High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

"Bang!"

It was another dull collision.

Shen Chang'an used the recoil to slide backward for several meters, his hands feeling slightly numb.

In the rapid transition between offense and defense, he was quickly calculating countermeasures in his mind.

"Black Flame cannot be used."

Shen Chang'an thought to himself.

"The black flames are too clingy and destructive; once you're on them, they're extremely difficult to extinguish. In this friendly sparring match, if the intensity isn't controlled properly, it could really be fatal."

Moreover, Shen Chang'an had also noticed. Although Ji Xiaoyue's attacks were fierce, she had actually held back. She hadn't used those powerful lightning-based destructive spells; she had merely applied lightning attributes to her body to stimulate her muscles and increase her speed for close combat.

"Since we can't use black flames, we'll have to use ordinary spells in conjunction with tactics."

Seeing Ji Xiaoyue transform into a streak of blue lightning and approach once more, Shen Chang'an's eyes sharpened, and instead of retreating, he advanced.

Using the force of Ji Xiaoyue's punch, he nimbly performed a backflip. The instant his hands touched the ground, he unhesitatingly poured a large amount of spiritual energy into the earth.

"Earth-based systems are like drawing a line in the sand!"

Rumble!

The hard metal floor of the training room cracked instantly, and the four thick, solid rock walls rose up from the ground, like a huge cage, instantly surrounding Ji Xiaoyue who was rushing forward.

However, less than half a second had passed.

"boom!"

With a deafening roar of thunder, the seemingly indestructible rock and earth cage was shattered by Ji Xiaoyue's violent punch.

Countless pebbles and billowing dust instantly filled the entire training room, severely obstructing the view.

"These little tricks can't fool me." Ji Xiaoyue's confident voice came from the dust.

"Of course I know I can't trap them."

Shen Chang'an concealed himself in the dust, a smile playing on his lips. He hadn't expected this move to harm a peak fifth-realm cultivator; what he wanted was this cloud of dust.

A faint orange-red light suddenly appeared in Shen Chang'an's eyes, like two burning flames.

Burning pupils.

Through the billowing smoke and dust, Shen Chang'an clearly spotted the raging blue lightning bolt representing Ji Xiaoyue moving at high speed.

Shen Chang'an's hands flew, quickly forming an ancient talismanic hand seal.

"Defend!"

This wasn't the kind of abnormal defense he was usually good at, made of destructive black flames; it was a shield made entirely of ordinary crimson flames.

The moment the shield took shape, Ji Xiaoyue pierced through the smoke and dust like a ghost, and with a thunderous punch, slammed hard into the fire barrier.

"Snap—!"

The barrier made of crimson flames cracked under the strain, its surface instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, on the verge of falling apart.

A hint of surprise flashed in Ji Xiaoyue's eyes. She had originally thought that this punch would directly pierce through Shen Chang'an's defense, but she did not expect that this seemingly ordinary flame shield would have such a high density of spiritual energy.

"That's interesting, but... not enough!"

Ji Xiaoyue shouted and unleashed her second punch without hesitation.

"Bang!"

The flame barrier shattered completely, turning into a sky full of sparks.

However, the instant the barrier shattered, Ji Xiaoyue discovered that Shen Chang'an was nowhere to be seen behind the shield. All that remained was a fading, humanoid flame.

"Fire-type Substitution Technique? A mere trifle."

Ji Xiaoyue snorted coldly.

Just as she was about to spread her senses again to search for Shen Chang'an's whereabouts, a sudden change occurred.

"Splash!"

Several chains formed from blazing crimson flames suddenly shot out from the surrounding smoke and dust like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, heading straight for Ji Xiaoyue.

This is another of the four core talisman techniques that Shen Chang'an currently possesses—the [Control] technique!

The fiery chains moved with incredible speed, precisely wrapping around Ji Xiaoyue's hands and feet before she could even react.

Although these ordinary fire chains could not penetrate the violent lightning protective aura on Ji Xiaoyue's body and could not cause substantial burns, they were enough to restrict her movements for a short period of time.

"Little Chang'an, you've got quite a wide range of knowledge. You even know this kind of unorthodox talismanic chain technique?"

As Ji Xiaoyue spoke, she suddenly exerted force with both arms.

"Bang! Bang!"

With a deafening roar of lightning, the two chains of fire wrapped around her arms were violently torn off.

"I just did some casual research on minor topics when I was bored."

Shen Chang'an's voice came from behind Ji Xiaoyue's right side.

Upon hearing the voice, Ji Xiaoyue's lips curled into a triumphant smile: "Got you."

She didn't even bother with the chains still binding her feet, and directly activated the lightning power under her feet, preparing to use Explosive Step to rush towards the direction from which the sound came at top speed.

However, an accident happened at that moment.

"Um?"

Just as Ji Xiaoyue was about to sprint forward, she suddenly felt a terrifying pulling force coming from her feet. The chains on her feet, which she thought could be broken with just a little effort, didn't budge an inch!

Little did she know that Shen Chang'an, the sixth brother, had deliberately made the chains binding her arms fragile, giving her the illusion that they were easily broken. The two chains actually used to restrain her feet, however, had been infused with a massive amount of spiritual energy, making them as strong as fine steel.

This sudden resistance caused Ji Xiaoyue, who was bursting at full speed, to lose her balance instantly, and her body involuntarily fell forward.

However, for a seasoned, battle-hardened peak-level expert of the fifth realm, such a loss of balance was not a fatal crisis. Ji Xiaoyue reacted extremely quickly; she instinctively pulled in her stomach, preparing to use the momentum of her forward lean to complete a clean and neat forward roll on the ground, thereby dissipating the impact and readjusting her posture.

But just as she was about to roll out...

Shen Chang'an had already silently appeared directly in front of her using his explosive movement.

His original plan was to, in the instant Ji Xiaoyue lost her balance, he would strike her with the grace of a master swordsman, his fingers forming a sword, and bring it firmly to her throat, then casually say, "Thank you for the concession," thus perfectly ending the sparring match.

However, he never expected that after losing her balance, Ji Xiaoyue would choose to roll forward aggressively!

In an instant, the distance between the two was reduced to a dangerous level.

If Shen Chang'an had continued to thrust out his sword finger, it would have been very likely to pierce Ji Xiaoyue's throat.

In a flash, Shen Chang'an hastily changed his move, turning his fingers into claws and grabbing at the target.

Time seemed to stand still at that moment.