Clang!!!!!!!....
"Tell me, Chi Wei," Long Huang taunted again as they locked blades, the tension between them palpable.
"Did your father ever teach you what happens when you mix fire and ice?"
With a brutal Moonlit Slash, Long Huang pushed Chi Wei back, sending him skidding across the arena, arms numb from the cold that seeped into his bones.
Before Chi Wei could regain his footing, Long Huang was upon him, executing his sword art.
Phantom Fang Sword Art, First Move:
Mirage Thrust.
Swish!
With relentless precision, the blade pierced Chi Wei's shoulder, freezing the wound instantly, a stark reminder of the battle's brutal reality.
"That's for trying to poison my brother," Long Huang remarked coldly, a glimmer of vengeance lighting his eyes.
Chi Wei snarled, trembling as he struggled to rise, the ringing in his ears still echoing ominously.
"Trust me, this isn't over!"
The ferocity in his voice was undiminished, promising that the fight between them was far from its end. The arena was alive with tension, the duel escalating into a clash of will, power, and survival.
The atmosphere in the arena crackled with tension, stealing the breath of every onlooker. Suddenly, a chilling presence seeped into the very ground beneath their feet, signaling the arrival of a formidable force.
Huang Min, now known as the Icy Monarch, stepped confidently onto the platform, her gaze sharp and unwavering.
"You have two hours," she declared, tossing a healing pill toward Long Huang, her voice ringing clear like the sound of a bell.
"Then we finish this."
The crowd's hushed anticipation clung to the air like fog, each spectator vividly aware that this was no ordinary match.
The bloodstained platform bore witness to countless battles, but none carried the weight of this moment: two friends who were basically siblings, bound by a shared history, their unspoken rivalry hanging thick in the air.
Two hours later....
Long Huang tightened his grip on the Frostbite Serpent Sword, its icy aura wrapping around him like an invigorating breeze. Across the arena, Huang Min stood like a statue carved from ice; her black robes whispered in the wind, and her expression was as enigmatic as ever. It was the face of an old friend and the adversary he recognized too well.
"You look tired," she noted, her voice as cool as the frost that encompassed them.
"Chi Wei gave you more trouble than you anticipated."
Long Huang smirked against the dull throb at his shoulder where Chi Wei's blade had grazed him.
"He burned bright, but fire is fleeting. You, however…" His expression shifted, a new seriousness crossing his features.
"You were once like him, but you've changed. Now you seem cold and calculated."
A flicker of amusement danced behind Huang Min's frost-colored eyes, vanishing as quickly as it came.
"Patience wins wars. Something you'd do well to remember."
Their gazes locked, and the tension snapped as if a bowstring had been drawn to its limit. Huang Min surged forward, her movements a blur as she unleashed a combat art Long Huang had never seen her use before, Moonlight Severing Steps, with breathtaking speed.
Swish!!!..
With no time to use his sword, Long Huang barely managed to deflect her first strike, the impact echoing through his arm like thunder.
"Still slow," she taunted, pivoting seamlessly into a sweeping kick that pushed him back, forcing him to regroup.
Puufff!!
Long Huang exhaled sharply, refining his stance into the Wind Deer Steps. His footwork was light, preparation for an evade. Yet, Huang Min's relentless advance was like a storm, each strike precise and every step calculated to perfection.
BOOOM!!!
He countered with the Ocean Wave Fist, harnessing his energy into a forceful wave, but she moved like mist, her palm striking his ribs with bone-jarring accuracy. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he did a backflip and created distance between them.
"You're holding back," she pressed, tilting her head, her breath crystallizing in the air.
"Is it mercy? Or fear?"
Long Huang wiped the blood from his lip, determination igniting in his chest.
"Neither. Just waiting for you to show me your true strength."
A faint smirk touched Huang Min's lips, her confidence radiating.
"Then let's stop wasting time, senior sister is a bit hungry."
" Still a big back at heart with all that change," said Long Huang as he laughed, but he was just buying time. As his thoughts raced " fuck! When did she get this powerful? I can't even keep up."
This was the first time he felt truly outmatched. As if sensing Long Huang's thoughts. Huang Min smiled and stepped forward.
With a fierce intensity, her aura shifted, the temperature plummeting around her as frost began to creep toward Long Huang's feet, a chilling technique designed to immobilize him.
Panic and urgency flooded his thoughts. "Isn't this a qi-based attack? Does this mean Huang Min is a Qi Converging Cultivator?"
He wrestled with himself, his mind filled with questions, but he knew these thoughts weren't going to change the situation he was in.
Weighing his options as his pulse quickened.
He knew using the Frostbite Serpent Sword would yield no results since her Qi seemed to have an ice attribute to it and could even lead to a quicker defeat. He then thought he could rely on the Blades of Slaughter, but it would cost him his sanity. The Archdevil Limitless Blade Art promised immense power, but at a painful price, one that could burn him out completely.
He hesitated, his bond with her woven deeply within the fabric of their history.
Using a forbidden technique against someone he cared for felt like a betrayal. And as for the Sky Piercing Art and the mysterious bow, the distance between them was too short, and she was too fast for his eyes to keep track of.
"You're hesitating," Huang Min observed, her breath visible in the freezing air.
"That's new."
Long Huang exhaled deeply, resolute. "Maybe I'm learning to be better."
Drawing upon the last reserves of his strength, he unleashed the Red Tiger Roaring Art, a sonic blast shattering the icy hold on him and disrupting her rhythm just long enough to close the distance.
Every movement was a flurry of heart and might; their strikes intertwined in a dance of destiny.
Yet as fate would have it, Huang Min's Frozen Lotus Palm struck true, sending a numbing chill cascading through him, crashing him down to the ground. As the world spun into darkness, he found solace in a bittersweet moment.
Above him stood Huang Min, victorious, her chest rising and falling as she regained her breath.
"Yield," she commanded, her voice softer than the eye of a storm.
Long Huang chuckled weakly, clinging to the light above as he looked to the cloudy sky.
" The sky is rather beautiful, you know… Icy Monarch."
" You held back," she said coldly.
"Didn't you?" Long Huang said, smiling.
A flicker of warmth slid across Huang Min's stern face, a brief embrace of their past, before she turned away, her expression settling back into focus.
Just then, Fu Heng rushed forward, his hurried movements a background to Long Huang's fading consciousness.
An hour later, Long Huang awoke in the infirmary, every inch of him a reminder of the battle fought, but his spirit was undeniably unbroken.
Huang Min sat nearby, her gaze fixed on the window, where the Savage Marquis's banners fluttered ominously against a darkening sky.
"You're awake," she said, her tone devoid of defiance. "Good. I'd hate for you to miss the real fight."
He groaned as he pushed himself up, confusion swirling in his mind. "Real fight?"
Her eyes flicked to his, resolute yet kind. "He's coming. And this time, he won't come with just gifts, I assume."
Long Huang nodded, a surge of warmth from their shared memories intertwining with the weight of the moment. The air around them crackled with anticipation as they prepared to face the unknown, two warriors united by fate, standing resolute against the gathering shadows.
In the distance, ominous clouds churned on the horizon, swirling with the promise of an impending storm. Long Huang vowed to himself that he would be ready, prepared to confront any darkness that threatened to creep into their world, drawing courage from the bond they shared.