It was Tang Xi who broke the stalemate. Moving with impressive agility, she charged toward Kai. He reacted instantly, raising his arm to defend himself before delivering a direct kick to her chest, imbued with his earthen aura. The impact owerful, and the air around them seemed to tremble for a moment.

  In the split sed before the strike ang Xi thought quickly:'If my stelr earth aura already teract a oh aura, what happens if I use wood instead? After all, wood taih, ah gees metal…'

  With that thought, she allowed her aura to shift, surrounding herself with the vibrant, resilient energy of the wood element. Kai's kick finally struck her, but to his surprise, she only took a siep back. The blow, which would have previously sent her reeling, now seemed weake the moment of impact.

  'It worked!' — Tang Xi thought, her eyes glimmering with excitement.

  Wasting no time, she advanced again, c her fists with a metallic aura. The sharp, peing energy shimmered as she unleashed a flurry of swift and precise attacks. Kai mao block most of them, but the few that got through left shallow cuts on his skin.

  Tang Xi noticed something intriguing: with each impact, her aura seemed to grow in iy, while Kai's aura visibly weakehis realization bolstered her fidence, encio alterrategically between wood aal auras.

  The training field transformed into a whirlwind of swift movements and shimmering auras. The two exged blows with incredible speed and precision, each impact reverberating like muffled thuang Xi banced resilieh offense, quickly mastering the art of fluidly maniputing her auras.

  Sensing the pressure mounting, Kai adjusted his strategy. His earthy aura began to dissipate, repced by a more fluid and adaptable energy: water. His movements became faster and more uable, like a river weaving through rocks.

  Tang Xi smirked, reizing the shift and rising to the challenge. She summoned her own wood ah auras, prepared to ter his adaptability. What had been a banced exge now evolved into a spectacle of elemental mastery. Each csh of auras sent visible ripples through the air around them.

  From the sidelines, Ah Tao watched in awe. Her eyes struggled to follow the incredible speed of the batants, but her heart swelled with pride and joy. She murmured to herself:—"My dy… so powerful now. I 't wait to see the faces of those who dared to call her a failure!"

  Her blood boiled with excitement as she envisioang Xi's glorious future.

  On the field, the two batants tiheir exge, their movements now resembling a fluid da was clear they were testing each other, learning and adapting with every strike. Even amidst the heat of battle, Tang Xi couldn't help but smile. Each csh was a testament to her newfound strength, fueling her determination.

  Finally, both stepped back simultaneously, creating a brief pause. They stood fag each other, breathless but with mutual respect evident in their eyes.

  The silence following the intense exge was broken only by their heavy but trolled breathing. Kai was the first to speak, his voice steady and filled with respect:— "You're formidable, my dy. If I had been a level 4 cultivator of the normal tier, you would have already won."

  Tang Xi raised her head, the fiden her shining eyes tempered by humility in her voice.— "Thank you, Kai. But in a life-or-death fight, the oute would still be uable. Besides, we've only used our auras… we have yet to test our ons."

  Her excitement was unmistakable as she extended her hand, summoning her Lunar Umbrel. The on appeared in her grasp with a gentle glow, its elegant design catg the light. The opy, once adorned with a night sky speckled with stars, now featured delicately drawn white clouds. The frame and handle were a deep bck, etched with intricate cloud patterns.

  Kai was momentarily surprised, but his expression quickly returo calm, as expected of an experienced bodyguard. He tilted his head slightly and said:— "Miss, perhaps it would be better for you to adapt to the on first. It wouldn't be wise to enter bat without fully uanding its potential."

  Tang Xi reized the logi his words. As her father's trusted fidant, Kai likely knew she had never used that on before. His tone wasn't reproachful but cautious—a reminder not to uimate what she didn't fully uand.

  She g the Lunar Umbrel in her hands, spinning it slowly. Its structure was incredibly light, yet it radiated a sense of restrained power. Although she felt an intuitive familiarity with the on, she knew she still o grasp it on a deeper level.

  — "You're right, Kai. This will be my first time using the 'Clouded' Umbrel. But there's er way to adapt to it than through bat."

  She called it that as a precaution. With a fident smile, she spun the umbrel in the air, the sound of metal slig through the wind eg softly.

  Kai nodded, adjusting his stand drawing his own on—a long sword with a shimmering bde that seemed to vibrate with an aquatic aura. He assumed a defensive position, making it clear he would not uimate her.

  Tang Xi was the first to attack, advang with impressive speed. In one fluid motion, she partially opehe umbrel, spinning it like a shield while thrusting its metallic tip forward. Kai sidestepped and tered with a horizontal ssh.

  The csh of their ons created a visible ripple of energy, and Tang Xi felt the vibration travel up her arm. She adjusted her grip, realizing the umbrel wasn't just an offensive on but also a versatile defeool.

  The exge tinued, swift and precise. Tang Xi experimented with different teiques: spinning the umbrel to deflect attacks, striking with its sharp tip from ued angles. With every move, she felt her e with the on deepen, as if the Lunar Umbrel were responding to her thoughts and iions.

  Kai adapted his strategy as well. His sword seemed to dahrough the air, its aquatic aura making his moves more uable. Even so, Tang Xi adjusted in kind, using the umbrel's structure to blod ter with increasing efficy.

  From a distance, Ah Tao watched in plete awe. The sound of their ons echoed through the training field, their auras iwining in a breathtaking dispy.

  Tang Xi eventually stepped back, closing the umbrel with a swift motion and adopting a defeance.

  — " Kai, it seems I'm beginning to uand this on's potential. But there's still much to explore."

  He appeared to smile faintly, admiration clear in his eyes.— "If this is only the beginning, Miss, I 't imagine what you'll achieve once you've fully mastered this on."

  The training wasn't over, but in that moment, Tang Xi had already taken a signifit step toward mastering her newfound power.

  — "Now it's time for you to unleash your martial arts and e at me with full force,"— she said, eager to test her strength against him. And so, he did.

  Aug_N7052