Wang Li sat cross-legged on the frozen training ground, his muscles aching from head to toe. The so-called "warm-up" had nearly killed him, and now his exes were preparing sothing even worse.
Feng Yuling smirked as she tapped a delicate finger against her chin. "Alright, since our little dragon survived Round One, it's ti for the real training."
Lin Ruoyan cracked her knuckles, her fiery eyes gleaming. "Yeah, dodging like a rat isn't enough. If you want to survive the Winter Moon Tournant, you need actual power."
Mu Qingling clapped excitedly. "Oooh! Can I train him too?"
Wang Li held up a trembling hand. "Wait, wait. Let's talk about this rationally. I'm already half-dead here!"
Feng Yuling ignored him, her fox ears twitching playfully. "First, let's assess where you stand. Right now, you're at the Qi Condensation realm, third stage, correct?"
Wang Li sighed. "Yeah. I know it's weak."
"It's beyond weak," Lin Ruoyan scoffed. "If we threw you into the tournant like this, you wouldn't even be cannon fodder. You'd be the guy they kill as a warm-up."
Wang Li twitched. "Thanks for the encouragent."
Mu Qingling grinned. "Don't worry, Wang Li! If you survive our training, you might actually reach the Foundation Establishnt realm before the tournant starts!"
His breath caught. Foundation Establishnt? That was a major breakthrough! Most cultivators took years to advance that far, but they were saying he could do it in just a few days?
Feng Yuling winked. "Interested now?"
"Fine," he muttered. "Just tell what I have to do."
The three won exchanged glances.
Then—
Feng Yuling smiled sweetly. "You'll be fighting all of us at once."
Wang Li's soul left his body.
---
One Hour Later
Wang Li flew across the courtyard, crashing through a snow-covered bamboo fence. He groaned, spitting out a mouthful of frost.
Mu Qingling stood nearby, looking apologetic. "Oops. Did I hit him too hard?"
Lin Ruoyan stretched, rolling her shoulders. "No, no, that was just the right amount of force."
Feng Yuling yawned. "He's still breathing, so he's fine."
Wang Li staggered to his feet, panting. He had never been beaten up so systematically in his entire life. Each of his exes had their own terrifying way of making his life miserable:
Lin Ruoyan attacked him head-on, raining down a storm of fiery punches that left the very air around him burning.
Feng Yuling moved like a phantom, appearing and disappearing with her illusion techniques, slashing at him when he least expected it.
Mu Qingling didn't attack as often, but when she did, her ice techniques froze his movents, leaving him an easy target.
And this was supposed to make him stronger?
His mind was screaming, but at the sa ti, his body was adapting.
Each ti he dodged an attack, his movents beca faster.
Each ti he blocked a blow, his qi circulation beca smoother.
Each ti he was knocked down, he forced himself back up stronger than before.
It was hell, but it was working.
Still, he wasn't satisfied.
Wang Li exhaled, centering himself. He knew that if he wanted to compete in the Winter Moon Tournant, he couldn't just be a punching bag—he needed to fight back.
He shut his eyes for a brief mont, then activated his qi.
Golden light flickered around him.
Lin Ruoyan's eyes narrowed. "Oh? Are you finally serious?"
Wang Li vanished—
—And appeared right behind her.
Lin Ruoyan barely had ti to block as his palm slamd into her side, sending her skidding backward.
For the first ti since training started, the battlefield fell silent.
Mu Qingling blinked. "Whoa..."
Feng Yuling smiled. "Now this is getting interesting."
Lin Ruoyan stood up, rubbing her side where he had struck her. Then—she grinned.
"Good," she said, cracking her knuckles. "Now let's see if you can keep up."
And just like that, the real training began.
Wang Li didn't even get a second to process what he had just done.
The mont his palm strike connected with Lin Ruoyan, her eyes lit up—not with anger, but excitent.
BOOM!
The ice beneath her feet exploded as she launched herself forward like a flaming teor.
"Not bad," she said, a grin stretching across her face. "But you're still too slow."
Wang Li barely managed to dodge as her flaming fist ca crashing down where he had just stood, lting a deep crater into the frozen ground.
"Dammit!" Wang Li cursed as he flipped backward, his Dragon Step barely keeping up with her relentless attacks.
But before he could even catch his breath—
A shadow flickered behind him.
Feng Yuling.
"Hehehe, you seem distracted," she whispered into his ear, her voice as sweet as honey. Then—her dagger sliced forward.
Wang Li instinctively twisted his body, avoiding the full brunt of the attack, but the razor-sharp edge still grazed his shoulder, cutting through his robes.
"Shit!" he hissed, rolling away just in ti to avoid another flurry of slashes.
Feng Yuling vanished again, disappearing into thin air.
Then, from seemingly nowhere, her voice echoed around him. "If you can't even sense my illusions, how do you plan to defeat soone who actually wants to kill you?"
Wang Li grit his teeth. She had a point.
He didn't even have ti to think of a response before—
CRACK!
Suddenly, the air around him turned frigid, his breath misting in the cold.
His feet froze in place.
"What the—?!"
Mu Qingling stood a few feet away, her hands glowing with icy blue qi. "You were moving too much," she pouted. "Now you can't run away!"
Wang Li paled.
Oh no.
Lin Ruoyan was right in front of him, her fist cocked back, flas swirling around it.
"Oh co on, that's not fair!" Wang Li shouted.
"Life's not fair," Lin Ruoyan said with a grin.
And then—she punched him in the gut.
BOOM!
The impact sent Wang Li flying straight into a tree, his back cracking against the frozen bark before he collapsed onto the ground in a heap.
A few monts of painful silence passed.
Then—
Mu Qingling blinked. "Oh no. Did we break him?"
Feng Yuling approached, peering down at Wang Li's motionless body. "Hmm, he's still breathing. That's impressive."
Lin Ruoyan wiped so sweat from her brow. "Hah! Good thing we went easy on him."
Wang Li, who was pretty sure he had a few broken ribs, twitched.
"...That was easy?" he wheezed.
Mu Qingling smiled cheerfully. "Yep!"
Wang Li groaned. He was going to die.
—
Three Days Later
Wang Li collapsed onto the snow, completely drained of energy. Every muscle in his body scread in protest, but at least he had survived another hellish training session.
Feng Yuling sat beside him, sipping a cup of tea. "Well, I have to admit, you're improving faster than I expected."
Lin Ruoyan crossed her arms. "Tch. He's still nowhere near tournant level, though."
Mu Qingling crouched beside Wang Li, tilting her head. "Hmm, he might need a little push to break through to the next stage!"
Wang Li groaned. "If by 'push,' you an throwing off a mountain, then no thanks."
Feng Yuling grinned. "Actually, that's not a bad idea."
"Wait, I was joking!"
Lin Ruoyan smirked. "Hah! Too late."
Wang Li felt a terrible chill run down his spine.
He suddenly had a very bad feeling about the next phase of his training.
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