But the more Bardan came to like Leyvi, the fiercer the conflict in his heart became.
He still couldn't get over the fact that Leyvi already had so many wives. What about later? Would he marry even more? Wouldn't his daughter end up suffering?
A few moments later, Monica was fully healed. She stood up, straightened her dress, and glanced at Leyvi again.
Her eyes were still fixed on him.
Leyvi simply ignored the woman.
"Miss Monica, you can return to town first. Geezer, please escort her back," Bardan requested.
Although the town wasn't far away, there was still a chance she could be attacked by wild demonic beasts along the way.
Geezer Mallard didn't argue this time and simply escorted her back.
"You should be careful later. Women like her are usually very vengeful," Bardan warned Leyvi through sound transmission while watching them leave.
"Isn't this your fault?" Leyvi rolled his eyes.
If Bardan hadn't decided to personally be the final challenge, he would probably have hired another crazy person. No... maybe Bardan himself was the crazy one.
"How is this my fault? It's your fault for going after my daughter. I'm just acting as a father," Bardan defended himself.
"Yes, yes. It's all my fault." Leyvi was too lazy to argue.
Before long, Geezer Mallard returned. Bardan immediately handed the live broadcasting device over to him.
"Are you sure you don't need any rest?" Bardan asked once more.
"Hmm... actually, I might need some rest. How about we continue a week later?" Leyvi joked.
Bardan's face twitched.
He's already bold enough to joke around with me like this.
"Forget it! We're starting now whether you're ready or not!"
"Hahaha! That's exactly what I'm hoping for!" Leyvi laughed.
"Leyvi, this is the final challenge. If you can make me bleed, it will be considered your victory," Bardan declared.
He then glanced at the geezer, silently signaling him.
Geezer Mallard understood immediately.
"Let the fight begin!" he announced.
Boom!
The instant the words fell, an intense wave of Qi erupted from Leyvi.
The violent surge blasted dust, debris, and loose pebbles in every direction. Cracks spread beneath his feet, and the surrounding air trembled under the sheer pressure of the release.
"What an absurd amount of Qi," Bardan observed as he calmly circulated his own Qi throughout his body. "So it is true that he has a special core. A core that doesn't exist in any known record."
Unlike Leyvi's explosive display, Bardan's Qi remained calm and controlled.
Instead of bursting outward, his bluish Qi flowed steadily around him in gentle currents, quietly filling the surrounding space with a stable, unwavering presence.
Bardan couldn't help but chuckle.
"This brat looks as if he has finally been freed from something."
He wasn't wrong.
Leyvi really did feel as though invisible shackles had just been removed. Fighting with only his mental power during the previous challenge had been incredibly restrictive. Now that he could use everything at his disposal again, it felt liberating.
It had also been quite some time since he had fought seriously with Qi. For almost an entire year, his focus had been devoted almost exclusively to spiritual cultivation. Aside from his nightly battles, he rarely had the chance to fully unleash it.
So before anything else, he simply wanted to let it all out.
Qi surged through every meridian, flooding every part of his body with its familiar warmth. He let the energy circulate freely, awakening muscles and instincts that had remained quiet for far too long.
Only after savoring that familiar feeling did Leyvi finally shift his gaze toward Bardan.
Burst Step!
Leyvi shot forward like a cannonball, intense fiery Qi surging into his fist. The ground beneath him cracked from the force of his launch.
Just as he was about to reach Bardan and unleash his Big Bang Punch, a thick pillar of water suddenly erupted from the ground directly in his path.
It slammed into him with tremendous force, launching him upward in a violent arc.
BOOM!
His Big Bang Punch detonated in midair. The collision between the blazing fire and the rushing water created a massive burst of steam that rapidly spread across the battlefield like a dense fog.
Leyvi spun in midair and quickly regained his balance.
Shit. I forgot.
Cultivators above the Core Formation Realm could manipulate Qi outside their bodies with incredible ease.
That meant Bardan's attacks could come from anywhere around him.
Without wasting another moment, Leyvi condensed an even denser mass of fiery Qi into his fist and dove toward Bardan once again.
This time, a massive dome of water instantly formed around Bardan, completely shielding him.
Leyvi didn't hesitate.
He drove his Big Bang Punch into the water dome with all his might.
BOOM!
The impact erupted into another deafening explosion.
Steam billowed outward in every direction while water splashed violently across the battlefield.
The dome visibly warped inward where his fist landed, a deep dent forming on its surface.
Through the rippling water, Leyvi caught sight of Bardan's smiling face.
But it wasn't the smile of someone on the defensive.
It was the smile of someone who had already made his move.
Bardan had already raised his hand.
His index and middle fingers pointed directly at Leyvi.
The next instant, a concentrated jet of water burst forth with blinding speed.
Before Leyvi could react, it slammed into his abdomen.
Boom!
The tremendous impact blasted him hundreds of meters away, sending him flying through the air in a high parabolic arc.
Leyvi stood up, feeling a sharp pain radiating from around his belly button. He looked down and saw a large hole in his shirt where the water jet had struck.
"How strong is that water jet?" Leyvi muttered, staring at Bardan in the distance, who had not even moved from his spot. "It's already this powerful without being enhanced by the Soul Formation Body?"
His body was now extremely tough. He was confident that even an average Nascent Soul Realm cultivator could not injure him easily, but Bardan easily damaged him without relying on his soul power. He hadn't even felt this much pain after getting hit by the broken talon earlier.
"Come on, Leyvi." Bardan's amplified voice carried across the battlefield. "I'm just a scholar. I'm not really good at fighting, so you'll need to do better than that."
Leyvi's mouth twitched.
Not good at fighting? Who are you kidding?
Bardan could have continued attacking and defeated him instead of simply standing there, waiting for him to attack again. It was obvious he was still going easy on him.
"People always have the misconception that water elemental cultivators don't possess strong offensive power," Bardan continued. "But they are severely mistaken. To me, water can be just as destructive as any other element, or even more powerful. It all depends on how you use it."
He slowly raised his hand, pointing with his index and middle fingers.
"Allow me to demonstrate."
From his fingertips, a thin, concentrated jet of water shot forward. It was barely visible, no thicker than a finger, but the sound it produced was unmistakable, a sharp, high-pitched hiss, as though the air itself was being torn apart.
The water jet struck the ground before him and sliced through the earth as if it were soft clay, carving a deep, perfectly clean trench that stretched for several hundred meters. The edges of the trench were unnaturally smooth, almost polished, as though the soil had simply been erased.
Without stopping, Bardan shifted his fingers slightly. The water jet arced upward and swept across the face of a nearby hill. The hill was tall and broad, its rocky surface standing like a wall before the battlefield. The water jet glided across it in one smooth motion before disappearing.
For a brief moment, nothing happened.
Then a low rumble echoed through the area.
The upper half of the hill slowly began to slide along the impossibly clean cut. What started as a gentle shift quickly turned into a collapse as the entire upper section broke free and crashed to the ground with a thunderous roar, sending dust and shattered rocks billowing high into the air.
Only then did Bardan lower his hand.
The water jet ceased.
"That is the power of a high-pressure water jet," he said calmly. "It simply cuts."
Leyvi was amazed.
Among the fallen rubble, he could see not only rocks, but even much harder materials that had been cleanly sliced apart. He hadn't expected water to possess such terrifying cutting power.
If Bardan had been serious, he could most likely cut Leyvi's body in half or punch holes straight through him with that water jet.
Still, releasing such a powerful stream of water probably wasn't easy. It must require an incredibly high level of mastery over the water element.
"Bahahaha! No need to think too much." Bardan laughed. "I just wanted to show off once in a while."
Leyvi was speechless.
So you weren't trying to give me some guidance or anything?
"What are you waiting for?" Bardan beckoned with one hand. "Come at me again."
Leyvi silently stared at his future father-in-law.
Whether Bardan had merely been showing off or not, one thing was clear. Even without his Soul Formation Body, he was still unbelievably powerful. His Qi mastery alone was enough to make him a terrifying opponent.
Leyvi began thinking carefully about how to approach the fight.
His Big Bang Punch didn't seem particularly effective against Bardan's water techniques.
What can I do to injure him... while avoiding getting hit by that high-speed water jet?