped his body slightly and spun his bamboo sword, slicing towards the girl’s waistline.

But she was not to be outdone—she leapt into the air, evading Chen Qi’s attack and landing behind him.

“Not good!” Chen Qi thought. He hadn’t anticipated the girl’s powerful jump or such an imaginative counterattack.

But instead of immediately stabbing at him from behind, the girl drew closer, attempting to imitate Chen Qi’s earlier move by sliding her bamboo sword into the back of his collar.

Sensing the rush of wind behind him, carrying a faint scent, Chen Qi guessed her intent.

There was no time to turn around. He threw himself backward, striking at her delicate foot with the back of his head.

She pressed her sword down, but Chen Qi’s head was faster, and she never expected such a move. For a moment, Chen Qi gained the upper hand.

A dull thud sounded—he felt his skull connect with a bony part that lacked much flesh.

Thanks to his impressive fifteen points in endurance, he shrugged off any dizziness. Using the rebound, he flipped upright with a kip-up, immediately regaining his balance.

Seizing the moment as the girl staggered from the blow to her leg, Chen Qi’s lips curled into a smile, and his sword struck without mercy.

“It’s over,” he told himself.

...

He believed that, caught off guard and losing her balance, even he wouldn’t have been able to dodge such a blow.

The bamboo swords rang out again—swift and sharp. Chen Qi’s eyes widened at what he saw:

The girl planted one hand on the ground, spun herself around at lightning speed, and, with a move reminiscent of scooping the moon from the sea, used her other hand to block Chen Qi’s fierce attack with her bamboo sword.

The whirling motion traced a pale crescent through the air, and the students below the stage grew excited. At the front, a middle-aged man exclaimed,

“Our teacher may be young, but with her speed and reflexes, she can place quite well in national competitions.”

While Chen Qi was still stunned, the girl righted herself—the match was at a stalemate once again.

Hearing the one-sided cheers from below, a flare of irritation rose in Chen Qi’s chest.

He whipped his bamboo sword through the air, slashing, thrusting, chopping, slicing—unconsciously, he had abandoned the limits of normal adult agility, and now the stage was filled with nothing but the shadows of his sword.

The girl, however, remained composed, her brows furrowed as she too increased her speed—their duel became a contest of swiftness.

The middle-aged man watched in silence.

A student next to him asked, “Senior, do you think the teacher’s in trouble?”

He sighed and explained, “What annoys me is that boy knows nothing of swordsmanship. He’s tried every move with that bamboo sword except a thrust—what kind of sword fighting is that?”

Realizing his speed now matched the girl’s, Chen Qi suppressed the urge to push even faster. He wanted to win at his current level.

“No,” Chen Qi thought. He could sense her attacks had lost their previous ferocity, and if things continued this way, his brute stamina would win the day. That wouldn’t help in honing his Basic Blade Technique.

“I have to change tactics.” He pondered. He wanted to win honorably.

But the girl was even more impatient. After another exchange of blows, she suddenly closed in during the moment her sword was drawn back—she was going for close combat.

Chen Qi’s pupils contracted. He knew that, in close quarters, his blade skills were no match for the girl’s mastery of the sword. He had to keep her at bay.

A flash of inspiration struck him. Recalling the rhythm of fast and slow blades from his training space, he delivered a strike that seemed fast but was actually slow.

As expected, the girl fell for it—she parried too soon, exposing a gap. Chen Qi’s sword paused, then abruptly changed course, swinging straight for her prominent chest.

“If that lands with this force… tsk, tsk…” Chen Qi regretted it, but the move was already in motion.

As the sword neared its target, Chen Qi gritted his teeth and activated his skill: Focus Burst.

...

Chen Qi felt his heart stutter, bloodshot veins filling his vision as the world slowed before him.

He could sense the distribution of force in his bamboo sword, and with effort, transformed the fierce downward blow into an angled sweep. As the skill’s effect lingered, his keen eyes caught the girl’s lips curving wider into a smile.

Though it felt long, less than a second had passed. The girl took a sharp breath, her slender abdomen expanding as she subtly shifted her chest.

The sword merely grazed her clothes—Chen Qi couldn’t even tell if it made contact at all.

The girl, unconcerned with such thoughts, seized the opportunity and lunged at Chen Qi, her bamboo sword poised to strike at his neck.

With less than half a second left on his skill, Chen Qi repeated his earlier move—his upper body bent at a strange angle, forming a right angle as he headbutted the space between her chest and abdomen.

With a thud, he felt himself strike something soft, and saw the girl fly backward.

“This skill is incredible. In just half a second, my body’s reflexes could keep up,” Chen Qi thought, his mind racing as he prepared to ask if she was hurt.

“Hey, are you…”

Before he could finish, the girl got to her feet again, ready for a third round.

“So competitive!” Chen Qi mused, his mind wandering even as his hands showed no mercy—the two were locked in a stalemate again.

From the students’ perspective below, Chen Qi stood at the center of the ring, swinging his bamboo sword with ferocity. The teacher, once known for her cool elegance, now fought with the relentless fury of a washerwoman.

“I see it now—he’s using blade techniques!”

The middle-aged man finally realized that Chen Qi’s swordplay resembled the wielding of a ring-hilted saber.

After repeated clashes, his bamboo sword began to show signs of wear. Suddenly, inspiration struck Chen Qi.

With a sudden backward step, he put distance between them, then switched to a two-handed grip. Summoning the strength of a grown man at his limit, he brought his sword down in a mighty overhead chop.

He expected the girl to block.

Indeed, seeing the speed of his attack, she bit her lip, grabbed the tip of her own sword with her other hand, and raised it horizontally with both hands to parry.