As I flew towards the fight between the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples and their attackers, I took stock of the situation. Everyone was in the air, riding atop flying magic treasures. There were three disciples from the Thousand Blade Sect and four cultivators from a local sect.

  Meanwhile, there were only three Dawn and Dusk disciples, all of whom were in poor condition. Based on the uniforms they wore, two belonged to Myriad Treasures Pavilion while the third belonged to Puppet Master Pavilion. The former wielded a variety of magic treasure, while the latter had a pair of hawk-like puppets. They were holding their own for now, but it was just a matter of time before their opponents overwhelmed them.

  Of the attackers, most were in early Foundation Establishment while two were in mid Foundation Establishment. However, those two were disciples of the Thousand Blade Sect, meaning they would be difficult opponents to face. As for the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples, the one from Puppet Master Pavilion was in mid Foundation Establishment while the two from Myriad Treasures Pavilion were in early Foundation Establishment.

  None of the combatants had noticed me yet which gave me a little time to prepare. I pulled several items out of my storage ring. The first item I pulled out was a Shield Talisman, which I slapped onto my arm and activated. A magic barrier came into existence around me. I could have created another barrier with robes since they were also a defensive magic treasure, but I refrained. There was no need to reveal all of my cards.

  The second item I pulled out was one of the talismans that I took from the Ancient Blood Sect disciples that we fought in the Sacred Ironwood province, the one that increased one’s flying speed. I slapped it onto my other arm, but didn’t activate it. This was my contingency plan, just in case things went awry.

  The third and fourth items I pulled out were, respectively, the flying sword that Sidra gave me and my bronze buckler. I activated both. The bronze buckler hovered in the air around me, ready to defend me if necessary. As for the flying sword, I launched it towards one of the Thousand Blade Sect disciples that was in mid Foundation Establishment.

  The disciple, a woman wielding a halberd magic treasure, noticed my attack. Sparks flew and a clang rang out as she deflected it with ease. I expected as much. My intent had been to ease the pressure on the other Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples, not catch their opponents off guard.

  That was when the others noticed my presence. At first the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples looked hopeful, but their faces fell when they realized that I was just in early Foundation Establishment. The attackers had a similar reaction, though in reverse. They went from panicked to joyful. A few even sneered.

  The woman with the halberd let out a dismissive snort, before gesturing in my direction.

  “Deal with him.” She commanded, before focusing her attention on the other Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples.

  Two cultivators from the local sect peeled away and flew towards me. They both wore scornful expressions on their faces. In their eyes, I seemed like a fool rushing to their death. Unfortunately for them, underestimating me was the last mistake they would ever make.

  I directed my flying sword towards the one on the left, a young man who didn’t wield any weapon or magic treasure. I suspected that he specialized in mystic arts, or he specialized in unarmed combat. My suspicions were proven correct when he summoned a barrier to protect himself from my flying sword. My attack didn’t break through his barrier, but it kept him distracted for now.

  At the same time, I summoned dozens of Fireballs and launched them at the cultivator on my right. He was also a young man, one who wielded a strange looking magic treasure that resembled a saber but wasn’t. It was a single-edged curved blade that was thinner near the hilt and grew wider near the tip.

  He defended himself from my Fireballs, slashing through each one, though it was clear from the expression on his face that it was a struggle for him. One Fireball wasn’t much of a threat, especially when compared to Foundation Establishment mystic arts. However, it was a different story when there were several dozen of them.

  I used this opportunity to close the distance between us. When I drew close enough, I leapt off of my flying carpet and used Wind Dash Shoulder Slam against the cultivator on the left, the one who specialized in mystic arts. I attacked with my flying sword at the same time. Cracks formed in his magic barrier.

  His companion, the one wielding the strange sword, tried to help him. However, the barrage of Fireballs kept him pinned in place. Even when he tried to evade them, I ensured that the Fireballs chased him.

  I caught myself with my flying carpet and continued to attack the cultivator that specialized in mystic arts. He gritted his teeth as I bashed against his magic barrier with my fists while also attacking him with my flying sword. The constant pressure made it impossible for him to retaliate.

  When his magic barrier was on the verge of collapse, he let out a roar and a cloud of sand exploded out of him. I remained unharmed, thanks to my Shield Talisman, though the force of the explosion knocked me back. As I tried to reorient myself, the cloud of sand coalesced into a giant fist before it struck me. This sent me tumbling away and cracks formed in the magic barrier created by my Shield Talisman.

  I remained calm despite my current situation. Even as the attack from the giant sand fist sent me tumbling away, I remained focused on my opponent. My flying sword struck his magic barrier one last time and went right through it. It then continued forward, before piercing my opponent's chest. The tip emerged from the other side. He stared at the blade sticking out of his chest, before he vomited blood and fell still. I pulled my flying sword out of his chest and his body tumbled to the ground.

  His companion let out a roar filled with rage and grief, before flying towards me. By this point, he had managed to block all of my Fireballs, so there was nothing pinning him in place anymore. I recovered my balance and flew to meet him head on. The two of us met in a flurry of attacks. However, it soon became clear that I had the upper hand.

  My Shield Talisman protected me from his blows, allowing me to attack him with impunity. Not only that, but he attacked me in a furious rage, displaying little finesse or skill. The disciple I killed must have been someone important to him, to provoke such a reaction. I was not above using that to my advantage.

  I waited for the right moment, before I deflected one of his attacks to create an opening. Afterwards, I used Wind Dash Elbow Slam. His ribs broke as my elbow hit his chest. My opponent coughed up a mouthful of blood and fear replaced the rage in his eyes. However, before he had a chance to flee, I launched myself at him in a frenzy.

  I rained down a flurry of blows on him, hitting him so hard and so fast that he was unable to retaliate. My fist smashed him in the face with a sickening crunch and his head snapped back. The light in his eyes went out as blood gushed down his face and he tumbled to the ground.

  Silence fell over the area as everyone took a moment to stop and stare at me. In less than a minute, I defeated and killed two cultivators who had the same cultivation base as myself. This surprised even me. Fighting Cultivator Galen back when we first arrived in East Mesa City had been more difficult. However, I soon realized why this was.

  I was a dual refiner. My battle prowess was far above that of cultivators at the same cultivation base. In fact, now that I thought about it, I could probably match an average mid Foundation Establishment cultivator in combat. Cultivator Galen must have been similar to me, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so difficult to defeat.

  The lull lasted for less than a second, before everyone resumed fighting. The disciples of the Dawn and Dusk Sect fought with renewed vigor. Hope filled their eyes as they realized that they had an actual chance at winning. Meanwhile, the disciples of the Thousand Blade Sect and the disciples from the local sect wore dismayed expressions on their faces. Now that it was four against five, the odds had evened out a bit.

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  “I’ll deal with him.” The woman with the halberd said in a grim tone.

  The other Thousand Blade Sect disciples nodded, before giving the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples their full attention. The two cultivators from the local sect wore uncertain expressions on their faces, but followed their example.

  The woman with the halberd flew in my direction, though she didn’t rush towards me. In fact, she stopped about several hundred away and hovered in place. I watched her through narrowed eyes, waiting to see what she was up to. Unlike my opponents from earlier, she was at mid Foundation Establishment. Not only that, but she was a disciple from the Thousand Blade Sect. I couldn’t afford to underestimate her.

  “Demon,” she called out, “I am Vivian, disciple of Tyrannical Blade Peak of the Thousand Blade Sect. May I know your name?”

  I studied her for several seconds, wondering what she was up to. Cultivator Vivian wasn’t a beautiful woman, but she was a striking one. She had sharp features, reminding me somewhat of a blade, which was fitting I supposed. Her figure was lean and toned. She had medium length grayish blonde hair, gray eyes, and pale skin.

  “Why do you ask?” I called back.

  Cultivator Vivian nodded in my direction.

  “You’ve proven yourself a worthy opponent and I wish to test myself against you.” She said. “Before we begin, I would like to know your name.”

  I scoffed. Was she challenging me to a duel? Very well. I would oblige. Given her cultivation base, fighting against her would be a true test of my strength.

  “I am Flamewind,” I said, “Disciple of Flame Fiend Hall of the Dawn and Dusk Sect.”

  Cultivator Vivian nodded, before taking a stance. She must have activated some kind of defensive magic treasure, since a magic barrier sprang into existence around her.

  “Ready yourself, Cultivator Flamewind.” She said.

  I took a stance as well. I debated with myself on whether or not to replace my Shield Talisman with a new one, since it was damaged, but decided against it. Keeping it would lure her into a false sense of security. I had enough contingencies in place to ensure self-preservation.

  Cultivator Vivian raised an eyebrow at me when she saw that I didn’t intend to make any more preparations, but she refrained from commenting. The tension in the air grew taut as the two of us sized each other up, neither one of us saying a word.

  She somewhat concealed her aura, so I knew her cultivation base but not her elemental affinities. On the other hand, I already revealed that I had an affinity for Fire. Depending on what mystic arts and techniques she knew, I could be at a severe disadvantage here. Even so, I found myself growing excited at the prospect at fighting this woman.

  The silence stretched on for a few more seconds. Then, as if prompted by some unseen signal, the two of us charged at each other.

  As I charged towards Cultivator Vivian, I launched my flying sword at her. She deflected it with ease and knocked it away. While she was distracted, I formed a series of hand seals and launched a barrage of Fireballs at her. What I lacked in quality, I tried to make up for with quantity.

  Cultivator Vivian snorted, before she formed a hand seal with one hand. A large amount of water sprang into existence in front of her, before surging towards me in a massive wave. It swallowed my Fireballs, extinguishing them, and continued towards me. I bit back a curse.

  Cultivator Vivian had an affinity for Water, which meant that all of my mystic arts were useless against her. She would just extinguish them all before they could do anything to her. Maybe if I knew a Foundation Establishment mystic art, such as Burning Cloud Breath, that would be a different story. After this was all over, I needed to study the jade slip I looted off of Cultivator Relentless Flame.

  I flew up to evade the wave of water. However, it narrowed into a river and chased after me. I bit back another curse. Wasn’t Cultivator Vivian a disciple of the Thousand Blade Sect? Didn’t they specialize in using bladed weapons? Why was she using mystic arts?

  Rather than continue evading the river of water, I flew right towards it. It barreled towards me, ready to crush me under its weight. I waited until the very last moment, before I flew straight down to dodge the river. It tried to chase after me, but its bulk prevented it from changing direction as nimbly as me.

  I flew in a “U” shape, going down before using my momentum to help me fly back up. Cultivator Vivian snorted, before she formed another hand seal. The river exploded, before coalescing into hundreds of halberds made of water that fell towards me like rain.

  There were too many to dodge, so I summoned another barrage of Fireballs and launched them at the halberds. I hoped to reduce their numbers, or at least knock some of them off course. It worked. My Fireballs destroyed a good number of the halberds, and knocked away several more. However, there were still several hundred falling towards me.

  When the halberds reached me, I weaved my way through, dodging them to the best of my ability. Unfortunately, some of them hit me. The magic barrier created by my Shield Talisman blocked some of them, but it soon shattered. Next, I used my bronze buckler to protect me. It clanged every time a halberd hit it, but it held up. In fact, the halberds didn’t even scratch it. I grinned when I saw this.

  Cultivator Vivian attacked me the moment passed through the rain of halberds. Her own halberd, a high-grade magic treasure, collided with my bronze buckler. The force of the blow knocked the buckler into me and sent me flying. It felt like her attack contained the weight of an entire lake. Was this because she was a disciple of Tyrannical Blade Peak? If so, the name fit.

  I recovered my balance, before I charged right towards Cultivator Vivian. Rather than rush towards her in a straight line, and make myself an easy target, I moved in a random pattern. Cultivator Vivian maintained her composure and stabbed her halberd towards me when I drew close enough. I evaded her attack and grinned as I moved in to strike back at her. However, when I saw the small smile on her face, a chill ran down my spine.

  She let go of her halberd with one of her hands and blocked her attack with her arm. That was when I noticed the metal bracer she wore. A shield emerged from the bracer, opening up like a fan, and blocked my attack. A clang rang out. Cultivator Vivian then pushed me back with her shield and opened up some distance between us. I tried to close the distance again, but she fended me off with her halberd.

  This continued on for some time. Cultivator Vivian used her halberd’s reach to attack me and keep me at bay. Whenever I managed to get past it, she used her bracer (shield?) to block my attacks and knock me back. Even when I applied all of my strength, I couldn’t overpower her. I suspected that Cultivator Vivian practiced body refinement, though I doubted she was a Dual Refiner like me. We were in a stalemate.

  Despite this, I found myself smiling. Cultivator Vivian was the most interesting opponent I had faced thus far, and my intuition was telling me that I hadn’t even seen everything she had up her sleeve. Based on the smile on her face, Cultivator Vivian felt the same way. I mean, she was right. I hadn’t even used the Living Candle technique yet.

  A part of me, the demonic part, grew interested in her. Not in a romantic or sexual way. Rather, if I were a blade, she would be the grindstone I could use to sharpen myself.

  I resisted the urge to sigh. What a shame. I wished that we had fought under different circumstances. If we had, I could have fully enjoyed myself. However, I hadn’t forgotten my original reason for involving myself in this situation in the first place. While I fought with Cultivator Vivian, her companions continued to attack the Dawn and Dusk Sect disciples that I hoped to save.

  They were holding their own for now, but it was clear that they were on their last legs. The hawk-like puppets wielded by the disciple from Puppet Master Pavilion looked like they were about to fall apart, and most of the magic treasures wielded by the other two disciples had already been destroyed. I needed to make my move soon if I hoped to save them.

  ‘Be ready to act when I give you an opening.’ I said to the disciple from the Puppet Master Pavilion through telepathy.

  Without waiting to see if he heard me or not, I charged towards Cultivator Vivian. She swung her halberd at me. I blocked her attack with my bronze buckler, which had suffered severe damage over the course of this fight. The force of her blow almost knocked me back again. However, I was prepared for it, so I managed to maintain my position.

  Unlike before, where I just rushed towards Cultivator Vivian in order to attack her, I grabbed the shaft of her halberd. Her eyes widened when she realized what I planned to do. She tried to pull her halberd away, but it was too late. The two of us ended up in a tug-of-war. Neither one of us gained the advantage, because our strength was equal.

  That was fine by me. After all, this was all just a distraction. My flying sword, which I had seemingly ignored and forgotten about this entire time, flew towards Cultivator Vivian. Her eyes widened when she realized this, and she raised her bracer/shield to block the attack. That was when I let go of her halberd. Cultivator Vivian stumbled back, almost falling off of her flying magic treasure.

  I took advantage of that moment to activate my other talisman, the one that increased my flying speed, and rushed towards the other disciples of the Thousand Blade Sect. This caught everyone off guard. By the time Cultivator Vivian’s fellow disciples reacted, it was already too late. I was upon them.

  The disciple from Puppet Master Pavilion sent his hawk-like puppets towards the cultivators from the local sect, preventing them from interfering. He must have heard my message after all. The disciples from Myriad Treasure Pavilion attacked as well.

  I targeted the weaker of the disciples from the Thousand Blade Sect, the one in early Foundation Establishment. He was a young man with a refined air, who wielded a sword. When I flew towards him, he tried to fend me off. However, I knocked his sword aside with ease and wrapped my hands around his throat.

  “Everyone halt!” I snarled. “Or I snap his neck.”

  Everyone stopped fighting and froze in place.

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  This chapter was edited by Radriel7