Dongfang Jiang and Kaxiu fought from the council chamber to the garden of the Badan Family Mansion, then to the training grounds.
The two top-tier rings radiated light at each other.
Kaxiu’s Valen Ring emitted a yellow light; Dongfang Jiang’s Earth Ring emitted a deep blue light.
Dongfang Jiang kicked Kaxiu in the chest, pushing him back and creating distance.
Dongfang Jiang held his longsword across his chest.
Kaxiu spat and looked at Dongfang Jiang, who was only slightly out of breath.
“Tch, even though it’s an unconventional power, it can actually display this level of strength…”
As the owner of the Valen Ring, few people could fight Kaxiu for this long.
Thinking this, Kaxiu flashed in front of Dongfang Jiang.
After exchanging blows, he knew Dongfang Jiang had an absolute disadvantage in physical combat.
“Then I’m honored.”
Dongfang Jiang had familiarized himself with Kaxiu’s patterns.
He dodged the punch and slammed his elbow into Kaxiu’s chest.
Kaxiu retaliated with a punch to Dongfang Jiang’s chest, and both of them staggered back a few steps.
Dongfang Jiang could clearly feel that Kaxiu’s strength and speed had decreased considerably.
[Host, his energy reserves are dropping rapidly. The Valen Ring is powerful, but continuous output places a huge burden on the body.]
Dongfang Jiang received the system prompt and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
His body ached dully.
Although he could heal himself through Harmonization, Kaxiu’s attacks were no joke.
“Hey, where are you looking!”
Kaxiu suddenly appeared on Dongfang Jiang’s left.
He clenched his right fist, which was wrapped in a layer of golden energy, and slammed it toward Dongfang Jiang’s temple.
Seeing the attack aimed at his vital point, Dongfang Jiang immediately used Harmonization to convert Glacier Energy into Swamp Energy.
The ring emitted a dark green light.
Two vines grew from the ground, grabbed Kaxiu’s feet, and yanked him down.
Kaxiu crashed hard onto the ground.
Before he could react, Dongfang Jiang quickly converted the energy back into Glacier Energy and swung his sword at Kaxiu.
“Don’t even think about it.”
Kaxiu pressed his palms together, forcibly trapping Dongfang Jiang’s sword between them.
Not only that, he conjured several large orbs that flew toward Dongfang Jiang.
Forced to retreat, Dongfang Jiang had to give up the chance to kill Kaxiu.
“Cough, cough… that was close…”
Still shaken, Kaxiu tossed Dongfang Jiang’s longsword aside.
He coughed as he stared at Dongfang Jiang.
The light of the Valen Ring had already been overshadowed by the light of Dongfang Jiang’s Earth Ring.
“It’s over.”
Dongfang Jiang summoned the longsword back to his hand.
He still had the strength to control it, while Kaxiu’s wound recovery speed had already slowed compared to the start of the battle.
“Like hell it’s over.”
Kaxiu roared, and the Valen Ring burst with blinding golden light.
The mud covering him was blasted away.
He charged at Dongfang Jiang at an unbelievable speed, punching toward his face.
Dongfang Jiang sidestepped the punch and simultaneously controlled the longsword to slice upward from below.
The Glacier Energy attached to the blade carved a wound deep enough to see bone across Kaxiu’s chest.
Blood splattered.
Kaxiu’s wound healed at a visible rate, but his face grew even paler.
His breathing became more labored.
Veins bulged on his forehead.
He began to tremble slightly.
[Host, the Valen Ring is draining his life force to maintain the recovery speed.]
Hearing the system’s words, Dongfang Jiang made a decision.
He no longer sought a single fatal blow.
Instead, he switched to a relentless assault, one sword strike after another, each faster than the last.
Glacier Energy left wound after wound on Kaxiu’s body.
Kaxiu’s counterattacks grew weaker.
His fists lacked power, the orbs he summoned became less dense, and his recovery speed slowed bit by bit.
“Impossible… I am the owner of the Valen Ring…”
Kaxiu muttered to himself, his eyes beginning to glaze over.
He had considered the possibility of failure, but he never imagined he would lose to someone as unknown as Dongfang Jiang.
The Valen Ring was indeed powerful, but the continuous drain on his life force made him like a lit candle, burning out at an astonishing speed.
Dongfang Jiang seized an opening.
The longsword cut in from the side, and the tip pierced Kaxiu’s right shoulder.
Kaxiu screamed.
The Valen Ring slipped off his right index finger, tumbled twice in the air, and fell into the mud.
This time, Kaxiu didn’t have enough energy to repair his body.
He struggled on the ground and looked up at Dongfang Jiang, who pressed the longsword against his neck.
“I said it’s over.”
“Heh… catch me first.”
“Huh?”
Before Dongfang Jiang could react, Kaxiu pulled out a handful of smoke bombs from his pocket and threw them on the ground, producing a thick cloud of smoke.
Dongfang Jiang choked on several mouthfuls of smoke.
By the time he came to his senses, Kaxiu, whom he had just defeated, had disappeared.
“Geez, I’ve only seen this move in TV shows. Never thought I’d actually get to use it.”
Dongfang Jiang quickly checked the surroundings.
After pursuing, he discovered that Kaxiu had escaped through the sewer.
Yisela arrived beside Dongfang Jiang, panting.
She nervously looked him over from head to toe.
After confirming he wasn’t injured, she breathed a sigh of relief and asked him.
“Where’s Kaxiu?”
“He escaped through the sewer. Just as the Duke expected, these guys really used the sewers to move freely around the city.”
“Then…”
Hearing Dongfang Jiang’s words, Yisela immediately prepared to jump into the sewer to chase Kaxiu, but Dongfang Jiang reached out and stopped her.
“Leave it to Pandana. We’ll just keep an eye on things here.”
After saying this, Dongfang Jiang collapsed onto the ground.
Yisela looked worriedly in the direction of the sewer, but she knew Dongfang Jiang was right.
“Yeah, then we’ll leave it to this colleague I haven’t met yet.”
“By the way, how is the Duke’s situation?”
“Hah, it’s pretty bad. Anyway, let’s go back to the council chamber first. Everyone’s there.”
“Alright.”
As soon as Dongfang Jiang finished speaking, Yisela moved close to him and took his hand.
The corners of Dongfang Jiang’s mouth lifted slightly, and he held her hand back.
Yisela knew Dongfang Jiang was holding her hand.
Her cheeks flushed red, and she just gripped his hand tightly.
Their tightly clasped hands only separated when they reached the council chamber, with Yisela being the one to let go.
Dongfang Jiang saw that Duke Yigenaxiu had woken up, so he told him about the battle.
“Then, we’ll leave the rest to Miss Douglas…”
“That’s right. Leave it to Pandana.”