Boom!

A golden red light scattered as Aya's first shot fiercely struck the ice crystal shield formation erected by Tiran on the spot. The diamond-like translucent and sturdy shield wall was instantly shattered through three layers in succession, although Tiran herself did not directly endure the attack. The oscillating force threw her back more than ten meters.

"Hey hey, what in the world is this? The power is a bit exaggerated, don't you think? What did you learn while hiding from me?"

The princess, who was in her first confrontation and wanted to test the intensity of the attack, was a bit shocked. Using Chi purely without Magic, Aya managed to break through three layers of ice crystal shields in one breath and threw herself back, surpassing completely the impression she had previously given to the princess, especially with a martial art like spear technique, which Aya had never used before.

Aya seemed somewhat surprised by the power of this shot.

To be honest, she had never really delved into the use of spears before. The reason she chose to learn it was simply because she found a set of spear techniques in her versatile little book. The movements were simple and rough, but they required a high level of proficiency from the user. She had never expected the first time she used it in actual combat to be this fierce.

"So, what exactly is in that little book of yours?" Tiran had black lines all over her face, using a sudden burst of strength by leveraging on her toes, she simultaneously slashed towards Aya from two directions with her dual swords.

Distracted by Tiran's words, Aya, caught off guard, let the princess break into the range covered by the tip of the spear cage, facing attacks from two directions. Unable to defend with the spear in time, the originally advantageous weapon length against dual swords turned into a disadvantage in an instant.

In her desperation, Aya abandoned the spear in her hand, a golden flame engulfing her right fist, punching away the left slash first, then using the scales covering her right side to withstand Tiran's second sword. She even forcefully pushed Tiran away.

"Using trash talk to distract me in a fair duel is so unfair!"

Aya complained in a daze, feeling a lingering pain in her right shoulder from the hit she just took.

"We never said it was only about physical combat," Tiran stuck out her tongue, proudly waving the sword in her hand, "Let's continue!"

Generally, experts at the Holy Rank were quite prideful, except for a few individuals like Princess Tiran who lacked a sense of propriety. But Tiran was surprisingly relaxed in such situations, as long as she could win a fight.

Tiran got serious again, with her Chi fully unleashed, half of the area was covered in frost. The air temperature seemed to instantly return to the harsh winter, and every breath felt like inhaling air mixed with fine blades.

Gripping the spear tightly, Aya exhaled a white breath. Wait a minute, it wasn't an illusion, were there really blades in the air?

A trace of blood oozed from her lips, and Aya subconsciously touched it, discovering a minor wound that could easily be overlooked.

As the temperature dropped, icy winds carried ice crystals that, under Tiran's precise control, turned into sharp blades that cut through Aya's unprotected lips.

Using magic to illuminate healing light, Aya sealed the wound. She licked her lips still tinged with a cool sensation and glanced down at her body, unable to help but smirk.

Normally, the surface of Aya's body in human form would be covered with scales as a substitute for armor, providing powerful defense. The most significant advantage was that these scales were usually invisible and effective against enemy sneak attacks.

But now, several parts of her body already had a thin layer of white ice appearing out of nowhere, a few centimeters away from the surface of her clothes... It was unbelievable for even the scales to be frozen, wasn't it?

At this moment, Aya couldn't help but envy those with Chi attributes, though being able to use Magic was not a bad deal either.

In the center of the howling frosty wind, the twin swords in Tiran's hands overlapped, stirring up a vortex of frost. It was a rare ice tornado, with fine and deadly ice blades rotating and accelerating in the chaotic airflow, occasionally breaking free and striking the ground in front of Aya, causing ripples on the protective film around.

This was getting out of hand. A large-scale move right from the start? Being able to freeze her scales from a distance like this... it was unrealistic to try to get close.

What about long-range Magic attacks?

Aya attempted several attack spells - Thunder Summoning, Cloud of Lightning - only to see the spells dissipate and get absorbed into the ice tornado, leaving no chance to even reach Tiran ten meters away before being completely frozen by the low temperature.

Even mid-grade Magic spells that could be cast instantaneously proved inadequate against this ice tornado, and taking time to prepare high-level Magic was both a waste of time and magic power, with no significant impact to expect.

As she felt her body being pulled by the wind pressure, Aya had to plant the spear in the ground to stabilize herself, all the while chanting under her breath.

[Frost Shield] [Windwalker] [Stone Skin] [Luminescent Blade]... Aya cast supportive spells from Dragonic Magic like she was throwing them around for free.

Tsk, if the battlefield wasn't confined to this training ground, Aya would have bolted already, but unfortunately, escaping wasn't an option in this kind of terrain battle. Tiran's strategy of full-field bombardment was indeed cunning.

Nevertheless, it was also an opportunity. Taking a deep breath to calm her accelerating heartbeat due to excitement, Aya raised the spear with one hand, exerted force with her right foot, leaned her body forward while lowering the spearhead, took a step back with her right foot, like a taut bow.

Tiran noticed Aya's movement but didn't react unnecessarily, evolving her frost Chi to a new stage after reaching the Holy Rank.

Although there seemed to be no change on the surface, through practicing the control of absolute zero through the rules, Tiran had developed this Elysian royal Chi to its extreme. Given the experience of manipulating absolute zero through laws, if given time, she might collapse the temperature to the point of liquid nitrogen freezing.

She had been eager to try out the power of this ice tornado move.

The cup of water had finally reached its brim.

The ice tornado emitted a roar like an angry dragon, the powerful edge of impact on the protective film of the battlefield made the entire hemisphere-shaped barrier tremble like a fragile bubble under the sunlight.

"Hehe, how about that, Aya? If you're afraid of getting hurt, you can surrender." Tiran's voice came through the contract, and just from the voice, one could imagine the princess dancing in the eye of the tornado, intoxicated by the wind.

Indeed, if confronted head-on, this level of power was more than just a test, even a ninth-grade knight would end up dead or injured.

"However... Surrendering is not an option."

Aya muttered in a low voice, but as she spoke, her voice grew more and more vibrant, "I wager Dragon's honor. If you lose, you have to wear a maid outfit for me!"

"Huh?"

On the other end of the contract, Princess Tiran's voice hesitated for a moment, feeling a sense of unease, "Wait, when did I agree to this? I never said..."

"This is what family status is all about! Anyway, if I win, you'll have to listen to me!"

"Hey!"

Without giving Tiran a chance to speak further, Aya raised the spear, exerted force with her right leg, and launched herself forward like a sharp sword following the spear in her hand.