Golden light flickers in the air.
Chased across many rooftops, Dawn leaps from building to building, twisting midair to wave her hand, sending a crescent blade cutting through the air.
Aimed towards the man pursuing her, she sent countless projectiles to intercept him, yet, in response, he merely dodged them.
There was no retaliation from behind; the man did not send his own attacks forward. A relaxed expression could be seen on his face.
"He isn't attacking? This man is more level-headed than that other, fire-wielding man... just what is he planning?"
With that thought, Dawn moved her arms with elegance similar to a dance, waves upon waves of heat and Qi surged forth.
"Impressive."
The rooftops were enveloped with what resembled flowing tides of golden light, striking the tiles like whips, searing the air like heatwaves.
She was merely expelling Qi, similar to the crescent blades she fires like projectiles, just on a larger scale. Dawn exhausted a great amount of Qi to pull this off.
"Hmm."
Pushing forward with both of his palms, the man conjured a Qi wall to push through the Qi waves.
Despite ceasing the movement of her arms, the Qi waves continued to surge and undulate, relentlessly pressuring the man.
With that, Dawn took this moment to gain some distance between herself and the pursuing man.
Watching her back shrink into the distance, he merely sighed to himself.
'She is only exhausting herself, which is great for me... I will catch up soon, anyway.'
...
Leaping over rooftops, Dawn spared some attention to the world around her.
Through Immersion, she could sense a great amount of fear and panic in the surrounding district.
She did not want to implicate the people below; it would do her no good.
Beyond these people, there were the two Demonic Cultivators who ambushed Heart Tethering Maiden.
Heart Tethering Maiden was still being pursued by that fire-wielding man. Dawn figured that such a matchup would be disadvantageous to the Maiden and wished her well.
The one pursuing Dawn, this construct-conjuring man, must have also been prepared to handle the Maiden specifically.
Dawn had witnessed Edifice utilise a similar Dao Art, which would provide Dawn with a valuable advantage regarding information.
After a few moments' time, Dawn arrived at the site of her accommodation, the complex that housed all of Union Settlement's Cultivators.
Rushing into her room, Dawn quickly retrieved her weapon, Night Breaching Spear: Iron Lotus.
Stepping outside, she quickly scanned the area through Immersion. Nobody was in the immediate vicinity, and the adjacent district was also mostly empty.
The construct-conjuring man was rapidly approaching, having seemed to have breached her Qi waves.
Stepping forward and leaping up, she somersaults backwards onto the roof of the complex.
In the distance, having quickly arrived, stood the construct-conjuring man.
"Fiend. If you have not attacked this Settlement, I would not have to take your life. Should you not have ambushed Heart Tethering Maiden, you would not have to meet your end here, tonight!"
"Even if I wanted to refuse, I would be forced to come here by my orders. Not like I had a choice."
"No choice, huh. Yet, you already had the intentions to ambush the Maiden, so you have no right to oppose what I will impose onto you."
"Is that so...?"
Breathing out, the construct-conjuring man tightened his hand into a fist and punched forward.
A burst of Qi flew outwards and tightened into a closed fist.
Slamming her Iron Lotus into the fist, Dawn shatters it and leaps forward.
Whilst in the air, countless hands are conjured and sent forth, aiming to capture Dawn while she can not dodge.
With Qi flowing through her legs, the soles of Dawn's boots shine as Qi flows out.
It was a small burst, but had enough energy to allow Dawn to move her body mid-air.
"Hmm..."
Due to changing her trajectory, she lost most of her momentum and landed on the ground, but that did not stop her from shooting forward.
With his Qi hands missing their target, they gather together into a ball.
The ball elongates into a flat surface, resembling the visage of a sword.
Cast down, it tears into the ground. Dawn evades the attack while turning her body.
She cut the air and sent a crescent blade up, towards the man.
It tears through the ledge of the roof he was standing on, carrying more lethal power than her prior attacks.
Promptly, the man avoids the attack with a step, waving his hand to cast a second blade down.
Retreating a few steps, the ground where Dawn stood ruptured as the second blade stabbed downwards.
Raising her Iron Lotus, she clashed with the first blade that was conjured. Both blades smashed together, and the cry of Dawn's Iron Lotus rang throughout the air.
The impact staggered Dawn, leaving her no choice but to retreat further from her opponent.
'I can not let this distance stay between us! I lack long-range Dao Arts to launch effective attacks... But I can not close the distance between us, either.'
Dawn continued to dodge and receive the successive attacks of the two blades.
Qi flooded her muscles to help reduce the effects of each collision she met with the blades; the impacts were heavy, threatening to knock Dawn off her feet.
"That weapon must be special, no?"
Sparing a gaze towards the voice that called, Dawn did not reply to the construct-conjuring man's inquiry.
"To resist my Qi blades, it must be a mystical weapon. Also, you are quite strong yourself. I should not have chosen to battle you... But there is no use lamenting now."
Raising his finger, wisps of Qi converged and surged. A mass of white was created, taking the form of a long blade.
"...!"
Unable to hide the shock in her eyes, Dawn glared at the newly conjured weapon.
'Two short and heavy blades, and another long blade... Edifice utilises Dao Art mediums to conjure her constructs; she also carries multiple, from what I've heard.'
'Is the number of Qi constructs proportionate to the number of Dao Art mediums? Is quantity equal to quantity, or does quality equal quantity?'
'If I let this battle drag out any longer, then I may get swarmed with countless conjured Qi constructs...'