Chapter 318: Duel and Duel

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“Shen Mi of the Divine Frozen Palace vs. Ruan Leji of the Endlessly Raging Valley!”

Both fighters study each other across the ring. With a veil over her face and the blue robes of the Divine Frozen Palace covering most of her body, it is hard to discern much about Shen Mi. By contrast, the glare on Ruan Leji’s face is as unambiguous as the hostile aura radiating from him.

Curiously, none of that hostility seems to be directed at Shen Mi.

“Oh? Will there be no boasting today? I don’t believe I ever heard of a silent Ruan,” Shen Mi teases him, slightly tilting her head to the right. “Did your brother’s defeat affect you that much?”

Ruan Leji takes a deep breath. No words leave his mouth, but his aura sharpens. The air around him becomes deathly still. Though his anger is nearly palpable, it remains without a target.

Or rather, the target is not in the ring.

“I see,” Shen Mi says. The temperature drops and her Qi rises. “If you are going to be that serious, I have no choice but to answer in kind.”

Earth Realm, Level Eight.

[A Tale of Winter – The First Frost]

Frost covers the entire ring. Only the space around Ruan Leji is spared as strong winds crack the ice the moment it gets within three feet of him. As he takes a step forward, the item hiding his cultivation breaks.

Earth Realm, Level Seven.

[Fierce Tiger Pack]

Ruan Leji brings his arms in front of him and unleashes a blade of wind from each of his fingers. They speed towards Shen Mi, howling like wild beasts. The air around Shen Mi shimmers and freezes, creating multiple shards of ice, each one sharp like a knife.

She snaps her fingers.

[Thorns of Winter]

The two attacks meet in the center of the ring and cancel each other out, but as far as the audience is concerned, the winner has already been decided. One fighter is only on the Seventh Level of the Earth Realm, while the other is already on the Eighth. While it is not impossible to overcome a gap in cultivation, it is a fact that the difference between levels only grows the further one advances. Since both fighters are members of the Four Great Sects, it is unlikely that the training or resources they have received are different enough to matter.

In other words, Shen Mi is the clear favorite.

[A Tale of Winter – The Ever-Reaching Majesty]

Ruan Leji can barely track Shen Mi as she slides over the ice. A properly timed wind blast pushes his body out of the way just in time, saving him from being skewered by a blade of ice.

However, that is merely the first strike of many.

Shen Mi moves over the frozen ring with speed far surpassing his own. The blade of ice in her hand glints under the sun. Ruan Leji pushes as much Qi into his body as possible to boost his speed. His movement technique creates small whirlwinds on his feet and shoulders to accelerate further. In the span of mere seconds, Shen Mi and Ruan Leji clash hundreds of times, each clash unleashing a shockwave across the ring. Ruan Leji’s Qi roars with strength, refusing to be subdued despite the difference in cultivation.

And yet…

A cut appears on his robes.

A lock of green hair falls to the ground.

Blood shines on his forehead.

That Ruan Leji has not suffered more extensive damage after so many moves is proof of his caliber. The young man does not let a hint of desperation or frustration color his Qi. However, that does not mean he cannot notice the obvious.

If things continue like this, he will lose.

[Fierce Tiger Howl]

Ruan Leji’s Qi takes the shape of a large tiger’s head that bites into the ring, shattering the ice and stone. For an instant, Shen Mi’s movement technique is nullified.

But only for an instant.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

[A Tale of Winter – The First Frost]

The falling fragments of the ring freeze in place as ice holds everything in its grasp once more. Ruan Leji watches with a sinking feeling as his strategy is made useless before it could be fully realized.

It is enough to momentarily make him lose sight of Shen Mi.

[A Tale of Winter – The Culling of the Weak]

Ruan Leji screams.

A single cut is all that warning he gets before multiple blades of ice, each one red like blood, burst out from his body. His wind breaks them, and his Qi howls as he locates and forces out the foreign Qi from his body. However, the damage has been done. His blood vessels have burst in various places, and his muscles have been torn. His regeneration is not working quickly enough.

The next time Shen Mi comes at him, her ice sword does not miss. It pierces his side before he forces her back by manifesting a tornado around himself. It is a temporary measure at best. Ruan Leji’s blood keeps falling to the ring, clear evidence of the disparity between them. It is not just because of their cultivation. There is something deeper at play that explains the gap between them. Regardless, the truth remains one.

He is inferior.