19 Practice Fight Scene

[Hey everyone, here is one of the practice fight scenes I am writing these days to keep my writing skill up and to help me decide/create my own style of writing combat scenes.

It also helps me experiment with different ideas for Fan Zhi's attributes, so bonus.

Anyway, enjoy.

Constructive criticism and feedback is always welcome!]

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"Are you sure you want to fight? I won't hold back,"

Fan Zhi said as he shifted into a battle-ready state, ready to withdraw his staff from his sky dantian when needed.

"Hmph, you think I'm a coward? I'll kill you for what you've done!" the man replied coldly, the features of the man nondescript, except for the unemotional eyes of unparalleled sharpness.

Fan Zhi realised that the swordsman may have mistaken his honesty for contempt. Sighing quietly, Fan Zhi pulled his staff out from his sky dantian and took a defensive stance.

Fan Zhi stood as he waited for the swordsman to draw his blade.

The blade had a black hilt and strange black runes on the blade that emanated a cold aura.

While Fan Zhi tried to get clues into the swordsman's laws, the swordsman charged. Fan Zhi retreated slightly, attempting to gain some space to use his ranged attacks.

Suddenly, Fan Zhi leapt to the left suddenly, a pale and sharp silver line following the path the swordsman's blade took.

As he wiped the trace of blood from the small scratch on his right shoulder the sword had made, Fan Zhi analysed his opponent.

Hmm… what Law is that? Spacial Slicing? Hmm, he also suddenly accelerated too, yet there were no auras from any of the more speed orientated laws. Unless it was an internally focused law? Fan Zhi mused quietly, still focused on the swordsman.

Without pause, Fan Zhi avoided the swordsman's constant barrage of attacks, the blade clad in a slightly transparent black qi.

Sensing the ghastly qi the swordsman's blade emanated, Fan Zhi realised that the swordsman had comprehended a profound Death Law.

After he clad his staff in metal and earth essence to prevent it from being cut, Fan Zhi swung his staff to parry the swordsman's blade.

A rapid counter-attack following the parry, Fan Zhi was shocked when the swordsman suddenly accelerated to double his previous speed.

Not allowing the surprise to affect him, Fan Zhi calmly made the earth underneath his feet rise, the follow-up stab of the swordsman stabbing into the pillar that Fan Zhi was on top of.

The blade was abruptly clad in a pale silver essence as it pierced through the pillar of earth smoothly, but Fan Zhi didn't notice this.

Fan Zhi leapt backwards off the pillar, discharging a wave of spikes from it. the swordsman suddenly disappeared.

Fan Zhi felt a cold and deathly aura about half a meter behind himself.

Reacting instinctively, a wall of ice was erected behind his back as he spun and leapt backwards.

The swordsman's blade sliced through the ice wall with ease and narrowly missed Fan Zhi's throat.

This time, Fan Zhi saw the pale silver essence cladding the swordsman's blade alongside the black of the death essence.

A Profound Space Law?! Probably Stable Space given he has not caused any distortions. Looks like I can't create distance for ranged suppression then. Fan Zhi was shocked in his heart, almost being touched by the swordsman's blade during the moment before he regained his composure.

Steeling his will, Fan Zhi advanced towards the swordsman while enhancing himself with qi, wind for mobility and water for flexibility.

As the clashing of steel rang out incessantly, not a trace of blood was spilled.

Fan Zhi used a staff, so any solid strike would break the swordsman's bones.

The swordsman had a profound death law, so both Fan Zhi and the swordsman knew, one successful strike would kill Fan Zhi.

As they fought, Fan Zhi discovered that the speed-related law the swordsman had was a profound time law.

Well… this will be troublesome… his laws of Space and Time mean I can't do any tricks with my laws like shifting the earth… he will just speed himself up or spatial shift to avoid it, Fan Zhi thought as he swept his staff, an icy mist condensed from water essence spreading from it.

The swordsman would have found himself slowed if he didn't move out of the mist.

The swordsman avoided the sweep, his blade out of position.

Fan Zhi followed up with a punch enhanced by thunder, earth and light qi.

He quickly had to pull his fist away before it connected to dodge a blade of death and space essence.

Even if he enhanced his body's defences with earth and metal qi, Fan Zhi still was not confident in remaining unscathed from the sharp blade of essence.

He knew that the Death and Space Law fusion could penetrate his defences and weaken him enough to decide the fight in the swordsman favour.

If it did not kill him directly, that is.

I need some room, otherwise I will be overwhelmed. The only way I can kill him for sure is if he doesn't have his spatial law… to do that, darkness should be able to at least deter him from using it until it is too late, Fan Zhi thought, releasing a wave of mist from his body as he made the earth raise him several meters in the air.

Staring at the swordsman retreating slightly due to the freezing mist, Fan Zhi waited for him to speak while grimacing.

"You are strong."

"As are you. This is the closest I have been to death in a few months. However, I will not fall to you!"

As Fan Zhi's words rang out imperiously, the world around him sung turbulently.

Thunder roared, the earth rumbled and the wind howled.

Despite the sunny weather, a storm formed. The earth cracked.

Fan Zhi smartly used his darkness law to cover his immediate surroundings.

This prevented the swordsman from directly shifting next to him, the ripples from such a move would be easily sensed by Fan Zhi with his darkness acting as a deterrent by slowing the exit from the void the swordsman traversed with his spatial law.

The darkness, which obstructed the vision of everyone in its area, prevented the swordsman from seeing the true danger; the light and thunder in a radius of several kilometers gathering in a cloud above Fan Zhi's head.

I need to use my domain of darkness to conceal my strike. Fortunately, thunder strikes here and lightning does not. He probably thinks I have a lightning law, not light and thunder. That will be his mistake. Fan Zhi internally analysed the situation.

Although only having the fused law compared to the two base laws didn't seem like a big difference, the reality was that it was a crucial difference!

The lightning law could not manipulate thunder or light, while the latter pair of laws can merge to create lightning even if there is none around just by fusing the surrounding light and thunder.

The misinterpretation was easy to make, as lightning qi enhanced the same way as when both thunder and light concurrently enhanced; only it was to a lesser degree.

Expectantly waiting, Fan Zhi began to merge the thunder and light he gathered in the cloud above his head.

The sound of running footsteps echoed through the silent world around the pair immersed in the darkness.

Fan Zhi face, hidden in the darkness, turned a bright red, then as pale as ice.

Fan Zhi struggled to continue the merging and compression of the natural power in the cloud.

Unknown to the swordsman, thunder and light were merging, a pale golden thunder forming.

The sound of a blade cutting air reached Fan Zhi's ears from behind his left shoulder.

As the lightning roared in response, the swordsman saw Fan Zhi's eyes as Fan Zhi looked at him; the amber shining with streaks of white and yellow.

He has light and thunder laws… not lightning The swordsman thought as he saw Fan Zhi's eyes.

The last thought that entered the swordsman's mind was of the eyes of his killer.

His master once warned him, always fear those whose eyes shine with the power of their Dao.

Now, the swordsman understood why.

A single bolt struck, a swordsman's blood sowed in the desolate plain.

* * * *

A body bled; the amber-red blood of the living falling laboriously slow.

Fan Zhi observed the sunken crater around him, staring at the patch of blood directly in front of him.

It was rare that he was forced to use his soulforce; something he reserved only for the manipulation of the natural elements.

Even having had 80% of his soulforce in reserve Fan Zhi could only make the Natural Lightning because he had enough time to gain complete control over the thunder and light before merging them.

Although it seemed the enemy had a decent level of spirit cultivation, he clearly could not use it properly and merely attempted to use deathly soulforce to wither Fan Zhi's soul ineffectually.

This gave Fan Zhi free rein to spend the time gradually placing the ambient light under his control.

Shutting his eyes, the land around Fan Zhi began to move.

The terrain returned to its original state; the flora and fauna unfortunately not.

Half an hour later, he had healed the land as best he could.

Observing the now flat and barren terrain, Fan Zhi used some water essence to create water and cleaned his wounds of dust.

Putting his staff away, Fan Zhi started the long walk back home surrounded by silence.