When Su Jiu was injured for the first time, she wiped the corner of her lips, something she rarely did. "You've gotten smarter."
The artifact spirit controlling the vortex gave a cold smile. "This is only the beginning. The real show is still to come."
While the artifact spirit attacked Su Jiu, she naturally refused to be outdone.
Though she could not match its speed, her talent was firmly above its own.
Su Jiu had an innate talent for combat and was also adept at battles of wits.
She never forced a head-on clash between her own weaknesses and an enemy's strengths.
Su Jiu understood roundabout tactics better than anyone. Fighting this way saved her considerable spiritual qi while leaving her enemy scrambling helplessly.
After Su Jiu once again put some distance between herself and the artifact spirit, an ice-blue formation quietly took shape directly beneath it. Her hands left faint afterimages as she formed seals. The next instant, ice cones rose from the formation and completely surrounded the artifact spirit.
Without pausing, Su Jiu continued forming hand seals. As though receiving some command, all the ice cones turned toward the artifact spirit at once.
Even faced with this, the artifact spirit showed no panic. "I wondered why you did nothing but dodge at the start. So you were laying a formation around me.
"But do you think this formation can hurt me?"
Su Jiu's gaze darkened slightly. In truth, she had never expected the formation to actually harm the artifact spirit. Her purpose was merely to verify something...
The afterimages left by Su Jiu's hands changed again. Each distinct ice cone suddenly took on a trace of killing intent and the innate origin qi unique to her.
This time, the artifact spirit's expression finally changed, perhaps because of Su