Chapter 573: Escape!

Felicia quickly asked as soon as she put her brother down. "Are you alright?"

"Gah! This is nothing," said Altre as he glared against the icy woman that sent his chest to a tremor.

"Ivy!" Felicia glared as well.

Ivy wiped the dry blood from the edges of her supple lips. She squinted her sharp eyes but didn't show anger. She coldly hid behind the tree before she vanished from their sight.

"She disappeared?!" said Altre.

(It seems like she has grown even more powerful than last time) thought Felicia.

"Where is the other one?" asked Altre as he looked around. His eyes landed on nothing. Nothing behind the trees nothing in his divine sense either. 

"That coward ran away!" said Porealus as he stomped his foot in rage.

Porealus was making his way through the forest with one of his hands massaging his chest. He had gritted teeth as he felt the pricking pain. Though this kind of attack was not lethal, he was directly hit unprepared. Even an ant's bite is painful if it bit the eye.

"Those damn lunatics!" muttered Porealus with a hateful tone. "They sure love to bully mortals!"

Porealus landed on the ground before sitting down with his back leaned against one of the trees. He closed his eyelids as he embraced the pain radiating from his chest. The pricking sensation was surreal, had been more force been added, he would have been in a critical condition. 

His breathing slowly returned to normal before he opened his eyes once more. He stood up, realizing that Ivy had separated from him. 

"I told her to stick together though," Porealus shook his head. "But really, she took a direct hit from Felicia, she won't be walking normally for a few minutes."

"Tch!" Ivy managed to get out of the situation but she was hardly walking as normally as she would, true to Porealus's word. Her chest took a direct hit and her back destroyed several thick trees before her spine slammed against the giant one of them all.

The pricking sensation caught her hand holding a tree to make her barely stand. She was breathing quite heavily but the blood had stopped splurting out from her coughs.

The direct hit was supremely heavy, especially from the strongest of the sibling. Ivy was not prepared for the attack to come so suddenly either. 

She slightly furrowed her eyebrows as she realized that the siblings also had grown stronger since the last tournament. 

That was a given, but the current environment luckily favored her techniques over hers. If there was a feasible time to finish her off, it would be in this round. However, since she took a heavy damage, that idea already failed.

"Heh, why isn't the ice beauty, fancy meeting you here..." 

A playful disgusting tone was heard from the vocal of a man before being followed up with a few chuckles.

Ivy furrowed her eyebrows as she saw the group of seven men. It was pretty unusual for the cultivators to move in groups, especially since the tournament was for individuals.

"Today is definitely our lucky day... hehe! Hahaha!"

"Don't laugh so hard damn it! Hahaha!"

"You're laughing too."

'We still have..." one of them looked at the sun above before grinning. "A plentiful of time."

All of the men moistened their lips with a graze from their tongues. The beastly eyes were hunting and gnawing at Ivy.

"Hehe..."

The seven of them started inching further before one of them shouted, "Ups, spread out guys... she could freeze your ankle down."

Ivy glared at them before she gradually took a step back as they inched closer.

"Don't be afraid now, ice woman. we will treat you gently, hahaha! At least I will! Yahahaha!"

"Tch!" Ivy flicked her finger before the ground surrounding turned into ice. The crawling froze could be seen coming at the seven of them.

"What?!"

All seven got caught by the sudden frost. They couldn't feel their legs as their ankles froze. However, the ice didn't crawl like it was to the hellboar. The frost was stumped.

"Ho~ I thought I was going to die..." one of them sighed a relief.

"You have grown more powerful than before."

"Never thought that you would be able to do this trick, however..." one of them smirked as he gave her a demeaning look after seeing her struggle to keep her own breathing stable. "Look's like you are injured pretty bad, but not that bad, hehe."

Ivy played deaf as she heard those words. She was weighing her options. To freeze them as long as she could or to make a run now. The ice won't hold them for long if she were to choose the latter option. The struck from Felicia did a number on her.

"Hehe, looks like you can't keep this on for long!"

The men noticed her worry despite the cold glare.

She didn't deny nor did she answer. She didn't ask why they were doing this either. Survive, was her main concern. She shouldn't have gone separated from Porealus but it was her decision. She didn't spare a regret, but a disappointment for her misfortune.

She had one last option, which was the Returning Jade Stone. However, with five horns in the pouch, she doubted that she could advance to the next round, especially after the host said nothing about how much should they collect the horns.

"Are you going to waste time? Hahaha!" laughed one of the men.

"My crotch is already itching! Hahaha!"

"Your manhood will instantly freeze as you entered her! hahaha!"

The men laughed at their own jokes. Mortals or not, the disgusting words and tones that they use made the Yuki woman grit her teeth.

A whole thirty minutes had passed.

"Tik! Tok! Tik! Tok!"

"Time is running out!"

Ivy was already having one of her knees down to the ground. She didn't let her eyes off of them yet. 

With her art continuously activated, the toll on her body won't accept the trigger of the recovery cycle in her chest.

She closed her eyelids with her eyebrows furrowed. She had the Returning Jade Stone in her hand. Her hand was trembling, shaking. (is this the end?! Shit! SHIT!) her other hand had already crumpled to a fist. She buried her fingers deep into her palm until it bled.

"You finish eleventh last time, the biggest star of the Mortal World."

"Yet, you will fail in the first round, with stains from ours, hahaha!"

"Older Sister!!"

Ivy's eyes snapped open before she looked up to see Zet was standing at the far end of her sight. 

"Huh?" the men turned their glance around to see a red-haired young man with a curved sword on his waist.

"You! Zet!" shouted one of the men.

(Shit! We are all fishes on a chopping board here with our ankles frozen...oh!) the ice started to melt as Ivy's heavy breathing was heard.

The men grinned as they had their freedom back. 

"Hahaha! Zet! Can you handle the seven of us together?"

Zet furrowed his eyebrows as he put his hand on his hilt. His lips opened before he muttered. "Irae..."

He unsheathed the famous sword from its sheath. (There are seven of them and my older sister is not in the condition to fight, worse comes to worst, Returning Jade Stone will have to be my escape, however!).

"I can hear your disgusting wills from miles away!" shouted Zet before he took one step before leaping forward, leaving a definite slap of sonic boom.

(He is fast!) thought one of the cultivators as he saw him coming straight against him. He drew his spear before quickly plunging it in forward. 

(Too easy!) he grinned as the tip of the spear easily went through Zet's forehead, however, his eyes opened wide as he didn't feel any resistance or blood.

"Afterimage!"

"Look out!"

Zet was already beside him before he swung his sword to cut off the man's hand. 

"Ah?! No, wait!" the man screamed but Zet suddenly twitched his eyebrows before he stepped out from his distance. 

Zet looked at the man with one other already standing beside him.

"Phew~ You saved me."

"That's not important, we cannot take him down alone so hold your spear."

The seven men turned vigilant in an instant as they gazed upon the red-haired youth with sharpened eyes.

(Good, older sister is leaving safely) thought Zet as he noticed that Ivy had gone from her spot. "It seems like I'm still not as fast as Big Brother."

"Huh? Big brother?" muttered one of them.

(This is good, but I can't run away now. or her escape would be naught..) thought Zet as he garnered their attention even more and let Ivy have a safe escape.

"Yes, my big brother, you all know him," said Zet. (Let's see how long can I contest against the seven of them together!).

"Are you talking about that insane mortal? But, heh, are you seriously going to fight with the seven of us?" one of them smirked. "Then you will fall in this round as a corpse!"

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