“You old bastard!” the young warrior roared through clenched teeth as his figure flashed across the sky like a streak of dark lightning. His shining silver-black sword, with its emerald-tinted hilt, collided violently against the jade-green blade wielded by the elder of the Falling Leaf Sect.

  The moment their weapons met, a storm of sparks erupted outward, scattering brilliant fragments of light across the air while the pressure of their clash distorted the surrounding atmosphere and caused the winds below to spiral wildly through the forest canopy.

  The elder’s expression twisted into a cold sneer as he pushed forward with crushing strength. His aura surged like a relentless tide as he forced the younger warrior backward inch by inch despite the youth’s fierce resistance.

  “A foolish young man burning his life away in meaningless rage,” the elder said with contempt dripping from every word, grinding his teeth as he poured more power into his arms. “Throwing everything away just to avenge some insignificant stranger who will be forgotten by the world within some years.”

  The force between them reached a breaking point, and both combatants separated with a violent shockwave that rippled through the sky like a rolling thunderclap. The young warrior landed lightly upon the air itself as though stepping on invisible ground.

  His eyes blazed with unshakable determination as he widened his stance and allowed his sword to dissolve into countless shimmering particles that returned obediently to his storage ring.

  Without hesitation, he began forming complex hand signs. His fingers moved with fluid precision as streams of condensed ki gathered around his palms.

  The elder immediately understood the technique being prepared and responded in kind. He dismissed his own weapon into his storage ring before forming identical yet subtly different.

  As both fighters completed their preparations, they extended their open palms outward and carved enormous arcs through the air, leaving behind glowing trails that curved like crescent moons suspended.

  Those arcs condensed into brilliant layers of coloured ki—one shimmering with deep emerald hues while the other radiated a darker, colder brilliance.

  The moment their gestures were completed. The energy surged forward, launching both warriors toward each other with a speed that shattered the sound barrier.

  Boom!

  The collision between their techniques erupted like the detonation of a thunderbolt. A massive wave of ki burst outward in all directions as the surrounding air tore apart with a deafening roar that echoed across mountains and valleys alike. The shockwave flattened trees and cracked stones below.

  Within the chaos, the young warrior’s voice rang out fiercely. “A devil like you could never understand what comradeship truly means!”

  Stolen story; please report.

  As the energy dispersed, both combatants summoned their swords once more. They gripped their weapons with unyielding resolve as they charged toward each other without hesitation.

  Their blades clashed again and again in a relentless storm of steel and ki. Each strike carried enough force to fracture boulders and send ripples through the sky itself. The rhythm of their battle intensified rapidly. Their sword swings become faster and sharper with every passing moment until the air vibrates continuously with the ringing of metal colliding against metal.

  Shockwaves erupted from each impact, forming visible rings that expanded outward like ripples across the surface of a vast lake.

  Gradually, the elder’s experience and overwhelming cultivation began to tip the balance in his favour. Seizing an opening during one of the exchanges, the elder twisted his body and delivered a devastating kick that struck the young warrior during their final clash, sending him flying backwards with unstoppable momentum.

  The youth’s body tore through the dense forest of the eastern mountainside, snapping old, long trees in half and scattering splinters across the air. He crashed violently through layer after layer of thick trunks before slamming into the earth, carving a deep trench through soil and rock.

  His motion finally halted when he collided against a massive tree trunk with a resounding crack. Dust and debris erupted around him like a storm cloud, and for a brief moment, silence hung heavy over the battlefield.

  The young warrior coughed up a mouthful of blood but forced himself upright through sheer willpower. His eyes still burned with defiance even as pain coursed through his battered body.

  However, the elder had already begun his next move, refusing to grant even a moment’s reprieve. His sword shot forward like a streak of emerald lightning aimed directly at the youth’s right eye.

  At the final fraction of a second, the young man sensed the incoming danger and twisted his head aside. The blade sliced past his face so closely that it severed a few strands of his dark hair.

  The sword halted midair and instantly reversed course, flying back into the elder’s waiting hand as he hovered calmly atop a towering tree directly in front of his opponent. His expression was filled with arrogant disdain.

  “You have overestimated yourself, ignorant brat,” the elder declared coldly, his aura pressing down like an invisible mountain. The young warrior resisted for a moment, then suddenly released his own pressure. To the elder’s astonishment, the opposing force vanished as if it had never existed, completely cancelling out the crushing aura bearing down on him.

  “Oh? Is that so?” the young warrior replied softly, wiping the blood from the back of his hand near his lips.

  In the next instant, his figure vanished entirely from sight as though swallowed by the shadows themselves.

  Before the elder could react, the youth reappeared behind him with astonishing speed, replicating the exact movement the elder had used moments earlier. With a fierce shout, he delivered a powerful kick that struck the elder squarely, sending the man hurtling down the mountainside as he skidded violently across jagged rocks and shattered trees.

  The elder’s body crashed through thick trunks and boulders alike, each impact sending fragments of wood and stone exploding into the air as his robes tore apart and blood streaked across his skin.

  The descent ended only when he slammed into the forest floor below, leaving behind a long trail of destruction carved through the mountainside.

  Standing high above amidst the swirling dust and broken branches, the young warrior stared down with unwavering resolve. His breathing was heavy, yet his spirit remained unbroken as he declared with quiet confidence:

  “Are your old bones fine? Now tell me… who truly overestimated whom?”