Ban Zhang was watching me worriedly as I stepped toward the changing room that served as the rest area or preparation zone for contestants. The round of 16, being the major event that it was, could only be hosted in the academy"s official coliseum. Several of the matches had already taken place and the results were out. Zhu Jiao, as expected, had won his match and progressed to the quarter-finals. There was never a doubt that he would.

Our other cla.s.smates were also doing well. Feng Tian Yong and Li Chun Long had also won their matches and advanced to the next round. It seemed that our cla.s.s was particularly blessed with talented martial artists.

"If you can"t beat him, don"t force yourself. Make sure you surrender!" Ban Zhang reminded me firmly. "Don"t try to be a hero. Kuang Hu will not hesitate to kill you!"

"I know, I know. Relax." I sighed, annoyed. "Besides, it"s not even my match yet. Why are you so worried?"

That was right. It wasn"t my match yet. Right now I was heading to the changing room to offer Tang Qi Hong a few words of support. She was about to face Bai Ning Xue in a few minutes and she needed all the encouragement she could get.

"Oh, right. We should go too."

Ban Zhang nodded in agreement. The both of us entered the room, only to see that Tong Xue and Lian Rou were already ahead of us. Tang Qi Hong was seated in a chair, trying to put on a brave front despite fidgeting nervously.

"Are you all right?" I asked. Tang Qi Hong nodded, forcing a smile.

"Of course! Who do you think I am?"

"Well…" I scratched my cheek, and then grinned encouragingly. "I"m sure you have this in your bag. You"re on a hot streak, after all!"

"So is Bai Ning Xue," Tong Xue muttered. Lian Rou elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to double over.

"In any case, the future isn"t set in stone. So do your best!" I reached out with a hand and grabbed Tang Qi Hong"s. "I remember Zhu Jiao mentioned that he promised Bai Ning Xue that he would meet her in the finals. Let"s do the same!"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

My grin broadened. "Let"s make a promise too. You and I…we"ll meet in the finals!"

"Hmph." Tang Qi Hong closed her eyes for a second and smiled faintly. "You"re right. I can"t afford to be eliminated here." She then opened her eyes and stood up determinedly. "It doesn"t matter who my opponent is. If I want to be champion, I"ll have to defeat all of them!" She turned toward me with a mischievous wink. "And that includes you, of course."

"That"s the spirit!"

Clasping her hand with both of mine, I shook it and gave Tang Qi Hong a slight push. The blond girl nodded and then turned toward the door.

"Thank you, everyone. I feel better already." She raised a fist. "Right now, I feel as if I can beat anybody!"

"You can, Qi Hong!" Lian Rou a.s.sured her with a smile.

"Go get them!" Tong Xue added.

Ban Zhang also nodded encouragingly. Tang Qi Hong glanced across us, and tapped her chest with her fist.

"All right, I should get going then. Wait for the good news!"

"We"ll cheer for you from the stands!"

"Thanks, I appreciate it!"

With that, Tang Qi Hong was gone. The four of us glanced at each other before we headed out of the changing room and toward the spectator stands upstairs. Zhu Jiao was conspicuously missing, but we all knew his situation.

The guy was madly in love with Bai Ning Xue. There was no way we could ask him to choose to support Tang Qi Hong over his beloved childhood friend. Not wanting to get into this whole mess, he decided to stay out of this.

For now, anyway.

When we reached upstairs, we saw that Zhu Jiao was already standing by the gigantic window overlooking the combatants in the coliseum. He waved at us, and we proceeded to join him. Even if we were on somewhat opposing teams, there were no hard feelings between us.

"How"s Qi Hong?" he asked as we approached. "Is she ready for the match?"

"Yup," I replied. "She"ll be appearing shortly."

Turning toward the window, I saw that Bai Ning Xue was already present. She was standing in the middle of the coliseum, awaiting her opponent with a detached expression on her beautiful face. As always, she was unperturbed by anything.

Now that I thought about it, Tang Qi Hong used to declare Bai Ning Xue as her rival. It was a one-sided compet.i.tion, with Tang Qi Hong always trying to outdo Bai Ning Xue in everything and mostly failing. The enmity between the two was natural. They were the two most beautiful girls in Wu Ling Academy, as well as the two strongest and most talented girls. Tang Qi Hong resented being stuck at number two, and always strove to surpa.s.s Bai Ning Xue.

For Bai Ning Xue, she probably didn"t view Tang Qi Hong as her rival. Actually, I doubted Bai Ning Xue took an interest in anybody except her beloved Zhu Jiao. And even toward Zhu Jiao, she displayed a cool att.i.tude.

But now, it was the time to determine who the strongest girl was, and Bai Ning Xue didn"t even seem like she thought much of the affair. Unlike the nervous and highly determined Tang Qi Hong, Bai Ning Xue looked as if she was just going out for a stroll.

I scowled. Wasn"t Bai Ning Xue underestimating Tang Qi Hong too much? No matter how talented she was, even she had to take someone of Qi Hong"s caliber seriously, or she would end up getting caught off guard and sustaining serious injuries.

Please defeat her, Qi Hong, I prayed inwardly. Crack her infuriatingly calm façade and provoke some sort of response!

Bai Ning Xue appeared to be arrogant. Admittedly, that arrogance was well-deserved because she did stand at the pinnacle of the students of Wu Ling Academy. I heard from the crowd that she had defeated a level 7 martial artist in just seconds. She had blitzed to the top of her group by utterly dominating her opponents.

Lian Rou looked very pale, but she clenched her fists.

"Go, Qi Hong!" she shouted.

Just as well. Tang Qi Hong had finally emerged from the changing room and strode toward the center of the coliseum. The two girls greeted each other formally, bowing their heads and cupping their hands.

"Bai Ning Xue, White Tiger Sect. Cla.s.s 1-4, high school division. I specialize in the Living Lightning, Divine Thunder Tiger Formula and Heavenly Thunder Strike techniques. Since birth, as the heir of the Bai Clan, I have undergone martial arts training so that I can succeed as the head of my next clan. My approximate inner qi level…is about thirty years."

"…estimated qi level is at 30 years, huh?" Tong Xue mused when he heard that. "Looks like it"s true."

"What"s true?" I asked, bewildered. Tong Xue glared at me, and then sighed.

"The rumor that Bai Ning Xue hasn"t received any artificial qi since that day was true."

"What day?"

"…two years ago, when artificial qi was first created." Tong Xue pursed his lips. "I don"t know the details, and the incident has been covered up, but…something happened in the lab when Bai Ning Xue was supposed to receive inner qi."

I wanted to ask what that was all about, but I didn"t have the chance to. Tang Qi Hong had taken her turn to introduce herself.

"Tang Qi Hong from cla.s.s 1-4. I"m from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect, and my skills are Nine-Tailed Fire Fox Formula, and the saintly Spirit Engraving arts. I have also learned the Nine Heavenly Armaments techniques. My inner qi level is three s.e.xagenaries."

The both of them bowed, and then prepared their stances. Teacher Cai Pan watched from his referee box somewhere outside the coliseum, and then nodded.

"All right, both of you can begin!"

Lightning crackled around Bai Ning Xue"s body whereas flames flared up around Tang Qi Hong"s. The two girls glared at each other from a distance, their elemental forces colliding against each other before either of them made a move.

"Whoa…what terrifying pressure…"

"Amazing…"

Even though the spectators were separated from the duelists by a reinforced gla.s.s window, they found themselves suffocated by the tension in the atmosphere. The two girls" qi was saturating the entire s.p.a.ce – not just the coliseum – to the extent that the spectators were finding it increasingly difficult to even breathe.

Flicker…zap…!

Sparks flew as flames danced and tangled with lightning. The two elemental forces clashed against each other, imbuing the coliseum with a red-golden hue.

"I see…"

Despite a bead of perspiration running down her face, Tang Qi Hong smirked.

"Your strength is on a completely different level."

"..."

Bai Ning Xue merely stared at her opponent silently, but didn"t say a word. Instead, she drew her sword, which crackled with intense electricity. Tang Qi Hong narrowed her eyes and mirrored the gesture, drawing her own blazing sword. Ruby flames wreathed her blade before unleashing a torrent of flames around the two combatants, only for an invisible electric barrier in front of Bai Ning Xue to slice the rampaging inferno in half.

Everyone watched with bated breath.

However, both Tang Qi Hong and Bai Ning Xue merely stood still, facing each other as they held their swords in an offensive stance. Neither of them made a move. In fact, other than the dancing flames and flickering lightning, the two duelists remained completely motionless.

"What"s going on? Why aren"t they moving?"

"The match has begun, right?"

"Why aren"t they fighting?"

Idiots.

I suppressed a sigh as I shook my head. Obviously the two of them were waiting to see what the other was do. To be honest, they were already fighting. Not physically, but mentally. Tang Qi Hong and Bai Ning Xue were the two strongest girls in Wu Ling Academy, and they were conducting a high-level duel on the spiritual plane, a.n.a.lyzing and counter-a.n.a.lyzing each other"s stances, moves and techniques. They were aware that they couldn"t afford to be careless – even a single mistake would spell the difference between victory and defeat.

They were already battling each other in their minds, calculating their opponent"s next move and predicting their next step. Hundreds, if not thousands of speculative exchanges had crossed the s.p.a.ce between them, their spirits colliding, clashing and then dispersing as one died or the other, only to be replaced by counterstrategies.

Amazing.

I calmly observed, knowing that I might have to eventually face one of the two one day. I could only hope we could keep our promise and I could meet Tang Qi Hong in the finals. Otherwise, I would have to avenge her defeat…

No, don"t think about it. Believe in Qi Hong. She"ll surely win.

The mental exchanges continued for another tense half a minute before one of them finally made her move.

It was Bai Ning Xue who made the first move, having discovered an attack pattern that could overcome Tang Qi Hong"s defenses. The latter"s eyes widened, but she clamped down on her shock and reacted instantly, her divine reflexes allowing her to parry Bai Ning Xue"s sword. Lightning and fire detonated against each other and both girls were thrown apart.

"Kuh!"

Tang Qi Hong gritted her teeth as she skidded back, but she twisted around and dashed forward. Flames blew up behind her, propelling her forward at high speeds, and she swung her blazing blade down on Bai Ning Xue"s position. Her opponent whirled around and deflected the blade, and a golden blast of lightning surged forward.

"!"

Tang Qi Hong quickly dove to the side and rolled back to her feet, narrowly avoiding the devastating pillar of electricity that slammed into the ceiling.

"…"

Bai Ning Xue regarded her opponent for a second before she repeated her maneuver. Gripping her sword tightly, she dashed forward and slashed at Tang Qi Hong, forcing the latter back on the defensive. The two girls clashed and collided, exchanging several hundred blows in a matter of minutes, fire and lightning dancing and interweaving in a volatile tangle that scorched the ground. Electric metal struck blazing steel and detonated in large blasts of shockwaves that buffeted both combatants. Even so, neither gave ground, their movements growing faster and faster.

Bai Ning Xue stabbed forward, a bolt of lightning arcing from her blade and slamming into Tang Qi Hong. The blond girl managed to defend against it, but the fierce lightning actually knocked her sword out of her hand and rendered her helpless.

"Kuh…!"

Tang Qi Hong uttered a cry of frustration and sought to recover her weapon. However, Bai Ning Xue wasn"t naïve enough to allow her to reach for her sword. She was already surging forward, her crackling sword thrusting for Qi Hong"s chest.

"Nine Heavenly Armaments…spear!"

Tang Qi Hong"s eyes narrowed, and she suddenly produced a flaming spear out of nowhere. Thrusting the long weapon forward, she broke apart Bai Ning Xue"s attacks. Twirling her spear, she slashed down heavily, making use of her greater reach and weight to knock Bai Ning Xue off her feet. However, the silver-haired girl was too skillful to fall into such a disadvantage. Flipping her body in midair, she widened the distance between the two and swiftly recovered her balance.

"Aaaaah!"

However, like Bai Ning Xue before her, Tang Qi Hong wasn"t about to give her opponent time to recover. She was already rushing forward, thrusting her spear forward.

Bai Ning Xue met her blow for blow, using her sword to deflect Tang Qi Hong"s huge spear away. The two of them clashed viciously, fire and lightning clashing against each other in a violent maelstrom that threatened to tear apart the coliseum. The two of them fought, Tang Qi Hong slowly overpowering Bai Ning Xue.

It was only natural. A spear had an overwhelming advantage over a sword, in terms of reach, weight and power. The only reason why Bai Ning Xue was able to hold her own so far was because of her peerless swordsmanship and impeccable defense. Even then, she was riding along a precarious slope. One mistake, one single slip, and she would lose.

Her brow furrowed, the only sign that Bai Ning Xue was taken by surprise. However, she focused on warding away Tang Qi Hong"s barrage before counterattacking with a storm of lightning that forced Tang Qi Hong back.

Boom!

The ground sizzled as Bai Ning Xue bathed the area in devastating lightning. Tang Qi Hong responded by swinging her spear and unleashing a torrent of flames that scorched the s.p.a.ce between them, but Bai Ning Xue defended against it by slicing the inferno apart with her lightning-wreathed sword. The two sprang apart, with Bai Ning Xue quickly widening the distance and focusing on long-ranged attacks. Raising her sword, she fired off quick but slightly weak lightning bolts in Tang Qi Hong"s direction. Qi Hong merely twirled her spear around like a shield and deflected every last electric projectile, rendering them ineffective.

"Hu…"

Bai Ning Xue took a deep breath as she studied her opponent. Tang Qi Hong took a step forward, but Bai Ning Xue instantly backed off, maintaining the distance between them. She didn"t just stay away – while she waltzed around the coliseum, she hurled several swift bolts of lightning to force Tang Qi Hong back in the defensive.

"Do you really think that will work againt me?"

After repelling the latest bombardment, Tang Qi Hong snarled and stabbed her spear into the ground. Producing a bow, she fired off consecutive barrages of flaming arrows. Bai Ning Xue"s eyes widened briefly and she backed off while slashing with her sword to cut down approaching flaming arrows. Lightning crackled around her in a protective aura, disintegrating whatever arrows she couldn"t knock away with her sword.

"…you are strong…"

Bai Ning Xue whispered softly to herself, almost inaudible. Tang Qi Hong was too focused on taking out her opponent that she didn"t hear her words. Instead, she unleashed a second volley that saturated the area with her flaming arrows, leaving her opponent no s.p.a.ce to evade.

"…"

Bai Ning Xue didn"t panic or flinch. Instead, she stood her ground and deflected all the attacks with a splendid display of her sword. Her arms disappearing into golden blurs, she slashed, cut and sliced down incoming arrows, preventing the fiery projectiles from ever reaching her.

"Divine Thunder Tiger Formula: Thunder Tiger Crash."

For a moment, it appeared as if thunderclouds had appeared above the two combatants, gathering at the top of the coliseum and blotting out the ceiling. Electricity crackled and flashed across the dark clouds before slamming down around Bai Ning Xue in a tangle of lightning, the golden bolts raining down and eradicating the barrage of flaming arrows.

"That"s…!"

Tang Qi Hong"s eyes widened, but she didn"t have much time to be shocked. The lightning had directed its attention toward her, the ferocious bolts beginning to pelt her position. Dismissing her bow, she s.n.a.t.c.hed up her spear as she ran, dodging and rolling away from the relentless bolts of lightning. Getting up, she spun her spear and deflected the fierce barrage of electricity, a halo of flames shimmering protectively over her.

Realizing that an attack of this magnitude was unlikely to deal any damage to Tang Qi Hong, Bai Ning Xue closed in. Tang Qi Hong narrowed her eyes when she noticed Bai Ning Xue"s approach, and she swung around to face the new threat, her spear meeting her opponent"s blade in a shower of sparks and flames.

The two of them sprang apart in a golden and red explosion, lightning and fire still weaving around each other in a destructive display of pyrotechnics. Even though Tang Qi Hong should possess the advantage with her longer weapon in close range, Bai Ning Xue seemed to be on the verge of overwhelming her.

That can"t be right…

Then again, common sense clearly didn"t apply to Bai Ning Xue. She was a peerless prodigy like no other, a genius who transcended all the other students in Wu Ling Academy. Like Zhu Jiao, she was a Five Star Const.i.tution cultivator, a cut above the rest in terms of potential. Even with a supposedly inferior weapon, she could more than compensate for it with sheer skill.

"Kuh…!"

Tang Qi Hong realized that, and she desperately tried to force Bai Ning Xue away to maintain some distance. If I recalled, Tang Qi Hong"s strengths lay more in her ranged capability. She had terrific aim with her bow, able to hit a target over a hundred meters away with uncanny precision. That, combined with her overwhelming firepower, made Tang Qi Hong an unrivaled ranged fighter among our generation.

Bai Ning Xue must have realized that, for she closed the gap and engaged Tang Qi Hong in close combat. Above her, the ominous clouds continued to hurl lightning bolts downward. The electric bolts took the shape of terrifying tigers that roared soundlessly as they mercilessly descended upon Tang Qi Hong"s position.

"Ugh…!"

Tang Qi Hong decimated the tigers with huge swipes of her spear, but she was being forced back step by step. Weaving around the pack of tigers, she defiantly tore through them, cutting a b.l.o.o.d.y swathe through their electric forms and dispersing them.

Whoosh!

"!"

Tang Qi Hong stumbled back to avoid Bai Ning Xue"s sword. Gritting her teeth, she countered with a slash, but Bai Ning Xue deflected it to the side before stepping in other her guard and ramming her elbow into Tang Qi Hong"s chest. The blond girl staggered, but she firmly stomped on the ground to prevent herself from sliding backward and refused to give her opponent any quarter. Swinging her spear fiercely, she finally succeeded in forcing Bai Ning Xue back.

"Hah!"

With a determined cry, Tang Qi Hong thrust her spear forward. Bai Ning Xue met her squarely in the middle of the coliseum, her sword colliding with Tang Qi Hong"s spear. Around the two girls, the pack of lightning tigers circled before growling silently and diving upon Tang Qi Hong, their electric claws outstretched to rip her apart.

"Oh no, you don"t!"

With a holler, Tang Qi Hong gathered fiery qi all around her body.

Boom!

A raging inferno exploded all around her, shrouding her in ruby flames. The devastating shockwave sent the normally cool Bai Ning Xue reeling backward, her snow-white skin now singed black from the heat. Several of the lightning tigers were obliterated by the blast, consumed by the voracious flames, but the survivors wisely kept their distance.

Eyeing the inferno warily, the lightning tigers prowled cautiously and waited for a chance to attack. Bai Ning Xue pursed her lips and studied Tang Qi Hong"s blazing form for a second, and then the corner of her lips turned up just a bit.

She was enjoying herself.

Stepping forward, she slashed and simultaneously unleashed another Divine Thunder Tiger Crash upon her opponent. More bolts of lightning rained down on Tang Qi Hong, taking the shape of ferocious tigers that streaked forward to tear her opponent apart.

They never reached her.

"!"

Bai Ning Xue jumped back in reflex, avoiding getting eviscerated and incinerated. Her lightning tigers, however, were not as lucky. The majority of them were decimated when Tang Qi Hong"s living inferno reared up and lashed out in several directions, ripping through them and engulfing them. The flames seemed to devour the electricity and glow even brighter.

"Nine-Tailed Fire Fox Formula."

Tang Qi Hong was glaring at Bai Ning Xue, who had skidded backward and held her sword in front of her defensively. Behind and above her, nine fiery tails writhed and waved around violently, striking mercilessly at the hapless lightning tigers that were forced to retreat with their golden tails between their legs.

Narrowing her eyes, Tang Qi Hong pointed her spear at Bai Ning Xue and issued a challenge.

"No more holding back," she declared, her voice clear and her raised spear unwavering. "It"s time to finish this and decide who the strongest girl in Wu Ling Academy is once and for all."