After finishing all of this, Han Li finally felt at ease. He took out the small gray sword talisman treasure, sat cross-legged, and began channeling his technique, intending to activate the talisman treasure to fly and attack his enemy in the shortest possible time.
Just then, "Senior Brother Lu" across from him had finally gathered enough spiritual energy on the Azure Flood Dragon Banner and launched a storm of attacks.
He stopped waving the banner and instead thrust its tip directly toward Han Li. Instantly, over a dozen crescent-shaped azure wind blades scrambled to be the first to shoot out from the banner tip, whistling as they hurtled toward Han Li.
These wind blades were incredibly fast — moments ago they had still been on "Senior Brother Lu's" side, but in the blink of an eye they had already reached Han Li's position. Truly worthy of being a wind-attribute spell; its attack speed was more than half again faster than spells of other elements.
If Han Li hadn't prepared his defenses in advance, he probably wouldn't even have had time to react before being sliced into a dozen pieces by these wind blades.
Just as alarm rose in Han Li's heart, the wind blades collided violently with the outermost refined steel ring. Azure and yellow light flashed ceaselessly, accompanied by muffled "pfft pfft!" sounds of cutting impacts.
When all the light faded, over a dozen crisscrossing grooves roughly one chi long now marred what had been an impeccably smooth outer surface. The entire magic treasure already looked battered and worn. Fortunately, the treasure had been constantly rotating during the attack, preventing the wind blades from striking the same spot twice — otherwise, they would have long since broken through.
Both Han Li and "Senior Brother Lu" were surprised by this outcome.
Han Li felt that although the refined steel ring hadn't been designed specifically for defense, it was a genuine high-grade magic treasure with impeccable materials. Yet these mere wind blades had sliced it to pieces, nearly destroying it completely. This filled him with unease — he wondered whether he could withstand the opponent's subsequent attacks.
"Senior Brother Lu" was even more stunned. The Azure Flood Dragon Banner was famous among top-grade magic treasures. He had gone to enormous effort and paid a steep price to obtain it, specifically to complement his own spirit root attribute.
This treasure could not only instantly cast simple spells like Wind Blade without any effort, but because it had absorbed a certain amount of spiritual energy, every wind-attribute attack launched from it was amplified. So those wind blades just now, though they appeared to be nothing more than simple low-tier spells, were each in fact powerful enough to rival mid-tier spells.
In other words, that attack had looked simple, but was actually a simultaneous bombardment of over a dozen mid-tier spells — and yet it had failed to break through even the outermost giant ring. How could "Senior Brother Lu" not feel a chill run down his spine, growing even more wary of Han Li!
Though both Han Li and "Senior Brother Lu" recognized the other's threat, their next actions diverged considerably.
Han Li, still trying to activate the talisman treasure, was unwilling to leave the task half-finished. Even though he knew the opponent's next attack would be ferocious, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and hold on.
"Senior Brother Lu," however, was exceptionally perceptive. Seeing that Han Li had remained perfectly still in the same seated position from his defensive stance through the end of the attack, he deduced that his opponent must be preparing a killing blow — either casting some high-level spell or commanding a powerful magic treasure.
Without hesitation, he once again surged spiritual power into the great banner in his hands. He pointed the banner tip at Han Li and jabbed it repeatedly, sending a continuous stream of azure wind blades hurtling across the gap.
These wind blades were smaller in size, but what they lacked in individual power they made up for in relentless continuity, forming a long torrent of azure energy. With terrifying momentum they surged forward, reigniting the violent clash of azure and yellow light.
This time, the steel ring before Han Li held for only a brief moment before letting out a deep, muffled boom. The yellow light scattered, and that high-grade refined steel ring finally met its end, shattered into pieces by the dense barrage of wind blades.
The unobstructed torrent of wind blades plunged forward ruthlessly — only to be blocked by another top-grade magic treasure that had been waiting for this moment: the Dark Iron Shield. Once again, dark light and azure light clashed violently.
The Dark Iron Shield was entirely different from the steel ring.
First, the two differed by a full grade. This shield was a top-grade magic treasure on par with the Azure Flood Dragon Banner — not something just anyone in the cultivation world could possess, but a rare find. The steel ring, by contrast, was merely a high-grade magic treasure. While it couldn't be called common either, any cultivator of modest means still had a chance of owning one or two such pieces, so it was merely somewhat uncommon.
Second, though the iron shield had no offensive capability whatsoever, it was a purpose-built defensive treasure. Its defensive power was incomparable to the jack-of-all-trades steel ring — not only was it thick and sturdy, but several specialized defensive spells were inscribed upon its surface, dramatically enhancing its protective power.