Holy Yinhai! What is this? Tang Yifei reacted to the humongous fox that could stand on two legs. It wasn’t the nine tails that took her mind in bliss; it was the menacing aura of such a tall figure that it felt like a deity had summoned. Whatever it was, she swallowed her thoughts and charged, igniting everyone in the field to do the same. While sprinting, Tang Yifei lifted her both arms high and crossed them into an “X” above her head, then abruptly brought it down into a T-pose. “Break UP!” she ordered. Leaving a few trailing behind her, the rest separated to either left or right.
Once that was done, she summoned her frozen katana. One turn back to her left and right, there was the new lady from the senate session, sprinting next to her right shoulder. The silky white hair and sudden height change produced a new interest in her. Tang Yifei knew nothing about her and had not witnessed what she did during the first round. She could only assume that her change did well for her because of surviving it.
“You’re going through with this?” A man’s voice asked from her left.
“Yes, second brother. It’s the only way.”
The second brother unleashed a layer of volcanic rock, covering his whole body. “Alright. Then go all in. Don’t hold back like—”
“I get it! You don’t have to remind me of that time. And you lady, stay close to me!”
Míngyuè broke off from her attentive expression and quietly nodded at her command. The second brother sped ahead while the volcanic rock formed around his head, forming a demon-like helmet. The formation was complete once the forward-pointing horns developed at his left and right side.
“What the hell is that?” Míngyuè asked, breaking her quietness.
“You’ll see,” Tang Yifei muttered. “Follow me.” She steered a little to the right while remaining in front of the boss. A pop-up was summoned above, showing its health percentage and numbers. The number fifteen billion appeared alongside it. “Can you jump?”
“I can…on the arm?”
“Good,” Tang Yifei said and sprinted right to the arm, giving a whooping leap. Landing right on the hand, she pierced her blade into the skin, giving her stability to stand. Next, she turned with her hand out towards Míngyuè. “Grab my hand!”
The Nine-Tailed noticed the motion on its right arm. It switched its attention to them. Tang Yifei noticed the sudden change and yelled again to her as she struggled to pick up the speed. The right hand hovered above her, forcing her to change plans. Shit. She pulled her katana and descended and grabbed Míngyuè’s grip, pulling her onto the surface. “Hold your grip on the fur.”
When she did as she was told, water exerted underneath Tang Yifei’s boots, wetting the vicinity and reaching around Míngyuè. Afterward, she walked upward, generating a non-transparent white and blue ice.
“Watch out!” Míngyuè yelled.
Enemy spawns summoned ahead. One came from nowhere in the air with its sharpened claws.
Slam!
In response, a tight elbow right into the creature’s abdomen. It didn't end there until a freeze effect summoned onto the skin. At that moment, Tang Yifei got a clear view of the creature, revealing it to be a humanoid. A head like a fox, paw-like hands, and stood on two legs. The elbow strike initiated a chain reaction of bone fractures. The humanoid fox reacted to it in agony as the cracking sounds and the involuntary force broke it in front of her. Only to be disrupted by a stampede of them. A couple even had melee weapons that looked like a brush because there were countless strands of hair.
Tang Yifei angrily swirled her katana in a one-eighty. The blade, facing the stampede, dispersed triangular projectiles that were shaped like the spear of an arrow towards the crowd. The splatter of blackness existed from their bodies upon infliction. Yifei swiftly delivered a slashing motion vertically, deploying a cold wave. The strike resulted in cluttered noises, meaning a brutal impact as the humanoid beasts didn’t even get a chance to react verbally to their horrific despair.
“That's enough,” Míngyuè said after she gained a grip on her feet, climbing up the arm and stopping right behind Yifei.
“Stay back! Can you sense it? They’re still coming after us.” She pointed ahead. “You hear that? That means they’re still there. There's too much blocking our way to move forward, so I suggest you breathe in and out slowly to regenerate your stamina right now.”
“But I feel fine.”
“Do you want to struggle like a minute ago when you almost couldn’t reach up here?” I don’t think so…Breathe.”
Once Míngyuè breathed calmly, Tang Yifei turned back and slowly lifted her foot up forward, one at a time. The cluttered sounds behind the huge wave simmered. She amped up her pace, and Míngyuè stopped her breathing and trailed behind her before Yifei verbally permitted her to. That displeased her a bit, but she gave her a pass.
Continuing to the freezing wave, Tang Yifei walked right up to it, and the wave dissipated and opened the path for her to walk through. “Hurry Míngyuè,” she said with urgency.
Míngyuè rushed up, leaving a few feet in between each other.
The tip of Yifei’s katana remained pointing towards the surface, and Yifei stopped right at the ice wall, letting the blade touch the ice. Afterward, she turned right to Míngyuè while the ice rebuilt and closed up the entrance behind her. “Julius chose you, and I respect my nephew, even if I might not agree with everything he decided earlier today. But so far today, you're an interesting thing, he decided…so tell me. What’s your goal?”
Míngyuè tilted her head. “My goal?”
“Yes. And I want to hear it from you…Purely… right now.” Tang Yifei requested with a commanding voice.
Míngyuè ticked her tongue, giving a moment.
Come on say it. Say it! Tang Yifei became impatient.
“To fight against Renos and any of the enemies of the dynasty. Fulfill my vengeance because I lost everything. My life, my two brothers, a younger sister, my parents, and not to forget my five-year-old moon cat. All were gone during the night, leaving me alone in a dusty rubble. I will not stop my vengeance path until I get my hands on them. That’s all.”
Tang Yifei’s ears soothed throughout. She nodded at her statement. “Ok, your burning eyes are telling me all despite your beautiful white hair.” Half turning back, she lifted her blade. “Ok, you’re in. Once this ice shatters, prove to me your infant vengeance…Make your eyes worth it. Understood?”
“I understand.” Míngyuè breathed deeply.
SHATTER!
Tang Yifei turned right to the upcoming enemies and gave an upward slash before moving up. Míngyuè leaped above her and thrust her leg at a row of enemies in the air. Yifei watched her while dealing with hers, slicing their heads off. After a clean cut, the decapitated head and body froze the second the sharp blade leaves.
Thump!
Thump!
A couple bodies dropped in front of her dropped violently from the air. The blood splattered from the nostrils and eyes popped out from the humanoid fox’s head. Puddles everywhere on the icy surface. Looking up, Míngyuè landed down from above and sprinted up. Yifei, impressed, ran up as she led up the way. The path that led to the upper arm of the boss was spare and open. Therefore, she picked up the pace, catching up to Míngyuè. “Nice work! We need to get to the shoulder!”
“Way ahead of you. Move left.”
Tang Yifei, being at her left, steered from the center.
Boom!
The explosion to the left spared a couple of seconds as the two went on a huge boost, running right up the biceps. The ice effect from the blade and herself acted as a scissor. Coming through the fur, it cuts clean their surroundings, opening the space.
“This is like running through the fields,” Míngyuè ranted.
“Oh boy, you should see mine. It ain’t like Longyue’s farms.”
“Are you kidding? I don’t believe that.”
“Well, you’re invited, only if you do well.”
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
“Gosh damn it,” Míngyuè grunted. Her eyes unintentionally gleamed white, accidentally blinding Yifei.
“Ow! What the hell?!” She cried, stopping herself. It was sharp which hurt like a hammer pounding on a nail. It hammered her head, forcing her eyes shut. Her left hand gripped so tightly over her eyes, refusing to let it go. “Where did you go?!”
“Over here!”
Fuck! This pain hurts. Yifei’s throbbing pain that generated like a heartbeat vibrated to her palm. Her ears heard the call loud and clear. In response, she didn’t walk but ran. Which was crazy since this was on the boss’s arm; the possibility of falling from the air was high. Lucky for her, she maintained her ground, and by the time she was able to open her eyes, she stood on the solid shoulders.
Míngyuè, with bloody hands and boots, headed up from the rear. “What the hell happened?”
Irritated Tang Yifei slowly turned. “Your eyes flashed me! That freaking hurt!”
“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know,” she apologized. “That might explain why my eyes were itchy.”
“As long as you don’t do that again, I’ll let this slide,” Tang Yifei warned with one finger up. “But I’m warning you.”
Míngyuè’s eyes then looked to her left before running right up to Yifei, taking her down to the ground. “Don’t move,” she whispered and covered the latter’s mouth.
Above the two was the boss’s hand hovered over them after a flicking motion. It was only a couple of inches up, which darkened the whole vicinity. Slowly, Míngyuè moved her hand away from Yifei’s mouth while keeping her eyes up. She slowly rolled over, which put herself in the same position as Yifei, laying on her back and looking up to the darkness. Out of nowhere, she then grabbed Yifei’s katana and shanked to the humongous arm. Ice exerted from the tip of the blade and a loud howl followed, ringing the ears of the two.
“Are you insane?!” Yifei yelled.
“I saved your ass, ok?!”
The brightness took over as the boss removed its hand and assessed the wound, buying the two a little time. Míngyuè lifted Yifei up and gave her katana back. “Now’s your chance!”
“You’re right,” Yifei mumbled and ran right to the boss’s head.
Because of that attack earlier, Yifei noticed her katana was getting colder. The ice overwhelmed the blade and reached the triangular crossguard. A light flashed from the flat cross guard, revealing an imprint of a tortoise with a 冰 (Ice) on its shell. It continued to flash the whole figure, prompting Yifei to grip tightly on the hilt. Her left hand clenched on her right wrist to further the grip of the hilt. An upsurge in qi blasted through from the blade's tip and engulfed the whole katana. She knew she had to do it. Before she could, another group of humanoid beasts summoned from the thin air ahead of her. Crap!
“Go!”
Yifei half-turned but quickly turned back. Míngyuè came sprinting with her eyes, turning white again. “I’ll hold them back. You go!”
When the latter gave a bloody punch to one humanoid beast, the former leaped into the air. It was all open. The boss’s head was the most vulnerable. With no hesitation, the katana’s weight ballooned. Yifei finally lifted her katana over her. Her aura triggered, revealing a white color with a blue outline. She let her left hand off the grip of her right wrist and moved it to the bottom of the hilt.
Finally, she free-fell and went for a downward thrust, intending to stab the fucking head. Three…Two…One!
Boom!
A thunderous shockwave spread upon impact, igniting an aggressive flood of water. It poured out from the site. The damage got worse because of the magnitude of qi contained in the katana. The shockwave was only the first stage of this attack, and the next couple of seconds transitioned into the second. As the water poured like a waterfall, the boss painfully howled and screeched with its legs collapsed to the floor, hammering its knees to the floor. Tang Yifei braced herself as she flew away. Míngyuè was about to trip because of the shockwave. She noticed her and grabbed her hand, lifting her away. The two crashed headfirst near the safe zone of the Realm of Blue River.
“You, okay?!”
Míngyuè coughed. “I’m good…” She rolled onto her back. “My back hurts. I think I’m good laying here for a bit.”
Boom!
The second stage revealed itself. A mushroom cloud appeared and shot up high in the clouded sky; Yifei’s qi maintained the cloud's shape, adding water and ice. It got so dangerous that the waterfall from the first stage turned into ice once it hit the ground floor. The large puddle of water froze, turning into an ice trap with spikes generated everywhere in its vicinity.
First in a while. Yifei thought. She reacted surprisingly because it had been a long time performed this move. The magnitude had never reached this level ever in her life. It was always a smaller scale, never this wild.
Míngyuè lay silent, not wanting to move after spraining her back. She calmly breathed, indicating to Yifei that she was currently in pain.
The spot the two laid was elevated and distant enough away from the battle site of the realm. The damage was evident and brought up Yifei’s feared concern about everyone else because everyone else was close to the exploding radius. She wanted to help, but she couldn't. The danger wasn't specific. Anyone who is within the range of her ice qi’s residue will be affected.
“I can't leave them,” Yifei muttered, lifting herself from the ground. A sudden grab of her arm.
“No,” Míngyuè said. She held Yifei. “They'll be fine.”
“I can't sit here and watch. That's how I lost my crew in the past…I swore to never do that again.” Yifei yanked her grip away. “Stay here. I'll be back.”
Míngyuè couldn't talk anymore but expressed her grunt. Eventually, she sighed.
Yifei, who sucked at long-range flight, leaped into the air while simultaneously monitoring the ground below. The dust from the qi mushroom cloud dispersed the closer she reached. Her aura returned as she descended. Oh, my Yinhai. This is unbelievable. Where did I get all of this power from? She thought of a curious and good question while unfathomed by the damage she caused. The battle was already bright, but the sky disintegrated the dark clouds of the realm. Sunlight flashed and illuminated the scene once again, followed by a humongous text appearing above.
--
Black Nine-Tailed Fox (Boss) HP: 0!
End of battle.
--
It’s over. No way. Tang Yifei doubted. If that’s all it took, why now? After all these years. She continued mind-boggling. Eventually, she saw the dead body of the boss lying on the ground and rapidly decomposed, revealing wide and thick skeletal bones. Underneath it was a black pond, reflecting the sunlight. There was her second brother, walking on it like nothing. She steered to the right with a quick drop and landed away from the pond of black blood.
“Are you okay?!”
The second brother strolled, appearing traumatized based on the eye expressions. He was silent but turned towards her when she asked. Yifei nudged her foot over the shallow black pond. To be safe, ice was generated around the high black boots. And once it was solid, she walked right up to him. The second brother was distant, but he didn’t move. She didn’t catch that strangeness, as he was always different. When the two are only a yard apart, the moment clicked. His expression was dull and emotionless. “Brother? Are you alright?”
Thud!
A shock overwhelmed Yifei’s body. Her mind burned behind her eyes. She looked at her second brother’s inhuman grin. Glaring down, she found his axe inserted into her abdomen. The thoughts panicked after she got impaled by her brother. No words could fill her pain; to the best of her ability, she tried holding her cry. Being impaled only wanted her to twitch or move her torso. But that would be a bad idea, as she doesn’t want to burst out and leak everywhere. The most she could move were her face and arms.
“Aunt!!”
She heard a loud cry from far behind, only to black out.
Yifei’s eyes open abruptly, finding herself lying somewhere else and surrounded by many white figures. While her mind still burned, she thought she was dead. Once she calmed down, the surroundings dissipated. In fact, she was hallucinating. The illuminating white figures didn’t exist. In reality, the “somewhere else” revealed that she was still in the Realm of the Blue River. There was a twitching in her abdomen, prompting her to lift her head up. She saw Julius at her left and the lady, who injured the regulator at the arena, to her right.
Julius saw her lifting her head up, and his worried face reduced to gratefulness and relief. “Aunt, lay down. Don’t move as I’m patching you up.”
Both of his hands were soaked in her white blood. He didn’t even look to mind all of that which sounded like a psychopath.
Yifei woke up right when the procedure was only halfway through. Julius does the dirty work while the lady, who introduced herself again as Celeste, does the rest to ensure that her severe wounds heal properly.
It felt long because there was nothing Yifei could do, and she breathed heavily when Celeste announced that it was finished. Feeling a little happy that it was done, Julius and Celeste each held out their hand to her. She gripped their hands, lifting her up from the ground.
“Thank goodness,” Julius said with his towering figure, despite bending his legs.
Behind him was the battle site being cleaned up. He and Celeste let go of her grip, letting her walk a little again. Yifei turned around to find the entrance portal warp opened. Near it were many of the family members resting on the comfortable greenery. “Everyone is fine?” she asked.
“Yes, thanks to Celeste and some of your healers. They worked together to get them back on their feet. And I worked on you for fifteen minutes getting your organs stitched up again. She came by and helped you…Then you woke up.”
“What about my second brother?”
“Your brother? Well, my uncle…that wasn’t him.”
How?! I saw him clearly with my eyes. The looks were him! Tang Yifei thought, turning back. “What do you mean? My eyes were clear. I thought he was insane after I got impaled.”
“Tang Cheng told me something about you before when we first met. He said, 'Help our mother; your aunt.’ He never told me why, but I see now. You experienced hallucinations at that moment. That wasn’t your brother. It was another humanoid beast…You didn’t get impaled. The beast lacerated you.” He walked toward her. “Uncle actually passed out after that move you did. Everybody did. Míngyuè told you not to go, did she?”
Yifei doesn't want to admit it, lamenting her decision-making. “She…did.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I had recognized it sooner that you have this problem…Let’s not talk about this anymore. Everyone’s hungry for lunch.” Afterward, Julius, with his bare hands, handed her a frozen katana. “But you passed. Everyone passed Level One.”
Yifei only nodded while her mind was fogged by her mistake. Celeste went up to her. “Hey, don’t think about it too much,” she said, wrapping her arm to the side from the left. “Let’s walk…”
The second brother was up ahead, waiting for them. Julius stood next to the warp and directed everyone until the warp was cleared. Yifei grabbed her second brother’s grip before exiting the realm. The three flashed through the warp’s brightness, returning to Longyue.