~~~

“Shen Mi of the Divine Frozen Palace vs. Ruan Leji of the Endlessly Raging Valley!”

Both fighters study each other across the ring. With a veil over her face and the blue robes of the Divine Frozen Palace covering most of her body, it is hard to discern much about Shen Mi. By contrast, the glare on Ruan Leji’s face is as unambiguous as the hostile aura radiating from him.

Curiously, none of that hostility seems to be directed at Shen Mi.

“Oh? Will there be no boasting today? I don’t believe I ever heard of a silent Ruan,” Shen Mi teases him, slightly tilting her head to the right. “Did your brother’s defeat affect you that much?”

Ruan Leji takes a deep breath. No words leave his mouth, but his aura sharpens. The air around him becomes deathly still. Though his anger is nearly palpable, it remains without a target.

Or rather, the target is not in the ring.

“I see,” Shen Mi says. The temperature drops and her Qi rises. “If you are going to be that serious, I have no choice but to answer in kind.”

Earth Realm, Level Eight.

[A Tale of Winter - The First Frost]

Frost covers the entire ring. Only the space around Ruan Leji is spared as strong winds crack the ice the moment it gets within three feet of him. As he takes a step forward, the item hiding his cultivation breaks.

Earth Realm, Level Seven.

[Fierce Tiger Pack]

Ruan Leji brings his arms in front of him and unleashes a blade of wind from each of his fingers. They speed towards Shen Mi, howling like wild beasts. The air around Shen Mi shimmers and freezes, creating multiple shards of ice, each one sharp like a knife.

She snaps her fingers.

[Thorns of Winter]

The two attacks meet in the center of the ring and cancel each other out, but as far as the audience is concerned, the winner has already been decided. One fighter is only on the Seventh Level of the Earth Realm, while the other is already on the Eighth. While it is not impossible to overcome a gap in cultivation, it is a fact that the difference between levels only grows the further one advances. Since both fighters are members of the Four Great Sects, it is unlikely that the training or resources they have received are different enough to matter.

In other words, Shen Mi is the clear favorite.

[A Tale of Winter - The Ever-Reaching Majesty]

Ruan Leji can barely track Shen Mi as she slides over the ice. A properly timed wind blast pushes his body out of the way just in time, saving him from being skewered by a blade of ice.

However, that is merely the first strike of many.

Shen Mi moves over the frozen ring with speed far surpassing his own. The blade of ice in her hand glints under the sun. Ruan Leji pushes as much Qi into his body as possible to boost his speed. His movement technique creates small whirlwinds on his feet and shoulders to accelerate further. In the span of mere seconds, Shen Mi and Ruan Leji clash hundreds of times, each clash unleashing a shockwave across the ring. Ruan Leji’s Qi roars with strength, refusing to be subdued despite the difference in cultivation.

And yet…

A cut appears on his robes.

A lock of green hair falls to the ground.

Blood shines on his forehead.

That Ruan Leji has not suffered more extensive damage after so many moves is proof of his caliber. The young man does not let a hint of desperation or frustration color his Qi. However, that does not mean he cannot notice the obvious.

If things continue like this, he will lose.

[Fierce Tiger Howl]

Ruan Leji’s Qi takes the shape of a large tiger’s head that bites into the ring, shattering the ice and stone. For an instant, Shen Mi’s movement technique is nullified.

But only for an instant.

[A Tale of Winter - The First Frost]

The falling fragments of the ring freeze in place as ice holds everything in its grasp once more. Ruan Leji watches with a sinking feeling as his strategy is made useless before it could be fully realized.

It is enough to momentarily make him lose sight of Shen Mi.

[A Tale of Winter - The Culling of the Weak]

Ruan Leji screams.

A single cut is all that warning he gets before multiple blades of ice, each one red like blood, burst out from his body. His wind breaks them, and his Qi howls as he locates and forces out the foreign Qi from his body. However, the damage has been done. His blood vessels have burst in various places, and his muscles have been torn. His regeneration is not working quickly enough.

The next time Shen Mi comes at him, her ice sword does not miss. It pierces his side before he forces her back by manifesting a tornado around himself. It is a temporary measure at best. Ruan Leji’s blood keeps falling to the ring, clear evidence of the disparity between them. It is not just because of their cultivation. There is something deeper at play that explains the gap between them. Regardless, the truth remains one.

He is inferior.

Ruan Leji is not used to feeling that way. Born into one of the ruling clans of the Endlessly Raging Valley and possessing considerable talent, he has always been one of the elite. Hardship is not something he has much experience with.

The same cannot be said of his brother, Ruan Dafeng. The Heavens neglected to bless him in the same way. No matter how hard Ruan Dafeng tried, he could never exceed Ruan Leji. Even though Ruan Dafeng’s talent would have been praiseworthy under any other circumstances, the very existence of Ruan Leji undercut all his achievements.

His brother never hated or resented him for it, except for the one time Ruan Leji tried to deliberately hold back. That time, Ruan Danfeng punched him in the face and told him a lamp that hid its brilliance was of no use to anyone. Ruan Leji never tried to hold back again, but that did not help his brother any.

If one has two identical tools, but one always performs worse than the other, the better tool will be given greater care. The worst tool will be deemed inferior, replaceable, and often exposed to more danger. That is why, despite being a member of the Ruan Clan who should have been in the main delegation, Ruan Dafeng was chosen to represent the Xiao Sect. It wasn’t a privilege or a show of trust. It was simply a statement of how expendable his brother was. A statement that has become more profound after his defeat.

“Emperor Qing Jin must be defeated. Do you understand? If you wish to wipe away your brother’s failure, there is no other path.”

Ruan Leji coughs blood and wonders if this is how his brother has always felt. If so, he has been greatly underestimating him. To try one’s best but be unable to succeed is infuriating. The strength to bear such a feeling constantly is beyond him. His tornado is already faltering. The moment it does, he will lose, and his brother will…

He cannot lose.

“Do not look at me like that. I am not so cruel that I’d give you a task beyond your abilities. I have decided to believe you. Unlike your brother, you have talent.”

That’s right. He has talent. He has so much talent that if his brother will be looked down on for not having it, Ruan Leji will simply have to prove he has enough talent for the both of them!

He reaches for the spatial ring on his finger.

The Sword of the Wind King howls for the first time in centuries.

~~~

Ruan Chenshu sighs as the tornado fades away and reveals Ruan Leji holding an elegant double-edged blade between his hands. The hilt is gold, and the blade is green like jade.

“I’d hoped he would not need to use it so quickly,” he says as Ruan Leji swings the blade, unleashing a furious wave of wind that engulfs everything inside the barrier.

The Wandering Wind does not say anything. This level of spectacle is not enough to garner her interest.

~~~

Bai Lianshi narrows her eyes.

“Of all the idiotic things...” She shakes her head. “I cannot believe they gave a child that relic.”

“We should have expected it,” Meng Yue says. The howl of the wind can be heard throughout the entire stadium. Shen Mi, who had the upper hand throughout the entire fight, is being pushed back. “We knew everyone would be trying their hardest to win. If we weren’t so confident in Xiao Shuang, we might have tried something similar.”

“Not like this,” Bai Lianshi says, glaring at the battle. “There is a reason why they haven’t used that sword in such a long time. The Sword of the Wind King will destroy their fighter.”

Sure enough, though Shen Mi is being pushed back and taking damage, the fierce winds around Ruan Leji are also damaging his body.

~~~

Shen Mi does not understand what is happening.

She had been winning, decisively so. However, something changed the moment Ruan Leji took out that sword, something beyond mere power. Tornadoes might be unleashed every time Ruan Leji swings that sword, and his aura might burn with renewed strength, but that is not what is causing her to lose ground so quickly. This feels like...

The winds have changed.

The sword is brought down.

~~~

“The Winner! Ruan Leji of the Endlessly Raging Valley!”

Xiao Fang’s eyes narrow to pinpricks as Shen Mi’s body falls. His Qi blazes with rage around him, and all of it is aimed at the figure of Ruan Leji. He doesn’t dash into the ring only because he knows the barrier will stop him.

“I am going to kill him,” he declares.

“He is a Ruan. That would be inadvisable,” answers a voice next to him. “Shen Mi will recover.”

“I am going to kill him,” Xiao Fang repeats.

“I had forgotten how stubborn you could be.”

“And I had forgotten how annoying you are.”

The announcer’s voice rings at that moment.

“Xiao Fang of the True Xiao Sect vs. Qing Jin of the Eternal Flame Clan.”

Without saying another word, Liu Jin and Xiao Fang head into the ring.

The time has come.

~~~