The Small Competition Begins

The Su Family's training grounds.

The wide, bluestone-paved arena gleamed with a hard, cold luster under the autumn afternoon sun. Ancient-style viewing corridors lined the west side, now filled with people. Clansmen from the collateral and main branches sat in distinct groups, their hushed conversations creating a suppressed hum. The air was thick with a complex scent of sandalwood, sweat, and… gunpowder.

Lin Xiao sat in an inconspicuous corner of the corridor, his cap pulled low, the shadow obscuring much of his pale face. His back was pressed against the cold corridor pillar. Deep within his right leg, the core of the dark green "Viper's Kiss" seemed to grow colder and more silent upon entering the ancient martial arts atmosphere of the Su family, like a viper lurking in the shadows. The faint glow in his mind, [-0.3304], flickered stubbornly, each pulse tugging at the exhaustion and hidden pain deep within his soul.

His gaze, like an ice-tempered blade, cut through the jostling crowd, locking onto the solitary figure in the center of the arena—Su Qingxue.

She was still dressed in her moon-white training clothes, spotless, appearing exceptionally cool and aloof in the autumn sunlight. Her black hair was tied back with a simple jade hairpin, revealing a slender, fair neck and a profile of breathtaking beauty. However, unlike her usual demeanor, she no longer exuded an unapproachable arrogance, but rather a… near deathly calm.

There was no outward display of sharp aura, no flow of icy True Qi. She simply stood there, like a bottomless cold spring, all her sharpness and chill contained to the extreme. This unusual tranquility made the atmosphere of the entire training ground inexplicably more somber. Many clansmen from the collateral branches looked at her with worry and a hint of imperceptible reverence. The main branch, on the other hand, showed more scrutiny, mockery, and undisguised hostility.

"Putting on a show!" a harsh voice rang out from the front row of the main branch's viewing seats.

Su Hao, clad in luxurious dark black martial attire, sat imperiously on a large rosewood chair. He was powerfully built, his face bearing the characteristic arrogance of the main branch disciples. His eyes were sharp as a falcon's, sweeping over Su Qingxue in the arena without reservation, a cold, confident smile playing on his lips. Beside him sat his father, Su Zhenshan, the steward of the main branch. Su Zhenshan's expression was calm, his teacup held in his hand, his gaze lowered as if everything in the arena was of no concern to him. Yet, the fleeting glint of malice deep in his eyes whenever he glanced at Su Qingxue was like a viper flicking its tongue.

"Hao'er, don't underestimate her," Su Zhenshan said, setting down his teacup. His voice was not loud but clearly reached the surrounding main branch disciples. "This girl managed to break through to become a martial artist and dared to accept the challenge. She must have her own means. Be wary of her 'Jade Balance Hidden Meridian'."

"Father, you worry too much," Su Hao scoffed, flexing his wrists. His knuckles cracked with a crisp sound, and a chilling aura, far more potent than what Su Qingxue outwardly displayed, slowly rose around him, forming a faint white mist. "Her meager skills are a joke before my 'Nine Cold Strengths'! To provoke a backlash from her hidden meridian's cold energy? Hmph, she brought that upon herself! Today, I will make her understand completely that collateral branches can only ever be collateral branches!"

His voice was deliberately amplified, carrying undisguised contempt and ruthlessness, clearly audible throughout the entire training ground. A wave of suppressed angry murmurs rose from the collateral branch section, while the main branch responded with agreement and mocking laughter, eager to watch the show.

The corner of Lin Xiao's mouth, hidden in the shadows, curved into a silent, cold arc. Rely on? Su Hao, you'll soon find out what true reliance is!

"Time is up!" an elder with white hair and beard, exuding a deep and steady aura (the Su family's Law Enforcement Elder), walked to the edge of the arena. His voice boomed, silencing all the clamor. "Collateral branch's Su Qingxue, versus main branch's Su Hao! The minor competition begins!"

As the elder's words fell, the entire training ground fell silent instantly, so quiet you could hear a pin drop. All eyes focused on the two figures in the center.

Su Hao rose to his full height, like a tiger descending from the mountains, exuding a powerful pressure. He strode to the center of the arena in just a few steps. The cold air around him intensified, and faint ice crystals formed on the bluestone slabs beneath his feet, emitting a soft "crackling" sound. His gaze was like lightning, fixed firmly on Su Qingxue, a cruel smile like a cat playing with a mouse on his lips. "Sister Qingxue, please? Let your elder brother see how much substance your 'unexpectedly acquired' martial artist realm truly has? Don't… shatter at the first touch!"

Provocation, blatant provocation!

Su Qingxue slowly raised her head, her eyes like a cold spring looking towards Su Hao. There was no anger, no fear, not even a flicker of emotion, only a bottomless, heart-stopping calm. She didn't speak, merely shifted her body slightly, assuming a starting stance. Her movements were fluid and natural, devoid of any ostentatious display, as if she were merely stretching casually.

However, it was this very calmness, this casualness, that made the smile on Su Hao's face stiffen slightly! All the anger, panic, and forced composure he had anticipated… were completely absent! The opponent was as calm as… a ten-thousand-year-old block of ice!

"Hmph! Putting on airs!" A trace of inexplicable annoyance rose in Su Hao's heart. He snorted and decided to stop wasting words. He would end this quickly, crushing this presumptuous collateral branch girl completely in front of everyone!

"Palm strike!"

A fierce shout! Su Hao lunged forward abruptly! His speed was incredible, bringing with it a white stream of cold air! His right palm was instantly covered by a layer of crystal-clear ice crystals radiating a bone-chilling cold! Before the palm strike even arrived, an icy, soul-freezing chill swept towards him!

Cold Jade Palm!

The target was directly at Su Qingxue's chest! The palm strike was vicious and sharp, with no holds barred! As the palm wind passed, the air crackled with a faint "snap" as if being frozen!

This palm strike not only contained Su Hao's formidable True Qi as a peak One-Star Martial Artist but also harbored a sinister hidden move designed to provoke a backlash from the hidden meridian's cold energy! If it hit, the cold energy would invade, and Su Qingxue's Jade Balance Hidden Meridian, which Lin Xiao had forcefully "optimized," would immediately become a time bomb burying her!

The collateral branch clansmen at the side held their breath. Many even closed their eyes, unable to bear watching. The main branch erupted in suppressed cheers and excited whispers, eager to witness the spectacle.

Su Zhenshan's fingers tightened slightly on his teacup, a flicker of pleasure flashing in the depths of his eyes.

Lin Xiao's left hand, hidden in his sleeve, quietly clenched the cold, hard, and incomparably sharp reinforced dagger. The icy touch stimulated his fatigued nerves, drained by the overuse of Source Energy. He stared intently at Su Hao's right palm covered in ice crystals, a fleeting flash of faint blue light in the depths of his pupils!

[Target Locked: Su Hao... Right Palm's Laogong Acupoint... True Qi Circulation Trajectory... "Fuse" Energy Activation Level at Marked Point: High!]

[Warning! Insufficient Source Energy Points! Environmental Micro-Manipulation Impossible!]

[Source Energy Points: -0.3304!]

The feeling of depletion was like an icy shackle! But the cold curve of Lin Xiao's lips grew more pronounced.

Su Qingxue, it's up to you!

In the arena, facing Su Hao's fierce and bone-chilling Cold Jade Palm, Su Qingxue moved!

She didn't choose to meet the attack head-on, nor did she panic and retreat. At the instant the deadly icy palm was about to strike her chest, her footwork was like treading on snow without leaving a trace. She gracefully slid half a step to the rear left! The movement was minimal, yet executed with exquisite precision, perfectly avoiding the most potent part of the palm strike! At the same time, her eyes, like a cold spring, seemed to casually sweep over a certain spot on Su Hao's right arm—that was precisely a crucial "fuse" in the cultivation path that Lin Xiao had "optimized" through the modifier, and also the point where the "Nine Cold Strengths" would trigger the backlash!

Buzz!

The moment Su Qingxue's gaze swept over that spot, the True Qi of the "Nine Cold Strengths" surging within Su Hao, as it flowed through the node that Lin Xiao had secretly marked and forcefully "optimized" for smoother passage, inexplicably… fluctuated violently!

This fluctuation was extremely subtle, so much so that even Su Hao himself didn't notice it! But this momentary fluctuation, like a grain of dust thrown into finely tuned gears, caused a minuscule, almost imperceptible… hesitation in his originally smooth and vicious Cold Jade Palm strike!

The palm wind grazed the edge of Su Qingxue's clothes! The sharp cold air sliced a tiny opening in her moon-white training uniform, and a few strands of hair fluttered down! A near miss!

Su Hao's palm strike missed, and his body, carried by the powerful momentum, tilted slightly forward, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. How could this be? She dodged it? And so… effortlessly?

Just as his old strength faded and new strength had yet to arise!

Su Qingxue's extreme inner calm was finally broken!

Her eyes, like a cold spring, suddenly erupted with a soul-stirring cold light! Like a sleeping iceberg suddenly awakening! An aura far more pure and colder than Su Hao's erupted from her body without warning, like a volcanic eruption!

"Ice Lotus… First Bloom!"

Her cold voice, like pearls falling on a jade plate, clearly resonated through the silent air of the training ground!