Hong Qing had only one goal in life: to marry someone strong.
On the surface, it sounded simple. What kind of woman did not want a strong man?
But her wish was twisted in a subtle way. Not only did her future husband have to be strong, he had to possess the potential to grow even stronger.
"How?"
Hong Qing was baffled, fascinated, and disappointed all at once as her gaze shifted back and forth between her fiancé and the man who had injured him.
She had met Yan Fei when they were both around fifteen. At the time, she was at the fifth stage of cultivation, while Yan Fei was only at the fourth. Yet through grit and stubborn determination, the boy had managed to defeat her, and from that moment on, he had won her heart.
Although she remained stronger on the surface, he always managed to catch up despite being weaker in cultivation. That was why she continued to push herself harder and harder. That balance lasted until they both joined the Luo Clan. Their strength rose rapidly with the clan's resources, but easy power also bred laziness.
The Yan Fei of today was vastly different from the Yan Fei of a year ago.
The determination in his eyes had faded.
The only reason she still held onto their promise was nostalgia, and the faint hope that the version of him she once loved would return. Even when other men courted her, men far stronger and from far better families than Yan Fei, none of them could eclipse the image of his past self in her heart.
Until now.
"How did you do it? How is this even possible?"
The question was not born from frustration, but from pure admiration as she walked toward Wu Han, her eyes tracing his figure.
Just by looking at him, she could sense it. The beating rhythm of a warrior resonated from his body, something that had not existed before.
"I had a good teacher," Wu Han replied. Only now did he notice that her gaze was not an ordinary desire.
It was bloodlust. A faint kind, but unmistakable.
This woman's mind was twisted.
From a single glance, Wu Han could tell she was not right in the head. He had already sensed something off the last time, when she rushed forward trying to kill him simply because he had landed a fatal blow on her fiancé. Now that the situation had calmed, he could see it more clearly. There was madness hidden deep within her eyes.
And he intended to make use of it.
"Last time, there was no chance for a proper introduction. My name is Wu Han, and as you may know, I am a disciple of the Miracle Doctor Zhong."
Seeing his composed and courteous manner, Hong Qing quickly gathered herself. She straightened her posture and returned the greeting with practiced etiquette.
"My name is Hong Qing, eldest daughter of the Hong family. It is a pleasure to meet you, Young Master Wu Han."
Her movements were graceful, yet there was a trace of hesitation in them, along with a few small missteps that betrayed her unsettled state.
"Haha. Now that we know each other, are you interested in finding out for yourself what happened?" Wu Han extended an invitation. Beating Yan Fei held no interest for him. The man had talent, but no technique, repeating the same move like an old dog stuck in its habits. This woman, however, was different. Her aura alone told him so.
Especially her hands. Many would expect a woman's hands to be smooth, like carved jade, but hers were not. They were rough, marked with faint scars. With a cultivator's accelerated recovery, those marks could only be from recent training. And not just this time. Even during their previous encounter, her hands had already borne similar traces.
She was a diligent warrior who trained relentlessly, far more worthy of testing his skill.
It was also a good opportunity for him to face a true seventh-stage cultivator. The difference between stages lay at a bottleneck, and that was exactly what he wanted to experience. Memories from his past life could only go so far. Facing a real opponent was another matter entirely.
"Should I use a weapon?" she asked. Since he had allowed her fiancé to use a spear, she assumed the same courtesy applied.
But Wu Han was many things, and foolish was not one of them.
"No. I want to test a new martial art. Your sword skill would be too troublesome for me to focus properly."
In the past, such a blunt admission of weakness might have repelled her. This time, it did not. She hesitated, then seemed to realize why. The hexagonal barrier that had appeared during their last clash surfaced in her memory.
A faint smile appeared on her lips as she withdrew her sword. "As you wish."
The man before her was not fighting to win.
He was doing exactly what he said he would do, testing his martial art, nothing more.
Wu Han took the stance of the Blazing Cloud Palm as his internal gears shifted into the Ember Heart Law.
"Start whenever you are," he said, entering a fully defensive posture. His eyes widened slightly as his focus sharpened to its limit.
Hong Qing felt as if a wave of invisible blades had swept past her. It was as though he had already dissected her movements and seen through every flaw. The sensation sent a thrill through her spine.
She raised her hand, fingers curled. At first glance it resembled a sword grip, but Wu Han immediately recognized it for what it truly was.
A claw technique.
Winged Beast Claw was a style known for lethal precision and extreme speed. Some sword cultivators trained it as a backup in case of disarmament, since its principles could be transferred directly into sword techniques. It was well known, but rarely practiced, because the training damaged the hands and demanded relentless conditioning of a vital body part.
This woman truly wanted to grow stronger.
Compared to Luo Lan, whose desire came from the need to survive, Hong Qing's desire burned differently.
She wanted strength for its own sake. The question was how deep that desire truly ran.
Here it comes!
The instant her Qi flickered, Wu Han tensed. He prepared himself, yet preparation meant little before the speed of a seventh-stage genius. Before he could even shift his footing, she had already appeared before him, her claw slicing downward in a ruthless arc.
The Wu Han of yesterday would have been forced to cast a spell to protect himself, but the Wu Han of today was different.
Blazing Cloud Palm!
He twisted his elbow at the last moment, redirecting the strike and forcing her claw aside. The impact pushed her back a step, but he was not left unscathed. Her strike still grazed his palm, tearing the skin open. Blood flowed down his hand.
Wu Han calmly circulated his Qi and sealed the wound, flesh knitting together as he lifted his gaze toward her.
Hong Qing stood opposite him, visibly pleased.
She glanced at the blood left on her fingertips and, without hesitation, licked it away with a faint smile. "Should I go harder?"
She had been holding back, careful not to overstep. The gap between the sixth and seventh stages was no small matter.
"No need to hold back," Wu Han replied with clear excitement. Now that he had seen her speed once, his body was already adapting to it.
Seeing no fear in his eyes, Hong Qing's expression sharpened. Her figure blurred as she surged forward like a ghostly shadow, appearing beneath his guard with a sudden upward slash.
His foot slid half a step back as his waist twisted, Ember Heart surging. Heat flowed through his meridians, sharpening his awareness. He raised his forearm just in time.
BANG!
Sparks of Qi burst outward as their forces collided. This time, he managed to block it completely, and the result caught her by surprise.
Still, Wu Han was pushed back three steps, but he immediately surged forward four in return, launching a counterattack of his own.
His flaming palm thrust forward, releasing a heatwave that distorted the air around him. The blast was powerful enough to force her to dodge aside.
She quickly realized that his mastery over destructive arts far surpassed her own. Even so, she refused to admit it and instead chose to close the distance.
Abandoning wide, decisive slashes meant to end the fight quickly, she shifted into a succession of rapid swipes meant to keep him under constant pressure.
Her footwork was light and precise, every step landing exactly where it should. She wasted no strength and showed no hesitation. Her claw came from one angle, then another, each strike aimed at a vital point.
Wu Han retreated while blocking and deflecting. His palms glowed faintly as Blazing Cloud Palm circulated through his limbs. Each clash sent heat surging through his bones, reinforcing them just enough to endure.
Even so, wounds began to accumulate. Cuts and grazes appeared one after another as the exchange continued.
The gap in cultivation could not be erased by insight alone, not even for someone like him.
"I'll win!"
Seeing an opening, Hong Qing rushed forward, fully immersed in the fight.
Both her arms spread wide like the wings of a great bird as she crossed the distance in a blink, slashing downward with both hands.
"Heh…" Wu Han sneered as he faced the oncoming strike.
A proper warrior would admit defeat when the difference was clear, but Wu Han had never been one to bow easily.
Even if martial skill alone was not enough to overcome the gap between them, he refused to fall so simply.
In the instant before defeat, a single thought flashed through his mind.
Can the Ember Heart Law be combined with rage?
There was only one way to find out!
Power surged from his dantian, pulled violently into his heart. Its rhythm doubled, then quickened further, pounding like a war drum.
Heat flooded his veins as his body surged forward to meet the incoming strike head-on.
"Wha—"
Before Hong Qing could process what was happening, Wu Han thrust his palm forward, terrifying power gathered within it.
Blazing Raging Palm!
A torrent of flame erupted from his hand like a dragon's breath. The blast expanded outward, its shockwave shaking the trees behind them.
In that instant, a single thought screamed through Hong Qing's mind.
She was going to die.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the blazing inferno rushed toward her.
Her body moved before her mind could catch up. Her hand shot at her side.
In that moment, she drew her sword.
Mountain Cleaving Slash!
And when time began to flow again, what she saw was Wu Han's body splitting in two.