The entire scene fell silent as everyone held their breath. A tense atmosphere spread through the air.

Lucky did not waste words. His expression hardened with focus, and with a forceful step of his left foot, his body shot forward like a launched projectile. It was like a 107mm shell!

Seeing this, Yae-hime dared not be careless. In an instant, she snapped to full alertness.

In the blink of an eye, Lucky charged with lightning speed. His tightly clenched right fist suddenly swung out, aimed directly at Yae-hime’s head. Even before the fist reached her, the violent force of the punch blew her hair and ribbons into the air.

Faced with such a sharp strike, Yae-hime did not retreat but advanced instead. She stepped forward swiftly, her slender hand reaching out to strike against Lucky’s arm with force.

Two mighty forces collided, producing a muffled boom.

To everyone’s surprise, Lucky was driven into disadvantage in this very first exchange. With Yae-hime’s push, his stance was immediately thrown off balance.

Seizing the moment, she clenched her fist and countered with a strike of her own. Her target was also his head!

The audience present and many watching the livestream were struck with disbelief. But the true experts among them remained calm, as though everything was within their expectations.

Just as Yae-hime’s fist shot out, a sly smile appeared on Lucky’s lips. The next instant, his figure blurred and vanished before her eyes.

From the spectators’ perspective, Yae-hime was now completely exposed, her guard wide open. She was in an extremely dangerous predicament!

At that very moment, Lucky reappeared behind her, his body whipping into a lightning-fast roundhouse kick. His target was the same as before, her unguarded head.

‘The match is over!’ someone thought to themselves.

Such speed, such ferocity! There was no way that Princess could react in time. The battle was decided. Many shared that conclusion. Some even shook their heads inwardly. They had expected an exciting duel, yet victory seemed settled in just two moves.

Still, watching a Grandmaster, and such a beautiful Grandmaster at that, be struck down on the spot was thrilling enough. It was worth the ticket.

However, they were clearly deluding themselves. Just as Lucky’s kick was about to land on Yae-hime’s head, a bizarre sight unfolded. The figure of Yae-hime standing there twisted and distorted under the force of the sweeping kick.

And then, though his leg followed through, Lucky felt only empty air beneath his strike!

“Not good!” At almost the same instant, a fierce aura surged from behind him. Without a second thought, Lucky twisted his body with brute force, crossing his arms before his chest in defense.

A dark shadow struck, swooping down like an eagle snatching a chick, and delivered a sharp kick onto Lucky’s forearms. With a resounding crash, Lucky was blasted backward, his face flashing with astonishment.

The shadow—Yae-hime—landed steadily without pressing the attack further. For she knew very well that in the instant her kick had connected, Lucky had already stamped the ground, propelling himself backward to disperse the force of her strike.

In other words, he had taken no real damage at all, and chasing after him would have been pointless. Moreover, she needed time to recover from her injuries. Every second she could stall was precious.

The scene fell silent for a moment, then erupted in gasps of astonishment.

“How did she do that?!”

“Incredible!”

“She was right in front a moment ago, how did she suddenly appear in midair?!”

“So this is a Grandmaster’s battle? I’m hooked!”

Just a few seconds of exchange had already sent the spectators’ adrenaline surging. Though most could not truly follow what was happening, the sheer beauty of a battle transcending human limits stirred their hearts deeply.

This was true combat!

The experts present showed mild surprise, but after thinking it through, they found it perfectly reasonable. This was merely a warm-up.

“I see now. As expected of a young Grandmaster, you do have some skill,” Lucky said calmly, steadying his stance and gazing at Yae-hime.

“You’re not bad either,” she replied casually.

For now, she did not mind indulging in a little mutual flattery if it could buy her more time to restore her strength to its peak. But clearly, Lucky had no intention of playing along.

“Unfortunately, you won’t live past today. No, you absolutely won’t survive three minutes!” As soon as his words fell, the immense aura within Lucky erupted outward, spreading like a violent storm.

The spectators felt a sudden gale sweep over them, many instinctively raising their arms to shield themselves. Only the true experts stood firm, unmoving, their eyes fixed straight ahead.

‘Just under a minute more, and I’ll be fully recovered.’ Yae-hime assumed a battle stance, silently calculating the time in her heart.

“Haah!” On the other side, Lucky let out a thunderous shout. His overwhelming aura surged behind him, condensing into a vague phantom. It was the form of a fearsome demon!

The crowd broke into uproar once again, and the audience watching the livestream were equally shaken.

“Your life is mine!” With his preparation complete, Lucky charged forth. His fierce aura tore a deep scar across the plaza as stone dust scattered into the air.

Knowing the opponent was about to go all out, Yae-hime’s mind grew taut, her eyes locked forward.

If Lucky had been like a 107mm shell before, he was now a guided missile! In the blink of an eye, the raging Lucky appeared before Yae-hime. His left hand transformed into a tiger’s claw, while his right hand took the form of a crane’s beak.

Behind him, the phantom shifted into the shapes of a fierce tiger and a celestial crane.

‘Tiger-Crane Double Form Fist?!’

Yae-hime had only grasped nine apertures of boxing arts, still far from true mastery. Naturally, she could not recognize exactly what technique he was using. All she could do was make a rough guess from his stance.

Lucky’s strike was blindingly swift, the tiger’s claw lunging directly for Yae-hime’s chest. At first glance, the move looked crude and underhanded. In truth, it really was underhanded.

Traditional martial arts and modern combat techniques were two completely different things. The latter had been stripped of too much substance, leaving little more than fitness routines and showy poses. The former was a true art of killing, aimed directly at the vulnerable points of the human body. Once it landed, it often meant instant death!

This was real combat, not some childish sporting match!

Yae-hime decisively tapped the ground with her toes and leapt backward, retreating to avoid the brunt of the strike. Her goal was clear—to buy time! Rather than waste strength trading blow for blow with Lucky, it was better to hold out until she recovered and then finish him with a single decisive strike!

But Lucky was not about to let her off easily. He stepped forward and darted after her, his fingers pinched together like the beak of a crane, stabbing ferociously toward Yae-hime’s temple.

She quickly steadied her stance, extending her slender hand just as before, trying to knock his strike aside. Only this time, it felt like striking against a block of solid iron, her force simply would not break through. Worse still, an overwhelming power pressed down upon her, shattering her defense.

The crane’s beak was about to pierce Yae-hime’s skull. But at that very moment, a translucent fox tail suddenly shot out, thrusting straight at Lucky’s heart. It carried the intent to pierce both his body and heart in one savage strike!

Sensing the deadly threat, Lucky immediately withdrew his hand, twisting his body sharply. At the very brink of disaster, he barely evaded the fox tail’s assassination attempt.

He spun once more to widen the distance. When his gaze returned to Yae-hime, she was already clad in a shimmering fox pelt, nine tails dancing joyfully around her.

“If you’re so eager to die, then I’ll be glad to play with you.”