Reenactment, Victory or Defeat.

In the long arc of the blade's flash, the swirling weapon vanished without a trace in an instant.

The lingering effects of the scythe still remain, but the maid who was just a moment ago on my retina has vanished without a trace.

It was like a movie that had been fast-forwarded through; the lack of information made it difficult to understand the rest of the plot.

When was it? Before such a question could even flash through his mind, a slight tremor in his frozen Mind Lake made him realize the danger of the situation.

The bizarre techniques, similar to those related to time manipulation, left Su Qing'an momentarily bewildered. However, the maid's stealth techniques, which had previously kept Kiana completely unaware, were the key to resolving the problem.

Rita didn't stop time, nor was she so fast that his retina couldn't keep up; she simply went into hiding.

Yes.

In the midst of the intense and highly focused battle, the maid successfully slipped out of his sight.

It's utterly unpredictable and mysterious.

But even the most profound and exquisite techniques have their limits. Rita could only deceive her own senses for a fleeting moment, but could not keep him in the dark forever.

But that's enough. Just making the opponent judge the direction and position of your attack is enough to expose a huge flaw in the enemy, leading to their defeat.

Su Qing'an naturally understood that she was at a disadvantage, just like her instinctive reaction when facing the mental attack of Jizo Mitama.

The ability called [Momentum] bursts forth in a ring-like form, accompanied by the resonance of the Soul Essence and the Mind Lake.

[Momentum] Like a colorless and invisible blade of light, it slashed across the entire space. Since we don't know where the opponent is, we can use area-of-effect skills to probe and delay their movements.

The disordered breathing almost right next to her ear made Su Qing'an understand the answer.

From the left rear, the sword swung out without hesitation to block the scythe's attack.

Such a distance was already too hasty; if it weren't for the momentum disrupting the opponent's rhythm and pace, it wouldn't be surprising if the scythe were already at his throat.

Rita Rossweisse.

Even disregarding everything else, this woman's martial arts skills alone are absolutely not to be underestimated.

The Soul Essence, the heart of the sword, [momentum].

This was Su Qing'an's first time facing such a mysterious attack. If any one of the factors mentioned above were missing, he could very well be defeated.

S-rank Valkyrie are indeed very dangerous.

Having made this judgment in his mind once again, the boy did not choose to continue retreating and dodging.

If they were to get caught up in this endless entanglement again, the maid's stealth skills would give Su Qing'an a real headache.

From Rita's perspective, the [Momentum] skill is truly extraordinary.

Rita has experienced many complicated battles in her past life. As S-rank Valkyrie, she has traveled all over the world and constantly solved Honkai incidents. She can be said to be very knowledgeable. However, even Rita, who is like this, has never heard of this ability.

It was as if the king of beasts in the mountains and forests had let out a deafening roar, which would naturally make ordinary people tremble with fear and lose their composure.

The reason the Beast King could do this was because it was a display of imposing presence, and the difference in power created an unparalleled sense of oppression.

Su Qing'an appeared to do nothing, but her actions actually slowed down Su Qing'an's sense of time. Caught off guard, Su Qing'an's instinctive, smooth breathing rhythm was abruptly broken, causing the scythe to fall a beat slower.

In close combat, the mournful sound of metal echoed.

Rita glanced at the thin blade that had blocked the scythe; even though her speed had been slowed, the weight and potential energy she possessed gave her the advantage.

As she exerted force to tilt the weapon further towards her opponent, she asked:

"What is this? Is it also martial arts?"

As Su Qing'an formed a fist with his left hand, he gave an affirmative answer:

"This is momentum, and it is also the way of martial arts."

The force called "Collapse Force" twisted and entangled in that instant, flowing through the entire body and then converging and twisting onto the left fist. This was a complex and delicate process, yet it came so naturally to the boy.

His upper body assumed a boxing stance, as if drawing a bow, while the landing of his fist was like releasing the bowstring.

The interplay of fast and slow rhythms is exquisitely beautiful.

Taixuan Style • Collapse Force.

The fist imprint slammed into the weapon in the girl's hand.

This intensely powerful and ferocious posture was etched into the eyes of the viewers watching the live broadcast, eliciting a small cheer.

An immense and unfathomable force, bridging the fist, was thus poured into the body of the sickle.

The metal vibrated violently, and the surging force, like waves, forced Rita to release her grip on the long handle through the scythe. She knew that even if she continued to hold on to the weapon, the result would not be good.

In Rita's eyes, weapons that cannot be controlled at will are no better than bare hands.

The scythe lost its support and was twisted in mid-air by the spiraling force. Just as it was about to fall and hit the ground after spinning half a circle, the girl gently flicked it with her slender hand, causing it to spin once more in the air before landing lightly in her hand again.

Rita retrieved her weapon, but in return, the two distanced themselves once more.

Su Qing'an retracted his fist stance and said softly:

"This is Collapse Force."

Rita had no intention of attacking, and after several rounds of close combat, neither of them showed any change in health on the data screen.

She hadn't used her full strength, but she had witnessed how troublesome and terrifying Su Qing'an was. Even though she might not yet have a full glimpse of his strength, the martial arts he was displaying were already quite exaggerated.

That was a level of clarity so profound it seemed otherworldly.

Still water? Mind's Eye?

No, it should be some level slightly above that.

Perhaps the opponent is only at the B-rank level when facing an opponent like Honkai Beast, but when facing humans, Su Qing'an's danger level cannot be judged by this level.

The fact that this boy could do this without relying on any armor is truly Rita, and it's a real shame that such talent is hampered by his ability to deal with Honkai Energy.

The girl lightly wielded her sickle and said:

"I've heard that Mr. Su's teacher was the venerable Mr. Chen Junxuan, right?"

"I have some knowledge of the Taixuan Style martial arts. Hmm, don't be surprised, Valkyrie need to learn a wide range of things, and absorbing the wisdom of others to enrich oneself is also one of the qualities of a maid."

"That's what Taixuan Style emphasizes too: learning from others' martial arts to achieve one's own, while using complex techniques to be able to handle any situation."

"Theoretically, the Taixuan Style is only suitable for geniuses, because being comprehensive often means distributing a lot of energy and time, and only those with exceptional talent can perfectly inherit it."

"And if it can be successfully passed down, the martial arts displayed by each generation will be completely different."

"It seems that, just as Mr. Chen Junxuan wished, Mr. Su has already forged his own path? It's truly astonishing and admirable."

Su Qing'an remained unmoved, knowing that with the power of Schicksal, all his traces in this world could be thoroughly investigated.

Therefore, if someone becomes interested in you, it's perfectly normal for them to learn a little about your martial arts teacher.

He said:

"Master Chen is very skilled, unlike people like me. Everything he has achieved is the result of accumulating knowledge and skills over the years. I may be considered diligent, and I have unintentionally created some techniques, but I haven't yet."

The boy paused, as if confirming something again, and then said seriously:

"They haven't completely found their own path yet."

After realizing that he was living under a fate manipulated by the gods, Su Qing'an was unable to have the confidence and courage to fully implement the so-called martial arts.

He couldn't bring himself to forge ahead relentlessly.

Therefore, even if he surpassed Chen Junxuan in skill, he was not qualified to say that he had forged his own path.

Ultimately, this stems from Su Qing'an's inner awkwardness and stubbornness.

For him, the reason to continue on the path of martial arts is no longer simply a means to deal with danger.

Perhaps, this was the last spark of hope he was desperately clinging to.

A spark, regardless of its strength.

Su Qing'an walked step by step toward the girl, which was a strange behavior. He had clearly been trying hard to create distance before, but now he was ignoring all his gains.

He said softly:

"Miss Rita, I have only known Master Chen for less than half a year, yet he has completely entrusted the Taixuan Style to me. The only way for me to repay him is to further develop and enrich the Taixuan Style to a higher level."

"You are a very powerful person."

"So I think I can learn something from you."

"And indeed, things turned out as I had hoped."

The moment the words left his mouth, the boy vanished without a trace.

Amidst the ordinary sounds of words and footsteps, Su Qing'an replicated the technique Rita had previously used on him.

In Shenzhou, there once existed an ancient martial art. Legend has it that assassins who mastered this technique killed one enemy after another like invisible phantoms, making it a bizarre assassination technique with a success rate of nearly 100%.

The reason it was described as "close" rather than "one hundred percent" is because that person's final assassination attempt failed.

This is a technique that uses special Breathing Technique and footwork to slip one's presence into the opponent's subconscious, thus avoiding the opponent's perception.

While it's not confirmed whether Rita used the exact same technology, the principle should be the same.

This is a martial arts principle that has a scientific basis but is also quite mystical and far-fetched.

Humans are biological beings, so they cannot, like machines, discern everything they see and hear in detail and with precision.

Even if we could actually see and hear those things, it would be impossible for human consciousness to carefully distinguish each one. If all the things and information received by our senses were observed and analyzed by the brain one by one, the human brain would generate a lot of unnecessary burden, or even overheat.

Therefore, the human brain will stuff low-priority information into the subconscious mind within the conscious mind, thereby reducing the brain's processing load by giving up the identification of this information.

Just like when Rita was carefully observing the details of Su Qing'an's personality and making a personality profile, she would ignore unnecessary details because of her focused judgment, which is why she would feel emotional when she saw the boy's appearance.

This footwork technique perfectly utilizes this human trait, allowing one to slip into the opponent's subconscious, thereby avoiding the enemy's perception. Even if one openly enters the enemy's field of vision, the enemy will subconsciously give up on recognizing them.

This led to a bizarre situation where what should have been visible to the naked eye could not be detected, and ultimately, the enemy silently approached to a fatal distance from which the situation could not be salvaged.

But neither Rita nor Su Qing'an could do that against their current opponents.

Both of them had reached the level of "Mind's Eye" in martial arts, making it impossible to deceive their opponent for even a moment in a direct confrontation. Therefore, Rita appeared from the left rear, and after slipping into Su Qing'an's subconscious, she came behind him and launched her attack.

If she continues to choose a direct attack, the State of Still Water will make it impossible for Su Qing'an to miss the anomaly.

Having experienced this incident, Su Qing'an had a premonition that if the level of his Void Sword Qi were to improve again, his perception of the outside world would become even more terrifying, at which point such techniques would become completely ineffective against him.

If history were to repeat itself, Kenshin would perfectly transmit to his instincts the phenomena of air vibrations, the sound of footsteps, the approaching body temperature, and the warnings of his Soul Essence the instant Rita takes that strange step.

At that point, betraying Su Qing'an naturally became a pipe dream.

In the live stream footage, Su Qing'an walked normally for half a breath before silently circling behind Rita. The maid frowned but kept looking in the direction in front of her, seemingly unaware.

Just like before, when Su Qing'an looked ahead as if ignoring the maid's figure, this was a battle that would be completely incomprehensible without explanation.

Among the Valkyrie in the coffee shop, only Kiana, who had witnessed Rita's move, could understand what had happened and comprehend the outrageous actions Su Qing'an had taken.

In less than three minutes of combat, Kiana learned her opponent's signature move, a scene that reminded her of Su Qing'an learned Raiden Mei -Beichen Ichi-ryu.

But no matter how many times I've seen this, it always feels abnormal.

Almost immediately in the next frame, the boy unleashed a sword strike.

Rita, who seemed to be caught off guard, swung her scythe back in that instant.

The illusory scythe and sword blade pierced the opponent's vitals almost simultaneously.

On the big screen, the two health bars were instantly emptied to zero.

The live stream was automatically cut off.

The boy, lost in thought, recalled the feel of his hand striking the other's neck earlier, and...

The image of his chest being pierced by a sickle.

Even after successfully learning the technique by stealing it from her and catching her off guard, the maid displayed incredible composure and ultimately launched an extremely sharp counterattack.

In a real battlefield, that would mean dragging the defeat into a situation of mutual destruction.

The S-rank Valkyrie lives up to her name.

Rita smiled and bowed slightly. She said:

"Then let's call it a draw this time. Rita is very satisfied with this meeting."

"I look forward to seeing you again, Mr. Su."

"Then, let's part ways for now."

"Maintaining a proper sense of distance and mystery is also a principle of being a lady."

After leaving behind this slightly playful remark, the maid chose to depart.

The virtual lighting disappeared as the battle ended, and the indoor lights dimmed slightly.

Su Qing'an stood there, watching the maid calmly turn and leave, her heart filled with mixed feelings.

Is it a tie?

Perhaps she only unleashed her true abilities at the very last moment.

He understood that it wasn't some unreasonable, huge gap, but rather the difference between practice and a real, deadly battle.

I am the same in this respect.

However, the Valkyrie's fighting method has never been to use so-called martial arts skills to reach the pinnacle. For Valkyrie like Rita, who can still be considered an ordinary person, having or not having armor is a complete difference between two extremes.

Su Qing'an wasn't sure if the other party was wearing simple, close-fitting armor, but he was certain that the other party hadn't used any external force.

Su Qing'an, who cannot unleash the full power of the Void Sword Qi at the corresponding level, is still a very, very long way from being S-rank Valkyrie.

The maid's wine-red eyes deepened. She had anticipated the outcome of the battle, but she hadn't expected the result of the process.

Perhaps even Durandal is no match for Su Qing'an in terms of martial arts learning ability.

Indeed, as His Lord Bishop said, he is an interesting person.

But it seems I've discovered something even more interesting.

Recalling the rumors circulating in the school over the past few days, Rita gave a strange smile.