[The battle between the Holy Maiden and Hong De continued as both of them were expending their astral energy. The Holy Maiden seemed to have been able to fight on par with Hong De but you know that wasn't the case.]
[The Holy Maiden's star artifact was indeed higher in grade than Hong De's divine wind sword star artifact. It was also the reason why she could fight evenly with Hong De despite Hong De's star cultivation base level being higher than hers.]
[However, it only seemed that the Holy Maiden was fighting with Hong De equally but that wasn't truly the case. Due to Hong De's level being higher than the Holy Maiden, Hong De possessed far greater astral energy in his star pathways than the Holy Maiden.]