09 A Knightly Maiden

Xia Ming's gaze first focused on that magical beast. It was enormous, a full five or six meters tall, its body covered in dense flames that blazed so hot and bright that Xia Ming instinctively narrowed his eyes.

The magical beast had the savage, roaring head of a tiger, blood-red beast eyes, and a gaping maw packed with fangs. Behind the giant beast grew a pair of huge azure wings. As they beat incessantly, a gale carrying flames surged forth like a canopy falling from the sky, its imposing force making all three of Xia Ming's group deeply wary.

The most striking feature of this magical beast was its fangs—sharp and long, like two keen swords, terrifying to behold.

"Sabertooth tiger!"

Xia Ming was somewhat shaken. He had not expected this saber-toothed tiger to possess such overwhelming presence. Compared to it, the Storm Mad Wolf was as different as heaven and earth; the gap in strength between these two magical beasts was surely just as vast.

After a brief moment of amazement, Xia Ming shifted his gaze to the girl battling the saber-toothed tiger.

The girl was tall and slender, clad in silver light armor covered in all manner of mysterious magic patterns. It was clearly a powerful piece of equipment enhanced by magic. Even with Xia Ming's discerning eye, he could not spot the slightest flaw in it.

One had to know that Xia Ming had inherited the Book of Eternity. He had mastered and could employ all enchanting knowledge below the fifth level! In other words, the enchanting inscriptions on this girl's armor were very likely above the fifth level!

The girl held a silver longsword and wore a cloak. Dressed entirely in silver-white, she looked as though she had stepped out of a world of ice and snow.

Her bright eyes resembled stars, her lips were small and rosy, and her nose straight and delicate... Even Xia Ming, who had seen countless beauties on screen in his previous world, had to admit that those so-called pure idol stars could not compare to the girl before him by any measure.

The girl looked exceptionally cold and beautiful. With a flash, she struck out with her sword, whipping up a violent gale that sent gravel flying throughout the cave.

The instant she moved, Xia Ming felt as though he had been struck by lightning. "This girl is a level-six professional!"

She looked very young, perhaps even younger than Tang Ge, yet she was already a level-six professional!

"So it's her..." Tang Ge muttered in a low voice. Sherlock, too, wore an inscrutable expression. The two seemed to know this beautiful girl.

"Who is she?" Xia Ming asked, solemn and curious.

Such a young level-six warrior was a genius among geniuses. No wonder Xia Ming was so curious.

Tang Ge gave the girl a long look before saying softly, "Her name is Su Weiwei. She's a first-year student at Azure Flame Academy, praised by many of the academy's instructors as one of Azure Flame Academy's most outstanding geniuses in the past century. At such a young age, she's already a level-six professional—now a powerful Grand Knight."

Su Weiwei!

Xia Ming's eyes lit up when he heard the name. Since coming to this world, this was the first time he had heard such an Eastern-sounding name. He had once heard Anthony mention that there were quite a few similar Eastern names on the Canaan Continent, though they were generally found on the southern continent. He had not expected to encounter one this time.

Moreover, though Su Weiwei was dressed all in silver-white, she had black hair and black eyes, giving Xia Ming an instinctive sense of familiarity.

Unfortunately, Xia Ming had no time to think further, because the fierce battle in the arena had grown especially intense.

"Bang!" The two powerful storms unleashed by the saber-toothed tiger and Su Weiwei collided, blasting out violent currents of air. A vortex seemed to form in midair, and the thunderous roar was deafening.

Su Weiwei's delicate brows drew together slightly. With a light shake of her arm, the silver longsword shot forth a dazzling radiance like lightning. It seemed to tear through the air with an explosive boom that pierced the eardrums. The air around them seemed to freeze, and Xia Ming even saw vast patches of ice crystals appear in the air.

"Frost Battle Qi!" Xia Ming recognized it at once. After Anthony's month of instruction, Xia Ming was no longer the rookie he had once been. With one glance, he saw that Su Weiwei was using one of the high-grade battle qis—Frost Battle Qi! This kind of high-grade battle qi was extremely difficult to cultivate and was generally an esoteric art never passed down to outsiders.

The surrounding air abruptly turned frigid, as if they had been transported in an instant to a polar ice field. Bone-deep, profound cold swept in. Countless ice crystals condensed into a massive sword net, frost dancing through the air as it sought to trap the saber-toothed tiger within.

The saber-toothed tiger also sensed the danger. It let out a savage roar, and its enormous saber fangs fired two crimson beams containing terrifying energy. Its azure wings shook out flames two or three meters high, crashing down upon Su Weiwei's sword net with overwhelming force.

It was a clash between ice and fire. Flames and ice crystals raged as they collided and blasted each other in midair. Even this stretch of space seemed to twist, trembling and rippling faintly.

"Damn!" Xia Ming marveled inwardly. This girl wasn't some decorative vase—she was an absolute savage, freakishly powerful.

Tang Ge also looked as though he wanted to sigh at the heavens. "Ah, isn't she a little too strong? A level-six warrior, Frost Battle Qi... Is she even going to let anyone else live?"

Xia Ming looked at Tang Ge. "If you fought this Su Weiwei, how many moves could you withstand?"

Tang Ge first put on a bitter face. After a moment, he sighed again, raised his head to gaze up at the sky, struck a smug pose, and slowly said, "I, Tang Ge, began cultivating battle qi at one, became a battle master at five, and was already hailed as a genius at seven. Countless girls admired me; I roamed the world and had never known defeat. I am a man destined to scale the peak and conquer Instructor Freya! Brother Xia Ming, how can you compare me with this little girl?"

"..."

Speechless, Xia Ming could not be bothered with this living treasure and instead focused on the battle before them.

The standoff between ice and fire soon yielded an answer. In the end, Su Weiwei had the upper hand. Her silver longsword suddenly shot out countless sword phantoms. A bitter chill descended, frost spread everywhere, and innumerable streams of Frost Battle Qi burst in all directions, slashing toward the saber-toothed tiger!

The saber-toothed tiger roared. Instinctively alert, it tried to dodge, but the icy sword phantoms were swift as flashes of lightning. There was simply no time to evade.

A metallic boom that seemed to tear through the ears rang out.

In an instant, the saber-toothed tiger's entire body was riddled with wounds beneath the countless icy sword phantoms. Even a magical beast's tough hide could not block those razor-sharp edges. Hundreds of wounds appeared across its body in an instant, blood flowing without cease and staining the ground red.

"Roar!"

The saber-toothed tiger howled in pain, savage killing intent filling its beast eyes. But anyone could see that it was no match for Su Weiwei. It was already at the end of its strength.

Looking at Su Weiwei in her silver armor, like a knight, Xia Ming muttered inwardly, This girl is so fierce. Be careful you don't end up unable to marry someday.

Su Weiwei's silver armor made her look valiant and heroic. Centered around her longsword, another sheet of ice abruptly materialized and charged straight at the saber-toothed tiger!

This time, the saber-toothed tiger gave a miserable roar. Its entire beastly body was cleaved into two by the ice, letting out a crisp crack as blood poured freely and its life was extinguished!

A level-five magical beast—the target of Xia Ming and the others' adventure mission—had just been killed right before their eyes!