The circle that the black silhouette draws does not remain in existence for long enough to draw accurate and precise conclusions about it, but the changes in the environment persist. It is the same as Lan Xiaohui’s sword domain. The stillness and unnatural quietness of the environment are evidence of such, but it is magnitudes more advanced than my owner’s domain.

Perhaps it is a direct development of the [Empty Moon Prana] method — an extremely potent synergy, of sorts — that allows either the method or the domain to be expressed in such a dazzling, ominous manner.

The two silhouettes remain still. Perhaps it is also because they are shrouded in a black and white mist, respectively, but they are unreadable to me. They neither seem defensive nor offensive in their posture and if it were not for the sword energy that the black silhouette deployed, it would be natural to assume that they were not even aware of the coming battle.

I sense no arrogance in them; nor joy, nor battle lust.

Is this the [Empty Moon Prana]?

Lan Xiaohui misinterprets this stillness as an invitation to approach, but she still does so carefully. Slowly, my owner reaches out to grasp my hilt and snatch my hovering form into her grip, and then she puts one foot in front of the other.

Slowly, very slowly, she approaches the two silhouettes. She does not even blink, instead, watching her opponent carefully, convincing herself that she can react to anything the black silhouette may do from this distance.

Perhaps, she even thinks that if she approaches within twenty steps, and makes the first move, with her most powerful ability, her opponent might be the one incapable of reacting in time.

My owner does not recognize the danger that the black silhouette poses. Even without any tells in the figure’s mannerisms, that sword energy should be more than enough evidence for Lan Xiaohui to understand that this opponent is the most terrifying creature she has crossed paths with yet. Perhaps even more dangerous than Lady Yue.

Lady Yue’s cultivation is extraordinarily deep and advanced, but the energy I observed from Lan Xiaohui’s mentor has never had this degree of sharpness. And this black silhouette was in the same early stage Core Formation realm as Lan Xiaohui.

Perhaps Lan Xiaohui’s misunderstanding comes from the fact that she has never crossed paths with someone who has murdered many people — more than even Yu Shun. At least, not like this. Yu Shun’s killing intent may feel revolting, ugly, and oppressive, but this black silhouette’s killing intent feels casual, pure, and boundless.

Unrestrained violence; hatred with no heart; wrath with no emotion. In stillness, Lan Xiaohui is art; in motion, she is death.

This is what I thought of Lan Xiaohui as she dominated the second trial Pagoda.

The black silhouette that stands before Lan Xiaohui may just be the ultimate expression of that philosophy — to slaughter hundreds of millions with a casual flick of her wrist, and not think twice about it; life as cheap as water; death as worthwhile as a leaf falling in an endless, dark forest.

Lan Xiaohui does not see this, nor does she understand that she is already dead. Even fifty steps away, her fate is sealed. React in time? If Lan Xiaohui is still so naive to truly believe that, then it is time for her to open her eyes.

It all happens very quickly.

Once Lan Xiaohui approaches to within thirty steps, she decides to take the risk and lunge forward.

In terms of speed, Liminality Steps is the faster of the two movement techniques that Lan Xiaohui possesses and her comprehension of that ability even allows her to bend the laws of space in a manner that allows her free control over her inertia and positioning.

Wu Yulan watches Lan Xiaohui make her move, but she herself does not make any motion. It is likely because she doesn’t understand the rules of this attainment phase and whether or not they are supposed to “spar” one-on-one, two-on-one, or some other configuration; but in her mind, as long as the white silhouette — her opponent — does not make a move, she finds it acceptable to be an observer.

After all, she too cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong about this energy — that there is something strange about this killing intent.

My vessel bursts with black energy as Lan Xiaohui’s inner core pulses with power and imbues my vessel with the formulas and energy of the Sundrinker Blade technique — Lan Xiaohui’s most powerful offensive move.

A sheet of black and red mist rises off my vessel, trailing behind the quickly-moving Lan Xiaohui in a way that almost makes it seem as if the world is being divided by that almost tangible barrier of energetic sword Qi trailing my vessel.

It rises up ten steps into the air, like a black flame with deep red shadows — the colors of the sundrinker lily — and then it rapidly descends towards the black silhouette.

It takes merely an instant for Lan Xiaohui to cover the distance, and with the improved core I helped her develop, that instant is enough to perform the Sundrinker Blade technique. I even feel elation in Lan Xiaohui’s heart as, without a doubt, she performed her surprise attack with flawless precision and no errors.

Even Yu Shun might find it difficult to defend against such a maneuver.

However, the black silhouette casually lifts its left hand towards Lan Xiaohui, arm fully extended, and turns its palm towards the incoming blade.

My blade, just centimeters away from contacting the palm in front of me, stops dead in its tracks. The energy shrouding my vessel pulses, blowing outward in a ring of compressed but dissipating black energy — drawing yet another circle in the air that fades away moments after appearing.

I felt it clearly, and so did my owner; the moment before the pulse scattered my energy, a blast of incredibly sharp, intense, and invisible sword intent passed through us — unraveling the laws and formulas of Lan Xiaohui’s technique.

What absurd technique and prowess!

Lan Xiaohui barely has a moment to witness what happens — let alone process it — when the black silhouette’s sword carves through her flesh, diagonally upwards and to the left, separating my owner’s body into two halves.

From the emerging split as the two halves separate, it is not blood that shoots into the air, but countless black and red flower petals — the Autumn-Severing Petals technique!

As if that wasn’t enough, the black silhouette swings again, this time from the left side, its sword traveling diagonally and to the up, dicing Lan Xiaohui’s body into quarters with another explosive bloom of flower petals.

Before Lan Xiaohui’s pieces can even touch the ground, the flower petals release their energy and annihilate her body completely. Not even dust remains.

At this exact moment, a white line appears before the white silhouette — the hallmark of the [Eternal Moment Swordsmanship] method — and a very alarmed and furious Wu Yulan appears before the white silhouette, swinging her cyan sword along the line of certain death.

The white silhouette slightly raises its left hand, holding the sheathed cyan sword, and places the pommel into the path of Wu Yulan’s cut.

A loud ring echoes through the world, followed by a crack as a black, jagged line appears in the middle of Wu Yulan’s sword.

The impact is so powerful that the recoil alone nearly sends Wu Yulan flying back, a trajectory she would follow to its completion if it were not for the white silhouette suddenly drawing its own sword, and casually impaling it through Wu Yulan’s chest, arresting her flight.

Wu Yulan’s sword drops to the floor, her eyes wide as she stares at the sword that is disappearing into her chest and how casually the white silhouette is supporting her entire weight with just one arm.

“What…?” Wu Yulan manages to squeeze out but never manages to finish her question.

Wu Yulan’s body, before it even hits the ground, scatters into countless snowflakes of sword energy.

[ THIRD LAYER: ATTAINMENT PHASE END. ]