Chapter 615: Spar

Thump...

Thump...

Thump...

Maximilian’s heartbeat suddenly quickened the moment his eyes fell on Gumiho. Even though every part of her was covered except her eyes, she seemed even more breathtaking than the heavenly mountains before him.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself.

"Alright," he said, his golden eyes regaining their composure. "But I will not hold back too much this time."

He drew Vajra from his storage ring, its obsidian-like surface reflecting the pink hue from Gumiho’s hair.

"That’s exactly what I wanted," Gumiho said, swaying her hands forward. The plum blossoms launched towards Maximilian.

Their number and speed had increased severalfold compared to before.

Maximilian jumped onto his sword and went airborne. The petals followed him, splitting into multiple parts.

He flew skillfully through the bamboo forest, heading towards Gumiho.

All four tails behind her unfurled as she formed a series of hand signs, releasing even more petals towards him.

"Th-that’s ridiculous," Maximilian gasped. The number of petals had already surpassed several thousand.

They surrounded him from every direction, circling around him like a tornado and slowly decreasing their radius until they reached him.

Boom!!!

The petals exploded in a large pink mushroom cloud, with amber flames raging at the bottom.

Several bamboo trees were uprooted, hurling through the air in every direction.

Gumiho’s eyes narrowed towards the centre of the destruction as the clouds slowly dissipated.

A spherical shield made of numerous interlocked swords was revealed, hovering in the air. It slowly rotated around its axis.

"Now it’s my time to attack." Maximilian’s voice came from inside the sphere as dozens of swords shot towards Gumiho.

She released a river of petals towards the incoming swords. The moment they collided, several explosions occurred, scattering the swords towards the bamboo trees and the ground.

"Try stopping this," Maximilian’s voice came from the air, where he stood atop his sword with a relaxed posture. A disc of swords rotated on its axis behind his back. Together with his silken black robe and golden eyes, he looked no less than a deity to Gumiho.

He directed his hand towards her and whispered,

"Sixteen Swords Formation: Sword Disc!"

The disc behind him followed the direction of his arm and rushed towards Gumiho in a rapid rotation.

She immediately began forming a series of hand signs.

"Plum Blossom Arms!"

The petals around her took the shape of two gigantic arms. They moved towards the approaching sword disc.

"You have to do better than an explosion to stop the Sword Disc," Maximilian told her, pouring more Soulforce into the disc and increasing its rotation speed. Flickers of crimson lightning became visible across its surface.

Gumiho’s eyes widened for a moment. Master Arthur could use Crimson Lightning of Calamity class?

However, she soon regained her composure.

Both her arms swayed in what appeared to be an elegant dance. The petal arms copied her movements as the sword disc reached the space between their palms.

The sword disc’s trajectory changed, moving along with the motion of her arms.

Gumiho elegantly pivoted on her heel and extended her hands towards Maximilian. The petal arms did the same, hurtling the sword disc back towards Maximilian.

His golden eyes widened in shock as his own attack was redirected towards him. The sword disc only stopped a few inches away from his throat as he regained control over it.

’D-did she sever my connection with the swords?’ Maximilian gasped inwardly. ’No. The petal arms created an illusion between their palms using World Energy, making my Sword Disc believe that it was following my command.’

He shook his head in disbelief. ’What a terrifying power.’

"Master, don’t make excuses that you were distracted when I defeat you," Gumiho called out as the petal arms came towards Maximilian from both sides in a clap.

"This little fox," Maximilian chuckled.

Just as the petal arms were about to clap together, he moved his index and middle fingers upward.

A sword emerged from the ground beneath Gumiho.

"Oh no." She tried to form a shield of petals around herself, but her reflexes were a moment too late.

The sword had already reached her throat, stopping only a hair’s breadth from her veil.

"I lost..." she whimpered, cancelling her petal palms.

Maximilian slowly descended to the ground on his sword, landing before her.

"I was just this close to defeating you," she sighed with a frown.

"You are still a thousand years too early to defeat me," Maximilian scoffed, flicking her forehead as he moved the sword back into his storage pouch.

She gave him a silent stare, holding her forehead where Maximilian had flicked her.

"How did your sword reach underground?" she asked, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

"When I created the defensive sword sphere, I sent one sword into the ground and waited for the right moment," Maximilian revealed with a casual shrug. "An opponent often lets their guard down when they see victory approaching."

"No, I’m not convinced," she declared, feeling as though she had been wronged. "I was tricked by you. Fight me again, Master. There are many skills that I still haven’t used."

"Ehh?" Maximilian raised an eyebrow. "But I don’t want to. The gap between us is too big. I will let you fight Vyaghra when we return. I barely managed to keep myself from falling asleep during this spar."

Maximilian could see her pink eyes trembling. She was furious at her annoying master’s words.

But it was necessary. Maximilian needed to keep her humble, or she might become too arrogant about her powers.

"I won’t ask you to fight me for free," she said, clenching her fists at her sides. "I will give you one Soul Cleansing Pill each time I lose."

"Ehh? How many do you have?" Maximilian asked, surprised. He had left three bottles of Soul Cleansing Pills and three bottles of Myriad Life Pills. Each bottle contained ten pills.

"Enough to defeat you," she declared, her pink Soulforce rising.

Maximilian could practically feel the grin beneath her veil.

"Fine. Don’t come crying to me later," he sighed, drawing his sword again.

---

’Damn, thirty pills,’ Maximilian gasped inwardly, looking at the three jade bottles in his hand. ’She never used a single pill.’

He turned to Gumiho, who was crouching on the ground with her back facing him.

He reached her and sat down beside her. She immediately turned away.

"Hey, I told you not to cry later," he muttered, pressing his forehead.

"Master, you are a big bully," Gumiho sulked, her voice sounding almost on the verge of tears. She had been one-sidedly defeated, after all. "My precious Soul Cleansing Pills..."

"Fine, fine. Stop sulking." Maximilian sighed as he grabbed her arm and placed the bottles in her hand. "You may keep them."

"Really?" she asked, her fluffy ears rising.

’It’s so easy to read her,’ he sighed. ’How is she going to master her illusion spells like this?’

She shook her head, her ears dropping again. "No, you won them fairly. They are yours now."

"Tch, you are my disciple," Maximilian clicked his tongue with a frown. "And I decided to give them to my disciple."

He gave her a sidelong glance and continued, "But if you really don’t want these pills, then I will take them."

She instantly put them in her storage pouch and looked at Maximilian with her innocent eyes.

"Master, give me headpats." She leaned closer, placing her hands on the ground.

’Oh, is that because she wants to pay her respects to me?’ he murmured inwardly, unable to hide the smile on his face.

He had only raised his hand when Gumiho had already moved her head beneath his palm.

"Aren’t you an impatient one?" he chuckled as he gently stroked her head.