Zack's sword sliced through the air as Hallibur blurred out of sight. The elder cultivator had narrowly avoided what would have been a lethal blow.

Tch, Peak Nascent Soul experts are faster than I expected, Zack thought. But not fast enough!

With a thought, Zack's body transformed into a bolt of lightning, streaking across the sky toward Hallibur's new position. The elder raised his hands, summoning an ice shield just in time to block Zack's electrically charged palm strike.

The Thunderclap Palm, enhanced by the Nascent Soul armour, exploded against the barrier in a flash of blue light. Hallibur slid back several meters but managed to keep his shield intact through pure force of will. Sweat beaded his brow from the effort of blocking such a powerful attack.

Not bad, old man, not bad, Zack smiled.

Hallibur's expression remained impassive, betraying none of the uncertainty he felt inside. This boy's strength exceeded what he had anticipated. He had assumed the Outsider was only at the early stages of the Nascent Soul Realm.

Battle prowess at the Peak Nascent Soul Realm…Hallibur grit his teeth. A young genius from the outside realm couldn’t be spared.

He sent his shield spinning toward Zack in a deadly icy buzzsaw. At the same time, he drew his sword and launched himself forward, intending to catch Zack off guard between two attacks.

Instead of dodging, Zack's arms moved in a flurry, his sword becoming a silver streak that batted aside the icy projectile. Without missing a beat, he spun and met Hallibur's charge head-on.

Their blades collided in a flash of sparks. Zack's blow carried enough force to stop Hallibur's charge cold. The elder only narrowly twisted his sword aside before Zack could overpower him completely.

Gotta keep him off balance. Can't let him mount an effective counterattack.

Capitalizing on the momentary opening, Zack stepped forward and unleashed a devastating 12 hit combo, his sword dancing through the air too fast to follow.

Hallibur's eyes widened. It was taking all his concentration just to track the angle of each strike, let alone attempt to block or evade. He managed to parry the first few blows through pure instinct. But the onslaught was relentless.

Soon a gash opened on Hallibur's shoulder as a strike slipped through his guard. Then another slash across his thigh which made him stumble. Hallibur realized he was being slowly whittled down by this assault.

Just a bit more should do it, Zack thought, pouring more power into his final strike. His plan had been to go fast and hard, not giving his opponent the chance to counter.

Sensing the killing blow coming, Hallibur hastily activated his best defensive technique. With a roar, azure battle armour covered his body and a freezing aura erupted from within. Jagged spikes of ice jutted out from the armour at every joint.

Zack's sword strike clashed against the icy shell but failed to penetrate. At the same time, Hallibur's fist crashed into Zack's midsection, blasting him backward.

Zack coughed, feeling as if he'd been rammed by a battering ram. But aside from a few cracked ribs, his smoky armour still held.

Okay, that caught me off guard. Ice element armour technique, very effective defence but looks like it drains him fast judging by that laboured breathing.

Hallibur stood firm, covered in a chilling aura. The brief break had allowed him to catch his second wind. They were back to square one.

Neither spoke as they circled each other warily. Zack kept his face an impassive mask, betraying none of his thoughts. But inside, his mind raced.

This is taking too long. I only have sixty seconds total for the Nascent Soul armour before it disperses. Only twenty seconds left…

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Zack's dark smoky battle armour was a temporary boost at best, buying him time to finish the fight quickly. But Hallibur was proving more stubborn than expected.

I'll have to change strategies. Take him by surprise.

Decision made, Zack abruptly turned and shot into the sky, unfurling his wings again. Hallibur's eyes widened, then his face twisted into a savage grin.

"Fleeing won't save you now!"

The elder gave chase, propelling himself upwards in pursuit. He drew back his fist for an overhead punch intended to drive Zack straight back into the earth.

"Gotcha."

At the last second before impact, Zack's wings folded and he dropped into a blur of motion. Hallibur's fist swiped through empty space. Before he could react, Zack had slipped inside his guard, smashing an electrically charged palm straight into the elder's chest.

The blow crunched through the icy armour, jolting Hallibur violently. He let out an involuntary gasp as the air was blasted from his lungs. Zack gave him no chance to recover.

In a burst of shadow, he teleported behind Hallibur and delivered a vicious two-handed sword strike aimed at severing his spine. But the elder managed to twist just enough to avoid being sliced in half.

Now's my chance, while he's reeling!

Zack's free hand slipped into his robe, retrieving a small black seed. With a flick of his wrist, he sent it sailing toward Hallibur's back.

"What...is this..." Hallibur gasped out. Before he could react, the seed began rapidly swelling, splitting open to reveal a writhing mass of thorny black vines. In seconds, they had encased Hallibur's body in a tangled prison, leaving only his face exposed.

"A Genesis Vine, clever trick," Hallibur grunted, straining against the bindings. But the more he struggled, the tighter they constricted him.

Zack sighed in relief as the smoky armour finally dissipated, no longer able to maintain a Peak Nascent Soul battle prowess.

The fight was over. He had won.

Despite being immobilized and at Zack's mercy, Hallibur's face remained expressionless. He gazed back at Zack silently as the youth walked closer.

"Did you really think I wouldn't see through such an obvious assassination attempt? After all that talk of duty and honour? Please," Zack said.

Hallibur's eyebrow twitched but he held his tongue.

"In any case, nothing personal,” Zack waved a hand. “But I'm afraid I can't let you live now that you know who I am.”

At that, Hallibur finally spoke. "If you plan to kill me, outsider, my sect will scour these lands until they find and eliminate you." His voice held no fear, only absolute certainty in his words.

Zack shrugged, unimpressed by the threats.

"Yeah that all sounds super scary, I'm absolutely quaking in my boots here," he drawled sarcastically. "Buuut...That's assuming you actually manage to escape and expose me. Which, no offense sensei, just isn't gonna happen."

"You just had to stick your nose into my business and then try ganking me when my back was turned. I was perfectly happy to walk away," Zack sighed.

"But nope! You just couldn't leave me alone!" He threw his hands up dramatically. "And now, here we are. Soo, better start making your peace, gramps."

Hallibur's breath grew ragged. For the first time in over a five centuries, the elder actually felt an emotion he had nearly forgotten - raw terror. After analysing their battle, Hallibur now understood he was outmatched from the start against this mysterious cultivator's secret techniques and treasures.

Hallibur frantically reviewed his dwindling options before deciding to change tacks. If force failed, then perhaps diplomacy and bribery might still spare his life...

"Spare me, and whatever you want is yours!" the elder pledged desperately. "Sect treasures, spirit herbs, cultivation arts - name your price!"

Zack crossed his arms, looking more amused than tempted. The old man had too many faces to be trusted. He knew as soon as he let him go free, he would send a hunting squad after him. With other Legacy Disciples to compete with, Zack didn’t have the time to waste on these people.

"Nah, hard pass on the empty promises, buddy," he scoffed. "Buuut, there actually is something else you could provide that I'd find quite useful..."

Hallibur's blood ran cold. Whatever this outsider had planned, it could not be good.

Zack stepped closer and placed a hand on Hallibur's head almost gently. Hallibur flinched but could do nothing to stop him.

"Stay still, this won't take long," Zack murmured. Before Hallibur could respond, Zack activated the Soul Searching technique.

Hallibur's body spasmed as he felt Zack's spiritual sense plunge into his soul, ruthlessly sifting through his memories and experiences. He desperately tried to resist, to keep his mind intact. But against this brutal assault, his struggles were useless.

With an agonising scream, Hallibur's eyes rolled back and his head slumped forward. Zack maintained the technique a moment longer before finally releasing him.

"There, that wasn't so bad."

Zack's smile was gone now, his face once again an impassive mask.

"Sorry, but I don't plan on dying here," Zack whispered, looking down at the corpse. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the vine bindings, storing the body into his storage ring.

What he had done was risky, but worth it. He was glad that the Main Body had learned a soul-searching technique. Now all of Hallibur's knowledge and secrets were his, including valuable insights into the Northern Region's politics and inner workings, he had all the information he needed to act as a native.

With this advantage, infiltrating the city would be child's play but that girl would probably come searching for her master soon…

Even though she is kinda annoying, she doesn’t deserve to die, Zack shook his head. He would need to find an alternative solution.