念御气，气御掌，掌引红莲。

Qi Sha's move was clearly a desperate attack.

Uesugi Jin could neither dodge nor block it, so she had to grit her teeth and endure...

The attack began, and the flames exploded, dazzlingly bright.

The attack landed, and fresh blood sizzled, her life hanging by a thread.

Clearly, this strike had severely injured Uesugi Jin, but... it hadn't killed her.

Under the close-range direct hit of the [Li Bai Ba Shi – Orochi Nagi], Uesugi Jin relied on pure defense and health points to survive, with a sliver of life left.

And what was a sliver of life for her was, of course, a possibility of death for Qi Sha.

"Cough..." In that instant, Uesugi Jin endured the severe pain from her injuries, forcibly urged her fighting spirit, and coughed out a mouthful of stagnant blood from her mouth, her aura in that instant... returning to a smooth state.

The ultimate move was unleashed at this moment!

[Name: Gui Chan Liu Duan (Six Severances of the Ghostly Zen)]

[Skill Card Attribute: Active Skill, disappears after one use]

[Skill Category: Combat, Spiritual Arts]

[Effect: Wu Wang Cheng Fa (Unfounded Formation), Shen Mi Duo Shi (Bewildering World), Tu Yin Sha Jie (Slaughter Seal Killing Realm), Fu Lun Tian Zang (Assisting Wheel Heavenly Burial), Zhong Xiang Wei Mie (All Forms Extinguished), Fan Gui Tong Bei (Brahma Ghosts Grieve Together) (These six forms will be launched continuously and cannot be interrupted)]

[Consumption: Can only be used when in a near-death state, no consumption]

[Learning Conditions: Combat Specialization S, Spiritual Arts Specialization C]

[Remarks: Ghost Tathagata's exclusive ultimate technique, unparalleled power, wailing ghosts and startling heavens.]

Uesugi Jin's desperate counterattack was a skill, but it was actually equivalent to six moves. The only drawback of this technique was... after activation, as long as the caster did not die or have an important limb severed, all six moves had to be completed in order before the action could be stopped.

If the opponent had seen the six moves of [Gui Chan Liu Duan] beforehand, they could take advantage of this to strike first.

Unfortunately... Qi Sha had never seen this skill before. All he could rely on was his on-the-spot reaction...

"Die!" When attacking, Uesugi Jin's eyes were sharp, her killing intent terrifying, and she even shouted angrily, vowing to finish off her opponent.

At that moment, a ghastly aura suddenly formed, attaching itself to the blade of the Sadame Nagato, drawing out a series of six frenzied demonic energy attacks.

Qi Sha also understood... the incoming attack was extraordinary. He immediately readjusted his stance, spread his arms, concentrated his energy, and prepared to withstand the power of the six severances.

However, [Gui Chan Liu Duan] combined meditation and Zen, its killing intent vast; within the ghostly aura, the blade's edge suddenly burst forth, pouring down like a waterfall, in the blink of an eye... even a top expert like Qi Sha could not retreat unscathed when facing such a move for the first time.

...

"Heh... it seems the outcome will soon be revealed." At the same moment, in the [Sengoku]'s spectator space, Date Makoto revealed a cold smile.

"Oh?" Not having seen this point, Akechi Shin turned his head in doubt and asked, "Do you think Qi Sha is at the end of his rope?"

"Of course, he's not at the end of his rope. On the contrary... he has at least three or four attack methods that can instantly kill Senior Uesugi that he hasn't used yet," Date replied. "However... he has no chance to use them."

"Why?" Sasaki Mei also interjected and asked.

"Two reasons," Date Makoto replied. "First, because his 'defense' is super poor..."

He paused for a second and explained, "Although his 'attack' and 'counter-attack' techniques are perfect, with no flaws to be seen... once he falls into a passive defensive rhythm, his simple and childish defensive movements are exposed."

"Of course, someone of his level wouldn't ignore his weaknesses; Qi Sha also has a strategy to compensate for his 'simple defensive style', which is to shorten the 'defensive' process to the limit."

"Simply put, it's to quickly deal with it in his almost clumsy way when he 'has to defend', and then launch a counterattack in a 'time period when ordinary people are still defending'."

"What is the 'time period when ordinary people are still defending'?" Akechi Shin asked again.

"Hmm..." Date Makoto thought for a moment and continued, "Let me give you an example... for example, A chops at B with an axe, and B raises a shield to block; generally speaking, in this kind of attack and defense, after the axe touches the shield, there will be a contest of strength between the two sides. If A is stronger, B's hand holding the shield will be pushed down a bit, and vice versa, A's hand will be numb or bounced away... After this 'contest' process is over, both sides will unload their strength, reorganize their postures, and start the next attack and defense. The time spent in this process... this ambiguous but brief moment that both the attacking and defending sides tacitly agree to wait for... doesn't exist for Qi Sha." He paused slightly and added, "Qi Sha's defense ends the moment the axe and shield come into contact... As for whether the person holding the axe will deflect the blade and cut down? Whether this axe will only be a weak feint? Whether the power of the axe will split the shield in half? He doesn't consider any of these things... All he has to do is wait for the end of this 'must defend' moment, and then immediately bring the battle back to the area he is good at – attack."

"Okay... even if his defensive ability is terrible as you say, and..." Akechi Shin glanced at the field, "He is now forced into a state of 'continuous defense' by the [Gui Chan Liu Duan]... but how do you know that after this round of skill combos, he won't be able to bring the rhythm back to a 'counter-attack' situation through a counterattack?"

"That's the 'second reason' I was about to say..." Date Makoto continued, "Qi Sha's will to win is far inferior to Senior Uesugi."

"Are you saying he's holding back?" Sasaki Mei asked again, interjecting.

"It can't be said that he's holding back..." Date Makoto said, "It's just... compared to Senior Uesugi's 'must win' momentum, Qi Sha's enthusiasm seems to be more focused on enjoying the battle itself..." He spread his hands and continued with a playful smile, "This... is a qualitative difference."

...

We all know that in most film and television or literary works, when someone is "explaining" a battle, time seems to pass particularly slowly.

The same is true now...

By the time Date Makoto and the others finished their conversation, Uesugi Jin's [Gui Chan Liu Duan] had just finished releasing on the battlefield.

Qi Sha... dodged four moves and blocked two; although he was injured, his condition was still better than Uesugi Jin's.

However, in his own opinion, he was in great danger.

"This won't do... if she keeps connecting these kinds of skills, I'm the one who's going to die..." At this moment, Qi Sha thought to himself, "Let's end this 'sparring' here... it wouldn't be good to be beaten to death in the end in order to see more moves... I have to quickly use 'Soul Intent' to interrupt her continuous attacks and then send her to heaven..."

If he had this idea at the beginning of the match, he would have already won.

Whether it was the first-order [Ultimate Fist] or the second-order [Ferocious Star Blaze], Qi Sha's two Soul Intents were abilities that did not require testing, did not require secrecy, and were guaranteed to work.

If Uesugi Jin possessed these two levels of Soul Intent, she would have used them at the beginning of the battle.

But Qi Sha... did not use them.

He was like those giants of light from the M78 Nebula, who kept saying that they wanted to protect the Earth, but every time a monster attacked, they held back their long-range ultimate moves that could blast their opponents to smithereens, and instead went up and played karate, judo, wrestling, and mud with the monsters...

After destroying half a city and causing trillions of yen in losses, they were willing to use their ultimate moves to kill their opponents.

Finally, they would often stand in the middle of a ruin, look at the devastated land with a proud face, nod in satisfaction, shout "爽 (Shuang - Awesome)", and then fly away.

At that moment, the small light on their chest that kept flashing and sounded like a siren seemed to be shouting – Earthlings, you can call the police, but you can't do anything to me.

Their hidden merit and fame, as well as the rule that they had to change a relative to work on Earth every year or two, had already revealed the truth about the bursting of the island nation's bubble economy.

I've gotten a bit carried away... In short, as Date Makoto said, Qi Sha, who was thinking of coming to S3 to "spar with experts," differed from Uesugi Jin in the will to win.

Those who fight with their backs to the water have endless fierce attacks.

Those who fight with something to wait for retreat step by step with nowhere to retreat.

When Qi Sha felt that he "had to get serious and end the battle," the battle was actually already over.

With the remaining momentum of [Gui Chan Liu Duan] not yet exhausted, Uesugi Jin's next skill was already ready...

But she saw Sadame Nagato flash, and a style [Yun Tian Zhan Xing Jue (Falling Sky Star Severing Art)] collapsed over.

The ominous star fell in response to the tribulation.