Chapter 716 – "Four Blades, Four Flames"
The crystal sphere spun again, colors whirling before locking into place.
"Next match: Shui Yun of the Heavenly Sect… versus… a disciple of the Fallen Star Sect!"
From the Eastern Continent's section, a man in dark navy armor stepped forward, the emblem of a collapsing star glowing faintly on his chestplate. His stance was defensive, his eyes wary — but the moment the barrier sealed, Shui Yun was already in motion.
Lightning cracked along her blade, each step a blur that split the air. Her first swing slammed into his guard with a burst of thunder, nearly tearing the sword from his grip. The second strike broke his stance entirely. The third sent him crashing to the floor, a smoking trail marking where his armor had been scorched. Before he could rise, her blade was at his throat.
"Victory — Shui Yun of the Heavenly Sect!"
The crowd murmured at the sheer speed. Some barely saw more than three flashes of light before it was over.
The crystal spun again.
"Yan Zhi of the Heavenly Sect… versus… a disciple of the Heavenly Phoenix Hall!"
A lithe woman in white-gold robes descended from the Central Continent's seats, her phoenix-embroidered blade already radiating heat. Yan Zhi met her in the center, eyes locked, swords igniting with flame almost simultaneously.
The clash was immediate — fire against fire, heat rolling through the barrier in shimmering waves. But Yan Zhi's style was pure aggression, every strike heavier, hotter, and closer to breaking through. On the seventh exchange, her blade's explosion of flame forced the Phoenix Hall disciple's weapon wide open. The follow-up slash blasted her opponent out of the ring in a burst of embers.
"Victory — Yan Zhi of the Heavenly Sect!"
Again, the scoreboard climbed.
The next draw came swiftly.
"Jin Rou of the Heavenly Sect… versus… a disciple of the Immortal Flame Pavilion!"
Gasps rippled through the crowd — a direct clash with the second-place sect of the last tournament. Her opponent, a tall man wreathed in golden fire, looked confident as the match began. That confidence cracked when the barrier filled with bestial roars.
A silver-maned spirit wolf lunged at his flank, forcing him to turn his guard, while a hawk of crackling wind qi dived from above. Jin Rou closed in under the distraction, her blade a seamless part of the chaos. Each beast moved in perfect coordination with her strikes, leaving the Pavilion fighter no opening to counter. A sweeping cut to his legs dropped him to one knee, and a wolf's snapping jaws disarmed him entirely.
"Victory — Jin Rou of the Heavenly Sect!"
The Immortal Flame Pavilion's section sat in tight-lipped silence.
Finally, the sphere spun one more time.
"Fei Xue of the Heavenly Sect… versus… a disciple of the Mountain Sea Sect!"
A young man in ocean-blue armor stepped forward, spear in hand. He opened with a sweeping water wave, intending to overwhelm Fei Xue with sheer force. She stepped through it without hesitation, her blade cutting the flow apart in clean arcs.
Her style was pure mastery — no wasted motion, every step measured, every strike exactly where it needed to be. In less than five exchanges, his spear lay in two pieces on the arena floor. The final thrust of her sword stopped a hair's breadth from his heart.
"Victory — Fei Xue of the Heavenly Sect!"
Four fights. Four flawless wins. The scoreboard now showed Heavenly Sect – 170, their dominance impossible to ignore.
The crystal sphere's glow shifted again, slowing until the announcer's voice rang out.
"Next match: Yu Mei of the Heavenly Sect… versus… a disciple of the Frost Moon Palace!"
A ripple of interest spread through the crowd. Frost Moon Palace's section was a sea of pale-blue robes, their ice-crystal banners fluttering faintly in the arena breeze.
In the Southern Continent's viewing platform, the Frost Moon Palace Sect Master leaned back slightly, her cool gaze moving over her disciples. Choosing the right fighter against Yu Mei wasn't a decision to be made lightly. Even at this distance, the Sect Master could feel the sharpness of Yu Mei's aura — not just cold, but honed, dangerous.
Before she could speak, a calm, clear voice cut through the quiet of their section.
"Will you allow me to fight?"
Lan Xueya, the Palace's proudest prodigy, stepped forward. Her posture was straight, her expression unreadable, though her eyes carried a faint glimmer of anticipation. She kept her hands clasped behind her back, the long fall of her silver hair swaying lightly with the movement.
The Sect Master's gaze lingered on her for a long moment, weighing the choice. The rest of the Frost Moon Palace disciples watched in silence, their breaths held.
"You want to face her yourself?" the Sect Master finally asked, her voice low but even.
"I do," Lan Xueya replied, tone like still water under winter ice. "If we are to measure the Heavenly Sect's strength… it should be done without hesitation."
From the Heavenly Sect's section, Yu Mei stood, the faintest smile on her lips. Her eyes met Lan Xueya's across the distance — ice to ice, neither flinching.
The Sect Master gave a single, measured nod. "Very well, Xueya. Show them the pride of Frost Moon Palace."
Lan Xueya inclined her head in acknowledgment, then stepped down from the platform with the grace of falling snow. Each footfall was silent, her presence like a growing chill that spread into the air. As she crossed the arena floor, the noise of the crowd seemed to dim, attention narrowing to the space between her and Yu Mei.
Yu Mei was already waiting inside the barrier, her posture relaxed but her gaze sharp as a blade. The light from above caught in her ice-blue eyes, reflecting a cold brilliance.
Lan Xueya stopped a short distance away, drawing herself up with the composed poise of one used to command. A faint smile — barely there — touched her lips.
"We meet again," she said, her voice as smooth and cool as frost-laced glass.
Yu Mei's eyes softened just enough to hint at recognition. "Yes… though this time, it won't end the way you remember."
The barrier shimmered to life around them, sealing them off from the world. The crowd leaned forward, the air heavy with expectation.
Two masters of ice, standing across from one another.
Two different continents' pride, about to clash.
Chapter 717 – "Clash of Winter Queens"
The announcer's voice rang through the arena. "Begin!"
In the instant the barrier's hum steadied, Lan Xueya's figure blurred forward, her robes trailing streaks of icy mist. Frost gathered on her blade in jagged crystals, the point aimed straight for Yu Mei's heart.
Yu Mei met her advance without retreat, a single smooth draw of her sword sending a silver arc through the air. The edge sang against Lan Xueya's strike, and a burst of pale-blue cold rippled outward. The frost on Lan Xueya's blade shattered under the wave of cold qi — replaced by Yu Mei's own, finer, sharper ice.
The exchange should have been even — both wielding the same element, both renowned for their swordwork — yet within seconds, the difference was clear. Yu Mei's movements were effortless, each step flowing into the next like drifting snow, her strikes precise to the heartbeat. Every clash forced Lan Xueya back a fraction, the tempo tightening around her like an invisible snare.
By the first minute, Yu Mei was already dictating the fight entirely. Her ice wasn't just cold — it was commanding. Frost crept up Lan Xueya's boots and along her sleeves, slowing the speed of her counters. The tip of Yu Mei's sword pressed her from every angle, forcing her to defend more than attack.
From the Heavenly Sect's section, Shui Yun leaned forward, a faint smirk on her lips. "She's already got her dancing to her tune."
Alex, arms folded, simply murmured, "It was decided the moment they crossed blades."
Lan Xueya's eyes narrowed as her breathing misted in the air, the truth settling in — she was on the defensive, and Yu Mei had only just begun.
Lan Xueya's boots scraped against the frost-coated arena floor as she slid back from another clean parry, her sword arm tingling from the force behind Yu Mei's blow.
It didn't make sense.
They were both at the 8th level of the Eternal Throne Realm. Their cultivation foundations should have been equal — yet every time their blades met, Yu Mei's strength bled through, heavy and unyielding, as if she carried an ocean of power beneath her calm surface.
And the worst part… Yu Mei wasn't even serious.
Lan Xueya could see it now — the measured patience in her movements, the way her strikes never quite pushed for the finishing blow. She was holding back, toying with the pace, keeping the fight within a narrow margin that she controlled.
A thin bead of sweat slid down Lan Xueya's temple, only to freeze instantly in the bitter air between them. How…? She's younger than me, she should be the one struggling against my experience… so why does it feel like I'm the one being tested?
Yu Mei's eyes were steady, her breath even. Her sword flowed in a smooth upward cut, scattering crystalline shards between them like falling snow. "Is this the full extent of Frost Moon's pride?" she asked, her tone calm, almost disappointed.
The words hit harder than the strike, and Lan Xueya felt her chest tighten — not from the cold, but from the realization that in less than two minutes, the balance of the fight had already tipped beyond recovery.
Lan Xueya gritted her teeth and lunged, determined to reclaim even a shred of momentum. Her blade carved a sharp crescent of ice through the air, the cold wind biting against Yu Mei's robes.
Yu Mei didn't move from her place. With a single step, her sword rose in a smooth vertical arc, meeting the strike head-on. The clash rang out like shattering glass — and then the ice crescent fractured into a thousand glittering shards that dissolved into mist.
Before Lan Xueya could recover, Yu Mei's follow-up was already in motion. A twist of her wrist, a ripple of frost along her blade, and she thrust forward with perfect precision. The point of her sword stopped just short of Lan Xueya's throat, but the pressure of her qi swept through the barrier like a winter gale.
The frost binding the arena floor surged up Lan Xueya's legs, locking her in place from the knees down. She froze — in every sense of the word — as the chill sank deep, even into her core.
The announcer's voice cut through the silence. "Victory — Yu Mei of the Heavenly Sect!"
The barrier dissolved, and Yu Mei lowered her sword with composed elegance. She turned without a word, walking back toward the Heavenly Sect's section as the crowd erupted in cheers and murmurs, already buzzing about how one-sided the battle had been.
Lan Xueya remained where she stood for a moment longer, staring at the frost beneath her feet, the same thought echoing again and again in her mind: How can someone so young… be that strong?
Lan Xueya's boots thawed free as the frost slowly receded, but she didn't move. The noise of the crowd was a dull roar in her ears, her gaze fixed on the empty space where Yu Mei had just stood.
She was the strongest disciple in Frost Moon Palace — the one every junior looked up to, the one even elders acknowledged as the most skilled in ice arts the sect had seen in generations. Her control over frost was flawless, her swordsmanship honed through countless duels and bitter winters.
And yet… she had been defeated before she could even force Yu Mei to show her true power.
Her grip tightened on her sword's hilt. It shouldn't have been possible. We're equals in realm. I've trained longer, fought more duels, mastered every technique passed down by the Palace… so why?
Fragments of the match replayed in her mind — the way Yu Mei's strikes were never wasted, how her ice felt heavier, denser, as though each flake carried the weight of a glacier. The suffocating control, the unshakable calm… it was unlike anything Lan Xueya had ever faced.
She exhaled slowly, the breath curling in the cold air. No… it wasn't just technique. That strength… it came from somewhere far beyond ordinary cultivation.
And for the first time in years, Lan Xueya felt something she had almost forgotten — the raw, biting edge of doubt.