Spread Your Wings and Take Form

The instant Mae vanished, Ryu reacted and pierced forward. He acted with a swift motion and his blood boiled. Rather than shocking him, Mae's true cultivation being just a single major realm apart from him actually filled him with untold excitement. 

He was at the pinnacle of the Path Extinction Realm, and she was at the Lower Dao Pedestal Realm. For the first time in a long while, someone so close to his cultivation actually put so much pressure on him, and it made him feel alive. 

BANG!

Ryu took a step back as their blades collided. His raw strength, despite the recultivation of his Body Realm, was actually a step behind. 

Ryu laughed, the position of his great swordstaff shifting in his hand as he parried the blow to the side, deflecting the rest of its power and piercing his second blade toward Mae's throat.