“So, what can you do?” Ying slugged her greatsword over her shoulder and looked at her two teammates.

“Shouldn’t you introduce yourself first before asking others?” A blue-haired girl scoffed.

“Do you think you’re stronger than me?” Ying asked.

“Hmph. Someone like you, questioning me? Do you even know your place?” She rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think we should be arguing... How about we just get to know each other and make a plan on how to win?” A small young man quietly spoke up.

“Okay, here’s the plan. You two follow behind me and work alongside me. There. That’s the plan.” Ying explained.

“Why do I have to follow your back? You two should follow behind me and try to stay out of my way.” The blue-haired girl spat.

“If we stay out of your way, we’ll lose just like everyone else who said that same exact thing in the Qi Gatherers division.” The short guy sighed.

“What can you do?” Ying looked down on the guy.

“I’m a spellmaster that specializes in movement spells. My name is Kuai.” Kuai introduced himself.

“Ying. I can swing this little guy really well.” She pointed at her giant sword.

“I see...” Kuai turned away from the eyeball staring at him and shivered.

“Hmph! If you must know! I am Shen Su! My family is known for their graceful swordsmanship.” Shen introduced herself.

“Pfft! Graceful swordsmanship?” Ying couldn’t help but laugh.

“Is something funny!?” Shen pulled out her sword and pointed it toward Ying.

“You know what a sword is used for, right?” Ying asked.

“What else? A weapon!” Shen answered.

“What’s the point gracefulness for a tool meant solely for killing?” Ying scorned.

“There’s more to the sword than just murder!” Shen argued.

“Only if you’re stupid.” Ying shrugged her off.

“Let’s do our best team...” Kuai sighed.

  Their ten minutes were up and the elder started the match regardless if they were ready or not. Ying and Shen glared at each other as they both moved forward. Kuai immediately tossed two talismans at their backs. The paper slips landed and attached themselves to the two young girls. Both of them felt a surge of energy running through their body, boosting their speed.

  Shen smirked as she saw Ying trip because of her unexpected newfound speed and roll straight at their opponents. Ying cursed at herself for tripping but didn’t let it mess with her momentum. She kept her eyes focused despite spinning around like a barrel. Soon, she readjusted herself and her sword began slicing through the air and the stage itself.

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  Ying expected to crash and slam her sword into one of them but sadly, all three of them decided to avoid her and let her nearly roll out of the ring. Shen used the time when their attention was focused on her to attack. She performed a series of elegant sword strikes against one of their fighters. As blood gushed from his chest, it seemed to look like a spiral of roses. The man dropped with the bad injury to his chest while the other two attacked to avenge their fallen teammate.

“Hmph.” Shen gave Ying a look as she seemingly effortlessly fought two people at once.

  Ying was only getting more irritated by the second. Her hand ignited with a bright orange flame and gently flowed in the wind. She briefly thought about burning them all to ashes but quickly tossed it out of her head. While she couldn't kill them all, it wasn’t like she was entirely useless. Maybe...

  After thinking about the rules again, Ying realized that her martial arts weren’t suited for sparing people. It would be far more difficult to not kill someone compared to killing them for her. Flames weren’t meant to hurt but to burn, engulf, and devour whole. If she was careful, she could use the back of her blade but even then it’s still a game of chance if they’ll live after being hit. Perhaps her best choice of fighting was with her new fist art, Infinite Heaven Fist Style.

  Ying placed her sword on her back and rushed forward. Shen was just on the verge of finishing off the two opponents but thanks to Kuai’s talisman, Ying managed to intervene in time and contribute to her team. Ying’s fist seemed to nearly impale her target as he curled up like a shrimp from the force of her punch. The people watching the match were unable to keep their eyes from looking up as the man was sent flying far into the sky. None of the elders made a move to save him despite him flying so high. Perhaps they held no intention of saving him at all.

“She’s mine!” Shen’s sword danced toward the last opponent.

“In your dreams.” Ying blasted off with a step of her foot and appeared above the girl about to strike her down into the stage while Shen seemingly aimed for her throat.

“Women....” Kuai sighed once again as his skin briefly flashed bright yellow.

  The falling cultivator was caught along with the remaining female opponent in an instant. Shen and Ying only managed to clash with each other with Ying coming out on top in the strength department. Ying smirked after seeing Shen forced back while Shen gnashed her teeth in hatred. Kuai placed two talismans on the back of the enemies' heads as his skin turned back to normal.

  As the two dropped unconscious, Kuai turned and violently vomited blood. The drawbacks of his bloodline seemed quite severe but based on the astounding speed he’s shown, it's fitting. If he was able to keep up that speed for longer than a few seconds without having his body taxed at the same time, who would be able to contest with him? He would become invincible in only a few years as long as his talent for cultivation was good enough.

“You’ll need to train a bit more before you’re able to handle someone like me.” Ying gloated.

“Shut it, you fat-chested gorilla. There’s more to a fight than stupid monkey strength!” Shen insulted.

“You really want to die, don’t you?!” Ying bit back. “It’s taking everything I have to not kill you right this second! You best hope that the elders choose us to win otherwise, today will be your last day!”

“You really want to die, don’t you!? Do you even know who I am!? I’d erase you and wherever you came from with a single word from my grandpa!” Shen argued back.

“I know you’re a flat-chested weak spoiled brat that can only rely on her family instead of herself.”

“Just wait! Just wait! Just wait! Elders! Who won?!” Shen demanded, her eyes bloodshot and spewing fire.

  The elder refereeing the match turned to the elders behind him. They began whispering to one another with lots of nodding and head shaking. Ying, Shen, and Kuai had to wait several minutes before a decision was made. Kuai was begging the elders to fail them. He didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to last with those two. He’d rather fail here than deal with two headaches.

  Ying and Shen hoped they’d be failed just so that they could tear at each other with no repercussions. Shen planned to slowly and maliciously tear open Ying’s skin with her swordsmanship. Ying was planning to thoroughly demolish and crush Shen with her fists until she was begging for death. However, the elders didn’t care one bit about their thoughts and opinions.

  It was obvious that the three of them didn’t have great synergy but it was certainly better than the synergy held by their opponents that dropped instantly. The elders came to the decision that Ying’s team won. Multiple cheers rang out for this announcement but mostly from Heaven’s Angels as many people were a little bit richer now. The payout would’ve been larger if Ying lost but she didn’t so, it wasn’t.