A Waste of Time

Chapter 74: Frayed Chains

Shen Li turned his head just enough to glance at one of the three girls standing quietly among their group of Inner Sect Disciples. His thoughts spun, unsettled as he studied her calm, poised expression.

Didn’t they say it was impossible for anyone to gain something like that before reaching the Foundation Establishment Realm? He clenched his jaw, his mind racing. Senior Sister Xue Lian only managed it because her clan is filthy rich — and her mother gave up more than half her own Cultivation to bless her in the womb.

The girl in question — Xue Lian — seemed utterly unaware of his sideways stare. Her gaze was fixed, sharp as a blade, locked on the tiny bird perched on Jia’s shoulder — a flicker of golden flame trailing from its feathers like a crown.

Deep in her core, something stirred, hungry and impatient. Xue Lian pressed a palm lightly to her abdomen, subtle enough that none but those closest might notice, as if to soothe a restless creature within. Her lashes lowered, voice a whisper only she could hear.

Stay. Not now.

Inside her Dantian, the restless one thrashed harder — the presence she had never fully tamed straining toward the tiny phoenix chick that now chirped sweetly atop Jia’s shoulder, as if calling out a challenge only another of its kind could answer.

Yue Lan’s thoughts spun wildly, whirling like a trapped flock of startled birds as she searched — panicked — for any solution to this sudden, blazing threat in front of her. She poured more of her mutated Water Qi into the Snow Ribbon, driving its power to the brink, weaving mist and frost into sharper, colder weapons. But no matter what she hurled at the girl standing within that boundary of dancing flame, every spear of ice, every curling flurry simply melted to nothing — evaporating in a hiss of steam before they ever touched flesh.

Jia barely seemed to notice. She stood in the center of it all, flame wreathing her shoulders and the tiny golden bird perched there like a crown. Her eyes were wide, dazed — drunk on the warmth pulsing through her veins. This power… it’s from him. Awe glowed in her core as she realized this was her young master’s gift to her — one of two, in fact — blooming to life when she needed it most.

Behind her, Ru felt tears sting the corners of his eyes. He didn’t even try to hide them. His lips curved in a rare, raw smile as he watched his sister shine in the firelight. Finally, he thought, chest tight with pride that nearly broke him in half, I no longer have to shield you from the world. It’s your turn now. Soar, little Jia — spread those wings and fly.

Elder Ping’s chest rose and fell with a sharp, audible sigh as she settled back onto her seat beside Daemon. Her Spirit Sense swept over the scene again and again, each pass confirming the truth her mind refused to accept. Just what is happening here? How could an orphan girl at the Qi-Gathering Realm wield a Martial Spirit? But the confusion would have to wait — the spectacle in front of her demanded every ounce of her attention.

Because now the tide had turned. Jia blinked once, twice — then her dazed eyes cleared and focused. Flame gathered in her open palms, swelling into orbs of searing orange and gold. She thrust them forward with a flick of her wrist — a volley of Fireballs hurtling toward Yue Lan, who found herself forced onto the back foot for the first time.

Cold air hissed as the Jade-Phoenix Hairpin flashed to life, forming a shimmering barrier that turned aside the worst of the flames. But even then, Yue Lan felt the bite of the heat nipping at her sleeves and hair, and knew with a sinking chill in her chest that Jia was holding back. Carefully, deliberately.

If the girl with the golden bird truly unleashed everything burning in her core — she’d reduce the entire arena around them to ash in a heartbeat.

Despite her best efforts to avoid a head-on clash, Yue Lan found herself forced to parry Fireball after Fireball with desperate flicks of her Snow Ribbon. When the ribbons of cold weren’t enough, the Jade-Phoenix Hairpin flared to life, raising barriers of solid ice that hissed and cracked under the heat.

But Jia was relentless. Like a stalking shadow, she pressed closer with every step — her footwork silent and precise, a lethal habit honed under Ru’s watchful eye during long years of hidden kills and whispered lessons.

When the moment came, it came fast: Jia closed the distance in a blur, twin Daggers flashing from her waist. Metal screeched against ice as the mortal steel met the crystalline shield conjured by the Jade-Phoenix Hairpin — blades grinding to a halt mere inches from Yue Lan’s throat and heart. Sparks fizzled out, steam curled from the clash of Fire Qi against conjured frost. Hairline cracks spidered along the Daggers’ edges where heat and cold met and bit into mortal iron.

Jia’s brow furrowed in visible frustration at the sight — her best killing edge blunted and scattered by stubborn ice.

Across from her, Yue Lan let out the breath she’d been holding, relief flickering behind her steely calm. Thank the heavens she’s not wielding an Offensive Spiritual Treasure like that Swordsman servant, she thought, swallowing hard as she felt the icy sweat at the nape of her neck. Or I’d be bleeding out on the snow right now.

Her best chance now was clear to everyone — a battle of attrition. One glance at Yue Lan’s calm, steady movements told the story; her Sect mates exchanged knowing nods as they watched her lean fully into that advantage. She had the stronger Spiritual Treasure, the better elemental match, and the patience to wait out Jia’s burning storm.

Meanwhile, Jia’s twin Daggers were coming apart at the seams — chipped edges glinting with hairline fractures, mortal steel pushed past its limit by the constant clash of her raging Fire Qi and Yue Lan’s relentless mutated Water Qi. Every parry left the blades thinner, every strike stole a sliver more steel.

Around them, the crowd — villagers and merchants alike — found themselves retreating a second time, pushed back by the blast wave of heat and cold battling for dominance. Yet even as they stepped away, their eyes stayed locked on the arena, wide and shining with raw, hungry awe.

They watched, breath caught in their throats, as these two fairy-like Immortals danced and clashed like feral tigresses crowned in frost and flame, tearing at each other’s weakness with a wild, feminine savagery that made even the air itself shiver.

Yue Lan felt a weight lift off her chest the moment she saw the first clear signs of fatigue slip into Jia’s movements — the slight hesitation in her footwork, the edge of her breathing turning ragged. Her eyes flicked to the Daggers and her confidence surged. What remained in Jia’s hands were nothing but battered hilts, the mortal steel once gleaming now reduced to scattered shards glittering like fallen stars across the frozen ground.

Even the golden bird perched on Jia’s shoulder seemed to droop, its tiny flames flickering low, its proud chirps quieting to soft, uncertain peeps. She’s finished, Yue Lan thought, her heartbeat steadying as her own pulse thrummed with cautious victory. She already overextended herself forging that blade for the swordsman — she must’ve burned through nearly all her Fire Qi doing it.

A quick sweep of her own Spirit Sense through her Dantian told her she wasn’t much better off — only ten, maybe fifteen percent of her Water Qi left to draw on. But it would be enough. One good push. One final surge. And this blazing pest would be snuffed out before she could fan those embers back to life.

Tsk.

Daemon clicked his tongue as the momentum shifted for the second time in this tense clash. The sharp sound drew the attention of the woman in black beside him. Outer Elder Ping glanced sideways, half-expecting to see the boy sulking — stewing in childish frustration at the sight of his pretty maid losing to one of her Sect Disciples. Expected, she thought mildly. He’s still just a boy — green, unseasoned, far too soft.

But when her Spirit Sense brushed him, she found no anger. No sulking. No petulant tantrum bubbling under the surface.

Daemon simply leaned back, brows furrowed in mild disbelief as he muttered under his breath, Something must be wrong in the bloodline of these two siblings. It’s like they can’t help but handicap themselves, even when their enemy already has every advantage!

Then, louder — he turned his head toward Ru, who stiffened as the young master’s flat stare pinned him in place.

“You two are just weird. You know that, right?”

The Swordsman lowered his head a fraction, ears burning red with embarrassment — but said nothing. Why is she not using her Lightning Qi? Ru thought.

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