Ah—so that’s it. The thought lands like snow.

She drops a cryptic line, then lifts her gaze, voice cold as winter steel: “Then I’ll go all out as well.”

Her words hit, and her presence swells like a rising blizzard. The storm claws harder at the sky. The air sinks into deeper cold. The Sword Aura around me frosts over like thin ice on river glass.

“…What?!”

My brief joy evaporates like breath in snow. That wasn’t her full strength? You’ve got to be kidding me. Reality bites— Lixue now feels sharper, heavier, like a storm unsheathed.

Dread presses like a leaden sky, and my chest tightens before my hands move. No— I shake it off like sleet from a cloak. If I flinch before the clash, I’ll never win. I have to swing first, then think later.

I’m weaker than Lixue right now, sure. But who says miracles don’t cut in? I take a deep breath, settle my stance, and meet her gaze. She watches me, eyes clear as ice: “Ready?”

“Mm.” I nod, heart steadying like a drum on snow.

“Then begin. Second round.”

A sudden gust tears across where she stood. Her shape melts into wind, vanishing without a trace.

“Wind and Snow: Flash Dance.”

No warning— ice-blue blades of light bloom before my eyes. Sword Intent shivers, catching the strike in the wind. If not, I’d be bleeding on the snow. Even so, the tide turns rough. Lixue is fast— too fast for my Extreme Blade series to keep up cleanly.

She circles me like a snow spirit dancing on a frozen lake. Every nimble step slips out of sight, each disappearance flipping into a swift, savage cut.

At the thirtieth slash, her footwork hushes like falling snow. The cascade ends. I’m not in great shape— half my stamina gone again, new cuts burning like cold fire. I haven’t landed a single hit. Bitter heat pools under the frost.

“Oh? You took them all. Capable, aren’t you. Again— Wind and Snow: Thunder Lances.”

She tosses her twin swords into the air. Sizzle— lightning crawls across both short blades, swelling them into two long spears that spear toward me like storm bolts.

Bad! I try to move, but my body lags like a winded runner. I burned too much strength just now. No time to dwell— I need to block her next cut, or I’m done. High-tier techniques won’t cast in time; in this state, even quick release strains like ice underfoot.

No choice. I’ll take it head-on.

I snatch a floating blade from the air. Dual-wielding feels strange, like wearing someone else’s gloves. Stop— the lightning lances are almost at my face. I cut off every stray thought like loose thread.

“Extreme Blade: Phantom World!”

I whip both swords at full speed. At the last heartbeat, I catch the lances, steel ringing like winter bells. I know I can’t hold them clean— the random blade already splinters, energy fraying like cracked ice. Only Shattered Light in my right hand stays whole.

It makes sense— Ice Illusion Moon can birth a Sword Spirit, so its grade won’t sit much below Shattered Light. If a sword made of pure Sword Aura couldn’t break, the storm would feel wrong.

I seize the brief stall in the lightning, slip aside, and slide out of their line like a shadow under snow.

“Out of stamina?”

Lixue catches Ice Illusion Moon as it folds back into twin blades. She doesn’t press. For once, her words brush soft as falling flakes.

“A little…”

Truth? I’m nearly spent, lungs burning like frost-bitten air. But pride stings— she’s still moving easy— so I soften it to “a little.”

“Good. If you said you were exhausted and needed a pause, I’d be troubled. It’s my first time fighting someone at my level. I want to cut straight to a finish.”

Rarely, Lixue smiles, moonlight on frost, and I almost stare. A bitter taste rises like cold tea in my throat— in this condition, forget winning; I might not even last to the end.

Stop. If I fold now, what am I? The situation’s bleak. Keeping the Sword Domain costs body and mind like hauling stone up a hill, while the fight carves its own tax. Honestly, I’d drop the Domain; holding it this long feels like carrying winter on my back.

But if I drop it, how do I face her? With the Domain, I’m already under the storm. Without it?

Still, I should test my edges. I’ve been a Sword Wielder for some time, yet my sword arts barely budged. I rarely use pure forms, leaning on techniques and Sword Aura like crutches… No— techniques are part of the art. Maybe I never put my heart into the blade.

Is it lack of focus, or no path? Xinuo seldom taught me sword forms. She told me to think for myself, so others’ lessons wouldn’t cage my vision like ice bars. She said that often.

With that thought, I draw a deep breath and dismiss the Sword Domain like snuffing a lantern. Lixue’s eyes narrow, puzzlement flickering like frost: “Why drop your Domain? Giving up?”

“No.”

I shake my head, shoulders loosening like shedding a heavy cloak. Next, I’ll lean on sword arts and Sword Intent against her. I want to temper my craft right here.

“Good. Let’s begin.”

Her tone cools back to calm. Her figure vanishes with a whoosh, and an ice-blue arc skims past like the moon’s edge.

Clang!!

Sword Intent had already mapped her line through the snow. I twist, lift Shattered Light toward the sky, and the rebound force pushes me back a few steps, boots skidding like blades on ice. But I hold.

I can’t wait on her storm again. I need to press.

I step in and cut from every angle, lines crossing like snowflakes. Pity— she slips aside or blocks every stroke, smooth as wind over a ridge.

Without the Domain, my speed and bite drop like snow from a bent branch.

“This soft, floppy offense… Blizzard: Annihilation!”

Power explodes from her twin blades, a storm cracking the air like glass. She lifts her swords, and the air around us freezes solid, breath turning to frost smoke.

“Absolute Blade: Reversal Edge.”

I force Sword Aura along my blade until it hums, then swing with everything to meet her ruinous strike.

Boom!!!

Steel meets steel, and energy howls out like a winter tempest, rending the earth in jagged scars. Even the raging blizzard tears apart and scatters into pale dust. …