Free Web NovelChapter 38: Another Battle of Xiao!
"The match has been concluded..." Luo Zhen’s amplified voice echoed with profound pride across the stadium. "The winner is Teng Haoran."
The arena instantly erupted into a deafening roar of applause and cheers, the crowd thoroughly entertained by the display of Teng clan’s talent. Teng Haoran simply gave a faint nod to the assistant master, turned on his heel, and walked away. There was no high celebration, no overt arrogance or mocking laughter. His face carried only the calm, terrifying confidence of a predator who had merely completed one of a daily quest.
Lin Yuan quietly watched the Teng clan’s youth return to the competitor stand, his mind analysing the techniques he had just witnessed.
’Teng Clan.’ Lin Yuan thought, his mind frantically storming with various thoughts. For the very first time since entering the academy, Lin Yuan became genuinely curious about the younger generation of that powerful authority clan. They clearly possessed cards that the average disciple couldn’t fathom. ’Humph.. I don’t have any support from my clan like this brat.’
Unfortunately, the gossiping spectators didn’t have long to think or discuss the implications of the match. Because the pace of the academy competition was relentless, and the next battle was already about to begin. The lingering gaze of the spectators caught the attention of Luo Zhen.
Luo Zhen, maintaining the rigid schedule, strolled sideways in the center of the arena with calm and pleasant expression. His gaze, sharp and unyielding, swept across the remaining competitors in the pavilion, momentarily pausing on specific names.
"The next battle." Luo Zhen’s voice boomed, cutting through the faint murmurs of the spectators. His gaze darted across the competitors. "Xiao Lanxue versus Lian Mei Lin."
"Another Xiao clan member?"
"Is she also the same as her brother?"
"Pchttt...."
Immediately, the new atmosphere became incredibly tense and suffocating again, a chilling frost seemingly descending upon the stadium. This sudden spike in anxiety wasn’t because of Xiao Lanxue’s known cultivation level, which was impressive but not infamous. It was because of her lineage. Everyone in the stadium knew exactly who she was; she was Xiao Yanrui’s younger sister, sharing the same monstrous bloodline. The spectators just thought that his sister was also the same as him.
Thud! Thud!
The two young women stepped onto the trenched battlefield, taking their respective positions.
Lian Mei Lin was a tall, slim girl with athletic features, whose silver-white essence crackled faintly with arcs of volatile blue lightning. She belonged to the Lightning-Boar pathway, a common beast pathway that was famous for explosive, unstoppable forward charges, immense physical durability, and devastating close-quarters physical attacks. But as she was only a Baby Beast Realm cultivator, the beast was not fully manifested. Inside her aperture, the boar cub was playing in the small pool of white beast essence. Lian Mei Lin’s expression was fierce, masking her inner nervousness with a display of sheer aggression.
Meanwhile, Xiao Lanxue’s appearance was completely different from Lian Mei Lin. She walked onto the stage with an uncanny grace. Her long, pale-blue hair flowed softly behind her like frozen silk, whipping beautifully against her dark traditional robes. Her expression remained perfectly calm, completely unconcerned by the thousands of eyes locked onto her. It was a cold, elegant countenance that seemed similar to the frozen peaks of the north. Behind her, a faint, translucent Ice-Serpent phantom lingered, its slithering form exuding a biting, sub-zero chill.
She is not like her brother Xiao Yanrui’s overt, bloodthirsty brutality, Xiao Lanxue felt dangerous but in another way. She didn’t feel like a raging beast. She felt like a hidden blade concealed in a velvet glove, waiting for the perfect moment to pierce a lethal thrust into opponent’s chest.
"Begin!" Luo Zhen shouted, stepping back.
Lian Mei Lin attacked immediately, knowing that allowing an ice cultivator to establish their domain was giving way to her own absolute defeat. The eerie white beast essence lightning exploded rigidly under her feet with a sharp crackle.
BOOM!
Using the electrical crackle to boost her muscles, she rushed forward hastily, her figure leaving a trail of scorched stone behind. She closed the distance in a flash, her fist, wrapped in a dense shroud of crackling lightning, descending ruthlessly toward Xiao Lanxue’s face.
But Xiao Lanxue didn’t panic, which may lead to lethal mistakes. With a relaxed, and lazy motion, she calmly stepped aside, her body tilting just enough to let the punch pass through the empty air beside her cheek.
The attack missed her effortlessly.
"Every disciple dodges the lethal attacks with precise movements, maintaining their calmness." For the first time, Lin Cangxuan spoke, appreciating the calmness of the disciples. "This year’s disciples will hail across the world."
The spectators immediately noticed something profound about her dodge. Her movements didn’t look like an athletic dodge; they resembled a stream navigating around a stone. There was no wasted motion, no panic in her eyes, and not a single shred of hesitation.
Lian Mei Lin’s face darkened, unable to digest the tactics of Xiao Lanxue. She pivoted on her heel and attacked again... again, and again. A flurry of Lian Mei Lin’s strikes rained down upon Xiao Lanxue vehemently. Each attack became faster, more aggressive, and more desperate as the seconds ticked away. But, no matter how wild or complex the strikes incoming were, Xiao Lanxue continued dodging, her feet sliding across the stone stage like a skater on ice.
The noisy spectators gradually shifted into eerie silence. The initial cheers faded into an eerie quiet because the veterans in the crowd finally understood the true nature of what they were witnessing. The battle wasn’t close at all. Lian Mei Lin wasn’t having an advantage, and it looked like she was fighting with huge efforts. Xiao Lanxue wasn’t even feeling much effort to dodge Lian Mei Lin’s attacks.
Every movement, every desperate punch , every second of the match, the Ice-Serpent cultivator ruled everything, intentionally leading her opponent into exhaustion. Eventually, when Lian Mei Lin’s breathing became ragged and her beast essence began to flicker, Xiao Lanxue raised her right hand for the first time in the match. freēwebnovel.com
The surrounding temperature instantly plummeted, following the raise of the hand. Cold, crystalline essence gathered around her slender fingers, condensing the moisture in the air into a single point.
"Ice Serpent Fang!"
WHOOSH!
With a casual jolt of her wrist down, a thin ice blade shot forward through the air. The attack appeared visually unstoppable, and harmless compared to the roaring lightning essence of her opponent.
CRACK!
The ice blade moved with high speed, piercing through Lian Mei Lin’s dense lightning defense and burying brutally deep into her right shoulder. Blood splashed onto the gray stone, instantly freezing into blood crystals as it hit the floor. The sheer concentration of the Fang attack is precise and controlled. The spectators in the viewing stand gasped in shock. One attack. One single, casual injury that bought the outcome of the battle.
"Tsk... that Xiao clan bastards..." Lian Nichang murmured, his voice was not heard by any other disciples.
Lian Mei Lin staggered backward, a painful groan oozing out from her lips. But she never lost the stubborn pride of the Lian clan’s members, she refused to surrender. She gritted her teeth heavily, her silver-white beast essence surging rapidly once more, crackling wildly as she forced her injured body to plunge again.
It was a courageous decision, born from a warrior’s sheer will. But in the grand scheme of cultivation, it was a foolish, fatal decision. Xiao Lanxue’s eyes remained unbothered by her opponent’s immense resolve. This time, she didn’t just flick her wrist. She extended three fingers.
In an instant, three identical, razor-sharp ice blades appeared out of thin air around her hand, absorbing the Qi along with her beast essence, humming with a chilling frost. She only used a slight beast essence from her aperture, but the control was precise enough to falter the opponent. This was the main thing a cultivator should know: Use the beast essence efficiently, Use the Qi efficiently to consume less beast essence and unleash strong attack. Only a few disciples in the academy follow this type of attack tactics. Natural Qi always depends on the concentration and will of the cultivator. Yet, Lian Mei Lin has an immense willpower, she lost her concentration due to rage.
WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!
The three streaks of frost tore through the battlefield instantly, leaving white trails in the air.
The first ice blade shattered Lian Mei Lin’s desperate, last-ditch lightning attack like brittle glass. The second blade struck her in the left side, fracturing her ribs. The third and final blade sliced cleanly across her right thigh, severing her power to sprint.
THUD!
Lian Mei Lin collapsed onto the battle stage vehemently, tumbling several times before coming to a halt. Her beast essence depleted completely, unable to maintain its form for replenishment through the shock, and the flickering Lightning-Boar phantom behind her vanished into the thin air.
A heavy silence spread throughout the arena. There was no brutal humiliation like Xiao Yanrui’s match, but the sheer, calculated efficiency of the victory was also terrifying as the humiliation of Xiao Yanrui.
Luo Zhen stepped forward, checking the fallen disciple’s vitals before raising his hand. "The winner... Xiao Lanxue." freёwebnoѵel.com
A polite and calm applause echoed across the stadium, the crowd struck with awe. Xiao Lanxue calmly turned around, her blue hair wavering gracefully, and walked away toward the competitor stands. She did not look back once at her defeated opponent, also she did not look at the cheering crowd.
But in the competitors’ stand, Lin Yuan watched the calm figures of the two siblings. ’Xiao Yanrui. Xiao Lanxue.’ Lin Yuan muttered, thinking of their mysterious calmness.
The younger generation of the Xiao Clan proved to be far stronger and more united than academy rumors had suggested. These brutally trained disciples were true prodigies; although their cultivation was only at the Baby Beast Realm, their combat prowess rivaled that of a Mid-stage Spirit Beast Realm cultivator. And for some reason, looking at the lingering frost on the stage and the Xiao clan siblings’ steadiness in the competitors’ stand, Lin Yuan felt a surge of anticipation in his own dantian. And Lin Yuan’s battle was also coming to a close.
’Today this academy will witness the true side of me!’ Lin Yuan straightened, a confident smirk lingering on his face gracefully.
