112 Fighting Bai Qing (1/2)

Bai Yun woke up from his meditation when the referee finally called for him. Bai Yun had rested during this time. The injuries he had suffered under Bai Mo had mostly healed by now.

Bai Yun slowly walked up the steps of the arena. He could hear the cheers of the crowd. He could feel the cool air of the night. By now the sun had set and the moon had started to rise.

Bai Yun stood opposite Bai Yun and took a deep breath. He stared at Bai Qing. This fight was bound to be the hardest fight he has had in a long time.

Sparks flew as Bai Yun and Bai Qing stared at each other. If the two of them were at the same cultivation realm, or if Bai Yun could see, this fight would have been short. But under the circumstances, the result was uncertain.

”Was it you in the youngster's tournament.” Bai Qing suddenly asked.

For a moment Bai Yun was confused. Then he understood. Bai Qing must have recognized his mystic steps.

”Yes.” Bai Yun replied.

”I was quite disappointed that I didn't get to fight you during the youngster's tournament.” Bai Qing said. ”At least that regret can be made up for now.”

”You might not be happy with the outcome.” Bai Yun said with a chuckle.

”If we were at the same cultivation state, I would not be confident of a victory.” Bai Qing continued. ”But ever since I saw your strength at Bai Tian's party I have been preparing for a fight with you. I have trained just to face you. And I also prepared to face the mysterious Long Tian, by studying his movement technique and finding a counter to it. Now I am glad I did.”

The next movent Bai Qing's aura started to fluctuate. Bai Qing's breathing changed and his posture also became weird.

”So this is your response.” Bai Yun said. ”It is true that disrupting your breathing can indeed make it more difficult to predict your moves. But my mystic steps focuses on a person's rhythm. Unless you can change your heartbeat and your instinctive responses, you will not be able to escape its clutches.”

Bai Qing's face changed. But he didn't change his weird posture. ”Perhaps.” Bai Qing said. ”But without your eyes, I want to know how good your mystic steps will be.”

Seeing that the two of them had gotten ready, the referee waited for a moment longer. After seeing that neither of them spoke again, he raised his hand and shouted ”Begin.”

The moment the fight started, the two of them ran at each other. Bai Yun send out his four soul tendrils and they wrapped around Bai Qing's body.

When the two of them neared each other. Bai Qing swung his sword at Bai Yun. Bai Yun thrust his sword forward and stopped it before it could gain momentum. One after the other, the two of them exchanged strikes. But Bai Yun was able to easily defuse Bai Qing's strikes. He had studied Bai Qing's fighting style during the youngster's tournament. Along with his experience now, Bai Yun was able to understand Bai Qing's rhythm and was able to fight back easily.

Of course, another factor was that Ba Qing was not as strong as Bai Mo, who he had fought earlier. Bai Mo was a strength based cultivator and Bai Yun did not dare to cross weapons with him. But Bai Qing was not as strong and Bai Yun was able to easily diffuse Bai Qing's attacks.

Of course, even though Bai Qing was weaker than Bai Mo, he was stronger in other aspects, especially speed. But since Bai Yun was predicting Bai Qing's moves, it did not matter much to him.

Bai Qing then struck out with his sword. Bai Yun slightly swayed and struck back at the fastest speed. Bai Qing was prepared for it and quickly defended. One after another, the two of them quickly exchanged blows.

In the middle of the fight, Bai Yun quietly activated mystic steps. But due to his blindness and the fact that Bai Qing had changed his breathing, Bai Yun was unable to do it perfectly. Even though he was able to force Bai Qing to make a few mistakes, Bai Yun's movements were not as smooth nor as elegant as when he fought Zhang Zi.

This situation continued for a while. Bai Yun frowned when he felt this. His cultivation wasn't as high as Bai Qing's and he would tire out first if this continued. He also needed to conserve some strength for the finals.

Bai Yun suddenly jumped back and drew away from Bai Qing. Bai Qing followed after Bai Yun closely. Bai Yun then stopped and swept his sword at Bai Qing's legs, forced him to jump.

Bai Qing leapt up and charged at Bai Yun. Suddenly Bai Yun smiled. He activated one of his soul tendrils that was wrapped around Bai Qing's right arm. Just as Bai Qing was about to bring down his arm, Bai Yun's soul tendril caught hold of Bai Qing's wrist and pulled back hard.

A shocked look appeared on Bai Qing's eyes as he suddenly felt the strange power restrict his movements. But the power of a single soul tendril was too small. It was only able to delay Bai Qing's arm for a fraction of a second.

But that delay was enough for Bai Yun. He rapidly thrust his sword at Bai Qing's throat. At the same time, Bai Qing's sword came down on Bai Yun's shoulder. But due to the short delay caused by the soul tendril, Bai Qing was a beat too late. If this continued, Bai Yun's sword would penetrate Bai Qing's throat before his sword could cut Bai Yun's shoulder or head.

But the referee would not let anything happen to these two. So he would intervene and stop the weapons. But since Bai Yun was faster, the final decision would probably leave Bai Yun as the winner.