Praise and Pride

"I admit defeat.", Liu said as a 3 appeared above her head before vanishing again.

Just like the time Jian Li won against Zhang Yi, a crown materialized above her head. Although instead of being silver, this time the crown had turned crimson.

The arena exploded in cheers and jeers as everyone watched in astonishment. Liu stood up, holding her left shoulder which throbbed painfully from Jian Li's strike.

A wide smile came across her face as she looked at Jian Li.

"Well, you are definitely much stronger than I imagined you'd be. And that's saying a lot.", Liu said to Jian Li with a slight chuckle.

"You have a good chance to win the entire tournament if it wasn't for that one guy!"

"That one guy? What do you mean?", Jian Li asked.

Liu just shook her head as she hobbled over and hugged Jian Li. "Sorry for losing against you as Golden Boy did."

"Golden Boy?"

Jian Li was amused and she hugged Liu in return.

"It was a good match and I know that you'll be stronger next time."

"I am glad that you think so.", Liu said as she let go of Jian Li and hobbled away with a smile on her face.

Jian Li was exhausted and sore after the intense fight but she knew that it was a great learning experience.

She felt a sense of accomplishment, knowing that she was able to win against a cultivator like Liu.

But it could have ended differently if she had made even one wrong move.

Jian Li soon arrived back at the sidelines, meeting up with He Yu and Jian Chen.

"You have grown much stronger than I thought." He Yu said to Jian Li, patting her shoulder as she sat down next to Jian Chen.

"You really mixed the Lightsteel and Blacksteel styles like that. That's amazing!", Jian Chen gave her a thumbs up.

"The way you used the Jian Family Art to manipulate the weight of the sword rapidly back and forth is something that I didn't expect you to do. You keep impressing me Li.", He Yu praised, watching her with interest.

Jian Li felt embarrassed but also happy about what He Yu was saying to her.

"It is because of you that I can use my family Art this way." Jian Li replied.

"I didn't teach you how to do this.", He Yu said with a slight smile.

Jian Li shook her head and looked at He Yu with a smile. "You taught me everything."

"Yes, but this is something that I couldn't teach you." He Yu said with a slight laugh.

He Yu looked at the people gathered around the fighting field and sighed. "There are a lot of talented people here."

Don't let anything get to your head."

Jian Li nodded in response. "I know."

"I am glad that you are so strong now but there are still many challenges ahead of you.", He Yu said.

"I have to become stronger to protect everyone.", Jian Li thought to herself.

She noticed that He Yu was looking at her, her eyes glinting with a sense of pride.

"I can feel that you have grown a lot. I hope to see you in the finals." He Yu said with a warm smile.

Jian Li was shocked and happy when she heard He Yu's words. She didn't expect to reach the finals, but she would give her all in order to win.

She felt the excitement and nervousness build up in her as she stared at the stage where the new competitors were fighting each other.

The arena was completely silent for her except for the sounds of weapons clashing and the occasional cry of pain.

Jian Li felt hot-blooded as she was blinded by her anticipation of the battle to come.

———

On a snow-covered mountain, two hooded figures were standing next to an icy pond.

Both of them were dressed in white robes and one of them had their face covered by a cloth.

They both looked calm and serene, not even showing any signs of impatience or worry. They were simply waiting for something to happen.

The one without the cloth spoke softly, "We have been waiting here for over five hundred years, it's about time we got a response."

"Come on, show yourself.", he demanded, taking the hood off his head and showing his white hair.

A man with black hair walked out from the water carrying a sword, the water dripping from his hair as he stood in front of the two. His face was covered with mud.

"I have been waiting for your kind to show yourself for hundreds of years.", the man with white hair said calmly.

The black-haired man wiped the mud off his face with his hand as he slowly walked up to the two.

"You still have some more to wait for, but I am here now.", he said coldly, putting on his mask. It had no features and was dark as if it could absorb light itself.

The man with white hair smiled as he looked at the black-haired man. "You have finally arrived."

The black-haired man laughed. "So this is the best that you could do?" He looked at the man with white hair. "You have waited for me to show myself for centuries, but all you could do is send a mere shadow?"

"You are right to be afraid."

The black-haired man laughed again. "Why should I be afraid of you? I am not afraid of any mortal, you are just another shadow in this world."

The other hooded figure sighed and rapidly moved off the mountain as she already moved what was about to happen.

The two men were staring each other down as the wind blew snow onto the ground between them.

"You are not afraid of me because you do not know what I am capable of."

The air was silent except for the occasional sound of snow falling from the trees around them.

The black-haired man began to move slowly, walking towards the white-haired man and raising his sword in his hand as he did so.

The white-haired man simply stood still, not even showing any signs of being disturbed by his opponent's movements.

"You are afraid." The white-haired man said with a smile as he pointed his finger at the black-haired man. "You are afraid of me."

The black-haired man chuckled.

"What is it that you think you fear?", he asked coldly.

"I fear the day when your kind and He will be nothing more than a fading shadow in my mind." The white-haired man answered coldly.

"I do not fear death. You fear dying, don't you?", the black-haired man asked. "You fear your end."

The black-haired man began to laugh unnervingly as he was holding the sword in his hand and moved unnaturally toward him as a living corpse would.

"I have seen many things, I have seen people die, I have killed countless people myself and yet I know I fear death less than you do.", he said with a smile as the masked man stopped right in front of him, sword still raised in front of him.

"I fear nothing.", the white-haired man said calmly, pointing his finger to the heavens.

The black-haired man swung his sword with all his might as all the snow in their surroundings was vaporized from the pressure.

"Nothing at all."

A blinding light appeared in the sky and a soul-shaking bird cry rang across the entire mountain as the white-haired man smirked.

Not a single snowflake touched the formerly snowy mountain for half a week after that.

————-