As Instructor Hue’s aura-infused palm pierces through the air, aiming for Wei’s collapsing figure, it suddenly slows down. The aura coating around the palm, previously steady and sharp, starts to fluctuate and ripple in response to a violent gale.
“Sixth Stance of Spring: Fēng Xuán Huā Suí.” (Translation: Wind Spins, Flowers Follow)
Upon hearing the voice and seeing the sharp winds shave away at the coating around his palm, Instructor Hue’s crazed grin disappears. His eyes flash a hint of surprise, prompting him to withdraw his attack.
The instant after he retreats, the tip of a blade pierces down through the space where his palm has just been. The impact lifts the muddy water into the sky, accompanied by a wave of sharp petals, obstructing Instructor Hue’s vision like a curtain.
“Third Stance of Spring: Huā Kāi Bàn Fēi.” (Translation: Flowers Blossom, Petals Fly)
Digging his feet into the mud, Instructor Hue steadies himself in preparation for the onslaught of petals that would come shooting through the curtain of brown and pink. Having recovered from the surprise attack, the smirk returns to his face as he extends his aura to form a protective barrier
As the seconds pass with nothing happening, Instructure Hue begins to feel the veins on his head and neck start to bulge.
“You think you’re funny, Blossom Mountain brat?!”
Ignoring the childish tantrum, Chunhua sets Wei against the elm tree beside Maoyi before turning towards the four masked men charging at Xi.
“Fourth Stance of Spring: Yè Luò Bàn Zhuì.” (Translation: Leaves Fall, Petals Crash)
The four men, sensing danger in Chunhua’s formidable aura, halt their advance as they lift their blades to defend against the attack. Following their blades with their eyes, they realize that they have been bamboozled upon seeing nothing crashing down from above.
“Dumbasses.”
Third Stance of Spring: Huā Kāi Bàn Fēi. (Translation: Flowers Blossom, Petals Fly)
Before the assailants could respond, Chunhua digs his feet into the mud and stabs his blade straight forwards with one hand. As the blade comes to a stop at the end of his reach, a wave of aura shoots from his sword, breaking into tiny pink petals as they tear a path towards the masked men. As the wave of razor sharp aura petals crash into their blades, Chunhua pushes his other arm forth, sending out a second wave of colorless aura.
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As the auras crash past the assailants, he rotates his sword wrist, twisting the wave of petals and the wave of colorless aura together into a violent tempest. The tempest paints the masked men’s vision pink before sending them flying backwards. Before they could catch their footing and counter-attack, Chunhua executes the Sixth Stance, summoning a wall of petals and linking it with the first one.
“Rest. I’ll take care of it.”
Despite knowing that the Sixth Stance can’t hold back someone like Instructor Hue for long, Chunhua still spends an extra second to instill hope within his juniors as he leaps through the air towards Anning. During his descent, Chunhua suddenly feels his blood boil as he catches a closer look at the crimson-soaked, near death, figure of his junior. Landing before her, he glares at the four assailants with blood-shot eyes.
“Final Stance: First Strike…"
Chunhua takes a deep breath as he places his second hand on the handle of his grandfather’s blade.
"Huā Shēng Fēn Tiān!” (Flowers Ascend to Divide the Heavens)
“You think we’re stupid?!” One of the masked men screams as he leaps across the gap, aiming for Chunhua’s neck.
With the sword dividing his vision vertically, Chunhua steps forwards as he executes a series of skillful footwork. As his figure blurs forth, his blade begins to glow brighter and brighter. Small traces of the pink aura break off, forming a blurry petal trail behind the path of his blade. As his left foot stomps forward on the ninth step, Chunhua releases his breath.
The blade, currently trailing behind him with the tip pointing away from his target, begins to descend towards the ground. As the tip slices through the dirt, it passes by Chunhua’s perfectly aligned feet. Transferring all the momentum from his nine steps into a single strike, Chunhua clenches his jaw as he sweeps the sword through the ground and towards the sky.
Everything falls tranquil as he completes the upswing. A split moment later, the tranquility is suddenly disrupted as the surrounding air collapses towards the arc of Chunhua’s blade before erupting. The eruption sends a pale pink arc exploding towards the masked man. As the arc tears through space, small traces of aura break off from the friction, trailing behind like a river of blossoms.
The masked men’s eyes widen as they watch the pink arc consume their colleague, disintegrating his body into nothingness. As the pink arc draws near, they snap out of their daze and hastily retreat. Upon catching their footing, they lift their eyes and watch as the arc curves upwards, crashing through the rain as it aims for the sky. Unable to make it too far, the arc shatters, sending tiny fragments in all directions.
Chunhua bites his lip upon seeing the arc miss the other three assailants. A drop of blood drips from his nose as he executes the Sixth Stance once again, linking up with the other two to form a dome. Picking up the pale and bloodied junior in his arm, Chunhua retreats towards the elm tree.
As he arrives beneath the tree, Chunhua’s eyes grow wide, causing him to whip his head towards the direction of Instructor Hue. He watches as a pair of hands, coated in a dense layer of aura, creep through the curtain of razor sharp petals. Chunhua bites the corner of his lip as he realizes that his moment of rage, executing the First Strike of the Final Stance, left the Sixth Stance vulnerable. The two palms rotate outwards, slowly separating the opening wider and wider. Behind the crack, Instructor Hue greets Chunhua with a sinister smile.
“I’ll give you credit for the trickery, Blossom Mountain brat, but you’re dumber than I thought.” His smile turns into a grin as he taunts Chunhua, ripping the opening slightly wider. “Hole up and delay the inevitable? That’s the best plan you could come up with?”