Jin minhe gave Fan Yumei back a subtle thumbs-up. "Don't hold back."
Fan Yumei headed to the armor prep domes. She quickly removed her reinforced light battle armor. Its fitted joints and flexible guards shimmered under the lights. Then put on her 10 pound wieghts on her ankles wrist and a weighted vest before redressing back into her battle armor fixing her gear. She clipped her daggers in place and checked her wrist ring one last time before heading out onto battle ring 6.
Fan yumei was doing light stretching warm ups on her side while studying her opponent Liang Chenwu.
Then, the arena bell echoed.
And Fan Yumei stepped onto the polished stone floor, face calm, eyes sharp.
The announcement drones flew overhead to record the battles and announce the rounds and rules:
————
[🤼Round 1: Hand-to-hand combat only 🤼♀️]
________
[ Fighters take your places! No weapons, no qi of any sorts or beasts allowed! Breaking of rules will result to disqualification and automatic suspension ]
———-
Liang Chenwu smirked. "Let's see what you've got."
Yumei gave a curt nod. "Ready when you are."
The bell sounded—and they clashed almost instantly.
Chenwu lunged first, throwing a rapid jab. Yumei dodged and countered with a precise hook, followed by a sweep that nearly took his legs.
He grunted and recovered, spinning into a low punch, but she caught his wrist and flipped him over her shoulder. He hit the ground but rolled to his feet in one breath, swinging a roundhouse kick she barely ducked under.
They exchanged blow after blow—rapid, calculated, intense.
Each step Yumei took, she led him subtly closer to the arena's edge without him realizing. Then she feinted left, ducked low, and struck with a sharp palm to his chest.
The force sent him stumbling—and one foot crossed the boundary line.
The crowd gasped.
He blinked, stunned. "Wait—"
The referee raised a hand. "Out of bounds. Round One: Fan Yumei.
The audience cheers.
Chenwu's mouth twisted, half-annoyed, half-impressed. "Tricked me."
Yumei smiled faintly. "You led yourself."
———-
🔥⚡ Round 2: Use of Energy Qi , beast qi and Elemental Qi (spells, runes, curses) only ⚡🔥
———-
No weapons or soild qi based weapons, elemental weapons or use of beast Breaking of rules will result to disqualification and automatic suspension .
———
The bell rang again.
Both fighters raised their qi.
Chenwu's fists flared with fire qi—heat rolling off his skin, steam hissing from his armored sleeves. Fan Yumei's aura shimmered in return, her qi blending into a complex weave of wind, lightning, and cloud.
Razor-sharp wind qi curled around her legs, her cloak snapping from the pressure. Lightning qi crackled faintly along her arms, glowing just under her skin. And high above, a subtle shimmer of cloud qi hovered—dense, responsive, always shifting.
They moved almost at once.
Yumei drew a speed rune into the air—wind and lightning converging at her feet. She surged forward in a blur, too fast for the eye to follow. In the same motion, she slammed her palm forward, a second rune igniting at her fingertips—
Compressed cloud qi shot forward in dart form, dense enough to punch through stone.
Chenwu twisted aside, narrowly avoiding impact, and counter-cast a fireball spell that howled toward her.
Yumei dropped low, rolled, and popped up behind a swirl of wind qi—the fireball streaking past, grazing her braid.
Chenwu didn't stop. He launched, powered by a fireburst, and closed in fast.
His kick landed.
Boom.
Yumei flew, skidding toward the ring's edge—
—but her qi pulsed.
She instinctively channeled cloud qi, and a cushion of semi-solid mist erupted beneath her. Not Mystic, but a manifestation of their bonded essence. It broke her momentum, turning a crash into a controlled landing.
She hit the ground on both feet—winded, but upright.
Around the arena, a ripple of excitement stirred. A few teachers leaned forward.
Yumei's gaze locked on Chenwu.
No hesitation.
While running sideways, she drew a flaming attack rune—fire and lightning qi fusing in her hand. She hurled it, forcing Chenwu to block with a burst of qi. At the same time, she activated another wind rune beneath her feet, then layered it with lightning qi for rapid acceleration.
She shot up into the air.
Cloud qi solidified mid-step, forming a platform beneath her boots.
The crowd gasped as she ran through the sky.
While airborne, she carved a double attack rune—this time fusing lightning and wind qi.
Twin blasts arced toward Chenwu—one a razor wind spiral, the other a streaking bolt of lightning.
He ducked, rolled, cast a flame arc wide.
Then he launched himself up to meet her in midair.
They clashed—fist to palm, blade-shaped qi on both sides.
Then, as if on cue, they both cast their final techniques.
Yumei slammed a shock rune—a volatile combo of cloud and lightning qi—into the air.
Chenwu roared and compressed both hands into a dual fire burst.
KA-BOOOOOOM!
The shockwave ripped through the arena.
A brilliant explosion of fire, wind, and lightning engulfed the ring. The floor cracked. The platforms of cloud qi evaporated in the blast.
Both fighters were launched in opposite directions—
—and landed outside the boundary line at exactly the same moment.
Silence. Then chaos.
The referee, eyes wide, raised both arms.
"Round Two: Draw!"
The crowd roared. Even a few instructors clapped. Some kids whistled. Maxius bobbed his head smugly from the side. Lufei flicked her antlers in approval.
Fan Yumei lay on her back for a moment, chest rising and falling. Sparks flickered around her fingers, smoke rising from her sleeves. Her heart pounded—but she grinned.
Her control over wind, lightning, and cloud qi was holding. Barely.
She rolled to her feet as Chenwu did the same.
Both gave each other a nod.
And both were ready for the final round.
Now armed, the two combatants approached the center of the ring once more.
Liang Chenwu, seeing her with basic daggers, scoffed, feeling insulted.
"Am I not a worthy opponent!? You dare insult me like this, woman!? Where is your actual weapon?" He pointed at her, stomping his foot in anger—thin motes of qi pulsing beneath his heel.
Fan Yumei gave him a weird look, replying with only two words—further infuriating him.
"My bad."
She put away the daggers and retrieved her red and black twin swords from her space bracelet—curved, compact, balanced for speed. Her stance lowered, sharper and coiled.
"Uhmp." Liang Chenwu gave a grudging nod, then readied himself.
He drew short swords etched with fire runes, their steel tinged faintly crimson from stored energy. A faint shimmer of qi danced at his shoulders and ankles—not outward techniques, but raw reinforcement, woven tightly through his movements.
No spells.
No beast summons.
Only steel—and technique.
Ding!
The bell rang.
Yumei struck first—twin arcs flashing toward Chenwu's flank. He blocked one, turned the other aside with a sharp flick of his wrist, then lunged forward with a heavy slash powered by a surge of reinforcing qi in his legs.
She ducked, spun, and came up at his shoulder.
Clang! Sparks flew.
He feinted low. She jumped—
—but midair, she channeled her cloud qi subtly, stepping on a brief, mistlike platform that formed beneath her boot. It was faint, almost unseen—but it redirected her arc just enough to avoid his strike. She pivoted midair and slammed her elbow into the side of his head, knocking him stumbling.
Chenwu skidded back, planting a foot hard with a small burst of invisible qi, steadying himself instantly before rushing back in. His strikes came faster now, empowered by silent qi flows running through his arms and shoulders.
She blocked, slid, turned—and mid-spin, activated the rune on her swords, letting it flare just in time to absorb a hard strike that could've knocked her off-balance.
He growled and pressed in harder.
The blades clashed again and again. Steel rang out across the arena.
Yumei adjusted her rhythm. Her body moved on instinct now. Maxius's phantom qi and her flexible movement became one, and using Cloud qi gave her high-ground control. Everything came together.
Then—she feinted a phantom slice left.
Chenwu took the bait. He couldn't see it, but he felt the threat in that invisible slice and dodged out of the way.
Fan Yumei waited for that.
She slipped in from the right, ducked low, and tapped his shoulder with a clean upward cut.
The referee stepped forward and raised a hand.
____
["Winner: Fan Yumei!"]
——
Chenwu exhaled, his chest heaving. Then he sheathed his blades and nodded. "You're better than I thought."
Yumei wiped her brow, returning the nod. "You're strong too."
They stepped forward and met in the center again, gripping each other's forearm in a firm handshake—one warrior to another.
The crowd thundered with applause.
Maxius flared one wing dramatically. Lufei's antlers glowed in contentment. Neither had been summoned, but both had watched.
Fan Yumei didn't smile, not yet. But she stood taller.
[Match—complete.]
As Yumei reached the benches, Lufei gave a pleased huff and nudged her knee. Maxius ruffled his feathers, eyes gleaming with pride.
Jin Minhe didn't say anything immediately. He just held out a closed fist.
Yumei bumped it with a smirk, sliding into the seat beside him.
"You won two out of three," he said, eyes still on the matches board. "Nice."
She exhaled, flexing her sore hand. "I'm claiming victory. My wrists are vibrating."
"Good," he replied, already opening a snack pouch. "That was one of the cooler fights today."
Before she could reply, a few classmates from Class A turned toward her with wide eyes.
"Fan Yumei! That move at the end—was that a feint into a reverse arc?!"
"Where did you learn that midair platform thing? That was qi control, right?"
"Yo, she stepped into the air! Like, actual floating runes!"
Fan Yumei raised an eyebrow, amused, and gave a small shrug. "I train a lot."
Maxius gave an approving screech behind her.
Jin Minhe added, casually, "She's also has weights on. Don't let the calm face fool you."
Fan Yumei grinned. "Coming from the kid who would fight with snacks in his mouth?"
He nodded. "Tactic. Nutrient efficiency."
Laughter broke out around them as the crowd's energy settled. Some of the teachers up in the observation watch deck while watching all the 7 battles, could be seen murmuring and comparing notes.
One instructor glanced down at Yumei, clearly intrigued.
And just like that, her name began making quiet waves—not just as the girl with a mythical beast with a strange double awakening, triple profession and six-star combo, but as someone whose tactics and control couldn't be ignored.
More names were called to battle. The next set of matches began. But all around her, classmates still stole glances in her direction from time to time.
Fan Yumei didn't mind this time.