Master Sheng pulled out the next name out of the hat, coincidentally pulling Lan Qiang's name. He smirked and shook his head,
"Lan Qiang, you are next. Don't worry about showing off too much, the strongest attack you would use normally; no need for any killer move trump card."
Lan Qiang nodded and let out a "hmmph" then walked up. Master Sheng flicked his hand and a other blob of blood flew out and splattered into the ground.
This time though, the blood seeped into the ground firstly rather than turning into a clone directly l. The stone floor then started to glow and form into a golem, red veins flowing throughout it's being. Then it shimmered and a false layer of skin formed; the golem becoming a near perfect copy of Master Sheng.
Lan Qiang pulled out his spear from his back and swung it in the air a few rotations. Then, he swung it downwards, a slight whoosh being audible to those around.
He then nodded his head towards Hou and smirked,
"Watch this, I didn't get to show off before."
Lan Qiang closed his eyes and his body's started to pulse and writhe. He held his spear in two hands and while he was overall still, his whole body was moving.
Then after his muscles bulged and grew double the size, he started to move. First his feet swept, barely off the ground his feet moved in circular patterns.
Each step he took seemed to generate a slightly stronger force than the previous. Then his spear started to swing in complex patterns. As Hou watched his movements, he couldn't understand it but he could feel it's unique properties.
While Hou couldn't understand, Hamar as a swordsman, could. He sued the sword rather than the spear but still he could see that he was moving in a practiced technique.
He could see the form he was imitating, a dragon. The large sweeping movement creating a phantom of a flying dragon that only those with sufficient comprehension of the martial arts.
Hamar watched over Lan Qiang, seeing him show off his real strength. He had been using his leadership and support previously but since he and Hou were doing the main attacking they had not seen his strength.
Lan Qiang then met with the clone who started to brace for impact. It raised its forearms and placed them in front of itself. Blood was pulled out of the stone façade and turned a crystalline shield.
As if a dragon swung it's tail, Lan Qiang finally finished his attack. He jumped into the air and span mid-air, his spear slashing through the air. As it made contact with the blood shield, the crystal cracked.
However, the shattered pieces of crystalline blood didn't stop defending. Instead they floated in the air and attacked to the spear, pulling it back.
Still though, they could not stop the attack and the spear smashed the golem, bisecting it into two halves.
But that was just the initial effect, just after the spear a force was pulled al the way through the movements he had made previously. An unseen force moving through the air and lagging behind the spear which created it.
Then after already being bisected by the spear itself Master Sheng's golem was eviscerated by a lagging unseen force. All the blood dissipated from the rocks and they fell back to the ground like any other stone.
Clap clap clap
Master Sheng lightly clapped his hands, "beautiful...while not an expert, I could see the movement. That is a technique polished through years of training and perfectly applied, see how it destroyed the golem without destroying anything else,"
Slowly, everyone understood what happened thanks to Master Sheng's words. While Hou's was more impressive strength wise and the sheer spectacle; Lan Qiang's performance was hauntingly simple.
Simple, but perfected just as any optimal technique is. The rest of the group, though slightly jealous, all acknowledged what happened and started to clap lightly.
Not a loud and obnoxious forced clapping, but a gentle clap showing their appreciation to the performance. Then while everyone was in a stupor, Hamar raised his hand and spoke to Master Sheng,
"Could I go next? I've gained a slight inspiration"
Master Sheng nodded and flicked his wrist again. Blood flew out again and melded into the rocks; once again forming a golem which wore his own skin.
Hou walked up and brushed against Lan Qiang,
"Thank you"
Hamar was a prodigy, a truly unparalleled talent in martial arts and more specifically the sword. Now that he saw a real martial artist like Lan Qiang using such a technique, he created his own.
Using Lan Qiang's technique from an outside perspective, he started to imitate that imitation of a dragon.
He first held his sword in front of him and calmly injected aura into his muscles. They started to twitch and move, but he kept his sword stable.
Sweep
His feet swept along the ground and he started to move. As he did, he began wavering and slowly, aura began leaking into the air.
A blue wisp emanated from his body and started to form a vague shape visible to everyone. Not just a blob, but it resembled a snake that coiled in the air.
As he moved his feet, he started to swing his sword in the air. The space was cut and he started to leak more aura, it began making a wobbling form, transforming a snake into a dragon.
Then he slowly made his way to the golem, not a fast advance but a slow and measured movement. His sword swings were similarly slow but still strong.
The sword impacted the golem, who has already formed the crystalline blood shield over its forearms. The coiling dragon not lurching behind his sword but moving in coordination, when the sword made contact the physical sword stopped.
But the aura phantom of a vague dragon continued and penetrated the stone golem, completely shattering it's visage with seemingly no force.