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One of the tails whipped out and seized Tang Qi Hong's fallen sword, while another wrapped around the bow. Tang Qi Hong continued to wield her spear personally, and she thrust it forward at Bai Ning Xue, who deflected it with her sword.
The tail holding the bow curled up, and through some mystical maneuver I couldn't decipher, fired off a volley of fiery arrows that forced Bai Ning Xue to retreat. However, the bow wouldn't cease, firing off a second barrage of incendiary projectiles. The silver-haired girl narrowed her eyes, and swung her sword, unleas.h.i.+ng a ma.s.sive arc of electricity that decimated the bombardment of flaming arrows before they could reach her.
Boom!
Fire collided with lightning, resulting in a huge explosion that sent tremors across the coliseum. The spectators held their breaths as they squinted through the smoke, trying to make out the vicious conflict that was taking place within.
They weren't disappointed.
A fiery tail lashed out of the smoke, curled downward and struck at an evading Bai Ning Xue, who jumped out to avoid getting eviscerated. She struck at another tail with her sword, lightning wreathing her blade, and parried it. A third tail emerged to stab at her with blazing fury, but a lightning tiger emerged out of nowhere and bit it, clawing at the fiery form. The tail recoiled, as if in pain, before it smashed the poor lightning tiger against the reinforced wall.
"Hah!"
Das.h.i.+ng out from the smoke, Tang Qi Hong thrust her spear at Bai Ning Xue, who barely deflected her attack in the nick of time. While the two girls engaged in brutal close combat, exchanging several dozen strikes in under ten seconds, the pack of lightning tigers and nine fiery tails clashed in the background, incinerating or clawing each other.
"!"
While Bai Ning Xue fought off Tang Qi Hong's spear, one of the tails managed to escape the tigers and slashed at her with Tang Qi Hong's sword. Bai Ning Xue succeeded in parrying it before she threw her head back to dodge a stab from the point of Tang Qi Hong's spear. Tang Qi Hong then brought her spear down to smack Bai Ning Xue's lowered form, but the latter managed to whirl away just as the spear slammed down onto the ground.
Tang Qi Hong pressed on with her advantage. She stepped in to thrust her spear forward, but Bai Ning Xue fought it off. The two of them exchanged a couple more of furious exchanges before springing apart in a shower of sparks.
Throwing a hand up, Bai Ning Xue proclaimed something in a cold, calm manner.
"Heavenly Thunder Tiger Crash."
A ma.s.sive lightning bolt descended from the dark clouds that hung on the ceiling and streaked toward Tang Qi Hong. However, the blond girl merely remained calm. One of her nine fiery tails whipped forward and produce a huge s.h.i.+eld. The st.u.r.dy spirit armament withstood the ma.s.sive tiger-shaped lightning bolt, merely fuming after the collision.
"Ho…"
Bai Ning Xue's lips curled up slightly when she saw that, but she did not break her composure. Instead, she went into the offensive and dashed forward with her sword. Escorted by a pack of her remaining lightning tigers, she weaved and dodged through the fiery curtain of nine tails to close in with her opponent.
Two…three, no, four of her lightning tigers were obliterated as they sold their lives dearly to buy their mistress time to close the gap and evade the tails. Bai Ning Xue made full use of their sacrifice and slashed down on Tang Qi Hong.
Clang!
Having antic.i.p.ated that, Tang Qi Hong blocked her swing with her spear. Twirling her spear, she exchanged several more blows with Bai Ning Xue. Putting her full weight behind her weapon, she momentarily succeeded in driving Bai Ning Xue back a few steps.
But Bai Ning Xue was not to be stopped.
She spun around, ducked under a swing from Tang Qi Hong, and then responded with a riposte that almost stabbed into Tang Qi Hong's shoulder. The latter dropped slightly, then brought her spear up to deflect the blade, then whirled around to knock Bai Ning Xue back.
The nine tails curled upward before smas.h.i.+ng down onto Bai Ning Xue's position, forcing her to jump away. The one holding the bow unleashed a relentless volley of flaming arrows, which Bai Ning Xue had to evade while contending with the eight other tails. She responded by throwing a pack of lightning tigers and lightning bolts into the mix, pressuring Tang Qi Hong into the defensive with her s.h.i.+eld while the tails cut apart the decimated pack of lightning tigers.
However, Bai Ning Xue was far from finished. She conjured a whole new pack of lightning tigers from the clouds, the lot of them bellowing silently as they descended down like thunderous angels with claws and fangs.
Tang Qi Hong reacted by retracting her fiery tails and then launching them into the sky. The tails unfurled and extended, turning into blazing beams that incinerated the incoming pack of lightning tigers. Those that survived continued to bear down upon her, and Tang Qi Hong twirled her spear about before cutting them down.
"!"
While she was momentarily distracted by the tigers, Bai Ning Xue had crept in close to launch a sneak attack. Twisting around and avoiding a claw from one of the lightning tigers, which was promptly smacked into oblivion by a single fiery tail, Tang Qi Hong barely deflected the slash from Bai Ning Xue, who pressed on with her advantage.
"You wanted to sneak up on me?" Tang Qi Hong sneered as she twirled her spear defensively. "It won't be that easy!"
"I know."
Bai Ning Xue smiled slightly, and then her blade crackled with golden lightning and flared to life. The collision of energies exploded between them, hurling Tang Qi Hong away. The blond girl hit the ground and then quickly rolled back to her feet.
"Huff…!"
However, Tang Qi Hong wasn't allowed even the briefest of respite. Bai Ning Xue was already in her face, swinging her sword at her.
"!"
Tang Qi Hong successfully parried the crackling blade with her spear, despite almost being taken by surprise. She narrowed her eyes.
"Did you think this would work?"
"No. but this will."
"?!"
A ma.s.sive discharge of electricity leaped off Bai Ning Xue's sword and struck Tang Qi Hong, even as she tried to raise her spear in reflex to deflect it. She cried out in pain as she staggered back, and was knocked off her feet despite parrying Bai Ning Xue's strike. Electricity continued to run through her body, sending her into spasms.
"This is…!"
"A technique from the White Tiger Sect," Bai Ning Xue replied calmly. "Lightning Strike. The most basic of techniques, but often even the simplest attacks can be the most effective."
Tang Qi Hong gritted her teeth as she writhed on the ground, but her body refused to respond to her. Paralyzed momentarily, she glanced up as Bai Ning Xue pointed her sword at her, golden lightning continuing to arc off her blade.
"Do you surrender?"
"Like h.e.l.l!"
Spitting in rage, Tang Qi Hong revolved the fiery qi inside her body, clas.h.i.+ng the yang against the yin and forcibly discharging the electricity from her body. Blood dripped from her lips, but she paid no heed to the internal damage that she had just suffered and instead lunged at Bai Ning Xue.
The silver-haired girl seemed to have antic.i.p.ated that, deflecting Tang Qi Hong's spear in a calm and calculated manner. Instead, she spun around and slashed at Tang Qi Hong, who stumbled back clumsily to parry the strike. Her earlier elegance gone, Tang Qi Hong desperately defended against Bai Ning Xue's relentless barrage of sword strikes, sparks flying as metal kissed metal. She found herself pushed back despite having the more advantageous weapon.
"Kuh!"
"Is it my imagination, or has Qi Hong's movements gotten slower?" Lian Rou asked, concerned. Tong Xue shook his head.
"No you are correct. Qi Hong has definitely gotten a little slower."
"It's the effects of Bai Ning Xue's Lightning Strike," I murmured. My Heaven and Earth qi sense was picking up the debilitating currents of electric qi that continued to run within Tang Qi Hong's body. It seemed like she didn't have time to completely discharge all of the invasive lightning. "It's clogging up Qi Hong's qi and inhibiting her movements."
"Oh no!" Lian Rou covered her mouth, horrified. "Then what should she do?"
"She needs more time to discharge all the electric qi in her body," I replied. "But Bai Ning Xue obviously isn't going to give her the time to do it."
Tong Xue swallowed. "The match…it has been decided, hasn't it?"
"Not yet," I snapped. My fingers turned white as I tightened my grip on the handrail just in front of the window. "I have faith in her."
Unfortunately, Tang Qi Hong was currently pushed back. Even though she hadn't given up, it was clear that she was at a distinct disadvantage. Bai Ning Xue's blade streaked forward in blinding arcs, slas.h.i.+ng her and cutting open her skin. Thin red lines of blood dripped across Tang Qi Hong's snow-white skin, while the fabric of her uniform was getting cut apart by Bai Ning Xue's precise attacks. Tang Qi Hong was dodging many of her opponent's attacks by just a single thread, and those signs were evident on her diminis.h.i.+ng uniform.
"Ugh!"
Trying not to let frustration get the better of her, Tang Qi Hong tried to rein it in and be more patient. However, as the battle progressed, it was clear that she would be at an increasing disadvantage the longer the match dragged on. Her movements were getting slower and more injuries were appearing, whereas Bai Ning Xue's strikes seemed to be getting swifter and more accurate. Even if Tang Qi Hong survived for the moment, she would eventally succ.u.mb to a thousand shallow cuts.
Knowing this, Tang Qi Hong realized that she had to gamble on an all or nothing strike.
"Thunderous Descent."
However, Bai Ning Xue was not one who would allow her opponent the chance to fight back. Aware of that, she suddenly delivered a powerful attack that almost knocked Tang Qi Hong's spear out of her hands and sent her flying across the coliseum.
"Ah!"
Tang Qi Hong landed onto the ground, but managed to just barely roll to her feet. Leaning on her spear as she struggled to rise to her feet, she was forced to dive away when Bai Ning Xue unleashed a powerful lightning bolt that seared the place where she had occupied earlier.
"Nine Fire Fox Tails!"
Recognizing how bleak the situation had turned, Tang Qi Hong withdrew her nine fiery tails, disengaging them from combat with the lightning tigers. A volley of fiery arrows bombarded Bai Ning Xue's position, but the silver-haired girl destroyed them with a single swing of her sword. Even so, she was forced to jump back when several torrents of flames streamed forth from the tails, incinerating huge swathes of the coliseum.
"This won't be enough to defeat me," Bai Ning Xue warned, her glacial eyes glaring coldly at the waving tails. Her lightning tigers gathered around her, resembling a golden entourage of honor guard. They growled silently, preparing themselves to defend their mistress from the nine tails.
"I know. I never meant to defeat you with them." Tang Qi Hong smiled. "They were only meant to buy me time."
"?!"
Raising her spear and spinning it above her head, Tang Qi Hong conjured a gigantic fireball that was several times the size of her. Her nine tails had retracted to generate the flaming qi needed for the immense fireball before they launched it at Bai Ning Xue.
So huge was the fireball that there was no s.p.a.ce for Bai Ning Xue to dodge. Not that she intended to. The moment Tang Qi Hong had begun her attack, she had responded with a gigantic lightning bolt of her own.
"Heavenly Lightning Void Strike."
The clouds roiled about and another gigantic lightning bolt erupted from within, arcing forward to meet the immense fireball. Another devastating detonation rocked the entire coliseum, knocking most of the spectators off their feet and shattering the reinforced window again.
d.a.m.n, there was no use reinforcing the viewing gla.s.s if they always got shattered so easily. I was getting tired of describing them as reinforced when that term was turning out to be utterly meaningless. Oh, well. Whatever.
Even though the maelstrom of smoke still churned with electricity and sparks, the two girls dashed forward to attack each other again. Tang Qi Hong thrust her spear forward, maximizing her greater reach to attack her opponent first. Bai Ning Xue twisted her body in midair, just narrowly avoiding the spear, and then countered with a riposte that almost stabbed Tang Qi Hong in the gut if she hadn't whirled away.
Both girls literally waltzed past each other before they turned around to clash their weapons in a collision that sent shockwaves rippling throughout the wrecked coliseum. Without any hesitation, the two girls each took a step back and exchanged several blows that were almost too fast for the human eye to see.
"Whoa…"
"Incredible…"
"They're so fast that I can't follow their movements at all!"
"As expected…the two strongest girls in Wu Ling Academy…"
"Shouldn't this be the finals or semifinals instead of the last 16?"
It was a pity, a pity indeed. But the same could be said of many matches. Many of the students stood out as prodigies in their own right, geniuses rivaled only by each other. The whole ranking thing was stupid to begin with. The tournament wasn't a proper judge of our rankings, to be honest. Why was it that we had to rank some people higher and some people lower?
Couldn't we just accept that everyone had a fair chance of beating everyone else, and that we were all roughly equal? We all had different strengths and weaknesses, and sometimes luck had a hand in whether we could bring those strengths out in their full potential.
Boom!
Another explosion rocked the coliseum and the two combatants were forced apart. However, they threw fire and lightning at each other at the exact same time. The elements clashed in a volatile mix that ignited a blazing, crackling wall between them.
Roaring, the lightning tigers charged through the s.h.i.+mmering wall, only to be met by the nine fiery fox tails that clubbed them to the ground. Several of the tails continued to wield weapons, slas.h.i.+ng with a sword, defending with a s.h.i.+eld, bombarding with fiery arrows…and even now, new weapons were being produced, such as an axe that cleaved lightning tigers into two, or a hammer that pulverized them into nothingness.
The tails that remained unarmed were no less deadly, striking with unrestrained ferocity and uncanny precision. More lightning tigers dissipated or were incinerated as the tails slammed down on them, obliterating them from existence.
Undaunted by the death and destruction taking place around them, the two girls clashed and traded blows in the center of the coliseum again, surrounded by blazing tails and crackling tigers that whipped or clawed at their enemies. Sparks flew, fire and lightning swirling around the two in a violent vortex that almost obscured them from the spectators' sights. It wasn't just their opponents' weapons that they had to watch out for. The two girls had to keep a cautious eye on the fire and lightning that danced around them.
I had no idea how many mental calculations they were doing in their minds to keep up their elemental battle, and they were expending copious amounts of qi at the same time. Granted, Tang Qi Hong had about three s.e.xagenaries of qi, and Bai Ning Xue, despite not having received much artificial qi as well, still had a fair amount of it herself.
As if embodying their will, the lightning tigers and the fiery fox tails continued to clash violently, wielding weapons either forged or innate to them to tear each other apart. The battle didn't seem to have an end, as each fiery tail simply regenerated whenever they received damage, the flames expanding quickly to plug gaps, and new lightning tigers were being conjured by Bai Ning Xue whenever their numbers diminished severely.
Yet even though the battle had dragged on for so long, neither of them appeared to be running out of qi. They both continued to go strong, throwing huge attacks and literally tearing the coliseum apart.
On that note, they probably needed to redesign the coliseum's structure, which were clearly meant to withstand martial artists of the past – those who didn't receive so much artificial qi – and not those with absurd quant.i.ties of qi.
"Heavenly Tiger Thunderbolt."
"Heavenly Nine Fire Tails Strike!"
The two girls launched their ultimate attacks, no longer holding anything back. A gigantic tiger erupted from the dark clouds, which dissipated immediately, bellowing as it descended upon Tang Qi Hong's position. At the same time, the nine tails dropped whatever weapons they were holding and lunged forward, flaring more brightly than ever.
The thunderbolt in the form of a tiger met the nine fiery tails and exploded. Again, the tremendous shockwaves that reverberated across the coliseum knocked people off their feet and even knocked several of them out. As spectators sprawled across the floor, a huge conflagration rolled out of the now open shattered window and engulfed the spectators.
Or would have, if the teachers hadn't stepped in to contain the breach. Teacher Jiao and Teacher Cai quickly conjured a qi barrier that halted the flames and lightning in their tracks, preventing them from expanding into the spectator box.
"Is it…finally over?"
Tong Xue noticed that there were no longer any more reverberations, and the qi signatures of both Tang Qi Hong and Bai Ning Xue had stabilized. No…they felt low, the lowest they had been ever since the battle began.
Neither of them were attacking or defending. It appeared that the match was finally over. But we had no idea who had won.
"Ugh…"
Ban Zhang crawled to his feet, shaking his head. Beside him, Zhu Jiao stirred and slowly rose up, his expression grim.
"Qi Hong! Is Qi Hong all right?"
Lian Rou was concerned about her best friend, as always, and she was jumping up and striding toward the broken window as quickly as possible. Feeling similarly anxious, I also made my way across the shattered gla.s.s and peered into the arena below.
Electrostatic and combustible smoke was still drifting across the coliseum, obscuring large swathes of our vision. Even so, we could barely make out two figures in the fumes, their weapons barely raised.
"Qi Hong…"
Lian Rou's voice was a whisper. My shoulders slumped as I studied her.
Tang Qi Hong was leaning against her spear, kneeling on the ground. Blood dribbled from her mouth, and she glared up at the standing Bai Ning Xue.
"It's over. You've lost."
Bai Ning Xue issued a cold declaration as she stared cooly at her opponent. Tang Qi Hong gritted her teeth in frustration, and her grip tightened around her spear.
"D…d.a.m.n it…"
Not even a retort or a reb.u.t.tal. Tang Qi Hong was aware that her opponent was right. She lowered her head and slammed a fist against the ground.
"d.a.m.n it!"
Bai Ning Xue then glanced up at a stunned Teacher Cai, as if expecting him to say something. He blinked, confused, and then nodded in sudden understanding.
"The match has concluded. The winner is Bai Ning Xue."
Bai Ning Xue then turned and departed, leaving Tang Qi Hong to gnash her teeth in frustration alone in the devastated arena.
No one cheered. I didn't know if it was from shock, or from awe. Most of the spectators had probably predicted a Bai Ning Xue victory, but they were undoubtedly impressed by Tang Qi Hong's performance. It just didn't feel right to…
Clap, clap.
Taking a deep breath, I began to clap my hands.
"You did a great job, Qi Hong!" I shouted. "You fought her all the way to the very end, and cornered her!"
My friends glanced at me, and then began to join in.
"Yeah! Excellent work, Qi Hong!" Tong Xue yelled. "You taught her not to underestimate you!"
"You've proven yourself!" Ban Zhang agreed. "You did well!"
"You were amazing, Qi Hong!" Lian Rou called out as she clapped as hard as she could.
I could see the tears in her eyes as she sought to encourage her best friend, but I didn't mention it. I knew Tong Xue was aware of it too, especially when he subtly s.h.i.+fted to s.h.i.+eld her from the view of the other spectators.
Not that they noticed.
The spectators, roused by our applause, began to join in. Standing, rising to their feet, or just sitting, everyone began to clap. Surprisingly enough, even the teachers joined in, with Teacher Jiao nodding his head in quiet approval.
Tang Qi Hong couldn't help but look up, her eyes br.i.m.m.i.n.g from tears. There was still frustration in them, yes, but there was also a hint of pride.
Even if Tang Qi Hong hadn't won the match, she had at least won the hearts of everyone here.
*
"Are you all right, Qi Hong?"
Lian Rou hurried forward and helped her up as Tang Qi Hong limped into the changing room. She nodded and then slumped onto a chair.
"We should get you to the infirmary," I suggested. Tang Qi Hong closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she allowed herself to be escorted to the infirmary.
"There you are."
When we stepped into the infirmary, Teacher Yi looked up from another student she was treating. While the round of 16 was going on, the other students from the group stages were having their ranking matches as well.
Teacher Yi had Tang Qi Hong sit on a bed and examined her, before nodding in satisfaction.
"I've to say, for a match that intense, I'm relieved to see that your injuries aren't severe."
She placed a hand on Tang Qi Hong's shoulder and healed her up. Green qi flowed gently from her palm and into Tang Qi Hong's body, and her injuries vanished from sight.
"There you go. Take it easy for the rest of the night and you should be back to a hundred percent tomorrow."
Teacher Yi patted Tang Qi Hong and gestured for her to leave. The blond girl nodded silently and sullenly rose. While she headed out of the infirmary, Teacher Yi beckoned for Lian Rou to come over and leaned in to whisper something into her ear.
"Keep an eye on Student Tang, will you?"
"Eh? I thought you said she'll be all right tomorrow."
Teacher Yi nodded. "I mean physically. But mentally…"
"Ah." Lian Rou nodded and swallowed. "I understand."
I glanced at them from a distance, but I made sure to accompany Tang Qi Hong as she stepped out of the infirmary. Tong Xue and Ban Zhang exchanged glances, not knowing what to do. Neither did I, but sending the two of them a look for help brought no solutions.
Of course, Zhu Jiao wasn't present. He most likely went to look for Bai Ning Xue.
It's better this way.
His presence would only have made the situation worse. Feeling a little apprehensive, I stepped to Tang Qi Hong's side.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes." Physically, anyway. But she seemed down and frustrated. It was only natural, given what had just occurred.
However, right now she was avoiding eye contact with me, turning her face slightly to keep it out of view from anyone. That was not a good sign. Understanding her current emotional state, I wisely kept my distance.
"Let's go back," I suggested."
"Yes." Tang Qi Hong hesitated. Then she shook her head. "I'm sorry. I want to be alone for now, if you don't mind."
"Go." Lian Rou had appeared and quickly rejoined us. She waved us away. "I'll make sure that Qi Hong returns to the infirmary safely."
The three of us guys glanced at each other uncertainly, but knowing there was nothing more that we could do, we nodded. Feeling uneasy, we just stood there and watched as the two girls continued down the corridor.
Looking at Tang Qi Hong's back, something stirred my heart. I just couldn't bear to see her looking so miserable.
"Qi Hong!" I called out. She continued moving a couple of steps forward, but stopped. She didn't turn back, though. But I knew she was listening, so I continued. "I'll take revenge for you! If I meet Bai Ning Xue in the next round, I'll definitely crush her!"
"…"
Tang Qi Hong didn't seem to respond for a moment, and Lian Rou tightened her grip on her arm in concern. But then, without turning around, Tang Qi Hong nodded once in a slow manner.
"I'll be counting on you then, Wu."
With that, she disappeared from the corridor along with Lian Rou.
