Hu Qing rises from her seat the moment Qiu goes down. Paralyzed by indecision she stands frozen in place as Tai Hen approaches the motionless redhead. By the time she snaps out of it and begins to move it is already too late. The dagger drops and is caught by Ling’s blade.
Shun casts a brief glance back at her mistress’s back while she carries Qiu off. Turning away she bites her lip, desperately hoping this won’t be the nail in the coffin to Ling’s psyche. She calls Bao over to assist with Qiu’s treatment and together they depart from the banquet hall. Qing hesitates, torn between wanting to join them and knowing she couldn't do half as much to help as her sister can even if she does go. Distracted as they are not one of them notices the sly smile on Xueya’s face when the ice princess takes the stage. To risk facing an opponent stronger than her for a mere slave. The Lai has to suppress a laugh at the very tought.
After all, if even the heiress to the Steadfast Rock Sect can’t best Tai Hen, what hope does a mere 7th daughter of the Li patriarch have, one a year younger than the Shen to boot.
“Li Ling, twenty one years old. Sixth Stage Foundation establishment. Please advise.”
The crowd clamors at the reveal. Where before many envied her greatly for managing to gather such geniuses under her, now they begin to feel fear. Combing over all their past interactions in their mind to see if they’d given any offense to the young Li more than a few pale. For there can no longer be any doubt that she is a rising star. A hidden dragon the likes of which has not been seen within the northern regions in centuries. Xueya gulps, her eyes flicking to the Tai for the briefest moment before she catches herself.
With a pointed cough Du Juntao steps onto the stage. As someone just above the maximum participation age and with a reputation for being fair and honest his assignment as referee for this tournament was relatively undisputed as far as sect matters go. All of that passes through Ling’s mind in an instant while she offers a polite bow as courtesy demands, her eyes not leaving Tai Hen for even the slightest moment.
“Lady Tai, as you have already fought a match today you are not obligated to accept another. Do you consent to participating?” He asks in a calm, even tone.
“I hardly broke a sweat. This fight will be just as quick.” Tai replies with mockery rife in her voice
“It shall be.” Ling adds coldly.
“Very well then,” Juntao responds in a resigned tone. “Contestants, please take your places. On my mark. Begin!”
Dropping his arm he declares the start and promptly vanishes off stage. Not a moment too soon as both combatants immediately go on the offense. With a swish of her fan Li Ling sends a flurry of ice shards flying across the arena. Standing at the center of the maelstrom she directs all wind to circle around her so as to stop any more of Hen’s qi from reaching her. A cruel laugh echoes through the storm as the Tai reaches into a hidden pocket within her sash and pulls out a variety of sharp pieces of metal; shards from a broken dagger not unlike the one she is holding right now. She squeezes them tightly into her palm until blood drips on to the floor and throws the entire bundle towards Ling with the full force of a 7th stage. Using her fan to forcefully counter her own storm Ling casts the raging winds aside before the shards can turn the shielding zephyr into a veritable deathtrap.
The metal bursts the moment she does so, spreading Tai Hen’s qi across the arena. A wave of intense cold follows flash freezing all the moisture in the air. Feeling her qi move just the slightest bit more sluggishly Ling cycles fire qi through her veins to purge the Tai’s, the steam leaking out of her pores masked by the freezing mist before one more flick of the fan restores Ling’s visibility. The angry snarl that flashes across her face vanishes back beneath her emotionless mask long before the mist does. Bringing her blade up she deflects Hen's dagger and freezes herself to the ground to parry the next, the blows surprisingly heavy for belonging to a cultivator but one stage higher than herself. Following up her parry with a counter her sword narrowly nicks cloth as the Tai twists back in a dodge that makes her chest thrust out as if to mock the ice princess.
Turning the dodge into a somersault a blade extends from the tip of her shoes and slashes at Ling’s torso. With but the slightest lean the point harmlessly passes the ice princess by, a mocking grin on the Tai’s face as she puts an arm below her breasts to puff them up. Ling cranes an eyebrow at the woman’s mockery, entirely unaffected by it. She questions the wisdom of trying to anger an ice cultivator actively channeling their qi before she catches herself. A delaying tactic. One that she is falling for.
Her robes billow as frozen wind bursts from every pore. A wave of her fan sends a crescent of snow towards the Tai, every flake’s edge sharp as a knife. Frost spreads across the floor and icy vines burst from it to lock the woman in place. Following in the crescent’s wake like an arrow loosed Ling thrusts her blade straight at Hen’s heart, ice crystals forming on her fan even before she arrives.
Tai Hen inhales deeply and blows her scent arts hard enough to dissipate the crescent and cover Ling in her qi. Ignoring the frost and tearing through the vines with brute force she dodges to the ice princess’s left only to be met by a burst of wind and ice crystals tearing sharp cuts through her clothes and into her flesh. Sent flying she barely manages to remain on her feet, a maniacal growl forcing its way through her clenched teeth. She glares venomously and sends another palmful of shards flying towards her opponent before charging after them like a raging bull.
A white rose meets her halfway, the shards bouncing off the hardened ice with nary a scratch before her opponent bursts through and steals the initiative. Slowed by the invading cold she fails to raise her dagger in time as Ling’s Jian scythes towards her. Yet she is not the only one affected by their opponent’s techniques. The myriad cuts across the Tai’s body drip fragrant blood, its scent spread thickly throughout the arena. The hastily put up barrier around it prevents the audience from being affected but Ling has no such protection. Her cut ends up shallow, a horizontal line near the bottom of Hen’s ribs spilling even more of the crimson liquid across the floor.
She wants to cut more. A slight smile begins to form on her face as she envisions the woman painted in red, her lifeblood spurting through the air with ever heartbeat. Like gemstones the frozen droplets would gleam-
Biting the inside of her cheek she cuts the thought short. She needs to end this now before the crazed woman’s qi infects her even more. Taking a deep breath she grips her sword with both hands and channels both fire and ice through her veins. Tai Hen leaps back, the sudden clarity in the Li’s eyes sending shivers down her spine.
The temperature drops even further, the stone beneath their feet beginning to crack and shake as frost tears it apart. Cai Yuu, Lai Xueya and Du Juntao all jump to their feet. Nor is it just them. Many amongst those of the White Rose Sect have the same reaction and even some of the more knowledgeable vassals stare wide-eyed. “It can’t be…” Cai Yuu whispers. Du Juntao gulps and gathers his qi, readying himself to end the duel at any moment. Amongst all those present he is perhaps best acquainted with the technique Ling is about to use. So it is that he alone knows the risk that comes with it and the fact that it is not one that can be used by those below Core Formation without tearing themselves apart. And even then.
Ling is utterly ignorant to the hubbub she’s created. Her full, undivided focus is on the flow of her qi and the enemy in front of her. For she can see Tai Hen in no other way. An enemy. Remembering what she’s been taught, one teaching in particular rings true. Only one path exists for the enemies of a Li. Complete and utter annihilation.
Quiet falls over her as even the air freezes, utter stasis capturing every shard of ice and flake of snow in place. Masked by the humongous amount of ice qi surrounding her she channels fire qi through her veins to sustain her existence while she channels ever more of her ice qi into the technique. Her hair turns white and the rock beneath her feet turns to dust, the bonds holding it together freezing and shattering down to the smallest components. Ever so slowly she raises her blade, the mere motion cutting a gash into the air. Eyes blue as the ice at the center of a glacier focus on Tai Hen like a hawk spotting its prey. The woman’s weapon drops from her grasp and shivers run down her spine.
When Ling’s swing reaches its peak the world seems to stop, not even a single speck of dust moving within the arena. She stands as the very picture of elegance, blade upraised and hair billowing behind her while her face remains impassive. Color fades as light fails to reach, the absence of motion leaving the ice princess’s words inaudible to all but herself.
“Absolute Zero.”
Swinging her jian downwards the world regains motion, an endless avalanche of white rocketing towards the Tai. Pure elation shows on Hen’s face at the sight of her opponent.
“...sister?”
The barrier breaks instantly, the very qi it consists of frozen and brittle sending Hen crashing into the wall. The moment it shatters such an intense cold radiates out it chills all in the hall to the bone. The deluge does not abate, pelting Tai Hen with ever more ice until her skin is shredded and her body too frozen to move. Finally it ends and a single wisp of steam escapes out of Ling’s lips as she exhales, her hair slowly turning dark once more starting at the roots. Not a single person dares breathe, seemingly as frozen as the Tai as they await her words.
“Such is the fate of those that cross a Li.” She states with such coldness it sends fear through many a heart. With a slow, purposeful stride she marches down the hall and out the door, not even a single glance spared to her opponent as her steps echo throughout the stillness, the entire room so quiet one could hear a pin drop. Only when she leaves do people remember to breathe, many of the weaker ones having passed out outright.
Lai Xueya’s eyes follow the ice princess the entire way out, a tremble running up her arm and down her spine as she slowly begins to realize the magnitude of her mistake.
i loved the fight
Thank you!