Dan Yang’s body shifted slightly as it began to be battered by fierce winds: his clothes were thrown into complete disarray as his body suddenly sped up!

The symbol glowed brightly up above, yet there was no powerful attack. Instead, Dan Yang had chosen to buff his body’s speed by using… the power of wind!

As he did so, he waved his sleeve and the familiar ten silvery strings fell down on the ground, their long and thin bodies surrounded by fierce wind blades! Once more, Dan Yang smiled as he jumped into the air… and began to twirl at astonishing speed!

“Be sure to watch out!” He yelled as he grinned… and hell broke loose!

Ten streaks of light danced in the air, slashing through the countless birds making up the array! Countless tiny blades of wind seemed to cut through the air at the same time as Dan Yang twirled beautifully, allowing his strings to reach their highest speed, achieving the highest possible burst damage!

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

Countless birds were hit: each time the strings flashed they would leave behind streaks upon streaks of space devoid of the crystal birds! In the space of ten seconds, every bird had been slashed apart, without making as much as sound, by the sharp strings!

Soon, the crystal birds had all been all but slashed apart, only leaving behind the dense fog.

Dan Yang grinned as he saw a single, crystal bird flying a few feet above him: now that it was not hidden between its clones, Dan Yang would have no need to actually fear a surprise attack on its part.

Dan Yang smiled and turned to face Te Rin. Suddenly, one of his ears twitched as...

Pu!

Beside the original crystal bird, another suddenly appeared!

Pu!

Pu!

Then another, and another...

Dan Yang gaped as, just as they had done at the beginning, the countless crystal birds began to appear one by one until every single bird had formed back!

The array looked just as it had done earlier, each bird flying in the same strange pattern as before, completely ignoring Dan Yang as if he was an existence they had no reason to fear.

Dan Yang felt his body ache as ten of the sixty seconds left for the usage of the technique had already passed, leaving only fifty more seconds for Dan Yang to defeat Te rin.

Dan Yang’s expression was hidden as he was looking down. Two more seconds passed before he finally lifted his head back up again. Sweat trickled down his forehead and he was panting, however he gritted his teeth and the fierce winds blowed once more!

Slash!

Slash!

Slash!

Once again, the countless crystal birds were easily dispatched…

Pu!

Pu!

Pu!

...and immediately formed back.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Pu! Pu! Pu!

Dan Yang grinned bitterly as he gnashed his teeth: “... Damn it…”

Thirty seconds had passed. Only twenty seconds were now left… and the countless crystal birds still flew through the air without a care in the world.

What did I get wrong? What is up with all these crystal birds forming back? Just how much energy does she have left!!!

“Damn it!” Dan Yang cursed once more as he turned to face Te Rin.

Screw it! If I cannot defeat her technique, all that is left is to defeat the cultivator instead!

Dan Yang entered a strange stance as the wind blades focused around the ten strings… like ten blades of dazzling, green light, the silver strands sped through the air as they cut towards Te Rin’s meditating figure!

Whoosh!

Like an experienced predator stalking its unaware prey, the strings were so fast that they would be nigh impossible to dodge for most cultivators on the same stage! Dan Yang was confident that no one except for Fang Lu and Fu Yin would be able to dodge a blow that was going so fast!

He had his doubts on Xiao Wu, but he was completely sure nobody else had enough skill to be able to actually evade the strings whose speed had been powered up with Wind!

Te Rin… will not dodge this blow!

This thought passed through the mind of the audience as they stared in amazement at that one attack!

However, Fu Yin’s eyes gleamed as he smirked: “What you are chasing is the illusion of power… what hits you from behind is the cold, harsh reality!”

A few dozen feet behind the attacking Dan Yang, Lao Jianghu’s expression was one of amusement as he slightly moved his lips, apparently talking to himself…

Just as everybody thought, the meditating figure of Te Rin was not able to react in time to the sudden attack.

As soon as the strings had began their descent towards her defenseless figure, sha had immediately opened her eyes and had stood up, however, just at that moment… the strings cut her figure in half!

What?

Dan Yang gaped as he saw Te Rin’s figure suddenly burst apart, beginning from the point of impact, the wind blades scattering the figure’s remains all around the arena…

The shock on Dan Yang’s face was not the horror of a person who had just taken a life, but instead an expression of complete astonishment: yes, Te Rin’s body had just blown up, yes, had just been broken, yes, but what had appeared beyond the outer layer of Te Rin’s figure was not the blood and gore...

Instead it was completely empty, an hollow husk whose surface had been none other than countless pieces of paper-thin crystals! It was as if he had just shattered a three-dimensional mirror…

Suddenly, the air twisted, as if a veil had been lifted, as a figure appeared beside Lao Jianghu! Surrounding her were many shining crystals that looked extremely alike those that had been making up the layer of the fake Te Rin.

Te Rin smiled as she appeared out of nowhere and kicked off the ground at shocking speed, reaching Dan Yang’s figure in the space of a breath! Her hair that had previously been tied into two buns danced madly as the strands broke free of their restraint due to the sudden burst of speed.

In Dan Yang’s dilated pupils, the image of a crystal glove on the woman’s right hand grew clear and clearer as her punch approached him…

As Dan Yang looked behind him in newfound horror, he found out that not only his sixty seconds were up, so he had no chance to dodge, but also due to his body still being in a swinging motion, he wouldn’t be able to parry the blow! A perfect, undodgeable, unblockable, surprise attack!

Dan Yang’s pupils shrunk even more as a realization suddenly got to him: as he once again thought of the strange pattern of the crystal birds…

So that’s why they were flying following the exact same rhythm and at equal speed! Mirrors! This girl… she used her ability to manipulate crystals so that they would reflect light however she wished! All those birds… were simple reflections of the original all along!

Dan Yang closed his eyes as he flinched from the pain of the crystal glove hitting his back. He flew forward for a few feet before finally hitting the glowing walls surrounding the stage. He spat out a mouthful of blood and felt his consciousness fade…

Just as he was about to pass out, he saw a green-haired figure descend from the sky, approach him and smile bitterly. He turned his head and saw Te Rin smile at him apologetically and bowing in his direction. Dan Yang sighed:

Seriously? Controlling the light emitted by countless tiny crystals in a space more than a hundred feet in diameter so that a whole audience mistakes reflections for the original? Damn it… how can there possibly be space for ordinary geniuses in a world where such monsters exist…

“Seriously… you youths never know how to hold back…”

Mu Gu sighed as the illusory tree appeared and began to heal Dan Yang’s battered body. His expression was one of pity as he stared at the youth.

“You have no idea…” Dan Yang smiled bitterly and coughed out another mouthful of blood before finally passing out.