I had to dodge endlessly like a snake, evading the ceaseless flow of attacks. My sparring matches with Liu Zhi had been limited to hand-to-hand combat, so I had no idea cultivators could unleash techniques non-stop without breaking a sweat. When I used my techniques, they consumed the Qi I had painstakingly cultivated, so overusing them could genuinely weaken me and lead to "degradation." This "master of sword and magic," however, showed no concern for economy. Judging by his smug grin, the cost of his techniques was negligible to him.

Managing to break away from my pursuer for a brief moment, I used my "simple stone throw" technique again. This time, my target noticed the attack and even tried to dodge, but the stone was simply too fast. It struck him directly, shattering his skull and scattering his brains across the surrounding forest. I had deliberately adjusted the stone’s trajectory so it flew into the mountains rather than toward the camp—I didn’t need unnecessary witnesses.

"Zhou!" - the last opponent screamed upon seeing the result of my attack. - "You’ll pay for this!" - he spat, glaring at me with hatred. Earlier, his gaze had been full of arrogance and a sense of superiority. - "Mu Rong, where are you? Mu Rong!"

"Looking for another of your lackeys?" - I taunted, closing the distance to attack range. - "He ran off at the very start of the fight."

I intentionally lied about the fate of the third fighter. It was better if my opponent thought reinforcements were on the way. I didn’t want him retreating and siccing his backers on me. And judging by his fine, expensive clothing and his Qi-conducting sword, he undoubtedly had powerful patrons.

"That dog went to complain to my father again" - the idiot muttered. - "I need to finish you quickly." - His words confirmed my suspicions and amused me. - "I, Sun Zi Liang, will avenge the humiliation I’ve endured!"

With that declaration, he redoubled his efforts, launching a flurry of attacks. By now, I had figured out that his arsenal was relatively limited. Despite being on the Foundation Establishment stage, he was clearly a seventeen-year-old youth with insufficient combat experience. His primary skill was swordplay, and while his movements reflected a trained style, it was ill-suited to the one-handed sword he wielded. The style seemed designed for a heavier, longer weapon, leaving his movements overly wide and cumbersome, as if his sword weighed a ton.

His second combat skill was a technique that projected a spinning stream of Qi over a distance of ten meters. It was potentially dangerous, but the user lacked expertise. It was obvious he had learned this technique and swordsmanship separately. Instead of using the Qi technique to drive me into range of his sword, he only used it when I widened the gap, and his blade couldn’t reach me.

The third skill in Sun Zi Liang’s repertoire was… jumping. Yes, his most irritating ability was an unexpectedly effective "non-combat" technique that allowed him to rapidly close or extend the distance between us.

For the next few minutes, I leapt around like an antelope, dodging his attacks. But I wasn’t doing this just to evade; I was studying his techniques. It didn’t take long to notice that his techniques weren’t fueled solely by pure Qi. Instead, he used a blend of Qi and life force. Most of the Qi in this mixture was "neutral," drawn from his body and the surrounding environment rather than his internal reserves. This significantly reduced the cost of the techniques, making them feasible even for someone like me.

However, this "economy" came at a price. The lower concentration of internal Qi made control more difficult, and the expenditure of life force weakened the user, leading to fatigue. Now, barely five minutes into the fight, I was still as fresh as a daisy, while my opponent was breathing heavily, wiping sweat, or was it raindrops? from his face.

"Why are you so damn quick?" - Sun Zi Liang grumbled after I dodged another sequence of sword attacks, Qi techniques, and even a kick.

Throughout the fight, I had barely attacked, limiting myself to an occasional slap to keep him motivated and irritated. The more frustrated and exhausted he became, the worse his control over his Qi, making it easier for me to analyze how his techniques worked. At last, I understood how he enhanced his jumps, pushing off from the ground or trees even when the terrain was unsuitable due to loose soil or slippery surfaces.

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Essentially, his technique created a "layer" of Qi between his foot and the surface, then used this layer to propel him in the desired direction. It somehow leveraged surrounding matter as a base. At its highest level, this technique could likely allow the user to jump off leaves in midair. The most baffling part was how it completely ignored the mass of the object used as a springboard. The key was fixing a "target" in space, saturating it with Qi until it became a "stable foundation," and then executing a push, which accelerated the user in the desired direction.

I began cautiously experimenting with the leaping technique and soon achieved decent results. For now, I used pure internal Qi, which was "expensive," but it saved me the months or years it would take to develop precise control. When Sun Zi Liang saw me replicating his technique, his eyes widened in shock.

"How do you know that technique?" - he shouted. - "That’s the Dance of Autumn Leaves! Only Inner Court disciples are allowed to study it!"

"Oh, I’m just a wellspring of hidden talents" - I replied with a mocking smirk. - "You picked the wrong person to mess with."

Fear began creeping into my opponent’s heart, and it showed in his fighting. He started making mistakes, including missteps in his offensive technique. This allowed me to get a decent grasp of how it worked. I began using it during our fight, aiming my strikes so that even if he dodged, they would hit trees and bushes, letting me evaluate their effectiveness.

"Hey! That’s my technique!" - Sun Zi Liang finally exclaimed, realizing what I was doing.

"Oh, is it? Then tell me, at what angle should the internal Qi stream twist relative to the external one?" - I asked casually.

"What?" - Judging by his tone, he didn’t even understand the question. What a disgrace. Verdict: useless.

"You don’t know? Well, never mind. Looks like it’s time to end this."

I accelerated and began attacking him seriously. For now, I was simply testing his defense against physical attacks, but even so, bruises and scrapes began appearing on Sun Zi Liang’s body. What intrigued me most, however, was the technique I had analyzed. It could not only repel and pierce targets but also pull them closer. This was controlled by subtle adjustments to the angles of the Qi streams’ motion.

"How? How can you use my techniques better than me?" - my panicked opponent shouted as one of my attacks pulled him directly into the path of my strike.

"Don’t tell me… do you have a kaleidoscopic spinning eye that copies techniques?" - he gasped.

"Oh, wow! You know about the Sharingan?" - I said, genuinely surprised. - "But no, it’s not that."

"Wait! Stop! I won’t kill you!" - Sun Zi Liang pleaded, attempting to backpedal.

"But I will" - I retorted with a smug grin, landing another punch that sent him flying into the nearest tree.

"Do you even know who I am?" - he tried to intimidate me, clinging to whatever leverage he thought he had.

"I do" - I nodded. - "Almost a corpse."

"My servant will return with reinforcements soon, and you won’t leave here alive."

"Hate to disappoint you, but I killed your servant at the start of the fight. No one’s coming to save you."

With that, I lunged forward, dodging his desperate sword thrust. Grabbing his wrist, I twisted it sharply and ripped the weapon from his weakened grip.

"No! My sword!" - Sun Zi Liang screamed.

He didn’t try to reclaim it, though. Instead, he bolted like a frightened rabbit, attempting to flee. That wasn’t part of my plan. I chased after him, deciding to test another attack method. The sword was imbued with his Qi, which limited my ability to wield it effectively. So, I used the offensive technique I had just learned to "throw" the sword at the coward’s back.

The shining blade flashed like lightning, slicing through his spine. A moment later, the technique that propelled the sword reached its target, yanking the body toward me and pulling the blade back into my hand.

"I’ll call this technique Eastern Demon's Tentacles" - I mused aloud. Why Eastern? Why demon? Just to confuse anyone who heard about it.

Sun Zi Liang collapsed face-first to the ground without a sound. He squirmed, trying to rise, but managed only to turn his head. With his spine severed, both his arms and legs were useless. Calmly, I approached him and decapitated him with the sword. The fool’s head rolled down the mountain slope, and I didn’t bother retrieving it. He had chosen the worst possible escape route—toward a cliff.

But simply killing him wasn’t enough to satisfy me. First, I removed his spatial ring, which should contain a wealth of treasures. Then, I scanned his body with psionics to ensure there was nothing else of value. Finally, I turned his corpse onto its back, sliced open his lower abdomen with the sword, and plunged my left hand into his still-warm entrails. With his death, the Qi in his body was beginning to dissipate. I intended to absorb it, ensuring that none of this valuable resource went to waste.