''...You mean right now? In the middle of the night??''

Yu Chen was flabbergasted. She didn't think Kierra would break her own promise like this!

Ծ‸Ծ

''It won't matter,'' Kierra replied. ''Whether I capture them now or later, do you think they can retaliate?''

Yu Chen pondered for a moment. ''...No.''

If she were to be honest, Yu Chen thought that Kierra's strength might be even more significant than the Lightning Tiger Sect's leader. And with how confident Kierra was, she couldn't have been bluffing.

''See, I am actually destressing them,'' Kierra said. ''They know they will succumb to me and are anxious about it, so by doing this earlier, I will shave away some of their stressing time.''

''That... makes sense.''

''Good. Now I'm going.''

''W-Wait! At least let me go with you!''

''Fine.''

The two flew out the window.

Lightning Tiger Sect, main hall.

''...''

''...''

A heavy silence filled the room.

''...Are you telling me all of you got beaten by a single woman?''

A fierce-looking old man spoke up. With thick, long white hair and a pair of golden eyes, he was the sect leader of the Lightning Tiger Sect and 'The Tiger' - Kang Jiang.

Sitting on the other side were the four elders. One of them was still unconscious due to a mysterious reason, but it didn't really matter. The remaining three nodded at each other before the old man spoke up.

''We did.'' Lu Shengzhong said. ''We were completely overwhelmed. And before you ask, we won't fight her anymore.''

''...''

In response to the elder's rather sassy remark, Kang Jiang let out a soft sigh that was completely unfit with his image. He looked over to the side, where his son and his daughter-in-law were trembling. They appeared to be traumatized by this mysterious woman that they had met.

In the first place, where did such a strong person come from? The only explanation was that the woman was an elder of a reputable sect, but then, why would she come to such a tiny place? There was no answer.

Alas.

'Is this the punishment for indulging my kids too much...?'

But his daughter turned out pretty well; only his son was...

''...In any case.'' Kang Jiang spoke up. ''If she really came, then she would have to face me first!''

He himself was also at the Fusion stage; there was nothing to be scared of!

''We won't ever give up on our sect!''

Kang Jiang suddenly felt a bit motivated.

''You won't?''

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Suddenly, a dignified and rather unfamiliar female voice sounded. When everybody turned their gazes toward the window, where the sound came from, they stumbled upon a strange woman—her clothes were unconventional, and they could only see the lower half of her face due to the large hat that she was wearing. This fact was probably why her deep red lipstick was so notable.

'''' !!! ''''

Not to mention the young couple, who directly fainted as though they saw a ghost; the others were dumbfounded.

乂(ﾟДﾟ三ﾟДﾟ)乂

How did she get past the protection array?!

''Lightning Tiger Sect, was it?'' The woman—Kierra continued. ''Although a bit early, I have come to exercise my promise.''

''Y-You said it would be two days later!'' Lu Shengzhong exclaimed.

''Does it matter?'' Kierra lightly jumped off the window into the room. ''We will fight anyway.''

Kierra lifted her head, her blood-red eyes staring at the people, sending them chills down to the bones.

''Tch!''

Kang Jiang immediately got into his stand; dense white qi surrounded his body, making his hair and clothes flutter.

''I request a duel!'' He shouted.

''I don't mind if all of you join in,'' Kierra replied casually.

''I don't need them to defeat you!''

Kang Kiang rushed forward with his fist.

BOOM—!!

He threw a heavy punch at Kierra, to which the archwizard responded by deploying a simple mana shield. Kierra had already noticed that this man wanted to exclude the others for fear that they might get hurt, evident by his worried glances toward the elders earlier.

'This might be salvageable.'

A faint smile bloomed on Kierra's face. She willingly let Kang Jiang push herself out the window, creating a free environment for fighting.

Now, in the sky, Kierra began to decide what she would use for this fight. As much as she wanted to summon a familiar to defeat this guy leisurely, she also wanted to 'exercise' a little bit.

⌈REFLECTIVE COUNTER—5★⌋

''Ugh...!''

Kang Jiang, receiving a part of his own attack, was blown back considerably. He tried to comprehend what just happened, but then—

''!!''

Seeing the myriads of colorful spells behind Kierra, Kang Jiang hurriedly crossed his arms in an 'X' shape and made a qi shield. He gritted his teeth, enduring the relentless attacks of his opponent.

''Phew...''

He took a deep breath and began to channel even more qi. Thich and sharp claws made from the white energy spurted out of his hands.

''Special move—Heavenly Claws!''

From that same 'X' position, his arms slashed downward with terrifying momentum, shooting out giant slashes of deadly Qi blades. They traveled through the air briefly before reaching Kierra.

'Hm, so this is a special move.'

Kierra was unimpressed. Well, she wasn't looking for a good opponent anyway.

She used the same ⌈Reflective Counter—5★⌋ spell earlier to bounce back some of the blades, causing the sect leader to dodge them around hastily.

''Kuh...!'' Kang Jiang grunted.

This opponent was even stronger than the sect leader thought. If Heavenly Claws didn't work, then the other ordinary move wouldn't. He needed to go all out here.

''You got my respect, unknown cultivator!'' He shouted. ''I shall reveal my full strength from now on!''

BOOM—!!

A giant wave of white qi burst out from his body, enveloping a large area of the sect. People from below, awoken by the energy wave, flocked outside to look at the sky.

''It's the sect leader!''

''Is there an enemy?!''

''What happened to the protection array??''

''Who knows? Let's hurry up and help him!''

When the disciples of the sect formed a group to help their sect leader, they were suddenly stopped by a single figure. A serene beauty holding a slender sword was standing in front of them.

''Phantom Sword...!!''

''So it's the White Lotus Sect?!''

''Did their sect leader wake up?!''

Yu Chen slowly pulled her sword out, and her purple eyes flashed gently.

On the sky.

Kierra was waiting patiently for the sect leader to transform.

yawn~

She really didn't like these kinds of things. They made her yawn, which would break her usual image!

After what seemed like an eternity, it was finally finished. Floating before Kierra now was a giant white tiger with golden eyes, looking extremely fearsome.

GRAHHH—!!!

The tiger let out a deafening roar, extending its dominant aura to the whole town.

''I see.''

Kierra nodded. This was indeed something. Regular spells wouldn't cut it anymore; she needed something with actual force and something she could properly exercise her body with. So Kierra aimed her hand to the sky and began to will her mana.

Vast patches of dark clouds suddenly appeared in the cloudless sky. They were then pulled into a bright spot right above Kierra.

'It's quite convenient fighting these guys. I can even do dumb shows like this.'

The people marveled. Controlling the weather wasn't easy in this world. They held their breaths, and then—

'''' !!! ''''

A gigantic spear thrust through the dark clouds, rapidly descending; its figure looked like a heavenly punishment!

Kierra lightly pointed her finger at the tiger, and the spear immediately changed its trajectory.

One heavenly tiger and one heavenly spear.

The people wanted to see their legendary confrontation!

The heavenly tiger, meanwhile:

'I'm fucking dead...!'