Being one of the greatest anomalies within the fabric of fate, Aksai already knew his luck factor was highly questionable.

Sometimes it seemed as though he was unbelievably fortunate. More often than not, however, that fortune was merely the calm before an even greater storm.

Aksai did not dare gamble with his life against his first opponent from the Shinayin Empire.

As such, he made full use of Nuri’s real-time guidance to bring out two hundred percent of his martial arts’ potential.

As for the hard-earned insights obtained through life-and-death battles?

He could always replay this battle later with Nuri’s help and gain at least part of the understanding he had sacrificed today.

It had to be said that Nuri played an enormous role in the battle while remaining completely invisible and silent.

Kalina had no way of knowing that she was not merely fighting a cultivator. She was also fighting a supercomputer-like existence.

It was like playing an online game of chess against someone secretly assisted by an unimaginably powerful analysis engine. No matter how many restrictions were placed upon that engine, it could still pressure even the greatest grandmasters.

Aksai could use not only Spirit Sense but also Qi Sense and Aether Sense.

Spirit Sense was like an extra pair of highly sensitive eyes, while Qi Sense more or less functioned like a full-body analyzer. Similarly, Aether Sense provided valuable real-time data regarding an opponent’s inclinations and intentions, however vague they might be.

Since Kalina was unaware of cultivation paths other than Spirit cultivation, she could not take any measures to disrupt Aksai’s Qi Sense or Aether Sense.

Furthermore, Aksai had only barely revealed his body cultivation path while keeping his mind cultivation path completely hidden. As such, he was able to employ all of his extra senses without facing any interference.

Even though the barrier hindered Aksai’s Spirit Sense to some extent because of the poison mist’s inherent effects, he had already taken sufficient measures to reduce its impact to the bare minimum.

Not to mention, Kalina’s Spirit Sense was even more hindered inside the barrier. Plus, she couldn’t keep track of Aksai whenever he disappeared into the poison mist for a brief time only to appear from a peculiar angle to launch a surprise attack on her. This was due to the effects of the Spirit Veil Pill that he had consumed.

As such, one could say that Kalina was partially blind inside the barrier while Aksai could keep track of her using his extra senses and the real-time data collected through his extra senses.

All of this data was gathered and analyzed by Nuri within a fraction of a second before she provided Aksai with well-founded guidance.

This systematic advantage became especially terrifying in close combat. As Nuri continued gathering more and more data on Kalina during their clash, her predictive calculations became increasingly accurate.

It had to be noted that this was Aksai’s first time using Nuri’s real-time guidance while performing martial arts after her upgrades. Although he had run simulations regarding this combo inside Nuri’s sandboxing environment, it couldn’t really compare to the real thing.

Suffice it to say, he was impressed despite the injuries that continued to accumulate across his body.

Regardless of the many advantages Kalina held over him, Aksai knew that injuries were an unavoidable part of close-quarters combat.

Unless he possessed the ability to completely overwhelm his opponent with a single strike, he would always risk being injured while fighting cultivators of a similar level.

This was especially true in the Lord Realm.

Nuri’s assistance during Aksai’s Spirit Spell and Innate Spell casting had certainly been significant. However, its effects were nowhere near as shocking as what she enabled him to accomplish in hand-to-hand combat through the Qi cultivation path.

Of course, Aksai would never have chosen this style of fighting against a late-stage Lord if he had another option. He wasn’t really a battle maniac.

No matter how much Nuri helped him unleash the true potential of his martial arts, he was still playing with fire. Every exchange carried the risk of fatal injury.

Such reckless combat did not match his usual style, which was careful, calculating, and designed to minimize danger as much as possible.

He would have preferred to wear Kalina down little by little or use distractions, just as he had done against Arkaal.

Unfortunately, because of the battlefield’s conditions and various restrictions, this brutal close-quarters battle was the only option left to him.

***

Seconds turned into minutes.

Kalina gradually felt greater pressure.

Although it looked like she was the one dominating the battle, only she knew what kind of predicament she was in.

After all, Aksai’s body carried far more wounds than hers. She looked barely harmed. Yet only she knew how uncomfortable this fight truly was.

She was not a close-combat specialist. Plus, her body was not strengthened by the body cultivation path. Although her natural defence layer was stronger than Aksai, it was also chipping away due to the effects of the poison mist.

As such, everything she was doing depended on the Sharp Slash Talisman. Without it, she would never have dared exchange blows at this distance. Worse, she could not cast a single Connate Spell.

Every attempt to create distance was interrupted by Aksai. Every breathing space was filled with vines. Every opportunity disappeared before it could even form.

She had exhausted every defensive measure available to her. Her protective treasures were gone. Her Natal Sword was gone.

Even her natural Spirit Essence barrier had begun weakening. The poisonous mist filling the isolated domain continuously eroded it.

Normally, such poison would not have threatened her. But trapped inside the sealed battlefield, its effects slowly accumulated.

Her Spirit Essence circulation had already become slightly sluggish. Tiny traces of poison had begun entering her body. That was exactly why Aksai’s palms could now injure her.

Otherwise, the difference between their cultivation realms alone would have prevented his attacks from leaving more than superficial bruises.

This was a well-planned battlefield, specially catered towards Kalina.

For the first time since entering the Dadangar Subcontinent, Kalina truly felt cornered.