The moment her words fell, the water element attribute exploded around her person once more. Unlike before, however, she no longer rushed carelessly into Bai Xifeng’s designated territory.

Instead, she moved with blinding speed around the outer edges of the flooded battlefield, her eyes fixed downward to carefully avoid the glowing runes beneath the surface.

At the same time, Ning Shoukai raised both hands toward the sky. A column of intense flame erupted upward violently, the immense heat instantly beginning to evaporate large portions of the water covering the field. White steam rapidly spread everywhere again, threatening to reset the visual landscape.

Bai Xifeng clicked her tongue softly, her mind calculating their trajectories. ’These two adapted remarkably fast.’

Suddenly, several sharp water blades shot through the dense mist toward Bai Xifeng from highly unpredictable angles. She immediately activated multiple defensive runes, causing dense mud shields to materialise rapidly around her body. The water blades struck against the earthen barriers with a series of wet thuds, dissolving into mud.

At the exact same time, a massive pillar of fire suddenly burst through the steam from directly ahead. Ning Shoukai charged forward aggressively, his eyes focused as flames spiralled fiercely around his fists. This time, his assault was far more calculated, perfectly synchronised with Xie Lanying’s ranged support.

Bai Xifeng’s eyes sharpened instantly. She stomped her heel heavily onto the wet ground. Several runes beneath the water activated simultaneously in response to the physical catalyst. The flowing water surged upward, wrapping around Ning Shoukai’s legs in a desperate attempt to bind him to the spot. However, Ning Shoukai reacted much faster this time. The flames exploded downward from his body immediately, causing the restraints to evaporate almost instantly into thin air.

"I already fell for that trick once today!" Ning Shoukai shouted triumphantly, his fist closing in on her position.

Before Bai Xifeng could create more distance, Xie Lanying suddenly appeared behind her once again, her movement silent. Water spiritual energy gathered around her blade before she slashed downward cleanly, aiming to disarm. Bai Xifeng narrowly twisted her body sideways to dodge the strike. Even so, the sharp wind pressure generated by the attack still sliced cleanly through part of her silk sleeve.

"So dangerous..." Bai Xifeng muttered, glancing at her torn fabric.

Yet, despite saying that, a brilliant spark of genuine excitement was clearly visible in her eyes. This kind of competitive pressure felt completely different compared to Ji Yuan’s overwhelming, crushing suppression. Against her teacher, she could barely offer any meaningful resistance at all. But against Ning Shoukai and Xie Lanying working together, she could truly test the limits of everything she had recently learned.

Bai Xifeng suddenly leapt backwards, executing a graceful retreat before throwing over a dozen runes into the air at once. The surrounding spiritual energy fluctuated violently as the scripts caught the light. The runes spread evenly across the ceiling of the training field before glowing with a radiant brilliance.

A second later, rain began falling steadily over the clearing.

Ning Shoukai froze briefly in confusion, looking up at the sudden downpour. "Rain?"

"No... It’s not natural water." Xie Lanying shook her head, her expression growing grave.

The falling rain was not a natural weather phenomenon. Every single raindrop contained highly condensed spiritual energy infused directly from Bai Xifeng’s active runes. The moment the droplets touched the flooded battlefield below, countless smaller, dormant rune formations began lighting up beneath the surface like an awakening constellation. The entire training ground instantly transformed into one enormous, interconnected matrix.

"Since when could she even achieve something on this scale?!" Ning Shoukai asked in genuine surprise.

Bai Xifeng grinned proudly while standing directly at the epicenter of the rain-filled battlefield. Truthfully, even she had only barely managed to complete this specific setup successfully under the immense pressure. After being repeatedly forced into miserable, exhausting situations by Ji Yuan, she had finally started to truly comprehend the deep purpose behind advanced inscription techniques.

Runes were never meant to be used solely as single, direct attacks. They were designed to reshape the very nature of the battlefield itself. They were meant to control movement, create psychological pressure, restrict opponents, and manipulate the entire flow of combat from behind the scenes. For the first time in her life, Bai Xifeng finally felt herself beginning to touch that profound level of mastery.

Ji Yuan quietly watched her performance from the comfort of the gazebo. For a brief, fleeting moment, the corners of his lips curved upward ever so slightly in genuine approval.

The spiritual rain continued falling steadily across the clearing. Every single raindrop actively strengthened the glowing rune formations beneath the water while simultaneously disrupting and hindering Ning Shoukai and Xie Lanying’s physical movements. At this point, the entire training ground had completely become Bai Xifeng’s absolute domain.

Ning Shoukai’s expression had already turned thoroughly ugly. Every single time he released flames powerful enough to evaporate large portions of the water, Bai Xifeng simply activated another interconnected set of runes and seamlessly recreated the damp terrain all over again.

Meanwhile, Xie Lanying was beginning to feel increasingly restrained and suffocated. As a water-element cultivator, she could naturally manipulate the surrounding moisture herself, and under normal circumstances, a flooded battlefield should have benefited her styles greatly.

However, Bai Xifeng’s specialised runes constantly interfered with the natural flow of spiritual energy in the air. It felt as though someone else had forcefully and completely seized the authority over the battlefield itself, locking her out of her own element.

"She actually managed to interfere with my internal spiritual flow?" Xie Lanying clicked her tongue, realising the futility of continuing. "Shit! I surrender." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

"Me too! I’m done!" Ning Shoukai said, raising a hand in defeat while slumping slightly.

***This novel is a contracted work with w e b n o v e l. c o m. If you do not read this novel on w e b n o v e l. c o m, that means it has been stolen. Thank you, from your shameless author, ZerahNeko***