I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

In order to dodge Qing Deng's "Iron Claw Attack" just now, his current body posture is very bad.

In that position... there's simply no time to dodge.

Left with no other choice, Rakshasa had to grit her teeth and unleash a Kasaya-zan (袟艟斩) in an attempt to suppress Qing Deng's attack.

The outcome of this confrontation was already decided before it even officially began.

Because the defense was hastily deployed, Rakshasa's stance was very unstable. Her right knee pushed forward, and her lower body leaned out, but her upper body was left behind.

With a somewhat clinking sound, the blade of Vairocana, slightly deviating from its path, slashed past the edge of Changyang Zhengzong's blade towards Rakshasa's right armpit.

Pfft!

A small, bloody, mangled piece of flesh flew out horizontally—but the Rakshasa didn't even utter a sound.

He raised his gaze to Qing Deng in front of him, his eyes flashing with a strange fervor, and the corners of his mouth stretched to the sides, a faint laugh escaping from the cracks in his lips.

That expression...it looks exactly like a clown grinning madly.

In an instant, he launched a counterattack! Changyang Zhengzong suddenly slashed upwards with his sword, the force of which was unstoppable, striking Qingdeng's left shoulder.

Qingdeng felt as if he had been whipped by a very flexible leather whip that was not only covered in many sharp barbs but also soaked in salt water, and the pain was excruciating.

In the blink of an eye, Changyang Zhengzong's blade flew towards Qingdeng once again.

However, at the same moment, a purple blade of light flashed in the air—

clang!

Vairocana and Changyang Zhengzong—two swords, one purple and one red, collided heavily in mid-air.

The two men's swords were clasped together, their strength concentrated at their waists, as they engaged in a struggle.

For every bit of effort the other side puts in, our side puts in a bit of effort in return, neither side giving an inch.

So they were caught in a dilemma, unable to pull or push.

If one tries to push and pull without patience, the impatient one will inevitably lose.

The two have been locked in this stance ever since—their eyes locked, separated by two knives pressed together.

Their tense standoff made the surrounding air feel heavy.

About 10 seconds later... an uninformed person would definitely think they had planned their moves in advance. With a "clang", Qingdeng and Luosha were deflected in opposite directions one after the other.

Qingdeng's knife slid to the east side along with his body.

The Rakshasa's blade slid to the west along with her body.

Sparks flew as the two blades slid close together.

When the night wind caught up with their figures, their positions had already switched.

Qingdeng turned around quickly, but he couldn't see Rakshasa anywhere in his sight.

Just then, he suddenly felt a chill on the back of his neck.

In the darkness, a suffocating murderous aura pressed down like a landslide!

The air seemed to churn, and a cold wind blew from behind Qingdeng.

The instant he sensed a slight movement in the air, Qing Deng instinctively knelt on one knee, turned his upper body, and swung his sword diagonally towards the chill behind him—these actions occurred almost simultaneously.

Something like a bird's shadow landed directly on Qing Deng's head.

Under the cover of night, only sparks flew. In the fleeting light of the fire, Qingdeng saw the terrifyingly sharp, gleaming blade and Rakshasa's still grinning face.

According to the storyteller, this was probably what was called "a critical moment".

If Qingdeng hadn't blocked the attack with his knife, his head would have definitely exploded.

The Rakshasa's blade was less than half an inch from Qingdeng's nose. Qingdeng could even see the mountain-shaped blade pattern of the Changyang Zhengzong. Although the distance between the two was only a line, they were already worlds apart.

Qing Deng exerted force with both arms, using a fierce strength to push away the knife that was pressing down on his body.

Rakshasa leaped backward, flying back as lightly as a cat into the darkness that seemed to be soaked in ink.

He probably wanted to use the darkness to conceal himself, since darkness is very advantageous for movement.

But for Qingdeng, who possesses "night vision," his little trick was completely useless.

Qing Deng's eyes flashed like lightning, and he immediately locked onto the location of Rakshasa. He stomped his feet hard on the ground, leaped into the air, and the blade in his hand whistled as it headed straight for Rakshasa's skull.

The incoming slash did not startle Rakshasa; he calmly leaned back, but Qingdeng still felt that he had struck his opponent.

Using the momentum of his backward lean, Rakshasa took two steps back in one breath, then stopped immediately, gathered his strength in his waist, and released it all at once, rushing towards Qingdeng.

Even though he was already panting heavily and covered in wounds, Rakshasa's blade still contained a power that should not be underestimated.

Qingdeng attacked head-on without showing any weakness.

Pfft!

Two jets of blood spurted out one after the other.

Qingdeng struck the Rakshasa in the waist and abdomen.

At the same time, Rakshasa's blade slashed across Qing Deng's chest.

Qingdeng first felt a chill on his chest—his clothes had been torn, and cold air was blowing into his chest.

Immediately afterwards, intense pain radiated from his chest and slowly spread throughout his body.

Without time to check his wounds, Qing Deng adjusted his stance and the direction of his blade, delivering a finishing blow to the Rakshasa in front of him.

Rakshasa also took a similar action. He did not look at his wounded waist and abdomen. He also swung the knife in his palm at the fastest speed and released a new move.

As if they were drawn together, their figures overlapped once more.

Rakshasa coughed up a mouthful of blood—he had been stabbed in the abdomen again.

Qingdeng felt that he had been slashed somewhere, but compared to the injuries he had suffered before, this pain was insignificant, so he didn't feel anything.

In the heat of battle, where every nerve must be on edge and no mistakes can be made, there's no time to even blink or breathe, let alone check your wounds.

Since the start of the duel, Qingdeng has repeatedly forgotten to blink or breathe due to his intense concentration.

It wasn't until his eyes were sore and his lungs felt tight and painful that he belatedly realized what had happened.

The situation was similar for Rakshasa; he forgot to blink and breathe just as often as Qingdeng.

Now that the battle has progressed to this point, neither Qingdeng nor Luosha can move with lightning speed as they did at the beginning.

They were too exhausted to run.

Thus, their battles gradually devolved into the current static combat of mutual hacking and slashing.

You slash me with your knife, I'll return the favor with my sword.

Sometimes I successfully deflected the opponent's attack, and sometimes I was a beat too slow and got a few cuts in my flesh.

A very monotonous battle of offense and defense... but the intensity of the fighting is still terrifying!

Two blades of light, tinged with blood, flashed incessantly. In comparison, the gale swirling around them seemed rather sluggish.

The once clean tatami mats, which exuded a faint fragrance, are now stained with blood over 6% of their surface.

Normally, such a large amount of blood loss should at least render someone incapable of moving, even if they don't go into shock on the spot.

The reason why Qingdeng was still able to fight was not only due to the physical enhancement brought by his old talents such as "Strengthening Essence +1" and "Primordial Yang +1", but the main reason was that "Reversal Dragon" was still in the activated state.

The "Reversal Dragon" talent effect enhances Qing Deng's physical functions in all aspects, including cell vitality and pain tolerance.

On the other hand, Rakshasa's injuries and blood loss were far more severe than Qing Deng's.

Yet he could still stand perfectly still, still smile, and still unleash a powerful slash that could easily cleave a human body in two.

Judging from his appearance, his mental state seemed to be better than Qingdeng's, which really shocked Qingdeng.

The damage Qingdeng suffered had long exceeded the limit of "Berserker +4".

Even if he suffers more and more serious injuries now, he will no longer gain any combat power boost; instead, he will only become weaker and more exhausted...

Just as this "standing-and-fighting" battle, whose end seemed endless, had been going on for an unknown period of time—

"Huff...huff...huff...huff...haa ...

With a sudden shout, accompanied by a beast-like roar, Rakshasa swept the white blade in his hand diagonally toward where Qingdeng was standing.

Normally, this would have been a simple attack that Qingdeng could have dodged with his eyes closed—after such a grueling battle, even someone as strong as Rakshasa was exhausted and on the verge of collapse.

However... unfortunately, Rakshasa is not the only one whose body is also nearing its limit.

The moment he sensed the slight movement of the air, Qingdeng instinctively dodged to the side, but his exhausted legs were a beat too slow...

Pfft!

The blade that was cleaving down from above swept diagonally across Qing Deng's upper body.

"Cough...! Cough cough...!"

Qingdeng involuntarily coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered back a few steps.

"Your Highness, what's wrong?"

Rakshasa twitched the corner of his mouth and chuckled.

Are you out of energy?

"No strength...?"

Qingdeng muttered to himself.

"Who are you talking about?!"

He held his head high, leaped forward, returned to where he had been standing, and used the momentum of his charge to swing his sword upward.

Pfft!

This time, the Rakshasa staggered backward.

"I think you're the one who's already exhausted, aren't you?"

"Ha...you really dare to say that..."

Rakshasa spat out the blood and foam from his mouth and strode forward.

Qingdeng moved forward in sync with Luosha's steps.