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As for 'Acheron,' she hadn't really planned on participating in the entire month-long celebration.
Apart from the first two days of participation, she had mostly been practicing her blade skills in her courtyard these past few days.
The reason Acheron was willing to agree to spar with Jingliu while dealing with the Arbor,
was because of the settlement reward issue.
The previous card brought her some of the original's traits, as well as everything she created herself using the character card.
Since that was the case,
Baiming didn't want to miss out on Acheron's exquisite blade techniques.
But merely practicing them might not be enough.
So 'Acheron' was trying to absorb the various martial arts of the Xianzhou to create a small synthesis and innovation.
The new blade technique didn't need to be incredibly powerful—similar to the original, or even slightly weaker, was fine.
As long as she could complete it before the time limit, she would have a chance to make it her own.
So 'Acheron' was actually quite looking forward to it.
Jingliu, hearing 'Acheron's sentiment, tilted her head slightly:
"Was my intention to ask for guidance that obvious a few days ago?"
"Ah... hmm, your gaze was very direct."
Seeing that Jingliu seemed to have misunderstood what she was musing about.
But then again, the first time she made eye contact with Jingliu, 'Acheron' felt the battle intent in her eyes.
That pure warrior's intent to swing her blade at a stronger opponent.
So, it seemed Jingliu wasn't entirely wrong.
Baiheng let out a laugh beside them:
"I told you! Jingliu, you might look aloof, but your eyes betray everything. If you ask me, you should choose a pretty blindfold; it would be beautiful."
Jingliu glanced at Baiheng, a hint of helplessness in her eyes.
Teng Xiao was not in a hurry to deal with the Arbor and made a welcoming gesture toward Jingliu.
Seeing this, Jingliu did not waste any more words.
She performed the common salute of the Xianzhou Alliance:
"Swordmaster of the Luofu, Jingliu, I request instruction."
'Acheron' looked at Jingliu before her, not drawing her blade, but slightly raising it, presenting the scabbard:
"Galaxy Ranger, Acheron. Come."
Jingliu did not find 'Acheron's action problematic.
For her, today was purely for learning.
Jingliu certainly didn't want to personally experience that blade light from the other day again.
Hard ice spread from her hand, clinging to the long sword, transforming it into a massive weapon.
Jingliu's legs pushed off the ground!
Boom—!
Her tough physique tore through the air, creating a loud sonic boom, rapidly closing the distance at an unimaginably fast speed,
and slashing toward 'Acheron's perceived weakness!
But the moment Jingliu approached,
'Acheron's eyes suddenly darted diagonally forward, looking straight at Jingliu's startled gaze.
Clang—!
The scabbard carved an arc from bottom to top.
It easily blocked Jingliu's sharp blade.
A chill spread up the scabbard, and the temperature around 'Acheron' suddenly dropped.
But the low temperature had no effect on 'Acheron'.
Without attempting to overpower her, 'Acheron' maintained her strength at a roughly equivalent level.
She shifted her footing, positioning herself on Jingliu's flank, and this time, the hilt of the blade descended.
Clunk—
It tapped Jingliu on the forehead.
"Ugh..."
Jingliu touched her forehead.
She found 'Acheron's speed unbelievable.
She had always believed her own drawing speed was already very fast.
But this person before her... she couldn't even track her movements.
"I'm actually not very good at teaching. I'll control my speed and strength."
'Acheron' was truly not good at teaching, and as for whether the real Acheron was, she didn't know.
"..."
Jingliu felt her face flush slightly.
Although she knew the gap was vast, being broken through so easily
still made her feel unworthy of her title as Swordmaster.
"...Please instruct me!"
Jingliu took a deep breath. After repeating her request for instruction, she launched her fiercest attack toward 'Acheron'!
Blade light, like a furious storm, carrying intense cold, rained down on 'Acheron' from all directions.
This time,
'Acheron' suppressed the urge to shift her feet.
She raised the scabbard, attempting to answer purely with technique.
Boom boom boom boom—!!
Chilly blade light exploded across the battlefield.
Unbalanced energy transformed into pure shockwaves, detonating on the ground.
Turning into sky-high dust and energy ripples.
Engulfing the two combatants.
The spreading shockwaves forced Baiheng to retreat continuously to a safe distance.
And at the same time...
Just outside the Xianzhou Luofu.
A long-haired, blade-wielding woman who was lost had, after wandering for several days, finally found the location of the Xianzhou Luofu.
"Hmm? That area looks like..."
Acheron noticed a very large, residual blade mark in a certain area of the Luofu.
And the residual power in this blade mark unquestionably belonged to Nihility.
And...
"This slash—if Madam Herta hadn't informed me beforehand, I truly would have thought I had come to the Luofu and used my power, only to forget."
Acheron looked at the blade mark. The 'flavor' of this mark was exactly the same as her own.
So much so that just by looking at the mark, she could mentally reconstruct where she was, what degree of power she used, and what posture she adopted for the slash.
It was familiar to such an extent.
That for a moment, Acheron was slightly dazed upon seeing it.
If Herta hadn't sought her out, she genuinely would have thought she had killed Shuhu and simply forgotten.
If before she was only slightly curious and wanted to warn the imitator about the dangers of Nihility,
now, after personally witnessing the trace of this slash,
Acheron truly developed a strong curiosity.
She wanted to see what kind of imitator could mimic her to such a degree.
No wonder Madam Herta, known for her capriciousness, would go to such great lengths over a mere imitator.
Such an imitator would indeed pique the original's curiosity.
Because of the blade mark imprinted in the sky,
the Luofu's defense net had not completely closed over this area.
Instead, the battlefield area was temporarily isolated and put on hold.
It would only be re-covered after the Nihility power on the blade mark was properly dealt with.
So Acheron only needed to cross the blade mark.
She could easily,
and without alarming anyone, enter the Luofu's territory.
Of course, this was limited to the Divine Realm that had become the battlefield.
To go to other Divine Realms, she would still have to pass through a barrier.
And as soon as she entered the Luofu,
Acheron noticed the two figures fighting in the empty battlefield.
And of course, she noticed that one of the figures was the imitator she had come to find.
Acheron did not recognize General Teng Xiao, who was observing.
But she instinctively sensed a subtle threat, so she did not approach.
Instead, she quietly hid herself near the blade mark,
carefully observing the imitator's blade technique.
However, as Acheron watched, she felt something was wrong.
It's similar.
Too similar.
This blade technique... it was practically her own.
Was this stretching believability too far?
Acheron began to somewhat understand Madam Herta's feelings at this moment.
===
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