The crowd outside the arena went wild.

"Holy! I didn't realize Li Xue could be this strong!"

"She's holding out against Bing Hou!"

"But she's done for now. I've seen Senior Sister Bing use this technique once—and this isn't even its full power."

"This bitch cut my queen's face! She deserves to be cut into a thousand pieces!"

"You... ugh!"

Back on stage, Li Xue and Bing Hou clashed for the third time—blunted steel sword against cold, gleaming ice.

One would expect the ice-formed blade to chip under the steel, but reality was the opposite. Li Xue's sword bore two long, winding cracks down to the hilt, while Bing Hou's ice sword remained flawless, its edge glinting cruelly in the light.

They pulled apart, poised for a fourth clash at center stage.

Both girls lunged, swords raised overhead.

Seconds before impact, Li Xue abruptly dropped to her knees, hands raised high. Her sword clattered to the floor, shattering into hundreds of tiny metal shards.

"I surrender!!!"

Her cry rang out so loud it drowned the cheers of thousands.

Bing Hou’s sword froze inches above Li Xue’s head. She stared down, pure disbelief on her face.

"You... what...?"

"I surrender," Li Xue said again, flashing a sheepish grin. "You're way too strong!"

Bing Hou blinked. "...You surrendered?"

She stood there awkwardly, sword still half-raised, as if unsure whether she should finish her swing.

"I haven't cut you yet," she said stiffly.

"Oops." Li Xue shrugged. "Well, nothing we can do about that now."

She bounced back to her feet and turned to the judge. "Well? Are you going to call it?"

The judge, still stunned, raised his voice. "Uh... winner, Bing Hou!"

The crowd erupted—not with cheers, but with a stunned, collective groan.

"Just like that... it's over?"

"Just like that..."

"That's just not right..."

"So anticlimactic..."

"I demand a refund!"

"But we didn't pay..."

"I want my time and emotions back!"

Some scattered laughter and applause rippled through the stadium, half in frustration, half in admiration of Li Xue’s shamelessness.

Di Ti stepped onto the stage, laughing lightly. "Well... that's certainly one way to avoid injury," she said. "Either way, an exciting second round! Now, onto the third round—starting with Liu Hua versus Fan Biyu!"

Crackle!

A purple lightning bolt flashed onto the stage, and Liu Hua appeared with a boom, electricity dancing across her robes.

Fan Biyu stood from her chair with calm, unhurried grace.

"Be careful. She's strong," Jin Shu warned softly.

"I know. But don't worry," Biyu said, smiling serenely. "I can heal all wounds, remember?"

"Just because you can heal doesn't mean you won't feel pain," he said.

"Don't worry," she repeated gently, descending the stairs to the stage, her steps steady and light.

As she reached the stage, Fan Biyu bowed slightly to Liu Hua. "Eldest Senior Sister," she greeted politely, using Liu Hua’s official title within the sect.

Liu Hua raised an eyebrow. "How did I make you mad?" she asked curiously.

"What do you mean? Do I sound mad?" Biyu replied, her warm, friendly smile unwavering.

Liu Hua narrowed her eyes. "I've watched you grow up here, and this is the first time you've ever greeted me so politely..."

Biyu shrugged. "I just thought that, since we're in front of the entire sect, I should show some propriety."

"I don't like it. Makes my skin crawl. So stop."

Biyu’s smile deepened as she bowed again. "Oh, I'm very sorry to have offended you, Eldest Senior Sister."

Liu Hua visibly shivered. "Let's just start the match."

"Sure."

The judge looked between the two. "Both ready?"

"Yes," Biyu answered calmly.

"Uh-huh," Liu Hua replied with a sigh.

"Begin!"

The judge’s voice had barely faded when both women launched into action. Liu Hua flashed away, leaving behind a trail of crackling purple sparks, while Biyu unleashed her qi, covering the stage in a wave of scarlet flames.

In the next instant, Liu Hua appeared behind Biyu, standing unharmed within the flames, her palm blitzing toward Biyu's exposed back.

But the flames suddenly surged upward, blocking her vision and obscuring Biyu completely.

When the flames died down, two identical figures stood side-by-side—both perfectly resembling Fan Biyu.

A gasp rippled through the crowd.

"That's the Flame Clone technique!" someone shouted.

"Flame Clone? Isn't that a Spirit Realm technique? How could Senior Sister Fan cast it with the limited qi of a Core Realm cultivator?"

"I don't know... maybe she has more qi than average cultivators?"

Liu Hua raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. But you do know you can't hide behind illusions from my eyes, right?"

""I know,"" both Biyus replied in perfect unison, their voices overlapping.

Without hesitation, Liu Hua lunged toward the Biyu on the right, ignoring the other.

Both Biyus smirked. The fake one stepped directly into Liu Hua's attack, taking her palm square in the chest—then bursting apart into a mass of crawling flames that latched onto Liu Hua’s arm.

"What...?" Liu Hua stared down at the flame in confusion. "I should be nearly immune to fire..."

She had no time to react. From within the swirling flames, Biyu’s real palm shot forward, aimed directly at her chest.

Liu Hua leapt backward, narrowly avoiding the blow, but another surge of flames exploded outward, latching onto her other arm. Now both her arms burned with fierce, scarlet fire.

Another gasp came from the spectators.

"No way! That can't be possible!" one girl cried out.

"What are you shouting about?" someone next to her demanded.

"That's one of the sect's semi-forbidden secret techniques! True Phoenix Fire!"

"Isn’t that the fire that can’t be extinguished until it runs out of qi to burn?"

"Yes, that’s the one!"

"Why is it only semi-forbidden?"

"Because you're not allowed to practice it without the second technique that puts the flames out! Otherwise, it could burn down the entire sect!"

"That doesn’t sound too bad..."

"You clearly don’t know what the second technique is, or you wouldn’t say that."

"...Well? Are you going to tell us?"

"Right. The second technique is the Flame Body technique. You have to self-immolate to train it—basically set yourself on fire. But if you survive, you gain an inner flame that you control completely, almost like an elemental affinity."

"Whoa, look at that!" someone shouted, pointing at the stage.

Fan Biyu was casting another technique—one the entire sect recognized instantly.

The Great Phoenix Technique.

Only this time, instead of summoning a towering phoenix high above the stage, Biyu called forth a smaller phoenix, about half her own height, which flared into existence before her, its wings blazing brightly.

On the other side, Liu Hua grimaced. Her arms, still tinged red, visibly trembled from the lingering pain of the phoenix fire.

Finally, after repeated attempts—using Wind, Water, and finally resorting to Fire—she managed to douse the flames by overwhelming them with raw Fire element.

But it had clearly cost her.

"Alright, clearly, I'm going to have to take this more seriously," Liu Hua said, as purple lightning crackled to life around her, accompanied by the low rumble of thunder.

Wind whipped across the stage. A dark cloud gathered above them, summoned by her elemental affinities—a full thunderstorm brewing over the arena.

Biyu glanced up at the rolling clouds with a grave expression, but she didn't pause the hand seals weaving between her fingers.

Moments later, a second phoenix appeared beside the first. Then a third, each one half her height, their scarlet wings fanning the air around her.

The crowd erupted in shocked whispers.

"Three phoenixes! That's first stage mastery of the Great Phoenix Technique!"

"What's that mean? Is it very special?"

"Of course it’s special! The Great Phoenix Technique has three stages—aside from the full manifestation. But no one in the sect's history, aside from the founder, has ever reached that final stage! Summoning three phoenixes means she's mastered the first stage!"

"What about the other two stages?"

"...I don't know..."

Liu Hua eyed the three phoenixes warily. "I didn’t expect you to master the first stage so soon," she said. "You’ve reached the same milestone as Sister Mei’er—and she was lauded as a genius back then."

"Same age," Biyu agreed, hands still flashing through seals. "But my cultivation is lower than Master's was at the time."

"Sure," Liu Hua said. "However, even Sister Mei’er never dared to practice the Flame Body Technique. Nearly suicidal, that one."

She raised her palms to the stormy sky.

"It's time," she murmured.

Above, the clouds rumbled in response.

"Caw!"

"Chirp!"

"Tweet!"

With a flurry of motion, Biyu’s three phoenixes cried out and broke away from her sides, their flaming forms streaking into the storm-churned sky.

Their battle had reached its crescendo.

In the stands, the crowd, the elders, even Jin Shu—all held their breath, on the edge of their seats, waiting for the finale.