Chapter 233: Cloud Empire (53)

Li Shen kept his sword raised, his gaze fixed on Kyrian.

’He attacked exactly like me…’ The thought repeated in his mind.

He was not someone easily shaken. Years of training had shaped his discipline. Even so, what had just happened made no sense.

In the stands, the shock spread as well.

“That… Kyrian used the same movement as Li Shen, didn’t he?”

“It was identical!”

“Not just similar. It was exactly the same!”

Some experienced cultivators leaned forward, mentally analyzing the last clash. The cadence. The angle. The timing.

There was no difference.

In the arena, Li Shen took a deep breath. If it was a coincidence, he would confirm it.

If it wasn’t… then he was facing something far stranger than he had imagined. He advanced again.

This time, his Qi did not remain only as bodily reinforcement. He focused it entirely on the sword. The blue blade began to emit an intense glow, a layer of energy vibrating around the edge, compressed and sharpened.

The air around it rippled slightly.

Kyrian watched.

His green eyes captured every flow of Qi being channeled into the weapon. Without haste, he also sent his own Qi into his sword. The blade of icy metal responded immediately, a cold and deep gleam running along the edge.

Then, he advanced.

Li Shen closed the distance with three short, explosive steps. His sword descended in a vertical slash loaded with energy.

Kyrian moved. In the same breathing pattern. The same shoulder adjustment and the same angle.

The blades collided.

The explosion of Qi spread sideways, lifting dust from the arena. The impact pushed Kyrian back once more, his feet scraping against the stone. But his defense was perfect. The edge of his sword deflected exactly at the point of greatest pressure, dissipating part of the force.

Li Shen felt it.

It wasn’t just a block.

He twisted his wrist and executed an upward slash, immediately followed by a short, treacherous thrust aimed at the abdomen.

Kyrian followed. The same twist. The same step.

The blades met halfway, nullifying each other. Sparks flew in all directions.

The two passed by one another and turned at the same time, facing each other again.

’Impossible…’

Li Shen attacked again.

In a long sequence.

Diagonal slash. Turn. Low horizontal cut. Thrust. Short retreat. Immediate advance with a cross strike.

Each movement was part of a set he had trained for years until it became instinctive.

Kyrian reproduced everything. Not with delay. Not with hesitation. Exactly at the same rhythm as Li Shen, as if he were standing before a mirror that copied all his movements.

The Coliseum was in absolute silence now.

The only audible sound was the repeated ’clang’ of metal colliding.

Kyrian was pushed back with each heavier exchange. His footing slid, but never broke. His body absorbed the force and redirected it with minimal precision of movement.

Li Shen, on the other hand, began to feel something different.

A burning sensation across his body. A thin cut appeared on his sleeve. Another showed at the side of his robe.

He frowned. They were not direct strikes. They were effects of Kyrian’s intent.

Kyrian’s sword intent was so sharp that, even when the blades collided, small fragments of that intent escaped, slicing through the surrounding air.

A thin line opened on his cheek. A red mark appeared, superficial but clear.

The audience murmured.

“He’s being cut…”

“But Kyrian is only defending!”

Indeed, Kyrian had not yet initiated an offense of his own. But each defense was too perfect, there was nothing Kyrian could not predict.

Li Shen advanced with more force.

His Qi exploded around his body, raising the pressure in the arena. He executed a full spinning slash, using the momentum of his own torso to increase the power.

Kyrian did the same.

The swords collided mid-spin.

The shockwave was greater this time. Both were thrown a few steps back.

Kyrian slid four meters before stabilizing himself. Li Shen retreated only two.

But now there were two more superficial cuts on his forearm.

His breathing grew heavier.

’He is copying me…’

’No…’

’He is anticipating me.’

That was the most disturbing part. Kyrian did not react after the movement began. He reacted at the instant the movement was decided.

Li Shen advanced again, trying to vary the pattern. He broke the cadence, interrupted a strike halfway, and transformed it into another angle.

Kyrian followed the change without delay and without error.

The blades crossed again, scraping so close that sparks struck both their faces. The arena floor was already marked by dozens of grooves.

Kyrian felt his arm vibrate with each stronger collision. The difference in cultivation was still real. Li Shen’s Qi reinforcement was denser, heavier.

But technically? They were equal. In fact, Kyrian was definitely superior and was always steps ahead.

Another thin cut appeared on Li Shen’s shoulder. His blue robe was torn in several places now. Blood trickled in thin lines, superficial but numerous.

Kyrian, on the other hand, did not have a single wound. Only marks of dust where he had slid.

Li Shen finally retreated several meters, breaking the rhythm of the exchange.

He was breathing harder now. His gaze was serious and confused.

Determined.

’He really copied everything…’

’With just a single look?’

’I feel as if the years of training I had were useless. Is this what it is like to fight a true genius?’

In the stands, even veteran cultivators were silent.

Kyrian kept his sword pointed downward, the tip slightly tilted. His green eyes remained fixed. Calm and without provocation, just observing calmly. For him, the fight was definitely interesting.

Li Shen tightened his grip on the sword.

If that was the case… then there was no point in continuing to exchange basic movements, he realized he would always lose.

He took a few more steps back, creating distance.

His Qi began to condense again, but this time in a different manner. Not just surrounding the blade.

He circulated the Qi through a specific pattern of meridians, compressing it before sending it into the sword.

The pressure in the arena changed.

The air seemed to grow heavier.

A blue energy began to expand around Li Shen, forming countless crescent-shaped cuts in front of him.

Kyrian narrowed his eyes slightly.

He would finally use some sword technique.

Li Shen raised the sword in front of his body. The energy around the edge became denser, vibrating with a low and continuous sound.

He gave Kyrian one last look.

Then, he stabilized his stance. And began the execution of his sword technique.

“Let’s see if you can copy this.” He said briefly before advancing.

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