Feng Jiao Xue sat on her waiting room for the final matched. Half of her Qi was already depleted even if she ended the match early.
She had no choice but expend her Qi and magic to pierced through Feng Zhenhai’s defences.
A flowing water cannot break through a dam but with enough force and pressure, if you built up the water and strike in a single mont, no dam in unpenetrable.
Feng Jiao Xue glanced at the crowed through the small window in the waiting room.
It was ironic. At the start of this whole things, everyone expected her to be the laughing stock, the undeniable loser and now....
They all cheer for her win as if it was inevitable.
"Are you ready? Want to ask for a longer break? I can ask for another hour" Feng Haoyang asked as he entered the room with a bounce on his step, a sack he obviously wanted to flaunt considering he has his own spacering.
"Uncle... what are you doing?’ Feng Jiao Xue asked with a raised brow while Feng Haoyang grinned rrily.
"Being a proud uncle of course" He rrily laughed with a sunny grin, putting the sack on the table.
Jingle! Jingle! Ching!
Gold, silver and bronze coins glittered inside the sack as they bounced and clicked because of the impact before settling down.
"Wahahaha! Your uncle striked it rich, Jiao Xue!" Feng Haoyang proudly told her. "I can probably live like a kingfor months!"
Feng Jiao Xue looked at the glittering coins then at the grinning Feng Haoyang.
"How many people did you cheat?" She asked wryly making the other squak in indignace.
"I won this fair and square. The supported uncle I am, generously betted on my beloved favorite niece and just so happen to win because they where blind fools who can’t see the real master!" Feng Haoyang shalessly bragged on and on about his genuis and ’favor’ for Feng Jiao Xue.
She watched Feng Haoyang count his gold like a goblin, a freaky, greedy gaze and a bright sunny grin as if he had won the lottery.
Feng Jiao Xue wonders how this uncle of hers, a young master, was raised or was he dropped in the head as a kid. Watching him ’sweet talking’ his coins while inwardly shacking her head.
Grrrroooowwwww! A beast howl once again signaled the battle.
This was it.
The final match.
"Good luck, Xiao Xue!" Feng Haoyang finnaly stopped counting and bounced to her side.
Feng Jiao Xue nodded before walking to the platform again, standing at one end of the stage, her cold eyes eyes assessing her new opponent
Across from her was her opponent Feng Lanxiu bowed at her in respect. Unlike the others who had underestimated her, he held no arrogance in his stance. He had seen her previous matches. He knew better.
Dressed in crimson robes embroidered with golden flas. His previous robe was already torn so he had to change. Feng Lanxiu gripped his weapon, his sword already searing with heat. The blade pulsed, shimring with raw power.
"Hey, i never bullied you so don’t humiliate too much yeah?" He joked before he exhaled. "You’re strong Feng Jiao Xue. I won’t make the mistake of underestimating you."
A rare flicker of acknowledgnt crossed Feng Jiao Xue’s face. "Likewise." It’s not just the strength of her opponent that she respects but how they carry themselves as well.
She had watched Feng Lanxiu and investigated his character. His honor and character is upheld with staunched conviction. Friendly and a little bit muscleheaded but not one for sches.
"Oh~ Look’s like our contenders are already rearing for battle! So, let’s not wait any farther!" The announcer raised his hand. "Let the final match.... begin!"
Feng Jiao Xue waited for Feng Lanxiu to make the first move.
With a single step, he vanished, his footwork Fla Lotus Steps leaving trails of scorched marks in his wake. His sword flashed, a streak of molten light slashing toward her.
Feng Jiao Xue remained still.
’Heat’ Feng jiao Xue followed his movents despite his speed ’Looks like he left a few cards hidden in his sleeves"
Her eyes followed the flas that are blooming like a flower of hell all around her and....
At the last possible second, she shifted. A re tilt of her head. The blade passed within a hair’s breadth, its heat singing the air but she remained untouched.
Instead, she smirked coldly and looked Feng Lianxiu in the eye before vanishing from his sight.
Feng Lanxiu’s eyes narrowed but Feng Jiao Xue appeared outside of his entraptnt and instead finished the zig zagged fla circle.
"Not bad" She muses. "You moved randomly to hide the fact that you where preparing a care"
"It seems I am still far from actually fooling my opponent though" He conversionally replied despite cutting the fla with his sword to break the entrapnt.
His instincts scread at him ’Don’t let her control the pace! He had watched her fight. Feng Zhenhai clearly had a strong chance to win but from start to finish, she calculated all his movents into an elaborate and final strike.
Without hesitation, he twisted mid-air, bringing sword down in a fiery arc. The sword’s fla intensified fueled by his Qi. A strike ant to end the fight.
Clang!
Feng Jiao Xue t his blade with the edge of her own sword, her grip firm and resolute before jumbing back when she lost montum against his strength as the sword split the platform in half.
The impact sent a shockwave rippling through the arena fire qi and her qi clashed violently. Steam burst into the air, veiling the battlefield in mist.
Feng Lanxiu gritted his teeth and pressed forward. His sword beca a blur, striking relentlessly. His movents were refined, precise. Not a single attack was wasted.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The sounds of swords clashing rang one after another as Feng Jiao Xue and Feng Lianxiu exchanged blows after blows.
Feng Jiao Xue dares to do this because their cultivation level is about the sa.
Feng Jiao Xue she remained composed. Every slash, every thrust, she was already a step ahead.
Though Feng Lianxiu was not far behind, puttng his strength on every clash.
The audience murmured in awe.
"She’s not even attacking."
"She’s waiting. Studying his every move."
"Wait, papa whose winning then?" A little girl asked.
"Is Feng Jiaoxue holding back?"
Lanxiu’s brow furrowed. He could feel it. The shift.
She had done this before.
Feng Jiao Xue never overwheld her opponents with brute force. Instead, she let them exhaust themselves, revealing every flaw, every habit. Then, when they least expected, she struck.
He wouldn’t give her that chance.
Flas detonated around him, turning the battlefield into an inferno. The air shimred, warping from the heat. His Qi surged, feeding the firestorm.
Feng Lanxiu’s voice rang clear. "Let’s see you escape this!"
A massive wave of fire roared toward Feng Jiao Xue, a beast of molten fury.
Feng Jiao Xue smirked. "So, you’ve shown your final card"
Red, everything she sees is red and... as Feng Jiao Xue looked at the mountainous raging fla, she faltered.
Suddenly, she wasn’t in the arena anymore.
A modern villa stood tall and proud in front of her.
"Gasp" She couldn’t breath. She couldn’t move. Her eyes locked on a figure slowly being engulfed in flas....
"...Jiao Xue! Feng Jiao Xue, focus! Dodge, d@mn it!" Huang Jin De’s voice scread in her mind making her snap back in reality.
The crowd gasped and murmured while she was in a daze.
"She has nowhere to run!"
"This should be his strongest move!"
"Wait, is she really going to lose?!"
"Ahhh! I betted all my money on Feng Jiao Xue since she managed to beat Feng Zhenhai!"
As the crowds anxiously waited for her to burn, she stepped forward and the battlefield froze.
A pulse of chilling energy exploded from Feng Jiao Xue, swallowing the firestorm whole.
Frost raced across the scorched earth, devouring the flas in an instant. The heat vanished, replaced by a deep, unnatural cold. The temperature plumted, breaths turned visible, the ground cracking under the sheer force of her Qi.
Feng Lanxiu staggered.
His sword once burning like a second sun was coated in frost. The heat that had fueled his techniques was gone. His movents were sluggish his Qi resisting the cold but losing ground.
This....this wasn’t just ice. This was suppression. Feng Jiao Xue had accidentally managed to rge her magic with her qi. Her fear, her sadness, her isolation, her guilt, everything. In that mont, Feng Jiao Xue let it all consu her and turned the blazing grounds into an icy domain.
Feng Jiao Xue exhaled, her breath a wisp of white. "Is this all?"
Feng Lanxiu gaped at her before clenched his jaw in determination. No. Notyet. He grinned in excitent as his eyes flared even more intensely.
He forced himself forward. Even if his flas were weaker, even if his body was cold, he refused to give in so easily.
His sword whistled through the frozen air and attack but as he swings his swords towards her...
She was already gone. She vanished from where he stood.
"Kachaah!" A sharp, cracking sound echoed.
Feng Lanxiu’s breath hitched. His body locked in place.
A thin layer of ice had ford along his limbs, freezing him mid-motion. The frost bit deep, numbing his Qi.
Behind him, Feng Jiao Xue stood at ease, her whip lazily coiled at her side. "You should concede."
Lanxiu took a sharp breath. His flas flickered weakly, trying to lt the ice but it was futile.
"Hehadlost." The realization settled in his chest like a heavy stone.
Then.... he smiled wryly.
"I see. You were holding back this whole ti." His voice held no bitterness only respect. "I never stood a chance, did I?"
Feng Jiao Xue didn’t answer.
She didn’t need to.
The announcer, still shaken, raised his voice. "F-Feng Lanxiu can no longer continue! The winner of the tournant is, Feng Jiao Xue!"
Silence.
Then....the arena erupted.
The once-skeptical crowd was in an uproar.
"She won?!"
"She completely froze Lanxiu mid-attack!"
"That wasn’t just ice. That was sothing else entirely..."
"The good for nothing... won over the genuises..."
Feng Jiao Xue ignored them and just retracted her Qi.
As the ice faded, Lanxiu let out a soft chuckle. "I won’t forget this, Jiao Xue." He extended a hand. "Next ti, I’ll be stronger."
She glanced at his outstretched palm, after a brief pause, shook it.
"No doubt." She nodded before she let out a small yet enchanting smile despite the burn of her face, Feng Lanxiu’s heart skipped a beat and a flushed red color creeped up from his neck.
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