The next day, at 8:50 a.m.
Training Ground One was already surrounded by a sea of people.
The operatives who had heard the news packed the stands so tightly there was barely room to move.
Quite a few even stood in the aisles and the open space behind the seats, the atmosphere as lively as a festival.
Conversations, cheers, and calls for bets mingled into a steady buzz.
"Look! Blade of Gale is here!"
Someone cried out.
At the entrance to the training ground, the familiar figure in a gray hood appeared quietly.
He still carried that ancient Tang Dao on his back, his steps steady.
Wherever he went, the crowd instinctively parted, cowed by his fiercely sharp aura.
He walked straight to one side of the arena and folded his arms, waiting as still as a rock. Beneath his hood, his gaze seemed to pierce the clamor and lock onto the opposite end of the arena.
"What an aura... he feels even scarier than the rumors!"
"Where's the great Qi Wu? Why isn't he here yet?"
"Don't tell me he got scared?"
Just as everyone craned their necks in anticipation, a lazy voice drifted over from behind the crowd.
"Coming through, coming through, let me past~ Please don't squish my milk tea, thanks~"
The crowd parted.
Qi Wu strolled over with one hand in his pocket and, sure enough, an extra-large cup of milk tea loaded with tapioca pearls in the other, its straw still between his lips.
Jiang Qingyue followed behind him, looking both nervous and a little embarrassed.
His relaxed demeanor stood in stark contrast to the charged atmosphere.
The stands fell silent for a moment, then erupted into even louder chatter.
"Holy shit! He actually came! And he brought milk tea!"
"Isn't... isn't that taking Blade of Gale way too lightly?"
"Badass! That's Qi Wu for you!"
Ignoring the chatter around him, Qi Wu slurped his milk tea, walked to the other side of the arena, and waved at Blade of Gale.
"Morning. I'm not late, am I? Want a sip? Full sugar. Wakes you right up."
The corner of Blade of Gale's mouth seemed to twitch beneath his hood. His voice was icy.
"No need. I hope you'll still be this relaxed in a moment."
"Don't worry. My digestion's great."
Qi Wu handed his half-finished milk tea to Jiang Qingyue.
"Hold this for me. It'll be over soon."
Jiang Qingyue nervously took the milk tea and whispered:
"Good luck, Mr. Wu!"
Qi Wu smiled and sprang lightly onto the arena.
The referee, a seasoned veteran operative, looked at them both and said gravely:
"The rules are simple. You lose if you surrender, become unable to fight, or go out of bounds. This is a sparring match, so don't take it too far. Are you ready?"
Both nodded.
"Begin!"
The instant the referee's words fell!
Shing-!
A piercing sound rang out as a blade left its sheath!
Blade of Gale seemed to melt into the wind. Only a faint afterimage remained where he had stood, while his true body appeared like a phantom at Qi Wu's flank!
Wreathed in chilling azure wind blades, the ancient Tang Dao swept toward Qi Wu's waist and abdomen at a speed almost impossible to follow!
Fast! Blindingly fast! Faster than the naked eye could track!
Gasps rose from the stands! Many had not even seen how he moved!
Yet Qi Wu seemed to have anticipated this wind-swift strike.
He did not even use Limitless, merely turning his body at a tiny, perfectly judged angle.
Whoosh!
The wind blade, carrying terrifying cutting power, skimmed past his clothes and slashed through empty air!
"Oh? Pretty good speed."
Qi Wu even had the leisure to offer a comment.
Without pausing after his missed strike, Blade of Gale unleashed a storm of flashing steel!
Countless azure wind blades converged on Qi Wu from every direction. Every slash was vicious and cunningly angled, so fast that only a blur of light remained!
An azure tempest seemed to rage across the arena! The sharp blade aura even made the skin of nearby spectators sting!
Yet within that violent curtain of blades, Qi Wu's figure drifted unpredictably like a phantom.
He still did not use Limitless.
Relying solely on astonishing physical skill and anticipation, he evaded every lethal slash by a hair's breadth at the last possible instant.
His movements looked relaxed and casual, yet their precision was outrageous.
"Why aren't you using that spatial defense ability of yours?"
Unable to land a hit despite his relentless attacks, Blade of Gale grew a little impatient, his assault becoming even fiercer.
Qi Wu casually dodged another slash from Blade of Gale and smiled calmly.
"That blade of yours isn't ordinary, is it?"
Blade of Gale's mouth stiffened, and his movements slowed for a beat.
Clearly, Qi Wu had seen through his secret.
The blade in his hand was a Special Grade weapon passed down through his family.
It was called the Demon-Slaying Blade.
It possessed the power to dispel magic.
That was precisely why Blade of Gale was confident he could use it to break through Qi Wu's Limitless.
He had simply never expected Qi Wu to recognize it from the very beginning.
"Now this is trouble..."
Beneath his hood, a bead of cold sweat ran down Blade of Gale's forehead.
"The warm-up's over."
Qi Wu suddenly smiled. "Try this."
He stopped merely dodging, brought his right index and middle fingers together, and lightly pointed at the dense barrage of flashing blades ahead.
"Cursed Technique Lapse-Blue."
He targeted not Blade of Gale himself, but the skyful of wind blades he had unleashed!
As though drawn by an invisible force, the countless sharp azure wind blades abruptly veered off course, gathering uncontrollably toward the little sphere of gravity at Qi Wu's fingertips, colliding and annihilating one another!
Blade of Gale's assault suddenly fell into disarray!
"What!?"
He had never imagined that Qi Wu's bizarre sphere of gravity would absorb all his wind blades.
At that moment, Qi Wu moved.
His figure surged right up to Blade of Gale as though he had teleported.
They were almost face-to-face.
Qi Wu's face nearly touched Blade of Gale's hood.
His azure eyes seemed capable of seeing through everything, holding a trace of teasing amusement.
"Your blade is fast."
Qi Wu's voice came from mere inches away, quiet enough for only the two of them to hear.
"But the distance between you and me is infinite."
Before he finished speaking, his left hand, which had remained in his pocket, shot out like lightning.
A fist imbued with cursed energy struck precisely at the wrist of Blade of Gale's sword hand in an instant!
Blade of Gale's pupils contracted!
He had no time to raise his blade to block!
"Ugh!"
Blade of Gale grunted as an irresistible force slammed into his wrist.
His entire right arm instantly went numb with searing pain, and his fingers involuntarily loosened around the hilt!
Clang!
The ancient Tang Dao, the Demon-Slaying Blade, flew from his hand, spinning through the air before embedding itself in the arena floor a short distance away, its blade still humming!
The entire crowd erupted!
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No one had expected the weapon that had made Blade of Gale famous to be knocked from his hand in only the second exchange!
"That wasn't just a strike enhanced with spiritual power!"
"I can't make sense of it!"
In the throes of agony, Blade of Gale's pupils constricted, utterly shaken.
But Qi Wu gave him no chance to react.
Qi Wu spun again and drove out a side kick!
Bam!
Blade of Gale shot away like a meteor and crashed down onto the arena.
Thick clouds of dust billowed across the arena.
Before the spectators could react, Qi Wu used Teleportation again, appearing before Blade of Gale as he lay facedown on the ground.
This time, a terrifying crimson energy gathered at his fingertips.
"It's time to end this."
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