Bai Fanxian's eyes narrowed as she sensed the crushing pressure bearing down. She positioned herself in front of Hui'er and Huang Zihuan. The Grandmaster-level pressure couldn't pass through her.
Han Junpo's body bent forward, both hands touching the grassy ground. Bai Fanxian's gaze sharpened as she sensed the next wave of attack approaching.
Whoosh!
Han Junpo moved with tiger-like postures. It resembled Han Longyi's earlier movements, yet incomparably faster, more ferocious, far more powerful.
He appeared before Bai Fanxian in a blink. His two hands, packed with qi power, struck out in a cross formation. With her people behind her, Bai Fanxian had to receive the attack defensively.
Or did she?
No one knew that Bai Fanxian had been accumulating stress over the past few days. Hui'er's abnormality, which she still couldn't resolve, gnawed at her mind. She felt mentally exhausted.
Like before, when she'd asked Uncle Huang to spar with her.
Sometimes, she too wanted to stretch her muscles.
And Han Junpo, appearing and declaring his enmity like this—
The timing couldn't be more perfect.
Clang!
A violent clash rang out when Bai Fanxian raised a single hand to receive Han Junpo's attack.
He was sent flying.
"Mm..."
Bai Fanxian glanced at her palm. Not even a trace of damage.
"Grandmaster level, is it?"
In that instant, Han Junpo felt powerful energy surging from the young woman before him.
Violent yet calm. Ferocious yet steady. Its profundity was like a vast and powerful ocean.
Grandmaster level?
Han Junpo stared at the young woman in shock. The intensity and pattern of her qi flow—it was Grandmaster-level power. So close to his own they were nearly equal.
A true Grandmaster at age 25.
The old man didn't want to believe it, yet truth manifested before his eyes. That slender body began rising above the ground, accompanied by wind swirling around her.
Only Grandmasters could fly at will.
That video had been completely wrong.
Han Junpo was furious. Having his most critical information prove faulty went completely against his nature.
He only acted when certain, always planned ahead, extracted maximum benefits. That was Han Junpo's way.
"Come help me stretch my muscles a bit..."
The young woman spoke the same phrase she'd used with Uncle Huang, her tone utterly calm. The elderly butler recognized those words. Lately, Grandmaster Bai would sometimes suppress her power to Martial Master level and spar with him to relieve stress.
This was a battle between Grandmaster equals.
He watched Bai Fanxian with concern.
Han Junpo gritted his teeth. He released qi from his body with tremendous force. Two figures shot forward to clash in midair before the spectators' eyes.
Han Junpo's men watched with mouths agape. Upon learning the truth—that the young woman was actually Grandmaster level—they all began trembling. They'd transgressed against a Grandmaster-level existence.
Some wanted to flee. Yet battles between Grandmaster-level practitioners were exceedingly rare. Previously, when mere rumors suggested the Eastern King Ma Fufeng might duel Sword Master Zheng Renyi, practitioners had been ready to travel across the country to witness it.
Here were Grandmasters fighting right before them. They didn't want to miss this learning opportunity.
Bai Fanxian stood in the sky with a relaxed posture. She dodged Han Junpo's close-range attacks using equal Grandmaster-level cultivation power. She began twisting her body as if warming up. Such an attitude made Han Junpo's blood boil.
"Don't look down on me!"
Han Junpo roared. Qi in his body surged upward. Both hands struck forward, forming a claw that released a tiger's roar, slashing through the sky toward Bai Fanxian.
Tiger Rends the Sky!
This technique was one of the signature long-range attacks that built Han Junpo's reputation. Its ferocity could cut through large boulders or steel plates.
The young woman watched the incoming attack. She flicked her hand once. Concentrated qi resembling a purple blade shot forth to meet the claw with equal speed.
When the two attacks collided, they produced a deafening sound. Equal intensity caused both techniques' destructive power to cancel each other out completely. The old man watched in surprise. His body shot down toward the ground.
Seeing her sparring partner wanted to fight on the ground, Bai Fanxian didn't object. Her body descended to the original spot, calm as a celestial maiden descending from heaven.
Han Junpo, who'd been preparing words to lure the young woman down, broke into a grin. Ground combat was what he excelled at most.
Otherwise, how could his epithet be Tiger of Mountain Peaks?
The old man's body trembled. Suddenly, the earth around him began shaking. It separated into layers beneath Han Junpo's feet, then floated up and assembled all over his body, forming what resembled armor constructed from earth.
It wasn't merely dirt. Han Junpo's qi flowed throughout this armor. It could defend against modern weapons like bullets or explosives. Moreover, no attack from below Grandmaster level could penetrate it.
Like Huang Zihuan's punches that once cratered the ground—they couldn't damage this earth-constructed armor.
The earth formed around Han Junpo's head. Its external appearance resembled a tiger's face. When the old man crouched down, his current form looked no different from a large tiger made of earth.
This was the technique that earned him the title Tiger of Mountain Peaks.
Han Junpo's own eyes began transforming into beast-like eyes. The black pupils contracted until they resembled tiger eyes.
Dark brown qi erupted. The ground Han Junpo touched seemed like his limbs. With just one roar, earth spears thrust up from the ground, forcing Bai Fanxian to jump to evade.
Han Junpo used that moment, utilizing the rising earth spears to aid his movement. His body leaped like a wild beast, attacking Bai Fanxian from all directions.
Both earth spears and hit-and-run attacks from Han Junpo—Bai Fanxian was starting to feel displeased.
She'd thought fighting on the ground would involve fists and physical exchanges like when fighting Uncle Huang. That kind of battle was what could relieve her stress.
"How annoying."
Bai Fanxian spoke as she dodged the endlessly rising earth spears. Her right hand flicked. A purple blade emerged and cut through them all, sending them tumbling to the ground in pieces.
Han Junpo, who'd been hiding behind one spear, froze. He leaped back to establish a new position. Bai Fanxian didn't let him retreat. Her graceful figure caught up in a blink. She whipped her slender leg in a kick to Han Junpo's midsection before he could steady himself, sending him flying into a tree and clearing through the forest for over ten meters.
The old man who was sent flying flipped himself around. He feared Bai Fanxian would follow up with another attack. To his surprise, the young woman didn't pursue. She returned to stand near her people.
Han Junpo used this opportunity to circulate his qi and heal his wounds.
The old man didn't realize Bai Fanxian hadn't pursued since she'd turned to look at the child whose expression seemed extremely uncomfortable.
She knew what this child was thinking.
"Are you unwell...?"
The young woman asked, yet that voice reached Hui'er's heart.
"I'm fine, my lady!"
Though the child said this, Bai Fanxian could sense Hui'er was forcing herself to appear strong.
Like this child had been doing these past days.
"Perhaps... you may not be able to become a cultivator..."
Bai Fanxian bit her lip as she weighed her decision before speaking these unexpected words. Even Uncle Huang stood mouth agape, not expecting Bai Fanxian to speak to the child at a time like this.
Hearing this, Hui'er's small body froze before trembling as if holding something back.
"Are you grieved...?"
Bai Fanxian looked at Hui'er with a serious gaze. Once she decided something, it depended on the child's heart.
Whether this child would remain determined.
Like the first time she'd met her.
"I'm sorry for disappointing you, my lady..."
Tears appeared at the corners of the child's eyes as she spoke. She didn't feel sad about being unable to cultivate. Rather, she felt sorry for disappointing her lady. The child gripped the Fire Pearl, which Uncle Huang had strung into a necklace for her.
Though just a child, she knew how much dedication her lady had given her. Her lady spent every afternoon with her. She'd even noticed her lady studying medical texts. From that alone, she could guess.
Her body had problems.
"...I've never been disappointed in you."
Bai Fanxian revealed a rare smile. She walked to Hui'er and patted the child's head, ignoring Han Junpo whose eyes flashed as he thought to seize this opportunity for a surprise attack.
"Do you know? Sometimes the strong don't need to possess supreme qi power."
Bai Fanxian dispersed the qi flowing throughout her body in an instant. She stepped forward to face Han Junpo, who was charging toward her with qi surging enough to knock out ordinary people.
Uncle Huang, closest to her, was shocked. Grandmaster Bai's qi had vanished.
Right now, he believed Bai Fanxian was no different from an ordinary person.
"I'll teach you..."
Bai Fanxian shifted her legs. Her foot stepped to one side. The principle of borrowing power from the earth and transferring weight combined beneath this movement.
Boom!
No one knew what happened. To outside observers, it seemed Han Junpo was running toward Bai Fanxian. At the moment of impact, though, Bai Fanxian—who manifested no qi whatsoever in her body—was the one who remained standing.
As for Han Junpo, he was sent flying even farther than before. This time, his earth armor shattered into fine layers. The old man's eyes widened in disbelief before rolling back as his consciousness faded while still airborne.
Everything around fell silent. The practitioners who were Han Junpo's men all failed to comprehend. In that final instant, Bai Fanxian hadn't manifested even a trace of Grandmaster-level qi. Yet her attack had defeated Grandmaster-level Han Junpo in a single strike.
"The ultimate essence of movement and technique..."
"Supreme Fist Arts."