Kay nodded, and his bow ignited in mes. Unlike the others, he didn''t have the physical endurance to match us, but he made up for it with speed.


    Before anyone could blink, a ming arrow shot from his bow, streaking through the air and arriving in front of us in an instant. Stay updated through empire


    us calmly raised his sword, slicing the arrow in half with a swift motion. He took a single step forward, closing the gap. The distance between them was 200 meters, and for Kay to win, he had to find a way to push us back.


    Another arrow left Kay''s bow, fierce and zing. us cut it down effortlessly and stepped forward again. Kay''s eyes narrowed, his focus sharpening.


    Without hesitation, he locked multiple arrows onto his bow and let them loose in rapid session. A storm of ming arrows filled the air, each one aimed precisely at us.


    "That was quite the speed there, Kay, but you will have to be faster," us said, cutting the arrows as they came.


    "me Barrage unleashed," Kay responded, unleashing another barrage of attacks. But us kept cutting them as they came. It took just 20 minutes for him to move 50 meters, closing in on the 200-meter gap he had set.


    Kay knew he was running out of time, but he also didn''t want to use his strongest move just yet. The skill us had given him, the Lion''s Roar Pierce, was his strongest move, and in order to have a chance, he wanted to use it when the gap between them was not that wide.


    With an attack that could turn his ming arrow into a lion''s head with a long Pointed ming horn, he was certainly counting on it.


    us''s eyes narrowed. He could feel Kay''s hesitation. The real fight was just beginning.


    Kay steadied his breath. He aimed another arrow, mes swirling around the tip. He released it, but this time with a twist. The arrow split into five, each one racing toward us with fiery trails.


    us grinned, his sword shing as he deflected each one with precision. Sparks flew around him, lighting up the ground.


    "Is that all you''ve got?" us taunted, taking a step closer.


    Kay''s heart pounded. He couldn''t hold back any longer. He drew a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When they snapped open, they were burning with fiery determination.


    "Lion''s Roar Pierce!" he shouted.


    A ming arrow formed in his hands, glowing brighter than any before. He locked the arrow in the bow. Kay wasn''t holding back anymore. He could tell any more dy and he would regret not using his strongest move.


    us''s smile faded. He sensed the danger and steadied his stance.


    Kay released the arrow. The lion roared as it surged forward, heat waves distorting the air around it. The ground cracked under its power.


    us swung his sword, channeling energy into the de. He met the lion head-on. The sh exploded in a burst of light and heat.


    When the smoke cleared, us stood with his sword glowing red. He had coated it with his fire element just before defending against the Lion''s Roar Pierce.


    "Kay, you must know that in a fight where you have no chance against your opponent, use your strongest move first," us said his tone calm. "If you''re lucky, you might get an opening you can exploit. But even if you stand no chance, you can still run away."


    He paused, studying Kay''s face, then continued, "Just now, I was blinded for a moment. You could have used that advantage to unleash another attack. I know for a fact it would have pushed me back, making it your win. You could have been the first to win among your friends."


    us smiled. "So, if you still have some energy, don''t make the same mistake. But I doubt I''d also make the same mistake defending up close."


    He raised his sword, fire flickering along the de. "But hey, take your best shot, and let''s see what happens."


    They resumed their battle for another 35 minutes before us finally closed the gap between them and disarmed Kay. Luckily for Kay, us didn''t send him flying, as he had managed to gain some upper hand during the fight after all.@@novelbin@@


    "Next time, don''t hold back against stronger opponents," us said.


    Kay nodded and walked over to sit beside the others, who were recovering. Even Daniel had regained consciousness and was now sitting up.


    us looked at the group and sighed. With a flick of his wrist, he made the ice lotus move and hover above them. The lotus has some recovery qualities that would help them quickly recover their energies.


    "Thanks, us," Kay said.


    us nodded, then turned to the threedies.


    "Well,dies, who wants to go first?" us asked with a smile. Anna, Lily, and Hanna exchanged nces. After a brief pause, Anna stepped forward.


    "Oh, I thought Lily would go first, considering she wanted to show off her sword qi to us," Miriam said, raising an eyebrow.


    "Wait, she has also unlocked sword qi?" us''s mother asked.


    "Yes, she was the first to unlock it. Her sword qi is even stronger than her brother''s," Miriam replied, a smile ying on her lips. She had been giving Lily some pointers over the past few days and was eager to see how much she had grown.


    "But I want to witness Anna. This youngdy seems to have a rather strong affinity for the Ice element," another voice suddenly spoke.


    "You two do know it''s creepy to lurk in the shadows like that?" Miriam turned to a particr shadow where Nuna''s voice hade from. The shadow flickered, and Nuna appeared, followed by her twin sister, Luna.


    "Sorry about that, Sister Miriam," Luna said with a guilty smile. The twins had always preferred staying in the shadows since they had spent much of their lives alone. Now, even though they were surrounded by people they considered friends, old habits seem to die hard.


    "Tsk," Miriam chuckled, turning her attention back to the arena.


    "Don''t worry, girls. She''s just having a hard timeing to terms with her emotions," us''s mother said with a smile, watching Miriam''s antics.


    The twins nodded. They had been staying with us''s family now. However, while that might seem unusual, they hadn''t stopped their work—taking out the assassins sent after us.


    This had helped them remain unsuspected, as their mother, who was also their former ve master, was concerned. They simply told her that someone powerful was protecting us and that they would need more time.


    us looked at Anna, now gripping her staff as she looked back at him with her icy green eyes. She also seemed to be radiating a green, icy energy that was immediately freezing the space around her.


    [Interesting, this youngdy is on the verge of awakening her Ice element] the senior suddenly said from us''s soul sea.


    "Senior, do you know the type of ice element she will be awakening?" us asked, curious.


    [From the aura, only one ice elementes to mind: Infinity Freezing Ice] the senior replied.


    [It''s number 7 on the Absolute Heavenly Ice Chart.]