"And now, we come towards the thing you have all been waiting for." The expert yelled. "The five way free for all. Only four of twenty remaining fighters will advance to the semi finals. Are you excited?"

While no fights were in progress the sound suppressing formation on the floor was turned off, so Lion could hear the cries of mortals as they agreed to the elder. The sounds felt refreshing, invigorating to her.

Bringing the lion back under control had taken a lot of her mental energy. It was bad form to leave it out, though the people here didn't know that.

Soon enough Lion walked onto the slightly bigger stage, and eyed her enemies. All four of them were part of a clan, as seen by their robes.

Two had the same robe as the berserker, but lacked his simmering anger. Either they cultivated a different intent, or they were able to control themselves. Both options were bad, considering how she embarrassed their clan member earlier.

The other two were part of a different clan, one of the dozens of wolf or bear clans found around here. The bear clan was looked at the two with open hostility, while the wolf clan looked at them with questioning eyes.

So a two against three, if the bear clan cultivator had any sense in him. She shot him an asking look, just to make sure, and he nodded towards her. Good.

"Let's get this party started!" She roared.

Qi surged through her body as she bounced forwards, intent to take one of the Waid Clan out first. They knew how to fight together after all.

Long claws formed just above her fingers even as her target retreated behind the other. Instead of risking a melee engagement with the two, something they were trying to bait her into, she turned at the last second, her claws raking across the wolf clan boy's chest, spinning him into her erstwhile ally.

Who proved to be just as boring as most cultivators in these lands, as his fist exploded into fire. The wolf clan member had just enough time to react, making sure only his arms were fried, instead of his head.

Lion clicked her tongue, disappointing. Though seeing how the boy broke down in sobs moments later perhaps pressing the attack might have been a waste of qi.

She returned her attention to the tow clan members in front of her, both sneering at her.

"You will regret angering the Waid Clan, trash." One of them said.

"Why should I fear a backwater clan again? The best you will have is some weak immortal. My sect master eats those for breakfast." She bantered back happily.

Both of them gulped, a little fear entering their eyes. Lion sneered. The sect master wouldn't bother to move here for a small disciple like her. Just as their clan elders wouldn't. The sect master didn't eat anymore really. And popular rumor said the sect master thought humans to taste disgusting, though no one knew if he actually ever ate a human. She didn't see a need to test that out anyway.

Banter was a part of fighting, and they didn't seem all that well versed.

Well, if the only amusement they were worth was found in fighting then she'd fight. And show them how to properly fight too.

Lion nodded to her partner, and they dashed forwards, towards their two opponents. The spokesperson of the two faced her, with his second facing her partner.

Good enough. Lion's tongue followed the outline of her lips, searching for a drop of warm blood. She found none, but that would soon change.

In the finals, if she had any say about it.

They attacked each other at the same time, her opponent suddenly surrounded by a wooden aura.

Well, that was a mistake. Lion extended her claws just that little bit more, and started sharpening her claws at the unexpected tree.

Her opponent was forced further and further back, small scratches appearing all over his skin as she shredded his robes, her claws becoming sharper and sharper as time went on.

And he couldn't even drop his technique, seeing as her claws would completely shred his skin if he did. A win win situation.

Lion threw herself to the side as the second clan member tried attacking her from behind. But he wasn't sneaky. Especially for someone with a lion's nose.

She she jumped one of the claws left her hand, and flew into the sneaky attacker's leg, piercing straight through and disbanding after.

Before he, or her scratching tree, had a chance to react on the new development she pounced forwards, as the second attacker stumbled upon hitting the floor. Her claws ripped across his back, creating long, deep and very bloody gashes, catapulting him off the stage in a moment.

Lion jumped back, and surveyed the stage. Two formed were curled on the floor, with her and her scratching tree still standing. She started circling the tree, watching as he repaired his shell, until she had eyes on both collapsed forms.

A simple burn wound shouldn't take a second realm cultivator out of a fight for long. And she didn't see any wounds on her previous ally.

Well, grinding her claws on trees that didn't collapse immediately was fun, and didn't use much qi. So she could just continue on until something new happened. After all she was winning.

When Lion came in range of the tree again, something changed. It actually grew branches, branches that moved to attack her as she came closer.

He should have done that earlier, when her claws weren't sharp enough to simply cut these branches in half. Lion felt a little silly as she advanced, cutting slow moving branches like a mortal gardener.

Panic formed on her enemy's face as she came closer, deeper into his aura yet her claws still cut. Perhaps he should learn how to really fight, not rely on complex qi techniques.

Lion suddenly stopped her advancement, as all branches sped up, aiming to imprison her in their midst. The panic changed into an evil grin.

A grin that finished the moment she did, but unlike her it did not reappear as she appeared in front of him.

She made sure not to cut him too deep, and slapped him off the stage with a second attack.

Her eyes scanned the other two participants, obviously watching her from their position on the ground.

Both didn't move to get up though, signalling their surrender. Lion nodded towards them, before leaving the stage. She had three other fights to watch, to scout the final competition.

The semi final was about to start, and Lion was facing off against an ice cultivator. Which was a problem, lions weren't made for the cold, and this one seemed to use his qi in the worst way possible. He created a slowing area of cold around him.

“IMMORTAL DEMON FREEZING BLIZZARD!” Her opponent yelled the moment the fight started.

How long could he keep that up? She didn't know, but ice or cold cultivators seemed to be able to keep using qi techniques forever. How, she did not know, but she didn't expect him to run out of qi anytime soon. So either she’d have to try and deal with him from afar, throwing claws all the time. The technique really only worked in a melee fight though, extending her range to unexpected levels.

Time to let the lion out again then, he’d have a day to sleep after anyways.

“Scared to come closer lion girl? Then I will come to you!” Her opponent taunted, moving towards her.

Lion only roared, and released her control over the lion for the second time in a day. All her techniques activated, and familiar instincts entered her mind. She ran forwards, her claws extending to the max, and lunged once she was in range.

She could feel ice start settling down on her robe, and all exposed skin, even as the enemy jumped out of her attack. He was slower than her.

Plan in mind Lion retreated out of the zone of icy cold, waited for feeling to come back into her limbs as she deactivated all but her basic techniques. Once warm she jumped in again, swiped at her enemy, and watched him jump out of the way again.

Perfect. Now her win was just a matter of time.

They repeated the same thing for another two times until her enemy caught on, and started chasing her around the stage. It felt like a game of cat and mouse, with her always just staying at the edge of his aura and attacking in moments of inattention.

She had yet to land a single hit, but her qi kept her fresh, and the movement kept her warm. She repeated the cycle for a few more times, now having to dodge icicles leaving her opponents hands. She kept a careful eye on his face, slowly seeing anger creep on his face. Perfect. Anger made a cultivator sloppy. Time to add a little salt to the wound.

“You call that a blizzard? It can hardly be called snowfall. And that name, really? If you want to kill demons you should cultivate purity.” She taunted.

She also slowed down to get in another attack like the previous one, and laughed as an icicle flew past her head. The anger grew, and he sped up again. Stupid. Ice cultivator relied on burning qi to move fast, they did not have access to more efficient movement techniques. She increased her speed just like he did, always barely dodging his attacks and staying in his aura for longer.

It was actually starting to affect her too. A really powerful technique to be honest. Not as much as she was faking though. She let one of the icicles hit her in the flesh of her left arm, and felt ice spreading through her body.

Now!

She turned on her heels, a lion’s head forming above her own as she lunged forwards, suddenly faster than she had been for the last minutes. Her enemy flinched when she and the lion roared as one, and that was all it took.

She arrived atop of him, feeling the slowing effect increase in strength the closer she got. And she bit down on his shoulder, blood sprouting out of the wounds, and freezing before it hit the ground. Wow, that was really cold.

With the lion’s head holding the enemy in place he had no chance to escape as the claws on her hands started laying into his stomach.

“I surrender!” He cried, as her claws broke through his robe’s protection.

What a letdown, she was looking forwards to ravage his stomach. What a disappointment.

Lion rubbed her arms together as warm air returned onto the stage with a loud whoosh.

“Good fight. But you really need to work on your emotional control in a fight.” She said, offering the enemy her hand.

The cultivator took it, and nodded at her, as they both left the stage and arena. Perhaps he’d be up for some fun? The lion needed to be tamed again, and doing so properly was easier for both of them.

---

Lion’s blood was pumping through her body. The final fight. The end of the tournament. Her opponent was might, probably just waiting to ascend to the third realm like she did. Waiting for opportunities like this tournament, to gain last riches and fame before entering closed door cultivation.

She thought what she remembered about his previous fights. Sadly being healed took too long, and she missed the second semifinal, which would have been important to catch. Anyways. He used water intent qi, and apparently could control thousands of raindrops around himself.

So probably slowing her down, and drowning her. Either by waiting until enough water gathered in her robe, or moving it all to entomb her in water. Probably both. So, she’d have to start at full throttle, no holding back anymore.

She shot her opponent the most savage grin she could manage, letting the lion leak into the expression.

Her opponent answered with a grin just as savage.

“Try not to fold too fast.” He said.

“We will see how you handle a real lioness.” She answered.

This would be exciting! Sure, water wasn't a lion’s natural element, so she was at a small disadvantage, but she still had her biggest trump card secret. She just had to get close.

“Start.” The signal.

Lion let the lion take her and fell on all fours, charging her opponent as drops of rain exploded outwards. Her wide robe caught much of the water, and she felt it actively working to slow down her every movement. Lion grinned, and shook herself like a cat leaving the water.

All water clinging to her body and clothes was thrown off her, and she grinned as her opponent looked at her like she was mad.

She roared, louder than ever shown in the tourney, and sped up before her opponent had a chance to process the new development. Her spectral lion solidified even more as she blazed through the rain, the water clinging to her qi instead of herself now.

As her and his qi intent fought for superiority she closed the last of the distance, and her claws shot out. Only for her opponent to burst into water, his real self appearing on the other side of the arena.

Lion roared in approval, this was a real fight. She disappeared for a moment, reappearing at the same spot, already running towards the sneaky prey. It couldn't run forever! In her excitement and joy her form flickered a little, the lion losing its mane for just a moment.

Solid balls of water formed all around her, as the rain was deemed useless, clinging to her form regardless of any shaking, creeping all over her body and restricting her movement.

With a burst of qi she shook herself free, and shot to the side. The prey couldn't hide its smell!

The cultivator appeared out of thin air, a thin bubble of water spread around him. He saluted her, before dashing into her direction. They met with a roar and an explosion of water, a long gash appearing on his side even as water crept in her open mouth.

She gulped it down, clearing it of qi with her aura, and breathed in again, spinning around to slash at a blade of water appearing near her back. She completed her spin, the lion’s mouth snapping forwards and drinking a drop of blood.

Suddenly the location of her enemy appeared clear in her mind, unimpeded by the bubble of water surrounding them. She lashed out, her claws seemingly missing, but suddenly being stopped by something invisible. Blood appeared in the water as Lion jumped back, excitement causing her blood and qi to flow faster and faster.

She took a deep gulp of air, and dove in again, once again slashing at seemingly empty water. She grinned savagely, and released all the air stored in her lungs with a directed, explosive roar, displacing all water in front of her, and revealing her heavily bleeding enemy. She got him good. Another deep breath, and a small fight of qi as her enemy wanted to deposit water in her lungs, later and they were trading blows for real, her opponent seemingly stopping any tricks.

But he was a water cultivator. The only cultivators worse than these guys were light cultivators! Lion shook, displacing all water on both herself and her spectral lion, and swished her tail, breaking a wave of water as it appeared behind her. Two could use tricks! She burnt some more qi for a moment, and vanished from her previous spot, two of her appearing a moment later. Together they lay into him again, one form forcing him to dodge into the other’S attacks.

Her opponent vanished too, two of him appearing out of the cloud now surrounding them. Lion roared approvingly, and both form went for another prey . But she still felt his blood, smelled his wounds, and sweat. And all this came from one of the copies only.

So she herself went for the other, with her copy going for the real opponent. Only for all that qi to explode outwards, as the forcefully disconnected from her qi, dispersing the clone. Her prey flinched, lacking the preparation she had had.

Her head snapped forwards, biting down hard. She pounced forwards too, and rode the prey to the ground, her head moving to savage her prey’s throat. His arm, as well as lots of water shot up to block it, soaking the lion as the prey lay there.

Lion started happily laying into the defenses, her qi intent cutting through his water intent and forcing him to use qi to reassert control over his water. Lion and the lion both roared in approval, this was how you fought. Qi against qi, body against body, wits against wits. Use everything. Win.

Her head bit down for the last time, pushing through the water and pulling the prey upwards. But only the spectral lion moved, lion herself stayed in her position, biting down too, while her hands broke through the water, on their way towards his throat, towards the kill. The prey had lost and was hers to take!

Suddenly she stood somewhere else, and looked around confused.

“That's enough. You were killing each other.” A voice said.

Lion looked around and saw her opponent looking just as confused. She searched for the voice’s origin, even as a hush spread through the crowd, and a heavy presence descended.

“I would have stopped them in time too, old fox.” A second, really old voice sounded.

A second presence appeared, and all knew who appeared.

“I wonder what you do here though, it’s rare to see you move at all.” It continued.

“Someone told me about the tournament, and I wanted to see it for myself, experience some old memories again.” The first voice said.

Lion fell to her knees, as did everyone else in the arena. Her heart sped up even more, Immortals!

“So, old man, will you take over? They are your people.” The first voice said.

“Yes, yes. Always those impudent pups, making their elders move the second voice said, even as the first presence vanished.

The girl won, she would have killed the boy first.” The second voice said, and vanished too.

The crowd waited, holding their breath for a moment longer, before they started cheering.

Lion smiled. She had lost control in the end, and that was something she’d have to work on in the future. But now, it was time for fun.

Still the lion was quite quiet, considering the circumstances. She checked on it, and saw it was still cowed by the presence of a greater predator. It would recover, she decided, and raised her hands.

The crowd exploded into even louder cheers, and she smiled. Life was good.