<h4>Chapter 51: -51- Thea and Nebs battle</h4>


    Since the cougar was a dual qi and body cultivator, he would obviously take the vanguard while the woman would fight from behind with her magic treasures.


    "Die!" the male cougar roared as he lunged forward, spear thrusting toward Thea with blinding speed. His eyes gleamed with fierce determination, muscles rippling under his slender frame.


    Thea met his charge head-on, her sword shing into her hand like a streak of light, her eyes calm but focused.


    "Bang!"


    Their weapons shed, sparks flying as the spear met the sword. Thea felt the force of his attack reverberate through her arms, but she held firm, her Peak Transcendent body cultivation granting her the strength to withstand his assault.


    The cougar snarled, pressing harder, trying to overpower her and keep the others from advancing.


    Unnoticed by the cougar, Neb vanished from her spot, the air rippling slightly where she had stood. Utilizing her minorpletion in the lesser dao of spatial folding, she reappeared behind the pair, her violet eyes locked onto the unsuspecting woman.


    "What?!" the woman gasped, whipping around just in time to see Neb''s ws sh toward her.


    "Shing!"


    Neb''s ws grazed the woman''s arm, drawing blood and tearing fabric. The woman stumbled back, shock evident on her face. But she quickly recovered, flicking her wrist to send her whip snapping toward Neb. The whip elongated mid-air, glowing with a soft luminescence as it sought to bind Neb''s limbs.


    "You''re fast," the woman hissed, "but not fast enough!"


    Neb smirked, her form flickering as she dodged the whip with feline agility. "We''ll see about that."


    Meanwhile, the cougar realized something was amiss. He caught sight of Neb engaging the woman out of the corner of his eye. "Damn it!" he growled. "Get away from her!"


    While he was their master''s beastpanion, he knew that his master valued her much more than him.


    "Ss! Should we step in?" Kai asked, his voiceced with excitement as he watched the battle unfold from the sidelines.


    "No need," Ss replied calmly, his eyes never leaving the fight. "They''ve got this."


    Kai nodded but kept his muscles tensed, ready to spring into action if things took a sudden turn.


    Distracted, his pressure on Thea lessened for a split second. Seizing the opportunity, Thea''s sword glowed with a brilliant light. "sh Step!" she whispered, her figure blurring as she surged forward, bypassing his spear and shing toward his torso.


    "Shing!"


    A shallow cut appeared on the cougar''s side, blood seeping through his torn robes. He hissed in pain but quickly retaliated, swinging his spear in a wide arc.


    "Bang!"


    Thea parried the strike, but the force pushed her back a few steps. The cougar didn''t relent, his movements a flurry of spear thrusts and sweeps aimed to keep Thea at bay. But Thea''s minorpletion in the lesser dao of sh allowed her to move with incredible speed, her sword a gleaming beacon as she weaved through his attacks.


    "You''re not getting past me!" the cougar shouted, frustration evident in his voice.


    "Funny," Thea replied calmly, "I was about to say the same to you."


    Behind them, the woman deftly manipted her whip, its length snaking around Neb in an attempt to ensnare her. "Hold still, you pesky cat!" she spat.


    Nebughed, her form blinking in and out as she evaded the whip''s grasp. "Why don''t you make me?" she taunted. With a swift motion, she closed the gap, her ws aiming for the woman''s shoulder.


    "Shing!"


    The woman cried out as Neb''s ws dug into her flesh. Desperate, she reached into her robes and pulled out a small formation te inscribed with intricate symbols.


    She channeled her qi into it. "Serpent Bind Formation, activate!"


    From the te, two ethereal serpents materialized, their bodiesposed of swirling energy. They lunged at Neb, fangs bared.


    Neb''s eyes widened. "Persistent, aren''t you?" She leaped back, narrowly avoiding the snapping jaws of one serpent. The other coiled around, cutting off her escape route.


    The cougar, seeing hispanion in danger, snarled and disengaged from Thea. "I won''t let you harm her!" he roared, dashing toward Neb with renewed vigor.


    "Not so fast!" Thea called out, pursuing him. She raised her free hand, gathering light at her fingertips. "sh Bind!"


    Beams of light shot out, aiming to impede the cougar''s movements. He dodged the first few, but one caught his leg.


    "Bang!"


    He stumbled as the light constricted around his limb, but with a surge of strength, he shattered the binding. "You''re annoying!" he barked, spinning around to face Thea once more.


    "That''s the idea," Thea replied with augh. While the fight wasn''t easy, it wasn''t exactly hard either.


    As the cougar and Thea resumed their duel, Neb focused on the serpents. She could feel the oppressive qi emanating from them. "Looks like ytime is over," she muttered. Summoning her dao of spatial folding, she twisted space around her, causing the serpents'' attacks to miss as they struck empty air where she had been moments before.


    "Stop dodging!" the woman yelled, frustration clear. She directed the serpents with swift hand movements, trying to corner Neb.


    Neb''s form flickered as she teleported short distances, each time getting closer to the woman. "Your formation is impressive," she admitted, "but it won''t save you."


    "Shing!"


    With a swift sh, Neb''s ws sliced through one of the serpents, causing it to dissipate into wisps of qi. The woman''s eyes widened in disbelief. "How did you--?"


    "Your constructs can''t withstand my power," Neb exined with augh, her ws glinting with her Lesser Dao of Spatial Folding. "Now, it''s your turn."


    The woman backed away, panic setting in. Sheshed out with her whip again, but Neb caught it mid-air, the leather wrapping around her arm. "Got you!" the woman eximed triumphantly.


    Neb chuckled. "No, I''ve got you." She yanked hard on the whip, pulling the woman off bnce and sending her stumbling forward. As a Late Transcendent body refiner, she was much stronger than the woman who was just a pure Qi cultivator.


    "Shing!"


    Neb delivered a swift kick to the woman''s abdomen, knocking the wind out of her. The woman copsed to the ground, gasping for breath.


    Meanwhile, the cougar was growing desperate. He exchanged rapid blows with Thea, but he was slowly being pushed back. Thea''s speed and precision were overwhelming.


    "Bang!" "Bang!" "Shing!"


    A particrly forceful strike from Thea sent the cougar''s spear flying from his grasp. He stared at his empty hands in shock. "This can''t be happening," he muttered.


    "It''s over," Thea stated firmly, her sword pointed at his chest.


    But the cougar wasn''t ready to give up. With a roar, he transformed his arms back into his ws, then channeled his qi into them as he lunged at Thea with raw physical strength.


    "Bang!"


    Thea blocked his punch with her sword, but the impact pushed her back slightly. She narrowed her eyes. "Stubborn."


    She sidestepped his next attack, her movements a blur, and delivered a swift strike to his leg.


    "Shing!"


    Blood sprayed into the air.


    The cougar faltered, dropping to one knee. Blood flowed from multiple wounds now, his regeneration unable to keep up with the damage. He nced over to see the woman struggling against Neb, who stood over her confidently.


    "Looks like you underestimated us," Thea said softly.


    The cougar clenched his fists, rage and desperation in his eyes. "You''ll pay for this! Just wait for our master toe, and you will all die! Ha ha ha!" Towards the end, the cougar knew its defeat was imminent, and it started tough madly.


    The woman, seeing herpanion faltering, let out a desperate scream. She tried to activate her serpentine wraiths again, but Neb was faster. With one final, swift movement, Neb''s ws raked across the woman''s chest, ending the fight.


    "Shing!"


    The woman crumpled to the ground, her body limp. She was just a Qi cultivator. Her body couldn''t withstand Neb''s strike. The serpentine wraiths dissipated into the air, their energy fading away as the formation copsed.


    Thea, panting slightly, stood over the cougar. Her sword was poised for the final strike. The cougar, bleeding and defeated, red up at her, his body too broken to continue.


    "It''s over," Thea said coldly.


    With one swift motion, she brought her sword down, ending the fight.


    The battlefield grew silent, the echoes of battle fading away. Ss, Kai, and Red approached, nodding in approval.


    He turned to Thea and Neb. "Good work, both of you."


    Thea sheathed her sword, her breath steadying. Neb licked her paw, her eyes gleaming with a predatory satisfaction.


    "They weren''t much," Neb said with a shrug, though there was a clear sense of pride in her voice.


    Thea sheathed her sword, giving a small nod. "They weren''t too much trouble."


    Neb stretchedzily. "It was a nice warm-up."


    Kai crossed his arms, smirking slightly. "Guess we didn''t need to step in after all."


    Red chuckled. "They had it handled."