Theron didn’t bother to exchange words with Beifong, accelerating forward. The frozen state of the rain caught the Outer Sect Disciple off guard, but his reactions weren’t slow.
He extended his hands and his short sabers unsheathed themselves, slapping into his palms. A chain linked them, rattling beneath the pulse of his Flux Mana.
“You don’t want to speak after saying all of that, huh?” A wild grin spread across Beifong’s face. “That’s fine, I’ll do the speaking for you since I’ve been forced to listen to your nonsense for the last half a month.
“Remember when I take your head today… it was because you pissed off the true number one beneath Silver Mancy, Beifong Lu.”
He didn’t even mention the Luminescent Moon Sect a single time; he didn’t give a damn about them. But his own Dao Heart… it would remain without the slightest speck of dust.
Theron had read his file. He understood the kind of person Beifong was before he even appeared. While he seemed like the scheming sort, willing to betray his own Sect just to move up the ladder, the fact that he hadn’t given over the jade he got from the Luminescent Moon Sect to the Obsidian Eclipse Sect painted a completely different picture.
While Theron hadn’t been sure, he had made a bet. And this time, he was correct.
Even so… right now, he wasn’t thinking about that at all. His mind was so focused, ripples of a mysterious strength coming from him.
All the rain in the surrounding 20 meters seemed to have come to a complete stop, and then Theron swung down, and the Heavens roared down with him.
Their blades met, and Theron was sent stumbling back three heavy steps, a mouthful of blood coming from his mouth.
“You’re injured.” Beifong said, and then began to laugh. “You’re so arrogant, yet you ended up in this state before even facing me? Are you even worthy of my blade? Just die, then!”
[Luminescent Blade] was known for its swiftness, and swift was exactly what Beifong was. He seemed to cross the distance in a single step, crossing his blades across Theron’s neck.
Theron leaned back, his dagger sliding between the pincers of the two blades and blocking them both at once as his short sword arched toward a blind spot.
Beifong’s laughter rang beneath the pelting rain, sparks flying as he pulled his blades back. But rather than blocking Theron’s short sword, he simply twisted, a cyclone of blades rotating around him as he spun into Theron again and again.
Theron’s body had overextended itself after missing, leaving his entire chest open. He could only block with his dagger continuously as he tried to pull his short sword back with as much speed as he could muster.
But then there was a rattling of Beifong’s chain and his wrist was caught.
Beifong, who could have taken Theron’s head off in a sweep, instead took an unpredictable step back.
“Your combat style is interesting,” Beifong spoke as his foot lightly landed. But his words didn’t delay his actions in the slightest. If anything, he was even faster. “I can see your eyes calculating, trying to lure me into traps, into false senses of security. I find it a little pathetic. This isn’t how a man should battle.”
CHI.
The chains tightened around Theron’s wrist. Beifong pulled with the distance he created and a great pain surged through Theron. With the chain tightening around his wrist, it would shatter any moment now. The raw strength gap between a Flux Mancer and an Elemental Mancer was too great, even if Beifong specialized in speed.
The smartest thing to do was close the distance and use the opportunity to loosen the chains enough to pull his arm back. But as large as the strength gap was, the speed gap was even wider.
The battle seemed over before it even started.
Beifong’s grin became even wilder. “Say goodbye to your hand. I wonder how you’ll fight. I might choose to kill myself if I were you to avoid further embarrassment.”
He pulled as he spoke, yanking hard and pulling his chains apart. If he considered Theron launching a ranged attack with his Water Mancy, it didn’t seem like he cared.
The radiant glow on him showed precisely why. Why care when he had [Moonlight Skin] and Water Mancers had poor attacking power anyway?
Who would suffer first and the most was obvious.
Chi.
Beifong didn’t hold back in the slightest, but the sound of snapping bone wasn’t what he heard. Instead, there was a splash and shattering of water.
Theron had cast [Water Wrap] over his arm, jetting it forward and smoothly pulling the chain over and off his wrist.
He had to give up his sword in the process, or so it seemed. The chains latched over the blade and Theron’s wrist twisted only the slightest bit before he let go. ɌàℕՕ𝖇Ęs̈
Beifong had yanked with all his might, only to send a blade right at himself, the tip flashing beneath the pelting rain.
[Moonlit Skin] flashed, but Beifong ducked regardless, the blade slicing over his shoulder and barely nicking his black robes.
The sword clanged down to the ground behind his back and Beifong looked over his shoulder at it as though he didn’t know Theron was in front of him.
“Haha…” Beifong chuckled, but it was dark and sinister in a way that made it seem as though madness was spilling out of him.
He had almost suffered from such a petty trick. The timing, the guts, the sharpness needed to think of such a thing in a life-and-death situation…
He hadn’t watched Theron’s earlier battles–he was too prideful for that. It was just that he had felt out the sort of combatant Theron was after a few exchanges alone.
Yet, he had still underestimated him.
“Alright.” Beifong said, looking back to find Theron’s eyes a chilling shade of indifferent. “Let’s go.”
Beifong’s grin darkened and the heavy rain droplets around him gained a white-gold hue.
[Luminescent Rain].
All the Mana in the region seemed to have been locked down.