Immovable Rock, a True Man's Fencing

Lokkishi blinked.

"...So... does he... use magic?"

Rudy's serious expression instantly relaxed at her words, as if he'd found some comfort. He chuckled.

"Thankfully, he's completely clueless about magic. If Allen had a talent for magic too, wouldn't he have to grab you, Lokkishi, to be his teacher? That would be too dangerous for me!"

"Ah, I see..."

Lokkishi breathed a sigh of relief at his words, not understanding what Rudy meant by "dangerous." She turned to look at the two figures in the yard, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Rudy watched Lokkishi's demeanor, feeling like something was off, but he couldn't quite pinpoint what the problem was.

Sylphy, on the other hand, blinked, secretly glancing at Lokkishi, then fluttered her eyelashes and looked at Allen as well.

In the courtyard, Allen and Paul had finished warming up.

Allen and Paul stood about three meters apart. Compared to the relaxed way he held his sword when confronting Rudy earlier, today, facing Paul, who was also a swordsman, Allen had adopted a posture of full readiness.

He stood in a bow stance, firmly rooted to the ground, holding his sword with both hands, the blade resting on his shoulder with the back of the sword very close to his right shoulder.

Paul, meanwhile, held his sword casually, looking at Allen.

"Ready? I'm coming at you now, okay?"

Allen took a deep breath, his pupils suddenly constricting. The Dragon Saint Battle Qi Core Embryo in his abdomen compressed and contracted, surging through him with raw battle qi.

He 'perceived' the dust slowly drifting in front of him and smiled.

"Ready. Let's begin."

No sooner had he spoken than Paul's blade swept towards his left shoulder, well outside the reach of Allen's sword!

Soundless Katana!

The next instant, the two passed each other.

Paul stumbled, turning his head in surprise.

Allen's feet remained unmoving, rooted to the ground.

He didn't even turn around, merely stood with his back to Paul, tilting his head to meet the latter's gaze. The posture of holding the sword on his right shoulder had only slightly changed, moving the hand holding the sword from the side of his forehead to in front of him.

The sword hilt was 'conveniently' just above his left shoulder.

"Did he miss?!" Zenith's surprised cry rang out.

Paul's expression sobered, becoming serious. He casually answered the question Zenith had voiced for everyone.

"...No, he didn't miss."

He narrowed his eyes, looking at the sword hilt suspended above Allen's left shoulder. The sensation from his blade, from that fleeting moment, was still fresh in his memory.

He had indeed struck.

But to no effect.

Allen's response just now had been too 'perfect.'

He 'perfectly' shifted his sword's stance, 'perfectly' placed the hilt above his left shoulder, then 'perfectly' met the tip of Paul's sword, and 'perfectly' deflected his blade.

Perfect to the smallest detail.

Not a single wasted motion.

It was like... an Immovable Rock in a turbulent stream, steady, without any flaws.

Paul watched Allen for a moment, then spoke.

"Aren't you going to turn around?"

Allen still had his head tilted, looking at him, his sword still resting on his right shoulder.

"No need. This stance is enough for me to handle attacks from all angles. Of course, that's provided I can 'perceive' them. And I just happened to perceive your Soundless Katana, Master. Good luck."

Paul smiled.

"An Arcana formed by the extreme fusion of perception and the Water God Style - Flow Arcana, hmm? So, if I were a bit faster, could I cut you before you perceive my swing?"

Allen narrowed his eyes and chuckled.

"You can try, Master."

Paul let out a 'heh' of a laugh, his laughter carried away on the wind. The next instant, he was already at Allen's side.

His sword hung less than half a meter from Allen's brow.

But Allen's hand moved with his body; he had already folded his blade in front of his own brow.

Paul and Allen's gazes briefly intertwined at that moment.

A sharp 'clang!' echoed as Paul's sword tip was deflected by Allen's yielding force. This strike, too, was 'perfectly' diverted by Allen using the Flow Arcana.

But a smile bloomed on Paul's lips.

He smoothly released his grip on the sword, and the blade slipped from in front of Allen's eyes. At the same time, Paul's whip kick was already closing in on Allen's chest!

"Feint!"

The question he'd posed earlier, demanding more speed, was also a feint, meant to make Allen believe Paul was going for a Sword God Style slash!

From the very beginning, he had clearly intended to abandon his sword, using what looked like a swift stab as a feint, placing his entire gamble on a whip kick from his lower body!

But even so, Paul's carefully laid plans fell through.

Allen once again shifted his blade. Just as Paul was about to kick him in the chest, he used the hilt of his sword to barely graze Paul's foot, applying a shifting force to the kick with a Flow Arcana, sending it flying away from his ribs and to the side.

At that instant, a sharp glint flashed in Paul's eyes as he met Allen's gaze. He forcibly applied pressure to the leg still on the ground, using the momentum from the kick and the Flow Arcana's force-nullifying inertia to accelerate. He once again caught the blade that had just slipped from Allen's grasp behind him. Then, his foot, which had missed the kick, forcefully planted on the ground. A new surge of power traveled from the ground to his waist and abdomen, and with a twist of his body, he swung his sword towards Allen's back!

A feint after the whip kick!

Allen didn't even have time to turn around!

Paul saw the blade about to strike Allen's back, and a hint of joy appeared in his eyes.

"This Soundless Katana strike is the fastest I can manage. He hasn't even turned around. How could I win?!!"

Just then, Allen's shoulder dropped.

A thin, ghostly blade emerged from his shoulder, accurately striking the tip of Paul's sword.

A faint scraping sound vibrated in the air, rippling outwards in circles under Paul's gaze, which had rapidly shifted to astonishment.

With a bang, the sword was flicked away by the tip of the blade, whistling past Paul's ear in a circle, cutting through the ripples, and embedding itself directly into a nearby tree with a buzzing sound.

Zenith and the others nearby all turned their heads to look at the sword in the tree, then turned to look at Allen and Paul, their faces filled with confusion.

To their dynamic vision, which lacked Battle Qi enhancement, the two figures moved too quickly. At first glance, it just looked like they suddenly got close to each other, then, amidst flashing blades, their bodies twitched grotesquely in mid-air, unable to discern what kind of dance they were performing. Then Paul's sword flew off and embedded itself in the nearby tree.

It was like they were just messing around.

Paul blinked in bewilderment, turning to look at the sword that had flown from his grasp and was now dejectedly stuck in the tree. Then he looked at Allen's teasing gaze, which had shifted to him after Allen dropped his shoulder and tilted his head. For a long while, he couldn't speak.

Allen saw that Paul seemed a bit dazed. He straightened up, retracted his sword stance, turned around, and waved his hand in front of Paul's eyes, teasingly.

"Master, you really do love using the North God Style, don't you?"

Paul had recovered. He awkwardly looked at his hands, as if he still couldn't accept how Allen had disarmed him instantly with a Flow Arcana, even after he'd held back two moves.

But he was quite stubborn.

"Uh, that was a strategy. Speaking of which, your Arcana is quite impressive… It's practically an impenetrable defense, with no weaknesses. Unless an opponent has overwhelmingly superior raw power against you, it would be very difficult to hurt you."

Then, he looked a bit confused, and somewhat exasperated.

"This Arcana is simply a perfect Water God Style technique! What more inspiration do you need to achieve enlightenment? Are you going to be able to chop off my head after deflecting my sword?!"

Allen blinked, then immediately replied, "Why not?"

Paul looked at Allen's serious expression and was stunned.