Chapter Seven: I Am a Man Too (Part Two)

He wasn’t sure whether to call the other man hypocritical or simply say he had impeccable aristocratic manners. Though there had been some sharp words exchanged, the other party showed no sign of anger. Pierre maintained his faint, gentle smile, set himself into a beautifully poised stance, and spoke in a cordial tone: “Please, Mr. Kuang.”

After two days of intensive preparation—especially with the formidable investigative skills of Zixia—Kuang had a good understanding of the pretty boy standing before him. At the age of twenty, three years ago, this young noble had already reached the Innate Realm, hailed as the Karlo Empire’s most talented youth in nearly a millennium. Only with Kuang’s recent rise did he lose this title, a label Kuang himself never particularly liked.

His opponent’s mastery of the Wrathflame Battle Aura was impressive, but it wasn’t what Kuang feared most. What truly concerned him was Pierre’s battle talent, worthy of being called genius. The fact that, upon just stepping into the Innate Realm, he could fight an academy senior who’d been at that level for two years to a draw in a duel, spoke volumes.

Over these few years, Pierre might not yet be the top fighter at the Imperial Academy, but according to Zixia’s information, he ranked among the top five. Considering the Academy’s ten-year cycle, and that he was only a third-year student, being in the top five among so many powerful nobles was nothing short of miraculous.

Pierre didn’t make the first move. It made sense; although Kuang’s reputation was resounding, no one knew the specifics of his abilities or which martial techniques he had mastered—not even within his own family, where fewer than a hundred people knew the truth. And certainly, those hundred were not the type to gossip or reveal the secret to outsiders.

Kuang smiled coldly. Thanks to the powerful perception he’d gained from cultivating the Starry Sky Art, he could clearly gauge Pierre’s prowess as the latter circulated his battle aura. The energy within Pierre was noticeably deeper by a margin of ten or twenty percent compared to his own.

Of course, this didn’t take into account the energy Kuang could currently draw from Xiaohua.

He sneered inwardly, twirling his whip as he considered how to teach a lesson to this man who was not only better looking and more popular with women, but also dared to pursue his future wife.

Kuang wasn’t foolish. He knew that although he could win this duel and even give the pretty boy a sound thrashing, he couldn’t be too obvious. The referees on the sidelines must not catch any clear evidence that he was drawing on the power of his divine beast. Though they would certainly investigate afterward to determine whether he had entered fusion state, he didn’t care. What mattered was venting his grievances while he had the chance.

He flicked his whip and loosened his wrist, his sneer growing as he warned, “I’m making my move.”

Just as Pierre opened his mouth to respond, Kuang’s whip snapped forward like a serpent, its tip darting out with lightning speed. Perhaps it was Kuang’s infusion of his unique battle aura, but the whip gave a sharp, piercing wail, reminiscent of a dragon’s roar. Others would no doubt attribute this to the Kuang family’s signature Dragon Art, but only Kuang himself knew it was because Xiaohua—making her debut on the battlefield—was so excited that she’d added her own fierce cry.

It seemed Xiaohua was even more battle-hungry than Kuang himself.

Kuang hardly needed to control her. Xiaohua guided their movements, unleashing a flurry of fierce lashes toward Pierre, who stood in a defensive posture. The whip’s vertical strikes filled the air with shadows and howling shrieks.

Xiaohua’s initiative startled Kuang for a moment, nearly exposing him to the keen-eyed onlookers. He quickly adjusted, working in tandem with Xiaohua, and reminded her inwardly to hold back—now was not the time to reveal their fusion state. The old veterans watching weren’t fools; if they caught on, they could halt the match immediately. Even if exposure wasn’t a disaster, missing the chance to thoroughly punish this infuriating pretty boy would be a true loss.

Pierre was indeed skilled. His enormous light-energy sword danced through the air, forming a watertight defense—even Xiaohua couldn’t find an opening, and could only batter relentlessly against his protective circle.

Amidst the storm of whip shadows, Pierre Hyde remained composed. Kuang was tempted to urge Xiaohua to strike harder, but restrained himself for fear of being discovered.

Observing his opponent’s steadfast defense, Kuang understood that Pierre was still testing the waters, trying to gauge his abilities. After letting Xiaohua vent for a while, Kuang finally took action himself, unleashing the Ghost Shadow Whip technique.

This eerie technique had caught even three visiting professors off guard just days prior. Pierre’s impressive defenses faltered under its assault—Kuang managed to nonchalantly slice off a modest patch of cloth from Pierre’s hip.

Unmoved by the gasps and curses from around him, Kuang took full advantage of his opponent’s insistence on defense. After all, it wasn’t often he found such a perfect training dummy. He unleashed a series of moves rarely used in practice, relishing the opportunity.

Several minutes passed. Pierre, accustomed to repelling foes at the empire’s borders, realized this purely defensive strategy was untenable. By now, several pieces of his clothing had vanished—unfortunately, from spots that would make any nobleman blush.

Finally, Pierre reacted decisively. With a thunderous roar, he swung his greatsword, advancing in a flash to within three meters of Kuang.

Startled but not idle, Kuang’s left hand responded instinctively with a killing move from the Sky Wound Fist. A thick, black dragon of energy erupted from his fist, crashing headlong into the greatsword of light that was lunging toward him.

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