The competition was an integral part of the cultivation ecosystem and it wasn't any different among Xuefeng's wives. Even though they didn't compete at who was a better lover, they could still compete at who was the strongest.
Xiao Wen raised her eyebrows at Wuying's confident statement before smiling widely. It has been a while since there was a fight for the top of the standings and it was always entertaining to see. The last time it happened was when Bella displayed her power and everyone collectively accepted she was the strongest without any conflicts.
"Are you saying you can overpower Nuwa?" Xiao Wen questioned with interest. "Her upgraded Soul Realm had been quite overpowered since she received her Siren Bloodline. I couldn't even touch her inside."
Nuwa had always been considered the leader, not only as the oldest but also as the strongest. Even after losing the crown, she was still the last decision-maker since Bella wasn't interested in leading them. Wuying was the only other person who enjoyed being a leader and actually strived to take over for a long time.
"You don't need to touch her to defeat her," Wuying commented calmly and gestured to follow her. They both flew deeper into the jungle with Spirit Beasts roaming freely and Wuying chose her target.
A giant Black Ape turned around after sensing their presence and faced them fearlessly while banging his fists against his chest. He thought they would be scared away by his massive posture but Wuying approached his territory without stopping. It angered him immediately and he jumped into the sky with a shining fist ready to smash them into bits.
Wuying only stared him down and raised her palm. The Ape suddenly froze in the air with its body paralyzed and she turned to Xiao Wen with a question, "Do you know what flaw everyone has in common?"
"What?" Xiao Wen asked back with her heart skipping a beat once again.
"If you are not a Spirit, you have blood in your body and it allows someone else to control it," Wuying replied and snapped her fingers.
Bang!
The Black Ape that spent centuries forming an Ancient Body suddenly popped like a bubble and showered the jungle with his blood. Xiao Wen also felt as if her heart was about to explode, but Wuying's tattoo quickly faded and her presence returned to normal.
"Don't tell me you had a breakthrough in your Focused Explosion?" Xiao Wen questioned excitedly as she recognized the move from the past. "It wasn't as powerful before."
"It's not a breakthrough to an individual ability but rather to all of them," Wuying corrected. "This tattoo I made is an improved version of my Bloodline Ability. It's normally supposed to strengthen my Succubus Arts, but I transformed it to boost my Blood Arts instead. Now all of them are at least ten times stronger when my tattoo is active."
Xiao Wen's eyes widened as it seemed too good to be true. "It has to have some disadvantages, no? It must be draining a lot of Qi to stay active," she guessed.
"That's the only flaw but I will find a way to optimize it," Wuying admitted with a sigh. "Right now it's staying active until all my Qi is gone and I can't turn it off before that. I have approximately five minutes before it empties my Soul so I can either learn how to toggle it on and off or simply increase the quantity of my Qi."
"That's still good though. Five minutes should be enough to defeat any of us multiple times over," Xiao Wen cheered up happily but Wuying shook her head.
"I wouldn't say so. Nuwa's strength has also increased in the past month and her Soul Realm is quite terrifying," Wuying muttered while pulling out a Fate Stone to recover her Qi. "I think I can still defeat her if we went all out and tried to kill ourselves but that obviously is not going to happen. Let's keep my strength a secret until I improve further. I want to surprise Xuefeng to the fullest of my abilities."
Even though the wives competed with each other, the end goal was to impress the person they cared about the most. With how quickly Xuefeng was improving, they could only work hard to keep up or they would trouble him. No one wanted to be the wife that hinders their adventures and slows her husband down.
Xiao Wen opened her mouth to respond, but she remained quiet with her own thoughts weighing her down. She was clearly falling behind the rest and it was only getting worse with each day. Bella's flames were just a temporary solution to improve her strength and she couldn't depend on her in the long term. She had to find a new source of power but it was easier said than done.
"I'm not going to tell anyone, don't worry," Xiao Wen assured while looking in the distance. "Anyway, how about we check on Yi and Shan? They should be training together in the nearby region."
Wuying was never her direct competitor since she was already stronger than her for a long time. The only ones she could compare herself with were the other humans like Princess Shan, Yi, Lisa, and Tianshi. The last two were supporting characters with great value to their group so she was only left with two targets.
Xiao Wen hoped she wasn't that far behind them, but as they flew closer to their destination, her smile slowly faded away. The whole region which used to be a hot jungle was now turned into a land of ice and snow. Almost everything was frozen with no signs of any living beings in the area.
"Wasn't this place filled with life…? I think we spotted a few level five Ancient Beasts around here," Wuying commented curiously. "I actually hoped to come and test my strength on them."
"Well, I don't think you will have the chance anymore," Xiao Wen replied as she bit her lip with a salty gaze. "Look ahead."