Chapter 49: Frigid Sword Dance (1)

While most of the White Immortal sect's attention locked on the blood-soaked yang platform, a minority—thirsty men and relatives, mostly—focused on the yin side. The superstar power, violence and controversies surrounding the yang platform explained the mismatch. But at least the yin competitors garnered praise for the lack of deaths and maiming on their side.

Of course, it wasn't so much that the ladies were less vicious than the men—oh no no no—rather, their platform carried more safety nets, preventing even ruthless blows from resulting in maiming or deaths.

The reason for this discrepancy? Guang Fanghu. Zi Yao tried her best to give the girls the same chance at brutal slaughter as the men, but Guang Fanghu took an iron stance—threatening no end of repercussions should anything happen to his baby girl. The Yin Matriarch would rather not have to deal with her husband's endless antics, and so didn't challenge his madness.

Thus, trapped in a frigid pit, the ladies dove into a battle royale—aiming to clean up the competition before condensing their Yin Sheathes. That said, when an apocalyptic gap exists between the top and bottom feeders, competition becomes a fairly inaccurate word. Understanding these realities, 255 ladies teamed up to contend with the remaining two: Chun Xu and Dong Ling.

Flat boards clashed with watermelons, fist-sized apples with fat peaches. Lemons tried to get a piece of the action, but were crushed into nothingness by irresistible cantaloupes. Before the Chun Xu and Dong Ling duo, the Qi Refinement gals had no hope. Their babe powers lost all impact, and by the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, 50 girls had flown out.

Realizing that in a head-on clash, numbers would only make them lose more disgracefully, the remaining gals submitted to the leadership of the handful of formation masters in their group. They split to form as many Eight Trigrams Arrays as the formation masters—or mistresses, in this case—could control. The leftover acted as a barrage of meat shields—aiming to delay Dong Ling and Chun Xu long enough for their peers to complete the formation.

Surrounded by dozens of faces that used to fawn over them, Dong Ling and Chun Xu had drastically different reactions. Unbothered by the challenge, the Sword Fairy sat cross-legged in meditation—further annoying her partner of misfortune, who stomped her foot in frustration.

"Humph! Senior sister, why is it that from the start, I've had to deal with most of these hussies? Do you think I will let you sit idle and take advantage of me?" Dong Ling asked while whipping her coiling sword at five incoming disciples, triggering platform protections that yanked them out of the battle royale instantly.

"Didn't you want to flex your abilities? Whenever I tried to get my fair share, you slapped my targets out of the way. I thought I was doing you a favor by taking a step back." Chun Xu shook her head, casting a formless wall of sword force that hacked into three nearby swordswomen—forcing the safety devices to eject them.

"Rubbish! Who wants to smash squads of mushy-brained dolls left and right? The fun died long ago! I've wasted enough Spiritual Qi as it stands. If you don't make a move soon, I'm helping them stomp you first!"

"Xinzi wouldn't mind." Not one to avoid an opportunity to rattle Dong Ling's nerves, Chun Xu threw a cheap shot and smiled in contentment.

"Ha! How would you know? You don't even know the color of his meat-lance. And you think you can school me on the type of girls he'd rather eat for dinner? Sorry, I am the type, and these hussies are nowhere near my level!" Dong Ling replied in kind, passing one hand through her hair for good measure. The retort came with matchless poise and impeccable swagger, making even Chun Xu gawk at her sworn sister's boldness.

Before this peculiar banter, the opposing disciples were speechless. In this frigid pit where they barely had the strength to hold their swords and had to rely on treasures, pills and one another for warmth, these two freaks could still smash and squabble at will. From where did they get the strength?

"Crass and classless whore. Fine. In any case, letting them complete their arrays will do neither of us any good," Chun Xu said and opened her eyes. A spiral of gray soul flames coiled at the center—becoming a pair of miniature swords that flashed within her pupils. The swords broke into rows of immaterial sword beams, racing past the surrounding disciples and condensing arrays to pierce through the formation masters' foreheads.

"How..." Unprepared and unable to resist a soul strike, the formation masters went stiff, then tumbled down. By the time their foreheads had hit the ground, the arrays had broken down, surrendering the remaining contestants to the Dong-Chun pair's mercy.

Not giving her opponents a chance to regroup, Dong Ling whipped her Spirit Snake Sword at them. A chilling hissing sound rustled across the air. Particles of Spiritual Qi gathered at the whip sword's tip, morphing into a colossal white boa that steamrolled through the powerless contestants—crushing their inferior cultivation bases with an irresistible momentum.

"AAAAARGH!" In disordered batches of battered bodies, the female outers flew out. The yin platform's safety nets kicked in, rescuing the ladies from surefire maiming. With only Chun Xu and Dong Ling occupying the frigid pit, peace and quiet returned to the scene. The Sword Fairy stood up, gazing at the cold-blue fog blotting out the sky. Her eyes saw past the mirage, locating a myriad of dot-sized orbs that hid within the frozen clouds.

"A rather straightforward contest. Though the gravity and temperature get more destructive as we move up, all we need is up there. Now that only the two of us are left, how do you want to handle it?"

"One versus one. Whoever stays behind can condense her sheath in peace." Dong Ling too gazed at the cloaked sky. A cold breeze wafted through the pit, teasing the ladies' ears with quiet whistling sounds. Their lustrous hair rose and fell, cascading at their backs as if bound to the winds' whimsical tune.

"As you like," Chun Xu said. Her tone akin to a half-sorrowful, half-reverential melody that humbly deferred to Dong Ling's offer. Dong Ling's lips curled up, an acute whistling sound blew by her ear, and Chun Xu's sword hacked at her neck.

Spinning 360, Dong Ling reeled back—narrowly avoiding a blow that would have put an end to her contest efforts. A red slit mark appeared on the shoulder side of the snakegirl's slender neck, but unfazed by the spontaneous slash, Dong Ling straightened her back. It was almost as if she'd seen this coming from miles away. As if after those years growing up by Chun Xu's side, she'd seen through most—if not all—of her tricks.

The fight required no additional word, so neither lady bothered to spice up the atmosphere through verbal abuse. Almost in tandem, the two stepped forward. Bright waves of Spiritual Qi erupted from their dantians and they lunged head-on into a frantic melee.

Whipping her sword at the ground, Dong Ling dug out a large chunk of ice and hurled it at Chun Xu. The Sword Fairy stepped sideways, letting the ice block fly past her before driving her sword in a frontal thrust. Reeling back, Dong Ling lashed at Chun Xu. Yet the Sword Fairy met each of the whip sword slashes with a casual deflection, not only parrying Dong Ling's offensive but also taking control of her range. Her sword went unhinged, slicing through Dong Ling's defenses like a butcher knife through melting butter.

On Dong Ling's command, the Spirit Snake Sword straightened into an adamantine longsword. The oppressive aura of a profound-grade treasure poured forth, blasting into Chun Xu's strike and shredding off most of its destructive power. Dong Ling bent her sword in a horizontal stance, receiving what remained of the blow with ease.

For a second, the two stood still, pressuring one another with the weight of their cultivation bases. Then they launched into a maniacal sword dance, trading blows upon blows as they gauged one another's stance. The strengths, the gaps, the weaknesses; as long as they could see through them all, one blow could end the fight.

Clang upon clang filled the air. Metallic sparks flashed, but as the two fell into a deadlock. Dong Ling's smile stretched into a broad grin, and Chun Xu's eyes gleamed with ferocious battle intent. An omni-dimensional burst of lightning erupted from the Sword Fairy, becoming eight lightning arrows that pierced through all directions.

At Chun Xu's back, the large block of ice that Dong Ling had hurled her way was flying back, 100 times heavier than it ever was, and aiming to crush her spine. Three lightning arrows pierced through the ice block, making it burst into blue smoke and ice debris while the remaining bolts aimed for Dong Ling.