"Phew~"
Yunli's breathing began to grow ragged, and the relentlessly pursuing Flame Sword finally left a few scratches on her body. Flame Heart's eyes lit up. 'Is she finally starting to run out of steam?'
Under Flame Heart's relentless offensive, Yunli had actually managed to hold on for dozens of minutes. This kind of prolonged, precise manipulation was extremely taxing even for Flame Heart. But looking at it now...
Flame Heart (๑＞＜๑): 'It's my win! Little cutie!'
After a few minutes of guerrilla warfare, the Flame Sword once again streaked past Yunli's eyes in a close call.
'Now!'
Seizing the opportunity, Flame Heart immediately unleashed a long-premeditated fireball. Seeing this, Yunli, who was about to leap away, suddenly halted her steps and growled.
"Idiot!"
'What happened?'
"Aah!!!"
Flame Heart hadn't yet figured out why Yunli had suddenly cursed at her when a terrified scream immediately pulled her back to reality. Her pupils shrank as she hurriedly looked toward the sound. It turned out that the Flame Sword Yunli had just dodged had happened to melt through a nearby metal rack, causing a seven or eight-meter-long billboard to fall.
Worst of all, quite a few pedestrians had unknowingly gathered below. The excitement on Flame Heart's face vanished instantly. She realized she had accidentally gotten carried away again, completely failing to notice the appearance of pedestrians.
'Crap, my techniques are all too powerful to use; even if I slash it apart with the Flame Sword, it won't solve the problem.'
Seeing this, Yunli discarded her previous exhausted appearance, and her speed instantly jumped up a level. She dashed toward the falling billboard.
"Let's go, Old Mettle!"
A greatsword even taller than Yunli appeared out of thin air in her hands. The blade was wide and heavy, bearing unique forged patterns and the Flame-Wheel Eight-Leaf emblem. Yet the seemingly incredibly cumbersome greatsword was as light as a feather in Yunli's hands. Watching the still-approaching fireball, her golden pupils narrowed instantly.
Yunli swung the greatsword, easily batting the fireball away like a baseball; Flame Heart quickly dispelled it after snapping back to her senses. Without a moment's pause, Yunli pulled back the greatsword and continued charging straight ahead. At this critical moment, Yunli suddenly grabbed the edge of the billboard with one hand while gripping the edge of a building tightly with the other, her body suspended steadily in mid-air.
The pedestrians below looked up and found the billboard suspended in mid-air; they were instantly scared out of their wits, turning to run one by one, their steps frantic as they scrambled to flee the area for fear of being crushed.
"Hah!"
With a sharp cry from Yunli, she suddenly exerted force in her hands. The heavy, massive billboard was actually lifted easily by her, then thrown upward with a violent toss, soaring into the sky like an arrow from a bow. Flame Heart, who was dazed in mid-air, immediately understood after seeing the rising billboard. Raising one hand, a massive fireball quickly condensed in her palm, flames churning as if to swallow everything around it.
Then, with a wave of her delicate hand, the billboard was instantly consumed by the high heat. Flame Heart's tense expression relaxed, and she let out a soft sigh. This disastrous turn of events caused by her was resolved through the silent understanding between the two.
However, she had clearly celebrated too early!
"You stupid small fry! This young lady hasn't finished settling the score with you yet!"
Hearing this, Flame Heart saw Yunli summon that uniquely shaped greatsword once again. The latter showed no mercy, swinging the greatsword in several rotations before violently hurling it. Watching the greatsword, which was larger than the little girl herself, flying straight at her, Flame Heart's mouth twitched.
'This Yunli really knows the meaning of "contrast".'
But when she instinctively called back her Flame Sword to block, she watched in shock as her weapon was easily knocked aside. In just an instant, she reacted like lightning, the flames in her hand dancing like spirit snakes as they quickly condensed into a flame shield. The moment the greatsword made contact with the shield, Flame Heart was suddenly startled.
'How on earth did this girl throw such a heavy greatsword up here?!'
Her shield was now like fragile glass, shattering upon contact. She herself was also pushed backward uncontrollably due to the momentum. In the next second, Yunli leaped up like an arrow from a bow, instantly reaching high into the sky; her figure was light, as if dancing with the wind, as she precisely caught the falling greatsword.
"Now we're even. I look forward to having a serious match next time we get the chance."
"Wait! Don't... don't, don't!"
Watching the high-raised greatsword before her, a massive shadow gradually enveloped Flame Heart's pretty face, and she suddenly became frantic. In her desperation, Flame Heart couldn't even speak clearly. Realizing she couldn't dodge, she could only resort to her old tricks again, using a vast amount of flames to completely envelop her graceful body.
"Crushing—Sword—Slash!"
With a world-shaking roar from Yunli, the longsword in her hand smashed down like a meteor streaking across the sky, as if to cleave the world in two. As for Flame Heart?
"Aah!!!"
The tragic scream gradually grew quieter as the distance increased, until it vanished completely. And Flame Heart had completely turned into a shining star on the horizon.
Yunli steadily shouldered Old Mettle with one hand while placing the other over her forehead, squinting her eyes to try and pierce through the hazy sky to see that flickering figure. She didn't forget to complain.
"Although the process was a bit different from what I expected... hehe, this is what happens when you underestimate me!"
Yunli pointed a finger to the sky and winked playfully. In this duel, everything except for that billboard was within Yunli's control. The so-called scratches and exhaustion were just an act for her benefit. Although it was a lot of effort, it couldn't be helped.
At that thought, Yunli put away Old Mettle and held her head in her hands, a smug smile spreading across her face as her eyes sparkled with the light of victory.
"After all, even though neither of us used our full strength, once Old Mettle and I make a move, you're just a small fry!"
Both Flame Heart and Yunli had a tacit understanding not to get serious in the city; otherwise, wouldn't you have been split open by one of my ultimate moves? But the cost would probably have been a couple of buildings. Then the next day, news reports like 'Heavenly Phenomenon Appears in the Sky Over X City' would quickly trend.
"Speaking of which, is her name Flame Heart? Her strength is on a completely different level compared to the previous two small fries..."
At least, Yunli didn't come away empty-handed this time. This person shouldn't be an enemy for now, and she had gained a more accurate measure of her own strength. It would be even better if she could find out Flame Heart's specific rank in this world.
"Whatever. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it." Yunli nodded to herself.
However, she then noticed that the people who had previously dispersed were starting to gather again. "Do you guys really have to stick around for the drama?"
Some people were even starting to take out their phones to post on Moments! This made Yunli feel both helpless and troubled. She knew in her heart that she definitely couldn't stay there any longer. Next, in a few steps, Yunli completely vanished from people's sight.
As for the mess left behind... whatever, just leave it to the people from the Ability Bureau; someone will always come to clean up anyway. At that thought, Yunli nodded in approval, her pace becoming much lighter.
A certain Director of the Supernatural Ability Bureau: How can you be so selfish!