Hou Jingshu felt bile well up in her throat as she was launched clean into the air. The ice pillar that slammed into her stomach was pushing hard on her abdominal muscles. It felt like her internal organs were being squashed by the incredible force. She forced the bile back down, gritted her teeth, and pushed off the pillar, which continued to soar into the sky. She somehow managed to maintain her grip on her spear.

She fell toward the ground, her vision blurry as she looked for Mei Xilan, but the woman was nowhere to be seen. Even after landing on the ground in a crouch, she couldn’t find the woman.

A shadow appeared above her. She looked up.

A massive ice lotus was descending toward her.

Hou Jingshu made a split second decision. The ice lotus was traveling too fast and was too big for her to dodge, so she spread her feet apart, channeled as much chi into her spear as she possible could, pulled her arm back, then threw the spear forward.

[Jaws of Retribution]

This was a technique that Hou Jingshu had learned during her numerous spars with Wu Jian during their training for this tournament. It was based off another technique she had tried to learn before but couldn’t. Her cultivation method did not allow for techniques that were not based on dragon physiology. If a dragon couldn’t do it, she couldn’t do it, in other words.

However, that didn’t mean she couldn’t modify existing techniques to fit her draconic chi.

The spear flew straight and true, bursting with golden chi that took the shape of a dragon. The spear tip looked like a dragon head, while the spear handle was a long body, and the end had shifted into a tail. There were many different types of dragon in this world, and the one her technique was modeled on was known as a dragon of the orient. It was long and its body resembled that of a snake. The two arms and legs jutting from its elongated body weren’t very big, but they were strong.

This was the Jaws of Retribution’s form when she threw her spear.

Her spear slammed into the ice lotus with the ferocity of its namesake. Cracks appeared all along the ice lotus’s surface. Golden light burst from the cracks. Then the whole thing shattered, raining ice fragments down on the arena floor.

“Ice Phoenix Domain.”

The words were spoken behind Hou Jingshu. She turned around and found Mei Xilan appear behind a pillar just as the woman’s domain expanded to engulf the arena. Everything became ice. The ground was a sleek crystal so cold that ice began creeping up Hou Jingshu’s leg, ice crystals emerged from her mouth every time she breathed, and the cold quickly sapped her strength.

Despite being stuck inside of this woman’s domain, Hou Jingshu smiled.

This is fun. Not knowing whether I’ll win or lose is so fun!

Hou Jingshu’s chi wrapped around her body like armor. Scale-like patterns appeared along her skin, sharp claws extended from her hands, tail protruded from her lower back, wings jutted from her shoulder blades, and two horns like a crown parted her hair. All of this was made from her chi, which had grown stronger rather than gotten weaker.

Half-Step Human Limit Realm.

The cold attacking her body receded and the ice surrounding her shattered. Hou Jingshu wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth. She had no spear, but she raced forward all the same, raising her hand and bringing it down before she even reached Mei Xilan.

“Dragon’s Heavenly Claw!”

Hou Jingshu screamed out the name of her technique this time. The gold chi covering her hand expanded like a balloon and took the shape of a massive dragon’s claw, so big it overshadowed the other woman, which she brought down on Mei Xilan.

[Snowflake Blades]

Mei Xilan’s eyes were narrowed as she threw hundreds of icy snowflakes, which perforated the dragon’s claw but didn’t stop it. She grimaced and created an ice lotus to block the technique. This one was the same size as the one she had tried to drop on Hou Jingshu’s head. Yet even that shattered in the face of the dragon’s claw. However, it did grant Mei Xilan enough time to get out of the way. The claw slammed into the arena floor and caused the area to collapse. A massive crater appeared when the claw disappeared.

While Mei Xilan had avoided being squashed, Hou Jingshu had used the claw as a distraction to close the distance. She was fast, faster than Mei Xilan could react, and the woman released a shocked scream when a set of sharp claws raked against Mei Xilan’s chest. Fabric was torn and fresh blood was drawn. The woman staggered back and placed a hand against her chest as blood dripped down it.

Hou Jingshu could have pressed her attack. She knew she should have. That would have been the logical thing to do. But she didn’t. She crossed her arms as the woman stared at her injury in shock. A dragon would never attack her opponent while their guard was down. She wanted to beat this woman so completely that no one could say she used dirty tricks to fight.

“You… are very strong,” Mei Xilan confessed. She removed her hand from her chest, revealing the injury had been frozen solid. Bloodred ice covered the four gashes. “You are the first person outside of Master and Miss Hua Xue who have ever been able to injure me.”

“Hmph. It sounds like you just haven’t fought that many strong opponents,” Hou Jingshu said.

Mei Xilan paused to ponder those words, then nodded. “You may be right. We of the Ice Phoenix Sect have sequestered ourselves in the Ice Phoenix Mountains. Up there, we can cultivate in peace and attain great strength, but it comes at the cost of experience. I can tell through our fight that you have fought many battles against numerous strong opponents. This is something that I lack.”

“At least you recognize that. I guess that means you can get stronger. So, have you finished healing yourself? Can we keep going?”

Mei Xilan shook her head. “You knew I was stalling for time and yet you still allowed me to do so? You may have experience, but you are also very arrogant.”

“Dragons have a lot of pride,” was all Hou Jingshu said.

“You know what they say about how pride cometh before the fall.” Mei Xilan spread her arms wide, creating several hundred ice lotuses that were no larger than her head. All of them surrounded Hou Jingshu and each one began spinning incredibly fast. “Allow me to show you what it means to let your pride get in the way of your battles.”

“Bring it on. I’ll crush those little flowers of yours,” Hou Jingshu challenged.

“Very well. Receive this attack, if you dare.”

[Snow Lotus]

With but a simple gesture, Mei Xilan sent the over one hundred ice lotus at Hou Jingshu, who roared as she rushed forward to meet them. A single swipe of her clawed hands cause several of them to burst into powdered snow. Hou Jingshu spun around and swung her other hand, taking another dozen spinning ice lotuses with her.

Hou Jingshu frowned as she took out another dozen. This was too easy. She knew these ice lotuses couldn’t withstand her attacks, but they shouldn’t be this easy to destroy, should they?

It wasn’t until a chill invaded her body after she breathed in some of the powder they produced when destroyed that she realized why she felt this way.

The ice is invading my body?!

It started with her throat, which had grown cold and numb, but that feeling was quickly spreading to the rest of her. Every time she breathed, the ice invaded her and further drained her strength. She hadn’t thought to protect her insides. Now she was paying the price.

Dammit! I need to end this quickly!

Knowing that she didn’t have a whole lot of time left, Hou Jingshu ignored the rest of the ice lotuses and raced toward Mei Xilan. Pillars of ice emerged to block her path, but she plowed through them without relent. Ice shattered. The shards reflected her fiery expression back at her as she glared at the woman she wanted to defeat.

Hou Jingshu leapt into the air and came down with an axe kick. Her foot looked like a dragon’s too. Mei Xilan jumped back and the foot slammed into the ground, creating another crater.

“To think you have this much strength even after being weakened by my snow lotuses,” Mei Xilan murmured. “You are far stronger than Húndàn Wang.”

“Thanks for the compliment!”

Hou Jingshu roared as she claw swiped at Mei Xilan, but the woman evaded by a hair’s breadth. Several strands of glittering silver hair fluttered to the ground, though they were swept up again as the young princess dashed forward, another claw swipe at the ready. She swept her clawed hand upwards in a powerful swing that was too fast for Mei Xilan to evade, so she created an ice lotus that struck Hou Jingshu in the shoulder. She staggered and her attack missed.

Several more ice lotuses slammed into Hou Jingshu’s back. These were the ones that she had ignored in favor of her reckless charge. Hou Jingshu spun around and swept her clawed hand across from right to left, chi exploding outward in four slash marks that destroyed the rest of the lotuses. However, the damage had already been done. Mei Xilan had used that time to put distance between them.

Despite of, or perhaps because of, the difficulty of this battle, Hou Jingshu’s cultivation continued to grow. She was pushing against the Human Limit Realm, though it seemed this bottleneck was not something she’d be able to overcome during this battle. Even so, the strength of her cultivation seemed to be growing in proportion to her loss of strength as the battle raged on.

[Dragon’s Roar]

Hou Jingshu sucked in another breath even though it caused her more damage and let loose with a powerful roar that produced sonic waves. The ice inside the domain began cracking and Mei Xilan was forced to cover her ears. Blood seeped between her fingers as she staggered, her equilibrium damaged.

This was the chance Hou Jingshu had been waiting for. She blitzed forward, skating across the ice, and thrust out her glowing hand. The claws burst like flames and extended her reach. She narrowed her eyes as the world around her turned black. The only thing she saw in that moment was Mei Xilan, staggering and unable to protect herself.

This was it.

This was her moment.

She could win this.

She was going to win!

Those thoughts and more filled her head--seconds before something powerful slammed into the crown of her head. She did not lose consciousness, but her brain was rattled. Unable to stand up, Hou Jingshu fell to the ground, eyes rapidly fluttering as she struggled to stay awake. Footsteps echoed to her. A pair of slippered feet soon appeared within her vision.

“You have exceeded all of my expectations. I never expected you to make me expend so much of my chi. I’m nearly depleted. However, this battle is mine,” Mei Xilan said with finality.

“N-no… I can still fight…”

“You can’t,” Mei Xilan interrupted. “You are strong, Your Highness, but this battle is over. The ice currently inside of your body has frozen your meridians and is making its way to your dantian. You’ll suffer irreparable damage if you continue. You need to learn your limits. Do not push yourself any further.”

Hou Jingshu bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. She did not like it. She wanted to continue fighting. This battle was so fun, and she was so certain that she could win. Being told that she had lost left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was even worse because she knew it was true.

“… I’m going to get stronger and challenge you again. I’ll crush you the next time we fight,” she declared.

Mei Xilan paused, then nodded. “Then I will look forward to our next battle.”

The domain vanished, the ice surrounding them disappeared, and even the ice that had been spreading through Hou Jingshu’s body evaporated. She inhaled a deep breath that was no longer constrained by a numbed throat. Her chest still hurt like icy needles stabbing her insides, but it wasn’t so bad that she couldn’t think.

I am going to train much harder after this is all over. I refuse to let myself be beaten like this again.

The elder who had been watching the match raised his hand.

“The winner of this round is Mei Xilan!”