Instructor Huan immediately lunged toward Zi Moyan. The crimson aura surrounding him blazed fiercely, concentrating at the tip of his spear.

  He leaped with tremendous force, closing the distance in an instant. His spear thrust toward Zi Moyan's neck with unstoppable momentum—unfortunately, his opponent was no pushover.

  "Hehe—so impatient!" Zi Moyan laughed, executing a large leap to narrowly evade Instructor Huan's strike. "You've made your move—now it's my turn! Let's deal with the weak link first!"

  Zi Moyan grinned sinisterly as he propelled himself toward Qing Xuanling, his hand shaped like a blade. Dark aura coiled around his hand.

  Qing Xuanling frowned and instantly raised her sword, barely blocking Zi Moyan's strike. But the force behind it was overwhelming—she was sent stumbling backward several meters.

  Yet Zi Moyan's assault didn't end there!

  She stared in disbelief as the sole of a shoe suddenly appeared before her face. The momentum behind it was terrifying!

  Her body reacted instinctively—she dropped to the ground, rolled, then sprang back to her feet!

  And without hesitation, she dove downward again. A dark streak flashed precisely where her neck had been a moment earlier!

  She would have died if she hadn't thrown herself to the ground twice in a row! The instinct she had honed over the last two years was incredibly sharp!

  "Don't think I only know how to dodge, damn it!"

  Qing Xuanling gritted her teeth and swung her sword backward—the trajectory aimed straight at Zi Moyan's legs. But he merely hopped lightly to evade the strike.

  A mocking smirk adorned his face as dark Qi gathered in his palm, coalescing into the shape of a dragon!

  Qing Xuanling's danger sense erupted—she immediately tried to sidestep, but it was too late.

  Fortunately, she wasn't fighting alone.

  A spear wreathed in crimson aura flashed into Qing Xuanling's peripheral vision, colliding with the dragon-shaped palm strike!

  An explosion erupted from the clash of forces!

  Qing Xuanling clenched her teeth as she was forced to retreat several steps.

  Instructor Huan and Zi Moyan became locked in ferocious combat. Zi Moyan's palm strikes and hand-blades were vicious—each infused with piercing, domineering dark Qi capable of suppressing ordinary cultivators' energy.

  But Instructor Huan was no ordinary opponent.

  His spear moved with blinding speed, intercepting every one of Zi Moyan's attacks—either with the tip or the shaft. The crimson aura surrounding the spear was equally domineering, fiercely clashing against Zi Moyan's dark Qi.

  Neither energy could gain the upper hand—they simply dissipated against each other.

  The battle between Instructor Huan and Zi Moyan reached a stalemate. Neither could gain an advantage.

  "Hahaha—I'd heard stories of Qing Huan, but it seems they seriously underestimated you!" Zi Moyan's boiled-looking face twisted into a mad grin. "Who would've thought you'd force this genius to unleash so much power!"

  Instructor Huan ignored his taunts and thrust his spear at Zi Moyan's throat. The strike was so sudden Zi Moyan couldn't react in time. He barely dodged at the last moment—but a two-centimeter gash appeared on his neck.

  Zi Moyan's eyes widened in shock—then he burst into laughter as he retreated several steps. Instructor Huan relentlessly pressed forward, exploiting his spear's long reach—but Zi Moyan blocked every thrust.

  At that moment, a descending sword slash appeared precisely where Zi Moyan was retreating. The sharp Qi surrounding the blade was so abundant that even Zi Moyan had to block it with a palm strike.

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  He glanced in surprise at Qing Xuanling—who was forced to retreat several steps from the impact. Her sudden attack disrupted his footwork, delaying him by a second.

  Instructor Huan was not one to miss such opportunities.

  A spear thrust instantly shot toward Zi Moyan—but this one was different. The crimson aura not only failed to disperse—it actually converged at the spear tip, forming a rapidly spinning spiral!

  Instructor Huan roared: "Fourth move of the Unstoppable Spear—Mountain-Piercing Thrust!"

  Zi Moyan's expression turned grave instantly. He gritted his teeth and struck with both palms. "Sinister Twin Dragon Palms!"

  Two black dragons erupted from Zi Moyan's hands, coiling around each other before colliding with Instructor Huan's Mountain-Piercing Thrust!

  The two attacks clashed for two seconds—then the twin dragons were pierced through by Instructor Huan's spear!

  The spear didn't lose momentum—it plunged straight into Zi Moyan's shoulder!

  Puaj!

  Zi Moyan spat blood as the crimson aura ravaged his insides. His initial expression was disbelief—but soon twisted into something sinister.

  "Ha—truly a worthy opponent, Qing Huan! In a normal confrontation, I'd surely have lost!" Zi Moyan smirked. "Pity you're facing a demonic cultivator!"

  Zi Moyan grabbed the spear still embedded in his shoulder while flicking his free hand. Instructor Huan frowned and tried to withdraw his weapon—but Zi Moyan's grip was shockingly strong. He couldn't pull it free immediately.

  Qing Xuanling, who had been circling nearby seeking an opening, suddenly stiffened as she spotted something flying at high speed toward Instructor Huan.

  "Let go of the spear! Attack coming from behind!"

  Instructor Huan trembled slightly—then decisively abandoned his spear, dodging to the side. Just then, the lower half of a puppet child flew through the space he'd occupied a moment before—then spun in midair and shot toward him!

  "Jaja—how's this?!" Zi Moyan grinned, flicking his index finger. Wherever he pointed, the puppet child's lower half flew. "Don't you think these blessed children are quite useful?!"

  Instructor Huan's teeth clenched—but he remained silent, carefully maintaining distance from the puppet child's torso. He could sense highly unstable blood energy roiling within it.

  Though insufficient to kill him, it would certainly wound him severely.

  He observed Zi Moyan's arrogant expression and gritted his teeth in fury—but could do nothing. His spear remained lodged in Zi Moyan's shoulder.

  Zi Moyan sneered. "Hehe—this spear looks exquisite! A mid-grade artifact from the Qing Clan! Surely it'll make a fine—"

  Zi Moyan's face contorted suddenly. He spun around and blocked a sword strike with his palm.

  "Pesky fly! Have you grown too arrogant just because I haven't had time to crush you?!"

  Zi Moyan struck with his palm, enveloping it in a massive surge of dark Qi. Qing Xuanling's eyes narrowed—she sidestepped!

  The palm grazed her side, slicing her skin and causing blood to gush forth. But Qing Xuanling ignored the pain and slashed toward the side of Zi Moyan's body where the spear was embedded.

  He'd been controlling the puppet child's remains with that hand, while using the other to try extracting the spear. But Qing Xuanling's sudden attack forced him to temporarily abandon the idea of removing the weapon.

  Now, Zi Moyan faced a choice: take Qing Xuanling's strike—or lose control over the puppet child!

  Zi Moyan gritted his teeth. He could still sense the situation behind him—the remaining half of the blessed child was about to reach Qing Huan. He made his decision.

  'She's just a cultivator in the low-stage of Qi refinement! I'm at peak stage—and I've cultivated my body to the second layer! Her attack shouldn't seriously wound me!'

  He chose to endure Qing Xuanling's strike in exchange for wounding Instructor Huan with the puppet child's remains!

  Qing Xuanling instantly perceived his intention. Before she could even consider whether this was good or bad, her mind plunged into a strange mental state—the world around her slowed.

  She recalled the image of Instructor Huan controlling his crimson aura to form a high-penetration spiral.

  She'd been immensely shocked the first time she saw it— it was the first time witnessing such a technique.

  She had no master, no one to guide her in these advanced methods—and hadn't needed one before. After all, at second-layer cultivation, she lacked the ability to use advanced techniquess.

  But that changed upon reaching the third layer. For some reason, her ability to generate sharp Qi had increased enormously. She could now envelop her sword in two feet of sharp Qi—impressive to behold, but superficial in power.

  Her original reason for accepting this clan mission had been to rectify that weakness. But she hadn't known how—until now.

  Instructor Huan's attack had inspired her.

  Qing Xuanling recalled how he'd controlled his crimson aura—and imitated it. But she didn't make her sharp Qi spin like a spiral.

  Instead, she controlled it to flow from the base of the blade to the tip along the lower edge—then, upon reaching the tip, descend along the opposite edge back to the base, connecting with the beginning of the sharp Qi flow.

  Initially, such a technique would seem utterly useless. No matter how fast the sharp Qi circulated around the blade, it wouldn't significantly enhance its cutting power. After all, sharp Qi differed fundamentally from Instructor Huan's crimson aura.

  But unexpectedly, through this mistaken approach, Qing Xuanling stumbled upon the threshold of something truly formidable. Her sharp Qi compressed drastically during the high-speed circulation—shrinking from two feet to merely one.

  Qing Xuanling's gray sharp Qi acquired a whiter hue.

  The world around her began to resume normal speed—but she remained slightly dazed. In that state, she brought her sword down.

  She felt no resistance.

  Moments later—an arm fell to the ground.