Chapter 65: The Battle of Red and Blue

“Yes.” With a gentle tap, the sword severed the cord. She picked up the necklace and said, “Such a beautiful stone—it really would be a shame to destroy it.”

“Xiaotang, don’t let her break the necklace—hurry, get it back!”

Ye Tang snapped out of her daze. She recalled the change in herself when the necklace first cracked. Though curiosity gnawed at her, she was desperate to reclaim it.

YOYO, however, showed no hurry to destroy the necklace; she kept playing cat and mouse, darting away whenever Ye Tang got close. Ye Tang unleashed her powers without reservation, but even at her peak, she was no match for YOYO. Each time Ye Tang attacked, YOYO would instantly blink to another spot, and the two ended up weaving a zigzag chase across the arena.

She stopped pursuing and instead summoned her firebird—a massive, blazing creature unfurled its wings behind her. Seeing this, YOYO ceased her game as well, gathering a freezing energy beneath her feet until a wide, glowing sigil appeared. The roar of a dragon echoed through the air, and suddenly a gigantic ice dragon burst forth from the spell.

The firebird swooped, wings aflame, while the ice dragon surged forward undaunted. With a deafening crash, dust and wind swept across the arena as the two titans tore at each other overhead. The cacophony of their cries made the audience cover their ears. The firebird hurled blazing fireballs; the ice dragon opened its maw and unleashed a breath of arctic frost.

Both sides poured out energy to sustain their summoned beasts. For Ye Tang, the strain was overwhelming. In a moment of inattention, the firebird was snared and crushed in the ice dragon’s coils, its form dissipating under the pressure.

The backlash hit her hard; Ye Tang spat blood. Guided by YOYO, the ice dragon transformed into a frozen orb and hovered before her. “Come, taste fear.”

YOYO unleashed her power, and countless ice spikes shot from the orb toward Ye Tang. Sweat beaded in her palms as she watched the deadly hail, but she gritted her teeth and refused to yield.

Though weakened by the backlash, she still fought on, dodging left and right. No matter where she moved, the ice spikes seemed to track her every step. She leapt high, only to find more icy missiles trailing behind. She channeled flames into her hands, melting a few, but new ones swept in from the sides.

She landed, barely catching her breath, only to find herself surrounded by ice spikes on all sides. She was struck near her temple; the spike shattered, leaving her dizzy and reeling.

Instead of piercing her, the ice spikes exploded on impact, inflicting deep internal injuries. Ye Tang smashed a few with her fists, only to be battered by more eruptions at her back until, battered and bleeding, she collapsed to one knee on the arena floor.

“Xiaotang, give up! Don’t push yourself anymore—just stop!” Du Bin couldn’t watch any longer; his eyes were brimming with tears for reasons he could not understand.

Hu Guozheng’s patience was spent as well, his anger mounting at the rampant cheating in this tournament. “He’s right—if you keep fighting, you could lose your life, and nothing’s worth that.”

YOYO spun the necklace triumphantly in her hand. “Hmph, so you can still stand—impressive. I’ve watched all your battles and spotted plenty of weaknesses. Especially how you’re not used to defending against multi-angled attacks.”

“What?” Ye Tang was stunned.

“It’s because the powers you trained in with the Hunter family are all high-burst, single-target skills. You’ve always fought alone. But I’m different—since childhood, I’ve trained in area attacks, able to handle enemies from all directions.”

YOYO gathered an even greater surge of energy. Instantly, dozens of basketball-sized ice orbs appeared, orbiting her.

“How is that possible? Didn’t she just use a ton of energy? How can she recover so fast? Don’t tell me she’s got unlimited reserves!” Hu Guozheng’s disbelief was written all over his face.

“This is bad. The gap between them is enormous. Xiaotang’s in real danger,” Du Bin clenched his fists, worry gnawing at him.

“It’s no secret—our training methods are different. No matter how hard you try, you’ll never beat us for one simple reason: our energy reserves. If your limit is one hundred percent, mine is ten times that.”

“Are you serious? That’s insane—a total monster!” Hu Guozheng was utterly dumbfounded.

Sweat trickled from Ye Lan’s palms and fingertips. She hadn’t expected Wu Qiwei’s self-created training method to produce such a disciple. His true strength must be unfathomable.

YOYO unleashed her power again; the ice orbs fired a barrage of spikes from all directions. Ye Tang, battered and wounded, could barely dodge their assault. She shattered a few, but pain wracked her body, and ice spikes struck her chest. She raised her shield again and again, each time it broke, she rebuilt it.

Half the arena was soon shrouded in frost. When it finally cleared, Ye Tang remained behind a flickering shield, having cast it more than twenty times just to withstand the onslaught.

“This is only the second round, and your energy’s nearly spent,” YOYO taunted.

“Even if you have ten times my reserves, I’m not afraid—not even when I’m running on empty,” Ye Tang replied, wiping blood from her lips.

“We’ll see about that—let’s see how many more rounds you last!” With another surge, YOYO sent a fresh hail of ice spikes.

Ye Tang raised her shield, bracing herself as she charged headlong into the barrage. Her determination took YOYO by surprise, as Ye Tang weaved between the spikes, raising new shields each time the last was shattered.

“If I can’t dodge, I’ll push straight through.”

Wu Qiwei watched with admiration. “She’s realized that YOYO’s control is too scattered—because she’s splitting her focus, the attacks are less powerful.”

Ye Tang unleashed a flurry of punches. Though YOYO was surprised, she dodged with composure—until Ye Tang caught her arm and, with a deft pivot, threw her to the ground. Before YOYO could react, Ye Tang rained heavy blows upon her.

“Amazing! She’s turned it around—hitting her so hard she won’t even recognize her parents!” Hu Guozheng leapt up, shouting and cheering.

“So what if you’re used to group battles? I’m the king of duels!” With all her remaining strength, Ye Tang raised her fist, channeling the last of her energy.

But just as her hand came down, YOYO’s eyes suddenly darkened. The strange look made Ye Tang hesitate—and before she could react, the Phantom Sword plunged into her body.

YOYO slowly stood, withdrawing the blade from Ye Tang. The childish innocence vanished from her eyes, replaced by a chilling bloodlust that suffocated the entire arena into silence.

Clutching her wounded abdomen, Ye Tang collapsed, writhing in pain as blood poured from her lips.

“I hate it when people mess up my beautiful face. Since you want to die so badly, I’ll oblige you.” YOYO approached, pressing her sword to Ye Tang’s face with a sinister smile. “If I ruin your looks, you’ll be shattered inside, won’t you? Hahaha…”