The lizard remained motionless above Lían.
"...We aren't finished."
Lían's expression immediately changed.
"...We're not?"
Before he could say anything else—
the endless white began to change.
The ground beneath his feet disappeared.
The white surroundings stretched outward.
Trees rose from the ground.
One after another.
Branches spread overhead.
Leaves filled the sky.
Within moments—
the endless white had transformed into a vast forest.
Lían's fingers tightened around his sword.
His gaze swept across the surroundings.
His body instinctively became tense.
*...What's next?*
A calm voice echoed through the forest.
"Everything remains the same."
"Kill or be killed."
Lían's eyes narrowed.
"Every hour..."
"An opponent will appear."
Lían's expression hardened.
"Each opponent will be at the Second Stage of Spirit Refining."
"Comparable to you in cultivation."
Lían's eyes narrowed.
The voice continued.
"You will have one hour to kill your opponent."
"If you fail..."
"...another opponent will appear."
Lían's expression slowly changed.
*Another opponent every hour...*
*So if I don't kill the first one quickly enough...*
*If I take too long, I'll eventually have to fight two...*
His thoughts immediately began calculating.
*Then I shouldn't simply focus on defeating them.*
*I need to finish each battle as quickly as possible.*
*And leave myself enough time to recover before the next one.*
He tightened his grip around the sword.
*If I can kill them quickly...*
*I can use the remaining time to recover and prepare.*
He had barely finished the thought—
when someone appeared several meters away.
A young woman.
She held a sword in her hand.
Her expression was calm.
Lían stared.
*...A woman?*
He studied her carefully.
She looked completely different from the copy he had just fought.
She wasn't an exact replica of him.
She looked like a real person.
A thought immediately surfaced.
*Is she another person created inside this dream space?*
The young woman glanced at him.
Her brows slightly furrowed.
Then—
she sighed.
"So..."
"You're supposed to be my opponent?"
Lían remained silent.
She looked him up and down.
Then—
her brows furrowed again.
"...A child?"
She sighed.
"Seriously?"
Lían's expression froze.
*Child?*
He stared at her.
She slowly raised her sword.
"...You're younger than I expected."
A faint trace of reluctance appeared in her eyes.
"I don't particularly enjoy killing someone this young."
Lían remained confused.
*What is this?*
*If she's like the copy...*
*Then she's only part of the dream.*
*But...*
She looks completely real.
His thoughts became increasingly uncertain.
*No.*
*This is a dream.*
*She can't actually be real.*
The woman raised her sword toward him.
"Enough."
"If you don't want to die..."
"...raise your sword."
Lían's jaw tightened.
His grip around the weapon strengthened.
He slowly raised his sword.
Across the forest—
the lizard remained silently hovering above.
His golden eyes watched Lían.
His thoughts remained calm.
*The previous battle served its purpose.*
*He needed to learn how to fight.*
*He needed to stop allowing fear to control his actions.*
It had forced him to overcome his fear of death.
*And he needed to understand how to use his abilities during combat.*
*But that alone isn't enough.*
His gaze shifted toward the woman.
*The previous opponent was an exact copy of him.*
*Every movement.*
*Every technique.*
*Every weakness.*
*Everything it possessed was something he could potentially possess as well.*
*That made it training.*
*He could fight without hesitation because there was no true opponent.*
The lizard's eyes remained emotionless.
*This is different.*
*These opponents will not be copies of him.*
*They will possess different techniques.*
*Different experiences.*
*Different ways of fighting.*
*And they will not simply wait for him to learn.*
*They will try to kill him.*
A brief silence.
*There is no lesson hidden behind their attacks.*
*No demonstration.*
*No carefully constructed sequence.*
*Only survival.*
His gaze returned to Lían.
*That is what I want him to learn now.*
*To take everything he has learned and apply it against an opponent who isn't designed to teach him.*
The woman shifted her stance.
Lían did the same.
The lizard remained above them.
*I deliberately began with the copy.*
*If I had started with this, he would have spent the entire battle thinking only about avoiding death.*
*Now he has already experienced that fear.*
*He has already learned that dying here does not mean the end.*
*He has learned to fight through it.*
The lizard's gaze became slightly colder.
*Now he needs to change.*
*Not because he must survive.*
*But because he must become capable of killing.*
A moment passed.
*These opponents are no different from ordinary humans.*
*They will think.*
*They will hesitate.*
*They will make decisions.*
*They will attempt to deceive him.*
*And unlike the previous battle...*
*there is no training purpose behind their actions.*
*If Lían makes a mistake...*
*they will exploit it.*
The woman suddenly stepped forward.
Her sword lowered slightly.
Lían's eyes focused.
The lizard watched without moving.
*Kill or be killed.*
*Until I'm satisfied with the results...*
*it will not stop.*
The woman's foot touched the ground.
Then—
she vanished.
Lían's pupils contracted.
His sword immediately rose.
**CLANG!**
A blade struck his own.
The first battle had begun.
---
The battle continued.
The woman moved like the wind.
Fast.
Far faster than Lían had expected.
**CLANG!**
Their swords collided.
Lían's wrist was forced aside.
Before he could recover—
she was already there.
Another strike.
Lían twisted his body.
The blade passed dangerously close to his chest.
*Too fast.*
He barely managed to avoid another slash.
*She's way too fast.*
The woman didn't give him even a moment to breathe.
Her sword continuously attacked.
One strike.
Then another.
Then another.
Each movement flowed naturally into the next.
Lían continued retreating.
His feet moved across the forest floor.
Branches snapped beneath him.
Leaves scattered through the air.
*If this continues...*
*I'll be killed.*
He gritted his teeth.
The woman swung again.
Lían raised his sword.
**CLANG!**
He deliberately redirected the force of the collision.
Then—
he swung with everything he had.
The woman raised her free hand.
A flash of green appeared.
**BOOM!**
A layer of jade-colored scales suddenly formed across her arm.
Lían's sword struck them.
His eyes widened.
*What?!*
The scales didn't even crack.
The force of his attack was completely blocked.
The woman's sword immediately followed.
Lían's pupils contracted.
He twisted his body desperately.
**SHHK!**
The blade missed his neck by a fraction.
But—
it still caught his shoulder.
Blood sprayed into the air.
Lían staggered.
Pain surged through him.
He didn't hesitate.
He turned and ran.
His feet pushed against the ground.
Branches tore across his clothing as he rushed deeper into the forest.
*I can't fight her like this.*
*She's too fast.*
*And she has some kind of defensive ability.*
*If I keep exchanging attacks with her...*
*I'll die.*
His breathing became heavier.
His mind rapidly searched for another option.
*The environment.*
His eyes narrowed.
*This place isn't in my favor.*
*There isn't any obvious water source.*
Then—
he stopped.
His senses spread outward.
*Water.*
He needed water.
*Where is it?*
His perception expanded.
Nothing.
He pushed farther.
*Water...*
His senses swept through the forest.
Then—
his expression changed.
*...There.*
Tiny traces.
Moisture clinging to the grass.
Dew gathered upon the leaves.
Water hidden within the soil.
Water flowing through the plants.
His eyes sharpened.
*There's water everywhere.*
The realization came suddenly.
*I don't need a river.*
*I don't need a lake.*
*I only need water.*
A violent fluctuation suddenly entered his perception.
Lían's eyes widened.
*She's here—*
**BOOM!**
The ground exploded.
Lían was thrown sideways.
The impact tore through the surrounding trees.
Dust and leaves filled the air.
He rolled across the ground before forcing himself upright.
Blood trickled from his shoulder.
He ignored it.
His sword lowered.
The blade lightly brushed across the grass.
His spiritual energy surged.
The moisture within the grass immediately responded.
Water gathered along the blade.
Then—
Lían swung.
**SHHK!**
Three extremely thin lines of water shot forward.
They sliced through the forest.
**CRACK!**
Several trees were cleanly severed.
Branches collapsed.
Leaves scattered across the battlefield.
Lían didn't wait to see whether the attack had landed.
He immediately retreated.
His water control spread throughout the surrounding vegetation.
Water gathered from the leaves.
Drops rose into the air.
One after another—
they converged around his body.
Lían guided them.
The water spread across his skin.
A thin layer formed over his body.
His breathing slowly steadied.
*If I can't match her speed...*
*Then I'll make the entire battlefield my weapon.*
He tightened his grip around the sword.
His eyes remained fixed upon the trees ahead.
*Let's see how long you keep chasing me.*
---
The battle continued.
**CLANG!**
Lían's sword collided with hers.
He twisted his wrist.
The woman immediately changed the angle of her blade.
Lían stepped aside.
Her sword swept past his body.
He countered.
**SHHK!**
His blade struck toward her waist.
Green jade scales instantly appeared.
**CLANG!**
The attack was completely blocked.
Neither gave ground.
They separated.
Then—
both charged again.
The woman slashed.
Lían raised his arm.
The thin layer of water covering his body immediately thickened.
**SHHK!**
Her sword struck the water cloak.
The attack was slowed.
Lían took advantage of the opening.
His sword swept toward her shoulder.
**CLANG!**
Jade scales appeared once again.
His attack was stopped.
Lían's eyes narrowed.
*Her defense can block my attacks.*
*And my water cloak can weaken hers.*
*Then—*
The woman's sword suddenly began glowing.
White light spread across the blade.
Lían's expression changed.
*...What?*
He instinctively retreated.
Too late.
The sword descended.
**SHHK!**
The blade tore through the water surrounding his body.
The cloak was cut apart.
Blood immediately sprayed from his shoulder.
Lían stumbled backward.
His hand pressed against the wound.
The injury wasn't deep.
Only a shallow cut.
But his eyes remained fixed upon the glowing sword.
*It cut through my water cloak...*
His expression became serious.
*The water didn't stop it.*
The woman didn't give him time to think.
She rushed forward.
Lían's pupils contracted.
*She's coming.*
He swung his sword.
A thin line of water shot forward.
The woman tilted her body.
The attack passed beside her.
Lían immediately turned.
He stepped backward.
Then—
his foot landed on nothing.
Yet—
he didn't fall.
A thin platform of water had formed beneath his foot.
His eyes briefly flickered.
*The same principle.*
He had learned it before.
During his battle with the copy.
He immediately created another platform.
Then another.
His body rose rapidly into the air.
One step.
Two.
Three.
Each step landed upon a thin layer of water.
He was walking through the air.
Not truly walking on air.
Water platforms appeared beneath his feet at the exact moment he needed them.
The woman stopped.
Her eyes followed him upward.
Then—
a faint smile appeared.
"...So that's how you want to fight?"
She bent her knees.
Then—
leaped.
Lían's eyes widened.
She didn't create any visible platform.
Yet her body continued rising.
The surrounding wind gathered beneath her.
Her figure moved through the air as naturally as a bird.
Then—
she suddenly accelerated.
Like riding an invisible current of wind.
Lían stared.
*She can move through the air too...*
The woman's sword swept toward him.
Lían immediately stepped onto another water platform.
**SHHK!**
The blade passed through the space where his neck had been.
Lían spun around.
His sword followed.
A thin crescent of water shot toward her.
She twisted through the air.
The attack passed beneath her.
She continued moving.
Fast.
Too fast.
Lían's eyes narrowed.
*She can use the wind to change direction in midair.*
*And her sword can cut through my water cloak.*
*If I keep fighting her directly...*
His grip tightened.
*I'll lose.*
He glanced downward.
The forest stretched beneath them.
Leaves.
Grass.
Tree branches.
Countless traces of water.
A faint smile appeared in his eyes.
*But she still hasn't realized...*
*This entire forest is filled with water.*
He raised his sword.
The moisture surrounding the leaves began trembling.
The woman noticed the change.
Her expression shifted slightly.
Lían's spiritual energy spread outward.
Not toward her.
Toward the surrounding forest.
*Let's see...*
*How much water I can control at once.*