The clash of spears—one wreathed in ice, the other in flame—brought together a fierce collision of cold and heat that tore through the air like battling storm fronts.
Xu Feng's icy spear swept forward, trailing a biting chill. Frost coiled in its wake, layers upon layers of ice rushing straight toward Xiao Yun.
But Xiao Yun's eyes sparked with fire. His figure moved like a blazing comet, the crimson spear in his hands sweeping out in a fiery arc. Scarlet light surged forth, and flames danced wildly along the shaft. At the tip of his spear, the violet fire howled to life, threatening to melt the very world around it.
The tips of their spears collided—like dragons coiling mid-air, fierce and synchronized. Each thrust turned into beams of light, striking out with force sharp enough to tear through the sky.
Bang! Bang!
What the hell does this guy eat? Steel and gunpowder?
With each clash, Xu Feng felt his arms go number and number. At this rate, I'm going to drop my weapon before he does. After another forceful collision, Xu Feng took advantage of the momentum from Xiao Yun's strike and shot backward like a cannonball, retreating a good distance away to catch his breath.
Up on the hillside, several veteran students watching the battle couldn't help but look uneasy.
They knew all too well—this Xiao Yun was no longer the same as he'd been during their earlier fights. If it were them in the ring right now, they doubted they could even take a single strike from him.
"Damn... so he was holding back when he fought us?"
"Even Xu Feng, a genuine Dou Spirit, is losing ground to him?"
Some of the older students couldn't help but sigh in resignation. It was only now, watching with their own eyes, that they finally understood: it wasn't that the older generation in this year's Fire Energy Hunt was weak... it was that this year's freshmen were freakishly strong.
No—one of them was downright monstrous.
Even some inner court veterans had shown up to watch. Now, seeing Xiao Yun stand his ground against a Dou Spirit while only being a Dou Grandmaster, they began to reevaluate just how terrifying this newcomer truly was.
While all this realization simmered on the hill, the battle on the field raged on.
"Let's see you block this!" Xu Feng's voice rang out as he slid back, carving a deep trench through the rocky ground.
He steadied himself, gripping his spear tightly. His body trembled slightly as an immense wave of icy-blue Dou Qi surged from his core into the weapon. With a roar, the spear released a burst of energy.
A tidal wave of cold burst into the air, rising like a frozen volcano. Within seconds, the frost gathered and took shape—a colossal dragon made of solid ice, at least six or seven meters tall, spiraling in the air with an eerie silence. The chill radiating from it froze the surrounding ground in thick sheets of crystal ice.
Then came the roar—silent but soul-piercing.
With terrifying momentum, the ice dragon lunged down toward Xiao Yun like a divine beast come to judge.
The students watching gasped aloud.
"That's... Ice Sea Mystic Dragon! A high-tier Ywllow-rank battle technique!"
"Damn, Xu Feng's really lost it now. He's even pulled out that secret technique from the library vault. That kid's dead meat."
On the hillside, Lin Dong shook his head with a complicated expression and glanced sympathetically at Xiao Yun, as if silently mourning his impending defeat.
Meanwhile, the ice dragon tore through the air with devastating pressure, buffeting Xiao Yun's clothes into a flurry.
But instead of dodging, Xiao Yun's eyes lit up with joy.
"Perfect timing!"
With a grin, he summoned the violet flame across his entire body. Under the guidance of his fiery-red Dou Qi, it surged toward his spear's tip. The flames condensed into a massive purplish-red ball that launched upward with a roar.
"Blazing Flow Flame Blast!"
BOOM!
Fire clashed with frost, a symphony of heat and chill colliding at full force. Rings of energy rippled out from the impact point, blasting through the air. Steam erupted as ice and fire fought for dominance, enveloping both fighters in a thick white mist.
"Who won?!"
Everyone held their breath, staring at the dense fog. No one could see a thing.
FWOOOSH!
As the energies canceled each other out, the resulting shockwave scattered the fog. The battlefield emerged once more.
"Now then," came Xiao Yun's voice through the fading mist, "Round two begins."
A streak of red shot forward—Xiao Yun, spear-first, reentered the fray. This time, he wasn't just brute-forcing his way through. His spear was now cloaked in purple flame, and with every clash, he tried to infect Xu Feng with its scorching touch.
"What the hell is this fire?!"
Xu Feng snarled internally, utterly frustrated. The purple fire clinging to Xiao Yun's spear was freakishly hot—too hot for comfort. He was now burning through his icy Dou Qi just to counteract the heat, and even then, every time that flame touched him, it nearly melted his Dou Qi armor. If he didn't extinguish it fast enough, it would burn straight through his defenses.
And even putting it out took a ridiculous amount of energy.
"Hahaha! How's that feel, Xu Feng?" Lin Dong howled with laughter from the hilltop. "Told you to be careful! That weird purple fire isn't just for show—I still have scars from it!"
"ARGH!"
Xu Feng cried out again as a lick of purple fire landed on his armor. This time, he didn't have enough Dou Qi left to snuff it out. In mere seconds, the fire had eaten a gaping hole into the snowy-white armor.
With a flash of movement, he retreated, putting distance between himself and Xiao Yun. The moment he broke away, the flame, now out of Xiao Yun's control, extinguished with a soft hiss.
Xu Feng looked down at his armor. Through the hole, he could see his robes scorched away—and beneath that, his skin, now an angry red from the intense heat.
Damn, if that flame had lasted any longer, it might've burned right through me.
He gritted his teeth. That fire clearly came with a price—it had to be burning through Xiao Yun's Dou Qi at an insane rate. I'm almost dry... let's see how long he can keep this up.
But then, he looked up... and nearly choked.
Xiao Yun casually raised a hand, pulled out a white jade bottle, and—right in front of Xu Feng—popped a few pills into his mouth like they were candy.
A warm flush returned to Xiao Yun's face as his Qi surged again, not as overwhelming as at the start, but more than enough to make Xu Feng's lips twitch uncontrollably.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? You've got freak fire and you treat recovery pills like snacks? How the hell am I supposed to fight that?!"
Even Xu Feng, usually calm and composed, couldn't help but curse.
"Screw this. I'm out. I've got no Dou Qi left. Unlike you, I don't have a pocket full of recovery pills."
He let out a long sigh, his voice full of helpless frustration.