Though the fight had yet to begin, he already felt certain of victory.
Because this was strength. This was confidence. This was self-assurance.
Confidence he had been born with.
"Both sides, prepare."
"Begin."
At the referee's command, Lai Te gave a sinister chuckle. He stretched his limbs, then looked up at Liu Yan in the distance, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
"I cultivate no laws, only the flesh—the absolute flesh, an immensely powerful flesh."
"Come. Let's fight."
Lai Te crooked a finger at Liu Yan, the smile on his face exceedingly cruel.
"Heh..."
"Too much confidence is not a good thing."
Liu Yan gave a cold smile.
With a wave of her hand, a blaze appeared in her palm.
A moment later, the flames dispersed.
A fiery red spear engraved with exquisite patterns appeared in her hand.
"Come fight."
"Die."
As the battle began, Liu Yan struck first.
The crimson spear in her hand suddenly trembled, and at its tip, a thumb-sized fire lotus condensed out of thin air.
The fire lotus was wholly translucent, as though countless universes within it were spinning, collapsing, and exploding.
Golden law patterns flowed across every petal, spreading outward in ring after ring and shaking the entire sky.
"Heaven Incineration Nine Turns, First Turn—Spark Ignites a Prairie Fire."
Liu Yan's crimson lips parted, her voice like ice and jade striking together.
The fire lotus left the spearpoint and drifted slowly toward Lai Te. Yet as it floated onward, the temperature between heaven and earth surged madly.
Wherever the fire lotus passed, the air was scorched into spiderweb-like black cracks. Bright white magma flowed through those fractures—the molten remains left behind after the very structure of space had been ignited.
"Not enough."
Lai Te stood where he was, his arms folded and that