Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Zha Tian Yun gripped his sword before loosening a bit. The sword in his hand began to glow and became resplendent with light. In his impatience, he was the first to move, transforming into a flash of light as he sprung into action.

In an instant, he was right in front of Yu Hua and his sword left nothing but an arc of light. Yu Hua was quick as she swung her sword upwards, deflecting the sword before jumping back. The dust and stone beneath her trembled even more intensely before flying up and cover her sword, making it thicker and sturdier.

She jumped back and pointed up with one of her fingers. The ground rumbled as multiplestone spike erupted from the ground, trying to pierce into Zha Tian Yun. The flash of light that was his body retreated, flickering about.

No one else spoke anymore, they just moved and began this grand battle.

Seeing Yu Hua battling it out with Zha Tian Yun, Tang Zhan charged towards another person.

"Liu Xing! Let\'s see if you win this time!" she shouted out loudly, swinging her lances.

The one she had targeted was none other than the Inheritor that defeated her in the group stages. Wielding the sword and shield, he was fully dressed in scaled armor.

"We shall see! I outlasted you once and I will do it again!"

He marched forward, his shield held up in front of him, a circular piece carved with the body of a dragon that circled the sun. His sword was double-edged and short, its length was just over two feet. It was a beautiful weapon, smooth and etched with the patterns of fire.

It spun in his hand before holding it close to his shield. Practicing the Dao of Fire, his body emitted flames as he became the center of fiery ball. It was dense and the light it gave off was harsh.

"You think your Sun Heart Body will stop me?"

Tang Zhan charged, launching one of her lances at this sun-like flame. It soared through the air and collided in the center of Liu Xing\'s shield. Despite having enough force to decimate a thick tree trunk, it could not even scratch the shield. But the impact forced Liu Xing to take a step back and Liu Xing pounced on him.

She leaped forward and dived into the flames as she landed onto his shield. Grabbing the lance to supprt her foothold, she thrusted with her other lance, going around the shield and aiming for his head.

Liu Xing would not go down like this and pushed her back with his shield. He spun his sword one more and attacked.

"Come Wenqin Yan! Let\'s continue this fight!"

Yan Xian looked at him before throwing his fists.

"Hmph, let\'s see if you are going to keep that same arrogance when I beat you again!"

Wenqin Yan waved his spear and clashed against Yan Xian\'s fists. Mist covered the ground as Yan Xian disapeared into it.

"Get back here! Abyssal Ocean Horse!"

He swung his spear outwards, releasing waves of indigo-colored water. Then he stabbed into the ground, gathering the water until it formed into a horse. Jumping on, he led it by the watery reins and chased after Yan Xian, running into the mist. WIth his spear pointed out, he searched for his opponent, stabbing out and forcing Yan Xian to reappear.

As boundless as this mist was, the strength coming from their attacks resounded in a thunderous manner, distorting Yan Xian\'s mist.

"Could I even win against any of them?"

Ming Yue began to compare herself with them. These were the strongest of Heaven\'s Gate and in front of them, she did not have much of a chance in victory. Thus there was a second question in her mind.

"Can I outrun them?"

Her fastest speed as was when she used Phantasmal Wind but that was only for short distances. Climbing up a mountain was a different matter. Whether she could even maintain that sort of speed for such a trek was something she had little confidence in.

It was a very big gamble but with all of them stuck in battle, she had at least a few seconds before they would notice her.

Was it enough? This was another variable she was unsure of.

This mountain wasn\'t terribly big but it wasn\'t a simple hill. Running straight up would take a minute for her and a lot could happen in a single minute. While focusing on the fight, she began to plan her path up to the mountain.

"If I maintain my top speed, I would have covered a third of the mountain in ten seconds. If that\'s the gap between me and them, Zha Tian Yun would be able to reach me in the last few seconds. He could stop me..."

She wracked her mind over the odds before stopping altogether.

"I should just do it, there\'s no point in thinking any longer."

She knew deep down that this was risky, stupid even but it was her best chance. Not to mention, the reward was worth it, a day within the Empyrean Paradise, Elder Xiang\'s so-called "Perfect" technique, and numerous other resources.

Ming Yue looked at the mountain, getting as close to the base without getting noticed by the others. She could not even circle to the other side for the battles had spread all around the mountain. Staring at the peak, the goal seemed so far and so close.

A singular minute would determine whether or not she would succeed.

Unsheathing her sword, Ming Yue prepared herself, circling her energy and gathering it. She uttered nothing, silently moving and leaving nothing behind. LIke that, she ran up the mountain, going at a straight line. There was nothing to see but small shade that seemed to fade in and out of the air. Every time this happened, it was her constantly trying to maintain this speed of hers.

A quarter of the way up, someone noticed it out of the corner of their eyes and immediately stopped their fight, pointing towards the mountain.

"Someone\'s trying to climb the mountain! Quick, stop them!"

Everyone stopped their fights and stared at the mountain, spotting Ming Yue\'s figure which was now fully visible. She could no longer keep at her top speed but continued to rush up the mountain. They converged on the mountain and began to ascend the rocky slope.

"No!"

Zha Tian Yun shouted out loud and transformed into light, racing up the mountain at a much quicker pace than Ming Yue. Everyone else chased after her, throwing all sorts of terrifying attacks.

Crescent waves of energy, arrows of fire, stone spikes was just a fraction of the flood of attacks that followed.

"I won\'t let you!"

Tang Zhan immediately raised her lance and hurtled it towards Ming Yue.

Sensing her pursuers, she ran up with as much fervor as she could muster. But the lance was fast and it would almost reached her. Ming Yue turned around with Drifting Sky guarding against the lance. Supporting the blade with both hands, she braced herself and allowed the lance to hit her sword.

"Gah!"

With a body as small as hers, the lance had shaken her entire body but it also sent her even further up the mountain. She rode the lance as far as she could before side stepping and continuing on her path. Turning back, she saw the peak and nearly let the excitement ruin her concentration.

Zha Tian Yun was the closest to her and quickly closed the gap but he wasn\'t sure whether he could make it or not.

"I can\'t let her take it! I need the energy of the Empyrean Paradise!"

The thought of losing it made him panic and in that panic he attacked her instead, relinquishing a second or so of time.

"Binding of the Light!"

From his sword, a massive white beam shot from the tip, roaring and crashing into Ming Yue, stunning her.. She could barely move and the strength of the attack was too much.