The inferno raged, a sea of crimson flame engulfing the center of the arena.

All eyes fixed on the blaze.

Sun Yaoqing’s chest rose and fell, her slender fingers trembling on the bowstring.

Sweat beaded along her brow.

“Phew!”

It was her first time having to rely on her trick rather than her overwhelming power.

She swallowed, her heart pounding.

(It hit… it must have hit.)

But then-

A soft sound echoed from within the inferno.

Step! Step!

Slow and casual footsteps.

The raging flames parted like curtains before an unseen will.

From within their depths, a silhouette emerged-straight-backed, leisurely, unhurried.

The hall fell utterly silent.

Bai Zihan walked forward with little injury save for some faint burn marks.

His body, tempered through refinement beyond mortal comprehension, was nearly immune to fire.

Yet Sun Yaoqing’s flames, though ultimately unable to truly harm him, had carried a heat unlike any he had faced before.

Bai Zihan narrowed his eyes slightly, crimson light flashing within.

He had to admit-while the attack could not injure him, it had managed to deceive his perception and strike true.

For the briefest instant, the heat had seared against his skin.

He, who was almost immune to fire-who had endured even the flames of Void Refinement cultivators without issue-had been burned by Sun Yaoqing.

And for him, that was noteworthy.

(Looks like she has something quite interesting.)

The crowd’s breaths caught in unison. Some staggered back in disbelief, as though the sight had physically struck them.

“Impossible…”

“It definitely hit him, yet there’s no effect? What kind of body is that?”

The Emperor’s face darkened, his earlier spark of hope extinguished in an instant. His knuckles whitened as he clenched his hand.

Sun Yaoqing’s lips trembled. Her bow quivered slightly in her hands.

She had even resorted to tricks she never thought she’d use-yet it was as if none of it mattered.

Bai Zihan looked at her.

“You are quite strong. I will give you that,” Bai Zihan acknowledged.

“For that, I must respond in kind!”

With a flick of his wrist, a streak of cold light shot from his storage ring.

A sword appeared in his grasp-the Eternal Spirit Sword.

It was clear he was finally acknowledging Princess Sun Yaoqing.

Sun Yaoqing never thought she would feel excitement just because her opponent recognized her strength.

After all, with her talent, there was no one who dared look down on her.

But she also knew that Bai Zihan would now be stronger than ever, and she had to find a way to win.

The Vermillion Sunfire Bow flared to life in her hands, flames bursting across the arena as she poured her qi into it.

Arrows rained down like meteors, each one shrieking with lethal power.

But Bai Zihan did not dodge.

“Eternal Flowing Water Sword!”

At once, sword qi surged outward like a boundless river.

The first volley of fiery arrows streaked toward him-

Shhhhhh-!

With a sweep of his sword, the river of qi swallowed them whole, redirecting their force as if her flames were mere leaves drifting on the current.

A sudden twist of his wrist, and those arrows of flame, instead of being extinguished, were carried by the sword’s flow, redirected and hurled back at their creator with even greater force.

“What?!”

Sun Yaoqing’s eyes widened as her own arrows came screaming toward her, now amplified by his sword qi.

She spun gracefully, her bow whistling as she loosed more shots, detonating the redirected arrows before they reached her.

The crowd was trembling, unable to keep up with the exchange.

To them, even defending against Sun Yaoqing seemed impossible-let alone

turning her attacks back upon her like Bai Zihan had.

What kind of martial technique was this?

But it did not end there.

Before she could steady herself, Bai Zihan moved again.

“Nine Shadows Flowing Light Sword!”

To the crowd, it was as if Bai Zihan had vanished completely, leaving only

flickering illusions in his wake.

Arrows whistled from Sun Yaoqing’s bow, one after another, detonating with force enough to melt stone. Yet none struck true.

Each arrow cut through a fading afterimage, the real Bai Zihan always just

beyond her reach.

A cold presence brushed past her neck. A faint ripple of qi slid across her bowstring before vanishing.

Her heart clenched.

(This… this is Bai Zihan. The true genius of the Desolate Heaven Empire.)

The court fell into stunned silence, all eyes fixed on the duel.

To them, it looked as if Bai Zihan was finally serious.

But to him, this was still only testing.

He had drawn his Eternal Spirit Sword not to end the fight swiftly, but to see what made Sun Yaoqing’s flames different-what had allowed her to burn him,

if only for an instant.

His crimson eyes gleamed with sharp curiosity as his nine shadows circled her, the Eternal Flowing Water Sword rippling around him like endless tides. “Her strength isn’t higher than Azure Sun’s Elder, yet he never managed to burn me-while she did,” Bai Zihan muttered, still unable to discern what was special about Princess Sun Yaoqing.

“Perhaps I should take an attack head-on and feel it again.”

Bai Zihan’s smile was small, almost amused.

With a casual flick of his wrist, the Eternal Spirit Sword slid back into its

sheath, disappearing into his storage ring with the faintest chime.

The motion was so effortless that many in the court scarcely noticed-except

for the look it left on their faces.

Confusion rippled through the gathered nobles. Sun Yaoqing’s brow furrowed,

eyes narrowing.

(He stored his sword? What is he planning?)

Bai Zihan spread his arms wide, palms open and exposed as if offering himself.

His posture was relaxed, almost inviting.

“Come then,” he said, voice calm and clear so that every ear could hear. “Hit me with everything you have. Don’t hold back.”

A hush fell so heavy it pressed against the skin. For a heartbeat no one moved-

then outrage flared like fire on dry grass.

“How insulting! To stand bare-handed before a princess and ask to be struck?” Some took it as mockery; others saw it as provocation.

Sun Yaoqing felt the insult like a hot blade at her throat.

His deliberate exposure-his apparent invitation-felt less like a challenge and more like a dare to humiliate her.

Anger swelled inside her, hot and unforgiving.

The careful composure she had worn all day shattered. What remained was a woman furious at being toyed with before her people.

Her face flushed, eyes blazing.

”You want full strength?” she snapped, voice low at first-then it broke into a roar.

“Fine. I’ll give you every last bit of it!”

Her calm was gone, replaced with fury.

“I’ll kill you!”

The cry tore across the training ground like a war-cry.

It shocked the court into silence and sent a ripple of fear and exhilaration through those watching.

No one had ever seen such words from the elegant and prim princess before. It seemed Bai Zihan had completely infuriated her.

Qi surged in a violent, hungry wave. The Vermillion Sunfire Bow flared in her hands as if answering her wrath.

Flames ignited across the string; the very air shuddered.

Sun Yaoqing poured every shred of her pride, fury, and cultivated power into the shot.

Arrows-dozens-exploded into being, searing with concentrated heat; behind them, a pillar of fire condensed, a living spear of sunlight aimed true.

The audience could only watch as the princess-red hair like a flare, eyes like molten rubies-loosed her fury.

The world narrowed to a single, violent line from her bow to the man who stood with arms spread: Bai Zihan.

The shot landed.

When it struck, the arena shook, tiles splintering beneath the sheer force.

A column of fire engulfed Bai Zihan whole, the blaze clawing upward like it meant to consume the heavens themselves.

The crowd cried out in shock, shielding their faces from the heat.

Within that inferno-

Bai Zihan felt it.

Unlike before, this fire was no trick. This was pure, unrestrained rage forged into flame, and it carried a heat that bit into his flesh.

His refined body, which had endured tribulations of fire that could melt gold and break void, now felt scorched.

His skin tingled, then burned. For the first time in years, he felt pai

His crimson eyes narrowed as he steadied himself in the center of the blaze. The sensation was eerily familiar.

Not flame exactly-but the raw, invasive heat that sought to overwhelm his body.

And then realization struck him like lightning.

(Heavenly Body… This sensation-it’s the same as Jin Yuelin’s power!)

Indeed, those with Heavenly Bodies intensified their element many times over.

Like Bai Xueqing, who could magnify the strength of every Ice Technique, it might be the same for Sun Yaoqing if she possessed a Heavenly Body related to fire.

“Could it be…”

He muttered, half in awe, half in suspicion.

Without hesitation, he called inward to the Immortal Emperor.

“Immortal Emperor,” Bai Zihan’s voice was steady even as flames licked his body.

“Tell me does that princess possess the Heavenly Body related to Fire?”

A pause.

The Immortal Emperor’s voice, ageless and heavy, resonated.

“I cannot say. There is one Heavenly Body related to fire and that is Heavenly Fire Body. But I have never seen nor met one who bore the Heavenly Fire Body.”

Indeed, the Immortal Emperor had already witnessed two such bodies-yet even she could not claim to know them all.

And Bai Zihan, not yet twenty, had already met two.

If Princess Sun Yaoqing also had one, that would make three.

(How is this possible?)

Such coincidences, it shouldn’t be possible unless…

Outside, the crowd roared as the flames raged, many convinced Bai Zihan had finally fallen.

Seeing that he was not walking out as before, many believed he had underestimated Sun Yaoqing and paid the price.

Sun Yaoqing stood tall, chest heaving, every drop of qi poured into that strike.

At first, satisfaction flickered in her heart-thinking Bai Zihan must finally know her power.

But as the silence stretched on, worry crept in.

“He isn’t dead… right?”

She whispered in fear.

One should know-this was Bai Zihan, the esteemed Young Master of the Desolate Heaven Empire.

If she had truly killed him, then by tomorrow, the Desolate Heaven Empire would march on the Falling Star Empire.

But there was no need to wonder for long.

The flames parted.

Bai Zihan stepped out, utterly unscathed.

Sun Yaoqing sighed in relief. But she also knew she had lost.