"Bai Chunxue," growled Guoqiang, "Thanks to you, I finally have the opportunity to use my ultimate technique. It was too risky to use at Foundation Establishment, but now, it won't be difficult to kill you with it."

I redrew over some of the array that had been smudged, then stood up and reignited my sword. I was not sure how much power he had gained. I needed to be careful. Observant. I could not find an opportunity if I did not know his capabilities. If necessary, I could use the array defensively.

Long Guoqiang began performing a sequence of complicated mudras, which he completed with the mudra of wrath.

"Five-Phase Dragons Style," he whispered under a strong exhalation, and though nothing immediately happened, I could feel that the air had become much heavier, not with killing intent, but with something far more dangerous.

—I had, in fact, heard of this style before. It is said to be one of the ultimate techniques of the Long family, one of the very reasons why they are called the Long family. If he could perform it... perhaps he would be able to take back his seat as heir of the family.

Perhaps that was what the crowd thought as they looked on, utterly shocked, knowing that at this point there were few ways for this duel to end without drawing even further blood between the Bai and Long families.

"Mutual Generation, First Phase: Water!" He released a punch that only struck air, but which released a shockwave that seemed to turn the air into rippling water. The roar of a dragon echoed through the arena, and from the ripples erupted a massive jiaolong that swam through the air as it would through the Palace of the Dragon King! It swiftly approached me, but before it could reach me, Guoqiang ran forward and leaped into the air, crying out, "Fifth Phase: Metal!" With a flying kick he released this time a screeching qiulong, that intertwined its path with the jiaolong so the two of them sped towards me even faster, like two snakes spiralling around a caduceus!

—I could not take these dragons lightly. I needed a stronger strike to defend myself.

Exhaling sharply, I pushed more qi into my sword, lengthening and widening its flames, then slid it back into the sheath, which I filled with qi of repelling polarities. The sword pushed itself outwards, but I held it in the sheath, waiting for the right moment. Just as I had done with Chen Mantian— but this time, I would not miss.

The twin dragons approached.

Listening to the sound of their qi, I waited for the right opportunity. I would aim for the time when I would be able to cut through their heads with the far edge of my sword, and through their bodies with my qi projection.

Four seconds.

Three.

Two.

One.

And just when the dragons were upon me—

"Railgun: Yugaqi!"

I let my sword fly forth from the sheath, cutting through both dragon's jaws with such force that their teeth crackled like lightning-strikes as they returned to dust, and releasing a projection of qi so powerful that in less than a moment it annihilated their bodies from neck to tail! They would not be able to regenerate from that, but—

—But where was Guoqiang?

"Third Phase: Fire!"

I suddenly felt as though the sun overhead had tripled in strength, and at the very same time, a flaming raindrop fell before my foot and instantly burned a hole through the very earth. With terror gripping my veins I looked up, and saw Guoqiang descending upon me from above with a falling heel strike, a disgusting zhulong trailing behind him! Using my feet, I quickly activated the array, which would make him lose his balance when he landed. I jumped back, out of the range of his foot, and then the zhulong, that hideous snake-dragon with a human face, turned towards me, molten lava leaking from its mouth like a dog's drool! I did not have enough time to dodge again, so I—

I—

I remembered Natsuki's words.

If you show them weakness, you will die.

Inhaling deeply, I aligned the qi in my feet with the qi running through the ground. I held my sword like a spear, and— I launched it at the zhulong's face! Like pushing a knife through a balloon it forced the zhulong's face inward, until the zhulong entire imploded into sputtering flame. Separated from my hand, the sword's black flame began to expire, and I—

Every attack you make is an opening for your opponent.

I slammed my heels into the ground, sending myself flying up into the air, into the falling trajectory of my sword. I would not leave myself open any longer than I had to! I caught the sword, reignited its flame, and dropped down over Guoqiang, holding the blade out so it cut through the very air, so that gravity brought me down to Guoqiang's head as quickly as possible!

He did not have the yield to dodge, since my array had forced him to land awkwardly. "Wood! Fire! Earth!" he called out, and three great dragons burst out from his body to counter my sword. I let my sword expand to eight times its normal size, capturing all three dragons' jaws against the blade! I had gravity on my side, so my sword pushed them down, down towards the earth, down towards Guoqiang—

"Metal!" he cried out, and the addition of a fourth dragon brought my blade to a standstill!

I shouted, summoning as much force as I could from within myself in order to cut through the four dragons, and Guoqiang did the same, attempting to shatter my sword! And then—

—and then Guoqiang clutched his chest and coughed up blood!

Here was an opportunity!

For a moment I let the flame of my blade dissipate, and then immediately I relit it in a deep blue, the blue of flow. With it I redirected the force of the dragons off at an angle, and when they went flying past me, I cut through their sides with a retreating slash, then landed on the ground several meters from Guoqiang.

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"You've overexerted yourself," I chided, shaking my head.

"Bullshit!" he shouted. "I can still... I can still...!" He coughed up blood again.

He had just entered Core Formation. Of course he would not have complete control over a technique as complex as the Five-Phase Dragons Style. But if he had several more years...

—Right then, I was struck by a sudden doubt.

"Natsuki..." I whispered.

"It is time for you to kill him."

"I... can't kill him."

"Why not? Have you lost your nerve after seeing blood?"

"No, that's not it... Core Formation cultivators are incredibly valuable. If I kill him when he's just broken through, then the Long family will demand my head, and the Bai family will give it to them. At most, I can accidentally destroy his dantian, since that can be restored."

Natsuki's voice was silent for a moment. And then—

"But if you could kill him, would you?"

I did not need to think twice to answer.

"Yes. For my revenge, and for my dream. For my past, and... for my future."

Suddenly, I could see a brilliant red light shining from the inside of Guoqiang's body, on the right lower side of his ribcage— by his liver.

"Look, Chunxue. That light marks one of the means by which the soul is connected to the body. I cannot reveal its true form to you, otherwise your mind would crumble, but I can show you its location. Wreath your sword in black and purple flame alike, then cut through it along with his dantian, and within forty-nine days he will die of wasting."

"Purple flame...?" I had seen it once before, in that battle that Natsuki did not have with Lianying, but I did not know its meaning.

"Black and purple are both forms of destruction magic. Black magic destroys the physical, and purple destroys the spiritual."

I extinguished my sword's flame, then, with my eyes closed, focused my qi on the sword-hilt once again. Purple flame. I could not discern how I should create it. It was not intuitive, the same way that black and blue flames were.

—"Think of black magic, and then shift its phase, and then you will arrive at purple," Natsuki whispered to me.

I stood there, focusing, and Guoqiang stood opposite me, healing himself while he had the chance. Perhaps the audience could not understand what we were doing, but the two of us did. The next bout would be the last one. Now that he was running out of qi, he had no choice but to use his final attack: launching all five elemental dragons at once. And I would— what should I do? I suppose... yes. I should finish it beautifully, in such a way that everyone watching would be filled with nothing but awe. I wanted them to never forget this final attack. I wanted them to think of my finisher with jealously, to beg me for the manual, to laugh at the Bai family when they find out that I was the only one of the surname who knew how to do it. I wanted them to bow down before this power, this power that Natsuki had lent me, because that was the least I could do to honor her.

There was that one performance, that one divine execution, that one ma'ken. I had seen Natsuki perform it, during her confrontation with Lianying that never occurred. It was at once like a lazy stream and a raging thunderstorm, at once like crashing rocks and screeching metals, a unification of opposite extremes, a display of mastery over all combat. It was her response to her grievance, a response that, with her power, I might be able to adapt for my own revenge.

—"I believe in you," she whispered.

That was all I needed to hear.

I held my sword-hilt out to the side, and as I opened my eyes, black flame dotted with ephemeral sparks of purple, like shooting stars in the night sky, erupted from it, tracing the shape of a trenchant yet nonexistent blade.

Guoqiang took two steps back, then clamped his hands together in a kalesvara mudra.

"Five-Phase Dragons Style, Sixth Form: Roots of Unity!"

Five dragons launched out from his back like the legs of a spider upon its prey. Before I moved, I examined them all. Jiaolong, chilong, zhulong, huanglong, and qiulong. They closed in on me, all at different speeds, all at different angles. Any one of them was powerful enough to maim me. But how could I fear them, when Natsuki said she believed in me? I would stake my life on this attack, but I had no fear. All I had was trust.

Trust. Trust in her, and by extension, trust in myself. That was the Dao that she had taught me.

She, who was always at my side.

Natsuki.

My true mentor, my guiding moonlight.

In her honor, I would christen this performance—

—"Sword of the Dark Moon—"

I flashed forward. My path was not a simple curved line, but rather a spiral, a helix, through the space between me and Guoqiang. I catapulted through the air and spun my sword in sharp arcs, cutting through each of the five dragons in turn, and leaving a belt of darkness in the path of my sword.

My path ended right behind Guoqiang.

As I stood there, back-to-back with him, Guoqiang clutched his chest and coughed up blood once more.

I sheathed my sword,

and Guoqiang collapsed, the red light in his liver and the golden light in his dantian shattering simultaneously.

The belt of darkness left in my wake dissipated into little shining fragments that, like twinkling snowflakes, fell to the ground.

It was over.

I had killed Long Guoqiang.