Chapter 371: Locked

The Azure Lantern Festival raged on around the makeshift arena, thousands of blue lights hovering over the lake as the crowd slowly gathered around the two young cultivators.

Lin Mei stood with her feet apart and her shoulders loose. The nervousness that had plagued her at the start of the fight had not vanished completely, but it had stopped dictating her movements. Her eyes remained on Zhao Kai, tracking the way he held his arms and the way he weighted his feet.

Across from her, Zhao Kai rolled his shoulders and gave her an amused look. He had expected Ao Kuiba to choose someone far more fearsome, someone among the elder cultivators standing nearby. Instead, he had drawn a sixteen-year-old girl who looked more at home in an alchemy shop than on a fighting platform.

He made the mistake of letting the thought settle in his expression.

Lin Mei noticed. She also noticed the way his right foot lingered farther back than his left, and the way his weight kept shifting forward whenever he looked toward her hands. She had no idea whether these little quirks were part of his natural combat style or born from simple impatience, but they were the only things she had to go on. She was determined to use them.

Elder Gu watched from the edge of the gathering crowd with an even expression. Ao stood beside Lin Yue, apparently uninterested in the rising excitement among the onlookers. Lin Yue, however, had both her hands clasped in front of her, and her eyes were fixed on Lin Mei with an expression of deep concern. Ao had put the girl in this position for a reason. Although Lin Yue trusted his choice, it did not make watching her younger sister face a strange opponent any easier.

Zhao Kai was the first to make a move.

He pushed off from the ground and crossed the short distance between them with a burst of spiritual energy. His right hand shot forward, fingers curling into a half fist while his left hand crossed the waist of his body in a supporting seal. A pale green light gathered along his knuckles.

"Wind Sweeping Palm."

His attack shot toward her upper body, fast enough that several spectators gasped.

Lin Mei slipped to her left. It was not particularly graceful, and her heel caught on the edge of the platform, but she kept her balance as Zhao Kai’s palm passed close enough to brush her sleeve.

Before she could recover, Zhao Kai turned and drove his elbow toward her shoulder, the green light coiling tighter around his arm.

"Twin Crane’s Descent."

Lin Mei took a step back. The second opening was not as well executed as the first. Zhao Kai’s elbow clipped against her upper arm, sending a dull ache through her body and throwing her sideways.

A few spectators laughed.

Zhao Kai followed up right away, unwilling to grant her an opening to recover. He brought his hands together, three fingers folding in while two reached out. The spiritual energy around his wrist twirled into a coil.

"Whirlwind Fang."

His strike arced across her ribs, and Lin Mei threw herself backward until her heel nearly brushed the edge of the platform. She raised her forearms in a blocking stance.

The force of the blow sent her arms slamming into her body. Her ribs smarted from the impact, and she had to swallow a sharp intake of breath before she could move again.

Zhao Kai pressed on, confident now that he had taken the initiative. His attacks grew faster, each one punctuated by a flash of pale green light. He stopped naming techniques, pausing only to form abbreviated seals in rapid succession before switching to a new set as he moved. He forced Lin Mei to keep her arms up in defense while driving her into ever narrower movements.

She could not afford to match his blows. Every time their attacks met directly, the difference in their physical power was stark.

Lin Mei was driven back toward the edge of the platform again.

She could hear the murmur of the crowd behind her. None of it mattered. She forced herself to focus on Zhao Kai’s movements. His first strike had been fast. His second came before she could recover. It was only after that he began attacking every time she moved back, forcing her into constant motion rather than letting her settle.

He wanted to keep her off balance.

More importantly, he thought she would keep retreating.

Zhao Kai lunged again, aiming his palm at her shoulder. Lin Mei moved sideways this time, but did not retreat in a straight line. She crossed his line of attack at an angle, forcing him to overshoot.

His strike missed.

Lin Mei turned and swung at his ribs, her hand forming a loose fist with paler spiritual energy dancing over her knuckles. It was not a named technique, but she did not have one appropriate for the moment, so she used what she had.

Her blow landed against his ribs, though not with enough force to do more than send him off balance. Zhao Kai twisted away before she could follow up, and her second strike only hit air.

He turned to look at her, the amusement vanishing from his expression.

Lin Mei took a step back before he could retaliate, her breathing coming in shorter gasps. Her injured arm throbbed with pain every time she moved it, but she had learned something useful. Zhao Kai was fast, and he recovered from mistakes quicker than she expected, but his attacks always carried him forward. If he committed to a strike, he would always expect his opponent to step back so he could follow up.

She could work with that.

Zhao Kai rubbed where her fist had struck him before glancing toward the young cultivators watching from beyond the platform. One of them had smiled at the ease of his opening strike, but the expression had changed. Zhao noticed and straightened, unwilling to let this be the highlight of his performance.

He circled Lin Mei instead of lunging directly at her.

It was immediately apparent that his change in style made things much more difficult. By taking the initiative in his movements, Zhao eliminated some of the openings she had been able to exploit. He kept his movements close, always advancing a little at a time as he watched her feet. Whenever she tried to move to the side, he adjusted his stance and blocked the path before she could get far.

Lin Mei kept circling the platform, refusing to be cornered. She had studied enough fights to know that controlling an opponent did not always require attacking them directly.

Zhao was doing that to her.

He cut off her next step and drove toward her chest. His fingers curled into a seal, thumb pressing against the middle joint of his index finger. Green light condensed at his fingertips.

"Serpent Piercing Finger."

Lin Mei brought her arms up to guard, but he changed the angle halfway through the strike and sent her spinning off balance. Just as she turned to face him, his foot shot out toward her ankle.

Lin Mei jumped to avoid the sweep, but landed awkwardly on her other leg.

Zhao took advantage of the moment, his palm driving into her upper arm. Lin Mei stumbled back, managing to keep her balance despite the pain twisting through her muscles.

She straightened as he advanced, but it was clear that Zhao was no longer smiling.

Lin Mei understood that he had stopped treating their exchange as a novelty. He was still holding back enough that he would not seriously hurt her, but he was beginning to use his experience to control the fight. She could not keep avoiding his attacks forever. Her power was not as great, her stamina would eventually fail her, and every movement she made to keep out of his reach would come at a cost.

From the sidelines, Lin Yue took a half step forward before catching herself. Ao noticed her movement but did not look at her. His eyes remained on Lin Mei.

He had not expected her to overpower Zhao Kai. He had expected her to observe, to learn, and to use what she saw to her advantage. Those were not traits that would ensure victory, but they were a good start.

Lin Mei’s gaze flickered to Zhao’s feet. He moved differently now, his right foot no longer trailing behind him as often. He was keeping his stance more balanced so she could not draw him in with a well-placed move. But every time he struck with his left hand, his right shoulder turned an instant before the rest of his body.

It was a small sign, but she did not have anything else to go on.