Three quarters of an hour later, Zhao Xing was still caught.
Beneath an artificial rockery, Shen Zhui breathed lightly as he pinned the Iron Ruler above Zhao Xing's head.
Zhao Xing froze for a moment, then withdrew his spell.
"Brother Shen, you won again."
Shen Zhui retrieved the Iron Ruler, surprise in his eyes. "Zhao Xiong, your progress has been far too fast. This is only our third spar, yet you've already learned Guiding Thunder, and that strange Rain Water... It actually took me a full three quarters of an hour to catch you."
"A loss is a loss. Brother Shen needn't console me."
Shen Zhui shook his head. "I'm telling the truth. After the first quarter-hour, I had already consumed three times as much yuan energy as last time. By the second, I could no longer move with such precision."
Icy Rain consumed a great deal of qi and blood. After all, this spell was said to freeze yuan energy. When Zheng Lun had cast it during the ambush, the Great Halberdiers had been frozen into ice sticks.
Of course, Zhao Xing had only just begun. He had not even mastered a First-Turn spell, so its suppressive effect on Shen Zhui, who was at the Gathering Yuan Seventh Level, was nowhere near so overwhelming.
"But during the third quarter-hour, your strength suddenly surged. You completely ignored Icy Rain's effects and merged into the rain itself. Brother Shen, what move was that?" Zhao Xing asked.
Shen Zhui smiled. "A secret technique, Qian Yuan Blood Burning. It can raise my strength to another level for a short time and grant me greater control over my body."
"Only then could I withstand the rain's erosion and your heavenly lightning strikes."
Zhao Xing came to a realization. "It seems I still failed to