Runes • Rifles • Reincarnation
121. Fan Biyu Vs Tian Li

Biyu and Tian Li continued chatting animatedly as they climbed on stage. Tian Li even turned to greet Di Ti with a bright smile.

“Teacher! I’ve missed you! I hope you don’t mind, but… I took on a new teacher recently.”

Di Ti returned her smile warmly. “I’ve missed you too, but save the catching up—you’ve got a match to win.” She waved them off with a chuckle.

The two looked nothing like opponents. More like girlfriends out on an evening stroll.

But that illusion shattered the moment they took their places on either end of the stage.

Their auras erupted. No wind stirred, but their hair billowed as if whipped by a storm.

The judge blinked, glancing between them.

“Will either of you be using a weapon?”

“No,” Tian Li said, eyes locked on Biyu. “Start the match.”

“Uh… right,” the judge muttered, retreating as she activated the barriers.

The walls rose.

The duel began.

Both surged forward, meeting dead center. Palms slammed together, pushing for dominance.

One might expect Tian Li—with her First Stage Spirit Realm cultivation—to overpower Biyu, who was still in the Core Realm. But it was Tian Li who was slowly being driven back.

The crowd gasped.

“Senior Sister Biyu is pushing Senior Sister Li back!”

“Does that mean Biyu’s stronger?”

“She might be, physically. But Tian Li hasn’t summoned her spirit yet.”

“Oh right! She’s already in the Spirit Realm!”

“Whoa! Look at that!”

Biyu changed tactics, unsatisfied with the stalemate. She launched a knee toward Tian Li’s stomach.

Tian Li mirrored the motion, blocking with her own.

Bang!

Their knees collided with a thunderous crack. Qi exploded between them, forcing both to retreat from the backlash.

No time wasted.

They rushed again.

Palms, fists, knees, elbows—a furious blur of strikes, a test of pure strength and raw qi.

Dozens of blows exchanged in mere seconds. No techniques. No tricks. Just brutal, clean combat.

At one point, they stopped defending altogether, meeting each other’s strikes head-on.

Biyu’s fist slammed into Tian Li’s cheek.

Tian Li’s punch drove into Biyu’s gut.

Flesh met flesh. Bone met bone.

And then something strange.

Tian Li’s bruises remained, dark and blooming across her skin.

But Biyu’s began to fade. One by one, they vanished, as if they’d never existed.

The crowd buzzed with confusion.

But Jin Shu understood.

Her heavenly physique.

She’d used it once before—to heal Li Xue’s cheek. It made sense she could turn it inward.

Tian Li noticed too.

She backed off, fingers moving as she began forming hand symbols.

“Those are from the Great Phoenix Technique!”

“No way! She’s actually using it?!”

Jin Shu blinked.

Right… Tian Li told me about that technique once…

The Great Phoenix Technique. One of the Immortal Phoenix Sect’s most treasured arts—used exclusively by disciples of the Sect Master and Vice-Sect Master.

Technically, as Chen Ai Yun’s disciple, Jin Shu could’ve learned it too. But being a man, there were… limitations. Ones he wasn’t willing to overcome.

But Tian Li wasn’t the only one capable of using it.

Fan Biyu was Sun Mei’er’s disciple. She could use the technique as well.

And she did.

The moment Tian Li began her formation, Biyu mirrored her.

Their qi ignited, flames surging around them in whorls of heat and light. The arena shimmered under the pressure.

They became human bonfires—qi blazing, fire rising.

And then came the phoenixes.

Tian Li’s phoenix rose first, elegant and regal. It stood four meters tall, wings spread six meters wide—radiating beauty and grace, like it had just stepped from a scroll painting.

Biyu’s followed, slightly smaller, but its presence was ferocious. A warrior’s phoenix—wreathed in fury, eager for battle.

They stood at opposite ends of the stage.

Silent.

Still.

Each watching the other with unflinching eyes, their phoenixes mirroring their stances above.

Without a word, both girls thrust their arms forward. Their phoenixes dove at each other—Biyu’s lunging with a wild, ripping ferocity, while Tian Li’s danced away with the graceful precision of a fairy.

When the phoenixes collided mid-air, their clashing auras sent sparks flying and shockwaves rippling through the arena, shaking even the spectator stands despite the protective qi barriers.

Though neither girl made a move to attack the other directly, the crowd understood—this clash was far deadlier than their earlier exchange of fists.

One mistake, and the victor's phoenix would descend, its talons and beak free to tear into the defenseless girl below.

The tense standoff continued… until Tian Li's phoenix gained the upper hand, cleaving Biyu’s construct in two.

Even if it was just qi, and theoretically repairable, Biyu wouldn’t have the seconds needed to reform it.

Gritting her teeth, she let her phoenix dissolve, forfeiting all the qi used to form it, and dashed forward in a final charge toward Tian Li.

But she was too slow.

Before she could even cross half the arena, Tian Li’s phoenix descended, claws gleaming, poised to strike.

The crowd collectively sucked in a cold breath—hoping, praying—for Biyu to pull off a miracle.

And she almost did.

Just as the phoenix’s talons reached her, Biyu dropped her momentum, sliding underneath them with mere inches to spare.

A gasp rippled through the stands.

She was clear. The phoenix had missed. She was going to reach Tian Li!

But it wasn't over.

The phoenix twisted mid-air, moving in a way no living creature ever could—it was, after all, only qi shaped like a beast. With a sudden flick, its massive wing slammed into Biyu’s back.

She shot across the stage like a meteor, crashing into the barrier with a sickening crunch.

She collapsed, unmoving. One arm twisted behind her, bone poking through at the elbow.

“Ah…” Tian Li opened her mouth, as if to speak, but no words came.

“Winn—” the judge began, but stopped as Biyu stirred.

With a ragged breath, she planted her good arm beneath her and shoved herself upright. Then, without hesitation, she reached across and twisted her broken arm back into place.

Gasps rippled through the audience.

The bone mended before their eyes, bruises fading, skin knitting back together. But her aura had dimmed—it was clear she’d spent most of her strength.

Still, she stood.

Step by step, she advanced. Determined. Stubborn. Burning with the will to fight.

Until her legs gave out.

She tipped forward—

—and was caught.

Tian Li’s arms wrapped gently around her, breaking her fall. Biyu looked up with half-lidded eyes. Tian Li smiled softly.

“Next time… for sure… I will… wi—”

Biyu fainted before finishing her vow, head dropping against Tian Li’s chest.

“Winner, Tian Li!” the judge declared as the barriers fell.

Healers rushed the stage. Three lifted Biyu carefully and carried her toward the shaded alcove where Li Xue had been taken. One remained to check on Tian Li.

“I’m fine. Just a few bruises,” Tian Li said, waving the healer off.

“I’d still prefer to—”

“No need,” she said firmly.

The healer nodded and followed the others.

The arena erupted in applause.

“Wow! That was incredible!”

“Senior Sister Tian Li is amazing!”

“But Senior Sister Fan was so close! She just got unlucky!”

“Too bad we didn’t get to see Tian Li’s spirit…”

Below the stage, Jin Shu and Li Xue hurried after the healers.

As Biyu was laid down and her wounds cleaned, the young healers paused, confused.

“There’s nothing here…”

“They’ve all healed.”

“Did someone give her a pill?”

“No, I saw her healing during the fight. Could it be an innate ability?”

“Maybe… some kind of regeneration?”

Jin Shu stepped forward. “It’s her heavenly physique. It lets her heal.”

The healers blinked at him.

“Oh, that makes sense.”

“How is she?” He asked.

“She’s fine,” one of them said, confirming. “Just completely exhausted. She needs rest.”

Jin Shu exhaled, the tension leaving his shoulders. “Good… that’s good.”

Tian Li joined them a moment later.

“How is she?”

“She’s fine. Her physique healed all her wounds—she just needs rest now,” Jin Shu replied.

Tian Li exhaled deeply, patting her chest. “That’s a relief. I was worried I’d seriously hurt her.”

“Would you three mind chatting elsewhere? This area is for patients,” one of the older healers said, waving them off with a stern look.

They nodded and moved away, settling beneath the edge of the stage just as Di Ti stepped forward, raising a hand to quiet the cheering crowd.

“What an exciting match!” she called, her voice clear and ringing. The audience quickly fell silent.

“I spoke with the Sect Master during the duel,” Di Ti continued, “and she informed me that Fan Biyu’s physique is likely the heavenly physique known as the Life-giving Jadeite Physique!”

A murmur rippled through the crowd—some recognizing the name, others whispering questions to those who did.

Di Ti pressed on, smiling. “You may know this physique from the stories in our sect’s records. The legendary Jade Beauty possessed this very same physique. She was the sworn sister of our Founding Master—and a proud member of the Jade Rabbit tribe!”

Jin Shu’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of that name.

The Jade Rabbit tribe.

That was the same spirit beast clan his sister Yuetu belonged to.

Long before Long Jinshu had been born, his father, Long Qing, had once saved Tuzi—the matriarch of the Jade Rabbit tribe—and her people. From that moment on, they had become a vassal tribe under the protection of the Dragon clan.

She said the stories are in the sect records… Jin Shu’s thoughts raced. I wonder if any of those documents mention Yuetu’s tribe in detail?

Yet another reason to win second place in the tournament.

So many of the answers he needed seemed to lie behind the doors of the sect’s library.

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