Tenshukaku, the rear courtyard.
The open space here was quite large. The Raiden Shogun occasionally admired the flowers and birds beneath the pavilion, and since the two of them only wanted to exchange a few moves, this was just the place.
"Come on!" Li Qiuzhi stood facing the Raiden Shogun and summoned the Hard-Ice Lightfall Sword.
The Shogun said nothing, simply summoning her own long-handled Naginata.
She stepped back in her wooden high heels. Without using any Elemental Power, she lunged before Li Qiuzhi in an instant through physical strength alone.
The Naginata's sharp blade blocked the sunlight, descending as swiftly as a flash of lightning!
So fast! Li Qiuzhi's expression tightened. He swiftly raised his ice sword to meet it, and with a clang, the force of the impact jolted his arms.
Both used that force to spring apart, then sought openings and clashed again.
Setting aside their actual strength, in terms of swordsmanship alone, Li Qiuzhi, who had mastered the two Divine Realm sword techniques, Lumine's Authority and Musou no Hitotachi, surpassed the Raiden Shogun, who had only mastered Musou no Hitotachi.
However, the Shogun's physical capabilities far exceeded his. Even without using her authority, they were enough to compensate for her slight disadvantage in technique.
As a result, their fight felt evenly matched, with neither able to gain the upper hand.
But it was precisely this kind of back-and-forth battle that got the blood pumping. If either was taken down in one strike, where would the excitement be?
Their spar lasted over an hour before they put away their weapons and stopped.
"Not bad. It is rare that I enjoy myself so thoroughly." The Raiden Shogun looked at Li Qiuzhi approvingly.
"Not bad at all. I almost lost." Li Qiuzhi wiped the sweat from his forehead with