Chapter 35: Referee, He's Cheating

Quarterfinals, Match 3.

Chao Qingteng stood with his sword angled, gazing up at the sky, appearing aloof and stern.

As he stood there, the air grew several degrees colder, and even snowflakes began to fall.

Xu Xiaoshou rushed into the barrier, involuntarily shivering. The temperature inside the arena was several times colder than outside.

"Is this the power of Innate Attributes?"

He secretly clicked his tongue in amazement. He had known about Chao Qingteng's ice attribute ability before, but only when they truly faced off did he realize the terrifying nature of Innate power.

The ability to influence nature with one's own power was truly terrifying!

There was a rest period after entering the arena. Xiao Qixiu was quite accommodating to Xu Xiaoshou; even though the young man always procrastinated, he still ensured he had the necessary preparation time.

Xu Xiaoshou reached out, and the snowflakes in the air fell into his palm, appearing serene and graceful.

The audience watched, spellbound. The light snow on the Cloud Dispelling Platform, with the three men, created a picturesque scene.

"Referee, he's cheating!"

Before anyone could recover from the enchanting scene, Xu Xiaoshou pointed at Chao Qingteng opposite him and angrily declared, "The match hasn't even started, and he's already affecting the environment! That's not fair!"

The snowflakes in the air paused slightly, and Chao Qingteng finally looked at Xu Xiaoshou.

"Received mockery, Passive Points, +1."

Aha!

Mocking me, are we?

Xu Xiaoshou glared back, unwilling to show weakness. Who's afraid of whom?

Xiao Qixiu frowned. Logically, Xu Xiaoshou was right, but in an actual match, who would pay attention to a few snowflakes?

"What do you propose?"

Xu Xiaoshou chuckled, "I'm a bit cold. Tell him to take these snowflakes back!"

On the surface, he acted nonchalant, but inwardly, he took this match very seriously.

Who knew what these snowflakes could do? Perhaps they could sense his location upon contact, or perhaps they were building up to a big move...

Xu Xiaoshou would never be careless enough to concede environmental advantages when facing an Innate master; wouldn't that be like losing half the battle before it even began?

The audience was somewhat displeased. While some might have agreed with Xu Xiaoshou's caution, most felt he was being overly petty.

Just a few snowflakes, was it really necessary?

"I can't retract them," Chao Qingteng finally spoke, his voice seemingly imbued with a hint of coldness.

"Well, that makes things difficult..." Xu Xiaoshou spread his hands. "You're good at long-range casting, I'm close-combat, and you're also cheating. How am I supposed to fight like this?"

Even Chao Qingteng, with his arrogant demeanor, couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth under the continuous assault of the word "cheating." "What exactly do you want?"

"How about we open the barrier and let the sun in?" Xu Xiaoshou suggested.

Xiao Qixiu stumbled. "Let the sun in, my foot! Do you think thousands of people in the audience are here to watch you sunbathe?"

"Sunbathing is out of the question. Since you mentioned you're a close-combat fighter, how about we reduce the distance?" Xiao Qixiu looked at Chao Qingteng, his gaze questioning.

Chao Qingteng nodded, and Xu Xiaoshou immediately brightened. He took the bait!

"'Some' is how much?" he continued to ask.

Xiao Qixiu was about to lose patience with this guy. Taking an inch and demanding a mile, are we?

"Any distance is fine," Chao Qingteng's eyes also grew cold, and he then added heavily, "They're waiting outside. Let's start soon!"

"'Any distance is fine'?" Xu Xiaoshou raised an eyebrow.

*Whoosh!* He instantly appeared right in front of Chao Qingteng's face, his nose almost touching the other's.

Xu Xiaoshou, "exhaling like an orchid," asked, "Is this close enough?"

Chao Qingteng was startled by the sudden warmth. His pale, stern face flushed slightly as he quickly retreated a few steps, his heart pounding. After a long moment of hesitation...

"Yes!"

The audience was practically going wild, with some female disciples openly shouting, "No!"

Chao Qingteng's strength, combined with his cool demeanor, made him the epitome of "aloof elegance," practically the Prince Charming in the hearts of almost all female disciples in the outer academy.

In previous matches, Xu Xiaoshou naturally had many supporters, but now, facing Chao Qingteng, the support was overwhelmingly one-sided.

"Get away from him! Who gave you permission to get close to my Qingteng-gege?"

"Don't agree to him! Wuwuwu, Senior Brother Chao, quickly distance yourself!"

"Oh my god, so this is also possible! I learned something new! I need to cultivate diligently too; I also want to get this close to Qingteng-gege..."

The two in the arena were barely a step apart, gazing deeply into each other's eyes.

Xiao Qixiu appropriately waved his hand: "Match start!"

The moment the words fell, Xu Xiaoshou's grinning expression instantly vanished, replaced by a serious one.

Amidst the flying snowflakes, he landed a heavy punch on Chao Qingteng.

*Bang!*

Ice shards exploded, hitting something solid, but Xu Xiaoshou could tell he hadn't hit Chao Qingteng himself.

"This is..."

A clone? Teleportation? A substitution technique?

Many thoughts flashed through Xu Xiaoshou's mind. Under the cover of his "Perception," a snowflake behind him moved, and Chao Qingteng appeared there.

Having appeared, Chao Qingteng did not immediately attack but chose to widen the distance.

He raised a finger, though it was unclear what he was indicating, and calmly said, "Not bad."

"Received praise, Passive Points, +1."

Xu Xiaoshou, however, felt as if he was being mocked. He had no idea how Chao Qingteng had moved away, and the "fake Chao Qingteng" he had punched had turned into an ice sculpture amidst the snowflakes before shattering.

It was incredibly bizarre...

Xu Xiaoshou feigned nonchalance, saying, "You're not bad at dodging either. I guess it has nothing to do with these snowflakes, otherwise, you'd be blatantly cheating."

Chao Qingteng remained expressionless. Xu Xiaoshou inwardly sighed, 'It's indeed hard to glean information from this cold-faced man's expressions.'

He stared at Chao Qingteng seemingly unconcerned, but his "Perception" was maximized, allowing him to clearly register every snowflake as it formed and fell.

His intuition told him that this snowfall absolutely could not be ignored.

This snow had appeared only when facing him, Xu Xiaoshou; prior to this, he had never seen Chao Qingteng use such a move.

The blue Ice River Sword, with its unusually wide blade, was slowly lifted by Chao Qingteng. The snowflakes in the air seemed to tremble slightly.

Xu Xiaoshou took out "Hidden Misery." He knew that unless he countered Chao Qingteng's technique, close combat would be impossible.

In the Innate Yuan Court Realm, spiritual power had evolved into spirit essence. As Chao Qingteng infused his spirit essence into the Ice River Sword, the blade crackled and began to form ice crystals.

*Whoosh!*

A single sword sweep sent a blast of frosty cold air rushing towards him. Xu Xiaoshou chose to dodge by sidestepping.

However, although the cold air clearly didn't touch his body, it released terrifying chill upon approaching, severely hindering his movements.

Xu Xiaoshou finally understood why no one could evade Chao Qingteng's "One-Sword Ice River."

*Hiss~*

His whole body shuddered, so numb that he almost dropped his sword. Facing the second incoming sword aura, he was powerless to resist and could only just manage to raise "Hidden Misery."

There was no collision, no roar...

Under the astonished gaze of the audience, Xu Xiaoshou was frozen solid into an ice sculpture with a *crack!*

"Damn, even Xu Xiaoshou got frozen like this? In just two sword strikes?"

"Chao Qingteng is too strong, isn't he? It's 'One-Sword Ice River' against everyone, but since Xu Xiaoshou has an Innate physique, it's... 'Two-Sword Ice River'?"

"Is the gap between a Spirit Refinement Tenth Stage and Innate really that huge? I'm stunned..."

Chao Qingteng's expression remained utterly indifferent. He wielded his sword as if facing any other weak opponent, only that Xu Xiaoshou alone was equivalent to two of them.

However, his opponent did possess an Innate physique. Perhaps his "Ice River Spirit Essence," which was strong enough to cause necrosis in the flesh and blood of Spirit Refinement Tenth Stage cultivators, might not be able to freeze Xu Xiaoshou to death...

Chao Qingteng's peripheral vision caught Xiao Qixiu, and seeing no inclination from him to intervene and save Xu Xiaoshou, he immediately confirmed his own assumption.

Continue attacking!