The white-haired girl's dual blades clashed with Chu Lian's greatsword in the same instant. With a resounding clang, a small storm of energy swept through the area, scattering everything around them.
Holding Inori in her left arm, Chu Lian's strength, amplified by the Void Greatsword, had already reached the point where she could stand against Kurosaki Satsuki's dual-wielding power with one hand—and even surpass it. Her face showed no strain, while Satsuki's flushed red, clearly exerting herself to the utmost.
"How is your strength this much greater?" the white-haired girl asked in astonishment as she withdrew her blades, her crimson eyes locked on Chu Lian.
"That's none of your concern. But tell me—do you still think you can defeat me now?" Chu Lian leveled the tip of her sword at her, her voice calm and faint. In her arms, Inori did not collapse into unconsciousness like before. Half-lidded wine-red eyes gazed at her quietly, arms wrapped around her neck, watching her profile in silence.
"I… can't. But don't think you can capture me either." The girl's stubbornness was no surprise to Chu Lian, nor did she expect to win her surrender with mere words. This would have to be settled in combat.
After failing four times with her Shun strikes, the girl's momentum had plummeted. Even her dual-blade Shun lacked the same lethal edge as before. She no longer tried to slash and retreat. Instead, she stood firmly, both hands gripping her blades, crossing them before her chest, eyes fixed warily on Chu Lian.
In truth, the moment her first Shun failed to kill Chu Lian, her chances of victory had vanished. The essence of Shun—the iaijutsu strike—relied entirely on that first decisive blow. If the enemy survived it, no matter how ferocious the subsequent strikes seemed, they could no longer threaten someone of Chu Lian's caliber.
Rather than keep using the move Chu Lian had already seen through, she might as well rely on the straightforward but devastating style of the Ryuukaze Thirty-Seven Strikes. Legend said that at its peak, one could unleash thirty-seven cuts in a single second. In direct battle, its power could not be underestimated.
After all, the girl before her was no longer the same as moments ago. Before she drew that greatsword from the other girl's body, her strength had been on par with her own. But now, Chu Lian's power was overwhelming.
If she didn't seize some advantage, she wouldn't need to wait for her pursuers—she'd fall here today. Unless she used that forbidden art… but she lacked the resolve to burn her life away.
Even the subtle shift in her expression did not escape Chu Lian's notice. A glimmer of understanding flashed in her eyes, and she made her decision.
Clang! Clang! Clang! More than ten ringing clashes echoed as their blades crossed again and again, each strike scattering gusts that whipped the hair and dresses of the two girls watching by the pond.
Clutching Chu Chu's hand tightly, Li Xiu'er trembled but refused to look away, her eyes fixed on the duel. Her voice was low, awed: "Chu Chu, is this what battles in your world are like? It's incredible…"
Though Chu Chu's gaze stayed locked on Chu Lian and the white-haired girl, her mind never relaxed its vigilance. Even with Tina returned to quietly guard them, she devoted most of her focus to protecting Li Xiu'er.
After the recording booth incident earlier that day, and after what Li Xiu'er had told her when they disembarked the plane, Chu Chu had come to accept this cousin from the bottom of her heart. And she never forgot Chu Lian's serious words: protecting Li Xiu'er had become the most important mission of this journey.
Chu Chu understood that by "your world," Li Xiu'er meant the cultivation world. After thinking for a moment, she lowered her head and replied, "I've seen battles in the cultivation world with higher energy intensity than this, but never one so fierce. So I can't really judge. All I can say is, I'm at the very bottom of the Cultivation World. Even with Big Sis and the other two being stronger than me, they're still prey to those in the upper ranks."
"But I believe that if we're given time, no one in this world will be our match." Chu Chu's eyes gleamed with conviction. She knew well who her family descended from, and how much potential they all carried. Her confidence was more than justified.
"If I step into the cultivation world, will you guide me?" Li Xiu'er's voice brimmed with hope. She longed desperately to enter that mysterious world. But more than that, she wanted to know everything about Chu Lian, to fight by her side rather than just watch her from the sidelines.
"If Big Sis no longer hides it from you, then it means she already has plans. Maybe after this trip, she'll begin teaching you." Chu Chu squeezed her soft hand gently, her words directly revealing Chu Lian's true intentions.
Li Xiu'er thought about it, and her eyes lit up. In past actions, Chu Lian had always avoided involving her. But at Mount Li, when she transmitted spiritual power to her, that was the first time she had revealed a special ability in front of her. After that, she had been less cautious about what she showed. And now, even knowing Li Xiu'er was standing right here, she hadn't tried to lead her away. She was letting her witness it all.
But then the brightness in her eyes dimmed again. Gripping Chu Chu's arm tightly, she asked timidly, "But cultivation depends heavily on talent, right? Someone like me… am I really suited for it?"
She knew her own situation well. She understood her strengths and weaknesses, and what things suited her or didn't. Cultivation was something her father or other family members couldn't have been unaware of. Yet no one had ever told her about it, and no one had ever shown her even the slightest glimpse of it.
Now she understood. Why her father's attitude had changed when she turned eight, from doting to indifferent. Why her once-loving mother eventually stopped caring for her, focusing only on her younger brother. Why her once-close friends drifted away, until only Chu Lian remained—treating her better than everyone else combined.
It must have been because at age eight, she was judged unfit for cultivation. That was why her father and mother had abandoned her, wasn't it? If that was true, wouldn't asking Chu Lian to take her in only burden her?
"Big Sis's abilities are far stronger than you think. And do you really believe your body is too weak?" Chu Chu sensed her unease. With just a little thought of her family and the information her mother had provided, she understood the reason.
Having pieced it together, she reassured her: "It's not that your body is too weak—it's that it's too perfect, too exceptional, for ordinary people to understand. Big Sis told me herself: your body's potential is second only to hers. Look at Big Sis—her body's constitution is top-tier. Even if yours is a little weaker, it's still among the very best."
"Really?" Li Xiu'er's eyes were filled with nervous hope. She desperately needed someone to confirm it.
Chu Chu smiled and pointed at Chu Lian. "If you don't believe me, don't you at least believe in Big Sis?"
Turning to where Chu Lian was fighting, then back at Chu Chu's sincere eyes, Li Xiu'er nodded firmly. "Mm. I'll work hard! I'll definitely work hard!"
As the two of them spoke, Chu Lian's battle with Kurosaki Satsuki reached its conclusion.
Both blades were knocked from Satsuki's hands by Chu Lian's immense power, spinning through the air. One of them landed right in front of the two girls, startling them both.
Chu Lian still held Inori with her left arm, the greatsword in her right. The massive blade, over two meters long, now rested on Kurosaki Satsuki's shoulder. Its sharp edge hovered less than a centimeter from her neck, close enough that the faintest breeze might draw blood.
"You've lost…" Chu Lian's tone was as calm and faint as at the beginning.
"I've lost…" Kurosaki Satsuki did not deny it. She lowered her head.
"Do you have any objection?"
"None."
"I know you're seriously injured. Facing me at full strength hardly makes this a fair victory. If you disagree, I can let you go. When you've recovered, you may come challenge me again."
"Being injured hasn't weakened me. On the contrary, fighting while carrying someone makes your condition worse than mine. Even with the combined strength of two, I still believed I had a chance. But I lost, truly lost. I know this isn't about luck. My strength simply isn't equal to yours."
"Do you know why I didn't kill you?"
"I don't."
"Because your target has always been me. You never once turned your blades on Inori, on the less capable Chu Chu, or on Xiu'er, who has no ability to fight at all. That tells me you still have goodness in your heart. This ruthless front is only a mask to protect yourself."
In the distance, Chu Chu heard Chu Lian call her "less capable." She wanted to protest, but couldn't refute it. Pouting, she could only blame her own lack of strength.
The white-haired girl, however, widened her eyes at Chu Lian's words. She tried to rise, only to find her body utterly powerless.
"Still trying to fight? That's impossible now. Look at how much blood you've lost." Chu Lian dismissed the Void Greatsword in a glow of pale violet light, then bent down and lifted Satsuki into a princess carry. Pointing to the blood-soaked area at her waist, she sighed with a wry smile.
"Put me down…" If she couldn't resist physically, she tried words instead.
"I won't. You're my spoils of war. I have the right to decide your fate." Chu Lian brushed aside her weak protest, instructing Chu Chu to pick up the fallen blades. Then, carrying the girl, she led the others back uphill.
"You'll be in danger if you take me. My pursuers are strong." After a long silence, the white-haired girl finally spoke the truth.
"Bringing you may be dangerous. But leaving you here would mean certain death. What would you do in my place?" Chu Lian's question left her speechless. Her pale lips moved faintly, but before she could reply, dizziness overtook her. She fainted in Chu Lian's arms.
"What a stubborn girl… Driver, let's go. If we don't hurry, she won't survive."
The driver hadn't expected that after less than ten minutes, Chu Lian would return with a bloodied white-haired girl in her arms. Stunned, he snapped back at her words and started the car.
"Pursuers, hm? Perhaps there's even someone truly powerful among them. When the time comes, how will you deal with that?" A faint voice whispered above the car roof, unheard by anyone below.