The two fighting atop a roof over thirty metres away could distinctively hear Red Prince’s sword qi humming.
Yi Ya glanced sideways out of his peripherals, then silently “teleported” out of Song Chi and Red Prince’s attack radiuses.
Song Chi couldn’t put a name to the swordsman. Nevertheless, he was genuinely impressed with Red Prince’s skills. Using his hand as a blade, he pointed it at the heavens and concentrated energy to it, making his body flash as if lightning was passing through. Upon bringing his hand back down – Song Clan’s Sundering the Nine Heavens – golden lightning coiled around his hand. He only performed one slash, yet multiple afterimages of blades formed in the air.
Song Chi had been practicing the discipline from childhood, fused it into his broadsword techniques and even invented thirty-six extra broadsword techniques. At his level, his hand was as solid as an actual blade.
Red Prince thrust straight through the weak spot in Song Chi’s technique as though he knew that was the weak point, rendering the golden lightning qi and sharp blade useless. Calmly, Song Chi rolled off the roof.
His swordplay includes a component of identifying the flaws and strengths of his opponent’s technique, allowing him to swiftly dismantle techniques. If we were to fight seriously, it’d take us more than a thousand exchanges to decide on a victor, and it’s unlikely I’ll get out unscathed. This man is easily one of the top two swordsman in the capital.
As a man who didn’t fight fights he wasn’t absolutely confident he could win in, Song Chi was hesitant to continue fighting. For him, the chances of losing needed to be accounted for before worrying about winning.
Yi Ya went to plunge his fingers into the side of Song Chi’s neck, prompting Song Chi to strafe sideways. Song Chi always had his eyes on Yi Ya, and Yi Ya certainly didn’t have an invisibility skill, but Yi Ya didn’t telegraph his attacks and moved faster than one would expect.
In a fight of this calibre, no matter how fierce their offence was or how disordered their defence was, combatants of their level always made sure to hold back a little in order to have rest between spurts. Yi Ya, however, didn’t give his opponent time to catch their breath. The results of such an endeavour didn’t come fast. Nonetheless, it would gradually take away the opponent’s chances of mounting a counter. To put it into perspective, it was the same as ocean waves constantly crashing onto you, making it impossible for you to swim forward. At the end of the day, no matter how big Song Chi’s engine was and how potent his internal energy was, at some point, he would need to get air in. Yet, despite his predicament, Song Chi didn’t let himself get panic stricken.
Yi Ya suddenly cut his assault off to thrust his fingers toward his left, stopping the advance of a sword tip.
Though Red Prince and Yi Ya recognised each other, they weren’t exactly friends. They, as a matter of fact, fought without reserve plenty of times from the time they were kids. Red Prince was surprised to see that Yi Ya’s opponent was a man around his age.
Worried that he might disappoint Chu Yinghua or make her uncomfortable, Red Prince carried an ordinary sword instead of his signature Chilin sword. That being said, he was still a force to be reckoned with even without his signature sword.
Red Prince had only just pushed Yi Ya back, when Song Chi came over swinging his hand as a blade.
As the one-versus-two, or maybe free-for-all, fight played out, the three fighters’ unique styles became distinctly visible.
If one were to assess Red Prince’s style at a surface level, they’d only see a series of techniques. Spend a while watching and analysing, however, it should’ve became clear that he fought systematically, utilising one technique to conceal another. He never threw haphazardly, praying something would stick. As the practitioner of the imperial family’s martial arts, a student of Lai Jingzhen’s internal energy discipline and Black Robe Brotherhood’s mental cultivation, he had the makings of a master despite his young age.
In comparison to Red Prince, Song Chi’s technical sophistication paled. Nonetheless, he was much more strategic. Making use of everyone’s positioning and the terrain, he’d move in a way that’d reduce the number of times he had to engage whilst forcing the other two engage each other. Frankly, he fought the smartest fight.
Yi Ya had yet to show any skills that’d make one gasp. Having said that, all the “ordinary” techniques he performed yielded results much better than expectations. Perhaps his style in the fight could best be described as a water current adapting to all obstacles in order to reach its goal.
Song Chi could tell Red Prince was a notch behind him. In a fair scrap, his odds of winning were 70%. The thing was, they weren’t in a martial arts competition, so there was a means of compensating for the skill gap. The real threat to him was Yi Ya.
Yi Ya didn’t exhibit a definitive style; he’d go from almost immobile to hyper mobile at the snap of a finger. No matter which pace he adopted, though, he never compromised defence for offence or vice versa. They had been fighting for a while, but he had yet to even breathe differently to a casual spar.
As the three traded a blow all at once, their energy forced them to separate onto three different roofs.
With his sword ready down by his side, Red Prince questioned, “Yi Ya, are you still going to hold back?”
Yi Ya didn’t reply.
Song Chi let out a long exhale. “You two truly are mighty warriors of this generation. What greater honour is there than to have a match with you?”
Red Prince: “If you have cold feet, you can quit.”
“Hahaha, that will not be necessary.” Making sharp blades out of his hands, Song Chi concentrated energy into his hands until every strand of his hair stood erect.
Red Prince, not one to underestimate his opponent after his opponent displayed his full strength, pointed the tip of his sword toward the ground and clad it in qi – the first stance of “Myriad Sword Prison”.
Yi Ya didn’t budge a finger.
They were ready to settle the score. Howbeit, a group with their own plans decided to emerge out of nowhere and picked the under-attack Liu Shan Men as their target.
