Two days later, the morning mist clung low over the mountain.
Caelrisu stood at the edge of the training grounds, a quiet figure framed against the pale dawn.
She wore a form-fitting black outfit, woven from a special fiber her mother had left behind as a parting apology. It glimmered faintly when light caught its threads, proof of its quality. Flexible, durable, and perfectly tuned for freedom of motion.
Before long, Namgoong Gyo appeared, walking with the casual ease of a man whose blade had seen countless duels. His expression carried relief rather than tension.
"First," he said, smiling, "I should congratulate you, young lady, for reaching the First Rank of Martial Arts."
Caelrisu blinked, a faint grin flickering across her face. "So, I really did reach it. I had doubts… because there was no one to compare with."
"The bet still stands," he reminded her. "If you last one minute against me, we'll leave the mountain. But now you will only use the martial arts you've learned."
"Understood."
Caelrisu nodded and took a stance.
Creeping Shadow Lotus Dance consists of nine techniques, created in a way to decisively kill the opponent without bringing much harm to the user.
1st step is called Casting the Shadow of the Lotus
Caelrisu kept her broadsword close to her body at an angle to avoid glinting, making the user's stance and intent unreadable if used in the dark.
Her body was in a low, coiled stance. Weight was mainly on the back leg, and the torso turned sideways to present a minimal profile. Caelrisu seemed to blend into the shadows, her form becoming indistinct.
Looking at this, Namgoong Gyo was impressed as he rushed towards her. He stabbed with his sword towards her chest.
2nd Step: Weaving the Unfolding Petals
She balanced smoothly on the balls of her feet, knees bent. Her torso weaved and swayed in time with the blade, making her entire body a moving, defensive center as if guiding the "petals" to unfold.
Her broadsword moved in a continuous, horizontal figure-eight pattern in front of the body. Deflecting Namgoong's stab to the side as three cuts appeared on his arms, not deep but in sharp, precise arcs.
Namgoong Gyo looked surprised, as it was the first time she managed to wound him.
His interest grew; he tried to attack but was forced to get in the position to block as her movement changed.
Her body provided the anchor, in all but arms and wrists. Her shoulders powered the flick, while the rest of her body remained perfectly still, then a sudden, whip-like flick of her wrist sent the sword's tip in a short, blindingly fast line aiming for his eyes as he blocked it.
That was the 3rd step: Brushing the Dew from the Blade.
'What a powerful step it was. It potentially aimed for 3 places. My knuckles to disarm me, my hilt of the sword to break my flow, or my eyes to blind or flinch me. Excellent.'
Without pause, he retaliated, a sharp diagonal slash rising from her hip toward her shoulder.
Caelrisu pivoted, parrying perfectly, then spun away to regain distance.
Her boots scraped the ground as she thrust her broadsword down, embedding it into the earth. Using it as leverage, she vaulted forward, her body blurring into motion as she launched herself straight at him like a streak of black light.
She stepped inside his guard. Her body coiled into his space, legs driving forward to provide unyielding pressure. She used the broadsword's quillon to hook his sword.
Her core muscles tightened and rotated violently, generating the torque needed to disarm or break his structure. It was a full-body grapple centered around the sword.
This step was called Coiling the Vine's Embrace.
Feeling pure amusement, he quickly reversed the grappling technique but instead of grappling her sword back, let her sword free.
A privilege of the strong.
Seeing this, Caelrisu gritted her teeth and rushed towards him in a light, rapid "scissor step" footwork, constantly shifting angles.
Her sword moved in rapid sequences of half-cuts, feints, and shallow slashes from multiple angles, leaving two more cuts on Namgoong Gyo's body.
Her sword never completed a full swing, instead creating a visual and auditory cacophony of whining steel. She used her free hand to deliver open-palm strikes or feints, making the entire form a chaotic, multi-layered threat.
5th Step: Dancing Amid a Hundred Blossoms
'It may be just annoying to deal with in the day, but in the dark, it would truly be troublesome, even for me. I guess it was a famous assassin technique, after all.'
Namgoong Gyo pretty much blocked all the sword attacks except for two, one on his chest and one at his biceps.
Then, he went straight for her neck in a horizontal strike and finally started using his essence technique, making the attack thrice as fast and strong compared to before.
20 seconds have passed till now.
Not daring to take it head-on, she "sits down," legs driving forward like a piston. Her back foot planted firmly as her hips and shoulders snapped forward in unison, transferring all the kinetic energy through her sword.
She executed a short, powerful thrust at a very close range. The force was driven straight from her shoulder, concentrating the full force of her body into a single moment of overwhelming impact.
6th Step: Breathing the Scent of Cold Steel
Feeling the danger from her thrust, Namgoong Gyo adjusted the angle of his sword and redistributed the impact, throwing her off balance for a second.
Taking this opportunity, he kicked her straight into her abdomen with his Essence-filled knee, sending her flying.
'Quite a powerful thrust. Had I not used essence, my sword would have been destroyed, leading to my defeat.'
Looking at Caelrisu coughing violently but not breaking her stance, he felt pleased.
'Quite an incredible daughter you have, Saviour.'
He launched himself towards her and performed a simple vertical slash but overflowing with essence.
Seeing that it is too late to dodge, she used the seventh step of the Creeping Shadow Lotus Dance.
Piercing the Heart with Moonlight
Caelrisu's front knee bent to a 90-degree angle while the back leg remained straight, forming a powerful, grounded line from the back foot to her sword's tip. Her body became a single, unwavering arrow.
Namgoong Gyo's sword dug deep into her right shoulder. Seeing that she had no way to dodge, she decided to sacrifice her subdominant shoulder, using it to halt his sword for a second.
Seeing this, Namgoong Gyo was completely shocked, never even thinking she would do something like this.
Seeing that he was flustered, she clenched her muscles around the sword. Then, she pulled her broadsword fully back, elbow high, and then shot forward in a straight, unhesitating lunge aimed with deadly precision at his waist.
Unable to dodge it fully due to his shock, Namgoong Gyo was left with a significant deep wound on his abdomen.
Then, she unclenched her shoulder muscles, letting his sword free. A fountain of blood spewed from her shoulder. Her face grimaced violently as her focus almost broke up.
Then, she remembered Lunaris's word about her being 'weak' and unworthy to participate in his plan.
'I will win this bet. I will leave this mountain with the instructor no matter what. I will become stronger!!!'
She proceeded with the 8th step, not giving him a chance to fully recover.
She dropped her center of gravity dramatically, sinking into a deep squat. She generated power from her legs driving upward and her hips and torso twisting; the energy started at her feet and was then transmitted through her legs and hips to power her devastating strike.
8th Step: Plucking the Darkened Bloom
She swung her broadsword into a deeply committed low-to-high diagonal cut aimed at his legs. It was a committed swing to cripple someone.
But then, a deep voice resounded when the sword was about to connect.
"I guess I have played enough. If I play more, you will only get hurt.
Sword Art of the Unbounded Sky. 3rd Form: Heaven's Vaulting Arc."
Instantly, her sword was bounced back without even giving her a chance to realize what had happened.
'Judging from the angle of my sword, it was most likely something like a rising uppercut slash.'
She took a deep breath and arched her blade high in the air. She stood tall and centered, her feet firmly planted. Her movement was a simple, powerful descent, using the weight of her sword and the solidity of her stance to deliver the blow.
9th Step: Completing the Silent Sermon
She brought her sword in a calm downward arcing cut, delivering with control and finality. It was not a frenzied chop but a solemn, decisive stroke.
Namgoong Gyo didn't stop what she was doing.
Instead, he took the same stance again: 3rd Form: Heaven's Vaulting Arc.
He swung his sword in a devastating, rising uppercut slash from low to high.
And Caelrisu's downward cut became faster and more powerful just before the moment of contact as blood burst from her triceps brachii and deltoids, using the essence explosion technique Fremileo taught her.
Both the swords clashed as dust rose around them and shockwaves sent ground around a 3-meter radius cracking.
When dust settled, a broadsword was lying on the ground in two pieces.
57 seconds have passed since the beginning of the battle.