Xaio Shui’s body froze in an instant as the ice touched him. It happened so quickly anybody who blinked would have missed it. Now a blue layer of crystalline ice covered his entire body, turning him into a frozen statue. Mei Xilan breathed a sigh of relief as she saw this. She had placed every ounce of power she had into her domain, so she had nothing left to fight back with.

“I believe this battle is over,” Mei Xilan said to Huǒ Yan.

But the old man just smiled. “I hate to burst your bubble, but what makes you think this battle is over?”

“What?”

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, an intense heat radiated from the ice statue. Mei Xilan whirled around to see Xaio Shui’s body covered in a bright golden aura. The heat radiating from his body was so intense that she could feel it even through the ice, and as she watched, the ice quickly began melting, leaving the man standing there without a single scratch.

“I figured you’d try to use your domain on me eventually. That was your only hope of winning.” Xaio Shui’s smug grin grew smugger still, until it looked ready to split his face in half. “Did you really think I wasn’t aware of what you were going to do? Or that I didn’t have a way to counter it? You’re a fool. Just like a frog in a well, you can only see a small sliver of this vast sky. You fail to realize how much more powerful someone at the Deva Realm is.”

Mei Xilan didn’t grimace, but she was not pleased with how her plan had been overturned so easily. She had bidded her time, let him grow complacent, then trapped him in ice by using her domain, her trump card. Now he was telling her it had all been useless? That it didn’t matter how much she planned? Mei Xilan had always known there was a vast difference in power between realms, but she had believed herself to be one of those people who could overcome such barriers. Wu Jian had done it. He beat her despite being an entire realm below her. She had believed that she could do the same.

Mei Xilan realized she had been naive.

Despite knowing she was fighting a losing battle, Mei Xilan created several ice phoenixes with what little remained of her chi. The birds flapped their blue wings and flew toward Xaio Shui. He merely sneered, however, then threw punch after punch to decimate her ice phoenixes. When the last of them evaporated into steam, he turned to her.

“It’s time to end this farce,” Xaio Shui said. “You were never worthy of stepping foot into the ring with me, and I’m going to prove it right here and now.”

Before Mei even had time to react, Xaio Shui rushed over to her. He was already within punching range. Mei Xilan barely had time to move out of the way as he threw a punch at her face. She dodged, but the flames from his fist struck her veil, causing it to burn away. Xaio Shui’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You’re…”

Mei Xilan tried to cover her face, but Xaio Shui grabbed her hands and pulled her to him. She turned her head as his breath hit her face. A shudder ran through her.

“Hmmm. You look… familiar, but I don’t believe we’ve met before. I would know if I had met someone this beautiful. Well, I guess this proves it then. You’re just another delicate flower. You should stop cultivating from now on and live your life as a woman.”

Mei Xilan bit her lip. She had never felt so insulted before. Who did this man think he was? How dare he tell her to stop cultivating? Live as a woman? She was doing that just fine while also being a cultivator. Her expression revealed none of the revulsion she felt, but that was only because of her cultivation method.

She kicked at Xaio Shui’s legs, forcing him to let go and take a step back. He seemed amused by her defiance. The grin hadn’t left his face, though now it contained a touch of mockery. He knew that she had no hope of winning just like her. It pissed her off.

“You still want to fight even though you have no chi left? You’ve got spunk, I’ll give you that, but you need to realize the immense difference between us. Even the difference between heaven and earth cannot compare to our difference in strength. Give up. I don’t want to have to mar that pretty face with burn marks.”

“Fuck you,” Mei Xilan said.

It was just two simple words, but they had a great effect on Xaio Shui, whose entire face spasmed and turned red. He looked ready to burst a blood vessel or two.

“You wanna spurn my kindness, huh? They do say there’s no cure for stupidity. Well, fine. I’ll mess up that pretty face of yours really good. Maybe then you’ll realize how stupid you’re being.”

Mei Xilan glared defiantly at Xaio Shui. She had no more chi left to fight with, but that didn’t mean she would give up. This man represented everything she hated. She would be damned if she let him make a fool of her.

“It looks like you could use a hand.”

And yet just before their battle could start anew, someone interrupted them. Mei Xilan blinked, then blinked again. She was almost certain she was hallucinating. Jian Wu was standing between her and Xaio Shui, but he hadn’t been there a second ago. She knew he was fast. She had sparred with him before, but he seemed even faster now.

“You did a good job, Mei. Take a break and let me handle this now,” he said to her.

“…Okay.”

If she was being honest, Mei Xilan didn’t want to leave this fight to Jian Wu, but she also understood that she had long since reached her limit. She had no energy left to fight with.

Xaio Shui glared at Jian Wu. “You’re pretty strong. I thought the only person worth a damn in this team was the woman, but it looks like I was wrong. However, don’t think you can beat me just because you bested my flunkies. I’m gonna wipe the floor with--”

Xaio Shui’s words were stopped midsentence as something invisible slammed into his face. His cheek distorted as though someone had rammed a fist into it. The man spun around several times in surprise, but he didn’t fall, instead gathering his feet underneath him and bending his knees to absorb the impact.

“If you’re going to fight, then shut up and fight. Stop pontificating like a second rate villain,” said Jian Wu as he summoned Pale Moon and settled into a combat stance.

***

Wu Meiying’s eyes lit up as Wu Jian finally stepped into the fight. He had been watching from the sidelines to give Mei Xilan a chance to accomplish her goal, but he had finally stepped in now that it was obvious she would lose. He probably knew she would lose from the get go. However, he had wanted the woman to give it her all. That was just the kind of person he was. Wu Meiying was glad to see some things hadn’t changed.

“It looks like that young man is finally going to make his move,” said Zhe Dāozhe, leaning back in his chair. “I was wondering if he would. He was just standing there the whole time.”

“That girl seems to have a personal grudge against Xaio Shui,” Shui Meili said, cooling herself off with a fan she had produced from her storage ring. “I’m sure that young man let her have the first attempt so she could settle her grievances.”

Smart woman. She’s quite perceptive.

“Dost thou thinketh Jian Wu can win?” asked Huǒ Yulie. The girl was sitting in the seat furthest from everyone else, and so Wu Meiying had opted to stand beside her. She ignored Huǒ Huangdi’s glare. He couldn’t do anything to her. She wanted to make this woman her ally, and to do that, she needed to impress upon her the importance of growing closer to Wu Jian.

“Someone at the Deva Realm won’t prove to be a problem for him,” claimed Wu Meiying.

“Oh? You seem awfully assured of Jian Wu’s victory.” It wasn’t Huǒ Yulie who spoke up but Zhou Xie’e. “What makes you so certain he will win?”

Wu Meiying was glad she wore a veil so no one could see her grimace. She had been trying to speak quietly enough so this man wouldn’t hear, but it seemed she wasn’t careful enough. Perhaps he could read lips. Damn him. She wanted nothing to do with this scumbag.

“If you can’t even tell that much yourself, then I’m not sure you deserve the right to sit there,” Wu Meiying said with a huff.

“Fair enough,” Zhou Xie’e chuckled.

While the sect masters were chatting, Wu Jian and Xaio Shui were having their own conversation. Wu Meiying was glad sound carried so well in this arena. She was even more glad everyone in the stands had gone silent, or that might have made it hard for her to hear what they were saying.

Wu Jian had just used the Dao of Space to give Xaio Shui the finest slap she had ever seen. His cheek was completely red. It served him right. Xaio Shui was little more than a zealot and a murderer in the making. His master was even worse. They killed under the name of their religious order, claiming it was to bring peace to their nation, but it was all about control. Wu Meiying was tempted to look through his futures and bring about the one that ended in his death, but she couldn’t do that with Zhou Xie’e present.

“What did you just do?! How did you do that?!” demanded Xaio Shui, holding a hand to his cheek.

Wu Jian said nothing, but his hand blurred, and suddenly, a loud slapping sound echoed across the arena. Xaio Shui’s head spun as his other cheek was slapped. Now he looked like a squirrel with acorns stuffed into his mouth.

“Jeeze, you’re loud. Are you going to talk or fight?” asked Wu Jian. He had become a lot more confident in the time they had been apart, though Wu Meiying hoped his confidence wouldn’t turn into arrogance. He was straddling the line right now. That was the problem with realizing you were strong. It gave you an overinflated ego. But she had confidence that Wu Jian wouldn’t let it go to his head.

“Fine,” Xaio Shui ground his teeth together. “Get ready! I’m going to wipe the floor with your face!”

[Domain of Undying Flames]

The arena became a sea of golden flames, with Xaio Shiu at its center. It was so hot that even Wu Meiying could feel it from the VIP booth. She could only imagine how sweltering it was for those in the arena, and yet, Wu Jian didn’t seem affected at all. Wu Meiying smiled as she noticed the tiny distortions in space that surrounded him. He was using a skill to phase himself out of space. No attack could reach him when he was like this.

He had already pushed Mei Xilan out of the arena so she wouldn’t be harmed. Now it was just him and Xaio Shui.

“Is that it? I was expecting better from you.”

Xaio Shui’s face couldn’t turn any redder than it already was. He snarled at Wu Jian and rushed forward to attack. He threw out his left fist, then his right, then his left again, and then he tried to kick Wu Jian. None of his attacks hit. They passed through his body as if the young man was just an illusion, a figment of the imagination.

“What. The. Hell! Why! Can’t! I! Hit! You?!” roared Xaio Shui.

“Because you suck,” Wu Jian taunted.

“Raaaaaagghhhhh!”

The words only served to make Xaio Shui even madder. He threw punch after punch, and when he finally realized punching wouldn’t work, he leapt backward and thrust out both hands, expelling a beam of pure golden flames. The attack washed over Wu Jian. Yet when the flames died down, he was still standing there, not a single scratch on him.

“Why! Why won’t you die?! My flames should have burnt you to a crisp!”

Wu Jian yawned. “How could I get burned when your flames are so weak? If you want to see what real flames look like, go find Huǒ Shuchang and ask him to show you. Anyway, I’ve had enough of this. It’s time for you to leave the stage.”

While Xaio Shui began shouting obscenities as he prepared another attack, Wu Jian took a deep breath, and when he expelled it, a powerful aura descended upon the arena. Those who were sitting in the VIP booth jerked at the feeling that washed over them. They all locked eyes on Wu Jian, whose cultivation felt like it had taken a sudden leap. He hadn’t gained a rank, but the amount of power he possessed had increased exponentially.

Right before their eyes, Wu Jian’s hair grew longer and turned white, his eyes gained slits that made him look like a cat, and his muscles grew to the point where they strained against his hanfu. Even his hands now looked like claws.

Xaio Shui looked baffled. He was so frozen that he couldn’t react in time when Wu Jian appeared before him and threw a punch. The air howled as though it was being rent. In desperation, Xaio Shui crossed his arms to block the attack, but that was a mistake. Wu Meiying heard the man’s bones breaking from where she stood. The loud snapping of bones was followed by a scream as the man was sent rocketing backward. He slammed into the arena wall, which broke underneath the force. The wall crumbled and buried Xaio Shui underneath it. Only his legs and a single hand sticking out of it remained visible.

Silence soon settled over the arena.