Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The battle for a spot in the top four. The third match.
Zhao Qingteng stood with his sword slanted downward. He was looking up into the sky. He seemed proud and cold.
The air seemed to become colder just from him standing there. There were even snowflakes falling around him.
Xu Xiaoshou poked his head into the barrier and shivered. The temperature inside the arena was many times colder than the temperature outside.
“Is this the Innate Elemental Power?” he thought to himself. He already knew that Zhao Qingteng had ice elemental abilities. However, he only truly realized how terrifying an Innate-stage fighter was now that he was facing one in the flesh.
Zhao Qingteng was affecting nature with his powers. How was that not terrifying!?
There was an adjustment period after the candidates entered the arena. Xiao Qixiu took rather good care of Xu Xiaoshou. Even though this lad was always very tardy, Xiao Qixiu still gave him the time he needed to prepare.
Xu Xiaoshou extended his hand, and the snowflakes in the air landed on his palm. It looked silent and elegant.
The crowd was smitten. A light snow was falling on the three men in the arena, and the sceen looked like something right out of a painting.
“Judge, he’s cheating.”
The crowd was still immersed in the picturesque scene when Xu Xiaoshou suddenly pointed at Zhao Qingteng on the other side and said in fury, “The battle hasn’t started yet, and he’s already influencing the environment. That isn’t fair!”
The snow in the air seemed to stop somewhat, and Zhao Qingteng finally looked at Xu Xiaoshou.
“Got mocked. Passive Points +1.”
“Oh my!” he thought.
“You’re mocking me?”
Xu Xiaoshou indignantly glared back at Zhao Qingteng. “Who’s afraid of who?” he thought.
Xiao Qixiu knitted his brows. What Xu Xiaoshou said made sense. However, in the middle of a battle, who would care about this little bit of snow?
“What do you want me to do about it?”
Xu Xiaoshou chuckled. “I’m a little cold. Get him to stop the snow!”
He was acting a little over the top, but he wasn’t taking this match lightly.
Who knew what kind of abilities these snowflakes had? Maybe Zhao Qinteng could sense his opponents’ positions when the snowflakes touched them, or maybe he was charging up for a powerful move…
Xu Xiaoshou wasn’t so careless as to give an Innate-stage fighter an advantage when he was battling one. Didn’t that mean that he’d already lost half the battle?
The crowd was a little displeased when they saw this. Some of the spectators agreed with Xu Xiaoshou, seeing that he was acting out of caution, but most of them thought that Xu Xiaoshou was being too nitpicky.
It was just a few pieces of snow. Did he have to do that?
“I can’t stop it,” Zhao Qingteng said, his voice icy.
“That’s not good…” Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands and said, “You specialize in casting techniques at long range, while I specialize in close-range combat. On top of that, you’re cheating. So how will we go about fighting each other?”
Even an arrogant person like Zhao Qingteng couldn’t help the corners of his mouth from twitching at being repeatedly accused of “cheating.””What exactly do you want to do?” he asked.
“Why not open the barrier and get the sun to shine on us?” Xu Xiaoshou suggested.
Xiao Qixiu staggered. “Get the sun to shine on us?” he thought. “You’re trying to get the thousands of spectators to watch you sunbathe?”
“Letting the sun shine on us is impossible. Since you’re suggesting a close-range battle, how about we close the distance a little?” Xiao Qixiu inquisitively glanced at Zhao Qingteng.
Zhao Qingteng nodded. Xu Xiaoshou was elated and thought, “He took the bait!”
“How much is a little?” Xu Xiaoshou continued asking.
Xiao Qixiu could no longer tolerate this lad. He was pushing it!
“Any distance you like.” Zhao Qingteng’s gaze turned cold, and he continued saying in a weighty tone, “The spectators outside are waiting. Let’s start soon!”
“Any distance?” Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow.
In a flash, he arrived in front of Zhao Qingteng. Their noses were almost touching.
“Is this distance alright?” Xu Xiaoshou exhaled.
Zhao Qingteng was scared by the sudden increase in temperature. His pale skin became a little redder. He felt his heart thump wildly, and staggered backward a few steps, hesitating for a long while…
“It’s fine!”
The spectators were going insane. A few female disciples were repeatedly shouting “no.”
Zhao Qingteng’s abilities and cold attitude made him the poster boy for the phrase “arrogant and cold.” He was the white knight in the hearts of every female disciple in the Outer Yard.
If this were any other match, many people would’ve been in support of Xu Xiaoshou. However, since Xu Xiaoshou’s opponent was Zhao Qingteng, all of the supporters had rallied to his side.
“Get away. Who permitted you to get close to my Brother Qingteng?”
“You can’t agree to his request. Hng hng hng, Brother Qingteng, quickly put some distance between you.”
“Oh my, so things can be done this way. I’ve learned! I’m going to train well. I want to get that close to Brother Qingteng…”
The two candidates in the arena were within one step of each other and were staring deeply into each other’s eyes.
Xiao Qixiu raised his hand at an opportune moment. “Battle, start!”
As soon as he announced this, Xu Xiaoshou’s jovial expression immediately disappeared, and with a serious face, he landed a punch on Zhao Qingteng’s body amidst the falling snow.
Boom!
Ice shrapnel exploded everywhere. Xu Xiaoshou had hit something solid, but he could tell that he didn’t hit Zhao Qingteng.
“This is…”
A clone, teleportation, or substitution technique?
Many thoughts instantly flashed through Xu Xiaoshou’s mind. Within the radius of Sense, he saw the snow behind him move, and Zhao Qingteng appeared behind him.
Zhao Qingteng, who had just appeared, didn’t attack right away. Instead, he chose to put some distance between them.
He raised a finger to indicate something, then calmly said, “You fight decently.”
“Got praised. Passive Points +1.”
Xu Xiaoshou felt as though he’d just been mocked. He was completely clueless as to how Zhao Qingteng had left. The fake Zhao Qingteng that he’d punched had transformed into an ice sculpture under the falling snow and shattered.
It was incredibly mysterious…
Xu Xiaoshou also pretended to be nonchalant. “You also hide well. I’m guessing that it has nothing to do with this snow. Otherwise, you’d really be cheating.”
Zhao Qingteng was stoic. Xu Xiaoshou secretly felt that it was a waste. His face was so expressionless he couldn’t read his next move.
He stared at Zhao Qingteng as if nothing was happening as he started expanding the radius of Sense to its maximum, and the formation and fall of every snowflake clearly appeared in his mind.
His instincts told him that he couldn’t disregard the snow.
This was snow that only appeared when he was battling Zhao Qingteng. He’d never seen Zhao Qingteng use this technique in the past.
Zhao Qingteng’s blue Ice Stream Sword had an extraordinarily wide blade. Zhao Qingteng slowly lifted it, and the snow in the air seemed to tremble slightly.
Xu Xiaoshou took out Hiding Pain. He knew that close-range combat would be impossible unless he could dispel Zhao Qingteng’s technique.
At the Innate Origin Court Level, Zhao Qingteng’s spiritual strength would’ve already evolved to become a spiritual source. Zhao Qingteng injected his spiritual source into the Ice Stream Sword, and the sword crackled as ice crystals formed on the blade.
Whoosh!
A blade sliced through the air, and an icy chill assaulted Xu Xiaoshou. He decided to tilt his body to the side to avoid the attack.
The chilly air didn’t touch his body, but it released a terrifying frost when it near him, and the cold severely limited his movements.
Xu Xiaoshou finally understood why no one could avoid Zhao Qingteng’s Ice Stream Strike.
“Sss~”
Xu Xiaoshou shivered. His body was so numb that he could no longer hold onto his sword. He had no way of blocking the second sword aura, so all he could do was barely lift Hiding Pain.
There was no collision, no explosion…
Under the shocked gazes of the spectators, Xu Xiaoshou got turned into an ice sculpture.
“Oh f***! Even Xu Xiaoshou met the same fate. He got frozen in just two attacks?”
“Zhao Qingteng is too strong. He used the Ice Stream Strike against all of his opponents, but Xu Xiaoshou has an Innate-stage physical body, so… Ice Stream Two Strikes?”
“Is there such a big difference between the ten levels of Spiritual Cultivation and the Innate-stage?” he thought. “I’m dumbfounded…”
Zhao Qingteng’s expression was still nonchalant. He struck with his sword as if he were facing the rest of his opponents. It was just that Xu Xiaoshou was equivalent to two people.
However, the other party did have an Innate-stage physical body. Perhaps his Ice Stream Spiritual Source that could freeze the body of a Spiritual Cultivation Level Ten fighter to death might not be able to freeze Xu Xiaoshou to death…
Zhao Qingteng glanced at Xiao Qixiu. He saw that he had no intention of moving to save his opponent and became sure of his conjecture.
He was going to continue attacking!