Apocalypse: Reborn with a Soul Sync Farming Space System-Chapter 165 Do you give up?

Suddenly, Laurel felt the hair at the back of her neck stand on end, but she pushed the feeling aside. Her fingers tightened firmly around the hilt of her sword, her eyes fixed on Ling Xuan, who was dragging her sword against the ground.

The sharp sound sent tremors through the air. Luo, who had just come out from the blue room, was more than stunned to see the scene.

"Why are they fighting now? Master Laurel..." it said with quivering lips as it stepped forward, but one glare from Ling Xuan made Luo freeze in its tracks.

"Come at me!" Laurel shouted, raising her sword.

"Don’t cry later," Ling Xuan muttered under her breath before increasing her pace.

Laurel’s eyes widened slightly as Ling Xuan was already in front of her in the span of a second.

Ling Xuan leaped into the air, striking down with all her strength. Laurel quickly raised her sword, blocking the attack as dots of light floated around her blade, clashing against the dark purplish energy from Ling Xuan.

The force made one of her knees bend, digging into the ground.

"So much for being bold earlier... pathetic," Ling Xuan drawled.

Laurel clenched her jaw. "Pathetic? You are wrong, Ling Xuan... I’m not pathetic..." She raised her gaze to meet Ling Xuan’s, groaning in between. "You always act as if you are strong and ruthless... who knows if the pathetic one between us isn’t you!"

A dark glint flashed through Ling Xuan’s eyes as she pressed down harder, the force behind her blade increasing as if she meant to crush Laurel where she knelt. The pressure ran through her arms and shoulders as her knee sank deeper into the ground, yet Laurel did not lower her head, her fingers tightening stubbornly around the hilt.

"Say it again," Ling Xuan said through gritted teeth.

Laurel let out a strained breath, her chest rising unevenly as she pushed back against the weight pressing down on her, her arms trembling yet refusing to give in.

’Wonderful, Laurel. You managed to step on her nerves.’

"I said... you’re not as strong as you think," she forced out, her voice rough and strained. "You just hide behind it."

At this point, she wasn’t concerned whether she was right or wrong. All she wanted was to hurt her the same way she always did.

Ling Xuan’s lips curved slightly, but there was no amusement in it. The next moment, her blade vanished for a split second before returning from a different angle, forcing Laurel to twist her wrist and lift her sword again as the clash resonated through the air.

The impact sent another shock through her arms as she stumbled back, her footing slipping as she struggled to steady herself.

Laurel groaned, grimacing from the pain in her arms, her palms already turning red, but Ling Xuan did not give her time to recover.

Her next strike was faster and sharper, and Laurel raised her sword over her shoulder to block it, her stance unstable, but the force still drove her back as the edge of the blade slipped through her defense and cut across her shoulder.

"Ahh," she groaned as the sharp pain spread, followed by the warmth of blood trickling down her body before dropping to the ground.

"Ling Xuan!"

"You talk like you understand strength," Ling Xuan said as their blades locked briefly. "But all I see is someone who keeps making excuses."

Laurel pushed back, breaking the contact as she stepped to the side, her breathing uneven as she raised her sword again, ignoring the blood slipping down her arm.

"I’m not making excuses," she shot back. "I just don’t agree with you."

Ling Xuan struck again, their blades meeting, separating, and colliding as the sound echoed through the space. Laurel struggled to keep up, her arms growing heavier with each strike, and when she blocked the next attack, the edge still dragged across her forearm, forcing her fingers to tremble as her grip wavered before tightening again, blood dripping steadily to the ground beneath her.

Ling Xuan stepped in once more, her sword cutting down with precision, and Laurel raised hers again, but the impact drove her back as her balance broke, her knee hitting the ground before Ling Xuan’s blade cut across her thigh, forcing her leg to give as she dropped fully to one knee, her breathing turning rough as blood began to run down her leg.

Ling Xuan’s blade hovered above her.

"Still think that?" she asked.

Laurel lowered her head for a brief moment, her chest rising and falling, then tightened her grip and pushed herself up again, her legs trembling as she stood, blood running down her thigh as she steadied herself.

"I do," she said.

Ling Xuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Come at me!" Laurel lifted her sword and attacked, but the next clash broke through her guard, the edge of Ling Xuan’s sword slicing across her side, forcing a sharp breath out of her as her body folded slightly from the impact, her footing faltering as she staggered.

"You want to play tough... then I’ll give you the chance," Ling Xuan said as she struck harder again.

Laurel turned to dodge it, but the strike landed across her back, the force pushing her forward as her balance finally broke and she fell to the ground, her sword slipping from her grip, her breath uneven as blood spread beneath her.

’Don’t you dare give up... don’t you dare give up,’ she thought.

Ling Xuan stepped forward, her blade lowering until it stopped just above Laurel, the silence stretching between them.

Laurel’s fingers pressed against the ground, her body trembling as she forced herself to move, slowly reaching for her sword before pushing herself up again, her movements unsteady as she stood once more, blood running from her shoulder, her arm, and her side.

Luo clasped its hands together in worry.

Ling Xuan watched her, an unreadable glint flickering through her eyes. "Do you give up?"

"No."

Their blades clashed again, heavier this time, as Laurel pushed forward despite her body screaming in protest. Her movements were slower but more desperate, and when Ling Xuan struck again, Laurel did not block directly, instead stepping in as her blade came up from the side in a rough arc that lacked control but carried everything she had left.

The blades met, sliding against each other, before cutting Ling Xuan’s arm slightly, leaving a thin scratch.

Laurel staggered, barely holding her balance as she looked up, her breath catching as her eyes locked onto the faint line she had left behind.

For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.

Laurel tightened her grip, forcing her breathing to steady despite the pain tearing through her body.

"You see that?" she said, her voice low but clear. "I don’t need to be like you to fight back." She let out a bitter laugh.

Ling Xuan glanced at the scratch, then at her, her expression unchanged, but the next moment she moved again, faster than before, and Laurel lifted her sword to meet it, only for the strike to break through her defense completely, knocking the blade from her hand as it spun away.