Chapter 1004: Chapter 1004: Battle With Xie Lanying and Ning Shoukai Part Two

Water and fire collided repeatedly at a terrifying, deafening speed.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Thick columns of white steam exploded continuously around the training field, obscuring the combatants. Ning Shoukai’s attacks were inherently powerful, explosive, and relentless, but Bai Xifeng’s rotating water runes constantly redirected, absorbed, and weakened his flames before they could fully strike her physical body.

At the exact same time, Xie Lanying successfully rejoined the fray from behind. With a sharp, practised flick of her blade, a dozen jagged ice blades shot through the dense fog toward Bai Xifeng from multiple directions. Faced with high-tier attacks from both the front and the back simultaneously, Bai Xifeng finally began feeling genuine, suffocating pressure. Her expression sharpened instantly, her competitive spirit flaring to life. Acting on pure survival instinct, she threw over ten runes into the air at once.

A massive volume of water surged across the training field like a sudden, localized tide. The solid ground beneath everyone’s feet rapidly transformed into a flowing, turbulent pool that heavily restricted rapid movement and severely disrupted their physical balance.

"What on earth kind of battlefield-control technique is this?!" Ning Shoukai shouted, his arms flailing wildly as he nearly slipped and crashed face-first into the mud.

"Teacher Ji trained me well." Bai Xifeng grinned proudly, her eyes flashing dangerously through the shifting mist.

From the absolute safety of the gazebo, Ji Yuan silently sipped his warm tea, completely unbothered by the elemental chaos as he watched the battle unfold before him.

"Shoukai! Burn the mist entirely!" Xie Lanying ordered sharply.

She narrowed her eyes against the swirling water before suddenly letting out a faint, knowing smile.

Ning Shoukai instantly understood her strategy. With a loud, resonant roar, a massive, omnidirectional wave of intense flames erupted outward from his body. The thick, suffocating steam covering the training field rapidly dispersed and evaporated under the sudden, immense heat, completely exposing the entire clearing.

Without the protective mist concealing her movements anymore, Bai Xifeng immediately clicked her tongue in sheer annoyance. Unfortunately for her, Xie Lanying had already seized that momentary distraction. She executed a flawless Water Ripple Slash, her sword flashing brilliantly toward Bai Xifeng’s position. At the exact same moment, Ning Shoukai coordinated his timing perfectly, attacking from the opposite side with a fully charged Blazing Fist.

Bai Xifeng’s eyes widened slightly as she looked left and right. For the very first time since the mock battle had started, she was truly, completely cornered with nowhere to run. Then, a small, dangerous smile touched her lips. Suddenly, several hidden runes buried deep beneath the wet ground lit up simultaneously, glowing with a fierce, blinding light through the mud.

Ning Shoukai’s triumphant expression changed drastically to one of pure terror.

"Wait! When the hell did she manage to place those?!" Ning Shoukai shrieked in pure disbelief.

The moment those hidden runes lit up, the entire training field trembled violently. The water that had previously spread harmlessly across the ground suddenly surged upward like a living creature obeying its master. Several enormous water pillars erupted violently between Bai Xifeng, Ning Shoukai, and Xie Lanying, instantly disrupting their coordinated pincer attack. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Xie Lanying tried to forcibly seize control of the water using her own elemental attribute, but the sheer momentum of the runic energy overwhelmed her efforts. She was forced to swiftly flip through the air before landing heavily several meters away. Meanwhile, Ning Shoukai was forcefully driven backwards, his boots skidding across the dirt after nearly crashing directly into one of the erupting pillars.

"What kind of sneaky, underhanded move is this?" Ning Shoukai shouted, wiping spray from his face.

Bai Xifeng smirked proudly while retreating deeper into the safety of the flooded battlefield. "You think I would honestly just stand there and let both of you beat me up together?"

The water around her feet continued flowing rapidly, humming with runic frequency. Every puddle, every trace of moisture, and every layer of mist lingering in the air had unknowingly become an extension of her own spiritual awareness. This clearing was no longer a standard training ground. It had become her personal matrix.

Xie Lanying narrowed her eyes carefully, her gaze tracing the glowing geometric scripts hidden just beneath the surface of the shallow water. "She has been setting traps since the very beginning of the match."

Ning Shoukai finally realized the truth behind why Bai Xifeng had kept retreating earlier instead of fighting them head-on. She hadn’t been running away out of weakness; she had been meticulously guiding them, step by step, directly into the grid zones she had already prepared beforehand.

"That is incredibly shameless!" Ning Shoukai complained immediately, throwing his hands up.

"Teacher Ji always says an inscriber should prepare thoroughly for every possible situation." Bai Xifeng replied, looking completely unbothered by the accusation.

Nearby, Ji Yuan calmly drank his tea without denying her words at all, his silence offering a tacit endorsement of her ruthless pragmatism.

Bai Xifeng then added with a wry chuckle, "Well, to be fair, I actually prepared them specifically for Lanying. You just happened to come along and jump into the trap with her."

Ning Shoukai nearly coughed blood from pure frustration. It was bad enough being targeted, but being collateral damage in a trap meant for someone else was a severe blow to his pride. It was not even like he had desperately wanted to spar with her today.

Xie Lanying was also left temporarily speechless. At this point, it genuinely felt like Ji Yuan was deliberately raising Bai Xifeng into an increasingly terrifying, calculating monster.

"Attack her now. Don’t give her any more time to gather her strings." Xie Lanying warned calmly, resetting her stance.

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