For Kierra, Mie Xieren was akin to an attention-hungry child.

She needed to be showered with affection, or else she would become distant again—the line was highly dubious. She was also very dependent on the archwizard, often wanting to accompany her or to be a part of her doings. Although Mie Xieren was undoubtedly older than Kierra, she felt like a younger, more juvenile human to her.

However, on the battlefield, Mie Xieren—the undisputed abbess of the ever-powerful sect, Emei—was known as the juggernaut, the apex predator of a thousand wars. Wielding her powerful water spells that stemmed from her top-tier water root, she would sweep thousands of enemies off of the battlefield in a matter of seconds.

The figure of a lone woman with her red eyes gleaming a deadly, cold, murderous light had long been imprinted in her enemies' minds, if they were alive, at least.

Faced with such an imposing force, the unorthodox folks couldn't help but be oppressed. Left and right, the water torrents were still taking out their allies, yet they found no desire to go against Mie Xieren.

''What are you idiots doing?! Advance!''

That was if they were not of the same caliber as her. Quickly taking control of the battlefield with her stern voice, a woman standing on top of the giant knight glared through her veil. This was Cao Jian - the Sect leader of Veiled Rage.

Veiled Rage - A demonic sect taking the route of 'controlled' berserk to gain temporary power. That said, it didn't mean that they were weak in normal cases. With the sect leader herself marching on with her signature puppet, the battle resumed soon.

As it was, Cao Jian raised her right hand, in turn making her puppet raise its sword, which was as big as a mountain, intending to crush Mie Xieren at once. In response, the abbess lightly flicked her small obsidian sword, gathering mana into its blade.

Soon, a blizzard suddenly appeared around her, extending outward with incredible speed. A whole section of the battlefield was affected, creating a snowfield that was Mie Xieren's domain.

Within, her red eyes once again shone with a deadly light.

'Watch me, Kierra.'

Pulling both sources of energy inside her and making them swirl around her sword, she kept draining out more and more until those layers on the blade were as thick as a wall, and the size of it had almost matched the giant's.

For once, she remembered Kierra's lesson.

"Qi and mana do not seem to get along well in nature. When relying on both, one should generally avoid overlapping them. If not careful, this could lead to disastrous consequences."

''How do you know this...?''

''Experiments. Experiments are every wizard's origin.''

She still remembered that day. When Kierra drew a bit of both qi and mana before mashing them together, creating an explosion so powerful she thought the whole building was going to be destroyed. Yet, that showcase made her think—what if she could use this reaction in battles?

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

Suddenly feeling a rush of excitement, Mie Xieren created a slab of ice in the air before kicking herself away hundreds of meters, successfully dodging the giant blade and the immense wind currents it carried. Then, she held her sword parallel to the ground, and with a light push, the mesh of mana and qi rushed forward like an avalanche.

'What is she doing?!'

On the other side, Cao Jian was panicking. Clearly, attacking when one's qi hadn't materialized was a dumb move. The opponent, which in this case was her, could easily intercept it!

However, she knew Mie Xieren wasn't normal, so she promptly created a myriad of arrays to protect herself. Layers of shield appeared in the air, anticipating the attack.

Drops of sweat ran down Cao Jian's back, even though she should be winning right now. It was her instinct screaming at her!

As if to prove that premonition, the second the rush of energy came closer to the shield, Mie Xieren narrowed her eyes, simultaneously triggering the transformation of qi to water and mana to ice. Rapidly blooming in the air right now were millions of half-water, half-glacial flowers, ones that would soon prove to be as deadly as their creator.

The violent chain reaction began at the base, where Mie Xieren could feel her blade trembling. Soon after, the two sources' very natures clashed, resulting in colorful sparks running through the whole column.

CRACK—!

Everyone held their breath.

——————————————————————!!!!!

An explosion akin to that of a dying star took over the battlefield. Blinding light covered the sky and earth, and the land everyone was standing on shook violently. When everything was settled, they found that the proud giant of Cao Jian now had a deep, painfully deep crater on its chest—its arms were blown away, lying in pieces on top of the newly formed ice field behind it.

''Ugh...!''

Cao Jian herself, also suffered immensely from the attack despite her defensive effort, held her chest in pain.

'W-What just happened...?!'

Peeking through her tattered veil, she could see a relatively exhausted Mie Xieren. The spell was indeed challenging to cast, yet the abbess seemed more satisfied than ever.

Suddenly, feeling a mix of jealousy, hatred, and rage welling up inside her body, Cao Jian gritted her teeth. For her, this was unfair. How did Mie Xieren get this strong? How did she, even after all the things she sacrificed to get this power, stay inferior?

An uncontrollable rage took over her body.

As it was, Cao Jian exploded every ounce of qi left inside her body, even absorbing the leftover energy from her puppet to transform herself. An intense aura circulated through her body, applying a bone-crushing pressure to the surroundings.

Without any warning, she sprung herself toward Mie Xieren, and the two clashed.

Cao Jian's movements were ferocious and chaotic, akin to that of a beast, giving her opponent little room to retaliate. Each of her punches, cuts, and hooks contained an ordinary cultivator's lifetime worth of energy, practically warping the space around them due to how heavy they were.

Yet, Mie Xieren stayed calm. With unparalleled fighting experience, she narrowly dodged the claws coming her way, squeezing out little counterattacks as she analyzed her opponent's movement. Utilizing the fact that Cao Jian couldn't sense mana, Mie Xieren cleverly injected small ice spikes into her counterattacks, slowly but steadily freezing the woman's body.

Under the influence of the bone-chilling frostbite, Cao Jian's body soon lost its original strength, rendering her more and more helpless and prone to being countered.

''It's over.''

The abbess's cold voice rang.

''Not yet! Not until I—''

THUD—!

Mie Xieren swiftly plunged her sword into her opponent's abdomen, crisply piercing through her dantian. When she pulled her blade out, fragments of red qi mixed with crimson blood splattered.

And then, Cao Jian's lifeless body fell.

Mie Xieren let out a sigh and gazed at the sky. She closed her eyes, silently imprinting the battle into her mind.

'Did I do it right, Kierra?'

In her heart, she instinctively yearned for a certain woman.