The next battle was between Shā Ying Yue and Mei Xilan. It was a lot closer of a battle than Wu Jian expected it to be. Shā Ying Yue gave as good as she got, but she was unable to overcome Mei Xilan and her Ice Phoenix Domain. Her powers relied on blood manipulation. She infused her chi with blood and used it for her techniques, creating weapons like a spear, a sword, or even blood armor. Mei Xilan had simply frozen all of her techniques. It was a bad matchup.

Once she realized she was losing, Shā Ying Yue used a technique called Blood Beast Summoning: Blood Serpent, which wasn’t a summoning technique. The young woman had released blood through her pores, then willed the expelled blood into the shape of a massive serpent. Wu Jian didn’t know how the technique worked, but he could tell it was a high-level one simply because of how powerful the blood serpent had been. He suspected this technique might have been a high-level Spirit Rank or maybe even a Heaven Rank.

Not that it mattered. After Shā Ying Yue created her blood serpent, Mei Xilan activated her domain. Human blood is made mostly of water. Mei Xilan’s domain froze everything within it, and water was easy to freeze. Shā Ying Yue’s blood serpent had become a block of ice, then Mei Xilan shattered it. The battle was won by that point. Shā Ying Yue had nothing more to bring out.

After Mei Xilan’s battle, Huǒ Schuchang had gone on to defeat Mao Min from Team Sui, and Huǒ Nan beat Yang Chan from Team Qing.

“And now for the last battle of the day. Will Huǒ Yulie and Tang Tiantian step up to the arena,” said Huǒ Yan.

“Tis finally my turn.” Huǒ Yulie turned to Wu Jian. He thought she was smiling behind her veil. “Be sure to watch me, Jian Wu, for today I shall show you the magnificence of mine flames. Thou shalt bear witness to the most powerful flames of the Phoenix Clan and know why the organization is constantly attempting to confine me.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Wu Jian said.

Huǒ Yulie’s ears turned red. “Good. Ahem. Very good. Witness my strength.”

Flames erupted from Huǒ Yulie’s back and took the shape of phoenix wings, which she used to descend to the arena floor. Tang Tiantian stared down at the arena, then tapped her gun against the ground. The staff extended, propelling her into the air, and she flipped around several times before landing on the arena in a crouch.

Tang Tiantian was a heroic-looking young woman dressed in golden armor. She looked more like a general preparing to lead her men into the field of battle than a cultivator seeking greater strength. Her aura and the manner in which she held herself suggested she was the holder of much wisdom.

“What a heroic young mistress. Prepare yourself for defeat. I wilt showeth thee mine prowess in battle,” Huǒ Yulie said.

“You have a very unusual way of talking, but I can tell you are strong.” Tang Tiantian mumbled as she twirled her staff around her body before settling herself into a low combat stance. “Do you mind if I ask what cultivation you are at? You’re obviously stronger than me since I cannot sense it.”

Huǒ Yulie smiled. “Thee wilt findeth out during our bout.”

“Fair enough.”

“Are both fighters ready?” asked Huǒ Yan. He received an affirmative. “Then bow to your ancestors, bow to me, and now bow to each other. Very good. Get ready… and… fight!”

Tang Tiantian exploded into action the moment the battle began, taking two large steps forward before she thrust out her gun even though it wouldn’t reach Huǒ Yulie. The gun was a very long staff, but it didn’t have that kind of length.

[Prajna Gun Strike]

Contrary to Wu Jian’s belief, Tang Tiantian’s attack did reach Huǒ Yulie, just not in the manner he thought it would. Brilliant golden and silver chi exploded from her staff and flew toward the petite young phoenix clanswoman. It was a projection attack that created a concentrated force to hit someone at long range.

[Phoenix Wings]

Wings once more exploded from Huǒ Yulie’s back, brilliant flames coalescing into beautiful feathers. The wings quickly curled around the young woman. Tang Tiantian’s attack slammed into the wings and dispersed.

“I see simple attacks like that won’t work. Then I’ll simply try something else.”

[Prajna Thousand Gun Strike]

The hair on Wu Jian’s neck stood on end as Tang Tiantian gathered vast amounts of chi at the tip of her staff. When she thrust it out, she did not do so once, twice, or even thrice, but continuously thrust and retracted her staff at a rapid pace that was too fast for the eyes to see. Brilliant golden and silver chi exploded from her staff every time she thrust it forward. The attacks were smaller but far more numerous than her previous one.

Huǒ Yulie withstood the attacks by hiding within her wings. Gold and silver motes of light like crystalline fragments danced around her as the projectile attacks exploded upon contact. When Tang Tiantian launched the last of her projectiles, the wings unfolded, spreading flames in a circle around the young woman and burning the gold and silver fragments of chi that had been fluttering around her.

“Thee wast going to useth those chi fragments to maketh another attack, wast thee not? Too lacking valor I hath caught on ere thee could.”

“I see you saw through my plan,” Tang Tiantian smiled as though not bothered that her strategy had been neutralized. “You have amazing senses.”

Huǒ Yulie waved a hand through the air. “Twas nothing. I sensed the chi lingering in the air and realized thy intent at which hour it refused to dissipate. That only happeneth at which hour someone is preparing a technique.”

The conversation happening down below was one that Wu Jian and the others could hear just fine. Many conversations started up around him, but he ignored them to voice his own thoughts.

“Huǒ Yulie has an excellent understanding of chi. It’s common knowledge that chi disperses after it’s used, but not many people would have realized Tang Tiantian’s intent and likely assumed the chi was simply taking more time to dissipate because of how saturated it was. That she knew what was happening and immediately put a stop to it shows how finely honed her senses are.”

“…”

“Mei Xilan?”

“Yes… I suppose you are right.”

Wu Jian glanced at Mei Xilan, who had barely said two sentences to him, and sighed. This was the price he paid for refusing to aid her without any benefit to himself.

***

Because she had been locked away inside of the Phoenix’s Sanctuary, Huǒ Yulie had never partaken in a real battle before, neither a tournament nor a true fight. However, the phoenix had trained her in how to use her vast powers and helped her cultivate to the level she was currently at. She might not have any experience, but her power and the expertise with which she manipulated her chi were far superior to Tang Tiantian’s.

This is… kind of fun…

More importantly, Huǒ Yulie was enjoying herself. She had never been forced to use her powers so much.

Tang Tiantian was a masterful strategist. She never used the same strategy twice. Whenever Huǒ Yulie defeated one of her techniques, she simply tried something else.

[Bodhisattva’s Staff Sweep]

Chi gathered into Tang Tiantian’s gun like a torrential wave, and the staff increased in size, becoming four or maybe even five times larger than before, and yet, despite the incredible increase in mass, the heroic young woman swung it in a sweeping gesture as easily as if it weighed a feather. Such an attack would have been enough to swat most people off their feet.

But Huǒ Yulie swatted the attack away with one of her wings. Just one.

“I giveth thee credit. Thee art an amazing strategist,” Huǒ Yulie complimented. “However, thee should understandeth that strategy cannot at each moment triumph in the visage of overwhelming power.”

Tang Tiantian smiled. “That may be so, but I still cannot give up if there’s even a small chance I can win.”

“Thee art brave. I like that. Very well. Alloweth us continueth this bout.”

Tang Tiantan slammed her staff against the ground and closed her eyes. Huǒ Yulie furrowed her brow as she watched the flow of her opponent’s chi. All of it was circulating inside of her meridians, flowing at an increasingly fast rate.

What kind of technique is this? She wondered.

She got her answer soon enough.

[Dharmakaya Stance]

A light gold and silver sheen settled over Tang Tiantian like a second skin. It didn’t look like a kind of armor. It was simply a side effect of the chi circulating inside the woman’s body.

It must be some kind of physical enhancement technique, Huǒ Yulie theorized.

Tang Tiantian opened her eyes, lifted her staff, and smiled. “Get ready. Here I come.”

“Thee may cometh at me any time,” Huǒ Yulie gestured for her opponent.

A moment after Huǒ Yulie spoke, Tang Tiantian disappeared--at least, to the average person viewing this battle. Huǒ Yulie tracked the woman’s movements easily, though even she had to admire her opponent’s speed. Tang Tiantian had gotten behind her in less time than it took to blink. She was already swinging her staff so quickly that the air howled.

Huǒ Yulie used one of her wings to block the attack, but she became shocked when her wing was sheered off. That was unexpected. Really really unexpected. However, she quickly figured out how it happened. This woman’s attack was simply so fast and so strong that it sliced through her fiery wings.

The wing regenerated as Tang Tiantian attacked her from several different angles. She moved so fast it almost looked as though she was attacking from multiple directions at the same time, though this wasn’t quite true. There was a split-second interval between attacks. Each time she attacked, she would tear apart one of Huǒ Yulie’s wings, which would grow back not even a second later and continue to defend.

“You’re not controlling those wings of yours, are you?” asked Tang Tiantian after several minutes of this back and forth.

Huǒ Yulie was impressed. “That is correct. These of mine art a passive ability that automatically defends me from attack. I am surprised thee can see through it.”

“That’s pretty amazing, but you know, those types of techniques always come with their weaknesses. For example…”

Tang Tiantian slid her feet across the ground, bent her knees, and lowered her center of gravity. Her gun staff rested on her shoulder, the tip pointed at Huǒ Yulie. The young woman took a deep breath…

… Then vanished.

“… If your opponent attacks faster than your defenses can activate, it won’t do you any good,” a voice came from behind Huǒ Yulie seconds before a powerful impact struck her wings. One was sheered off, though it regenerated quickly. However, the second one was sheered off barely a split second later. It regenerated, too, but her other wing once more was removed from her back.

Over and over the woman attacked, slicing straight through Huǒ Yulie’s wings, moving faster and faster with every consecutive attack. It was impressive. Very impressive. She was attempting to overwhelm her wing’s automated defense system by attacking faster than they could regenerate. That would probably work with someone else. However…

“What the--?!”

Tang Tiantian was blown away when Huǒ Yulie released the restraints on her power. All of the chi that she had carefully hidden away burst from her body like a blazing inferno. Fire swirled around her like a tornado, then gathered like a protective cocoon, quickly assuming the form of a phoenix with glowing golden eyes.

Many people in the audience found themselves struggling to breathe as the overwhelming chi poured from Huǒ Yulie’s small body. Even Tang Tiantian could not remain standing, having fallen to a knee, her staff discarded as she placed a hand on her chest and struggled to remain conscious. She was barely able to lift her head.

“I… I don’t believe it… Seeker Realm?”

The Seeker Realm was the next step up from the Deva Realm, and those who could reach it were few and far between. Also known as the Realm of Knowledge, this was the realm where cultivators truly began to understand the world around them. It went without saying that their power was far beyond that of ordinary cultivators.

Most people who reached this realm didn’t do so until they were several hundred years old. That was because this was the stage where people must begin cultivating the yin and yang energy of heaven and earth, which involved consciously drawing energy through the acupoints. There were no shortcuts here. Only the most powerful of alchemy pills were useful here, and they were still limited. To top it off, most people did not have many acupoints open and therefore were limited in the amount they could bring into themselves.

Huǒ Yulie was just eighteen years old.

She had reached a level of cultivation that even a one-hundred-year-old monster might never reach.

“That’s right.” Huǒ Yulie stood in the center of this blazing, raging torrent of power without a trace of concern. “I apologize for keeping this from thee. I wanted to giveth thee the opportunity to showcase thy talents. However, this battle wast over here it coequal baganeth.”