I couldn"t help but feel some hesitation as I headed toward the arena. Tong Xue nodded fervently as he accompanied me.

"Of course I am! Why would I lie to you?"

"No, I have no doubts about your honesty," I a.s.sured him. "But…just that…are you sure the information is accurate?"

Tong Xue shrugged. "As accurate as any intelligence can be. I did the best I could, but you know how difficult it is to break into the student council."

"What? Student council stuff? You can rely on me!"

Tang Qi Hong showed up and surprised the both of us. As always, Lian Rou was beside her, looking a little chagrined at her best friend"s behavior.

"We would love to, but weren"t you ostracized from the student council because of your antagonistic att.i.tude toward Bai Ning Xue?"

"Ugh…!"

Tang Qi Hong found herself unable to rebut Tong Xue"s matter-of-fact statement. Over the last couple of days, we did some investigation of the student council and learned from our cla.s.smates that Tang Qi Hong had been deliberately excluded from the student council because whenever she appeared, she would provoke Bai Ning Xue needlessly, challenging the latter to a duel or emphasizing her role as her rival.

After a while, the other student council members found her behavior disruptive to the running of school matters and from henceforth excluded her from meetings. h.e.l.l, they didn"t even tell her that she was officially a member.

To be honest, I didn"t blame them. If Tang Qi Hong knew that she was a student council member, she would have challenged Bai Ning Xue for the position of president and upset all sort of balance, or at least caused no small amount of disturbance to the student council duties.

"Hey! You"re thinking something rude about me, aren"t you?!" Tang Qi Hong flared up as she glared at me. I shrugged innocently.

"Whatever are you talking about?"

"Gr…!" Tang Qi Hong bristled, but without any evidence she couldn"t argue her case. She merely pouted and turned away cutely. As expected of my girl…except that she wasn"t my girl because she was stubborn about her duties.

Come to think of it, if Tang Qi Hong was so serious about the duties that Sect Leader Zi Shou De and Elder Hai Mo placed on her, wouldn"t she be able to put aside her personal feelings and work properly for the student council?

d.a.m.n, those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds should have given her a chance. I was going to give them a piece of my mind after this.

"Don"t forget your match," Tong Xue told me, his tone strict. It was as if he had read my mind or something. "Focus on your match."

"Yeah, yeah."

Scratching my head, I exhaled wearily. The whole tournament thing was getting to me. It had been match after match after match…the group stages consisted of twenty-four matches, and I had just cleared the round of sixteen…only to have the quarterfinals.

Of course I wanted to win if possible, but the constant combat was gradually wearing me down. I was human, after all.

"Feng Tian Yong is going to be a tough opponent."

I groaned when I remembered who I was supposed to face later today. Tong Xue patted me sympathetically.

"Don"t worry. That"s why I compiled the data on him for you. You"ve read them, right?"

"I did. But just because I know his techniques and watched recordings of his previous matches doesn"t mean I"ll be able to win." I rubbed my temples tiredly. "Intelligence might be key, but no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy. Furthermore, Feng Tian Yong"s attacks are difficult to counter. He"s just full of brute strength and overwhelming firepower."

Watching the replays had driven home that point. I had seen Feng Tian Yong literally incinerate his opponents with overwhelming firepower, engulfing them in immense infernos that scorched the arena.

Well, at least they didn"t die, so I didn"t have to worry about Feng Tian Yong killing me. Unlike Kuang Hu, Feng Tian Yong was a little "softer." That didn"t mean he would go easy on me, though. Feng Tian Yong was infamous for knocking out his opponents in one shot. Most of his duels lasted under half a minute.

"All right…" I took a deep breath and stepped toward the coliseum. "Let"s get this done and over with."

Of all the people to lose to, Feng Tian Yong wasn"t the worst. He was a popular, charismatic and handsome guy who had girls fawning over him all the time. Already I could see his fanclub of girls gathering in the spectator box, pressing their faces against the window and screaming for their idol – or the guy they were in love with.

Okay, maybe I really didn"t want to lose to that b.a.s.t.a.r.d…

That said, Feng Tian Yong was not a bad guy. I mean, there was a reason why he was so popular with the girls. He was good looking, and got along with everybody, guy or girl. He didn"t look down on me or bully others. Granted, he didn"t really interfere when I got bullied by Qi Fu Ren, but he didn"t join in either. We had had a few conversations and he was really easy to get along with. It was difficult to hate him.

Unless you were a single guy who was forced to watch him being fawned on by dozens of girls, of course…

"What are you doing here?" Tang Qi Hong was giving me a strange look. "You should be going down for your match."

"Oh…right." I had completely forgotten that I was the combatant for the next match. Swallowing, I turned and headed toward the stairs.

"Good luck!" Ban Zhang called out and flashed me a thumb"s up. I nodded.

"Beat his a.s.s!" Tong Xue added, obviously feeling the same way as I did when he saw Feng Tian Yong"s fanclub of girls. Lian Rou elbowed him, and then smiled at me sweetly.

"Do your best!"

"Remember! I won"t forgive you if you lose!" Tang Qi Hong jabbed a finger at me. I smiled wryly and waved.

"I"ll do my best, but I can"t gurantee anything."

"Hah! You"re being too modest!"

"Eh? Zhu Jiao?"

I spun around, only to see my good friend showing up near the entrance to the spectator box. He grinned and clapped a hand on my shoulder. For my part, I was a little surprised to see Zhu Jiao actually on time.

The guy was rarely punctual, after all.

"I kow you can do it. I"m looking forward to having a match with you!" he tightened his fingers encouragingly. "I won"t forgive you if you lose this early!"

"Ugh…" I could feel the pressure mounting. To be honest, it was a miracle that I had made it this far. "Easier said than done."

As I made my way down the stairs, I felt someone staring at me coldly from a distance. Without even glancing back I knew who it was.

Bai Ning Xue. She"s still wondering why I refuse to reveal my hand, huh?

Someone like her, who felt the compulsive need to stand at the top, would never understand. Martial arts were not meant to dominate others. They were techniques for protection – self-defense and protecting others.

Certain techniques should never be used in a friendly tournament. They should only be reserved for life-and-death situations…such as that night…

Shaking my head and snapping out of my stupor, I took a deep breath and stepped into the changing room. After making whatever preparations I needed, such as discarding training gear or ensuring I was in a proper physical condition, I stabilized my breathing and walked into the arena where Feng Tian Yong was waiting for me.

"So you didn"t run away," he joked. "I"m impressed."

"Someone has to beat your handsome face in," I replied humorously. "Otherwise you"ll steal all the girls away."

Feng Tian Yong merely laughed, aware that this was banter. We were on too friendly terms to be truly hostile to each other.

However, that didn"t mean he would hesitate to hit me. Same here – as a martial artist, my compet.i.tive spirit had been roused and I didn"t intend to hold back against him. As long as what I did wouldn"t kill him, of course.

"Well, let"s begin then." I could hear the cheers from his fanclub of girls behind the supposedly soundproof window. That was evidence of the racket they were making when they saw Feng Tian Yong subconsciously strike a cool pose. "I"ll begin. Feng Tian Yong, cla.s.s 1-4, high school division of Wu Ling Academy. Next successor of the Red Phoenix Sect. My specialities are Sacred Phoenix Flame Body Formula, Crimson Phoenix Fire Strike, Mystical Crimson Flame technique, and Fiery Yang Sacred Sword technique. I have approximately three s.e.xagenaries of qi."

The cheers from his female fanclub grew louder. I grimaced and sympathized with the other spectators, knowing that they were trapped in the spectator box with such a raucous bunch. Seeing that Feng Tian Yong was waiting, I bowed.

"Fei Wu, also cla.s.s 1-4 from the high school division of Wu Ling Academy. Uh, I"m from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect. my specialities are Shadow Steps, kicking techniques and Heavenly Draconic Meteor Swordsmanship."

Feng Tian Yong raised an eyebrow at that. "You haven"t learned any techniques from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect?"

I was tempted to complain here about the capitalistic system of the various sects and how they expected you to learn everything by yourself, and how you had to purchase techniques and skills from them despite supposedly being a member of the sects. But I didn"t. Instead, I plastered a smle across my face.

"I joined the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect to learn blacksmithing and Spirit Engraving. Thus far those are what I have learned from the Nine-Tailed Fox Sect."

"Ah." Feng Tian Yong nodded in understanding. Or at least he thought he understood. "Same as many of their members. What"s your parent sect then?"

The Heaven and Earth Sect, but obviously I couldn"t tell him that. I merely smiled and shrugged somewhat nonchalantly.

"Um…I guess I"m somewhat of an Experimentalist?"

"Makes sense." Feng Tian Yong tilted his head to the side, but didn"t question me further. Instead, he glanced at the window. "Teacher Cai, we"re both ready, it seems."

"You can begin the match now."

Teacher Cai"s voice boomed through the speaker. Feng Tian Yong then grinned at me.

"Shall we begin then?"

I nodded.

Boom!

Feng Tian Yong wasted no time kicking off the ground and launching his signature Crimson Phoenix Fire Strike. A torrent of flames washed over my position, engulfing the arena and incinerating everything in its wake.

"You sure don"t waste any time," I muttered as I tried to shield myself from the overwhelming flames. The intense heat was scalding my skin and vaporizing whatever qi defense I could muster, so I had no choice but to neutralize it with an attack of my own. Taking a deep breath, I gathered the icy qi within me and unleashed it in a single burst.

Crack!

The entire coliseum froze over, the flames metamorphizing into ice.

"!!"

Realizing the danger, Feng Tian Yong leaped back, retreating to a corner of the arena while bringing his blazing hands up to shield himself from the overwhelming cold. The ice vaporized into a fine mist upon contact with his flames, and Feng Tian Yong then hurled a stream of crimson flames at me. However, the flames froze into ice long before they reached me.

"What the h.e.l.l is that skill?!" Feng Tian Yong demanded. Then he shook his head, remembering that I had used ice techniques in my previous matches. Frowning, he stared at me in bewilderement. "You forgot to introduce your ice techniques."

"They are self-created techniques," I replied as I dodged his fireball. "Ghost Shadow Sword. Absolute Zero. Techniques I created on my own from experimenting. Since they weren"t learned from other martial arts, I saw no need to mention them."

"Heh…that"s pretty impressive."

Feng Tian Yong remarked as he launched a hail of fiery feathers on my position. Using my footwork techniques, I evaded them by weaving through the melting tundra that our opposing elements had created in the coliseum.

"Phoenix Fire Arrows!"

Feng Tian Yong continued his relentless barrage, forcing me to zigzag across the ground at high speeds. Behind me, the fiery feather arrows thudded into the ground with explosive force, throwing up scorched debris high into the air.

I needed to find a way to overcome my current disadvantage and close in on my opponent. Diving to the side as a particularly huge flaming arrow slammed into the ground and detonated with immense force, I quickly rolled to my feet and drew my sword.

"Huff…!"

Breathing heavily, I swung my sword and counterattacked with a Yuan Yin Frost Strike that arced across the air and toward my opponent.

"Hmph."

Dismissing his flaming phoenix bow, Feng Tian Yong drew his sword and slashed the azure arc apart, dissipating the frosty qi. He then glanced down at me, his expression unreadable for a moment, before lunging at me.

"!"

I instinctively kicked off the ground and used Tui to widen the distance between us. And not a moment too soon. Feng Tian Yong"s sword carved a crater into the ground, sending a shower of burning debris flying up. I hit the ground and rolled to safety even as flaming rubble flew above my head. If I hadn"t ducked down, I might have been decapitated…or at the very least, knocked unconscious by all that flying, flaming debris.

I couldn"t afford to lose my head, especially not during a battle with one of the top students of Wu Ling Academy.

"?!"

I barely managed to stumble away as Feng Tian Yong swung his sword where my neck was a millisecond ago. I brought up both my swords to parry his next strike, but flames combusted between us and exploded, sending me hurtling off my feet and crashng onto the ground, smoldering. Coughing, I tried to get up, but Feng Tian Yong was already upon me.

He wasn"t going to give me a chance to recover!

Rolling away, I barely avoided the flaming sword that sank deeply into the ground. Jumping back to my feet, I desperately swung my left sword and unleashed an azure blast of freezing qi in Feng Tiang Yong"s direction.

"Hu…ugh!?"

It was a good thing I held my dominant hand back for defense. When Feng Tian Yong struck from an unexpected angle, I managed to parry his blade with my right sword. Locking his blazing blade with both my swords, I countered with a kick that sent him sprawing back.

"You really are fast, aren"t you?"

Feng Tian Yong panted as he bent over, trying to catch his breath. He looked up at me in grudging admiration.

"I was hoping to catch you by surprise, but your reflexes and reactions are too fast. No wonder you were able to match Kuang Hu in speed."

Given that Kuang Hu was widely recognized as the fastest martial artist of our generation in Wu Ling Academy, that was high praise indeed. However…

"You"re no slouch yourself."

I wasn"t flattering Feng Tian Yong. Even though I had ditched the weights and training gear before the match and was moving at full speed, I was barely able to keep one step ahead of the red-haired dude.

"Hu…"

Wiping the perspiration from my forehead, I took a deep breath and got ready for the next attack. As I expected, Feng Tian Yong didn"t disappoint.

He initially launched a ferocious bombardment of my position with a hail of his fiery feather arrows and forced me into evasive maneuvers. I barely stayed ahead of his flaming projectiles, relying on my footwork techniques to carry me to safety.

No, not just safety.

I"m not going to be forced into the defensive for the whole match!

Using Jin, I surged ahead, taking Feng Tian Yong by surprise. He raised his bow to parry my sword strikes, but I dropped down and kicked him in the abdomen, causing him to double over, as he swore under his breath, I whirled around and delivered a second kick that hurled him across the coliseum and into the opposite wall.

Bang!

"Ugh!"

Feng Tian Yong cried out as he slammed into the wall, cracking it. He slid down helplessly, his eyes shut for a few seconds.

"No!"

"Tian Yong!"

"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

I could hear the m.u.f.fled shrieks of his fangirls, the crowd of them raging behind the window when they saw me take down their idol.

"Don"t lose, Tian Yong!"

"You can do it!"

"Heh."

Feng Tian Yong stirred and slowly rose to his feet, glancing at the window and smiling. He evidently could hear the cheers of his fans even through the soundproof window. He raised his phoenix bow to acknowledge them.

"With all of you cheering for me, how can I lose?"

"..."

I wasn"t sure how to respond to this ridiculous situation, but I wasn"t a fool to discount the psychological impact that cheering and encouragement could bring to an individual. Feng Tian Yong appeared to be drawing strength from his supporters.

"Sorry, but I can"t fall here. I can"t let my girls down."

"They are "your" girls now?" I groaned in exasperation. "Are you trying to build a harem in school or something?"

"Of course not!" Feng Tian Yong reprimanded me. "What gave you that idea?"

"You do realize those girls" feelings for you, don"t you?" I asked cautiously. Feng Tian Yong hesitated, and then nodded.

"So what?"

"One day, you"ll have to make a choice. You"ll have to choose one of them. Can you do that?" I stared at him seriously.

Feng Tian Yong gritted his teeth and clenched his fists.

"I…I can"t."

"So you"re going to just let things continue the way they are?" I shook my head in disapproval. Well, it was none of my business. They could do whatever the want. Feng Tian Yong could have his harem for all I care.

"What"s wrong with that?!" Feng Tian Yong hollered. "They all love me, and agree to share me. This way, I don"t belong to anyone!"

"Uh…okay."

I held both my hands up in surrender, with the swords still clenched in my fists. I had no intention of arguing with him over such a ridiculous situation.

"I"ll show you the power of having support from so many girls who love me! This is the power of everyone!"

"Are you seriously spouting those cheesy lines?" I complained, but any other retort I conceived died in my throat when I saw the gigantic fireball that Feng Tian Yong was conjuring.

No, the colossal fireball was an illusion. All of that fiery qi was being drawn into a single arrow that was so dense with qi that it was glowing almost as bright as the sun. Blazing feathers flared out from its back and Feng Tian Yong held it in his hand before fitting it into his bow. With my Heaven and Earth qi sense, I could detect the enormous amount of qi packed into that tiny size. It was almost as dense as a neutron star.

If I got hit by that thing, I would be completely obliterated!

"Mystical Crimson Fire Phoenix Arrow, level 9!"

What was it with all these martial artists shouting out the names of their attacks?!

Nonetheless, I couldn"t afford to complain about such trivial things. Feng Tian Yong notched his arrow before he released the arcane bowstring. I had the impression of a phoenix soaring toward me before I dove for cover.

BOOM!

The arrow seared past me, with me just barely avoiding it. However, I was unable to escape the ma.s.sive shockwaves that resulted from the enormous explosion when the arrow obliterated the wall behind me.

"Gah!"

Buffeted by the huge shockwaves, I was thrown about and hurled carelessly into the ground with such force that I almost lsot consciousness when my head struck concrete. Shaking my head to clear the stars, I saw a cloud of blazing fire sweep forward to engulf me in burning destruction.

Even with my icy qi aura protecting me, my skin was scorched by the intense flames and my lungs scalded when I breathed in the superheated air. Clutching my chest, I toppled over, suffocating from the sheer heat and suffering excruciating agony.

"It doesn"t matter how fast you are. You won"t be able to escape."

"!!"

I managed to block the flaming sword that Feng Tian Yong drew after he dismissed his phoenix bow, but I was too weak to defend myself. The power behind Feng Tian Yong"s blow lifted me off my feet and sent me tumbling several meters away.

"It"s over."

Feng Tian Yong strolled toward my fallen form. I raised my head to glare defiantly at him, tightening my grip on my swords.

"Who said so?"

Feng Tian Yong nodded. "I knew you would say that. I"ve seen your previous matches, and I know how stubborn you are. If I really want to end this match, I have no choice but to use this."

"?!"

The next instant, the arena was filled with a blinding light. The gargantuan, fiery form of a phoenix floated above us, dwarfing both of us as it spread its thirty-meter wide wingspan across the arena. It glanced down on me condescendingly with eyes made entirely out of fire.

"Descent of the Phoenix," Feng Tian Yong declared before he swung his hand down decisively.