Zuo Qia's thoughts raced.
*Not good.*
The invisible pull continued to intensify.
The gravity binding her body disrupted her footing.
Within Lizarius' open jaws—
the Devouring Void continued expanding.
Within a single instant—
she calculated countless possibilities.
*If I attack...*
*The Void will devour the sword qi before the technique can fully form.*
*If I defend...*
*The defensive art will suffer the same fate.*
Every conventional response arrived at the same conclusion.
*Too slow.*
Then—
her eyes flashed.
*Then...*
*I won't use my body.*
Boom!
High above the battlefield—
her Soul Manifestation responded to her will.
The colossal white sword, which had remained suspended within the heavens, suddenly descended.
It ignored the distorted gravity.
Ignored the pull of the Devouring Void.
Its target remained singular.
Lizarius.
---
Lizarius' golden eyes contracted.
*...!*
Without hesitation—
he abandoned the attack.
Lightning exploded around him.
Boom!
Wind and gravity erupted simultaneously.
His enormous body shot backward.
The tiny black point immediately collapsed.
The Devouring Void vanished.
Distance opened between them.
Yet—
the Soul Manifestation never slowed.
It pursued him relentlessly.
Ignoring every obstacle.
Ignoring every change in direction.
Straight toward his soul.
*Too fast.*
His thoughts remained perfectly calm.
*Shadow Exchange.*
A shadow beneath the storm clouds rippled.
The instant the Soul Manifestation reached him—
his body blurred.
---
Shrrk!
The colossal white sword pierced cleanly through the enormous white-scaled dragon.
For a brief instant—
its body froze.
Then—
it dissolved into black mist.
Not blood.
Not flesh.
Only shadow.
Zuo Qia's pupils narrowed.
*...A clone.*
Almost simultaneously—
hundreds of meters away—
space rippled.
Lightning burst across the sky.
Lizarius emerged from another shadow.
His true body had already exchanged places at the very instant he retreated.
The shadow clone silently dispersed into nothingness.
The Soul Manifestation continued forward for several more meters before gracefully arcing back toward Zuo Qia.
---
Lizarius remained suspended beneath the storm clouds.
His breathing hadn't changed.
His golden eyes calmly rested upon the returning Soul Manifestation.
*...The Soul Manifestation can freely alter its trajectory after striking.*
*A troublesome ability.*
His gaze shifted briefly toward the place where the shadow clone had vanished.
*A fraction slower...*
*And the exchange would have failed.*
The white scales covering his injured foreclaw had almost completely regenerated.
Only faint traces of blood remained.
---
Across the battlefield—
Zuo Qia slowly steadied her breathing.
Her Soul Manifestation settled behind her once more.
Her eyes remained locked upon the enormous white-scaled beast.
"...You truly possess..."
"...An astonishing number of techniques."
Her voice remained calm.
Yet inwardly—
her vigilance had risen to its highest point.
Every exchange forced her to abandon another assumption.
Every apparent opening concealed another prepared response.
Neither combatant moved.
The heavens fell silent once again.
Both now understood—
A single mistake...
Would decide the battle.
---
Zuo Qia's breathing gradually steadied.
The white sword in her hand remained unwavering.
Behind her—
the colossal Soul Manifestation hovered silently.
Its immense blade radiated a pressure that caused the surrounding heavens to tremble.
Her eyes never left Lizarius.
"...Truly impressive."
A brief silence followed.
"...But..."
"...Everything you've shown until now..."
"...Will not be enough."
Lightning rolled through the dark clouds.
"...When my Soul Manifestation first pierced your soul..."
"...I believed the battle had already ended."
"...Yet somehow..."
"...You survived."
"...At first..."
"...I thought you possessed some extraordinary method of resisting soul attacks."
She slowly shook her head.
"...But after what I just witnessed..."
"...I've realized..."
"...That isn't the case."
Her gaze became incomparably sharp.
"...When my Soul Manifestation descended just now..."
"...You didn't even consider enduring it to finish your attack."
"...You immediately abandoned your advantage..."
"...And chose to evade."
A brief pause.
"...I still don't know..."
"...How you survived having your soul pierced the first time."
"...Perhaps you possess a method of recovering..."
"...Perhaps it can only be used once..."
"...Or perhaps there's another reason entirely."
"...It no longer matters."
Her sword slowly rose.
"...What matters..."
"...Is that you cannot afford to be struck again."
"...Otherwise..."
"...You would never have retreated."
The surrounding sword intent quietly intensified.
"...In that case..."
"...I'll show you..."
"...How a Nascent Soul cultivator truly fights."
Boom!
Her aura erupted.
Without the slightest warning—
both Zuo Qia and her Soul Manifestation moved simultaneously.
The colossal white sword descended from the heavens.
At the exact same moment—
Zuo Qia herself shot forward.
One spiritual.
One physical.
Perfectly synchronized.
Their target—
Lizarius.
---
His golden eyes remained calm.
*...A coordinated assault.*
*The Soul Manifestation...*
*And the cultivator herself.*
*Neither can be ignored.*
There was no hesitation.
The instant both attacks reached him—
his body dissolved.
Not into blood.
Not into shattered flesh.
Only—
shadow.
The Soul Manifestation pierced through empty darkness.
The physical sword followed immediately after.
Neither struck anything.
---
Zuo Qia's pupils narrowed.
"...Again?"
Her spiritual sense erupted outward.
Then—
she saw them.
One.
Three.
Seven.
Dozens.
Shadow clones.
They stood throughout the surrounding sky.
Each possessed the same appearance.
The same aura.
The same presence.
At first glance—
there wasn't the slightest difference between them.
Her gaze swept across them.
Searching.
Calculating.
Then—
she found him.
Far above.
The true Lizarius hovered silently beneath the storm clouds.
His enormous wings slowly spread.
Lightning crawled across every scale.
Wind gathered beneath him.
The surrounding clouds began rotating violently.
His wings moved.
A single flap.
Boom!
The heavens exploded.
Towering tornadoes were born in an instant.
Each stretched from the mountains below to the storm clouds above.
Lightning intertwined throughout every cyclone.
Blue-white bolts spiraled endlessly within them.
The rotating winds tore forests from the mountainsides.
Entire cliffs shattered beneath their passage.
One tornado.
Then another.
Then another.
They surged forward together.
Like heavenly pillars of destruction.
Every cyclone raced directly toward Zuo Qia.
Their overwhelming pressure distorted the surrounding air.
Lightning flashed between them.
Transforming the battlefield into a prison of wind and thunder.
High above—
the true Lizarius remained perfectly still.
His golden eyes silently observed the approaching Nascent Soul cultivator.
Waiting.
Watching.
Calculating her next move.
---
Zuo Qia's gaze remained unwavering.
The towering tornadoes closed in from every direction.
Lightning roared within each spiraling pillar.
Entire mountains shook beneath their advance.
She neither retreated—
Nor hesitated.
Instead—
she calmly raised her sword.
"...Sky Sword Art."
Her spiritual qi erupted.
The heavens answered.
"...Sixth Form."
The sword in her hand slowly pointed toward the descending storm.
"...Sky Descent."
---
Boom!
The world flashed white.
An immense pillar of sword light erupted toward the heavens.
It expanded in an instant.
The very sky seemed to split apart.
The descending sword intent crashed directly into the wall of tornadoes.
For the briefest moment—
wind and sword intent struggled against one another.
Then—
**Shrrkk!!**
The towering cyclones were severed one after another.
Not merely cut apart—
their entire circulation collapsed.
The winds instantly lost cohesion.
Lightning scattered harmlessly across the sky.
Within moments—
every tornado had completely disintegrated.
The storm-covered battlefield opened once again.
---
At the exact same instant—
her Soul Manifestation moved.
The colossal white sword ignored the fading winds.
Ignored distance.
Ignored every remaining obstruction.
It pierced directly toward the enormous white-scaled dragon concealed within the lingering storm.
**Shing!**
The manifestation passed cleanly through him.
The dragon froze.
Then—
its body dissolved into dark mist.
Only another shadow clone.
Zuo Qia's pupils narrowed.
*Another clone.*
Almost instinctively—
her body reacted.
Without waiting for conscious thought—
she swung.
**Shrrk!**
The white blade swept through the empty space behind her.
---
Too late.
**Boom!!**
A violent impact slammed into her back.
Her protective sword qi exploded apart.
Fresh blood sprayed through the air.
Her body lurched forward dozens of meters before she forcibly stabilized herself.
Pain spread across her back.
Warm blood soaked the tattered remains of her robes.
Her eyes widened.
*Behind me...*
She immediately turned.
Several hundred meters away—
space rippled.
The layers of concealment gradually dispersed.
Lizarius slowly emerged.
His enormous wings remained spread.
One of them—
had nearly been severed.
A deep sword wound stretched across the membrane.
White scales had shattered.
Blood slowly dripped into the empty sky.
The instinctive strike she had launched...
Had still reached him.
Yet—
not deeply enough.
He silently flexed the injured wing.
The torn membrane struggled to regenerate.
Fresh flesh slowly crept across the wound.
Though—
far more slowly than before.
---
The two opponents faced one another once more.
Both bled.
Both had landed meaningful strikes.
Zuo Qia wiped the blood from the corner of her lips.
Her eyes never left the white-scaled beast.
"...So..."
"...You used the clone..."
"...To conceal your true approach."
Her voice remained calm.
Yet inwardly—
her vigilance rose another level.
She had believed the clones existed merely to confuse perception.
She had been wrong.
They were bait.
Each one drew her attention.
Each one concealed the true killing strike.
---
Across from her—
Lizarius quietly observed the blood flowing from his injured wing.
His golden eyes remained utterly still.
*...Her instincts...*
*Exceeded my calculations.*
*Even while fully committing to another attack...*
*She still reacted in time.*
His gaze shifted toward the deep wound across her back.
Then—
toward his own damaged wing.
*Exchange completed.*
*Neither side gained a decisive advantage.*
*Only information.*
His thoughts remained as calm as ever.
*Now...*
*I understand her combat instincts more clearly.*
For several breaths—
neither moved.
Only the wind drifted between them.
The shattered remnants of clouds slowly gathered once more.
Lightning flickered quietly through the dark heavens.
---
Zuo Qia slowly exhaled.
The surrounding spiritual qi surged toward her once again.
The torn flesh across her back gradually stopped bleeding beneath the nourishment of her spiritual energy.
She ignored the pain completely.
Instead—
her gaze remained fixed upon Lizarius.
"...You're adapting."
"...Every exchange..."
"...You're learning."
"...Analyzing."
"...Improving."
A brief silence.
"...Just like a cultivator."
Her voice remained calm.
"...No..."
"...Even cultivators rarely adapt this quickly."
For the first time—
a trace of admiration appeared within her eyes.
"...Your talent..."
"...Is extraordinary."
Then—
that admiration quietly disappeared.
Replaced by absolute resolve.
"...Which is precisely why..."
"...You cannot be allowed to live."
Boom!
An overwhelming sword intent erupted from her body once more.
Far greater than before.
The surrounding mountains trembled.
Every remaining cloud within hundreds of li split apart.
The colossal Soul Manifestation behind her slowly raised its ancient white sword.
Its pressure climbed higher...
And higher still.
The surrounding space began trembling beneath it.
---
Across the battlefield—
Lizarius silently watched.
His expression remained unchanged.
*...She's preparing another decisive strike.*
His golden eyes calmly observed the fluctuations surrounding her.
The concentration of spiritual qi.
The synchronization between her body and Soul Manifestation.
The subtle changes in the flow of her sword intent.
Every detail was reflected within his pupils.
*Unlike before...*
*This technique is still gathering power.*
*It hasn't reached completion.*
He quietly calculated.
*If allowed to finish...*
*Its power will exceed every sword art she's used thus far.*
A single conclusion formed.
*Then...*
*I won't allow it to complete.*
The moment the thought settled—
lightning exploded across his scales.
Wind gathered beneath his wings.
Gravity silently distorted the surrounding heavens.
His enormous body leaned forward.
The air itself screamed beneath the pressure.
Then—
**Boom!**
The white-scaled dragon disappeared.
The true decisive exchange...
Was about to begin.