Reunion Battle (3)

Although Kate could wound Shui with the influence of nature energy, she wasn't able to attack consecutively and Shui was capable of defeating her in one strike if she let her guard down. She was able to bring about a more powerful strike using bigger movements, but that would exhaust her quickly. Kate didn't use any nature energy to make her attacks, but there was a strong drain on her mind. 

Neither had managed to land a clean hit, but at the current rate Kate would completely exhaust herself in a few more moves. Shui knew Kate wouldn't complain even if he remained passive until then, but that seemed like a boring move.

"It doesn't look like you'll last much longer, so how about both this? I'll give you a chance to make one last move. If I can block it then I win, otherwise you win."

"You sure sound, confident."

"If you don't agree then I don't mind joining you for a few more clashes, but is that enough for you?"

"...Fine. I just hope you won't make any excuses when I win."

"You don't have to worry, that won't happen."

Facing Kate from a few cales away, Shui held Sui in a standard upright stance and waited for her move. Kate took a deep breath and assumed a fighting stance with her left hand in front and her right hand clenched in a fist at her waist. Despite this being their final clash, neither made any grandiose preparations, but the power that would be on display would certainly not fall short of their clashes so far. 

Once she was as in tune with the surrounding nature energy as she could possibly be, Kate slowly punched forward. A silent yet massive force rushed towards Shui, but he showed no restlessness. Even his quasi-divine body would be seriously damaged if he took it head-on, but at a pace that seemed as slow as Kate's he raised Sui and swung it down on the force. 

On impact he was nearly knocked off the ground, but Shui forced his feet below the ground and resisted. His hands trembled in the face of this power, but he gritted his teeth, tightened his grip on Sui and then poured more divine energy into it.

"Ha!"

Under the suppression of divine energy, he was able to push back the force and then with a shout, Shui cut through it. Seeing her final attack bested, Kate showed a wry smile as her red aura dissipated and she tumbled to the ground. Shui caught her before she fell, but by then she was already unconscious. 

"That was a good spar."

Since the battle was clearly over, Reinhart approached as Shui lifted Kate in his arms.

"How is she?"

"Just tired. She should be fine after a good night sleep. Would you mind if we set up camp here?"

"No, here is fine."

After getting Reinhart's approval, Shui took out a tent from his storage ring and set it up nearby. He then carried Kate into the tent and took out a quilt before placing her on it. As the two were of age, Reinhart questioned whether this was appropriate behaviour, but he didn't believe Shui would do anything untoward, especially not with him there. Of course, with the strength he had shown Shui was more than capable of killing him if he made any objections, but he didn't think Shui was such a villain. 

After putting Kate to bed, Shui set up a pseudo-array using 'Protect' and 'Alert' talismans. He didn't plan on resting for the night, but there was no reason to leave the camp unprotected. 

"I don't mean to pry, but Shui, do you have a master?"

While Shui took a seat in front of Kate's tent, Reinhart brought up this question. If it was someone he was unfamiliar with then Shui wouldn't have even responded, but he could be honest with Reinhart.

"No, why do you ask?"

"Is it really strange that I would ask? Even during your crippled period you were learning the art of arrays at a level that could impress even the elders of the manor. And now I see that your power is enough to stand on the same level as the manor lord. Even if you obtained a supreme inheritance, your progress is astonishing."

"Yes, I agree. All I can say is that I've been blessed with talent and good fortune."

There was no arrogance in Shui's tone. Although he was confident that his achievements so far could be considered outstanding, it was still far from enough to face his fate. 

Shui then asked about Fatty and Serina, and Reinhart replied that they had been returned safely. From there, Reinhart brought up some matters involving the manor and Kate's precarious position. Shui had learnt many things from the inner section elders, but Reinhart was able to tell him the particulars that those elders either weren't aware of or weren't willing to discuss.

"With her beauty and talent, this was probably inevitable," with a bow Shui added, "Thank you for taking care of her, Senior Brother."

"Raise your head. If you still wish to call me senior brother then don't do this again. It's only natural that I would take care of my junior sister, there is no need for thanks."

Shui was willing to bow his head because he respected Reinhart and knew that he wasn't the type of person to make things difficult for him. 

"Even so, I'm grateful. As you know, I've lived with Kate and her family since I was young so she's like a sister to me. Although I don't plan to hover around her for the rest of her life, it's nice to know that there are those I can trust by her side."

Sensing his sincerity, Reinhart didn't make any comments and instead changed the topic.

"So, now that you know the full story, what do you plan to do?"

With Shui's power even the manor lord would have to give him face, so it would be simple to block Kate's enemies if he wanted to. However, Shui shook his head.

"She wouldn't want me to interfere in her revenge. I'll make a move if someone from the older generation wants to muddle in her affairs, but otherwise I'll remain a bystander."

Reinhart knew that Kate would never ask for Shui's help to deal with the other core disciples, so he nodded in agreement. Besides the occasional trivial chatter, they spent the rest of the night silently until a short time before dawn. Hearing rustling from inside the tent, both of them turned towards it and waited for Kate to appear.

When Kate stepped out of the tent, her appearance was slightly disheveled, but before either of them could point it out, she asked Shui for a favour.

"Shui, I want to break through to the Earth Realm here. Could you help me?" 

Even after a night of sleep, Kate could feel the inspiration from the previous day's battle filling her heart and mind, and she knew that once she comprehended this it would be time to reach the Earth Realm. Reinhart had already mentioned this possibility to Shui so he wasn't surprised and accepted almost immediately.

"Could you give me about a day to get everything ready?"

"Sure, I still need to calm down first."

Shui hadn't forgotten the phenomenon that Kate caused when she broke through to the Soul Realm, and considering this new technique she had learnt, he didn't doubt that she would attract a lot of attention if he didn't hide her properly.