Abyssal Awakening

Sensing Qiu Qiu's Zone washing over him, Jin understood fully what kind of opponent he was dealing with now.

Making the immediate decision to discard one of his weapons for now, he barely managed to bring his blade back before his guard was broken by her slash!

'Sh*t!'

Seeing Qiu Qiu ready for a downward slash after breaking his guard, Jin began to panic.

*CLANG!!!!

Scrambling to block the second strike with the chains, he wanted to retreat to calm his mind but Qiu Qiu wasn't giving him the chance.

The difference between the offensive Zone and passive Zone was small yet decisive.

The offensive Zone excelled at attacking! But if the opponent was to break their guard, their defence crumbles rather quickly.

But for the passive Zone, it was good at everything, but at the same time, not great at anything.

It allowed Jin to be defensive and adapt to the changes.

Unfortunately, Alice only knew these two Zones outside of the Absolute Zone. There were other defensive stances that she had a chance to learn but never did since she didn't want to give away her disguise.

While Jin was scrambling to keep up the defence, Qiu Qiu was focused.

Her attacks were methodical, not rushing nor was she too lenient.

Just the right amount of offense to keep up the pressure, causing Jin to slowly break down.

If he did nothing else, this match would be hers.

Falling Shadow!

Trying to force a gap between them, Jin watched as Qiu Qiu stepped back to avoid the attack before lunging forward once more.

Even after using Flicker Strike, her eyes were locked onto him.

'Think!' Gritting his teeth, Jin wanted to figure out a potential way out for him to take advantage of.

As it stands, the longer he stays on the defensive, the worse it'll get.

While Passive Zone could indeed work on the defence to a certain extent, it wasn't a great solution.

However, as he continued to defend, he noticed some overlaying patterns in how Qiu Qiu was attacking. The shadow of Alyss could be seen on top of her movements.

Faster, fiercer, deadlier.

'Did Alyss steal her martial arts in the past?' Jin wondered, not knowing that Qiu Qiu's martial art was one of the first ones that Alyss stole.

But since he could see Alyss's movements, he slowly regained his calm.

After all, Qiu Qiu wasn't as fast as Alyss!

*CLANG!!!

"!!!"

Widening her eyes in shock, Qiu Qiu didn't expect Jin to counter just as she was about to break his guard once more.

He pinpointed the exact moment a slight gap appeared with her looking to make her move.

'There!!!'

Flicking his arm, Jin took this chance to swing his spare blade towards Qiu Qiu as she gritted her teeth and guarded the attack.

She could feel the force traveling through her arms, turning it numb while he followed up with another fast strike from above.

It was now her turn to be on the defensive!

Immediately, her defensive Zone broke apart as her boundary disappeared.

Jin noticed this shift as well and pressed his advantage!

Flicker Strike! Falling Shadow!

*BANG!!!

Rolling across the arena to barely dodge the attack, Qiu Qiu couldn't even recover properly before Jin launched his next attack.

Forcefully parrying it into the sky, she glared at him in anger.

Was she… About to lose?

Lose?!

To this nameless bum?!

Never!!!

Instant Draw – Killing Arc!!!

Jumping back, Qiu Qiu gritted her teeth in anger as she deployed her offensive Zone once more.

Her body flickered and she struck!

*CLANG!!!

"!!!" Her pupils constricted in shock seeing Jin block her strike.

Sparks flew and she saw his eyes completely locked onto her body.

Every emotion, every action, every desire felt as though it was an open book to him!

"ARGGG!!!" Letting out a shout of anger, Qiu Qiu cleaved up as Jin blocked the strike once more.

Before even letting him land, Qiu Qiu rushed towards him once more.

Soul Chaser!

*CLANG!!!

Even her follow up strike was blocked as Jin felt calm.

Once he saw Alyss's shadow, all of his panic and fear disappeared.

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He has seen these moves countless times during their spar. In fact, he shouldn't have been so worried to begin with.

Win or lose, his goal was never the title. It was to find a way to consolidate his spars with Alyss and fully open his mind to the Zone!

'Focus. Let my instincts make the decisions. I have all the tools I need, focus and strike.' Jin thought to himself as he took a deep breath to calm his mind. Stomping down heavily, he stabilized his core as he whipped the chains towards Qiu Qiu.

Raising her sword expecting to parry, her face contorted in shock as the weight of his attack crashed into her, breaking her footing.

She was barely able to push the blade to the side before Jin appeared in front of her.

Twisting his body, he kicked her in the stomach, sending her crashing and rolling across the arena floor before whipping the chains once more.

Falling Shadow!

'I won't lose. I won't let this nameless bum win! I refuse!!!' Qiu Qiu gritted her teeth, using the momentum to force herself to stand up before unleashing Killing Arc into Soul Chaser to push away the two attacks.

With the blades now forced to the side, Qiu Qiu glared at Jin like he's her mortal enemy and rushed towards him.

Even if he pulls back his chains now, she'll be faster!

Her strike will land first!

'I win!!!'

"No, you lose." Jin interrupted her thoughts as he could see her joy in thinking she won.

The modified Eclipse Reaver wasn't simply a case of using the blades. The chains were part of the attack as well!

Flicking his arms, a portion of the chains whipped out in front of Qiu Qiu, cutting off her path as she ducked under the chains to her right and tried to go for a downward strike.

Unfortunately, this move allowed the blades to catch up as Jin stomped down against Qiu Qiu's foot, preventing her from adjusting her footwork.

*CLANG!!!

The first blade parried her strike while the second targeted her neck.

Instinctively, she wanted to step back but with Jin standing on her foot, she fell backwards instead.

Unable to recover, she looked at the blade aiming at her neck with Jin standing over her.

Before her mind could even come to a conclusion, the deafening roar of the crowd and the announcer declaring the winner shattered her illusions of fighting back.

'I… Lost? No… no, no, no, no, no, No, NO, NO!!!' Wanting to get back up, she felt Jin's glare dig into her.

"Stop, take your defeat honourably. The match has been decided, it was close. Thank you for the fight." Jin stopped her, not wanting her to make a fool of herself further.

Withdrawing his weapon, Jin turned around and left the arena while Qiu Qiu lay on the floor. Her mind in turmoil as she recalled the fight.

Where did she go wrong? He should've stayed on the defensive!!! How did he break out?!

How did she… Fail?

I failed? I failed. I failed, I failed, I failed, I failed…

###

Looking at his disciple's downward spiral on the arena, the leader of the Demon Extermination Squad let out a deep sigh.

He could see that she didn't drop her fixation on the outcome rather than the process. No matter what he says, no matter how many times he says it, if she cannot drop the fixations herself, then there's nothing he could do.

*Sigh…

"What do I even do with this disciple of mine." Despite being one of the strongest in the region, he felt lost.

A seed of doubt sprouted in his mind.

A doubt that despite Qiu Qiu being a genius, she couldn't pick herself back up after so many defeats.

He could only hope that his doubts were unfounded but considering how things were, it was unlikely.

Unless she claims victory over Jin or Alyss who defeated her before, this heart demon will persist.

And in her current state, as much as he hated to admit it as her master, she has no chance in defeating Alyss. Even Jin was starting to surpass her.

If they were talking about pure power, talent and experience, this fight should've gone to Qiu Qiu. But she failed to adapt in the face of change, the moment Jin's movements shifted and she became fixated on winning or losing was her blunder.

She needed to drop that fixation and focus on the changes within Jin, to understand her opponent and fight back.

But she didn't and she lost. She lost her composure.

And in this battle where even the smallest advantage could make a big difference, she exposed herself.

###

Watching the battle, a figure could be seen smiling as he saw the dark emotions looming over Qiu Qiu. He could see her despair, her desperation, her anger and indignation.

To think that he'd find such a good seedling, perfect for germination, the winds of luck were blowing in his favour.

And here he thought he was going to be picking up scraps.

All that's left now was for him to make the proper preparations so that this opportunity didn't go to waste.

Under the watchful eye of the sect Leader and Lord of this region, he had to be meticulous. A brewing cancer beneath the surface, only discovered once it was too late.

Giving the sect leader perched on his throne one last gaze, the man chuckled before making his way out of the audience.

After all, it didn't seem like Alyss or Jin could be corrupted.