Water and Wind

Li Zhu and Bo Ai thought of all their abilities when considering which environment to fight in, since they did not want to take any risks, and there were a few powerful enemies participating in the trial. Bo Ai did not have many necessities, as her soul skills could be used anywhere. The only thing which could help her was having many hiding spots, since soul cultivators did not have powerful bodies, and generally did not fight on the front lines.

Li Zhu instead, needed abundant shadows to use shadow lurk, as well as water to effectively use Frost Touch. All these requirements added up to one particular environment: a rain forest. Rain forests had tall trees and abundant vegetation, which could be used by Bo Ai to hide and sneak attack her enemies. Furthermore, the humidity in the forests was so high that even without pools of water, Li Zhu could freeze the air itself.

Having chosen the environment that they preferred, Li Zhu and Bo Ai looked on their maps, in search of the closest instance of a rain forest. There was every single environment imaginable in the illusion world, so the two quickly spotted the desired location before charging towards it, wanting to have time to prepare before the fight.

As they reached the closest rain forest, Li Zhu and Bo Ai positioned themselves well, with Li Zhu standing on top of a tree, and Bo Ai hidden in the foliage of a nearby tree. Li Zhu was going to be the bait, and Bo Ai could then sneak-attack the enemies.

The five marks coming towards them on the map did not seem to stop, sign that the team which was chasing them was very intent on fighting. Knowing this, both Li Zhu and Bo Ai had excited expressions, since they couldn't wait to test their strength against other cultivators.

They did not have to wait long, either, as after only a few minutes, two figures appeared, running at full speed towards them. In the qi gathering realm no one could fly yet, so running was the fastest method of travel.

As the two figures became clearer, though, Li Zhu began to look worried, having recognized one of two people: Yun Mei. If the humidity in the rain forest was an advantage to him, it was even more so for Yun Mei, who specialized in water techniques. Furthermore, she was like Bo Ai, someone whose cultivation had been restricted, because they came from the mainland. The only difference was that Bo Ai's cultivation had been restricted by the trial, while Yun Mei had restricted herself for the purpose of infiltrating the Flaming Saber Sect.

Besides Yun Mei, there was a young man, who Li Zhu recognized from the moment before they entered the trial as the strongest disciple in the Endless Storm Sect. Being from that sect, he most likely used wind techniques, which Li Zhu did not particularly fear, since he had shadow lurk.

The two powerful enemies finally reached the rain forest, before jumping onto a tree, while trying to stay far from Li Zhu.

"Where's your team mate?" asked the young man, Yan Peng, suspicious. After all, this was a team trial, and he would not believe that Li Zhu was all alone, waiting for them to steal his crystals.

"Please, please don't harm me... my team mate was killed by a Death-Cloud serpent, and I barely escaped! These six crystals are all I have, and they are the fruit of her last efforts!" replied Li Zhu, sobbing.

Ever since his master would beat him with a stick every time he messed up, Li Zhu had become good at acting, always trying to seem in more pain than he had been, so that the old man would spare him a few hits out of pity.

This skill often came in handy, but when it came to Yun Mei and Yan Peng, they did not seem to believe his act, since to gather six crystals one would need to go into a rank six area, which would mean Li Zhu was much stronger than he was leading them to believe.

Yun Mei, suspicious, looked around the jungle, her eyes turning entirely blue, rippling like a lake. It did not take her long to smile, before saying, "Bo Ai, you can come out... my Divine Water Vision can easily see through the foliage!"

"Don't worry, Yan Peng, the man on the tree is not dangerous, since he most probably has six crystals only thanks to Bo Ai. As long as we eliminate her, he will not be an issue!" Yun Mei said, a smile appearing on her face. The Divine Water Clan was very reclusive, so the chance to fight someone from Myriad Soul Palace was hard to come by, especially the heir Bo Ai.

Bo Ai walked out of her cover, while saying, "Good job, Yun Mei, really making your father proud. IF you think defeating me will be easy though, think again!"

With that, she immediately started her most powerful soul skill in the qi gathering realm, the "Ghost Soul Arrow", which she had used previously against the Hundred Years Slumber toad.

She did not waste any time, and instantly released the invisible arrow towards Yan Peng, wanting to defeat him before fighting Yun Mei.

"You will have to get through me to do that!" yelled Yun Mei, before jumping towards Yan Peng, a thin barrier of water forming in front of them. Even though the barrier seemed quite weak, it was a skill that defended against soul skills, which was of course the only type of defense which worked against Bo Ai.

Still, the Ghost Soul Arrow was not an attack which was easily blocked, as the water barrier shattered, and the strike reached Yun Mei, who trembled for a short moment.

Fortunately for her, she was a spirit alchemist, and thus had always put a great deal of effort into strengthening her soul, which was crucial to advance in the field. Because of this, it took her only a few seconds to crush the Ghost Soul Arrow with her own soul power.

The strike was not powerless, though, since Yun Mei had clearly been tired by the clash, and as long as Bo Ai could maintain a steady flow of attacks, victory was within reach.

"If you handle Yun Mei, I'll deal with Yan Peng!" said Li Zhu, before charging towards the young man, who had green tattoos all over his body.

"Overestimating yourself!" commented Yan Peng, before extending his hands towards Li Zhu, causing hundreds of small wind darts to shoot forwards. Each one of the darts seemed capable to cut through air itself, as they flashed towards Li Zhu as fast as light.

He was no novice when it came to dodging strikes, though, quickly entering Shadow Lurk, having been fused with Buddy for the time being.

Blue, in the meantime, was in his spirit ring, so that he could quickly fuse with it, the moment that it was needed.

Yan Peng's eyes narrowed, while he looked for Li Zhu. Just to be careful, he continued launching attacks, with wind darts flying all over the place. His opinion was that Li Zhu was simply using a stealth technique, in which case the endless barrage of darts would eventually hit him, whether he was visible or not.

This was not the case, though, and by hopping from shadow to shadow under the trees, Li Zhu managed to travel all the way behind Yan Peng, before activating shadow claws.

Yan Peng had the power of wind by his side, though, which provided him with incredible reflexes, and the moment the shadow claws exited the shadow realm, about to slash his back, he jumped forward at the speed of wind, barely dodging them.

His arrogant expression had changed into one of respect, though, since he did not dare underestimate Li Zhu any further. If not for his instincts and quick reflexes, the single strike from Li Zhu could have put him out of commission for the entirety of the fight, and left Yun Mei alone to fight two enemies.

Li Zhu did not stop attacking, though, and he struck out with six more shadow claws. This time, though, a few of the claws were not real, which he hoped would finally be useful, after the many fights with spirit beasts.

Yan Peng immediately took out his sword, growing more serious. He practiced a combination of elemental skills and weapon skills, making him more versatile. This also meant that he did not have as much time to practice either path, though, which was why most cultivators usually stuck to one single fighting path.

As the six shadow claws approached Yan Peng, he struck each one of them with full force, wanting to destroy them, before launching a counter attack. The clash did not go as he had planned, though, as after destroying the first claw, his sword simply went through the second one, the momentum of his strike causing him to stumble forward.

He had hit a fake shadow claw, and Li Zhu took advantage of the opportunity awarded by this, charging forwards while launching twelve more shadow claws, in two swipes.

Yan Peng had panic on his face, as he quickly regained his balance, before trying to retreat with the wind. He was a second too slow this time, though, and the shadow claws struck him in the chest, launching him onto a nearby tree top.

'I need to win this fight fast!' thought Li Zhu, as he stared at the fallen Yan Peng. The faster he defeated the young man, the sooner he could help Bo Ai against Yun Mei, who he saw as the real threat out of the two enemies.