Reunion Battle

Kate eventually parted from Shui so he could finally see her face again. The area around her eyes was red and puffy but she maintained a strong front.

"Just so you know, I wasn't crying," before anything else, Kate ensured to clear up this 'misunderstanding'.

"Really? Your eyes are red, you know."

"I just got some dust in my eye."

Shui chuckled and felt the urge to tease her, but he decided to show mercy this time.

"Fine then. Since you're done rubbing your eyes, let's head to the nearest town. I don't mind camping either but we should figure out where to stay before we start catching up."

"We just left the nearest town, but I'd prefer camping tonight. What about you, Senior Brother?"

"We shouldn't be attacked for the rest of the day and the view is clear here, so I don't see a problem."

Reinhart came from a fairly affluent background, so he would rather stay inside a building during the night, but he didn't mind yielding to his junior sister this time.

"Okay, then-"

"Wait, before we camp, there's something we have to take care of first."

Reinhart was able to figure out Kate's intention as this was her plan from the start, but Shui was clueless. Still, he was able to make a good guess when he saw the competitive look in her eyes.

"Could it be?"

"That's right. It's been a long time, and you've finally recovered, so I think you owe me a spar after all these years."

"I don't think owe is the right word, but are you sure? To be honest, I'll have to hold back quite a bit to make this a proper fight."

Even though she couldn't grasp the true extent of Shui's power, Kate's instincts told her that he was telling the truth. Regardless, her fighting spirit was unabated. 

"That's great. I've been looking for an opponent I could push myself against and it sounds like you'll be up to the task."

"Heh, I do understand that feeling. Very well. I'll stay right here, let me see if you can move me."

If it was one of the core disciples that always bothered her then Kate would scoff at their arrogance, but when those words came from Shui it made her smile widen. 

"Then make sure to look closely."

Kate then moved back and re-entered resonance state. She even went deeper into resonance to the point that whiskers grew from her cheeks and dagger-like red marks appeared at the edges of her face. A red aura grew from her hands and covered her body before transforming into the shape of a cat. The red aura made her look like she was wearing some sort of transparent costume, but the power that emanated from her was no joke. As the one who created the Red Tiger Paws, Shui was sure of what this meant.

"I knew that you had reached the resonance stage, but to think you would perfect it. As an artifact I'm sure there's no greater joy than to be mastered to this extent. I was thinking of making a new artifact, but perhaps it would be better to reforge it."

While Shui commented on her state, Kate was completely focused on the battle. Although she hadn't totally lost her rationality, she could no longer hold any thoughts irrelevant to the fight. In her current state, her instincts gave her a clearer warning that Shui was far above her in power, but she ignored that signal and made the first move.

Kate pushed off the ground with her feet and made it behind Shui in less than a second. Before he turned around, she swung her foot at his ankles to sweep him off his feet. Shui didn't react to her attack so Kate's foot was able to reach his right ankle, but it could hardly be called a success. Even without making any preparations, Shui's natural toughness surpassed anything she had ever kicked before. If he was serious then she probably would have broken at least a couple bones, but she still couldn't avoid some numbness in her foot. 

After pulling back her foot, Kate stood up and then stomped with that foot despite the sharp pain to psych herself up. Shui remained with his back towards her, possibly meaning that turning around also counted as moving. Still, Kate took advantage of this position and used a palm strike on his back. Naturally, her palm wasn't enough to break through Shui's natural defense, but she wasn't only relying on force this time. Vibrations undulated from her palm and rippled throughout Shui's internals. His internal organs certainly hadn't been excluded from the effects of his body cultivation, but they were still weaker than his skin and bones. He could recover from any damage done to him, but the longer this went on the bigger the damage would get.

Shui was able to cancel out the vibrations using transcendent force, but he had decided not to use more than the base abilities provided by his body cultivation. Instead, he placed a hand on his chest and sent an opposing vibration into his body to cancel Kate's. His tactic worked, but Kate had expected this so once she sensed the opposing vibration, she removed her right palm and struck with her left palm, scattering a vibration that resonated with Shui's to cause enough self-damage for him to shudder. Furthermore, Kate used this opportunity to grab him by the waist and throw him over her head.

Shui hadn't expect such a deep trap from her since he could tell that she was being heavily influenced by the red tiger's aura, but he still reacted fast enough to escape from her throw. She had managed to move him from his original position, but neither mentioned this before Kate launched her next attack. She used a spell to cloak her limbs in turbid winds and leaped a few cales into the air. She then swung her arm at Shui, unleashing a giant claw of wind. Shui dispersed the claw with a single fist, but by then Kate was gone from the sky and was charging at him on the ground.

Her fists appeared ordinary, but he no longer tried to take them head-on. He deflected her punches with minimal movements of his arms and in return she increased the pace of her attack. Their arms soon became blurs involved in a rapid sequence of offense and defense. Seeing that she wouldn't make any progress this way, Kate chose to use the recoil from their clash to move away. She then cast a wind spell on her leg and aimed at Shui's head with a high sidekick. Shui evaded her kick with minimal movement, but the kick was only a trigger for the burst of wind that rose from beneath him. 

Shui used the wind to glide a short distance away and waited for Kate with expectation in his heart. The ability that Kate had shown so far was far beyond the might of a half-step Earth Realm cultivator, and if it was anyone else then he would certainly give them sincere praise. However, even with his current strength far surpassing any of his peers, he still acknowledged Kate as his rival. In combat power the gap was insurmountable, but there was one area in which Shui wasn't fully confident he could beat her in.