Wuying vs Princess
"If you're not going to move, then I'll start first," Princess Shan chuckled, tightening her grip on her Icy Katana.
Xuefeng's gaze shifted to her, anticipating a striking maneuver. But in the blink of an eye, Princess Shan vanished from her spot, utilizing her Movement Spirit Art to close the distance swiftly. Her katana, enveloped in a thin layer of Ice Blue Qi, made her appear like an ice goddess as she slashed at Wuying.
Startled by Princess Shan's sudden disappearance, Wuying barely had time to react. Before she could raise her daggers to block, a sharp blade was upon her. The katana sliced through Wuying's body with ease, the Ice Blue Qi freezing her in place while the leftover Qi splattered onto the ground, forming ice spikes.
The audience gasped, and even Xuefeng felt a chill of fear. He sensed something inside him break as he watched.
Princess Shan, however, wasn't pleased. Her instincts flared, warning her of danger. She dodged just as Wuying's frozen body hit the ground. Her intuition was right; two blood-red daggers sliced through the air where her head had been moments ago.
Wuying didn't follow up with another attack. Instead, she caught a few strands of Princess Shan's black hair. Her original body shattered into pieces upon hitting the ground—a clone created from Spirit Qi to mislead enemies. Using her escape art, Wuying had launched a sneak attack on the princess.
If not for Princess Shan's battle intuition, she would be dead. Xuefeng sighed in relief, yet he remained troubled.
'They're going for the kill!' Xuefeng was shocked by the speed and lethal intent of the fight. One mistake could mean death. He knew he lacked the skill to intervene, but he knew he had to eventually.
"You've got some quick moves," Wuying praised with a smile, her dress transforming as Black Spirit Armor wrapped around her body.
"You also escape pretty fast," Princess Shan replied, another layer of Ice Blue Spirit Qi enveloping her.
Both women had armor, one formed from Spirit Qi and the other a Spirit Artifact.
This time, Wuying initiated the attack. She dashed forward, slashing with both daggers simultaneously. Princess Shan, already prepared, parried the attacks while retreating.
Wuying continued her assault, attacking from all directions. After several strikes, her daggers finally breached Princess Shan's defenses, slashing her body. The sound of metal hitting rock echoed as ice fragments exploded everywhere. Despite being hit, Princess Shan stomped the ground, creating an ice block that shot into Wuying's chest, launching her into the air.
Wuying landed gracefully ten meters away, eyeing Princess Shan's armor, which had already repaired itself. Princess Shan's special Ice Blue Qi could turn into ice at her will, continuously wrapping around her body for protection. Unless an attack could destroy the ice layer in one blow, her enemies would struggle to defeat her.
This was Wuying's deduction after their quick exchange. She glanced at her own Spirit Armor, which bore a few scratches but remained intact. After a moment of consideration, she decided to use her new Spirit Art, "Rank 4 Blood Daggers."
Wuying slashed her palms, letting her blood drip onto the daggers, which absorbed it greedily, turning into blood-red weapons. Though this art was meant to activate with the blood of her enemies, she had no choice but to use her own.
Without hesitation, Wuying charged forward, a copy of herself appearing from her shadow to run alongside her real body. Unable to discern the real one, Princess Shan blocked one with an ice wall and shot multiple ice bolts at the other.
One body was quickly mutilated by the ice spikes and disappeared, while the real Wuying crashed into the ice wall, destroying it with an X-shaped cut. As the Blood Daggers passed through the wall, an Ice Katana awaited her, slashing down from above.
Wuying crossed her daggers to block the strike, followed by a knee strike with an ice spike that crashed into her Spirit Armor with a dull thud. The impact forced her back through the hole in the ice wall.
Dust rose from the fallen ice chunks, obscuring vision around the wall. Afraid of a sneak attack, Princess Shan increased her distance, scanning the fog with her Spirit Awareness but finding no one inside.
'The same trick again?' she smirked, sensing movement behind her.
Her back turned into an ice shield just before Wuying's Blood Daggers made a long horizontal cut.
"Aghhh!" Princess Shan groaned in pain.
This time, the ice couldn't withstand the attack, and a faint line of blood appeared on Princess Shan's back. Ignoring the pain, she turned to counterattack, but Wuying was already far away.
Wuying's face was pale, but she remained determined. The price for using the Blood Daggers Spirit Art was blood. After spilling Princess Shan's blood, she regained some strength, but it wasn't enough.
The Shadow Guard members were excited to see their leader gaining the upper hand, but Xuefeng was not pleased.
'You can stop the fight, Xuefeng. Wuying is using an art she is still not proficient with. She will hurt her body even more before the fight ends,' Ling informed him after examining the situation.
'Yes, you're right,' Xuefeng agreed.
Princess Shan looked furious as she touched the wound on her back and saw blood on her hand. She had never been injured before. Taking advantage of the break, she froze the cut and swallowed a healing pill, not wanting the wound to leave a lasting scar.
Just as she was about to use her ultimate art to defeat Wuying, a familiar voice resounded in her ears.
"Stop! That's enough!" Xuefeng roared.
The two women looked at each other with complicated expressions but ultimately lowered their weapons in response to Xuefeng.
The crowd was disappointed by the results but they were satisfied with the battle, especially after witnessing Wuying's real strength. Not many knew she had reached this stage.
When Wuying and Princess Shan arrived at Xuefeng's side, he checked the latter's injury, touching the surface of the wound and taking a deep breath. Though it was healing fast due to the pill, he was sure Princess Shan was still in pain.
Xuefeng then looked at Wuying's pale face and sighed helplessly.
"Wasn't this supposed to be a spar? Why are you both injured?" Xuefeng asked angrily, causing both women to lower their heads in shame.
Xuefeng looked at the crowd and announced, "The party's over. You can all disperse!" He then took the ladies' hands and pulled them through the crowd before anyone could raise complaints.
"Since when was Young Master so cool?" someone remarked after Xuefeng left with the women.
Although Xuefeng appeared angry, the fight had helped him understand cultivation in this world better. Even with a higher stage, one could still be defeated if not careful.
A lot of training awaited Xuefeng, but he was optimistic about his future. With Ling's help, he had a better chance of survival than anyone else.
'I need to get stronger as soon as possible,' Xuefeng thought, realizing once again that his new life wouldn't be easy or colorful.