The Science of Cultivation

“Here I come!” the young Rolling Tide disciple yelled as she charged toward Long Yi.

Reflexively, Long Yi brought out his green broadsword and swung a Terra Moon Slash to dissuade his opponent from closing in further. However, he didn’t have a chance to finish his swing before she arrived right before him. He didn’t even see when she had grasped his wrists, but she did. It made him unable to complete his swing.

Seeing his weapon wouldn't cut it, he quickly tried to front kick her to create some distance, but he was a step too late. Before his leg could kick out, a huge force struck his solar plexus, and he crumpled inward as he was hurled several feet back.

Landing on his rear, he shot to his feet to prepare for the onslaught to come, only to be shocked by what he saw. Instead of the figure of Han Zemei charging toward him for a follow-up attack, a wave of water came crashing down. There was no time to fly away. He was swept off his feet until his back crashed into the partition of the arena. It knocked the wind out of him, releasing a cluster of bubbles into the water.

Foundation Establishment cultivators may no longer be considered mortals, with overwhelming powers that could change the terrain. Unfortunately, that didn’t mean they didn’t need food, water, and air to survive. They had fewer needs for such things, sure, but fighting with no air would drain both their stamina and Qi rapidly.

As Long Yi swam up as fast as he could, his arms suddenly lashed out below and to the left to swing his weapon down. The sword impacted something hard, but with the water in the way, it resulted in the sword pushing the assailant away. That would have been fine, as it would have given him some more breathing room to reach the surface, yet that didn’t happen. Instead, a hand grabbed onto his ankle, pulling him back down with them.

Realizing the futility in trying to swim away, Long Yi calmed his mind and prepared to strike at his foe. His ability to stay calm allowed him to observe. As suspected, his assailant was Han Zemei, but her form had quickly changed. She no longer just wore the baby blue robes of her sect and had gleaming silver armor protecting her body. Only her face was uncovered, allowing her to flash a grin at him.

The Rolling Tide Sect with their water attribute techniques. My earth element techniques are supposed to counter them, but I’ll need to get to dry land or at least surface first.

With awareness of his situation, Long Yi quickly decided on a plan. He pointed the tip of his sword at the woman trying to drag him down and relaxed his body. As a result, their descending speed picked up, confusing Han Zemei. Still, she didn’t let go, though. She had the advantage, so she had no good reason to do so.

It was perhaps a mistake.

The tip of Long Yi’s broadsword shone brightly, as a sizeable amount of Qi congregated.

Han Zemei inwardly scoffed at the telegraphed attack. A powerful attack was coming, but that wasn’t anything special to her. Numerous opponents had tried to do the same thing, utilizing their ranged Qi arts, when caught in her web. Even if it wasn’t so predictable, she was confident she could’ve dodged any Qi art he sent her way.