Silent as the grave was the descriptor Wu Jian would have used to describe the waiting room. Not a single person spoke. All anyone did was stare in shock at the scene on the platform.

Wu Jian leaned against the viewing window and watched as Hou Jingshu set Hou Chao on the ground. None of the extraordinary changes that had appeared were present anymore. The mysterious golden glow, the scale-like patterns on her body, the horns on her head, and the ethereal wings and tail that had extended from her back were all gone. He didn’t think Hou Jingshu had even noticed the changes her body had undergone, so lost in the heat of battle.

“Was that really Her Highness?” muttered someone in the crowd.

“I’ve never seen such a vicious fight,” another said. “How about you?”

The person being addressed shook his head. “No, never. That was brutal. It wasn’t even a fight. It was a massacre.”

A massacre, huh? Now there’s an apt description, Wu Jian thought wryly.

Hou Jingshu had gone from losing to crushing her older brother like he was an insect. He already knew she was capable of it. Physically speaking, at least, she was more than capable of matching him. Her cultivation method combined with her Perfect Physique gave her a huge advantage in physical combat. The only reason she hadn’t been able to pound Hou Chao into the dirt right away was because she had been holding herself back.

It looks like you’ve finally stopped holding back.

Wu Jian smiled as the elder announced Hou Jingshu as the winner. Nobody cheered for her, too shocked by what they had witnessed, but Hou JIngshu didn’t even seem to see them. She turned his way and smiled so brightly he thought he would be blinded by her brilliance.

The young woman leapt off the stage and ran into the waiting room.

“Jian!!”

The crowd rushed out of the way as Hou Jingshu raced over to him, parting as she leapt forward. Wu Jian spread his arms wide to catch the woman. The force of her tackle made him spin, but he soon set her on the ground and kept his arms around her waist as she grinned at him.

“Did you see that?! I won! I won!”

“I saw. You were amazing.”

Wu Jian stroked Hou Jingshu’s hair. She seemed to like that. She nuzzled her head against his hand. It was cute. There was such a strong dichotomy between how she was acting now and how she acted during the fight.

“Mmmmmrg…”

“What is it?”

Hou Jingshu was staring into his face, or rather, his mask with a very dissatisfied expression. Was something wrong?

“Your mask is in the way. How can I kiss you if your mask is covering your face.”

Wu Jian gave her a pained smile. “You know why I can’t remove it…”

“I know… I know that… but I really want to kiss you.”

“Mmm!!”

Hou Jingshu shocked Wu Jian by leaning up and kissing his mask. He could not feel her lips against the cold surface, which was a shame, but he was more shocked by how bold this woman was acting right now. Did she not realize they had a crowd? Hou Jingshu had been a rather ravenous individual since his return, but she always practiced propriety.

Is this because of her cultivation method? Maybe she hasn’t settled down and her inner dragon is still in charge, so to speak?

“Jingshu… people are watching,” he muttered.

The woman paused. She looked around, finally noticing the stares directed their way. Her ears, cheeks, and even neck turned bright red. The Shang Kingdom princess looked like she didn’t know whether to flee or fight. In the end, she unwrapped herself from around him, stepped back, and coughed into her hand.

“Er… so, did I do well?” she asked, trying desperately to pretend what had just happened hadn’t happened.

“You were incredible. I’m happy to see you finally use your cultivation method to the fullest,” Wu Jian said honestly.

Hou Jingshu settled down and smiled. “Thank you, but I don’t feel like I was using my cultivation method to the best of my abilities. It feels like I only scratched the surface, but it’s a start.”

“I admit, I’m a little envious of Hou Chao,” he confessed.

His lover blinked. “You’re… jealous of my brother?” Her expression went coy. “Don’t tell me you want to get stomped on too.”

Wu Jian chuckled as he shook his head. “No. That’s not what I meant. I just mean that, up until now, you were only ever able to use your cultivation method this well when you sparred wth me. But now you’re going to be able to do this whenever you want. I’m no longer the only one who gets to see how strong you can be.”

“Ah…”

Hou Jingshu’s cheeks turned pink. She looked away, embarrassed as she clasped her hands together and twiddled with her thumbs.

“Y-you’re still the person I feel most comfortable with, so there’s no need to be jealous…”

“I know. Thank you.”

“Mmmm…”

As a slightly awkward silence passed between them, the people around them began muttering to themselves.

“So the rumors about Her Highness having a lover really was true?!”

“Dammit. I guess that means she’s off the market.”

“You were never going to have a chance with her anyway.”

“D-don’t say that! It could happen!”

“Maybe in your dreams.”

“Just who is that masked guy?”

“I don’t know. There’s not a lot that’s known about him. It’s all just a bunch of rumors… but there was a rumor that he killed the Hell Ape in the Forest of Death.”

The Forest of Death was the name of the forest where the final stage of the Inner Disciple Court Exams had taken place. Wu Jian had not learned this until much later. However, the reason for its name came not only from the Hell Ape that he had killed, but from the other powerful magical beasts that made this place their home.

As the people around them continued to talk, the screen above displayed a pair of names.

Mei Xilan vs. Peng Dong.

***

Wu Jian had been looking forward to seeing how Mei Xilan fight, but they never got the chance. The fight was over before it even began. All Wu Jian could tell was that a burst of cold air had blasted through the arena before the Peng Dong was frozen solid.

And that was how her fights went for the next several days. Mei Xilan won every one of her fights with ease. It was frustrating because Wu Jian knew she would be his strongest opponent in this tournament. The only other person at the Human Limit Realm was Húndàn Wang, but Wu Jian did not feel as threatened by him as he did Mei Xilan. Something about her screamed dangerous.

Wu Jian, Hou Jingshu, and Yu Qiang also won all of their fights. So did Húndàn Wang and Hou Gun. The other two Ice Fairies, Xian Fen and Xun Xi, won their rounds, but they didn’t do so with the ease of their third member.

One thing Wu Jian noticed was the strong disparity between contestants. He put them into three classifications. Weak, strong, dangerous. The two contestants in the dangerous category were Hou Jingshu and Mei Xilan. Both were incredible fighters, and while he was certain Mei Xilan was the stronger of the two, Hou Jingshu was quickly rising to the top thanks to her performance. Not only had she defeated every opponent after Hou Chao with ease, her cultivation had constantly risen.

After the dangerous category came the strong contestants, which included Húndàn Wang, Hou Gun, Yu Qiang, Xian Fen, and Xun Xi. There were a few others who also fit this category, but he felt like there was a distinct difference between the others and those five.

Of course, Wu Jian had also won all of his rounds with ease. Since that first match, Wu Jian had decided not to worry about giving anyone else face. He defeated every opponent who came his way in one move.

Like that, several days passed, and the 512 contestants was brought down to just sixty-four. Wu Jian, Hou Jingshu, Yu Qiang, Húndàn Wang, Hou Gun, Mei Xilan, Xian Fen, and Xun Xi had all progressed to this round. The others were a mixed bag of those strong enough to keep up and people who just got lucky.

The current battle was happening between Ye Chun and Xun Xi.

“Is it just me, or is something wrong with Ye Chun?” asked Hou Jingshu.

“It’s not just you,” said Wu Jian.

Ye Chun’s eyes possessed a maddened quality like he was no longer in control of himself. The flames bursting from his hands were blue instead of red, but they had been normal flames just the other day. Something strange was going on here.

Xun Xi was doing her best to maintain her distance. She was a long-range fighter who relied on her control over ice to attack. Between the three Ice Fairies, she was the one who lacked refinement. Even as he and Hou Jingshu spoke, the woman was launching a steady stream of jagged ice spikes at her opponent.

Ye Chun was unphased.

The man barreled toward her like he didn’t care whether he got injured or not, punching and kicking the spikes in his way. His flames were so hot that her ice spikes evaporated into a burst of steam every time they made contact with his limbs.

When it became clear that her attacks weren’t working, Xun Xi made a series of hand seals and placed her hands on the ground. Ice spread across the floor. The ice created a slippery surface that caused Ye Chun to lose his balance. The man went down, and Xun Xi capitalized on her opportunity by creating a massive ice pillar that she slammed on top of him.

The young woman breathed heavily as she stared at the ice pillar.

“Think that got him?” asked Hou Jingshu.

Wu Jian paused, cocked his head to the side, then shook it. “No, he’s still raring to go. Look.”

“Oh… You’re right.”

The ice had turned a blistering red and was bubbling. Steam rose from the pillar before a section melted and Ye Chun rushed out. Xun Xi squealed in fright as the man ran toward her like a rabid beast.

“Stay away! Snowflake Blades!!”

Several hundred snowflakes appeared in front of her and shot toward Ye Chun, but he merely coated his body in flames and plowed into them. The snowflakes burst into steam and evaporated. Xun Xi leapt back to put more distance between them, but Ye Chun surprised her by lobbing a fireball at the ground near her feet. The flames exploded and sent her sprawling.

She quickly tried to get up, but Ye Chun struck her with a powerful kick to the face. Xun Xi dropped like a sack of bricks. She wasn’t unconscious. She was struggling to rise, but it was clear that she had no more strength left to fight.

Despite being the clear victor, Ye Chun didn’t look like he was going to stop. He raised his hand and flames condensed along his palm. The maddened gleam in his eyes caused Hou Jingshu to gasp.

“He’s not going to attack her again, is he?”

“Don’t worry. Even if he tries, the elder should stop him.”

Wu Jian glanced at the elder, expecting the man to put a stop to the battle, but the elder didn’t do anything. Ah. It was because Xun Xi was unconscious and hadn’t given up yet, wasn’t it? Winner was by knockout or forfeit.

He looked back at Xun Xi. The young woman stared in fear at Ye Chun. She hadn’t surrendered, but it wasn’t because she didn’t want to. She was frozen.

“I’ll be right back,” Wu Jian said, making a choice.

“You’d better hurry,” said Hou Jingshu.

Wu Jian leapt out of the window, summoned Pale Moon, and tossed it hard. He knew his sword wouldn’t make it in time, so he folded space around his blade. It suddenly appeared between Xun Xi and Ye Chun just as the young man brought down his fist. The loud clang of fist hitting sword echoed around the arena. Pale Moon clattered to the floor as Wu Jian leapt between the two combatants.

“I think that’s quite enough. It’s obvious that Xun Xi can’t fight anymore,” said Wu Jian.