After the second round, the number of participants was once more cut by half. Yasenia had won quickly this time around as well, so she had more than enough time to recover to her peak condition.
Looking at the remaining platforms, she knew that her next opponent was the person standing on the 38th one. The person standing on that platform was breathing roughly, their body still riddled with some injuries from the previous fight.
The man opened his eyes, looking at his next opponent, and quickly formed a grimace. He had been unlucky, paired against one of the tournament's top geniuses. Their fight had been rather close because of that, finishing near the last of all the combatants.
Yasenia looked over as their platforms merged, her face showing no emotion about her opponent's condition. Still, she decided to speak up, as he was one of the few who caught Yasenia's eye. "Chen Hai, you and your other disciple have made quite a few waves in this tournament. I was quite excited to face either of you. Sadly, you are now in this condition."
Chan Hei's expression was cold, his silver hair glowing with the soft moonlight. He was a disciple from the Moon-Piercing Glaze Sect, one of the few sects that Yan Huang warned her about. "I won't lose easily."
While there were some dark horses in the race, Yan Huang correctly evaluated that geniuses from certain sects would go far. Not because their strengths were above others, but because their means were unpredictable and elusive.
Instead of following the normal elemental path of Spiritual Cultivators, those in the Moon-Piercing Glaze Sect mastered the spiritual soul path… or so most people thought. Yasenia's eyes squinted as she took in the man's aura.
'He has soul energy.'
Not soul energy coming from a specialized Spiritual Path Cultivation Technique, but the one Yasenia herself had nurtured with her Soul Path Cultivation Techniques.
"You won't lose easily…" Yasenia smiled faintly. "I can tell where your confidence comes from. Sadly, our matchup is quite against your favor."
Chen Hai didn't answer, but also didn't attack. Since Yasenia was in the mood to talk, he would entertain her and use this time to recover as much as he could.
Yaenia, of course, knew what the man was thinking. However, even if he was in his peak condition, our dragoness didn't feel much threat from him. She was cautious, but there was confidence in her to take down this foe rather easily.
"A genius such as yourself might not put me in her eyes, but you shouldn't be too arrogant." Chen Hai started, trying to buy time.
He knew that some geniuses relished in that sense of superiority when facing a sure victory. Hence, he tried feeding Yasenia it, attempting to extend the conversation one more second.
Yasenia was not someone like that, but her interest was not only in his cultivation technique, but also in his peculiar aura. "Your bloodline is peculiar." She started, curious. "I can sense a trace of… familiarity."
Chen Hai was confused, as that was not the case on his end. For a moment, a somewhat awkward thought flashed in his mind. 'Is she trying to flirt with me?'
He, like many others, not only admired Yasenia's strength but also her beauty. He had not seen how she dealt with the incubus, as his previous fight was a bit too close for comfort to pay attention to anything else.
However, the fact that she defeated the incubus without looking like someone who was shamed by the sex demon made Chen Hai think that she might be feeling some residual heat from the battle.
After many thoughts flashed through his mind, his cold expression gained a trace of warmth.
Subtle, tempting, and gentle.
When someone like him smiled like that, it was as if winter melted away to give way to spring. "I hope that familiarity feels warm, because I feel it as well, and I can feel my cold heart melting away."
Many women in the stands were instantly lovestruck, some holding their flaming cheeks at such a romantic answer.
Yasenia, though, frowned. Her dragon senses were terrifyingly sharp, so she knew his words were hollow. "Why lie? Why spout nonsense?"
Chen Hai faltered for a second. He forgot that this beautiful woman was actually a dragon. A Dragon's senses toward words and emotions were among the best within all races, more often than not even sharper than charm-focused creatures.
"Whatever." Yasenia sighed, summoning Draheart. "I wanted to ask a few questions, but it seems that you got the wrong idea. I'll ask Aunty Xianlan and the others later."
Chen Hai instantly released his soul aura, enveloping the entire platform. "[Moon Glazing Illusion Domain], [Soulshaking Intent Domain Level 4], [Moon Reflection Intent Domain Level 4]."
BOOM!
Yasenia's surroundings changed, and her dress transformed into the red dress she first wore to attend the academy. Her body proportions also slimmed, and the mature, motherly charm in her was replaced by youthful vigor.
She felt her surroundings shift, and she was soon seated inside a carriage. In front of her was a peerlessly beautiful girl with blue hair and lips, her quiet, icy eyes looking at her with curiosity.
"Sweetheart…"
Her whisper was drowned out by a man's voice by her side. "So? What is your name? Did you come to this forest alone for any reason? Little Sis said that you were probably either ambushed or betrayed. Which one is it?"
The relentless questions came from Yasenia's side, a cheerful voice of a boy a few years older than her. Looking sideways, Yasenia saw someone she had been missing quite a bit. "Oliver…"
He was basically her big brother, someone who she grew up with, and for a moment, even knowing that she was in an illusion world, she felt reluctant to wake up from it.
'This scene is the first time I met Cecile.'
Back then, she was not the silver-haired Moon Phoenix Beauty, but an icy girl struggling to express herself. She didn't have an easy childhood, so she became quite closed and reluctant to open up to others.
Yasenia smiled for a second, her young, golden-slit eyes softening with a touch of gentleness and maturity far from her current age. Meanwhile, Cecile answered Oliver as she did back then, being quite reluctant at first.
Outside, Chen Hai's face was contorting terribly. Even as he used his strongest illusion arts, it felt as if he was trying to mend pure steel with mortal strength. Yasenia's will and soul were terrifying, and even when the dragon girl was not putting much effort into resisting, Chen Hai felt as if his soul was about to explode from trying to contain Yasenia from stirring awake.
'What in Heaven's name is this dragon's soul!? It's as difficult to bend as some of the Transcendence Realm seniors!'
Meanwhile, those powerful enough could see Yasenia in her illusion, their methods profound. Ao Xianlan looked at Yasenia's younger self and couldn't help but smile adoringly. "She is so cute! Look at her slender little body. Even her tail is a different color. Half golden and half black… Not bad, but it feels… off?"
Tatyna ignored the second half of the sentence as she glanced at her younger daughter's melon-sized weapons and couldn't help but deadpan. "Slender… Well, compared to her current dwarfing mountains, I guess you can say that Yasenia was much more slender when she was 18."
Ao Xianlan blinked. "Eighteen? I see… Who are those two? I can tell that Yasenia can break out of the illusion anytime, but she is just enjoying the carriage ride."
The others nearby were also curious. Tatyana chuckled. "The boy is Oliver, her first interest, but not her first love." She puffed her breasts and smiled arrogantly. "I am her first love, by the way. Just in case someone even had a trace of doubt about it."
"Shameless."
"Crib Empress strikes again."
"How could she deceive such a little girl?"
While Tatyana received phantom blows from the dragons, the succubuses were almost choking on their drool as they stared at the innocent-looking Yasenia. After all, she looked like a gorgeous peach about to mature into a heavenly fruit."
The Second Succubus Ancestor sighed. "Thankfully, I didn't meet her back then. Otherwise, I would've been killed by Lady Death Empress while trying to steal such a delicious-looking girl."
Lady First blinked and didn't answer, her thoughts hidden. Still, the gentle wagging of her succubus tail, faintly visible behind her, revealed that she also appreciated the younger-looking Yasenia.
If the current dragoness were a fully ripe fruit, full of allure and carnal temptation, the one in the illusion still carried traces of innocence and youthfulness that urged these charm demons to corrupt it and paint strokes of their colors.
Noticing the succubuses looks, Tatyana defended herself. "Look at them! They would've also committed endless sins on her!"
Ao Xianlan looked at the Death Empress with indifferent eyes. "Are you saying that you are no better than charm demons who can barely control their urge to mate with everything that moves?"
Lady First was slightly offended, but this time, she couldn't retort because Young Yasenia was just too tempting!
Meanwhile, in the arena, Yasenia noticed that the conversation between Cecile and Olvier was about to end, so she decided to wake up from the illusion with a sigh. "Time to return, I guess. [Tyrant Warlord Intent Domain], [Celestial Intent Domain], [Firmament Soul Sword]…"
BOOM!
Her aura exploded, almost forcing Chen Hai to cough up a mouthful of blood. Before he could react, though, Yasenia waved her hand as if it were a sword.
"[Celestial Sunder]."
Draheart followed the arc Yasenia completed with her hand, and then, the illusion world was split in half.
SLASH!
A massive arc that cut across thousands of kilometers split the sky in two, Chen Hai coughing a mouthful of blood as his illusion domain shattered.
Yasenia blinked once, and the world returned to normal. She was in the tournament, her body fully ripe and dripping with sheer carnal temptation. Her facial features were perfectly crafted, her innocence and youthfulness having melted away into a mature, motherly allure.
Behind her, the blue tail with golden rings left a shimmering shadow of starlight, looking as if she were moving part of the night with each gentle waving motion.
Everyone who had seen both Yasenias couldn't help but marvel at the change. The woman had transformed fully, becoming a heavenly beauty that could force emperors to launch a thousand ships just to get a smile from her.
Her golden slit eyes gently moved toward Chen Hai, who had recovered from the backlash, and she smiled. Her eyes were soft, rippling with gentle nostalgia. "Thank you for the illusion. You can go rest now. [Soul Dividing Tyrannical Cleave]."
Chen Hai formed soul defenses, moon shadows appearing in the way of Yasenia's crescent. Sadly for him, the sword light cut through everything, reaching him somewhat weakened.
SLASH!
"ARRGH!"
As a soul cultivator, his natural soul defenses were much stronger than normal. However, Yasenia's attack was, as its skill name implied, tyrannical to the extreme.
Yasenia released a barrage of soul attacks toward Chen Hai, overwhelming him as her powerful mind easily defended against all illusions.
With his strengths suppressed and his weaknesses at Yasenia's reach, it didn't take long for his senior to appear and block Yasenia's relentless assault, marking the end of the battle.
Yasenia bowed with respect to the senior, her figure elegant and poised, yet laced with hidden seduction.
Then turned to meditate and wait for the next contender.
'Three battles left… I wonder what I will encounter.'