As Forth Woll advanced toward Gu Yue, the distance between them shrank rapidly until they stopped ten meters apart.
Fourth stared quietly at Gu Yue. Gu Yue, too, stared quietly back. For a moment, the scene felt frozen in time.
Then, Gu Yue's eyes lit with brilliance. Two yellow and one purple soul ring glowed around her body. Compared with Forth's terrifying four ten-thousand-year soul rings, it looked almost fragile.
Yellow, yellow, purple—three soul rings shone simultaneously. Gu Yue's hands fluttered in the air like butterflies weaving among flowers. Around her, the elements of different attributes danced restlessly.
Fourth, with her four-ring cultivation, she was also an elemental controller. Her sensitivity to elemental energy surpassed everyone else present. She could clearly sense that a vortex had formed around Gu Yue, madly devouring all elemental energy in the air.
The Heart of Elements ability!
But Forth still didn't move. She simply stood there, watching, as if waiting to see what tricks Gu Yue could play.
Gu Yue's palms pressed together—and an ice spear shot toward Forth.
Yet this spear was unlike any ordinary ice spear. It gleamed in three distinct hues: the front was icy blue, the middle silver, and the rear fiery red.
"So that's how it is."
With just a glance, Forth saw through the spear's composition.
The icy-blue front was an ice element, meant to freeze and slow her.
The silver middle was a space element, set to bind her upon impact, the spatial energy weak but still enough to hinder.
The fiery-red rear was a fire element, used purely for acceleration.
Indeed, as the spear flew, the fire element at its end ignited, blasting it forward even faster. In an instant, it was on Forth's face.
"Hmph. Child's play, and you dare flaunt it before me?"
Fourth didn't even move. The surrounding air froze instantly, and an identical tri-colored spear materialized. It smashed Gu Yue's spear apart—then shot toward her.
"What!?"
Gu Yue's eyes widened. Her opponent's elemental control was far stronger than she'd anticipated.
She waved her right hand, and a wall of earth surged up before her.
The fire element in Forth's spear detonated, boosting its speed again. It pierced straight through the wall. But by then, Gu Yue's figure had vanished.
A flash of silver—and Gu Yue reappeared a short distance away. But her expression darkened.
That spatial shift should've carried her farther. But the interference from Forth's tri-colored spear had disrupted her teleportation, reducing its range.
She had avoided the spear—but its icy burst still chilled her body, slowing her movements slightly.
"Heh-heh~ You've taken your shot. Now it's my turn."
At her words, countless ice spears formed around Forth. Some were tri-colored, like Gu Yue's earlier one; others were dual-colored, loaded with fire for speed.
At a mere thought, they launched—a dazzling storm, like the "Gate of Babylon" showering weapons across the battlefield.
!!!
As the rain of spears filled the sky like a celestial maiden scattering flowers, Gu Yue nearly cursed aloud. If she weren't so restrained, she would've shouted, "What the hell!"
She swept her hand, trying again to raise an earth wall. But this time—nothing.
"What!?"
The earth element beneath her feet refused her command. It was as though it had been seized by a higher authority.
Forth!
Gu Yue instantly realized it. Of course, her opponent could also control the earth element, and with higher cultivation. When it came to elemental authority, Forth's priority was absolute.
A human girl… stronger than me in elemental control? Impossible!
Even if her cultivation was higher, how could her insight surpass Gu Yue's? Multi-element controllers usually sacrificed depth for breadth—the more elements they wielded, the weaker their control over each one.
Gu Yue had banked on this logic—that she could surpass Forth in at least one aspect. Even when she'd seen Forth use elemental fusion earlier, she'd assumed it was a carefully prepared trump card.
But the truth? The clown is me!
In a flash of silver, Gu Yue teleported again, narrowly escaping as the spear barrage blasted her previous location into rubble.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
From a safe distance, Gu Yue looked back, heart pounding. The ground where she had stood was now a crater-riddled ruin.
"Thank goodness space abilities still work… but why only space?"
Her thought was cut short as Forth's voice rang out again.
"Marvelous, marvelous! You dodged the first wave. Let's see if you can dodge the second."
Her tone was filled with playful delight, like a child who had found a new toy. Another storm of ice spears materialized, streaking toward Gu Yue.
"Damn it!"
Gu Yue gritted her teeth, trying to teleport again. But this time, it failed—the surrounding space itself was disturbed, locking her in place.
Fortunately, the spears were still at some distance. Gu Yue burst into motion, wind element gathering around her, boosting her speed.
"Forth Woll can command six elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth, and space. Against those, I can't win in direct control. But the wind element and light element are her blind spots. Those might be my key to victory!"
Even while fleeing, Gu Yue's mind raced with strategies. She refused to surrender.
A mere human child dares challenge me in elemental mastery? Keep dreaming!
But the spear storm cut off her thoughts.
She sprinted faster, heart pounding. And then—an odd sense of familiarity struck her. Something about this chaotic scene felt wrong, yet also familiar.
The dissonance, she couldn't quite place. But the familiarity? Yes.
Of course! Isn't this exactly how I bombard Xie Xie during training? He was always scrambling just like I am now!
Realization dawned. She glanced at Forth—and saw her grinning with amusement.
She's toying with me!
That was Gu Yue's only thought.