Mater wasn't very surprised by the appearance of Kate's group, but he did have a question.
"I see you've stuck around, former Senior Brother. However, I am curious. Did you really stay for me? Or are you just here to kill time?"
Mater knew that Pon wasn't the type to risk the lives of his allies in exchange for the lives of his enemies, so it was strange that he would choose to stay inside the Spirit Nest that was one step away from disaster.
Pon knew of Mater's suspicions, but he chose not to answer them since it would be to their side's benefit to keep him in the dark.
"All will be revealed to the victor. Now, are you ready?"
"Hmph."
Without the need for a formal start, the members of Kate's group headed towards their opponents. Luke stood before Dal, Dean before Riot, Reinhart before Tark, Cassandra before Luis, Shui before a pale young man and finally Kate before Mater.
"Is this your idea of a joke? Do you think you're my match because our cultivations are now equal?" Mater asked derisively.
"Of course not. With our cultivations equal, you won't even be a warm-up."
Kate's response created a crack in Mater's aloof expression. Kate was certainly talented, but he would not accept such disrespect from anyone.
On Shui's side, he carefully examined the pale young man and quickly figured out his identity.
"I see, so you're the one that sent those men after Kate."
"Hehehe, so you could tell? As a reward, you may call me Lord Emile. I had hoped they would bury her, but I underestimated your spiritual techniques. I can't wait to see what kind of puppet I can make with your body."
"Is that so? Then I'm afraid I'll have to leave you disappointed."
"Hehehe, don't worry. I'll be real gentle!"
After Emile unleashed a burst of spiritual sense, seven human-sized wooden dolls suddenly emerged from the ground in front of him. The dolls were uniform in shape and size, but they wielded different weapons. These dolls had no eyes, but Shui could tell that they were all focused on him.
"So you're a puppeteer. I'm surprised to see someone on the unorthodox path so deep in Mater's faction."
The unorthodox path was a blanket term used to describe all branches of techniques that were rarely practiced, whether because of public opinion or difficulty. Puppeteers could create and control puppets as precisely as their own bodies, but they often fell to the heinous path in pursuit of creating better puppets. As Emile had proven earlier with the army of brainwashed men that had been sent after Kate, even humans could be turned into puppets, so puppeteers generally garnered a bad reputation.
"Yes, my clan has long researched the art of puppetry, but few are as accepting of our talents as the young lord. Once he becomes the manor lord, we can finally step out into the sunlight and let everyone know our true might."
"I see. Since you've come bearing the future prosperity of your clan on your shoulders, I'll treat this battle seriously."
"I wouldn't ask for anything else."
As Shui assumed a combat stance, the seven dolls charged at him from multiple directions. Meanwhile, Luke and Dal engaged in a straightforward contest of strength and guts. Both were skilled in unarmed combat with a preference for punches and a distaste for retreat, so they exchanged fists at super close range.
"Ha!"
Dal unleashed an uppercut, but Luke avoided it by shifting his head away and returned an elbow to the chest. Dal took the elbow without flinching and swung his fist at Luke's shoulder. Luke grabbed his fist with both hands and tried to flip him, but Dal easily escaped his hold.
On the Storm Ranking, Luke was ranked above Dal, but in terms of pure close combat, the two were even.
"This is fun. If we weren't enemies, we might have been friends," said Luke.
"Your strength is admirable. If you submit, I'm sure the young lord would be willing to look past your transgressions."
"Heh, maybe in another life."
Luke returned another punch, but this time Dal was forced to take two steps back. This wasn't just because of the sudden increase in Luke's power and speed, but also the lightning that flickered around his arms.
"I'll be serious from now on. I suggest you do the same."
Dal shook his hands to get rid of the lingering feeling of numbness before his body heat swiftly rose, and he assumed a fighting stance.
"Come."
Compared to Luke's battle against Dal, the fight between Cassandra and Luis was less direct. Though they had training, neither was particularly good at close combat, so with their cultivations suppressed, they had to result to alternate methods of fighting.
Luis manipulated a set of seven swords with mental control to attack Cassandra. Though he didn't cultivate his soul, he studied various spiritually dependent arts such as arrays and formations, so his soul was strong enough to support mental control, even with only his Mortal Realm cultivation. He managed to stab her with one of the swords, but a split second was enough time for him to realize that he had hit another illusion. Cassandra couldn't use mental control as precisely as he could, but when it came to using spiritual arts to invade the mind, she was only second to Shui.
"Oh my, another miss. You have to aim properly now."
Though he knew there was nothing there, Luis attacked his left with a sword, and was proven right. Her image faded in and out of his sight at random locations, but every instance was indistinguishable from reality. If his mind was clear, he would have a better chance at seeing through her illusions, but Cassandra was also actively attacking him with spiritual arts, so if he slipped up, he would immediately be under her control.
"Why such a grave expression? You should learn to relax."
"How about you take a rest?"
"You won't be able to find me like that."
Some times he attacked, other times he held back and focused on trying to find her. Regardless, he wasn't able to do any damage, but Luis gradually adapted to the situation. Like trying to solve a difficult puzzle, as long as he calmly reviewed the facts, he would eventually reach the solution.
"Here."
A knife suddenly appeared at his back, but it was deflected by a sword that had been hidden underground. The sword tore through Cassandra's sleeve and was about to reach her chest, but Luis had to move it to block the sword coming for his neck.
"You stole control from me?!"
"If you don't keep your guard up. I'll take more than that."
Elsewhere, Dean was holding strong against Riot, but it he was obviously at a disadvantage. Similar to Luke and Dal, the two confronted each other in close combat, but Riot was dominating with strength and speed. Dean's technique and foresight were allowing him to keep injuries to a low, but in Riot's eyes, his defeat was inevitable.
"It must suck following a washed up young master. You get forced into fights you can't possibly win while your master just stands back and watches."
"It is my honour to fight on his request. If you can't understand that, then you're no better than your master's mutt."
In an outburst of anger, Riot swung his fist and Dean didn't miss the opening that created. He slipped past Riot's punch and landed an elbow to his chest. The attack itself did little damage and Riot quickly recomposed himself afterwards, but Dean was neither proud nor flustered. Like drips of water on a solid rock, he was sure he could eventually break through his opponent.
Each duel seemed to have just started, but there was one that was almost complete.
"Kuh! How is this-?"
With a hand on his chest as he spat blood, Tark looked at Reinhart in disbelief. Holding the slender white Cloud Swallow Sword in one hand, Reinhart had brought Tark to his knees in a single move.