"All right. Since it's Her Majesty's order, I'll play with you."
He looked down at Bai You, a hint of helplessness and affection in his pale blue eyes, as though he were looking at his own younger sister, Tonia. "How about this? I'll give you three free moves first."
"Go ahead and attack. I'll stand right here without moving. If you can make me move even half a step in three moves, I lose."
As far as he was concerned, this was the biggest concession he could make.
A little kid couldn't possibly make him move half a step, even if she used all her strength.
Giving her three moves was just a formality to satisfy the Tsaritsa and make sure he didn't hurt her.
Once she landed three blows and realized she couldn't budge him, she would naturally give up.
Her Majesty wouldn't have anything to say then, either. Once it was over, he would hurry up and send this little ancestor home.
Tartaglia had even thought of how to comfort the little girl afterward: "You're already very strong. I'm just too powerful," or something along those lines.
Bai You looked at his "I'm going easy on you" expression, and the corner of her mouth twitched.
She thought it over seriously.
Hey, whatever system, come out, Bai You called in her mind.
Can I use the Primordial Physique's talent to one-shot him with a punch?
[Everything the system produces is top quality. If you can't one-shot him, I'll write my name backward.]
[I recommend that the host go easy on him.]
That's fine, then. What a relief. System, you can go now.
[Wait, wait! Don't forget the Mermaid Physique's affinity for the water element. Using water elemental power will make it even stronger.]
[Listen to me. Focus mainly on gathering water elemental power around your fist.]
[Then draw on just a little of the other elemental powers and attach them to it for a boost. You don't need much, just a tiny bit. The main thing is to get the Tsaritsa of Snezhnaya's attention. That's the key. Land a punch like that, and the Harbinger position is yours.]
[I almost forgot, you've got the Tsaritsa protecting you. In that case, there's no need to go easy. And he's even giving you three free moves? Isn't he obviously handing you a free kill? Go ahead and hit him without holding back.]
...When did you get so reliable?
[I've always been reliable, you know!] the system protested indignantly.
[Hurry up. I'm waiting to see a good show.]
Bai You took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
She began to draw on the elemental power within her.
Water elemental power surged in from every direction, passing through the walls, the floor, and the air like a gentle current before gathering around her right fist.
Pale blue light gathered on her fist, growing brighter and more solid. At first, it was only a faint halo, but it gradually became a spinning sphere of water-blue energy, with flowing patterns faintly visible inside.
Then she drew on a tiny trace of other elemental power.
It was a profound, ancient power. Like seasoning, it coated the water element in a thin, even layer, making the already powerful force more concentrated and more dangerous.
The temperature in the audience chamber suddenly dropped.
A faint mist filled the air, and tiny ice crystals began to form on the floor, spreading outward from Bai You.
The ice patterns on the walls lit up with an eerie blue glow. The ice crystals on the chandelier grew more solid, suspended in midair as though time itself had frozen.
The relaxed expression slowly vanished from Tartaglia's face.
His brows drew together.
Something was wrong.
The aura coming from this little girl was nothing like what a child should have.
That power... was too strong.
At first, he thought he was imagining it, but as the light on Bai You's fist grew brighter, the pressure grew stronger.
It was like an invisible mountain pressing down on his chest, making it harder for him to breathe.
His battle instincts sounded a shrill alarm, like a needle pricking the back of his neck, warning him that danger was approaching.
This wasn't power a child should have.
It absolutely wasn't.
Tartaglia's pupils contracted slightly, and for the first time, genuine wariness appeared in his blue eyes.
His hand twitched, and a faint water-blue light appeared at his fingertips-the first sign of Foul Legacy.
He was getting serious.
But just then-
Bai You opened her eyes.
Pale blue light flickered in her eyes, like two bottomless seas.
Her right foot slammed against the ground!
"Bang!"
The floor shattered, marble tiles exploding like scraps of paper.
Bai You shot forward like a cannonball, moving so fast that she left a pale blue afterimage in the air.
Tartaglia's pupils shrank to pinpricks.
His mind went blank.
Too fast.
The little girl was moving faster than he could react.
His combat instincts screamed, and his body struggled desperately to respond. He wanted to dodge, to block, to activate Foul Legacy-
But everything was too slow.
Before that pale blue afterimage, he could even clearly see the water-blue energy swirling around Bai You's fist, and the smug expression on her little face.
But his body simply wouldn't obey him.
Bai You's fist was already in front of him.
The tiny, soft-looking fist now carried the power to destroy heaven and earth.
The water elemental power had been compressed to its limit around her fist, with a little of the other elements surrounding it. Like a rainbow Rasengan, it seemed to distort the air around it.
An expression of utter shock appeared on Tartaglia's face.
His mouth hung wide open, and his eyes bulged. Reflected in his blue pupils was the ever-approaching rainbow-like light, mostly blue.
He wanted to shout something, but before he could force the words out of his throat-
"Bang!!!"
"This little girl... was playing the pig to eat the tiger!!!!"
(Clearly, it was a naughty child teasing an old man.)
That was his last thought.
A tremendous bang shook the entire Snezhnaya Palace.
The ice patterns on the walls shattered in an instant, and the ice crystal chandelier fell from the ceiling, breaking into countless pieces on the floor.
A dense web of cracks spread across the floor in every direction from Bai You.
Before Tartaglia could even react, the punch struck him squarely in the chest.
His body flew away like a kite with its string cut, the shocked expression still frozen on his face.
The wall behind him shattered instantly, sending rubble flying and ice shards filling the air.
His body passed through the audience chamber's thick wall, then through the palace roof and the outer wall of Snezhnaya Palace.
Like a shooting star, he streaked across Snezhnaya's sky, flying toward the outskirts.
When longing flew across the night sky, lingering as it wrapped around fingertips, it was as beautiful as a dream.
"Boom!!!"
A muffled crash came from the distant outskirts, and the ground shook three times.
The audience chamber was a mess.
A massive hole had been punched through the wall. Cold wind poured in from outside, gently stirring the Tsaritsa's long, silvery-white hair.
Rubble and ice shards littered the floor, and the air smelled of mist and dust.
Bai You stood where she was, the pale blue light on her right fist slowly fading.
She shook out her hand, as though that punch had been nothing to her.
"The system is awesome!!!!!"
Then she turned to look at the wrecked audience chamber, before looking up at the gaping hole punched through the palace roof.
She looked back at the Tsaritsa on her throne and blinked innocently.
"Your Majesty... I think I used too much force. He'll be all right, won't he?"
"This palace... how much Mora will I have to pay for it...?"
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I feel like I didn't write this part very well. I kept changing the Tsaritsa's portrayal and dialogue, and this is what I finally settled on. If you have any good suggestions, please share them; I'll make changes.
And most importantly, I now owe nearly ten bonus chapters for gifts. Also, today is my birthday, so I'll release another chapter or two this evening. The verification period and all that don't matter anymore. Being happy is what counts! ૮₍˶ᵔᵕᵔ˶₎ა
Also, the day after tomorrow, my author level will reach level 2, and I'll be able to release a little more. I'll keep up seven or eight chapters a day for a day or two to make up the bonus chapters first.
As for the recent comments, I've read about 95% of the ones so far carefully, but I'll be reading fewer from now on. A few comments were pretty harsh, and they hurt to read. During this nearly half-month-long holiday, I've spent five or six hours every day writing this novel. Seeing those comments made me feel like my efforts really were useless.
The main text meets the word count; I won't use these filler words to pad it.
Thank you all for your support! ദ്ദി˶＞＜)✧
Special thanks to wangyu91 for the urge-to-update talisman ×1 and character summon ×1.
Thanks to Bengyuan Sanyi for the urge-to-update talisman ×1.
Thanks to Du1086 for the urge-to-update talisman ×1.
Thanks to Lilia Limu Yi for the flower ×1.
Thanks to Woexin for the flowers ×2 and like ×1.
Thanks to Shen Xin Chi Xiyao for the like ×1.
Thanks to Pai Hong Ying Xue for the inspiration capsule ×1.
Thanks to Xingtan Yuan de Yun Zhao for the love letter ×1.