Ice and Fire Duet, Teasing Huo Wu

[Naturally, and it can even perform real-time dynamic analysis. For example, what she is thinking internally.]

"..."

Murong Ci suddenly felt that his future life would be quite entertaining.

The dormitories were arranged that afternoon.

The treatment for core disciples was simply different; the academy's resources were basically tilted toward them, including single-occupancy dorms, top-tier lunches, and the like.

[A reminder: Huo Wu's current favorability toward you is basically just a competitive spirit sparked by the desire to fight.]

"So... she's sulking in her room right now because she's thinking about losing today?"

[Your guess is correct.]

...As expected...

Huo Wu returned to her room and punched the wall.

"How is this possible!"

Her chest heaved violently. She was the recognized genius of Red Fire Academy; how could she have been defeated by a freshman who had just enrolled?

Her reputation at Blazing Fire Academy would likely take a massive hit from now on.

"I must win tomorrow!"

Huo Wu said to herself secretly; her pride would not allow her to fail.

At least, not right now.

Huo Wu didn't sleep all night, adjusting to her best state and studying tactics.

[Get ready, Huo Wu is currently studying the best tactics to challenge you. You can use a bit of ice then to give her a little shock.]

"Brother System, you're quite wicked too."

[One who stays near vermilion gets stained red.]

"..."

Early the next morning, as soon as Murong Ci pushed open his door, he saw a red figure standing at the entrance.

Huo Wu was still in that same navel-baring outfit, arms crossed over her chest, her waist taut.

She looked even more enchanting than yesterday.

"Murong Ci, you must fight me again today."

Murong Ci yawned and leaned against the doorframe.

"Senior Huo Wu, did you miss me this early?"

"Cut the crap, let's go to the Soul Fighting Zone." Huo Wu turned and walked away, her red hair whipping into a crisp arc.

Murong Ci stared at her back, his gaze lingering on her waist and hips for two seconds.

[Detected that the host's heart rate has spiked to 120, and a certain place is slightly...]

"Shut up!"

[Come on, little Ci, let Huo Wu experience a duet of ice and fire today!]

"..."

Murong Ci sometimes really felt that the system was quite chuunibyou; this thing was completely different from other systems!

The audience in the stands was whispering and gossiping.

It made Huo Wu's face burn with pain.

But the only way to break the deadlock now was to defeat Murong Ci with pure strength. She clenched her fists, ready to strike.

"Senior Huo Wu, how shall we fight today?"

"The same as yesterday, we fight until the other party loses!" Huo Wu gritted her teeth.

"Fine."

Murong Ci's eyes shifted, his pupils instantly transforming into one blue and one red.

"First Soul Skill, Blazing Flame Burning Heaven!"

A ball of fire tightly enveloped Huo Wu, even stronger than yesterday's flames; this was the effect of the system increasing his fire attribute affinity!

Huo Wu was unhurried; she had already accounted for this step in her tactics from yesterday.

Her body-integrated martial soul, Fire Shadow, unfolded, and she passed straight through that ball of fire.

"Clone Swap!"

Huo Wu let out a sharp cry, and her main body swapped positions with her shadow, thereby escaping the flames.

Of course, Murong Ci knew all of this like the back of his hand, because the system could predict Huo Wu's next move in real-time and suggest countermeasures.

Murong Ci let out a low shout, "Come, fire!"

As his soul power circulated, his martial soul secreted extremely fine threads of fire, weaving them into a net in the air—it had much better control than a single thread of fire!

These threads of fire were as thin as hair, winding toward Huo Wu from all directions under his mental command.

Huo Wu felt a jolt of alarm; having witnessed the lethality of these filaments yesterday, she dared not dally and lunged three steps backward.

"Second Soul Skill, Flame Fireball!"

Dozens of fist-sized fireballs condensed around her, hurtling toward the incoming threads.

The fireballs collided with the threads.

Even though the quality of Murong Ci's fire threads surpassed Huo Wu's, their volume and total soul power remained inferior to hers.

Seven or eight threads snapped, merging into the fireballs and shooting straight toward Murong Ci.

The remaining threads bypassed the fireballs and flew toward Huo Wu.

Huo Wu gritted her teeth and unleashed her third soul skill, "Repulsion Fire Ring," shrouding herself in a protective layer of flame.

Murong Ci raised his hand, and the Yongzhen glowed brilliantly, absorbing the fireballs into itself to replenish his own soul power.

"Have you played enough, Sister Wu?" Murong Ci asked, his roguish nature shining through.

Murong Ci raised his left hand as well, splitting the Yongzhen in two—firelight in his left, frostlight in his right.

Alternating between cold and heat, a dual realm of ice and fire.

The crowd below felt the sudden shifts in temperature, breaking into a heated discussion.

"What is this? Isn't Blazing Fire Academy supposed to be fire-based? Is he... is he dual-attributed? Ice and fire from the same source?!"

One disciple cried out in shock, causing the others to cast side-glances, their hearts trembling.

Below the stage, Teacher Yan Yan and Huo Wushuang were equally stunned, unable to believe their eyes.

This was an absolute treasure!

As for Huo Wu on the stage, she was completely bewildered.

She had made ample preparations to counter Murong Ci's fire yesterday, never expecting him to possess ice as well!

"Frost, Crimson Flame, fuse!"

Murong Ci shouted, and the spheres of ice and fire began to merge.

This was a skill taught to him by the system; a direct hit would leave the opponent trapped in a cycle of alternating ice and fire, causing immense discomfort.

He generated a mass of ice-flame and hurled it forward!

Huo Wu had no time to resist, or rather, she dared not.

If Murong Ci's fire made her feel incapable of resistance, his ice was surely enough to kill her in an instant!

The crucial point was that Murong Ci was now channeling his fire into the Ultimate Fire.

The bloodline suppression of the fire attribute left Huo Wu with no room to run. She could only continue to release her Repulsion Fire Ring, watching as the mass of ice-flame slowly descended.

BOOM--!

The ice-flame struck, blasting Huo Wu away, yet she persisted, her eyes firm as she refused to fall.

At this moment, the firelight and frostlight returned to his hands, and countless ice threads and fire lines flew out to bind Huo Wu.

"Flame... Ring..." Huo Wu murmured, struggling to unleash her first soul skill, but it was in vain; her flames extinguished the moment they touched the ice threads.

The ice threads precisely navigated the gaps, wrapping around Huo Wu's waist, wrists, and ankles. The threads were thin and supple; the moment they touched her skin, Huo Wu felt a bone-chilling cold spread from the points of contact.

What was worse, Murong Ci also wrapped his left-hand fire threads around her waist, the flame ropes warm and slowly tightening against her midsection.

Half cold, half warm.

With ice and fire acting upon her body simultaneously, the sensation made the hair on Huo Wu's arms stand on end.

She couldn't help but let out a muffled groan, finally unable to hold on any longer, and collapsed to the ground.

Murong Ci reined in his power; the ice threads and fire lines merely restrained her without causing actual harm.

Huo Wu knelt half-collapsed on the ground, her waist bound by the crisscrossing lines and ice threads. A large expanse of snow-white thigh and fine beads of sweat were visible beneath her shorts, and the ice threads dug into the soft flesh of her waist, outlining a faint mark.

"You... let me go..." Huo Wu gritted her teeth, her voice trembling uncontrollably, whether from the cold or the shame, she could not tell.

Murong Ci squatted down, three feet away from her.

"Do you concede?"

"No!" Huo Wu glared at him, her eyes glistening—perhaps from the rising steam, perhaps from shame.

"Fine, then we'll just wait it out here."

Murong Ci simply sat on the ground to meditate.

Huo Wu was grinding her teeth in hatred, yet she found herself unable to break free.

She channeled all her soul power to break the hold, but the ice threads remained as steady as a rock, while the fire threads instead absorbed a portion of her soul power.

Three minutes later, Huo Wu felt her limbs going numb. The chill from the ice threads grew deeper, while the fire threads teased her waist and abdomen, moving slowly; the two starkly different sensations were driving her to the brink of madness.

"Murong Ci... let me go, I concede."

Huo Wu said in a low voice. Her tone was much softer than before.

"I can't hear you." Murong Ci tilted his head.

"You! I... I surrender!" Huo Wu looked up and roared, her face flushed a deep red.

Murong Ci snapped his fingers, and the ice silk and threads dissipated instantly.

Huo Wu collapsed onto the ground, gasping for air, unable to recover for a long while.

Murong Ci stood up, walked over to her, and extended a hand.

Huo Wu took it tremblingly and pulled herself up.

"Tomorrow, I will challenge you again, until I win!"

"I'll be waiting anytime. Remember to take a hot bath when you get back; don't catch a cold."

Huo Wu's face turned red again. "Who asked for your concern!" She then stomped away, puffed up with anger.

[Favorability: 52/100, currently in the attraction phase.]

[Congratulations on triggering the Hot Obsession quest: Defeat Huo Wu for seven consecutive days to make her remember you thoroughly. Reward: Fire attribute affinity increased by an additional 30%, and unlock the combo soul skill "Ice-Fire Polar Domain".]

"There's such a good thing?" Murong Ci's eyes lit up.

[Take it easy, she won't be so easily bound by you tomorrow. This woman has a strong temperament; the more you provoke her, the more fired up she gets.]

That night, Huo Wu finally stopped studying tactics and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Bastard..."

She let out a soft hum, but this time, it was clearly more than just hatred.