Wu Jian felt his lungs chill over the moment he breathed in the icy mist. He didn’t know what this technique was called, but it was more than just a smokescreen. It felt like frost was gathering inside of his lungs and slowly spreading through the rest of his body.

He tried to disperse the mist by firing off several spatial blades, but they didn’t do anything. Spatial Severing could cut through any known substance. This mist, however, was like a type of gas. Yeah, he could cut through it just fine, but more gas would fill the void to take its place.

Pumping chi into his legs, he leapt into the air, high above the mist, and looked down. The icy mist had covered most of the arena. Only the pillars remained untouched. He landed on one of the pillars.

A bird cry echoed around the arena barely a second after he touched down. He leapt off the pillar on instinct, and it was a good thing, too, as a giant phoenix made of ice slammed into it. This creature was at least two times bigger than him, had a wingspan of at least one shi zhang, which was about nine chih. Its glowing blue eyes tracked him like it could see, but he was certain this creature was not alive.

Wu Jian placed a hand on his chest as he struggled to breathe. The ice he had inhaled stung. It felt like thousands of tiny needles stabbing into his lungs--not that the ice phoenix cared. It released another shrill cry before taking off after him. It moved so fast that he almost missed it.

[Nihility]

It had been a while since Wu Jian activated this technique. His body became translucent like a spirit as he phased himself out of this space. The ice phoenix flew through him and crashed into another pillar.

Oh? The pain is gone. Activating Nihility must have removed the ice in my body because it’s not a natural part of me.

As he shifted back into this space, Wu Jian gathered chi along his blade and descended toward the ice phoenix, swinging Pale Moon with all the strength his arms possessed. His sword sliced through the creature as though it was wet tofu. The ice phoenix was split down the middle.

Wu Jian wanted to take a moment and catch his bearings, but several dozen smaller phoenixes formed from the two halves of the larger phoenix he’d just cut. They assailed him from all sides.

The veins on Wu Jian’s arms popped as he swung Pale Moon so quickly it looked like flashes of light. The attacking phoenixes burst into icy mist as he attacked them. Wu Jian realized what this was and held his breath to avoid letting it get into his lungs. However, the ice still clung to his clothes, creating a chilling frost that slowed down his movement.

She’s trying to weaken me by lowering my body temperature.

[Nihility]

Wu Jian quickly phased out and back in to remove the ice, then leapt onto another pillar. More attacks came at him from within the mist, a combination of ice lotuses and ice phoenixes, but he deflected all of them with deft swings of his sword. Yet he knew this battle couldn’t continue like this.

He possessed a lot more chi than the average Asura Realm Cultivator, but even his vast reserves paled in comparison to someone at the Human Limit Realm.

Can I remove that mist using the Dao of Space? No, there’s too much. It would take more chi than I currently have. What else can I do?

If he could produce fire chi like Huǒ Shuchang, he would have been able to evaporate this mist with ease, or he could blow it away if he used a wind cultivation method. This was one of the few times he cursed the limitations of his cultivation method. Nine Heavens Spatial Severing Cultivation Method only allowed him to cultivate the Dao of Space. He could not use any elements outside of that.

I guess there’s no helping it. I’ll need to attack her through the mist. But first, I need to find her.

More ice lotus were flying out of the mist, but he dodged them by leaping from pillar to pillar. He blocked them with Pale Moon when he couldn’t dodge. And while avoiding each attack, he stretched out his awareness toward the mist.

[Spatial Awareness]

The Dao of Space could be used for more than just manipulating space. Wu Jian spread his chi across the entire arena, creating an invisible chamber that nobody should be able to sense besides him. He could “see” everything within the chamber, including Mei Xilan, who was hiding behind a pillar on the arena’s opposite side.

So there you are. I’m not going to let you control the pace of this battle any longer!

Wu Jian landed on a pillar, then stepped over the edge. Several ice lotus crashed into the pillar where he’d been standing. He crouched on the side, defying gravity as he locked himself in space. It was only for a moment, just long enough to gather strength into his legs, and then he pushed.

A shockwave blasted across the arena, so loud that everyone in the stands covered their ears, as Wu Jian flew across the arena floor at speeds that broke the sound barrier. He held his breath as he entered the mist. Some of the mist clung to his skin, but he moved too fast for it to slow him down. It only took a few seconds for him to reach the pillar that Mei Xilan was hiding behind. He swung his sword coated in spatial distortions sharpened to a fine point.

Pale Moon cut straight through the pillar. His cut was at an angle, so the pillar quickly fell, crashing to the ground outside of the platform. He narrowed his eyes as he sensed Mei Xilan in another location. Leaping onto another pillar, he took a deep breath, then repeated the action again, and again, and again. Five pillars were quickly removed from the playing field, and Wu Jian suddenly realized what Mei Xilan was trying to do.

She’s trying to make me remove these pillars so I’m forced to fight on the ground. She probably can’t extend that mist any higher than she already has, so she wants to force me into a situation where I have no touch but to stay down there.

Now that he knew this, Wu Jian changed tactics. He pushed off the pillar he stood on just like last time, and he reached the pillar Mei Xilan was hiding behind. He landed on the ground, water splashing everywhere as he struck a puddle, then swung his sword as though he was about to cut through the pillar.

Then his blade disappeared.

“What?!” his opponent shouted as Pale Moon’s blade appeared on her other side, still swinging.

Mei Xilan scrambled away from his attack. She was so surprised that she never noticed his foot appear until he’d struck her in the shins. The woman slammed hard into the ground, and Wu Jian prepared to attack, but he fell the moment he took a step forward. He wondered why at first, until he realized that all the water from Mei Xilan’s multiple failed attacks had turned the floor to ice.

He grimaced, activated Nihility to avoid one of her ice lotuses, then climbed to his feet and leapt onto the nearest pillar.

They were once more at an impasse.

***

He’s become so strong…

Zhou Lihua was mesmerized by Wu Jian’s battle against Mei Xilan. Though she had sparred with him many times since he returned, she had never once seen him use the full range of his abilities. She knew he took it easy on her in all their battles. While some might have seen that as a sign of disrespect, Zhou Lihua knew the simple truth.

She was no longer in his league.

It is a slightly bitter feeling to know that I can no longer keep up with him in combat… but this is fine.

As an alchemist, she spent most of her time refining pills, memorizing ingredients, and learning how to distinguish between good ingredients and bad ones. She meditated on the Dao of Alchemy and studied diligently to increase her understanding. Being an alchemist meant forsaking martial combat.

It was impossible to master something if you only put one foot on the other side of the fence. If she wanted to master alchemy, she needed to fully commit to it. Zhou Lihua made this decision knowing that Wu Jian would eventually surpass her in terms of combat. She didn’t mind this, however. Her goal right now was not to become better than Wu Jian, but to find ways of supporting him and the people she cared about.

She would leave fighting by his side to Hou Jingshu.

Instead, Zhou Lihua would be the one that supported them both. She would provide them cultivation resources that only an alchemist could provide.

Even though she no longer focused on combat, she still found herself entranced watching people battle. There was something primally beautiful about two people pitting themselves against each other. This battle was a prime example. It was beautiful in a way only combat could be.

“This is an impressive battle. I’m sure that even the elders of the Saintly Sword Sect would have trouble defeating either of them,” said Zhou Xie’e.

Zhou Caoxiang nodded. “They possess the same level of talent that our young elites have.”

The Zhou Clan’s “young elites” were members of the main household. They were personally selected by the clan head after breaking through. The amount of resources spent on them was astronomical. Natural treasures, alchemy pills, and rare cultivation methods were given to these young clansmen and women. Every member of the young elites became a peak Asura Realm cultivator at the age of sixteen and a Human Limit Realm cultivator by seventeen. Several of their members were only nineteen and had already reached the Deva Realm.

“Speaking of the young elites, I’ve heard you’re a member of that group. Why is your cultivation so low?” asked Zhou Chaoxiang.

Zhou Lihua’s ears perked up. She couldn’t sense Zhou Xie’e’s cultivation because it was higher than hers, but if Zhou Chaoxiang was saying it, then he must have been weaker than a young elite clansman should have been.

Zhou Xie’e gave a mysterious smile. “Now that would be quite telling, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmph. Very well. I’ll not pry. It seems you have your reasons.”

“I’m glad you understand.”

Their conversation confused Zhou Lihua, but she was able to glean a little bit. It sounded like Zhou Xie’e might be stronger than he let on. Maybe he was hiding his cultivation somehow? She had heard there were artifacts that could forcefully lower one’s cultivation, making it seem like they were weaker than they really were.

Come to think of it, Wu Jian fought a woman who wore one such artifact during the Three Clans Strength Competition. I believe she called herself Yue? She disappeared shortly after her battle, so we were unable to uncover anything about her.

She perked up when the mist covering the arena floor cleared, revealing Mei Xilan and Wu Jian. Both were sporting several injuries. Wu Jian’s entire right arm was frozen solid. Mei Xilan had blood running down her lips and several cuts along her thighs, arms, and one long cut on her torso. She pressed a hand to that wound in particular, covering it in a layer of ice to stop the bleeding.

“It looks like we’re nearing the end of the battle,” said Zhou Xie’e.

Zhou Chaoxiang nodded. “Indeed. Mei Xilan was no doubt hoping to weaken Jian Wu with that ice mist. It’s a cunning technique. You trap someone in a thick mist full of icy particles. Whoever breathes in that air has their internal organs frozen solid. Jian Wu was able to figure out her game shortly after she used it and avoided staying in the mist for too long.”

“That forced Mei Xilan to expend more chi than she needed to. She probably realized that she won’t be able to use her trump card if she kept using that technique,” Zhou Xie’e added.

“Is she going to activate her domain now?” asked Zhou Lihua.

Zhou Chaoxiang sent her a glare, as if telling her to butt out of their conversation, but Zhou Xie’e merely smiled.

“She doesn’t have much choice anymore. She doesn’t have much chi left, and domains take a lot of chi to use. The fact that she can use it at the Human Limit Realm is already amazing. However, it probably consumes almost all of her chi. She’ll never have another chance to use it if she doesn’t activate it now,” he said.

His words seemed prophetic, almost, for Mei Xilan activated her domain literally seconds after Zhou Xie’e finished speaking. It looked like a dome of translucent ice had covered the entire arena.

“And there it is,” Zhou Xie’e said softly. He was smiling. “I wonder who will win? Will Mei Xilan’s overwhelming power see her to victory, or will Jian Wu surprise us?” He chuckled. “This battle might be even more exciting than some of the tournaments held at the Zhou Clan.”

“Hmph,” Zhou Chaoxiang snorted but said nothing.

Zhou Lihua hid her hands within the sleeves of her ruqun hanfu and clasped her hands together as she prayed for Jian Wu’s victory.