Cold Night Feather stood calm and composed on the right side of the high-tech arena. Lin Mi stood cautiously on the left. The arena spanned about a hundred meters. Force field generators lined its edges, facing inward to contain energy and protect the audience.
Idle students crowded the perimeter. Some came because they’d heard Lin Mi—the school’s infamous troublemaker—would fight the newcomer instantly hailed as campus queen. Their real goal wasn’t the battle; they just wanted to ogle two beauties. Others craved a thrilling fight. After all, Lin Mi was a known C++-level ability user. And anyone facing her in this official combat arena couldn’t be weak.
A young teacher in staff uniform stood guard at the edge, referee for this match. His job was to stop them if they got carried away and turned lethal. But both girls were C++-level like him. No wonder he felt uneasy.
Honestly, he’d only accepted this tough duty because the pair arrived laughing like friends. Ordinary students settling grudges here gave him headaches. This arena was the only place where full-power duels were allowed. Feuding fighters often forgot everything mid-battle.
He sighed, eyeing the two young women whose curves were sharply outlined by tight combat suits. "Alright!" he shouted. "Student Lin Mi versus student Cold Night Feather. Begin!"
Cold Night Feather smiled at the tense Lin Mi. "Don’t be nervous. Attack me with all you’ve got!"
Lin Mi took a deep breath. "Then I won’t hold back!" Flames erupted across her body as she charged. Boosted by her suit, the fire burned stronger than during her clash with Bai Xin—darkening to a deep crimson, nearing 700 degrees.
Seeing Lin Mi favored close combat, Cold Night Feather condensed blood into gleaming crimson gauntlets. She pushed off the ground and lunged forward. Both moved at blinding speed. The small arena closed the distance to zero in seconds.
"Hah!!" Lin Mi roared, slamming her flaming fist toward Cold Night Feather.
Expressionless, Cold Night Feather sidestepped slightly. Unlike rookies, she knew to conserve force for recovery. After dodging the punch, she seized Lin Mi’s off-balance arm and drove an elbow into her abdomen. Blood crystals coated her elbow on impact, vanishing instantly.
Lin Mi doubled over. Cold Night Feather’s strength matched hers, and the abdomen was a soft spot.
This was training—no mercy. Cold Night Feather had excelled among peers because her mentors never went easy. That taught her to fight full-out every time, racking her brain to avoid injury while attacking.
She didn’t wait for Lin Mi to recover. A shoulder strike slammed into her, followed by a grapple that hurled her hard onto the ground.
"In combat, never go all out without reserve," Cold Night Feather lectured. "Keeping flames over your whole body is flashy but useless. Your power isn’t battle aura—it drains energy. And with focus split everywhere, you can’t reinforce single points for attack or defense." Blood spears materialized behind her, primed to fire. Lin Mi roared through pain, unleashing a blast of flames that repelled Cold Night Feather.
"If this were a death match, you’d be dead already," Cold Night Feather said calmly, dispelling a hastily formed blood-shield.
Lin Mi’s face twisted with frustration. She waved her hand. Dark crimson fireballs shot toward Cold Night Feather, trailing scorching waves.
Cold Night Feather instantly counted six projectiles. To spectators, she seemed clairvoyant—launching six blood spears simultaneously. The energies collided and vanished mid-air. Her crimson eyes narrowed. A small blood-crystal shield appeared, blocking Lin Mi’s punch as she charged through dust, body still ablaze.
Cold Night Feather dismissed the cracked shield and dodged a flaming side kick. As Lin Mi retreated swiftly after the failed strike, she praised her: "Decent combat awareness. You knew you couldn’t win head-on. Staying would’ve let me press the advantage. Retreating was smart."
Lin Mi’s face was stone. Her chest heaved violently. Clenched fists trembled slightly—stamina at its limit.
Below, students gaped in stunned silence.
"Whoa! This new campus queen’s insane! She’s crushing Lin Mi!" a chubby boy gasped, jaw dropped.
"Same C++-level, but her combat sense is unreal. Fighting’s as natural to her as breathing."
"They’ll both transfer to Dawn Harbor Top Academy by year’s end. Guess I’ll never get a shot with either…"
…
Nearby, Bai Xin wore a panicked look. "I—I won’t fight Night Feather! Who knew she’d be this brutal even holding back?" she squeaked.
Li Xiao Xiao facepalmed, pinching Bai Xin’s cheek. "Wasn’t someone just vowing to ‘get back at her’?" she shot back.
"Who? Not me!" Bai Xin stammered, flustered.
Wang Lin rubbed her forehead wearily. "Enough. Let’s just keep watching."
