The End of the First Half (Part 1)

They reached the river the three of them had previously passed by when they had been on their way down from the mountain, but the scene had changed.

Now, it was completely frozen. It was as if the entire land was covered in ice as snow continued to fall.

"What the hell happened here?", Liu questioned as she looked at the river. The area was covered in white snow and everything seemed even colder than earlier.

"We're probably nearing the end since there isn't much time left. Wouldn't surprise me if it got worse.", Jian Li explained.

"We better hurry up and get to the peak then! That's probably where all the action is!", Liu said as they picked up speed.

They ran through the forest, trying to reach the top of the mountain as fast as possible. It didn't seem as though anyone else until they heard some kind of clashing noises in the distance.

"Is that them?", Jian Li asked as she listened carefully. She could hear several voices echoing throughout the forest, along with heavy footsteps and clashing swords.

"Let's find out!" Liu responded enthusiastically, her eyes lit up with curiosity as she jumped forward. She dashed her way through the forest, easily trudging over fallen trees and avoiding any obstacles that may have been in her path.

On the other hand, Jian Li was struggling a bit and she had to use her sword in her hand to keep herself steady.

"This is ridiculous... I'm not used to this kind of environment at all!", Jian Li thought to herself as she struggled against the snow, falling behind a little bit behind Liu.

"I'll be going first!", Liu yelled, her nimble figure getting further and further ahead.

As Jian Li struggled, she heard a sound from the back of her head and looked over her shoulder in time to see a flying kick coming toward her face.

A few snowflakes flew off her sword as she drew it and struck her enemy in the chest with its flat side, knocking him out of the air.

He fell face first into the snow with a loud thud and his body vanished from sight, leaving only a cloud of white snowflakes in his place.

"Huh...?" Jian Li said as she tried to make sense of what had just happened.

Jian Li bent down to slash the white snow in an attempt to see if it was truly snow or something else. She thought her sword would hit something but instead it simply sunk into the ground.

"Huh...?" Jian Li repeated as she stared at her sword that was still stuck in the snowy ground.

She calmly raised her head, as if waiting for something. Jian Li looked around and found no one in sight except for the white snow that was slowly falling from above.

There were no voices either, nor footsteps or swords clashing against one another. There was nothing but silence in all directions around her and she felt like she was completely alone in that vast emptiness.

The snowfall increased in intensity, so much so that Jian Li felt like she had never seen it fall so thickly before. It was as if she were being enveloped by a white veil, hiding everything from view.

Suddenly an eerie chill swept through her body as she felt a presence behind her. She looked over her shoulder to see where the person was, but there was nothing there.

As she turned back, a fist connected with her face and knocked her backwards. The force of the impact sent Jian Li flying to the ground but she quickly got up to defend herself.

"You want to fight!? Fine then! I've had enough of these games!", Jian Li shouted as she swung her sword towards her opponent, her eyes fixed on his chest.

There was a blur and Jian Li felt something cold brush against her body before getting blasted into a tree. Her sword had been caught by her opponent, trapping it in between his fingers.

There was a moment where the two of them looked at each other in silence before Jian Li lunged forward and attacked again.

"Try hiding again!", Jian Li said as she threw a kick toward her enemy's stomach. It hit nothing but the air as the man in white robes fell back.

The stranger had already retreated to the shadows again, disappearing with ease. Jian Li felt frustrated as she was unable to catch him with any of her attacks.

He was too quick for her to keep up with. His speed was incredible and he evaded each of her attacks without breaking a sweat.

"What kind of Art is that?", Jian Li thought to herself.

Jian Li felt like she was surrounded by a cold wind as her hair whipped around her head, her whole body shivering in discomfort.

Suddenly, she saw the white figure appear out of nowhere.

Jian Li was taken off guard as she was thrown to the ground, her face pressed through the snow against the hard ground.

She could feel the blood flowing from her nose as she gasped for breath, trying to catch her composure.

"Admit defeat and give up. Otherwise, I'll continue attacking you!", the stranger warned.

Jian Li felt a sudden sense of anger fill up her body. Her eyes narrowed. She hated being told to give up.

Jian Li took a deep breath, steeling herself.

Her anger disappeared as fast as it had appeared, dissipating into the air.

The wind howled as dozens of glowing wooden weapons materialized from thin air around her, making a ring around her and the man pinning her to the ground.

He looked at the weapons wearily, ready to block any attack coming toward him.

"I'm not giving up!", Jian Li yelled out.

The man in white was still distracted by the weapons appearing from nowhere as Jian Li threw him off her back with unexpected strength. She flipped herself up and landed on her feet, her eyes locked on his.

"Who are you to tell me what to do?", Jian Li snarled.

She raised her new wooden sword and lunged forward, her robes swirling in the wind while her white hair flowed behind her. The wooden weapons she summoned vanished as she recalled them back in her inner world.

The man in white launched himself forward, throwing his hand forward and striking Jian Li's wooden sword from her hands.

Jian Li's weapon was blown away by the wind, sending her tumbling into a snow pile.

Still bloodied, Jian Li got up to stand straight despite the pain. She could feel her hands and knees throbbing but she ignored it, summoning another wooden sword from her inner world.

She raised her arm and prepared to attack as she felt something brush her back.

"Try again!", Jian Li yelled out as she spun around, her sword swinging forward.

It landed perfectly in the centre of the man's chest and caused him to cough up blood as he stumbled backwards.

"Hahaha!" the man laughed as he stood up again, his eyes filled with excitement.

"I won't let you get away this time!", Jian Li replied as she launched herself forward, her eyes locked on him.