History repeats itself

Oh, Divine Dragon's blessed orbs. I tried to stay calm, at least outwardly, but it was hard.

"How did you get here without being stopped on the walls, Miss Tao?"

There were cultivators standing on the walls day and night just to prevent an assault like this one. People like Lin Chu… Who was fighting off an assault at this very moment.

Which was a distraction, I realized.

The fire kept spreading over the palace's roof, but this was the lesser of my problems. People will run away. If Lin Deng ended up too slow to run, it was his problem and my blessing.

"A lady never shares her secrets, Ru Yujin."

She flew slightly closer, and I stepped back, pulling a sword from my sheath. A Clear Sphere appeared around me, although against her attacks it was like a sheet of paper against arrows.

Why was Tao Song my enemy in the first place? The fate truly was cruel to me, and the thought made me feel bitter.

"If you have come after my head, Miss Tao, come and take it. But this won't fix your sword. Which wouldn't have been broken in the first place if the Crystal Phoenix Sect didn't attack ours!"

Tao Song raised her brows.

"Oh, so you will blame us for creating enmity, Ru Yujin? After Purple Dragon Sect raided the lands of our sect, razing villages and kidnapping people to sacrifice to your disgusting demonic 'god'? Keep convincing yourself, but your blame can be only absolved by fire."

She flew closer and raised her fans in a telltale way.

I ran back inside my room, blocking her line of sight. I could still see my Qi, so she could see mine. However, inside the palace, her advantage of speed was diminished.

Inside, the smell of smoke tingled my nostrils.

"If you hide like a coward, you will die like a coward!"

A wave of fire blew through the wall and filled the room. All my notes, all my spare clothing, everything was destroyed faster than I could feel bad about it.

I, however, escaped into the hallway and ran down it, pushing aside panicking servants and nobles.

Although it looked like I was simply running, I had a plan.

More blasts from the outside followed—much weaker than the first two, but much closer. Tao Song was flying just outside the wall, probably intending to fry me inside the palace if I didn't get out.

I temporarily reduced the Clear Sphere to a small cover above my head, turned to the side, breaking the door to someone's room, then jumped out of another window.

Tao Song was waiting for me already, and a wave of fire flew right to where I was going to land.

Except, I didn't land. Instead, I created an ice platform under my foot with Spring Snow Step, then used it to jump even higher and pull myself on the roof of the first floor.

Then I made Clear Sphere protect my entire body again—just in time for it to block a ball of fire. This was a Qi Foundation technique I saw Tao cultivators use earlier.

"I thought you were above small techniques like these, Miss Tao."

She smirked at me.

"What can I say? I enjoy surprising people."

Then she threw three more balls of fire at me.

These were much harder to dodge than her flame waves, because of how many there were, and how fast she created them.

I dodged one, but two hit my Clear Sphere, and it broke under pressure, turning into steam and forcing me to create a new shield before I caught a ball of fire with my face.

Now I wished that a Clear Sphere was controlled by a hand, so I could've made two—one for each hand. Then, while I recovered one shield, I would still be protected by another…

Another ball of fire blew a hole in the shingles on which I stood a moment earlier.

Tao Song was flying above me and to the side, seven meters away. The vague plan I had in my head finally crystallized into a solid idea.

I jumped up, created an ice platform, jumped up again, and raised my sword. Black aura of death surrounded it, as I prepared this strike.

Tao Song looked at me in shock, but still twisted her flying sword to dodge. However, I created yet another ice platform and chased after her, to the height that was getting concerning.

As she raised her fans, creating a flaming shield around her, I swung my blade, hoping both that this attack will hit the woman, and that it won't.

However, my leg slipped on an ice platform.

"DAMNED IIIICEEEEEE!"

The blade wave of Purple Dragon Claw flew into the empty blue sky while I flew back to the roof.

For a moment, Tao Song just stared at me—then immediately swooped down, raising her fans.

I twisted in the air face-up and threw an Ice Cutter at her, but she dodged it effortlessly, getting even closer for a finishing strike I couldn't even try to dodge.

Tao Song grinned victoriously.

I grinned back and threw three knives at her with the strength of a cultivator.

At this distance, without a warning, even for her, avoiding them will be hard.

Shocked, Tao Song still defended herself. One knife flew completely off the mark, one she deflected with a fan, and the third hit her square in the chest.

Tao Song gasped, stumbling on her sword and pausing in the air.

I crashed back-first onto the roof and scrambled to my feet.

Above, Tao Song dropped her fan and was holding her chest, staring at the knife coming from it with utter disbelief.

I did the same.

An image of the pale, unmoving face of Tao Song's lookalike flashed in front of my eyes.

Did I just… kill her? How?!

Did Tao Song really have no defensive technique shielding her, relying only on her speed? Impossible! Absurd!

She… I basically just met her! Was I cursed to revisit the past I didn't even remember?

No… No! I didn't want—

I just wanted to live!