Within the roaring tycoon, two shadows flashed, appearing momentarily to exchange blows before hiding in the swirling water and air.

"How amazing." Li Hua couldn't help but mutter underneath her breath, "Yeah." Xue Yueliang agreed, stunned.

After ditching the heavy sword, he carried Mao Ya's speed increased exponentially, keeping up with the natural disaster-like scene Sun Wei had caused; however, the occasional stops he made to make a confident smile or a sober face interrupted the pace of the battle, making the scene jarring.

The inharmonious scene he caused did not bother Xue Yueliang, as her eyes glittered while watching the battle, startling her friend.

"Don't tell me you-"

"Hey, what face do you think he will make if I break his pretences?"

"Huh?" "Don't you think it will be wonderful?"

"What-" Li Hua was stunned, then laughed, "Can't believe I was worried for a second."

"Too bad I can't do anything for now." Xue Yueliang muttered, disappointed that she had no choice but to take the easy route.

"Why can't you?" Li Hua asked confused. "Wait- I haven't seen you use the Invinci-"

Before she could finish, Xue Yueliang covered her mouth with her hand, shutting her up.

She went close up to her, whispering into her ear, "Could you not talk about it? My master's enemies are watching, and I'm too weak to fight them off."

"So you're hiding from them?" Li Hua asked, her breath tickling the side of Xue Yueliang's neck.

Xue Yueliang frowned but was surprised she allowed Li Hua to get so close, "That must be so inconvenient." She sympathised.

Xue Yueliang let go of her, returning her attention to the battle, responding, "That's right, so I would prefer if you could keep this a secret."

"Promise," Li Hua smiled, raising her pinky before whispering to her, "But how do you plan on winning with one hand behind your back."

Without her mine technique, it could not be helped that she would be disadvantaged, but this was not something Xue Yueliang had not thought about, "He'll be too intoxicated to battle me," She winked, but her answer only caused more questions to appear in Li Hua's heart.

Looking at the confidence invXue Yueliang's gaze as she watched the battle, Li Hua relaxed, knowing that the answers would come to her in due time. During their short exchange, an unexpected change happened on the battlefield, as an enraged Sun Wei yelled out, "You dare trick me!"

Throughout the battle, he had kept one eye on Xue Yueliang, and her looking at him with glittery eyes invigorated him more, but the actions that followed...

"Is this you and Li Hua's scheme?"

Stopping right in the middle of a battle was never a good move, but Mao Ya did not take advantage of the wide opening he left, stopping too. Usually, he would have thought nothing of their actions, but their support of Xiang Qingge was fresh in his mind, angering him; Was she choosing a woman over me?

Somehow this was more insulting than choosing that Lei Jian fellow who even Qin Wen despised.

Xue Yueliang looked at him with indifference, the same gaze that made him decide he wanted to have her, but now it irked him. Xue Yueliang did not feel like explaining the misunderstanding; her use with Sun Wei had already ended; she understood Mao Ya's powers better, his earth-related attacks, and his deceptive speed. It did not matter if he quit right now.

Unlike her, LI Hua was not as calm, her eyes darting between Shi Ling and Sun Wei as she waved her arms, explaining, "I like Sh- I mean, I like someone else, Liang'er is just a friend, I- I like men."

Looking at the doubtful gazes landing on her, Li Hua nudged Xue Yueliang, "Tell them."

"Tell them what?" She replied, "That Sun Wei's masculinity is threatened by a girl?"

Mao Ya snorted at her reply, amused, as he spoke to Sun Wei, gently, like one speaking to a child, "I think you should forfeit now. You don't seem to be in the right mental state."

"I'll show you!" Sun Wei exclaimed angrily, attacking Mao Ya with double the force from before, his eyes were bloodshot, like those of a wounded beast, about to go berserk, and his attacks did not disappoint.

"Earthern Wall."

A large wall as tall and wide as a man appeared in front of Mao Ya, slowing down the attack but not managing to block it. Mao Ya crossed his arm, protecting his internal organs from being shattered, but was blown away.

"Maybe you want a bit too far?" Li Hua asked, stunned by the strong display of force.

"I thought you hated him?" Xue Yueliang replied, wondering if it would be okay to really kill Sun Wei. She was assured he would lose previously, but rage appeared to be a buffer for him.

"You know he will challenge me if he can't challenge you?" Li Hua pouted, "I can't back down and bring shame to my sect." Her gaze flitted toward Shi Ling, then added, "Or lose points in his eyes."

Li Hua would not be scared of fighting Sun Wei usually, but in a small arena, a long-distance fighter would naturally be at a disadvantage. A big part of why she managed to stay third was to protect the prestige of the Silver Armour Sect, and those who could challenge her did not wish to flaunt their strength for a position they couldn't get in a fair battle.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"Are you disappointed that Shi Ling didn't challenge you?" Xue Yueliang randomly asked, to which Li Hua nodded, "Yeah, but I understand. If he defeats me, he wants to defeat me in a fair battle."

Quickly returning to fan-girl mode, her gaze sparkled, "Proves his manners are as good as his looks."

"Imagine being so love-sick." Xue Yueliang replied, rolling her eyes, "I'm sorry for dragging you into this."

Her sudden apology surprised Li Hua, "You don't have to apologise," she replied, focussing on Hei Yu in her arms, "I was about to put your life in danger. I-"

"Accept an apology when you get one." Xue Yueliang cut her off, "I don't exactly apologise often. Besides, I should've explained that to you earlier, you didn't know, so you can't be at fault."

Her gaze landed on the Hei Yu, who still refused to get near her with worry, "Hei Yu-"

Boom.

A loud noise sounded, interrupting her words, and she looked back at the arena; a giant Earthern Wall was destroyed by Sun Wei's Oceanic Strike, leading to a cloud of dust exploding, covering up the two opponents within. Sun Wei struck again, clearing the dust in front of him, but to his surprise, Mao Ya was not there.

"Ugh."

He was struck at the back of his head, flying off like a ragged doll. Forming a backflip in mid-air, stopping at the end of the arena. The glint of a sword slashed through, but the area around Sun Wei was overtaken by dust clouds, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Mao Ya whispered. A startled cry came from Sun Wei's mouth as he fell off the edge. He broke off in cold sweat like he had seen a monster; contrasting him, the standing prince was calm and collected, extending his arm to help Sun Wei up, "That was a good battle," he started. "I didn't have such good exercise in a while."

Though he started amiably, the scorn in his voice could not be hidden, but unlike his usual character, Sun Wei's reaction was tame. Swatting his hand away, he muttered, "I can get up by myself."

He then got up, walking straight to wear the Hidden Ocean Sect's people gathered, not antagonising either Li Hua or Xue Yueliang.

"What just happened?" Li Hua questioned.

They both saw Sun Wei clearly regain his footing, so what made him fall off at the last minute? Xue Yueliang scanned the people around them, looking for any odd reactions, but only Dai Xing appeared to know what was going on, clicking his tongue in displeasure.

"I'll find out when I battle him," Xue Yueliang shrugged; there was less than half a day until the three-day period ended.

"When will you challenge him?"

"As soon as his rest period ends." She replied, "Well, whatever it was, he solved your problem."

Sun Wei appeared downcast and deep in thought; the anger he had shown previously was long gone. The rest period was two incense sticks worth of time, and in this tense atmosphere, it would pass in a moment.

Just as she thought things were more or less falling into place, an unpleasant voice sounded, "Xue Yueliang, I, Mo Mei, challenge you."

Xue Yueliang looked at her in annoyance, her stiff but angry features looked at her scornfully, but her stance was tense and heavy, showing she took the wariness she tried to hide.

"Seriously?" Xue Yueliang questioned, frustrated that she would jump up at this time.

"Of course," Mo Mei answered, controlling the anger in her voice. "Come up, or do you forfeit?"

Xue Yueliang was tempted to take the second option, but looking at Hei Yu's fierce gaze, she decided, why not?

"Do you want to battle her?"

She asked him gently, knowing he was still angry at her; I will not join if you want. Carefully, Hei Yu nodded, agreeing to her arrangement, jumping off Li Hua's arms and enlarging before landing in front of Mo Mei.

"Do you look down on me this much?!" Mo Mei screamed, but the only response she met was Hei Yu's growl.

"Will that be okay?" Li Hua asked, looking worried for his sake, but Xue Yueliang was unbothered, "It's until I can challenge Mao Ya, and I can forfeit whenever he is in danger."

Though Xue Yueliang said this, she did not believe Hei Yu would be in danger. Though Mo Mei was ranked twenty-third, she would not be a major threat to Heo Yu; she was strong enough to battle him, but not so strong she could overpower him.

Hopefully, he'll feel refreshed after battling it out with her. She did not like him being with Li Hua more than her; although she betrayed his trust, getting in danger or risking your life could not be helped in the world of cultivators. She was certain of her ability to jump back, but she did not know what she would do if Hei Yu were harmed; it was a situation that could not be helped.

"Why is he angry at you?" Li Hua asked, unable to hide her curiosity anymore.

"I keep putting my life in danger." Xue Yueliang answered without care, "But that's all a part of being a cultivator."

"He's afraid you're going to die?"

"Yeah. It's so burdensome for someone to care about you."

It was something she wished for in her past life, but who knew it would be so suffocating?

"That's unfair to him," Li Hua huffed, "Even me, with my good temper, would be angry if you acted like this."

"You don't have a good temper-" Xue Yueliang corrected but was interrupted, "Hei Yu is more than a spirit beast to you; he's also your companion and friend; it's not fair to expect him to not care about your death, especially when his life is directly connected to yours."

At that moment, Xue Yueliang felt her doubts were answered as she looked at Li Hua as if she was a sage, that's it.

He's worried about his life.

"You're right; I should've thought about his feelings more. My life or death is also his!"

Li Hua was startled by her zealous response and felt something was amiss, but she could not pinpoint what. "You should talk to him."

"Of course, I will," Xue Yueliang smiled, "Thanks for your insight."

Li Hua smiled, suppressing the doubts within her mind.

"I Pan Niu challenge Xue Yueliang." A young man with a large stature and overflowing vital energy yelled out, but Xue Yueliang dismissed him with a wave of her hand, "Can't you see I'm busy battling?"

"Pfft." Mo Luli laughed, sitting behind Yao Niang on a large fan embroidered with many symbols and runes, making it both exquisite and functional.

"Is that lady really the dragon of extreme yin? I thought she would be a lot less personable."

Though Xue Yueliang matched the description the princess gave her, she always imagined she would be colder and less easygoing, but she seemed to enjoy her time.

"I hadn't expected her to be like this either. Thankfully she's easy to get along with."

"Yeah, she seems to be good friends with the Silver Armour Sect's Li Hua. It's surprising, to say the least."

Their beliefs and ideals were very different; it was more believable for them to hate each other.

"Mhm," the princess quietly agreed, her gaze oddly fixated on Li Hua and how close they were.

Mo Luli noticed her odd mood and quieted down.

They had two weeks until they arrived at the Misty Mountain Range; Mo Luli smiled in anticipation, looking forward to meeting the person who gave Yao Niang the motivation to move for the betterness of herself and the kingdom.

"Hei Yu, stop playing around." Xue Yueliang said.

Mo Mei was pushed back by Hei Yu's large claws, but her arm guards shimmered, releasing energy that protected her. However, she left a wide opening in her hasty, though it was clear as day to both her and Hei Yu, he did not make a move to attack, choosing to drag the battle on.

"We have a real battle to get to." She continued.

She understood his anger and reason to vent but wasting more time with her was not in her plans. Though she did not wish to disappoint him, he had to bear with it for now.

Pan Niu's expression bettered slightly, but Xue Yueliang moved to an empty arena, not approaching him nor trying to join Hei Yu.

"Grr," Hei Yu bared his ivory teeth at Mo Mei but backed down, disgruntled, appearing by Xue Yueliang's side in a flash.

"I-" Pan Niu opened his mouth, but Xue Yueliang cut him off, not planning on allowing useless fodder to interrupt her plans.

"I, Xue Yueliang, challenge Third Prince Mao Ya to a duel."