Chapter 620: A Tall Mountain

Hong Xi activated all her combat-oriented soulshards. A fan of feathers materialized in her left hand, and a moonlit sword in her right. Behind her, multicolored light flared.

The domain of [Eclipse] spread out beneath her feet. She walked forward, moonlight radiating from her every move. A black sun appeared behind her, sparking where it touched the moonlight at her feet.

Wind howled. The sword in her right hand gleamed like the radiant moon. As she waved her fan, she summoned a twister in the air—but with a wave of his hand, Zhang Lie dispelled her technique.

Meanwhile, Zhang Hanxiang held her palm up and channeled bitter cold. Cold air froze everything around her. A layer of frost covered the ground, and snow began to drift down from the heavens.

"If nothing else, you at least have the bravery to face me head-on."

Zhang Lie blocked his sister's palm strike with his own. He used no strength whatsoever; he simply matched her force with his palm. His palm was like a piece of glowing-hot steel, so hot no frost was able to condense on it.

Zhang Hanxiang frowned. She launched a flurry of attacks at Zhang Lie, channeling the might and intensity of a blizzard, a snowstorm. When the members of Team Zenith exhaled, they breathed out puffs of warm air.

As Zhang Lie's sister, Zhang Hanxiang naturally wasn't weak. Despite her young age, she was close to being able to catch up with the members of Team Zenith—but her opponent was none other than Zhang Lie. Despite her flurry of attacks, she couldn't hurt her brother at all. He deflected all her attacks perfectly.

Meanwhile, Hong Xi gave up on her long-distance techniques. She leapt forward with [The Elusive Moon], then activated a superior-grade illusory leopard soulshard to speed herself up further. She appeared behind Zhang Lie.

"[Moon Seeker]!" A silvery sheen emanated from her feet as she struck at his lower back—but she was sent flying into the distance somehow, without even seeing how Zhang Lie had turned around or attacked.

Making use of the momentum, Hong Xi revolved in midair and waved her fan. Her sword glinted with moonlight, and she shot forward once more.

Once again, Zhang Lie waved at his back and dissipated her attack.

As the snow fell, Zhang Hanxiang's ice glowed blue. Everything around her began to freeze.

Zhang Lie shot a punch in her direction, dissipating her evocation. The wave of energy sent the snow swirling in a flurry, forcing her to stumble back. Hong Xi hurriedly rushed up to support her.

"[The Hidden Moon]!" Her blade seemed to cut apart a silvery veil in the sky—but Zhang Lie intercepted her attack once more. She didn't see how; he had made his move after hers, but before she could reach him, his palm had already struck her chest.

Fang Yi recognized this move—it was infused with the power of time.

Zhang Lie's attack struck Hong Xi once more in a burst of flame. Hong Xi's spirit-fox robe sent a protective burst of foxflame toward Zhang Lie, but it didn't hurt him at all. His water-attuned genetic energy easily countered it.

Zhang Lie's body glowed with the telltale sheen of [Mirrored Refraction], one which extinguished the flame and knocked Hong Xi away. She crashed against tree bark. What had struck her wasn't the force of the explosion, but rather Zhang Lie's palm. It had bypassed her layers of protection and hit her directly.

Zhang Hanxiang skated over the frozen ground, her body as limber and agile as an acrobat's. Blades of ice formed by her feet, which she shot at Zhang Lie. But once again, without seeing just how Zhang Lie had countered her attack, she was sent flying into the distance.

She revolved in mid-air in an attempt to dissipate the momentum from Zhang Lie's attack, then ran around him in search of an opportunity to strike. Zhang Lie called out, "If you don't attack me, I'm going to attack you!"

Just then, a silver shadow appeared beside him. Hong Xi, wrapped in a gale of wind, struck at Zhang Lie with a silver flash.

That was Zhang Hanxiang's signal to act. She shot out a few icicles at Zhang Lie, who knocked them out of the air without any visible movement. At the same time, he caught Hong Xi's blade.

Zhang Hanxiang barreled forward, surrounded by a whirlwind of ice. As she came close to Zhang Lie, he punched in her direction and sent her flying. Zhang Hanxiang skidded sharply on the ice, sending a pillar of ice spiking upward to halt her backward momentum.

Meanwhile, Hong Xi attacked with [Fists of the Silent Sea], which Zhang Lie again countered with a kick. Hong Xi was sent flying up into the air like a rocket.

The aura around Zhang Hanxiang deepened. Her hair began to freeze over, and her fists had turned noticeably blue.

Zhang Lie felt a deep chill sweep over him. He smiled at his sister as he slashed downward with his hand, splitting the domain of permafrost in half. Genetic energy exploded from Zhang Hanxiang's body, sending chips of ice rising into the air.

Hong Xi fell from the sky in a heap, unable to arrest her momentum any longer. Upon seeing her companion's state, Zhang Hanxiang cried out, "I've had enough—that's it! We simply can't find a window of opportunity to strike!"

Zhang Lie asked, "Did you intuit something?"

Zhang Hanxiang sighed. "Brother, why do you keep asking that question? I've watched all your previous battles so far, but all I can tell is that you're disgustingly strong!"

The members of Team Zenith all nodded; they felt much the same way.

Zhang Lie sighed. "The fact that you're saying that means that you don't understand what you did wrong. There were plenty of opportunities for the two of you to demonstrate your strengths, but you didn't work together effectively. I'm very disappointed—I allowed the two of you to fight me together, but you didn't coordinate your attacks at all."

Zhang Hanxiang frowned. "That's not true! Hong Xi and I were in sync!"

"Cooperation doesn't mean you don't drag each other down—it means you work together with each other to augment both your attacks. You and Hong Xi were both attacking me at the same time, yes, but you were doing so completely independently of each other. Furthermore, you never varied your techniques—you always casted them the same way. You need to reflect on these points and work harder in the future."

Zhang Hanxiang nodded, sighing.

Zhang Lie turned to Hong Xi. "As for you, Hong Xi, you're too reliant on your soulshards. You need to hone your technique as well."

By then, Hong Xi had fainted; she couldn't hear Zhang Lie's words.

1. 寒霜 (read 'han-xiang') means bitter frost—except 霜 is actually pronounced 'shuang'. This is a mistake on my part, and unfortunately one too pervasive to be worth changing at this point.