Chapter 78 - Immortal Frost

"Well?" Star Phoenix asked.

San Zhe wanted to cry. Even though Star Phoenix had seemed like the friendliest of the Immortals, he now understood that even the friendliest of them wouldn't be friendly towards him if they thought he lied to them.

San Zhe sighed. "I was afraid to say anything."

Star Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "I am pretty sure you protested against us, when we speculated that Cheng Xiu cheated."

"You said Sister Xiu cheated," San Zhe said, "so I protested it instinctively. I did not mean anything else by it."

Star Phoenix's eyes widened. "Well, well, well! It would seem that I had underestimated you, San Zhe! I took you for a little innocent mouse, but it turned out you are a rat!"

"Brother Phoenix," Lotus admonished. "There is no reason for you to be so rude."

Frost moved away from them, towards the forest with a determined look in her eyes.

Star Phoenix sighed. "Sorry. I guess this means that she is not Cheng Xiu?"

San Zhe hmmed. "I...I am not…she isn't…she-"

"Enough," Yue said. She turned to Matchstick. "We can assume SelaXiu is at least A Ranked because she defeated Crow. As to whether she is Cheng Xiu or not…time will reveal everything. Earth hasn't even declared any S Rank among them, so I don't see why we should worry about such things."

The others nodded.

"Frost?" Yue called.

Frost turned to look at her.

"Where are you going?" Yue asked.

"Nowhere," the blue-robed woman said, her eyes on the corner of the trees where something wriggled out of view. "Just wanted to see the vegetation of this continent."

Yue frowned but turned to the others. "Let us wait for the Arena Battles to end. Then we can discuss this with SelaXiu. This San Zhe would have to tell the truth then."

San Zhe paled.

Frost's eyes went to the tree roots.

She guessed that it was that Spirit pet that SelaXiu had with her before.

Why did it not go with SelaXiu? Did she leave the thing here so that she could spy on them?...Or maybe She wanted to keep the Spirit Pet here because it was beneficial to it. But how? How was it beneficial for the root to stay here? Did the forest have food resources? If so, what would it be?

Could she perhaps block that resource? Frost wondered. Could she weaken the pet by blocking its source?

'Access Viridian Forest Map,' she thought.

[Ding!]

[Viridian Forest Map costs 50 Gold Coins. Would you like to buy?]

'Buy.'

[Ding!]

A large detailed map visible only to her appeared before her. She found her location on the map, which was indicated with a blue pin with her name 'Immortal Frost' floating above it.

Frost analysed the area around her. Meadows, a steep hill, a dense forest, and a lake area made up the Grandmaster's Arena. Frost thought for a moment.

None of the other Immortals made use of this large selection of topography to their advantage.

As SelaXiu was a relatively new player she should not be used to the detailed and realistic portrayal of the game, and if Frost could use her own expertise on the subject, then that could lead to her victory.

She could guess in a small way that the reason someone like EverHill and Crow did not use the terrain might have had to do with the fact that they all had level 10 energy, but if that was the case, then the area should not be so big. There has to be a reason why there was so much space to be covered.

Frost thought for a moment and came up with a hypothesis. There might be areas in the arena that had Recharge Points, places where the combatants could fill up their Qi Capacity again and also areas with medicinal herbs and attacking animals and plants. If she could lure SelaXiu into the dense forest, away from the clearing, then she could make full use of the Arena to suppress her opponent.

She was not dumb. She knew that this plan might backfire, and she might end up helping the opponent to win the battle but she couldn't help but hope for the best. She had to try to gain as much of an advantage as she could.

She recognised SelaXiu's talent and prowess, but more than that she was happy that she decided to take up Yue's suggestion to create an Arena battle with SelaXiu.

She was very hesitant at first, but Yue had convinced her that after the match, they could all visit the Viridian Borders to get an update on the coming war between Vixia and the Azure States.

Her Sect Leader was trying hard to get information on that and so she had decided to help him. And here she was, waiting to fight a worthy opponent.

Golden light flashed in front of them, and a tall, lean figure appeared in front of them, dressed in a white Martial robe with burnt orange border designs. Her long black hair fluttered in the wind, and her face was hidden behind an intricate mask.

Frost stood up and walked towards SelaXiu. Her eyes were focused on the Spirit Pet who started to bury itself into the ground.

A slight smile adorned her lips as she walked towards her opponent.

SelaXiu's stance was not the defensive footing she had at the beginning of the Arena battles, there was an air of determination to her face that wasn't there before, for her other matches. She wondered why that was.

The blue-robed woman walked forward, her strides calm and even.

She stopped a few feet away from Cheng Xiu and extended her hand towards the girl.

"Hello, my name is Frost. I belong to the Gathering Mist Sect."

Cheng Xiu's eyes held a cautious glint.

Frost smiled. "I hope our match will be memorable for you."

Cheng Xiu gave her a hesitant nod. "Yeah…I guess. You are someone who plays at level 70, the match would be memorable for me."

Frost smiled. "But?"

"I am afraid it might not be as memorable to you," Cheng Xiu said.

"Do you have so little confidence in yourself?"

"I don't know much about your powers, skills, strengths or weaknesses, whereas you have been observing me from the start," Cheng Xiu said, a small frown on her face. It was something that irked her. "I am unsure about my ability to defeat you under such circumstances. All I can promise you is that I will try my best to defeat you."

Frost nodded. "That is all that matters in the end."

Frost felt her heart settle. She finally had a path she could take to defeat SelaXiu. But she would have to play her cards right.

[Ding!]

[World Announcement: Grandmaster's Arena Battle 5

Match: SelaXiu Veritas VS Immortal Frost

The Battle begins!]