Xiao Lee stepped into the field with surprising calm. He had practiced enough times in his simulation to have gotten a group on his power level. Unless the wind qi user standing opposite him was holding back significantly in his last fight, he was confident in his chances.

“Thank you for accepting my request for battle Ascendant Xiao Lee. I hope you can impart some of your wisdom,” his opponent said with a light bow.

Lee almost sighed when he saw the look in the man’s eyes. Even though he was likely made to ask for the fight by the emperor, it was clearly not something forced. He had the look of a battle maniac, someone who truly enjoyed fighting and revelled in the struggle.

Most battle maniacs he met ranked at the top of the list of most annoying people he’d met. They almost always wanted to do test themselves against him, especially when they found out about how talented he was. The thought that a very talented cultivator might not particularly fancy fighting was heresy to them.

He readied his stance as the rules were announced. Considering there was no mention of them during the first fight, it was likely just for his benefit. They essentially boiled down to, the fact that they would be stopped before serious injury and victory was judged by death blow, surrender or knockout.

Lee suspected surrender was not a particularly popular option, both from the slight disgust that leaked into the announcer’s tone at the word, and the way their society seemed to work. He also assumed they had accurate ways of confirming death blows and truly preventing death. Not that he was worried about that. Lasvania had given them enough emergency options that even the emperor would be unable to kill him if he tried.

Vade rushed at him with blazing speed, moving at the exact moment the start was called. Lee stood calmly. channelling lightning and shifting at the last moment. Though he was focused on power, lightning was still speed, something he had recognised during his ascension. Of course, it was far less effective than using it to power offensive techniques, but the boost it gave was still large enough to be worth it.

The wind cultivator threw a punch, then another. Soon, they were playing cat and mouse, with Vade trying and failing to catch him in a hit. They went on until Lee got tired and struck out with a simple punch of his own. His opponent, not immediately prepared for a return strike, ate a lightning enhanced fist to the face. It sent him reeling back, but otherwise left him unhurt.

Qi flashed in Vade’s eyes, and Lee noticed the tell-tale signs of a technique about to be activated. Rapidly spinning wind covered the man’s entire form, and Lee braced, channelling even more lightning. The resulting lightning bolt struck the wind covered form and fizzled out, unable to get through the armour.

Lee’s eyes tracked Vade as he shot off once more, trying to utilise the speed of his wind to overwhelm him like he had done to the plant user. Lightning sent to his brain meridians sped up his thoughts, making it easier to follow the blur or wind that tried to hit him. Each punch was preceded by a wind blade, which Lee dodged, resuming their game of cat and mouse.

There was another shift in the qi and Vade’s form suddenly exploded in speed, moving fast enough that Lee lost sight of him for a brief moment. It was just a moment, but that was enough to send him flying. This time, the blow actually hurt him. It was a surface wound that didn’t go past his skin, but it was the first real injury of the fight.

It was also his signal to start getting serious.

He felt techniques stacking on Vade, and it became a serious struggle to keep up. Finally, the path technique resounded in the air and the entire field, larger than a city on the inside, was ripped apart by heavy wind.

Xiao Lee, talented as he was, did not particularly enjoy fighting. That said, he was still a student of the Dragon Lord, which meant he was very good at it. His fights with Bornie had showed him just how lacking he was, which had fuelled his drive to create a new technique.

He had no doubt that he would lose to everyone in his new friend group. They had all received enough training and resources to create a nearly impossible gap. It was to be expected, considering they were all elites in the most powerful nation he knew.

But Cascadia was not Lasvania. And Vade Law was no child of a Lone Power. For this, his current techniques would be enough.

Boundless Unparalleled Thunder Lord of Heavens and Earth Eternal.

The sky immediately turned dark, thick lightning bolts lighting up the fields. He held every single one with his mind and brought them to a single point in his fist. He noticed his opponent staring around warily, and he couldn’t resist a small smile. It was refreshing for his techniques to not be completely useless.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Hand of the Lightning God.

A thick strand of lightning as wide as a small tree flashed down from the sky, sending the wind cultivator crashing to the ground faster than he react. Lee stared at the man as he lay smoking, his body riddled with burns despite the shielding. They were clearly just surface burns though, and he doubted that was enough to knock him out.

Vade rose from the ground just a few seconds later, his wind armour returning in full force. Lee could have ended the fight in the short time the man spent on the ground, if he truly wanted. But it felt like he had gone so long without a true victory, and not being the underdog was a refreshing feeling.

So, he let the man come at him again, though he was careful to control the tempo and flow of the fight. Perhaps it was stupid, but he felt good. Which was a rare feeling for him while fighting.

He zipped around, managing to dodge the much bigger wind blades and even mini tornadoes, all while sending back a bit of lightning.

He could sense the desperation in his opponent begin to rise after a few seconds of fruitless attack. Then Vade did something he didn’t expect.

The wind cultivator pulled out a sword that felt heavily enchanted from a storage ring and slashed. There were no rules against weapons, but Lee had just wrongly assumed it would be a weapon less fight. He supposed he could not fault the man for trying to close the gap against a superior foe.

Unfortunately, Lee had felt the power from the sword slash when he dodged it and knew he had to end the fight quickly or it would get dangerous. So, he pulled out two techniques.

Lightning Feet.

It was an old movement technique that he rarely used anymore. It was easier to fly most days and his overwhelming power was usually enough to not need the extra boost to his movement.

Against a wind cultivator with a primary focus on speed though? It was perfect. Then he used a core technique.

Path of Power: Obliterate.

Attuned lightning rushed across his hands, building up power in preparation for destruction. With the help of his movement skill, he closed the gap with his opponent, making it harder for him to use the sword. Then he caught the next attempt at a punch and returned the favour, shoving the full force of his path into the man’s chest.

He felt something teleport Vade out before his lightning could do more damage. It seemed like the damage from the technique was considered lethal. A voice rang out just moments later, confirming his assumption.

“Ascendant Xiao Lee has won by lethal blow and is the winner of this bout.”

He stepped out of the ring feeling surprisingly satisfied with himself. He could not yet compare to the ridiculous levels his friends had reached, but that did not make him a weakling. It was a brief feeling though. In the end, people like Vade were not the ones he was comparing himself to. He had set his sights on the top, and he would have to see it through.

“Thank you for your pointers,” Vade bowed in gratitude, when Lee came out of the field. He was still sporting burns, some looking particularly nasty.

“It was a good fight,” he replied gracefully, giving the other man a nod.

He made it to Lisa without getting stopped, which was mildly surprising. Still, he knew they would find a way to curry favour eventually. It was simply the way of the world.

“You were playing most of the time,” Lisa said drily when he got to her.

“Yes, I was. It has been a while since I actually enjoyed a fight.”

She said nothing to that, simply shaking her head, though there was some mirth in her expression. The emperor came to congratulate him, boisterous as ever. If he was annoyed that his subject lost the fight, he hid it well.

The rest of the party was spent meeting some of the younger sect members and nobles that were prodigies. It was clear that they were sent to make connections, and he even noticed the way the women tried to lean towards him, and the men made attempts at flirting with Lisa. When that didn’t work, the genders were swapped.

The whole thing was mildly amusing to Lee, though it was mostly just annoying. Something about it, however, soured Lisa’s mood. He was not sure what caused it, but at some point, she started withdrawing to herself and growing colder until she stopped answering people at a point.

The abrupt shift worried him, and he felt desperate to find out what was wrong, but there was little that could be done until the day was over. So, he endured, and sincerely hoped the whole thing ended.

They were put out of their misery over two hours later, at which point Lee felt like he would snap at the next person that approached him. He empathised with Lisa a bit more then. The emperor had invited them to an after party, but they had declined as politely as they could, while also making it clear they would not budge.

The man didn’t push them further, much to Lee’s relief. Though he suspected the after party had little to do with them, despite the fact that they were technically the main guests.

Neither of them spoke as they left the party hall and stepped through a portal back to their lounge. Lisa walked straight to her room, and he followed her determined to not let her stew in silence.

She stared at him for a while when she realised he followed her to the door. He refused to back down, simply looking back at her without flinching. There was still a little part of him that was afraid of what she could do to him, but that was drowned out by his desire to stop a repeat of the earlier parts of their journeys.

She finally gave up, shaking her head and going to lie down on the large bed in the room but leaving the door open for him. He took that as permission to open and sat cross legged in the air facing her.

“Hey Lisa,” he started, not fully sure how to proceed.

“What do you want?”

“Those people coming to flirt with us today did something that made you angry, didn’t they?”

Her face was stony when she replied.

“Yes, they did.”

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked tentatively.

She stared at him for a long while, and for a moment he thought she would say nothing.

And then she exploded.