Snow explodes beneath Zixi's boots as he slides backwards across the frozen ground.
The Red Boar warrior before him roars and brings down a heavy, curved sword with brutal force.
Zixi raises his blade just in time.
Steel collides with steel.
The impact sends a shockwave through his arms and down into the snow.
Ice cracks beneath his heels.
The Red Boar warrior is broad-shouldered, with tusk-like tattoos carved across his cheeks, breath steaming in the cold air.
His blood qi surges crimson around his body like a raging furnace.
Zixi exhales slowly.
Violet Virtual Blood Qi rises from his meridians, wrapping his blade in a faint purple glow.
He pushes off the ground and surges forward.
Their swords clash again.
And again.
And again.
Blow after blow.
Hundreds in rapid succession.
The battlefield around them trembles with the rhythm of steel.
Red qi and violet qi collide violently, scattering snow into spirals.
The Boar warrior fights like a charging beast.
Each strike carries raw strength.
Zixi fights with precision.
Angles.
Timing.
His violet qi does not merely collide; it slides, bends, seeps into the opponent's force.
Neither yields ground.
For a moment, they seem perfectly matched.
Then,
Zixi's eyes sharpen.
He erupts.
His aura condenses inward before exploding outward.
His sword thrusts forward in a single decisive motion.
The Boar warrior raises his blade to block,
But the violet qi flows around the defence like mist slipping through stone.
The sword pierces straight through the man's chest.
Through the muscle.
Through bone.
Into the heart.
The Red Boar warrior freezes.
His hand grips Zixi's blade weakly.
Blood bubbles at his lips.
"How…?" he rasps.
Zixi twists the sword.
Withdraws it cleanly.
The warrior collapses into the snow, crimson spreading beneath him.
Zixi does not pause.
He pivots immediately, scanning the battlefield.
He selects another Red Boar warrior of similar cultivation.
The man charges with a roar, axe raised high.
Zixi meets him without hesitation.
Their clash is shorter.
More efficient.
The second Boar warrior swings wildly.
Zixi ducks beneath the arc, violet qi sharpening his blade.
A horizontal slash across the abdomen.
A reverse thrust through the throat.
The second body falls.
Zixi moves again.
A third Boar warrior.
Then a fourth.
Each battle grows shorter.
His movements become smoother.
His understanding of their techniques deepens with every exchange.
His violet Virtual Blood Qi adapts.
He strikes at the moment of imbalance.
At the breath between offence and defence.
Red Boar warriors begin to falter in his presence.
Snow is trampled into red slush.
Steam rises from fallen bodies.
But his efficiency does not go unnoticed.
From deeper within the Boar formation,
An aura surges.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
An Outer Qi warrior of the Red Boar Tribe steps forward.
His body is massive.
Tusks carved into his helmet.
His qi roars like a charging beast.
He locks onto Zixi instantly.
With a thunderous stomp, he charges.
The ground shakes beneath his feet.
His blade descends like a falling executioner's axe.
Zixi barely raises his sword in time.
The impact nearly shatters his stance.
His knees buckle.
Snow erupts around him.
He is driven back several meters.
The Outer Qi warrior does not relent.
A second strike.
A third.
Each one is heavier than the last.
Zixi's arms tremble.
His violet qi strains to hold the defence.
He counters with a quick thrust,
But the Outer Qi warrior swats it aside effortlessly.
The difference in realm is undeniable.
Another heavy blow crashes down.
Zixi pivots at the last possible instant.
The blade grazes his shoulder instead of cleaving his skull.
Pain flares.
Blood stains the snow.
He retaliates with a desperate slash aimed at the opponent's exposed side,
But the Boar warrior's red qi armour absorbs most of the force.
The clash becomes a brutal exchange.
No longer measured.
Now survival.
Each breath could be his last.
The Boar warrior roars and swings horizontally.
Zixi ducks.
The blade slices a lock of hair from his head.
He rolls through the snow and springs up, barely within a hair's breadth of death.
Not far away,
An Outer Qi warrior from one of the six tribes that surrendered to Merin sees the danger.
He turns instantly.
Prepared to assist.
He gathers his qi to charge toward Zixi's position.
But at that moment,
A transmission reaches his mind.
Merin's voice.
Calm.
Do not interfere.
The warrior stiffens mid-step.
His brows knit in confusion.
Zixi is clearly at a disadvantage.
One more heavy strike could end him.
Yet,
The order is unmistakable.
The warrior exhales and alters his path.
He charges toward another battlefield instead.
Leaving Zixi alone.
Back in the snow,
The Red Boar Outer Qi warrior lifts his blade for another crushing strike.
Zixi steadies his breathing.
Violet qi coils tighter around his sword.
His life hangs in the balance on the next exchange.
Zixi inhales sharply and holds his breath.
For a fleeting heartbeat, he waits.
Waits for reinforcement.
Waits for intervention.
But none comes.
The Red Boar Outer Qi warrior roars and swings again.
Zixi's body reacts before his thoughts form.
He raises his sword and blocks.
The impact lifts him completely off the snow.
His boots leave the ground as the heavy blade presses downward like a mountain.
Then,
The Red Boar warrior's sword ignites.
Bright crimson light floods the blade.
It detonates with violent force.
The explosion hurls Zixi into the air.
Snow and shattered ice scatter in every direction.
Midair, Zixi twists his body to maintain balance.
He lands heavily on one knee.
Before he can steady himself,
A massive vertical crescent of fire qi tears through the battlefield toward him.
It melts snow in its path.
Ice evaporates into steam.
Zixi raises his sword instinctively.
Violet qi coils around the blade,
Then, suddenly, shifts.
The violet glow tinges red.
Mirroring the Red Boar warrior's energy signature.
At the last instant, Zixi slashes forward.
A fire qi crescent bursts from his blade.
Two arcs collide midair.
The explosion roars outward violently.
But Zixi is ready this time.
He lifts off the ground deliberately, riding the shockwave.
When the smoke clears,
He lands unharmed.
The Red Boar warrior narrows his eyes.
Zixi has mimicked the technique.
The Virtual Qi cultivation technique has no direct offensive power.
No special enhancement of speed or defence.
But it possesses one property,
Calculation.
Every collision records information.
Every clash reveals structure.
Qi flow.
Compression pattern.
Release timing.
Zixi now understands the heavy sword technique of the Red Boar Tribe.
He predicts.
He adjusts.
He survives.
He can fight someone one full realm above him.
Partly because of his technique.
Partly because the Red Boar warrior still treats him as prey,
Not as a threat.
The exchange continues.
Heavy blade versus sharpened calculation.
Red flames versus adapting violet qi.
The battlefield grows scarred and cratered.
Zixi's stamina drains.
His shoulder burns.
Blood stains his armour.
Another crushing blow lands.
This time, he fails to fully deflect it.
He crashes into a half-buried rock formation.
The impact cracks the stone.
He slides down and collapses against it.
Breathing ragged.
The Red Boar warrior approaches slowly.
Confident.
Predatory.
Zixi tries to stand.
His legs tremble.
He realises now,
No one is coming.
This is his battle.
His survival.
His choice.
He can feel death approaching step by step.
His hand moves to the chain around his neck.
He pulls it free from beneath his armour.
A small locket hangs from it.
He opens it.
Inside rests a Yin-Yang Pill.
A pill that assists in a breakthrough into the Outer Qi Realm.
He has delayed this moment for a long time.
Breaking through to Outer Qi involves bodily transformation.
Failure means death.
He feared it.
But now,
He has no choice.
The Red Boar warrior raises his sword.
Zixi swallows the pill.
The transformation begins instantly.
Qi within his meridians churns violently.
His internal sea of qi fractures and reorganises.
Yin and Yang energies collide, forming a rotating dome around him.
The Red Boar warrior sees it at once.
His expression hardens.
He gathers spiritual energy onto his blade.
The sword glows crimson.
He prepares his magic power.
Red Rush.
High-temperature energy condenses around him.
He lowers his stance.
And charges.
The blade pointed forward like a spear of annihilation.
Just as he reaches striking distance,
An arrow of star energy tears through the sky.
It collides with Red Rush mid-charge.
The two forces grind against each other for a breath,
Neither yielding.
Then,
Explosion.
The Red Boar warrior is violently thrown backwards.
He crashes into the snow and rolls.
When he rises to one knee,
He sees Zixi standing.
Aura unstable.
Breathing heavy.
But undeniably,
Outer Qi Realm.
The Yin-Yang transformation is complete.
His qi stabilises into a higher tier.
The violet Virtual Qi burns brighter.
Zixi does not hesitate.
He charges.
Virtual qi gathers along his sword.
Now reinforced by the Outer Qi foundation.
They clash again.
Steel ringing across the snowfield.
This time,
The Red Boar warrior cannot dominate as before.
The battle continues.
Sunlight slowly tilts westward.
Snow melts in patches beneath their raging qi.
Both sustain injuries.
Neither lands a decisive strike.
Then,
A horn sounds.
Long and commanding.
The signal to withdraw.
Both sides disengage.
Zixi steps back.
Breathing hard.
The Red Boar warrior wipes blood from his lip.
"Tomorrow," he says coldly, "is your death."
Zixi does not reply.
He turns without a word.
Walking across the frozen battlefield.
Toward the newly built city in the centre of the lake.
Floating above the water like a fortress.
He crosses the bridges and enters the gates.
Later,
He sits within a cultivation chamber.
Stabilising his breakthrough.
Regulating turbulent qi.
Hours pass.
When he steps outside,
One of his subordinates waits there.
The guard bows and presents a space bag.
"A gift from the Marquis."
Zixi accepts it silently.
The guard continues.
"Commander, you must leave now with a team of guards. We are to welcome the princess. She is approaching the city."
Zixi closes the space bag.
His expression steadies.
There is no time to rest.
The next duty awaits.