A Chaotic World

Holding a ball of water in his left hand and the Cloud Splitter in his right, Lu Tianzi looked down at Linye Caixia from above.

You shall be my test subject!

Lu Tianzi turned his palm, and directly pressed the ball of water against the long blade of the Cloud Splitter.

The ball of water burst open the moment it came into contact with the blade, but the water content did not scatter everywhere as it should have.

Instead, the water content seemed to increase in volume, spreading out to encase the entire sword and wrapping it in something that resembled a bubble of water.

Sssss-!

A loud sizzling sound filled the Grand Ember Hall as hot vapour formed on the blade of the Cloud Splitter. With that, the orange glow on the long sword also started to quickly subside.

"You are using water to cool down your sword? Do you really think there is a point to doing that?" Linye Caixia's expression fell. "You are starting to disappoint me."

"Whether it will be of any use, shouldn't I at least give it a try?" Lu Tianzi replied.

"I guess you have a point," Linye Caixia nodded. "Well then, let me show you just how meaningless it is!"

With that, Linye Caixia shot into the air, swinging her spear straight at Lu Tianzi.

This time, Lu Tianzi did not take any evasive measures.

He hovered in place and tightened his grip on the Cloud Splitter, slashing out right as Linye Caixia got in range.

But just as the two weapons were about to come into contact, Linye Caixia could not help but widen her eyes in surprise.

Her spear had suddenly slowed down, as though the air around her had turned into viscous sludge.

This is... the dampening effect of the Law of Water!

However, that was not nearly enough to stop her.

Linye Caixia was unfazed by just that, and her spear continued forward to finally clash against Lu Tianzi's Cloud Splitter.

Sssss-!

Instead of the usual thunderous collision, the loud sizzling of water sounded out in everyone's ears. Large amounts of hot vapour exploded out the moment the two weapon met, forming into a white cloud that completely shrouded the two youngsters fighting in the air.

But this only lasted for a mere moment.

Boom-!

A loud explosion suddenly reverberated through the Grand Ember Hall, and a figure was violently thrown out from within this white cloud made of hot vapour, headed straight for the floor below.

"Watch out!" someone called out in concern.

As though responding to the call, Linye Caixia gritted her teeth and did a flip in the air, nimbly landing on her own two feet.

Yet even after she managed to land properly, Linye Caixia still could not quite believe what just happened.

Right now, the spear in her hand was still emitting small amounts of hot vapour, proof of the exchange that she just had with Lu Tianzi.

Linye Caixia looked up to see Lu Tianzi slowly descending from the air to land in front of her.

"What did you do just now?" Linye Caixia asked.

"I was merely defending myself, Lady Linye," Lu Tianzi answered with a smile. "With water."

In his hands, the Cloud Splitter was still shrouded in a thick bubble of water. Small amounts of hot vapour was still escaping from its surface, just like the case with Linye Caixia's spear.

"Water?" Linye Caixia frowned. "How can water produce such an explosive momentum?"

"Do you know that when water is heated up, it can expand to more than one thousand times its original volume?" Lu Tianzi explained with a smile. "However, even I did not expect such a great effect. Perhaps the only reason why there was such a huge explosion just now was because Lady Linye's mastery of fire techniques has reached an unimaginable height, causing the water around my sword to be heated up too quickly. The faster this happens, the stronger the momentum."

Lu Tianzi had no qualms about explaining what happened to Linye Caixia.

After all, they were not enemies, and Lu Tianzi wanted to appear generous in order to leave a good impression with Young Master Xuan Hao's many seniors who were present today.

"There's such a thing?" Linye Caixia revealed a look of surprise, then the frown from before returned to her face. "Wait a minute. Why does it sound like you are saying that this is a technique that can counter fire-element techniques?"

"Lady Linye must be mistaken," Lu Tianzi shook his head. "However, I suppose having water-element techniques at my disposal does give me a slight advantage when it comes to dealing with fire."

"Heh! How confident!" Linye Caixia regained her excited grin upon hearing what Lu Tianzi said.. "Then let us see the limits of your technique, and whether it can truly withstand the invasive might of the Law of Fire!"

Along with the volume of her voice, the spear in her hands started to glow brighter as well.

Linye Caixia once again thrust her spear forward, and Lu Tianzi once again stood his ground.

When Linye Caixia came into range, Lu Tianzi slashed out with the Cloud Splitter.

Everything was executed in the exact same way as before, as though it had been agreed upon by the two parties beforehand.

The only difference seemed to be the fact that while they were clashing in the air earlier, they now had their feet on solid ground.

But there were indeed other differences this time round.

This time, Linye Caixia was far more serious.

She focused her perception on the young man in front of her, carefully watching him to make sure that she would not miss a single one of his movements.

As she neared, Linye Caixia felt the familiar feeling of her body slowing down.

That's right, this was the same dampening effect that she had felt earlier. It was also what reduced the explosive power of the her attack, preventing her from blowing away her opponent in a single strike.

However, what she cared more about was what came next.

Therefore, Linye Caixia did not allow herself to get distracted, continuing to watch Lu Tianzi carefully.

Sssss-!

The sizzling sound from before sounded out the moment the spearhead came into contact with the bubble of water that encased the Cloud Splitter.

Even when slowed, Linye Caixia's spear easily penetrated through the surface of the bubble of water, its spearhead clashing directly against the blade of the long sword.

Encased by the bubble of water, the Cloud Splitter was being cooled down constantly, making sure that it no longer took as much damage from the heat of Linye Caixia's spear.

With that, the threat of the Cloud Splitter being reforged in battle had been neutralised.

Huge amounts of hot vapour burst out from where the two weapons met, caused by the interaction between Linye Caixia's heated spear and the bubble of water around the Cloud Splitter.

But while that was happening, there was still an even larger amount of hot vapour trapped within the bubble of water, accumulating at an alarming rate.

It was at this moment that Linye Caixia finally noticed something.

The creation of this much hot vapour should have long exhausted the bubble of water around the Cloud Splitter, yet on second glance, there was absolutely no change to the bubble of water at all.

This is... the endlessness trait of the Law of Water?

Just how deep is this guy's comprehension into the Law of Water...?

He is just a Third Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist!

Linye Caixia did not have much time to ponder over this matter.

While she had been deep in thought, the hot vapour trapped within the bubble of water finally reached its threshold.

With a single thought, Lu Tianzi opened the tiniest of gaps within the bubble of water towards Linye Caixia, and everything erupted out at once.

Boom-!

The explosion was even stronger than the one before, and Linye Caixia was sent flying once again.

This time, she stumbled backwards even after landing, only regaining her balance after using her spear as a support.

"Where is your friend from?" Taomie Lianhe immediately asked Young Master Xuan Hao through voice conveyance.

Young Master Xuan Hao hesitated a little before replying in embarassment. "He never mentioned it before..."

It was only now that he realised that after so long, he still did not know of Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue's background.

Because the duo had been unaware of many basic things about the continent, Young Master Xuan Hao thought that they must be from some small influence that was not worth mentioning.

Why else would they not have access to such basic information?

But the more he knew about Lu Tianzi, the more this seemed improbable.

Even if he was an absolute martial genius, would someone from a small influence ever be capable of going toe to toe with Linye Caixia?

Well, perhaps it could be possible if he really was extremely talented...

"I see," Taomie Lianhe nodded, not asking any further.

She knew her son's personality better than anyone, so she was not too surprised to hear that Young Master Xuan Hao had not looked into the background of his newly made friends.

She, however, would not be making the same mistake.

In her mind, Taomie Lianhe was already thinking about how she should go about investigating the background of the young man before her.

Taomie Lianhe was not the only one whose curiosity had been piqued either.

Within the Grand Ember Hall, the many seniors of the Blue Ember faction started to view the fight more seriously.

Even Xuan Qinshang subconsciously leaned forward on his throne as he continued to watch the two youngsters with interest.

As Lu Tianzi had thought, most members of the of the Timeless Flame Sect prided themselves on their mastery of the Law of Fire, and the leader of the Blue Ember faction was no exception.

Seeing Linye Caixia's fire-element technique being countered to such an extent before his very eyes, Xuan Qinshang could not help but feel vested in the fight.

Before he knew it, he had started rooting for Linye Caixia in his heart, hoping that she would turn things around with a single spectacular move!

That was why he could not help but furrow his brows when Lu Tianzi suddenly stored away the Cloud Splitter.

"Why don't we end things here, Lady Linye?" Lu Tianzi clasped his fists towards Linye Caixia once more. "Lady Linye might still be able to fight, but I am already exhausted after the past few exchanges. I really need some rest now."

"You suddenly need some rest after winning the last exchange of moves?" Linye Caixia frowned. "Are you trying to run while you are ahead?"

No matter how she looked at Lu Tianzi, he did not seem to be tired at all!

"But it is true," Lu Tianzi shrugged. "My stamina truly cannot compare to that of Lady Linye."

"Since that's the case, let's change it up a little!" Linye Caixia stored away her spear as well, but immediately readied her hands in front of her in a battle stance. "Fighting with weapons might be tiring, so let's fight unarmed instead!"

Lu Tianzi felt the corner of his lips twitch.

Did this Linye Caixia not understand simple words?

Even though it was just an excuse, he did say that he was exhausted and needed to rest.

How would fighting bare-handed instead be any different from fighting with weapons?

If she really wanted to keep going, at least come up with something reasonable!

"Young man, it's rare that Caixia is so interested in an opponent, so why don't you do this old man a favour and indulge in her request?" Xuan Qinshang suddenly said. "How about the two of you exchange one last move, and then we call it a day?"

"This... okay then," Lu Tianzi eventually agreed.

Since Xuan Qinshang was the leader of the Blue Ember faction, he naturally had to give him some face.

Otherwise, he would only be making things awkward for Young Master Xuan Hao.

"Heh! That's more like it!" Linye Caixia grinned.

Lu Tianzi sighed helplessly before readying himself.

But when he looked back up at Linye Caixia once again, Lu Tianzi felt the corner of his lips twitch.

Behind Linye Caixia, an illusory warrior was shimmering into existence.

Linye Caixia had summoned her Origin Totem, which signalled that she was really intending to go all out with her next move!