The strange, ethereal bluish currents were already converging toward Liam, but he had been ready for them now in more ways than one.

Liam wasn’t only faster, having perfected the way he ran, synchronizing it with his Qi. His senses had also learned to recognize that technique, so he could react to it before falling prey to its annoying properties.

Before the currents could arrive, Liam had already crossed them, zigzagging over the floor to avoid falling in the same trap as the Guild’s formation and the previous exchange.

Realistically, Liam didn’t do anything too smart now. He didn’t solve the inescapable maze that the currents were trying to create. He just opted to reach his opponent before the trap could come to be.

Soon enough, Liam was at the old woman’s side, his figure lowered to match her shorter stature and crooked back, his arms crossed, planning to ram into her at full speed as he had done with his previous opponent.

Yet, the old woman had also adapted to Liam, especially after witnessing that strategy already. She had been ready for him, her right arm waving upward, creating a rising bluish current over her figure.

There was no impact. Liam’s feet left the floor as soon as his crossed arms touched the upward current, his whole body falling prey to it. He slid right over the old woman, his accumulated momentum basically sending him flying away.

On top of that, the old woman launched a water bullet with her free arm, hitting Liam’s torso while he was sliding above her, destabilizing him even further and turning his eventual landing into messy rolls.

Liam jumped to his feet soon enough but found himself over twenty meters away from his opponent. No bluish currents filled his vision, but he saw that the old woman was ready for his charge and was waiting for it to launch another counterattack.

A grunt almost escaped Liam’s mouth. His abdomen hurt. The water bullet wasn’t as deadly as the javelin, but it remained a spell, likely of the rank 1 kind. Liam’s skin had remained in one piece, but he still felt as if several hammers had slammed on him.

The impact had actually reopened the injuries caused by the spikes. While Liam’s body could endure such things, he couldn’t exactly shake them off. It was just flesh after all.

Liam ignored the metallic taste in his mouth as calculations ran in his mind. Theoretically, the battle cages should only feature subpar experts, but the old woman clearly was an exception, and Liam didn’t know how planned that was.

In a world where unaffiliated cultivators could have to work their entire lives to get their hands on a single martial art, the old woman had already shown three. The water bullets probably were extremely common, and they were a mere rank 1 technique, but the other two were nothing to laugh at.

The javelin was a killing move, while the currents had excellent flexibility, working both as a movement and defensive technique. It was an excellent martial art, seemingly an upgrade to what Liam had once seen Melissa perform.

Moreover, those weren’t just martial arts. They were spells since they likely matched the nature of the old woman’s core, unleashing stronger effects at lower Qi consumption. It was quite the complete set, while Liam only had his body and conditioned hands to go on.

With what Liam had seen from Melissa, he believed his fingers wouldn’t cut through the bluish currents, basically making his arsenal unsuitable to fight the old woman. It was a terrible match-up.

Liam could still attempt to take his opponent by surprise, and she would always tire far earlier than him, both due to the immense difference in Qi reserves and the fact that she was using spells continuously while he was just running.

Nevertheless, that was exactly the experience Liam had wanted to create for himself. He needed problems that would force him to improve, and his brain once again worked faster in real-life situations. He found something he could try in a memory from the Mutated Battlefield.

It was all a matter of whether Liam could replicate that twisted creature’s ability to any meaningful degree.

The previous exchange repeated itself. Liam charged, and the old woman sent currents to attempt to trap him and slow him down. He reached her from her left this time, her arm already creating an upward wave, only for him to plant his feet on the floor.

The floor actually cracked. Liam’s legs dug into it almost up to his knees, aiding his abrupt stop. The old woman didn’t let that surprise her. Her free arm was already summoning a water bullet, only for her ears to ring so loudly that her control over her Qi faltered.

Rooting experts became able to use their superior Qi for all kinds of basic purposes. It wasn’t just about summoning their core’s nature more easily. They could also enhance their sight, hearing, and more.

Liam did that with his vocal cords. He had actually only tried it once before, when he had attacked the Guild’s branch, but he pushed that to the extreme now, fueling the loudest shout he was capable of.

It wasn’t quite the sound attack the magical beast in the Mutated Battlefield had unleashed, but the old woman still lost control of her Qi for a fraction of a second, and rooting experts could do much with that window.

Performing battle stances with feet anchored in the ground wasn’t really possible, so Liam just waved his arm, grabbing the old woman’s face and slamming her down.

The woman was so light that Liam barely felt any strain when repeating the assault, lifting and slamming her down repeatedly. It was an unsightly scene, unbecoming of the "immortal" cultivators, but power didn’t care for manners.

As proof of that, after the fourth slam, the old woman was sprawled on the broken floor, alive but unconscious, declaring Liam the victor, the audience submerging him in a cacophony of cries.