Thirty-six slashes, one stroke to sever the wind

Feng Xiaotian's thirteenth slash descended, and Yuan Yu slid back two steps.

A numbing tingle spread from where the Sun Wheel Blade met the Wolf Wings. Every time Feng Xiaotian flipped away using the recoil, he carried the force of the collision into his next slash. If Yuan Yu kept standing his ground and blocking head-on, the power would have multiplied several times over by the thirty-sixth slash.

"Stone Breathing, First Form: Serpent Rock: Twin Poles."

Two Rock Ridges rose beneath Yuan Yu's feet, curling up along either side of his body. The fourteenth slash struck the left ridge, sending stone fragments flying. Feng Xiaotian used the recoil to soar into the air again.

The fifteenth slash switched to the right.

Yuan Yu did not track his movements with his eyes. He held the Sun Wheel Blade across his body and listened only to the wind.

Each time the Gale Two-Headed Wolf's wings changed direction, the surrounding air first contracted inward. The change was tiny, but Yuan Yu could hear it clearly enough.

The sixteenth slash came from behind and to the right.

He sidestepped half a beat early, guiding the spine of his blade along the Wolf Wing and pushing it outward. Feng Xiaotian's landing shifted half a foot off course, but he corrected himself with his wings, and the seventeenth slash came down with even greater force.

The cheers in the stands gradually faded.

Both fighters were moving faster and faster. Ordinary spectators could see only two figures, one green and one white, colliding again and again. Wind blades crisscrossed the arena. Rock Ridges were sheared apart as soon as they rose, and the fragments were swept back into the air before they could hit the ground.

Huo Wu stood in Blazing Fire Academy's spectator section, both hands