Han Li and his "Senior Lu" continuously channeled their inner power into the "Sword Seal" and the "Azure Dragon Banner," fully concentrating on manipulating and guiding them in their mutual combat, unable to afford the slightest lapse or oversight. As a result, they had no surplus energy or magical reserves to deploy additional strategies for victory. They were well aware that as soon as either of them grew even slightly careless, their precious treasures would be instantly destroyed, with no possibility of recovery. Thus, under the radiant interplay of the Azure Dragon and the Great Sword, Han Li and his "Senior Lu" transformed their fierce struggle into a prolonged contest of who would first exhaust their inner power. When both of them realized that the remaining reserves of their inner energy would ultimately determine the outcome, they independently adopted the strategy of replenishing their own spiritual strength, each drawing out a spiritual stone and holding it firmly in hand to counteract their ongoing depletion. Only, Senior Lu's was a lower-tier wind-element stone, while Han Li's was a mid-tier earth-element stone. This discovery left Lu Senior's face pale with shock and anger. It was utterly unexpected that a Qi Condensation-level disciple like Han Li could possess mid-tier spiritual stones—rarely available even to those at the Foundation Stage or above—since everyone knew mid-tier stones replenished spiritual energy far more efficiently than lower-tier ones. Now, Han Li had clearly suffered a significant disadvantage in energy replenishment. However, upon reflection, Lu Senior reasoned that his own spiritual power was already substantially stronger than Han Li's. Even if Han Li's stones replenished energy more quickly, it would only last for a short while, as the constant energy loss would far outpace the modest gains. With this thought, Lu Senior regained composure and stabilized his inner focus. Yet when Han Li's next move came into view, Lu Senior's expression shifted once again—now tinged with a touch of astonishment and disbelief. Han Li, right in front of "Master Lu," automatically withdrew the blue protective aura encasing him, revealing his true form directly to "Master Lu." Even though "Master Lu" was exceptionally astute, he found himself utterly puzzled by Han Li's unexpected move—uncertain about what strategy Han Li truly had in mind. Could it be that Han Li didn't fear a single gust of wind from him would easily cut him down? After mentally pondering the matter for a moment, "Master Lu" promptly extended his left hand and gestured into the air, forming a faintly bluish gust of wind that was about to take shape. Yet before "Master Lu" could fully solidify and hurl this wind blade toward Han Li, the massive sword hovering in the air—tightly entangled with the azure dragon—suddenly flashed with brilliant light, seizing the moment when "Master Lu" was distracted, and abruptly disengaged from the dragon, then surged directly toward "Master Lu" himself. This sudden development startled "Master Lu" deeply. If he insisted on shaping the wind blade and hurling it at Han Li, it might well have proved fatal to the latter. Yet equally, under the force of the great sword's strike, he himself would surely have perished—resulting in a mutual demise. Though a wind wall still stood before him, unbroken, the great sword had already proven capable of holding its own against the green dragon formed by the Qing Jiao Flag. Thus, a mere tap from the sword would easily shatter that hurricane, and the wind wall would offer him no meaningful resistance. Such an outcome was by no means what "Master Lu" desired. He still had a bright future ahead, a promising career—far from willing to meet his end here, in this remote mountain wilderness, alongside a stranger whose very origins he did not know. With this thought in mind, he hesitated not at all, swiftly shaking his left hand to dissolve the wind blade, then channeling his full inner energy rapidly and forcefully into the dragon flag, summoning the green dragon back. That azure dragon truly lived up to its reputation as a wind-element artifact, managing to intercept Han Li's massive sword mid-journey and engage in renewed combat under Lu Sheng's full force. Witnessing this, Lu Sheng exhaled in relief, drenched in cold sweat. Consequently, throughout the following period, Lu Sheng repeatedly cast new spells, attempting to launch surprise attacks on Han Li. Yet each time, Han Li countered with the same technique, forcing him back without success—Lu Sheng found himself utterly helpless against Han Li's unshielded form, growing increasingly frustrated and resorting only to gradually wearing down the opponent through sheer resilience. Meanwhile, Han Li began withdrawing various small plants, stems, and root pieces from his storage pouch, stuffing them into his mouth and chewing them vigorously, leaving Lu Sheng utterly astonished and at a loss as to what was unfolding. This state of being utterly confused about his opponent's intentions left Lu Senior Master deeply uneasy, with a growing sense of foreboding. Yet, despite his exceptional strategic acumen and his lifelong love of his own life, he found himself completely at a loss at that moment. As time passed, Lu Senior Master's growing sense of weight and anxiety deepened. When finally the vibrant green glow on the Qing Jiao's body began to fade, while the great sword's gray light remained as brilliant as ever, Lu Senior Master could no longer contain his terror and shouted with a voice strained and desperate: "It's impossible! My magical power clearly surpasses yours. Even with the mid-tier spiritual stones replenishing it, you should have exhausted your energy long before now—by now, you should have been utterly drained!" Watching the Qing Jiao waver and falter, Lu Senior Master's desperate cries sounded like the final, frantic barks of a dog trapped in a ditch—full of unyielding determination. Meanwhile, Han Li, seeing his plans unfold one by one, could not help but smile with satisfaction. After hearing what the other had said, a slight frown appeared on his lips, and his smile turned into a cold sneer. He simply didn’t have the time to explain everything to a dying man—eliminating him as soon as possible was what mattered most. Indeed, his own magical strength was already dwindling, and he had no intention of wasting more time on verbal exchanges. With this thought in mind, Han Li paid no attention to the other’s questions. With a simple gesture, the great sword flashed even brighter, gradually shrinking the green dragon until it was only about ten paces long, its once vibrant green glow now faint, almost imperceptible. Seeing this, Lu Senior Brother was utterly defeated, and with renewed determination to fight to the end, a growing sense of madness began to take hold in his eyes. He remained silent, suddenly drawing back the last remnants of spiritual power from the Qingjiao Banner, instantly restoring it to its original form and causing it to fall straight from the sky. Without so much as a glance at the massive sword rushing toward him, he swiftly condensed a great gust of wind into a powerful blade and hurled it with unwavering determination straight at Han Li. Seeing this, Han Li was struck with alarm. At the very moment the wind blade was launched, he immediately maneuvered the great sword to strike directly at the opponent's head, then, without pausing to watch the outcome, leapt forward with a sudden burst, clearing several zhang in distance. After several exchanges, Han Li had come to realize just how astonishingly fast the wind blade was. If he didn't immediately activate the "Luo Yan Step" to evade it, and if he didn't have any protective defenses, he truly might be severed in two—cut clean in half, with no chance to react at all. The wind blade indeed moved with exceptional speed. As Han Li had just burst forth, it had already reached the spot where he had stood before, yet upon turning, it followed the direction Han Li was heading and surged again. Without pausing to think, Han Li pushed his "Luo Yan Step" to its utmost limit, constantly weaving left and right within this small space, gradually creating several phantom images that seemed to trail behind the wind blade, which, though close, could no longer manage to turn and catch up. Han Li was well aware that a straight retreat would surely be outpaced by the swift cutting strikes of the wind blade; only through agile, nimble movements could he hope to remain safe for the time being—this was precisely the reason he had initially chosen to abandon his defensive spells. Suddenly, the wind blade lost its control, slicing straight diagonally into the soil and carving a deep furrow before vanishing entirely. Han Li exhaled a long breath, only then setting his heart at ease. It truly proved to be a life-threatening matter to evade a cultivator's spell attacks using the mundane light-footed techniques of the secular world. He sat down heavily on the ground, then lifted his head to gaze across at the other side. There, the wind wall had vanished entirely. The "Senior Lu" who had been concealed behind it now split into two, lying motionless and straight as a board. Floating above the two bodies, the great sword emitted a faint gray glow, yet the light was dim and wan.