BATTLE FOR STARS

The two mechs slowly closed the distance until they were almost close enough to touch hands.

Yet even then, neither side made the first move.

From another angle, spectators might even have mistaken this for a mech control exhibition rather than an actual fight.

But in the end, Lina attacked first.

After all, offense had always been what she excelled at most.

And compared to Ding Yufei, the pressure on her was far greater.

If Ding Yufei lost, at worst the wager would be lost.

But if she lost—

She would lose her future entirely.

Tai Chi was one of the most mysterious martial arts traditions in China.

It did not emphasize offense.

Instead, it focused on overcoming motion with stillness, striking only after the opponent moved first.

During defense, absolute concentration was required.

Through contact between the hands or bodies, one had to carefully sense the attacker’s direction, strength, and point of force application.

No matter how the attack changed, the defender maintained dynamic balance throughout.

In simpler terms—

No matter how the opponent attacked...

Fast or slow.

High or low.

Left or right.

Everything could be neutralized naturally.

There was a saying in Tai Chi theory:

“Distinguish clearly between emptiness and solidity. Every point contains both emptiness and solidity, and the entire body follows this principle.”

In other words, every part of the body carried both Yin and Yang.

Martial techniques worked the same way.

The forward hand might be solid while the rear hand remained empty.

The forearm might be solid while the upper arm remained empty.

The fingertips solid, the palm empty.

The attacker sought the opponent’s “solid point” to break through.

The defender constantly shifted and transformed, never allowing the opponent to strike solidly.

The master who had guided Ding Yufei for several days was considered a true expert in Tai Chi.

He could supposedly achieve the state described as:

“A feather cannot be added, nor can a fly land.”

Meaning—

When one’s skill reached a certain level, even a falling feather landing on the hand could be sensed completely.

And as the feather drifted downward, the hand itself would unconsciously descend along with it.

Of course, the two mech fighters currently standing in the arena were nowhere near that level.

Lina had only just begun learning.

And Ding Yufei could hardly be called a true master either.

Yet this match still perfectly displayed many characteristics of Tai Chi.

Both fighters were using the same style.

Although Lina was less familiar with Tai Chi itself, her combat experience and reaction speed were vastly superior to Ding Yufei’s.

So even without engine bursts, Lina remained confident she still held the advantage after grasping the basic principles of Tai Chi.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The two sides exchanged blows once again.

This round felt distinctly different from Lina’s previous fight against Julia.

It wasn’t merely slower.

Instead, the rhythm alternated strangely between sudden bursts of speed and eerie calmness.

At fast moments, they moved like thunder and lightning.

At slow moments, they resembled two people casually strolling through a courtyard.

If Lina and Julia’s earlier battle had been like a violent storm that left spectators breathless, unable to look away for even a second—

Then this match created an entirely different kind of tension.

People found themselves jolting in surprise so often they could barely hold onto their drinks.

Because nobody knew what would happen next.

One second the two fighters were moving slowly, carefully probing each other—

And the next instant, they exploded into blinding speed before returning to calm again.

Of course, the “slow” here was only relative.

Their slower movements were still faster than many normal people’s maximum speed.

This fight also differed from the previous match in another important way.

Both fighters stayed in close-range combat the entire time.

Without engine bursts, Lina could no longer dance through the air like a butterfly.

As a result, the battlefield itself seemed much smaller.

But in exchange, the number of exchanges between the two rose dramatically.

Whether fast or slow, the frequency of contact increased continuously.

Anyone claiming this match was less impressive than the previous one simply revealed themselves as an amateur.

From a visual standpoint, perhaps it lacked the spectacular aerial movement and relentless pursuit of the earlier fight.

But in terms of danger—

This battle was far deadlier.

Both sides used daggers.

Short blades demanded vastly greater precision in defense.

Again and again, blades narrowly grazed past bodies.

The same applied to fists and palms.

One moment a punch was neutralized.

The next, a palm strike was dismantled.

Every attack narrowly missed by mere centimeters.

To the audience, each exchange looked dangerously close to becoming fatal.

Everyone could see that Lina’s attacks remained extremely powerful.

Her speed was still faster than Ding Yufei’s.

Losing engine bursts clearly had not weakened her overall ability.

Yet despite that—

Every single attack was somehow neutralized by Ding Yufei.

If Ding Yufei could hear the audience reactions, he would probably hear nothing but endless sighs.

Again and again, attacks that looked certain to succeed dissolved away harmlessly like flowing water.

Only now did everyone—including Emperor Hogan, Balk, and Frederick—stop believing victory was guaranteed.

At one point, Emperor Hogan even suspected the entire match had been arranged beforehand.

Otherwise, how could someone suddenly appear who could fight Lina on equal footing?

And not even from the Resk Empire.

After all, the Kramic Kingdom didn’t even possess mech fighter competitions as entertainment.

But after thinking it through carefully, Hogan dismissed the suspicion.

He simply couldn’t believe Balk would intentionally sabotage the Empire.

This was the first time Ding Yufei had truly entered Emperor Hogan’s field of vision.

And it was also the first time Ding Yufei had genuinely stepped onto the interstellar stage.

Of course, Hogan still had no idea that Ding Yufei would one day become a key figure capable of changing the Resk Empire itself.

If he had known—

He likely would never have allowed Ding Yufei to leave alive.

At this moment, Ding Yufei’s mind felt astonishingly clear.

His thoughts were sharper than ever before.

Even Lina’s movements seemed slightly slower in his eyes.

He knew perfectly well this clarity wasn’t something he normally possessed.

It was connected to Belina’s kiss.

He simply didn’t understand what exactly had happened.

Ever since waking from a car accident during middle school, his mind had always felt strangely “opened.”

His thinking became faster.

Learning became easier.

And today, it felt as though that hidden door inside his mind had opened once again.

Lina and Ding Yufei soon entered another prolonged exchange.

Lina remained patient.

She understood the power of Tai Chi.

After all, it was exactly this style that had allowed her to survive Julia’s overwhelming assault.

But she still believed Ding Yufei’s stamina, endurance, and combat experience could never equal her own.

Even without Phoenix Dance Across the Nine Heavens, she believed constant pressure would eventually expose an opening.

No matter how brief.

Even a fraction of a second would be enough to determine victory.

Until then, her plan was simple—

Attack continuously.

Force Ding Yufei to tire.

Force him to lose focus.

Because neither side was using excessive strength or engine bursts, energy consumption remained relatively unimportant.

Under these conditions, both mechs would consume power at roughly the same rate.

Lina’s strategy was extremely reasonable.

If this had been the Ding Yufei from their original practice match, the tactic would absolutely have worked.

Even if Ding Yufei understood Tai Chi better than Lina, he could only survive one wave... two waves... perhaps even several rounds of attacks.

Eventually—

Fatigue would appear.