Chapter 37: Ice Goddess

"Haaaa~ Man. When's a food vendor coming by?"

Feng Qin let out a yawn, cracking his bones as he made himself comfortable on his bench. The sun's rays were getting dim as night approaches.

The competition was still ongoing however, now onto round 15 with only 40 competitors remaining from 250.

Feng Qin's appearance and actions made great waves and spread throughout the entire audience and other competitors.

Not only did he refuse to use his spirit but he just finishes off his opponents with a single punch, just pure physical strength and spirit power.

Although there were some geniuses that hadn't used their spirit yet, none of them have been as strong and domineering as him that stubbornly stuck to one punching his opponent to unconsciousness!

Even Long Yuyin and Mei Lin, and the top students of the Sky Fortune Academy, were forced to reveal their respective spirits after meeting some unexpectedly strong opponents.

This was an unprecedented event that was never heard of for the last hundreds of years since the competition's founding!

After the tenth round, every competitor that went up against Feng Qin immediately surrendered.

But despite his matches being quick and boring, every spectator on the audience stands kept on cheering and screaming his name.

"Cao Fengzi! Cao Fengzi!"

"Cao Fengzi! Cao Fengzi!"

...not. Which made Feng Qin not know they were cheering him on and he kept an eye out on which great competitor caused the audience to go crazy like that.

But after a while and not finding anyone exceptional that garnered such reaction from the audience, his gaze went towards one of the areas of the large stage.

"Haa!" Long Yuyin shouted as she thrusted a hardened blood spear towards her opponent's right shoulder, puncturing a hole.

"Aggh! G-Give! I admit defeat!"

Her opponent, a 20 year old man with long braided brown hair, yelled out in pain as he fell into his knees and held his bloodied shoulder.

"Hmph. You should've just admitted defeat if that was all you could do. Making me get a bit serious to make you submit..." Long Yuyin coldly stated, her three spirit rings shimmering around her as she dismissed her blood spear.

The man grinded his teeth in frustration but didn't refute her claim.

He was at the same ring level as her, with 2 yellow and 1 purple spirit rings, and the only difference between them was the quality of her spirit seemingly to be higher than his Earth Butcher Claws. So with that surface level of knowledge, he thought he had a chance against her.

Unfortunately however, her true abilities were more profound than he had first thought.

"Medics! Go and treat him! And I proudly announce that this match goes to, Long Yuyin!!"

As the paramedics came rushing in and the referee proclaimed her victory, Long Yuyin turned her nose up, her hair blowing in the wind and she turned to walk away, looking like a aloof goddess.

Expectedly, every male spectator erupted in admiration and awe, their eyes glued to her flawless figure as she walked down the stage.

Feng Qin whistled and clicked his tongue.

"She's been so casual and free spirited around me that I totally forgot about how she acts around strangers, cold and arrogant."

He suddenly felt lucky that it wasn't her usual self.

At first, Feng Qin was worried that people would recognize her background and asked her to control her Spirit Body Transformation to only change the parts under her clothes so no one would notice.

Thankfully, it looks like no one noticed yet but also because the Dragonseal Family had hidden themselves so much that even most big city people of the empire has no clue about the Dragonseal Family's Spirit.

"Feng Qin, how did I do?" Long Yuyin came up to him with a warm smile, totally different to how she acted just a second ago.

Many onlookers had already seen them being close but they still couldn't help but shake their heads in disbelief.

Even the aloof and arrogant Long Yuyin could show such a gentle and caring side to someone.

"You were amazing as always, Long Yuyin." Feng Qin grinned, feeling proud of his friend's abilities.

He had been watching her matches as well, and was continually amazed by her control over her blood elements and her ability to use them to her advantage.

Looks like she's steadily comprehending the techniques he'd given her; the Blood Bending Style and Fire Bending Style as she fights more opponents.

Except for the Shadow Tail Blade Art, as she hadn't used her tail yet.

"Thanks, Feng Qin. You were also incredible, as always." Long Yuyin replied, giving him a playful punch on the arm.

Feng Qin chuckled and feeling the force of her punch, he was thankful that his body was stronger than average Spirit Scholars because that casual punch felt like it could easily beat any two-ringed Spirit Master.

After a short conversation with Long Yuyin and finally getting to buy some snacks from a food vendor, Feng Qin noticed Mei Lin coming up the stage.

Moreover, she had a serious expression on her face unlike her previous matches.

'Oh? To show such a face, is her opponent that strong?' Feng Qin thought.

A couple matches ago, Feng Qin had found out that Mei Lin was stronger than he first thought.

She was a Spirit Elder with optimal spirit rings and a Spirit called, a rare Demon Frost Bow. And with the help of gossipy competitors, it was easy to find out her exact cultivation–38!

She had a higher cultivation base than Long Yuyin, although it was expected since she was a few years older than the latter being either 19 or 20 years old, but that was suspicious!

With such a cultivation talent, she should've been a student at some luxurious Academy and not some no-name librarian.

"Hey, that ice cold chick is facing against one of the geniuses of the academy!"

"No way! Who is it? Don't tell me, is it Cain?!"

Feng Qin perked up his ear, eavesdropping on a couple of boys talking loudly about Mei Lin's match, specifically her opponent.

"Nah bro. That guy I just heard from one of the staff members that Cain and some other competitors wouldn't show up till the final rounds."

"What!? That's unfair treatment!! Shouldn't we complain about this?"

"We can't. Unless you can beat them."

"..."

"Don't forget. This world only respects the strong and are given special treatment. So if you want the same benefits as them, get stronger."

Feng Qin frowned and let out a deep sigh.

'True. Moreover, the Martial Worlds follow this principle as well. Only the strong are respected and given special treatment. It's a harsh reality, but it's the truth.'

As he pondered on this, Mei Lin's match began. Her opponent was a tall and muscular man with a fierce expression on his face. He had two yellow spirit rings and a purple one, indicating the same cultivation level as Mei Lin's. This man was known as Derek, one of the top geniuses of the Sky Fortune Academy.

The audience was buzzing with anticipation, eager to see Mei Lin's performance against such a strong opponent.

Feng Qin was the same as well.

Every match that Mei Lin uses her spirit on, she had never used a spirit ring ability and only uses blue arrows made up of her spirit power that has the Ice Element attribute.

Mei Lin calmly stepped forward, her frosty blue eyes locked onto Derek. Her hands held onto her Demon Frost Bow, the icy aura emanating from it sending chills down the spines of those nearby.

Her two yellow spirit rings and one purple rose up around her.

Derek smirked confidently, thinking that Mei Lin was no match for him. He raised his hand and a giant hammer appeared, his spirit weapon, the Earthquake Hammer.

With a powerful swing, Derek's first spirit ring ability activates, sending a powerful shockwave towards Mei Lin with the sound of thunder, but she effortlessly evaded it with a graceful leap. In mid-air, she drew her bow and aimed at Derek, sending an arrow infused with frost energy towards him.

However, Derek quickly reacted, using his spirit power to create a barrier to block the arrow. He then charged towards Mei Lin, swinging his hammer with immense force.

His second spirit ring flashed brightly, yellow light enveloped his body and spread outwards like mist.

Mei Lin's eyes widened in shock as her body trembled and almost made her drop down helplessly onto the ground.

Derek's second spirit ring ability, Gravity Field. The gravity of anything in a three-meter diameter area around him would be under his control on a certain level. At most he could triple the gravity of the person or thing around him.

And since Mei Lin didn't expect such an ability, she wasn't able to dodge it.

It seems like this was it for her.

*Swish*

Derek widened his eyes as he saw the tip of an ice cold arrow heading towards his face.

"Fast! But useless!"

Without any hesitation he swung his hammer to smash the arrow.

That was a mistake.

"What the–!"

Derek yelled in surprise as half of his body, from the arm he used to wield his spirit, to his chest and leg was encased in a thick layer of ice.

He looked towards his opponent and saw her, with an emotionless face and icy eyes, leaping back and nocking an arrow in her ice-blue demonic bowstring.

Her first spirit ring ability, for the time since she entered the competition, was flashing a bright yellow glow enveloping the arrow she nocked.

First spirit ring ability, Ice Explosion.

Mei Lin's eyes flashed as the one arrow then multiplied into several arrows then unleashed a series of precise and quick shots with her bow.

"I'm not done yet!"

Derek yelled as he used Gravity Field to crumble the ice on his body and to offset the ice arrows that was heading his way.

But using his second spirit ring ability needed a lot of focus and right now, he did not have a lot of focus.

He managed to shake off the layer of ice that first covered him then dodged the first few arrows he didn't manage to offset.

But he didn't manage to dodge some arrows.

He was slowly becoming an ice sculpture.

Realizing that he was at a disadvantage, Derek made a desperate move. He raised his hammer, his spirit ring Shockwave activated, and slammed his hammer into the ground, creating a powerful shockwave that caused the ground to tremble.

Mei Lin was caught off guard and was sent flying.

The audience gasped in shock, thinking that Mei Lin was defeated. However, to their surprise, just as she was about to be knocked out of bounds, she flipped in the air and fired an ice arrow at the ground to create a wall of ice.

Mei Lin used the wall as her safety net with her feet and landed safely back on the ground.

"This is the end!" Derek yelled, almost all the ice that had encased him crumbled away, as he charged towards her with his third and most powerful spirit ring.

It glowed an intense purple light that enveloped him, which converged around his hammer.

Third spirit ring ability, Quake Storm.

He was a Attack Power System Battle Spirit Master, hence all his spirit ring abilities are combat and AOE(area of effect) related.

Mei Lin took a deep breath and gathered her spirit power, her third spirit ring glowed, channeling it into her Demon Frost Bow. The bow started to glow with an intense purple and blue light, and Mei Lin released an arrow that seemed to contain the power of an ice storm.

Third spirit ring ability, Ice Storm.

The arrow shot towards Derek at an incredible speed, freezing everything in its path like a true ice storm.

Derek tried to dodge, but the icy arrow managed to graze his arm, freezing it instantly.

It was unlike before, as the ice was quickly spreading through his bloodstream and was also freezing his spirit power.

In pain and desperation, Ding Yifeng unleashed all his spirit power, causing the ground to crack and tremble. He swung his hammer with all his might, aiming to crush Mei Lin.

But Mei Lin stood her ground, her frosty blue eyes filled with determination. She drew her bow one last time and released an Ice Explosion Arrow.

The arrow collided with Derek's hammer, causing a massive explosion of ice and frost energy. The impact sent Derek flying, defeated, covered in a layer of frost and unconscious.

The audience erupted in cheers and applause, amazed by Mei Lin's display of power.

She had defeated one of the top geniuses of the academy with her ice and frost abilities.

"Ice Goddess! Ice Goddess!"

"Ice Goddess! Ice Goddess!"

"Damn." Feng Qin took a literal cold breath and grinned, a layer of fire emitted around him, "Looks like I can actually have a good fight soon."

He and Mei Lin met the other's eyes.

Ice and fire.

Which was stronger?