Fal grinned as he watched the shroud of Qi surround Silva's entire body, from head to toe, 'I knew he would figure it out.'
The moment he had seen Silva's spiritual roots, Fal had theorized about their capabilities, and out of all of them, the ability to project Qi had been the one he had anticipated the most.
At the most basic level, combat between cultivators was a game of call and response, with the attacker using Qi to strike at their opponent's spirit and the defender using Qi to protect their spirit. However, there were several technicalities, the most important being that Qi could only be projected from the meridians. To defend an area other than a body part with an associated meridian, Cultivators employed a universal technique known as Shroud expelling Qi from several meridians at once and wrapping it around their bodies.
There were several downsides to the technique; however, the first was the high expenditure of Qi required to initiate it, and the second was its relatively poor defensive capabilities. During a clash of Qi, the side with more would always win, so to fully defend against an attack, one needed to match their opponent's Qi expenditure.
However, the larger the area, the more Qi is required to achieve the same level of concentration. Like comparing a drop of ink in a glass compared to an entire bucket. It also took considerable effort and skill to control such large amounts of Qi in a single instance.
These trade-offs made the shroud ineffective as a primary defense, relegating it primarily to a training technique for Qi manipulation and to staving off glancing blows that didn't possess much Qi.
But possessing the ability to evenly distribute Qi throughout his entire body, Silva turned Shroud into a near-flawless defensive technique.
Something that Vranga realized a moment too late as his fist slammed against Silva's chest and stopped dead with a dull ache, 'What is this?! How is he projecting so much Qi so effortlessly, and what's with this body of his?! It feels like I'm striking solid iron!'
Despite his confusion, Vranga didn't pause and quickly dashed back, sliding out of Silva's reach.
Staring at his brother, Silva smiled, "I see now that you are right, Vranga. I need to know where I stand, and as much as I may dislike the thought of harming my younger brother, I should never turn down an opportunity to learn and profess my path."
As he spoke, Silva started walking towards Vranga while spinning his staff in his off hand, which he also shrouded in Qi. "I hope you will indulge these new desires of mine."
Gritting his teeth, Vranga's only response was to slam his forearms together as an impressive amount of Qi condensed around them, "Flight of the Phoenix First form: Sun Rending Talons!"
As Vranga tore his arms apart, the Qi around his fists transformed into sets of hooked, razor-sharp talons like those of a bird.
Shifting his stance, Vranga stared at Silva with a viscous smile, "Since you ask so benevolently, what other choice do I have but to comply?"
Vranga didn't wait for Silva to respond; instead, he dashed forward once more with a marked increase in his speed.
Arriving in front of Silva in the blink of an eye, Vranga clawed the air with his left hand, looking to carve a series of bloody lines into Silva's flesh. 'Even with your empowered shroud, my Rending Talons concentrate a vast majority of their Qi into the very tips, granting them an unrivaled penetrating power!'
In response, Silva simply swung his staff, bringing it across his body to intercept Vranga's strike.
'Bad choice,' Vranga sneered, 'Even if you block with your staff, the impact of my punch will shatter it into pieces! Maybe if you tried to block with a blade, I would be concerned, but against a simple length of wood, I have nothing to fear! '
Full of confidence, Vranga didn't deviate in the slightest, anticipating the look of shock on Silva's face as his weapon fell apart in his hands. But the moment Vranga felt his fist collide with the dark wood, he knew he had made a mistake.
A sharp lance of pain shot up Vranga's entire arm a moment after he registered not only the metallic feel of Silva's staff, but the immense weight behind the simple swing. The next thing Vranga felt was his feet leaving the ground as he was sent flying back through the air, 'Even with his stature, how can one man be so strong?!'
Ignoring the pain in his arm, Vranga twisted his body in midair to control his flight. His feet hit the ground first and dug in to bring himself to a controlled stop after sliding for several feet.
Vranga's head snapped up, and he tried to raise his hands into a defensive guard, but his left arm refused to cooperate; instead, the limb hung loosely down by his side. 'He took my arm out from a single exchange?!'
Seeing the extent of Vranga's injury, Silva frowned and brought his staff to a halt, resting it on the ground, "This bout is over, there's no need for it to continue."
"Nothing is over! I have yet to surrender, and I am still able to fight!" Vranga insisted as he gestured with his one good arm.
"Then I surrender and concede this match," Silva responded as his staff vanished into his storage ring, "I will not fight you."
Vranga's eyes filled with a potent venom as he glared at Silva, "Don't you dare deny me my victory! It may have cost me my arm, but now I know how to defeat you!"
"Attack me now, and your victory will be meaningless." Silva replied calmly as he let his arms drop, "I can not control your actions for you; that power belongs only to you. The same rule applies to me, so no matter what you do, I will not defend myself, because this is not a fight and we are not enemies."
Silva then turned and walked away, dismissing his shroud and exposing his back.
Vranga's jaw clenched, but after a long second, he dismissed his technique, but not before spitting out one final insult, "Father was right to lock you away; there is no fire within you, you are not one of us!"
"Vranga!"
Dantu's sharp, withering voice stunned Silva's brother into sudden silence, "That is quiet enough, end this foolishness before you embarrass yourself any further."
Vranga's jaw clenched, but after a second, he let out a dissatisfied grunt and returned to Dantu's side, still visibly upset by the outcome of the fight.
Similarly, Silva moved to stand next to Fal once more, who greeted him with a smile, "Very well done."
"You understand that I take no pride in this," Silva stated, his mood just as turbulent as Vranga's, though for a wholly different reason.
Fal nodded, "Yes, but I know you understand why this had to happen. You have their respect now, which has bought you a momentary period of grace. Now everyone can focus on the more pressing matters at hand."