"Begin."
Lu Cang moved the instant the word fell.
His step slid across the ice in a clean technique, frost rippling under his foot as his blade swept across in a sharp horizontal cut.
Lin Tian lifted his sword and met it.
Steel rang hard enough to buzz through his arm.
Lu Cang stayed close, pivoting without pause, and the next strike came from a tighter angle, fast and controlled.
"You feel the difference already, don't you, this isn't a warm-up match, and I don't waste time testing newcomers."
"I can feel it, and that just tells me I need cleaner movement, not bigger swings."
Lu Cang's blade skimmed past Lin Tian's guard and brushed his sleeve, cold biting through the cloth.
He stepped back, grounding his feet on the slick surface.
"You adjusted fast, but you're still reacting instead of setting the pace, and reacting means I decide how this fight flows."
"Then I'll change the flow."
