Chapter 85 — Battle Between Mortals [3]
Shi Xiao vs. Minji Xiao
Shi Xiao's lips curved with that same ever-present smile — not mocking, not arrogant, simply genuine, as if it was carved into his very being. Even in the heat of the arena, his expression never faltered. James, watching from his seat could only whisper a silent prayer, "Please… don't let her end up like Ruby."
Ken Xiao and Shi Xiao stood on nearly equal footing in terms of raw power, their aura weighing down the arena like a storm barely held back. Minji who stood across from Shi.
Minji unsheathed her twin daggers, their silver edges catching the light like fangs thirsting for blood. Though she was known primarily as a bow user, she had long since mastered a secondary style for close combat. A bow was devastating at range — but at arm's length? It was suicide. Thus, the daggers became her claws.
Her black eyes began to glow golden , a fierce light brimming with killing intent.
Shi Xiao, by contrast, carried nothing but a pair of sharp-pointed nunchaku, though his true art was his bare-handed combat. In his grip, the nunchaku whirled like a storm, extensions of his own bones.
Then, without warning — he moved.
Shi blurred forward, vanishing into a streak of motion. To Minji, he was no longer a man but a rushing phantom. Her instincts screamed, her head snapping aside by just an inch — and right there, a gleaming nunchaku swept through the air where her skull had been.
"Am I really that predictable," Shi asked lightly, his tone calm even as he pressed the attack, "or did you actually follow my speed?"
Minji didn't answer. Her daggers flashed in a quick arc, aiming for his ribs. Sparks flew as Shi deflected with his weapon, the clash ringing like struck steel. His strength surged, overwhelming, shoving her back with such force that she tumbled across the stone floor.
But Minji wasn't so easily undone. She stabbed one dagger into the ground, the friction slowing her roll. Using the weapon as an anchor, she slid to a halt, abandoning it in the earth. In the same motion, she drew her bow.
Shi's smile widened as he charged again, his body a rushing blur.
"Oh? Don't tell me you actually intend to use a bow in close combat?"
In the blink of an eye, he was already upon her.
But Minji's lips curled into a sly, foxlike smile. At the last instant, the bow vanished from her hand — replaced by the dagger she had left stuck in the ground. A shimmer of runic light confirmed it: instantaneous teleportation.
"Slash—slash!"
Her blades carved an X across his chest, blood spilling in fine lines before he staggered back.
"Ah… did I forget to mention?" Minji's voice was calm, almost playful. "My daggers and bow are specially enchanted. They can switch places instantly."
Her twin blades danced again, unleashing a storm of slashes. Shi dodged and countered, their movements colliding in a frenzy of sparks and afterimages, steel cutting through air faster than the eye could track.
Then Minji's bloodline activated.
White wings of radiant feathers burst from her back, spreading wide with divine brilliance. Her speed, her aerial balance, her grace — all surged beyond human.
Shi spun mid-air, his nunchaku blurring into a cyclone, each chain snapping like thunder. The weapon's tips screamed through the air, striking sparks as they grazed against Minji's daggers. Every collision cracked like lightning, the shockwaves rattling the arena walls.
Minji darted upward with a sudden burst from her white wings, twisting through the chaos like a hawk evading a storm. Her daggers lashed out in cross-slashes, the arcs glowing faintly as they tore shallow wounds across Shi's chest and arms.
But Shi didn't slow. He twisted his body upside down, his black feathers scattering like knives, and whipped his nunchaku downward with such force that the ground below cratered even from mid-air impact.
Minji rolled away, the strike missing her by inches. Her feathers caught the displaced wind, scattering in a radiant trail, and she flipped gracefully back toward him.
The air itself seemed to howl as they collided again.
Clang. Snap. Whirl. Slash.
At one moment Minji's blade was at his throat — at the next, Shi's chain had wrapped her dagger mid-swing, yanking her arm wide open. She spun into the motion, kicking off his chest with both feet, breaking the bind, and using the rebound to slash across his jaw. Blood arced in a crimson spray, but Shi only laughed, spinning once more into her blind spot.
Minji twisted in mid-air, her eyes blazing. With a single powerful flap of her wings, she inverted her momentum, diving straight into him head-on.
White and black wings clashed. The entire arena was drenched in feathers and sparks, as if two storms had collided in the heavens.
Then suddenly—he let go.
The weapon spun wildly in the air. Minji's gaze instinctively followed it, her concentration breaking for just an instant. That was all Shi needed.
BAM!
His fist slammed into her gut. Pain detonated in her core, the air exploding from her lungs.
But Minji's reflexes were honed to razor-edge. Rather than defend, she counterattacked — her dagger flashing down, slicing through Shi Xiao's arm cleanly at the shoulder.
Blood sprayed, but Shi didn't scream. His smile only faltered for a moment before returning as calm as ever.
He retaliated with a savage blow from his remaining fist, launching Minji across the arena.
Minji skidded, her boots carving trenches into the ground. But Shi was relentless. His severed arm barely slowed him. He reclaimed his spinning nunchaku with his good hand, surging forward in a whirlwind of strikes.
Minji underestimated him for a heartbeat — and paid for it.
A kick slammed into her face, snapping her head sideways. Before she could recover, his nunchaku rained down. Slash. Slash. Slash. Red lines carved across her flesh, blood streaking her white feathers.
Her vision blurred as she staggered back, yet Shi was already there again — a black blur closing in.
BAM! Another crushing punch to her abdomen. Blood spattered from her lips.
Still, her expression did not change. Her eyes go cold, unreadable.
In the very next instant, her daggers vanished.
Her bow reappeared.
Shi appeared behind her, whispering mockingly, "You shouldn't have chosen the bow—"
He never finished.
THUNK. THUNK. THUNK!
Dozens of arrows exploded point-blank into his mouth and throat, tearing straight through his skull and bursting out the other side. His body convulsed, his black wings folding as he crashed to the ground, his bloodline transformation collapsing.
Minji lowered her bow, her voice like ice:
"In battle, you should talk less. One centimeter higher, and I'd have pierced your auxiliary brain.
Shi Xiao lay broken, arrows still protruding from his flesh. Thirty-five arrows — all unleashed within a single second, each placed with surgical precision.
He stared up at her, still smiling faintly despite the blood clogging his throat. For the first time in two and a half years, he had seen Minji like this — not the playful, lighthearted girl who joked with everyone, but a figure of pure, merciless coldness.
It was as if she was running entirely on hatred.
From the stands, Verina Hale smiled to herself, her eyes gleaming.
"Truly… the daughter of Ziya Hale."
To be continued…