She was a transmigrated chef with a spatula, a pocket full of roasted melon seeds, and zero respect for the stuffy, suffocating decorum of high-society cultivators.
The glowing holographic bracket hovering above the Jade Terrace shifted, the golden runes rearranging themselves to announce the next bout in Ring Four.
[Candidate #1: Xie Wangchen (Class 1)]
VS.
[Candidate #12: Lei Tian (Class 2)]
A heavy, palpable hush fell over the massive spectator stands. The murmurs died in the throats of thousands of disciples.
Everyone remembered Xie Wangchen's first match.
They remembered the terrifying, apocalyptic dome of absolute zero that had paralyzed the Shadow Assassin, Mo Wuchen, launching him through a reinforced stone wall like a discarded toy.
The Ice Genius of the Eternal Cloud Peak had cemented his reputation not just as a prodigy, but as a ruthless, unfeeling monster.
From the eastern stairs, Lei Tian ascended into the ring.
