Tong Ruobing remembered seeing Jingwu Hua during Gu Xuan's Deception Trial. Her battle against the Immortal Child caught her attention because she felt Jingwu Hua did not use all her strength despite losing.
And given the strength displayed by the latter, Tong Ruobing took notice of her and actively searched for information to know her details. She learned she was a Heaven Chosen from a past era, and she most likely failed the Heaven Will Battle once.
Tong Ruobing walked out of the formation, glancing at her opponent.
"What do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious?" replied Jingwu Hua with a frown.
"The battle has just begun. There is no need for people of our level to fight."
Tong Ruobing did not want to fight–at least not now. She did not want to reveal her powers, abilities, and trump cards.
"People like you become more dangerous as time passes, so it's a good strategy to eliminate them early," calmly replied Jingwu Hua.
"Confident, aren't we?"
"You should know confidence is one of the basic qualities to reach this far."
"True," replied Tong Ruobing, but something flashed deep in her eyes.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"Why would I answer?"
"If you do, I promise not to use the formation behind me or my legion."
Jingwu Hua frowned. She knew her opponent's primary Dao was one of the professions, and she was one of the best in her fields. As such, Tong Ruobing will have the advantage when using formations.
Additionally, Jingwu Hua knew her opponent's Dao would make her legion very scary. After all, if Tong Ruobing and the Great Talisman City decided to use a large number of resources on this legion, equipping them with thousands of powerful Talismans, they would be a force to reckon with.
"Fine. Ask your question."
"How did you lose your first battle? Were you not as powerful now, or did you meet a peerless genius?"
"That's your question?"
"Yes."
Jingwu Hua frowned for a few seconds, "The answer is both."
"Is that so? Who did you lose to?"
"That's more than one question."
"Are you not going to keep your word?" asked Tong Ruobing with a slightly colder tone.
Jingwu Hua snorted coldly, "It was the Flame Emperor."
"Him? It is rumored he was a Master Alchemist and reached the pinnacle of the Flame Dao."
"Indeed." Jingwu Hua lied, and effortlessly at that. She lost to that devil, the Heaven-Devouring Emperor. That battle was scary as he swallowed 95% of the participants, and only a few were lucky enough to escape.
However, her father did fight and lost to the Flame Emperor. However, he sealed himself and woke up during the Middle Emperor Era and proved the Dao. Her father's example is why she could remove the shadow of her defeat--he's the reason her Dao Heart remained intact.
After all, her father lost to Flame Emperor while cultivating the same Dao. According to him, this was the most humiliating defeat in his cultivation journey. However, he overcame this obstacle and became a First Class Emperor.
"If I remember correctly, the Flame Emperor proved the Dao in the period between the collapse of the Incense Era and the beginning of the Devil Era. That's a long time. With your status, why didn't you wake up earlier?"
All Emperor Lineages will have sealed Heaven Chosen. However, these people will not immediately be awakened after washing away their karma. Only some people can be sealed in the first place.
So, these factions will wait for the proper generation full of destiny and opportunity to wake these Heaven Chosens. And they also have to consider whether there is anyone to represent them in that generation.
After all, these sealed Heaven Chosens are not as trusted and worthy as their own people. They don't know much about them besides the records left to the sect, so, for all they knew, these sealed Heaven Chosens might no longer be as loyal to their factions.
Lastly, most of these sealed people are very unlucky individuals, and this might not change after waking up.
However, if a Heaven Chosen has certain status before being sealed, the situation will be different.
"I have answered all your questions," Jingwu Hua replied calmly. She did not want to continue this conversation and accidentally revealed more information.
"Fair enough," said Tong Ruobing, preparing for battle. She only wanted to use the sore spot in the latter's heart to disturb her mind and have an advantage in this battle. However, she could not detect whether her plan was successful or not.
[Spirit of Ten Thousand Ancestors]
Jingwu Hua no longer wasted time and went on the offensive. She activated one of her many Bloodline abilities and summoned many of the ancestors of her Golden Crow Clans.
Millions of Golden Crows manifested, burning with golden flames. The slight heat released from the flame could burn hundreds of galaxies, killing trillions of sentient beings. The crows flew toward their target with the sole purpose of reducing her to ashes.
'Peak 5-Leaf–she has become way more powerful since the trial,' analyzed Tong Ruobing. Regardless, she was calmed and waved her hand:
[Freezing Domain Talisman]
In an instant, the Golden Crows, the surrounding million galaxies, matter, energy, and space-time all froze. It was like a winter storm hit a supercluster of galaxies, turning everything in its path into ice.
Bang!
Jingwu Hua burst out from her cocoon of ice, brilliant golden flame emanating from her body.
'Her Talisman Dao is very versatile, granting her extreme mastery over ice and Yin Dao.'
Since their existence, the Golden Crow has mastered Fire and Yang Dao. And Ice and Yin Dao are their nemeses.
'What is the best approach to fighting an opponent like her? Use long-distance spells and or use hand-to-hand combat?'
Jingwu Hua could not decide because she had too much to lose once she made the wrong choice; she needed to prove the Dao to ascend and search for her father's whereabouts.
Tong Ruobing calmly watched her.
'She's taken too long. Is this some kind of trap to lower my guard?' She frowned as she sensed things were not as they seemed. So, she waved her hand to create numerous Ice Spears, testing the water.
Jingwu Hua subconsciously avoided most of the attacks. As for the ones she could not, her golden flame took care of them. After more than half a minute of testing the water, Tong Ruobing went on the offensive.
[Absolute Yin Imprisonment]
Four runes formed a cage to imprison Jingwu Hua. The terrifying power of Yin suppressed the flames on her, almost extinguishing them.
'Damn it; this is not the time to be indecisive.'
[Pure Yang Body]
She injected a terrifying amount of Pure Yang Energy into her body– mainly her blood. Her aura drastically increased as the power of her fleshly body also improved exponentially.
Most body refiners will have a high amount of Yang Energy in their bodies; it is why their blood will emit heat and have an effect against Yin creatures like Ghosts or Souls.
Using this fact, Jingwu Hua developed a technique to increase the power of her fleshy body. As a demon race with Royal Bloodline, her physical body was not bad compared to ordinary genius body refiners.
But now, she successfully reached another level.
Bang!
Jingwu Hua tore apart her imprisonment before rushing toward her opponent. Tong Ruobing immediately displayed her high Combat IQ and used numerous talismans targeting body refiners.
[Curse of Weakness Talisman]
[Lowering Defense Talisman]
[Stamina Draining Talisman]
[Force Dispelling Talisman]
Regrettably, Jingwu Hua bulldozed through these talismans, making them ineffective. Without stopping, she rushed toward Tong Ruobing and punched her.
To her surprise, Tong Ruobing only flew a few dozen kilometers after crossing her arm to block.
'A talisman that disperses force,' analyzed Jingwu Hua. Then, her face suddenly changed. 'No, she also used a talisman that absorbed the Yang Energy in my body.'
However, Jingwu Hua did not even detect when the talisman entered her body. She guessed it must have been when her body contacted Tong Ruobing's cross-armed.
'What's going on? Why can't I remove the talisman? The Duyi Realm.'
She did not expect her opponent to reach this stage. Jingwu Hua quickly mobilized her Duyi Realm to counter. Unfortunately, she realized hers was too weak.
She only entered the Duyi Realm during the Divine Body Realm. Instead of tempering her body and opening the orifices using the Flame of Good Fortune, she turned it into the Flame of Pure Yang and used it instead.
Unfortunately, she barely trained her Duyi Realm and was only in the Third Stage. Meanwhile, Tong Ruobing had reached the Ninth Stage.
While Jingwu Hua was trying to stop her talisman, Tong Ruobing did not give her more time and went on the offensive.
[Five Trigram Sealing Talisman]
Five paper talismans appeared to make a circle with Jingwu Hua in the middle. They connected to form a star above her head.
The Emperor Offspring felt threatened as she sensed the immense sealing power heading for her.
'No choice–I have to use that method.'
Jingwu Hua did not think she had to use this method so soon in the battle. This was one of her final trump cards.
Bang!
A strange aura emanated from her body, making Tong Ruobing squint. Her heart trembled:
"That's…Impossible."