(Lian Li POV)
The two of us took our positions a distance away from each other in Master's courtyard.
Keqing's jian was held by her side pointing downwards, the golden coloured blade gleaming in the morning light.
I poured my Quarks into the Protection and Silencing inscriptions Master had laid out in the courtyard for us, activating them without a hitch. I made sure to put in more than necessary since it'll be used by my sisters later as well, saving them the need to reactivate them again.
Now we can spar to our heart's content without any worry.
Keqing shifted her sword slightly to the side, pointing the sharp part of it towards me.
"I am ready, Mistress Lian Li. Please forgive my impudence for pointing this blade at you."
How polite of her.
I summoned Lightning to gather around me, "I am ready as well. Shall we?"
She nodded, lowering her chin slightly downwards to hide her neck, her sword held steady at an angle.
We stared at each other in silence for a few moments, both of us waiting for the other to make the first move.
Keqing ended up moving first, her sword slashing upwards in an arc to conjure a blade of light, shooting it towards me.
I slammed my palms together, circulating my Divine Lightning Quarks to form a wall in front of me, deflecting the attack to the side.
Pushing my hands forward, the wall of lightning propelled itself towards Keqing.
She spun in a circle, her sword following her movements and creating a whirlwind of light blades around her.
My wall was cut to shreds the moment it touched the blades, the lightning dissipating into the air harmlessly.
Bringing my right palm up to my chest, I concentrated my Quark circulation to manipulate the clouds above me.
Till this day, none of us are able to match Master's speed in casting Techniques, something that Master and Master alone is able to do instantaneously and flawlessly. It's further proof of His divinity.
As expected of Master, of course.
Keqing mimicked my actions by bringing her sword up and holding it parallel to her chest, both of us channeling our Techniques at roughly the same time.
Dark clouds spewing out lightning bolts gathered over my head while the clouds parted over hers, a golden ray of light shining down at her.
Golden talismans with red letterings appeared all around me, all of them glowing in a golden hue with gold lightning sparking off them.
On the other side, Keqing materialised an array of phantom swords, each of them glowing in blinding white light.
I stretched out my palm to the front, arranging the talismans in a circle with lightning connecting them to one another.
Keqing combined the phantom swords together to form a giant sword that stretched up to the sky, its length at least five times her height.
With my talismans charged, I fired off a giant beam of lightning directed at her.
Keqing took a step back and swung her sword down, the giant sword of hers following her motion.
Divine Lightning met Heavenly Sword in the middle, both of them clashing against each other and holding each other back in a standstill.
The ground was repeatedly torn apart and restored during the clash, neither of us gaining ground over the other.
It was obvious that she was no pushover seeing that she used to be an Elite Practitioner back in her Sect, her prowess had shown itself repeatedly during our many spars.
This was why I offered to take her under me just in case she turns out to be the assassin. I believe I would be the best match against her in a one on one fight amongst my sisters.
Using a daily spar as an excuse, I would be able to learn her capabilities and get used to fighting her should the need arises.
Oops, this isn't the time to get distracted, her sword is starting to cleave through my Lightning.
I focused more energy into my Technique, pushing the giant sword back to its original position.
Keqing frowned in concentration, putting in just enough effort to prevent her sword from being pushed back any further.
Tch, she's still holding back I see. Not that I can say much since I'm also not going all out. IT would be bad if she knew my full capabilities now.
In that case…
I shifted the clouds overhead and charged them with Divine Lightning, summoning a bolt to strike down on top of her.
Seemingly seeing through my plan, there was already an invisible barrier in place that redirected my lightning to the ground a short distance away from her, leaving her unscathed.
Just when I thought to try again, our clash in the middle reached a critical mass and exploded, throwing both of us towards each end of the courtyard.
Without missing a beat, I clapped my hands together and called forth the last talisman I had been saving behind me, materialising a ball of lightning that shot out from it.
The ball exploded in a shower of sparks, forcing Keqing to leap back and preventing her from advancing any further, giving me just enough time to recover.
Focusing my Quarks, I called down an array of Lightning rods from the clouds that surrounded me, all of them linking up together to blast a lightning bolt at her.
She barely had enough time to raise her sword before the lightning struck her, blasting her back towards the other side of the courtyard again.
She stuck her sword in the ground to slow her momentum, looking up just in time to see another bolt of lightning crashing straight into her chest.
There was the sound of glass shattering as what appears to be an invisible armour around her broke from the impact, the armour saving her from the lightning strike.
She drew her sword and slashed it in my direction, her motion causing a small ball of light to form right in front of me.
I leapt to my right just as the ball expanded, turning into a miniature sun that burned everything it touched.
She slashed her sword again, creating another ball to my right.
I leapt up into the sky, barely avoiding her second sun that overlapped with the first one, burning everything to cinders.
As though expecting my move, Keqing slashed her sword one final time, the ball appearing just above my head.
Using my array, I fired off another lightning that propelled myself forward and out of the miniature sun's range, saving myself from its fiery embrace in the nick of time.
I ended up directly above Keqing and before she could slash her sword at me, I dropped myself on top of her, striking her down with a lightning bolt from my array.
The sound of a bell ringing echoed through the air, the signal that Master's protection Technique had activated and prevented what could have been a fatal injury within the inscription's area.
Keqing got back up on her feet, absolutely unscathed. She dusted herself off before bowing, "As usual, Mistress Lian Li, your prowess are impressive. I am still no match for you even at my best."
I know that she has been holding back and was either trying to hide her strength or just being polite. Honestly, I couldn't tell which but after several more sparring sessions, the truth should be revealed.
If it turns out she really was the assassin, I would not hesitate to strike her down then.
But if she is innocent, then I believe her progress as a Practitioner should earn me high marks with MAster and I'll get a lovely reward from Him~
Now that our morning spar is over… The other girls should be waking up soon too.
I wonder what they have planned for today?
