Stalling

Hoo—

A gust of night wind blew past.

Under the hazy moonlight, rings of ripples suddenly spread across the lake's once-calm surface.

On the lakeshore, the Iwagakure Anbu facing off against Qian seemed unable to withstand the pressure and chose to make the first move.

Whoosh—

A flash of sword light streaked by.

In an instant, he appeared right in front of Qian, then thrust the Short Sword in his hand straight out, aiming directly for Qian's throat.

However, even without activating his Sharingan, an attack like that could not injure Qian.

With nothing more than a step back, Qian avoided his attack, the whole movement indescribably light.

Not only that, with a turn of his wrist, the long blade in his hand swept upward from below, precisely blocking the opponent's imminent second attack.

Clang—

A crisp metallic collision rang out.

The long blade and Short Sword clashed, sending sparks flying.

Qian had put no small amount of force into this strike. The Iwagakure Anbu only felt his palm go numb, and he unconsciously withdrew his Short Sword.

Qian pressed his advantage mercilessly, stepping straight forward as the long blade in his hand slashed horizontally, aiming directly at the opponent's chest and abdomen.

Sensing the sharp aura coming from the blade's edge, the Iwagakure Anbu did not dare be careless in the slightest. He hurriedly retreated half a step, avoiding Qian's attack.

Then, before Qian could change moves, he swung the Short Sword in his hand like lightning, cutting toward Qian's throat.

In this kind of cold-weapon battle, what mattered was that an inch longer meant an inch stronger, while an inch shorter meant an inch more dangerous.

Just now, when facing his attack, the Iwagakure Anbu had only retreated half a step.

Therefore, the distance between the two of