There was no way I could escape the gargantuan phoenix that was descending upon my position.

So ma.s.sive was the fiery form of the phoenix that it covered every inch of the s.p.a.ce within the coliseum. There was literally no place to run. If I went upward, I would meet a fiery death sooner. Well, to be honest, this attack wouldn"t kill me, but it would severely injure me and incapacitate me. Even if the odds of me winning were pathetically tiny, I wasn"t about to do something as stupid as throw them away. I was going to struggle to the bitter end.

"Hu…"

Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes and gathered as much pure qi as I could. The area around me began to fog up as the temperature plummeted, and both my swords glowed brightly as I infused them with azure qi.

"That"s…!"

Feng Tian Yong"s eyes widened when he saw the qi aura around me condense into that of an enormous azure dragon that coiled around my figure. Snarling silently, it raised its head and bellowed soundlessly yet defiantly at the approaching phoenix.

I then opened my eyes and swung both my swords, unleashing the dragon and sending it to meet the descending phoenix. Both divine spiritual creatures collided in the middle of the coliseum before vanishing in an enormous explosion that buffeted both me and Feng Tian Yong, hurling us off our feet and into opposite ends of the arena.

"Kuh!"

"Ugh!"

Not wanting to lose to the other, we both quickly jumped back to our feet. Before Feng Tian Yong could execute another ma.s.sive technique like that or fire off another flaming phoenix arrow, I used Jin and dashed forward to slash at him.

"!!!"

Feng Tian Yong just barely managed to draw his fiery sword in time to parry my attack. Without pausing, I executed another series of sword strikes that banged against him with meteoric force, causing Feng Tian Yong to stagger backward from the tremendous impacts. He gritted his teeth as he struggled to deflect my attacks, his flaming blade vibrating violently from each blow.

However, his weapon wasn"t the one taking damage. My swords – which were of a far more inferior quality than his treasure weapon that had obviously been gifted to him from the masters of his sect – would probably break long before his did. Not that I cared. They were disposable, and in any case I gambled on defeating Feng Tian Yong long before they ran out of endurance.

Boom! Boom!

My swords crashed into his with meteoric force, driving Feng Tian Yong back further. He gritted his teeth and tried to counter with a riposte, but I had two swords, which made it easier for me to defend. Deflecting his blade with one sword, I slashed at him with another, forcing him to step to the side and barely avoid it.

Even so, the tip of my blade cut into his uniform jacket and cleaved the fabric apart. Realizing how close he was to danger, Feng Tian Yong hastily withdrew and maximized the distance between us, heaving heavily.

"Huff…huff…"

Wiping the perspiration from his head, Feng Tian Yong then increased the intensity of the flames on his sword before charging at me. Realizing that he couldn"t afford to go on the defensive, he sought to steal the initiative and crush me with a heated offense that would burn away whatever defenses I might put up.

Naïve.

I crossed both swords to parry his strike, then ducked down under his next slash before kicking him in the midriff. Feng Tian Yong doubled over as he staggered back, but he wasn"t without teeth of his own. He unleashed a torrent of flames at pointblank range, forcing me to dive to the ground and roll away. Even then, I found the left side of my body singed from the superheated inferno. Wincing at the pain, I crawled to my feet.

"Hah!"

Feng Tian Yong didn"t wait for me to get up before he struck me, knocking me down again.

"Kuh!"

I rolled away, trying to escape Feng Tian Yong"s relentless attack. The ground felt hot beneath me, a result of my opponent"s conjuration of countless infernos. The guy was literally heating the arena up with his fires.

Even so, I can"t afford to stop…!

Jumping to my feet, I swung my two swords to release a double blast of azure qi that froze the s.p.a.ce between us. Feng Tian Yong effortlessly shattered the ice with a flaming slash, his crimson sword burning a swathe through the fragile frost.

"It"s my turn!" he hollered as he closed in on me, his sword swinging down to cleave me in half. I gritted my teeth and tightened the grip on my swords as I crossed them to parry his heavy blow, my legs buckling underneath my body as I absorbed the impact.

"No, it"s not."

Inhaling deeply, I fought him off as best as I could, drawing strength from my qi pool and infusing my attacks with frost effects. The both of us exchanged ferocious blows in the next few minutes, with the qi around us transforming into dragons and phoenixes that tore at each other mercilessly. Flaming phoenixes clawed and pecked at meteoric dragons, which retaliated with colossal tail strikes and lethal jaws that bit them into shreds.

Bang! Boom! Whoosh!

Fire clashed against ice, the embers turning into frost before vaporizing into flames again. The temperature flunctuated from one extreme end to the other, neither of us willing to give an inch. Feng Tian Yong smashed me to the side, only for me to use my footwork technique to disappear and reappeare behind him with a fatal backstab that would have ended the match if my opponent didn"t dodge on reflex.

Clang!

Our swords bounced off against each other, sparks decorating the s.p.a.ce between us. Feng Tian Yong whirled around and struck me with a powerful blow that almost knocked me off my feet. I allowed the momentum to throw me to the ground and counterattacked with a kick that went under Feng Tian Yong"s guard and connected with his midriff powerfully enough to lift him off the ground and send him hurtling backward.

"Kuh!"

Feng Tian Yong wasn"t done, however. Swinging his sword frantically, he hosed me with a torrent of superheated flames that I was barely able to block with my two swords. However, the flames washed over me, scalding my skin and causing me to drop to my knees from the pain.

"Gr…"

Gritting my teeth, I growled incoherently and struggled to stand again despite the excruciating agony that flared through my body. Having just recovered, Feng Tian Yong swung back and spun around before slashing my position with a strong blow that seared a scorched ravine into the ground. Even as I stumbled away, the ravine solidified as ice filled its gaps, rapidly expanding across the arena to entomb my opponent.

"Ugh!"

Feng Tian Yong was far from helpless, however. He gathered whatever qi he could before allowing it to explode, his body shimmering underneath a gigantic conflagration that vaporized the approaching ice.

"You…!"

Dropping his sword, Feng Tian Yong summoned his phoenix bow again and unleashed a volley of fiery phoenix arrows in my direction. I deflected a few of them, but there were so many of them that several of them succeeded in slipping through my defenses and tearing through my armss, shoulders and legs to leave cauterized cuts and scorched blisters.

"Kuh…"

Stifling a groan of pain, I defiantly wove through the fiery bombardment, using my deft footwork to evade the most direct projectiles and cut a path toward my opponent. Feng Tian Yong continued to fire off a relentless hail of fiery feather arrows, refusing to believe that I would be able to escape all of them. Equally stubborn to prove him wrong, I advanced fearlessly, disappearing from in front of him so that I could attack from his blind spot.

Clang!

"Argh!"

Feng Tian Yong let out a m.u.f.fled cry as he barely blocked my strike with his opulent phoenix bow. Knocked off his feet, he flipped his body around, discarded his bow and recalled his sword. Switching to a close combat stance, he slashed at me, forcing me back.

This guy…

Clenching my teeth as I warded off Feng Tian Yong"s blows, I dropped and kicked out at him to buy me some time and distance.

He"s good at both close range and long range combat!

It would be extremely difficult to defeat him. At least for me right now.

"Hmph!"

Feng Tian Yong allowed me to kick him back. As he hurtled backward, I suddenly realized that I had just made a horrible mistake.

"Oh no!"

"Too late!"

Feng Tian Yong switched from sword to bow and unleash a few fiery arrows from mid-range. I dove to the side, using my footwork to its fullest and evading whatever I could. Despite my speed, a few of the arrows still singed me.

"Ugh…!"

"It"s not over yet!"

"!!"

I glanced up and saw Feng Tian Yong descending upon my position. Gritting my teeth, I brought both swords up to counterattack, our blades meeting in a fiery explosion that scorched the ground and carved a smoking crater into the concrete.

"Gah!"

Unable to withstand the blow, I was sent crashing a few meters away. Similarly, Feng Tian Yong sprang back, unable to control his momentum. However, he managed to flip his body in midair and land on the ground more elegantly.

"Huff…you"re so tenacious."

Wiping the blood off his mouth, Feng Tian Yong glared at me. Then he swapped his sword for bow and aimed several arrows at me.

"d.a.m.n!"

Jumping to my feet, I raised both my swords just in time to deflect the volley of fiery arrows that Feng Tian Yong directed at me. Swinging both my swords frantically, I cut down arrow after arrow, but even then I couldn"t emerge unscathed as the fiery projectiles scorched through my arms, legs and sides. Dropping to my knee, I hacked away at a particularly huge arrow that was aimed right for my head, only for it to detonate forcibly upon contact.

"?!"

Boom!

The inferno consumed me while the shockwaves batted me aside like a giant swatting a fly. I tumbled through the flames, my body smoldering and blood leaking from my mouth and various other wounds. The heat was so intense that any cuts I suffered were immediately cauterized, and my skin blackened and burned despite the aura of frosty protection.

"Ugh…argh…!"

Groaning in pain, I tried to climb to my feet, but Feng Tian Yong kicked me. I blocked his foot with both arms, but I was too weak to withstand the blow and was sent crashing a few meters away. Rolling away as he stomped on my p.r.o.ne form, I slashed out to force him back. His body disappearing into a crimson blur as he retreated, Feng Tian Yong unleashed another bombardment that blasted my position into smithereens.

"?"

Feng Tian Yong suddenly realized something was amiss. As he halted his volley of flaming arrows, he became aware of a huge, shimmering wall of azure ice between him and his target. The ice was melting rapidly from the heat, but most of his arrows remained harmlessly embedded within the glacial surface.

"You just won"t go down, would you?"

"Why should I? You"re not ent.i.tled a free win." Dusting myself off, I winced from the pain but forced myself to stand up shakily.

"That"s true," Feng Tian Yong conceded. "But what will you do? It"s clear that you"re outmatched."

"Really?" I stepped toward the ice barrier that I had conjured. Feng Tian Yong narrowed his eyes and unleashed another bombardment of fiery feather arrows, this time with more power than the last volley. I smiled when they struck my glacial wall, causing it to shatter into thousands of icy fragments. "Long-range projectiles, huh? I can do that too!"

"What?!"

Feng Tian Yong glared at me, but didn"t cease his bombardment. That was all right. I didn"t need him to.

While I was in the midst of the scattering and falling fragments of ice, I swung both swords and gathered all of them up in my azure qi before blasting them in Feng Tian Yong"s direction. My opponent"s eyes widened when he saw the makeshift icicle missiles sailing toward him, overwhelming his fiery arrows and peppering his position.

"Kuh!"

Falling back as many of the icicles pierced through his body, Feng Tian Yong dropped to the ground and rolled, leaving a slick trail of blood. He cursed as he tried to get to his feet, only to be showered by another hail of icicles.

"Thanks for destroying my glacial wall," I told him gleefully. Okay, perhaps I was being childish, but I couldn"t help it. After being on the defense for so long, it felt good to attack back. "You gave me the ammunition I need!"

"You…!" Feng Tian Yong growled, only for his speech to be cut off when more icicles struck him. He was forced to drop his bow and draw his flaming sword to defend himself before he could get shredded into pieces.

With a howl, he incinerated the final bombardment with a raging inferno that vaporized the ice into steam and scorched the ground of the once-frozen arena. Waving his sword about, he directed the torrent of flames toward me.

But I had already antic.i.p.ated that.

Azure Dragon Blast.

Swinging my swords, I unelashed a stream of qi that took the shape of an azure dragon that roared soundlessly as it charged forward and met the torrent of flames. The fire froze almost instantly, the azure dragon seeming to consume it as it ate its way toward a stunned Feng Tian Yong. The red-haired guy snapped out of it and tried to dive out of the way, but he was too late. The dragon struck him and carried him into the air, the destructive qi searing his body. Feng Tian Yong screamed before an azure explosion engulfed him.

Boom!

I watched as his smoldering body crashed back to the ground, landing heavily and sending debris flying into the air from the impact.

"Phew…"

No sooner than I sighed a breath of relief when Feng Tian Yong climbed back to his feet, incensed. Trembling, he glared at me.

"You…you…!"

"And you called me tenacious," I muttered with a shake of my head.

"NOOOO!!!!!"

"Tian Yong!"

"You can"t lose!"

"You can win!"

"Don"t lose to a loser like that b.a.s.t.a.r.d!"

"Don"t give up!"

While I watched Feng Tian Yong stand, mired in disbelief, I could just barely make out the screams and cheers from his female fanclub. The girls were hammering on the reinforced window, which hadn"t broken – I guess the repairs must have done their job, after all – shouting and shrieking their encouragement and support.

"Heh." Feng Tian Yong smiled. "How can I lose? I won"t let you girls down."

A vein twitched in my temple. Was this guy trying to show off or something? Sure, go ahead and tell us single guys how popular you are with girls. I"m sure that would go down well with the majority of guys.

As I expected, the guys" boisterous yells began to drown out the girls. I could hear the guys howling and bellowing at me from behind the gla.s.s.

"Don"t lose to that f.u.c.ker, Fei Wu!"

"Get revenge for us!"

"I won"t accept a playboy winning this match!"

"Show him the power of us single virgins!"

"I won"t forgive you if you lost to a b.a.s.t.a.r.d like Feng Tian Yong!"

I couldn"t help but smile wryly. Well, at least it meant that I had a lot of support, which was more than I could say for other protagonists. Shaking my head wearily, I dropped one sword momentarily to show them a thumb"s up before s.n.a.t.c.hing up that sword before it could hit the ground.

Don"t worry, comrades. I won"t let you guys down. We"ll show them the power of us single virgins! Wait, what?

Well, there was no shame in admitting that I was a single virgin. I was only in my first year of high school, after all. I wasn"t even eighteen. Why would I need to be in a hurry with regards to my virgin status?

Feng Tian Yong was grinning at me, half in amus.e.m.e.nt and half in sympathy. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Was he looking down on me for being single and a virgin? I would have him know, this was a moral decision! At least I wasn"t irresponsible to the extent where I would sleep around and lead dozens of girls on!

Channeling my rage into my qi, I infused both my swords with draconic meteor energy. Lowering my stance, I then used Jin and advanced toward the leering Feng Tian Yong, who was almost caught by surprise while he was still recovering.

"!"

Clang!

Our swords collided forcefully and I made use of my somewhat greater physical strength to push him back and knock him off balance. While Feng Tian Yong flailed from the abrupt impact, I dropped down under his desperate riposte and kicked him in the chest.

"Guh!"

"NOOO! Tian Yong!"

"Ha ha ha ha! Get him, Fei Wu!"

Even through the soundproof window, I could still hear the mixed responses of my schoolmates cheering and jeering. While I appreciated the guys supporting me, I wasn"t sure how I felt about all the girls cheering for Feng Tian Yong. Well, at least Tang Qi Hong and Lian Rou should be on my side. I hope.

"GAAAAAH!"

With a roar, Feng Tian Yong"s body exploded into flames. Two gigantic wings of fire unfolded from his back and swept across the arena, blowing superheated air across the s.p.a.ce. I choked on the combusted air and staggered back, and was almost unable to parry a strike from my opponent as he swung a ma.s.sive blade of fire.

Bam!

I was almost knocked off my feet, but I gritted my teeth and dug in, skidding across the coliseum through sheer grit and determination. Feng Tian Yong ignored me and jumped up, soaring high into the air with his newly summoned wings.

"The Phoenix Spreads its Wings!"

With a shout, Feng Tian Yong blasted me with an overwhelming torrent of golden flames that engulfed the whole room in an unforgiving inferno. I screamed as the conflagration incinerated me, overwhelming my inner qi defenses and burning me alive. Dropping to my knees, I leaned on both my swords, my breathing growing ragged.

"Descent of the Phoenix!"

Feng Tian Yong unleashed his ultimate skill again, conjuring the gigantic phoenix of fire and bringing it down on me.

Knowing that I wouldn"t be able to survive this next attack if I let it hit me directly, I forced myself unsteadily to my feet and drew qi from my reserves. Channeling whatever qi I had left into both my swords, I swung them and unleashed another Azure Dragon Blast.

The two legendary monsters collided in midair before culminating in an explosion that sent tremors reverberating throughout the coliseum. Cheers turned to shrieks as the girls found themselves knocked off their feet from the merciless shockwaves while the guys swore and cursed when they were buffeted by the aftershocks.

"b.l.o.o.d.y h.e.l.l!"

"They"re going too far!"

"Well, not exactly…haven"t you seen the other matches?"

"..."

Yup, they had. This exchange was nothing compared to the other matches. At least the window hadn"t shattered yet, so that was a plus!

"Uwaaaah!"

Yelling in determination, Feng Tian Yong dove at me, his fiery wings spread. Hurtling forward at a terrifying velocity, he slashed at me with his blazing sword. I stood my ground firmly and met his attack with both of my swords.

KABOOM!

Refusing to yield even a centimeter, I ferociously traded blows with him, dragons coiling around my sword and delivering blasts with meteoric impact. Feng Tian Yong would normally have been blown away, but those fiery phoenix wings of his provided him much-needed power and mobility, allowing him to match me blow with blow.

"Ugh…!"

Even so, Feng Tian Yong was flinching every time he was forced to parry a strike. A phoenix that had materialized around his sword would burst, obliterated by a meteoric dragon that was curled around one of my swords.

"My arms are getting numb…I can"t hold out for much longer…!"

Muttering under his breath and totally unaware that I could hear him just fine, Feng Tian Yong tried to retreat. I wasn"t stupid enough to discard my advantage and relentlessly pressed on, swinging my swords with meteoric force.

"Don"t get too ahead of yourself!"

Snapping, Feng Tian Yong flapped one of his fiery wings forward to bat me away, but I met it with cold steel and meteoric, draconic force. Feng Tian Yong stumbled back when my counterattack actually ripped a hole through his fiery wing, but the flaming feathers rapidly regenerated. Even so, he had been thrown off balance and I capitalized on it.

Draconic Meteor Strike!

"Ugh…?!"

Feng Tian Yong tried his best to block, but even with both wings aiding him, he was blown away by my attack. Having unleashed it at pointblank range, I wasn"t able to exert its full strength, but it was more than enough.

For now.

"The Phoenix Spread its Wings!"

Hollering as he fell back, Feng Tian Yong threw one last desperate attack at me. I held my ground and dug in, raising both my swords to deflect the torrent of golden flames that rained down on me. A dragon rose from behind in a silent snarl and charged straight at the ferocious stream of fire, freezing it into ice.

"Impossible!"

Feng Tian Yong"s eyes widened at the unbelievable sight. Swearing under his breath, he threw his sword at the dragon, cleaving it apart. I stepped to the side, allowing the weapon to spin past me before it embedded itself in the wall behind.

"Taste this! My ultimate attack!"

While I evaded his sword, Feng Tian Yong had retrieved his phoenix bow again. He was drawing what remained of his qi into a single fiery projectile.

"The Ultimate Phoenix Arrow!"

Notching the beautifully crafted arrow into his elegant phoenix bow, Feng Tian Yong stretched it back and aimed it at me.

Aware that this wasn"t something I could simply evade, and also knowing that if I overcame his ultimate attack, it would be my victory, I dropped one of my swords and held the other with both hands. While the fiery form of a gigantic phoenix behind Feng Tian Yong spread its wings and emitted a soundless cry toward the heavens, the gargantuan shape of an icy dragon uncoiled and rose ferociously behind me, freezing my side of the coliseum.

I might not know any fancy tricks, but I was going to answer Feng Tian Yong"s Ultimate Phoenix Arrow with my most powerful Draconic Meteor Strike.

"Take this!"

Feng Tian Yong let go of the arrow. The gigantic golden phoenix seemed to follow the arrow as it streaked toward me at near light speed, blasting the coliseum apart and leaving a trail of fiery destruction in its wake.

It was hurtling forward too quickly. There was no way I could evade it, even if I used my footwork techniques.

No. Even if I could evade it, I wouldn"t. There was no meaning to evading an ultimate attack that my opponent poured all his soul and energy into. This was the very embodiment of my opponent"s will. Therefore I was going to crush it head-on!

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

With a determined yell, I swung my sword down with both hands, unleashing my moost powerful Draconic Meteor Strike. The enormous dragon behind me flowed into the azure arc of qi that blasted off from my blade and plunged toward the screeching phoenix.

The two divine monsters collided in the center of the coliseum and exploded. For a brief second I stood still, mesmerized by the expanding conflagration of qi, the tremendous explosion consuming everything in its wake.

Then my world vanished in a golden blast of light and deafening noise.