"Mr. Bai Sheng, please."
Yan Qing said to Bai Sheng.
"Uh, just call me by my name. Come to think of it, I don't even know how old you are."
Bai Sheng asked. He figured asking directly would save him the trouble of guessing the other party's age.
Of course, this only applied to boys.
"Yan Qing has only just passed the Coming-of-Age stage, so I'll presume to call you Bai Sheng."
"Coming-of-Age stage? How old is that again? Sixteen or seventeen? Or fifteen or sixteen? I suppose we're about the same age."
Bai Sheng thought to himself. Before he could say anything else, Yan Qing eagerly spoke up:
"Bai Sheng, can we start sparring now?"
Seeing how persistent he was, Bai Sheng naturally had no reason to refuse. He glanced at the weapons rack nearby and asked:
"Do we need to set rules about what weapons we use?"
"No need. Yan Qing hopes you can bring out your full strength, Bai Sheng. I'm very strong."
With that, Yan Qing drew his blue sword from behind him.
"As you wish. Don't cry if you lose."
"Other than the general, Yan Qing has never suffered a defeat since joining the Cloud Knights. If you truly manage to defeat Yan Qing, then consider it a chance to temper Yan Qing's spirit."
Though he said that, the pride in Yan Qing's eyes was impossible to hide.
Seeing this, Bai Sheng clenched his right hand at his side, and Pandora appeared out of thin air in his grasp.
"Come on. I won't hold back."
With that, Bai Sheng flourished his scythe. (We mostly use scythes here, so I have no idea what to call a spear flourish????)
He transformed into a white afterimage and charged toward Yan Qing. His goal was simple, just like taking down those Stingbugs on the battlefield: fast, accurate, and ruthless.
The only difference was that this time, he couldn't take a life.
Yan Qing's heart jolted. He hurriedly raised his sword to block. The moment he did, Bai Sheng's purple scythe shadow shot straight toward his face. Fortunately, the sword stopped it. However, Yan Qing was then shocked by Bai Sheng's strength. Knowing he couldn't meet it head-on, he retreated and slipped out of the scythe blade's range.
Bai Sheng continued swinging with all his might. The scythe blade came crashing down, sending Yan Qing flying dozens of meters. Just as he steadied himself, several slashes infused with Path Energy of the Hunt closed in. Yan Qing gritted his teeth and formed a spell with his left hand.
Five more Ice Swords appeared, carrying blue-green sword shadows as they collided with Bai Sheng's pale-purple slashes. All of them were canceled out, but one Ice Sword shot toward Bai Sheng at incredible speed.
Bai Sheng reversed his grip on Pandora and used the shaft during a turning backslash to deflect the Ice Sword. However, this Ice Sword could turn.
Far away, Yan Qing was already standing on another Ice Sword, controlling it as it attacked Bai Sheng. Seeing the sword closing in on Bai Sheng, Yan Qing smiled and said:
"It's over!"
Bai Sheng merely smiled. Powerful Path Energy of Destruction surged forth, and the dark-red flames surrounding him melted the Ice Sword Yan Qing was controlling.
"That was... two different Path powers?"
"What? The universe is vast, and nothing is impossible. Are you surrendering?"
As he spoke, Bai Sheng activated the Great Annihilation Form. Wrapped in a dark-red tornado infused with Destruction, he beat his wings and charged toward Yan Qing.
"Myriad Swords Descend!"
Yan Qing sensed the threat and released his Path Energy of the Hunt. Countless Ice Swords attacked Bai Sheng.
"If this is all you can do, you can't beat me."
Bai Sheng swept Pandora through the air, knocking away a huge swath of Ice Swords. Perhaps he felt that using the Great Annihilation Form against Yan Qing was a little unfair, so he withdrew from the form.
He simply wielded Pandora to block the incoming swords.
"Are you looking down on Yan Qing?"
As a Cloud Cavalry Vanguard, Yan Qing had participated in many wars alongside the Cloud Knights. He had seen all kinds of enemies. But Bai Sheng clearly possessed great strength and was willing to use it, yet kept indulging him instead. To Yan Qing, that was an insult to combat.
Yan Qing's attacks grew fiercer, and the Ice Swords came from even more treacherous angles. This time, Yan Qing held nothing back. Every move was a killing blow.
Bai Sheng smiled.
"That's more like it. Let me see which of you is harder to deal with—you or those annoying bugs!"
Bai Sheng also decided to stop holding back. Of course, he couldn't use the Great Annihilation Form again. If he did, Aatrox's recovery time would be delayed once more.
After activating the Spirit Puppet, a layer of pale-purple armor covered Bai Sheng's body. The Spirit Puppet Armor was Bai Sheng's strongest defensive measure aside from using the Firefly Alpha Armor.
He spun the scythe blade around his body, knocking away most of the flying swords. Then Bai Sheng adopted the most primitive method of all to shatter them.
Overwhelming force!
Ice Swords were repeatedly smashed apart, and Yan Qing was beginning to struggle. He decided to risk everything.
"Yan Guilai, Three Feet of Water!"
Small swallow phantoms circled Yan Qing as four Ice Swords far more powerful than the earlier flying swords were summoned.
Those were treasured swords Yan Qing had bought with his salary, not simple flying swords formed from condensed ice.
With the primary sword in his hand pointing forward, the four flying swords attacked Bai Sheng from both sides.
"Slaughter Bloom!"
Bai Sheng swung Pandora, and it resembled a blooming purple lotus. Every clash between the scythe blade and the flying swords left a mark on them. In fewer than three exchanges, all four of Yan Qing's flying swords shattered.
The instant the last flying sword broke, Yan Qing thrust his sword at Bai Sheng. Bai Sheng lowered his center of gravity, bent down, and spun, using the scythe blade's horizontal sweep to break Yan Qing's attack.
"I won't surrender!"
Yan Qing attacked again. He seized an opening and successfully knocked Pandora away, though it cost him his own sword.
The moment Pandora was sent flying, Bai Sheng raised both arms to block Yan Qing's punch. He then grabbed Yan Qing's hand, turned, and threw him over his back. Relying on his agility, Yan Qing used the momentum in midair to launch a spinning kick at Bai Sheng.
Bai Sheng blocked it all the same. He seized Yan Qing's leg and slammed him hard into the ground.
"Ugh!"
He then pinned Yan Qing's legs with one foot and asked:
"Well? Do you still want to continue?"
Yan Qing naturally refused to admit defeat. He jerked his head back to force Bai Sheng away, then rolled over and picked up his sword again. Its sword shadows were as fast as lightning.
But Bai Sheng was even faster. Relying on the Spirit Puppet Armor's high defense, he blocked Yan Qing's attack with his arm guard, then seized the opportunity to grab Yan Qing's sword wrist. His right hand shifted from a fist to a palm and struck Yan Qing's tiger's mouth. The unusual angle of attack sent Yan Qing's sword flying again. Bai Sheng then blocked his foot and pressed him firmly to the ground.
"Do you submit?"
Bai Sheng asked.
Although Yan Qing was unwilling to believe that he had lost, a loss was a loss. He said sullenly:
"Yan Qing lost."
Bai Sheng smiled, released Yan Qing, and then said:
"You should be grateful I'm not your enemy."
"Why do you say that?"
"Look at where you were just lying."
Yan Qing turned around and saw Pandora lying quietly there. The sharp tip of its scythe blade was aimed directly at the spot above Yan Qing's head from moments earlier. The two points were less than a finger's width apart!
Yan Qing broke into a cold sweat. He hadn't expected Bai Sheng to account for even that.
"If Yan Qing had been Bai Sheng's enemy, his skull would probably have been pierced just now, right?"
Yan Qing thought to himself.
If Bai Sheng had known what he was thinking, he probably would have said with a smile:
"No need to make it so complicated. The Firefly Alpha Armor would turn you into skewers for the Veteran's BBQ."
"Master Bai Sheng!"
Yan Qing said with complete conviction.
"Huh?! Wait, did I just become your junior by a generation?"
Before you continue