Bai Fanxian narrowed her eyes sensing the pressure rushing in. She positioned herself in front of Hui'er and Huang Zihan. Grandmaster-level pressure couldn't pass through her.
Han Junpo's body bent down. Both hands touched the grass ground. Bai Fanxian's eyes narrowed slightly because she sensed the next wave of attacks coming.
Whoosh!
Han Junpo moved with tiger-like body posture. It looked similar to Han Longyi's movement earlier. But it was both faster, fiercer, and incomparably more powerful.
In one blink Han Junpo appeared before Bai Fanxian. Both hands packed densely with qi pounced in an X pattern. With her people behind, Bai Fanxian had to receive helplessly.
But was it truly helpless?
No one knew that these past few days, Bai Fanxian had begun accumulating stress unknowingly. Hui'er's abnormality that she still couldn't solve disturbed her mind until she herself began feeling mentally tired.
Like before when she asked Uncle Huang to spar.
Sometimes she too wanted to stretch and exercise.
And Han Junpo appearing and declaring enmity like this—
This was extremely perfect timing!
Crash!
The sound of violent clash rang when Bai Fanxian raised just one hand to receive Han Junpo's attack.
Han Junpo's body moving like a four-legged animal bounced away irresistibly!
"Mm..."
Bai Fanxian glanced at her own palm. It didn't have even a trace of damage.
"Grandmaster level?"
At that moment, Han Junpo sensed the intense power current bursting from the young woman's body before him.
It was intense yet calm. It was fierce yet steady. Its profundity was like the vast and powerful ocean depths.
Grandmaster level?
Han Junpo looked at the young woman stunned. The young woman's qi current violence and pattern was truly Grandmaster-level power! And it was so close to his as to be nearly equal.
A real Grandmaster at age 25!
The old man didn't want to believe. But reality appeared before him. Especially when that slender figure began floating slightly above ground, along with wind blowing around.
Only Grandmaster level could freely fly and walk on air as desired.
Certainly that video was mistaken.
Han Junpo was extremely irritated. For him, the most important information having such an error was most unlike him.
He'd act when confident. Also must plan ahead. Then reap maximum benefits. That was Han Junpo's way.
"Come help me stretch and exercise a bit..."
The young woman spoke the sentence she'd said to Uncle Huang with completely calm tone. The old butler behind felt extremely familiar with this sentence. Because lately sometimes Grandmaster Bai would suppress her power to Martial Master level and spar with him to relieve stress.
But this was a same-level fight between Grandmasters!
He looked at Bai Fanxian worriedly.
Han Junpo himself gritted his teeth. He violently burst qi from his body. Both figures thus charged to tangle together in midair amid spectators' gazes.
Han Junpo's people watched that fight with mouths agape. Learning the truth that young woman was Grandmaster level, they all trembled helplessly. Because this meant they'd offended a Grandmaster-level being!
Some of them wanted to flee. But Grandmaster-level cultivators fighting was even rarer to find. Like previously when just rumors emerged of a duel between Eastern King Ma Fufeng and Sword Saint Zheng Renyi, cultivators were ready to travel to watch even from opposite sides of the country.
But here Grandmasters were fighting before them. They truly didn't want to miss this learning opportunity!
Bai Fanxian stood in the sky with relaxed attitude. She could easily dodge close-range attacks from Han Junpo with the same Grandmaster-level cultivation power. She began twisting her body as if warming up. Such attitude made Han Junpo's ears smoke.
"Don't look down so much!" Han Junpo roared. Qi in his body surged high. Both hands pounced forward forming claws with tiger roars tearing through the sky toward Bai Fanxian!
Tiger Rending Sky!
This movement form was one attack-form that made Han Junpo famous. Its violence could easily cut through large boulders or steel plates!
The young woman watched the attack before her rushing in. She flicked her hand once. Qi condensed until resembling a purple blade shot at the claws with no less speed.
When both attacks clashed, a deafening sound arose. Equal violence made the destructive power of both movement forms cancel each other until both dissolved. The old man looked at what happened surprised. His body charged down toward the ground below.
Seeing the opponent helping her stretch wanting to fight on ground, Bai Fanxian didn't object. Her figure descended to stand at the original place calmly like a fairy descending from heaven.
Han Junpo, prepared to use words to lure the young woman down to fight below, grinned. In truth, what he was best at was fighting on this ground!
Otherwise how could his epithet be Mountain Tiger?
The old man's body trembled slightly. Suddenly the ground around him began shaking. They gradually separated into layers under Han Junpo's feet. Before floating to assemble all over him until looking like armor created from one ground layer.
Don't see it as just dirt. Because Han Junpo's qi was circulating throughout this armor. It could easily defend against modern weapons like bullets or bombs. Moreover, if attacks from levels below Grandmaster, none could penetrate through this armor.
Like Huang Zihan's punches that made the ground full of holes—they couldn't create even a bit of damage to this dirt-created armor!
Dirt that formed gradually wrapped and covered Han Junpo's head. Its outer appearance looked like a tiger's face. When the old man crouched down, he now looked no different from a large tiger with dirt body.
This was the technique that made him called Mountain Tiger!
Han Junpo's own eyes began changing to beast gaze. The black pupils inside shrank until like real tiger eyes!
Dark brown qi began bursting out. The ground Han Junpo was touching seemed like limbs. Just one roar became earth spears stabbing up from ground until Bai Fanxian had to jump dodge.
Han Junpo used that tempo, using ground raised as spears to help movement. His figure leaped like a beast. Gradually attacking Bai Fanxian from all directions.
Both earth spears and small repeated attacks from Han Junpo—Bai Fanxian herself began disliking this.
She thought fighting on ground would use fists and bodies exchanging like when fighting Uncle Huang. That kind of fight could help relieve her stress.
"Truly annoying."
Bai Fanxian spoke while dodging earth spears endlessly thrusting up. Her right hand flicked. Purple blade came out and cut through until all spears fell piled on ground.
Han Junpo hiding behind one spear stiffened. He helplessly leaped back to reestablish position. But Bai Fanxian wouldn't easily let him retreat. The beautiful figure charged in a blink and caught up. She kicked her slender leg into Han Junpo's torso who hadn't established stance, bouncing him to crash into trees and flatten forest more than ten meters away.
The old man hit and bounced quickly flipped up. He feared Bai Fanxian would follow-up attack. But he was surprised because the young woman didn't follow. She merely returned to stand near her people.
Han Junpo thus used this tempo circulating qi to restore his own wounds.
The Han Clan old man didn't realize at all that Bai Fanxian not following was because she was turning to look at the little girl whose expression looked extremely uncomfortable.
She knew what this little girl was thinking.
"Are you alright...?"
The young woman asked softly. But that voice rang into Hui'er's heart.
"I'm fine, my lady!"
Though the little girl said that, Bai Fanxian sensed Hui'er was pretending to be strong.
Like this child was doing every day lately.
"Perhaps, you might not be able to become a cultivator..."
Bai Fanxian bit her lips hesitantly before speaking unexpected words. Even Uncle Huang gaped because he didn't expect Bai Fanxian would speak to the little girl at this time.
Hui'er hearing this, her small body stiffened. Before it trembled slightly as if holding back.
"Are you sad...?"
Bai Fanxian looked at Hui'er with serious eyes. When she decided something, it depended on the little girl's heart.
Whether this child would still be determined.
Like the first time she met her.
"I'm sorry for disappointing my lady..." The little girl began showing tears at eye corners while speaking. She didn't feel sad about being unable to cultivate. But she felt sadder about disappointing her lady. The little girl clenched the Fire Pearl which Uncle Huang had strung as a necklace unknowingly.
Though she was a child, she knew well how much her lady devoted to her. Her lady spent every afternoon with her. She even noticed her lady studied many medical texts constantly. Just that she could guess already.
That her body had problems.
"...I was never disappointed in you."
Bai Fanxian instead showed a rare smile. She walked to stand before Hui'er and gently patted the little girl's head. Ignoring Han Junpo whose eyes flashed bright, thinking to find opportunity in this moment for a sneak attack.
"Do you know? Sometimes the strong don't necessarily need supreme qi power."
Bai Fanxian dissolved qi circulating throughout her body in a blink. She stepped forward to face Han Junpo charging in with qi overflowing until it could easily knock out ordinary people.
Uncle Huang closest was shocked. Because Grandmaster Bai's qi had disappeared.
He thought Bai Fanxian now was no different from ordinary people!
"I'll teach you..."
Bai Fanxian shifted her leg. Her foot stepped out to one side. The principle of borrowing power from earth and transferring weight fused perfectly to the utmost under this movement.
Boom!
No one knew what happened. For outside spectators, they only felt Han Junpo was running at Bai Fanxian. But the moment of clash, Bai Fanxian who showed no qi in her body was the one who could stand!
As for Han Junpo, he bounced away farther than the previous round. This time his dirt armor even shattered into fine layers. The old man's eyes widened unbelievably. Before they rolled back because his consciousness faded while floating.
Everything around became silent. Han Junpo's cultivators all didn't understand. In the final moment, Bai Fanxian didn't manifest even a bit of Grandmaster-level qi. But her attack handled Han Junpo who was Grandmaster level in one punch!
"The ultimate essence of movement and forms..."
"Supreme Fist Arts."