Heavenly Fires

Two waves of water came towards Cheng Xiu in arcs.

The four copies of her Carp Sword created a Qi field that cut off the connection that Lu WenXian had with the waves, stopping the waves' momentum and power by half.

Cheng Xiu backed away until she was inside the woods.

The waters hit the stems and branches of the trees and dissolved.

Cheng Xiu closed her eyes to feel the Qi in her. She got the sense that there was a little more than a quarter left.

The Sword Barrier and the second Sword Dance did drain her.

"Northern Fire!"

Cheng Xiu jumped out of the way of the blue fire that came her way. It hit the wood next to her.

The tree burst into flames and turned into ash within seconds.

Cheng Xiu looked at Lu WenXian in surprise.

Northern Fire?

She knew that skill before. It was a very famous skill in another game.

"Western Fire!"

A streak of orange fire came her way.

Cheng Xiu jumped back and then ducked. The fire tried to follow her movements and ended up burning the roots of another tree.

Cheng Xiu was now sure that the skills were not just similar but the same.

These were the A-Ranked Fire Skills of the game Primordials Online! It was a VR game that never opened beyond the Beta stage.

These Fire Skills had a specific order they had to be used.

First, the Blue Fire of the North, or the Northern Fire. This skill invoked the northern Fire Tribe of Heaven. The streak of Blue Fire that it produced would burn its target within seconds.

Second, The Yellow Fire of the West or the Western Fire. This skill invoked the western Fire Tribe of Heaven. The streak of Yellow Fire it produced wouldn't kill the opponent. It would slowly eat away the life source of its target. The fire was semi-sentient.

The third one should be…

"Southern Fire!"

A pink fire came her way in the shape of a chain.

The Red Fire of the Southern Tribe of Heaven. A red fire is produced that will burn away the potential of the target. In the game, the potential of the target was the Skills that the player used. It was a broken skill, technically giving its users an unlimited amount of power to lock their opponent's skills.

But it had a very deep flaw. The fire was near-sentient and willful. Sometimes it would block all target skills and other times it would lock a useless skill of the target.

Cheng Xiu looked at the Pink colour of the Fire. That could either mean that the fire had a different colour or… in the most likely scenario, Lu WenXian did not have any control over this particular skill.

Cheng Xiu raised her hand. "Ghost Flame!"

A black flame burst into life in her palms. Cheng Xiu threw the flame at the incoming Pink Fire.

The two flames intertwined like two snakes and the black one slowly gained more volume.

The pink flame dissipated with a final spark.

This was the skill that Cheng Xiu bought from the Arena Market.

The black flame, called Ghost Flame, was an F-Rank flame. Cheng Xiu bought it specifically to counteract Lu WenXian's wind attacks. The fire would eat the Qi in the attacks of the wind to make itself stronger.

Cheng Xiu had not wanted to bring out the skill set. She had wanted to see what skills Lu WenXian possessed at Level 10 before she made her move.

But if the Red Fire hit her, then all her planning and caution would be for nought. What could she do if all her skills were eaten away by a dum fire?

Cheng Xiu called the Ghost Flame back into her palm.

"What is that?" Lu WenXian asked her.

Cheng Xiu looked at him in confusion. He had the Direction Flames of Heaven! Those who had those skills should know about the Ghost Flame, right?

It was a skill that surprised her when she had seen it in the list of skills in the Market.

The Ghost Flame was a Kin of the Fires that Lu WenXian possessed. But whereas the Direction Flames were of Heaven, the Ghost Flame was its counterpart in Hell.

Cheng Xiu looked at the curious gaze of Lu WenXian and decided that he really did not know what this flame was.

"How did you get your fire skills?" Cheng Xiu asked instead of answering his question.

Lu WenXian smiled. "It was a gift from my little brother!"

"Huh?"

Lu WenXian shrugged. "I got it from an Item called Heavenly Directions. My little brother got it somehow and gave it to me!"

He had a face that said it was the greatest achievement of his life.

"Good for you?" Cheng Xiu said awkwardly. "If you have these Fires why are you known for Wind Element?"

"Because Wind works best with a swordsman, and I am a Sword Cultivator."

Cheng Xiu nodded in understanding. "And you are not good with Fire spells."

"That too," Lu WenXian said. "Apparently the colours are off because I don't do it right."

"That mak-"

"Wind Dagger!"

A sharp wind swiped past her ears, leaving behind a thin wound on the shell of her right ear.

Lu WenXian frowned. The girl had moved a fraction away at the last moment.

Such a quick reflex.

No. It wasn't just a reflex. She had never relaxed and was always observing him. He had to give her props for that. What a focused mind.

"So you still had more wind skills," Cheng Xiu said with a scowl, her eyes accusing him of cheating.

"This was the last one, I promise!"

Cheng Xiu blinked and then shrugged. "I didn't say anything."

It was there in your eyes, Lu WenXian thought. He frowned. His Qi level was low. He was not expecting to use the Heavenly Fires in this match. Even though it felt that they had barely fought, he felt the pressure the girl put on him.

Though it was not visible to the naked eyes, there were sword marks scattered on his chest and his arms.

Her form showed that she was not a swordsman but there was an intuitive understanding of fighting that she had which only came to those who were trained.

This SelaXiu had a Real-world understanding of Martial Arts.

"Where did you learn to fight?" he asked her.

Cheng Xiu pursed her lips in thought. "An NPC taught me."

Lu WenXian looked at her in confusion. "What? No! I didn't mean your cultivation! I meant…were you taught how to fight in the real world?"

Cheng Xiu's hands balled into a fist. The Ghost Flame in her hand was snuffed out.

A small amount of Qi filled up in her centre, a secondary usage of the black flame.

But Cheng Xiu's mind was on his question.

Was she taught to fight in the real world"

"My mother," she said in a monotone.

"Oh," Lu WenXian felt awkward as he saw the grief that entered her eyes. He hadn't meant to make her remember bad things. He knew only one way to get out of this situation. It worked with his little sister so it should work with her, right?

"Water Bullets!"

Cheng Xiu ran into the forest. The four Carp Sword copies floated behind her.

"Sword Dance!"

Two more copies materialized in front of her.

"Sword Pierce!"

The swords turned towards Lu WenXian and flew towards him at high speed.