The International Power Ranking Tournament was said to be the preeminent tournament on the Xaio Continent. Young cultivators from across every nation gathered at the Xia Dynasty’s capital to take part in a contest of strength. Those who won were given the highest honors and a chance to join one of the Three Celestial Sects.

It was hosted by the famous Phoenix Clan. They were the rulers of the Xia Dynasty and so powerful that their nation stood alongside the Three Celestial Sects as an equal. Wu Jian remembered his history lessons on how and why the Phoenix Clan could stand alongside the three most powerful sects; it was because of their guardian deity, the great Phoenix who resided within their nation.

Members of the Phoenix Clan were bestowed the blood of the great Phoenix and used a cultivation method designed to maximize their usage of it. No other clan had a deity on their side like this, and that was what gave them their power. Not even Celestial Sword Sect could fight against a god.

The tournament was something the Three Celestial Sects and Xia Dynasty came up with to not only cultivate young talent, but also to prevent wars. Now that he was thinking about it, the Ming Province and Zhou Kingdom’s invasion of the Shang Kingdom was the first war that had been fought in many centuries. That was because those at the top were doing their best to prevent it from happening, though with the unrest currently going on in the world, it felt like this might be changing.

“There’s no need to debate this,” Loong Chen said from where he lounged. “My apprentice won’t be taking part.”

“Haaaah?!” Hou Jingshu turned to the flood dragon and glared. “What’s that?”

“You heard me. I’m not letting you take part in that farce of a tournament.”

“Why not?!”

“Because it’s stupid. Why bother taking part in something that serves no benefit other than to inflate the egos of bastards like Zhe Dāozhe?”

“It’s a great opportunity to test myself against strong opponents!”

“Strong opponents? Hah! Those snot-nosed brats entering the tournament might be considered strong to you humans, but they’re all weak. Not a single one of them has what it takes to truly be strong. You want to get stronger? Then you’ll come train with me. I’ll help you acquire the complete version of the Nine Heavenanly Dragons Embodiment cultivation method. With that in your arsenal, you’ll become so strong that both the Three Celestial Sects and the Phoenix Clan will have to look up at you.”

Hou Jingshu bit her lower lip and looked down. Wu Jian understood her plight. She was a girl who enjoyed fighting and testing herself. Very few things brought her greater pleasure than pushing and exceeding her limits as a cultivator. She wanted nothing more than to head to the Xia Dynasty, enter this tournament, and face off against her peers. On the other hand, the idea of training with Loong Chen was appealing in its own way. How many people were offered a chance to be trained by a powerful Perfection Realm cultivator? None. You’d have better luck finding a unicorn in the Ice Phoenix Mountains.

“But I…” Hou Jingshu hesitated.

Loong Chen sighed. “Look, I’ve been really patient here, waiting for your old man to recover so I can take you with me. That time has come. I refuse to let you waste your talents here, and I refuse to let you bother with a competition that holds no purpose other than to stroke the egoes of those idiots in the Three Celestial Sects. If you decide not to come with me, I’ll simply take you by force.”

Silence reigned. No one could deny his words. Loong Chen’s only reason for being here was to make Hou Jingshu his apprentice, and he had, in fact, waited very patiently. There was also the simple fact that none of them could do a damn thing if Loong Chen decided to take Hou Jingshu. He was powerful enough to destroy nations with his pinky finger. None of them had the strength to defy him.

“I… fine. I’ll go with you,” Hou Jingshu mumbled.

“Hmph. Like you had any other choice,” Loong Chen scoffed.

Hou Jingshu’s brows were furrowed as though reluctant, but they all knew this was not an opportunity a cultivator could pass up unless they were stupid. Cultivators the world over would kill for a chance to train under someone like Loong Chen. It was the equivalent to having a Platinum rank alchemist take you as an apprentice. The heights a person could reach under the tutelage of someone this strong was unmatched. Even a fool with no talent in cultivating could become like a carp leaping over the dragon gate.

“Very well.” Emperor Hou Jun looked disappointed, but he soon straightened his back and looked at Wu Jian and Mei Xilan. “Since Hou Jingshu shall not be entering, that means you two shall go as our representatives. Hua Xue, Yu Chenguang, and Fengli Cai will travel alongside you as guards, and you shall be ferried by the Lóng Tiānkōng.”

The Lóng Tiānkōng was the royal family’s personal airship. While they now had more airships in their arsenal due to having seized several from the Zhou Kingdom, they were not outfitted for long-distance travel between nations. Many of them also still bore the emblem of the Zhou Kingdom and were currently being re-outfited to match the Shang Kingdom’s military. It would probably take several more months before the airships were ready for use.

“We understand, Your Majesty,” Wu Jian said, bowing.

While Hua Xue did not bow, Yu Chenguang, Fengli Cai did, and Mei Xilan did.

Hou Jingshu turned to Mei Xilan. “I might not be taking part in the tournament, but I still want to test myself against you. Mei Xilan, fight me.”

“Why should I?” asked Mei Xilan, expression bland.

“...Because I’ll let you spend time with Jian Wu if you beat me.”

“Don’t give her something you know isn’t yours to give!” snapped Wu Jian.

“Very well.”

“And you! Don’t accept her offer without hesitation!” another snappy retort.

However, neither girl was listening to Wu Jian by this point, so all he could do was sigh. Was this his just desserts for liking strong-willed women?

***

They traveled outside to one of several training areas. This particular one reminded Wu Jian of an arena without seating. The building lacked a roof, so the sun shone overhead, and the hard stone floor was tiled. Several columns held the outerwall surrounding the training ground aloft. He could imagine soldiers standing around, leaning against the columns as they placed bets on which of their fellow cultivators would win.

Wu Jian stood off to the side with Emperor Hou Jun, Youmei, Lì Liàng, Yu Chenguang, Fengli Cai, and Hua Xue. Loong Chen stood between Hou Jingshu and Mei Xilan. He would be officiating this match, though his expression all but said he was bored out of his mind. His eyes were half-lidded and he yawned loudly. Neither Hou Jingshu nor Mei Xilan paid attention. Both fighters were already locked in a ready stance. Hou Jingshu held her spear in a two-handed grip, while Mei Xilan bore no weapons but had several ice lotus surrounding her.

“Are both fighters ready? Then… fight.”

The man disappeared moments after initiating the battle.

Hou Jingshu roared as her chi flared wildly around her before taking the shape of a dragon. Scales appeared on her skin, horns grew from her head, wings spread from her back, and a long tail sprang into existence behind her. She pushed off the ground. Cracks spread out on the earth as she launched herself forward.

[Ice Lotus: Burst]

The snow white ice lotus flew forward to attack Hou Jingshu, but she batted them aside with quick yet powerful swings of her spear. The ice lotus burst into white powder and was blown away by the overwhelming might of her chi.

[Ice Lotus: Shield]

Mei Xilan raised her hand. The remaining ice lotus gathered before her, then combined, forming a large and solid shield shaped like a lotus in full bloom. Wu Jian remembered seeing this during the Shang Kingdom National Tournament.

“Don’t think this is enough to stop me!”

Hou Jingshu roared as she slammed into it like a raging bull. The ice lotus shattered upon contact. Mei Xilan leapt back, sliding gracefully along the ground. Wu Jian wondered how she was doing that until he saw the ice forming beneath her feet.

[Ice Lotus: Entrapment]

Mei Xilan clapped her hands together, and a pair of ice lotus formed from the shattered remains on either side of Hou Jingshu, then rushed forward, trying to squash the Shang Kingdom’s princess between them. They shattered before they could reach her. Hou Jingshu had spread her wings wide and used them as bludgeoning weapons to destroy the attack.

[Ice Briar]

Stomping on the ground, Mei Xilan transformed the ice caused by her skating across the ground into numerous prickly vines. They surrounded Hou Jingshu and tried to latch onto her. Hou Jingshu swung both her spear and tail, shattering the vines before she turned to Mei Xilan and thrust her spear forward.

[Dragon’s Roar]

What emerged from the tip of her spear was a raging dragon made of golden chi. It surged toward Mei Xilan, who quickly called several thousand ice lotus to her. With a wave of her hand, she sent the ice lotus to attack the dragon, but all of them either melted or shattered upon making contact. The dragon continued on uninhibited.

Mei Xilan leapt into the air. She hovered there and raised her hand. The dragon quickly changed course after missing her, long body curling as it traveled into the sky.

[Ice Phoenix Breath]

A giant ice phoenix appeared above Mei Xilan, easily several times larger than the one they had seen during her battles in the tournament. The ice phoenix opened its mouth and unleashed a blast of icy cold air. It spread like white mist and engulfed the dragon, which completely disappeared. Wu Jian and everyone not used to the cold shivered as they felt the extreme drop in temperature.

Something fell from the sky seconds later. It was the dragon. The frozen technique struck the ground and shattered. The fact that Mei Xilan’s attack was capable of freezing chi impressed Wu Jian. Even Loong Chen whistled.

However, Hou Jingshu hadn’t been resting on her laurels after launching her attack. She had already curved around Mei Xilan while she was dealing with the dragon and dropped from the sky, spear at the ready. Mei Xilan spun toward the woman and held out her hand.

[Ice Lotus: Shield]

Another massive ice lotus appeared between them, but like the last one, Hou Jinghu pulverized it with a single swing of her spear. She had clearly grown much more powerful since their last bout. Mei Xilan had no choice but to gain some distance.

[Snowflake Blades]

Thousands of snowflakes appeared out of thin air and attacked Hou Jingshu, who covered her body with her arms. The attacks pelted her, but they could not break through the strong outer layer of chi that adorned her frame like armor. Mei Xilan soon landed on the ground and looked at the falling meteor that was Hou Jingshu.

[Ice Phoenix Domain]

They atmosphere shifted. A cold wind picked up and spread across the battleground. An ice blue dome formed around the training field, and, immediately after, an immensely powerful cold aura engulfed the entire area. What made this domain all the more impressive was that Wu Jian nor the others could even feel the cold. It was all being concentrated inside of that domain.

Despite being caught inside the domain, Hou Jingshu appeared unbothered. Her aura was as bright as ever. She landed on the battlefield, cracks spreading across the tiles, and raced toward Mei Xilan.

The two were forced into a headon confrontation. Mei Xilan used her left hand like a sword as she dodged and blocked Hou Jingshu’s many spear thrusts, diverting the other woman’s attacks rather than taking them head on. Hand and spear moved like blurs in a constant stream of motion.

“Big Sis has become so strong,” Youmei praised.

“Yeah. She has,” Wu Jian agreed.

Hua Xue sighed. “It looks like this battle is over.”

Wu Jian didn’t need to ask what she meant, for at that moment, Hou Jingshu unleashed another Dragon’s Roar, which caused the entire domain to tremble before shattering. Mei Xilan staggered backward as blood trailed down her mouth. She froze when Hou Jingshu placed the spear against her neck, grinning.

“It’s my win this time,” she said.

Mei Xilan closed her eyes and sighed. “So it is.”

Hou Jingshu turned toward Wu Jian and beamed brightly. He knew she couldn’t see it through his mask, but he smiled back. It was easy to understand how she felt as a fellow cultivator. Nothing brought greater joy than surpassing someone you once couldn’t beat.

And with that, the contest came to a conclusion.