Jun knew he couldn’t take someone of Chaun’s strength by taking him lightly but that didn’t mean he needed to use all of his strength fighting him either. With a quick swap of his sword, Jun calmly walked forward with a smile on his face. This sword would help him greatly against someone at a higher stage than himself. Chaun took out his spear and held it forward. Jun’s 3rd Senior Brother used a spear, he wondered how well did Chaun use his spear in comparison to 3rd Senior.
“Flowing River Style: Black Water Blade.” Beautiful black flowing water began to slither around his sword like a snake.
Chaun dashed forward with his spear, as if a brutal rhino, wanting to do nothing more than to gore his enemy with his great horn. Jun could feel the strength radiating off of that charge and knew he couldn’t handle something like that without using his full strength. Well, that’s if he was the same person he was before going inside the Treasured Plains. Now, something like this wasn’t even worth using his defensive sword style on.
“Why is Prince Jun just standing there?! He’s about to be killed!”
“Maybe he’s frozen in fright! Can’t you feel the terrifying amount of qi coming from Chaun?! I’m getting goosebumps and I'm just watching!”
“Prince Jun, please dodge!” A female disciple cried out.
“Prince Jun, quickly move out the way!” The other female disciples joined in to cheer for him.
Chaun wondered if he really was shaken to his core. He wouldn’t stop his charge though, even if that was the case. An Outer Court disciple doesn’t challenge an Inner Court disciple without being prepared for the worst. The Inner Court disciple’s reputation is the one on the line in a battle between disciples from the two different courts. It doesn’t matter if Chaun wins or loses, he will be the one heavily judged in the end. If he doesn’t win this duel flawlessly, he will lose face. Someone at a lower stage than him being able to give him trouble just means he’s weak.
Chaun’s spear finally reached the point of no return. He could no longer hold back his strength on the off chance that Jun surrenders right now. And that was when Jun finally moved. His blade rose with a graceful arc that sent Chaun’s weapon flying upward.
“You’ve came within range of my Swordsman’s Graveyard. It might not be a true Qi Domain, but Master Mo says it’s a decent imitation.” Jun smiled as his sword came slashing towards Chaun’s throat as soon as he deflected his attack.
Chaun was essentially helpless in his current state! All of his power was used in that charge that was sent soaring into the sky because of Jun’s sword deflection. Now his spear was raised towards the sky and his body was almost defenseless. Rearing back the strength used in that charge took a significant amount of energy from him. But it was enough to have the body of his spear block Jun’s almost fatal cut.
“You see... My domain only extends as far as my sword can reach. In this graveyard of mine, everything within it can be and will be cut.” Jun calmly chatted.
His sword constantly struck against Chaun in an attempt to get past his defense. The sword strikes were deadly accurate, deceptively quick, and dangerously lethal. Chaun might have blocked the slashes but that did not mean he was unscathed. Jun’s cuts left small nicks on Chaun’s skin that made him instantly understand that his sword was no normal blade. No, this blade absorbed the qi of the opponent it cut. Giving Jun more qi than he usually had.
Chaun was confused at how this match as turning out. Wasn’t this supposed to be just an exchange of techniques? A normal spar? Why did it seem like Jun was trying to kill him instead? The first time he tried to kill him could’ve been considered an accident. But the second, third, fourth, and fifth time couldn’t be considered anything such. This Outer Court brat seriously wanted to take him out!
“Don’t joke around with me! I’m not going to become your stepping stone!” Chaun declared.
His body radiated with flames that Jun promptly ignored by slashing at Chaun’s eyes. Chaun deflected with the body of his spear and attempted to blow him away by increasing the range of his inflamed body.
“You’re still within my range, Senior. Flowing River Style: Blue Water Blade.” The water levitating around his sword turned sharp and pressuring, oozing with deathly intent. Its previous black color turned clear blue, allowing anyone to see straight through it.
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Jun’s sword cut through the very air itself. Chaun immediately listened to his gut feeling to fall back to a safer range. This choice turned out to be the correct one as despite listening to his instincts to avoid Jun’s blade, it still stabbed into his stomach. Sweat dripped from Chaun’s forehead, which quickly evaporated from the heat of his flames.
“Tch. Just what the hell is this?!” Chaun no longer decided to play around in this duel.
He used his flames as projectiles and his spear as the tool to fire them with. With several fast thrusts, fire shaped as spear heads flew right for Jun. The heat emitting from those fire blasts was enough to seriously harm the average 1st and 2nd stage Qi Consolidator. Everyone watching was excited to see how the prodigy Prince Jun would handle such a formidable attack.
“Flowing River Style: Red Water Blade.” Blood colored water covered the blade of Jun’s sword.
Jun almost smirked because of how perfect of a situation this turned out to be. He slashed, sliced, and chopped at the incoming projectiles with his sword. Each fire blast was sliced in half and absorbed into his sword. A sword that was already known to be able to absorb qi. Was Chaun more of a fool than he thought or was this some sort of trick to let his guard down?
“Hmph.” Chaun began to dash forward with tricky movements, most likely some form of leg arts.
“Come.” Jun smiled. ‘Enter my range once again so I can tear you to shreds!’
Chaun’s assault this time was much more refined. His martial arts being shown in full force! The true strength of a cultivator at the 2nd stage of the Qi Consolidator realm. Jun, momentarily, was caught off guard by the increase in strength and skill of Chaun. So much in fact that, Chaun managed to bring him to the edge of the dueling ring. Pressuring him with his superior qi reserves and surprisingly high levels of martial arts.
“You are definitely worthy of your cultivation realm, Huan Chaun! You were holding back for my sake earlier, weren’t you?” Jun complimented.
‘Like hell I was holding back. I wanted to finish you off in one hit!’ Chaun stayed silent and kept up the offense.
Jun continued to loudly praise Chaun while inwardly observing his spear technique. He wanted to see how his skills matched up to his 3rd Senior Martial Brother and over the course of their battle, he wasn’t too impressed. Chaun wasn’t the type of fighter who used skill with the spear to defeat his opponents from what it seemed. Instead, he replied on using brute force to force his opponents under submission. If his 3rd Senior was to face off against him, he wouldn’t stand a chance even if he restricted himself to the 1st stage of the Qi Gathering realm. His skill with the spear was truly frightening. It was something that Jun himself could only admire from a far. For now at least...
“I believe it's time to take this a little seriously now.” Jun was just sent flying to the other side of the stage by Chaun’s swipe.
“Show me what you got Qi Gatherer.” Chaun confidently spun his spear and aimed it forward.
From within Jun’s storage ring, multiple swords began firing into the air. The crowd watching could barely hold their breaths when trying to calculate the value held by those dozens of swords. Just this portion of Jun’s wealth was enough to allow any of those watching to live a life without worries! If they chose to not advance past the Qi Gathering realm then they could surely live a blessed life with that much money!
Each sword varying in size, length, color, sharpness, and ability were littered across the dueling ring. Jun’s handsome smile rose another level!
“My domain has just increased to the entire stage.” He kindly informed Chaun.
“Huh?” At that response, a sword just went flying past his face at breakneck speeds. A long gash appeared across his face.
Chaun’s expression turned serious as he felt the blood dripping down his cheek. He knows for a fact that he dodged that sword throw. The spearman readied himself for any other unexpected attacks while Jun ran towards him. Both cultivators clashed with all their strength. One was sent sliding backwards with numb hands. The other’s sword shattered into pieces as he grabbed another sword stabbed into the stage for usage.
“They make these blades so flimsy nowadays. We need better blacksmiths at the sect but no one wants to take the time to follow such a hard working path.” Jun shared before slashing at Chaun’s spear.
And just like before, it shattered from the amount of force he put into his swing. But Jun wasn’t finished yet, if two swords wasn’t enough, he’d use three. If three wasn’t enough he’d use four. The blades continuously broke upon hitting Chaun’s weapon. Eventually creating a noticeable cut into the body of his weapon. With Jun’s skill with the sword, it was all too easy to target the same spot with his infinite supply of blades.
Chaun knew if he let this continue, he would be without a weapon soon. That was a situation he must avoid at all costs! He avoided one of Jun’s sword strikes by jumping to the side and thrusting outward with his spear while his arm was stretched out, increasing its attack range to its maximum. His spear shattered the blade of the upstart Qi Gatherer and continued forward to impale him!
Unfortunately, he wasn’t aware of the blade Jun grabbed with his foot as his blade was being broken. The toe grabbed blade was then sent slashing across Chaun’s midsection before another one was thrown into his gut by the young prince. Now, taken off the ground from the power of Jun’s attacks, Jun had total freedom to do whatever he wanted to the helpless Qi Consolidator.
“Ah ah ah. Senior, it looks like you left yourself open.” Jun smiled.