"Let’s see how strong your undead really is!" Nan Bei shouted, her voice filled with confidence.
With a flick of her wrist, her gauntlets gleamed brightly.
The golden runes on them shone, releasing an intense wave of fire. The flames roared like a dragon, surging toward Gu Jin’s undead at an incredible speed.
The students gasped in shock.
"That fire is way stronger than before!"
"It’s the Semi-God Grade gauntlets! They must be boosting her fire element!"
Everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen next.
Gu Jin, however, remained calm.
She raised a hand, and the undead in the black cloak suddenly moved. With an eerie silence, the undead stretched out its bony hand.
Dark energy swirled around it, forming a huge black shield.
In reality, it was Gu Jin’s dark fire element.
At the advanced stage, the dark attribute of dark fire was unlocked, and Gu Jin cast a basic dark energy barrier around the undead.
Nan Bei’s fire slammed into the shield, causing an explosion. The ground trembled, and dust filled the air.
When the smoke cleared, everyone widened their eyes in shock.
The undead was still standing, completely unharmed!
Nan Bei’s face twisted in disbelief.
"Impossible! Even Semi-God Grade equipment can’t break through its defense?!"
Gu Jin chuckled. "You thought your artifacts would be enough to beat me? That’s cute."
After all, she had space’s protective barrier as well as her dark fire’s protective barrier and another layer of fire element’s protective barrier around her and the undead.
Nan Bei growled in frustration. She had another plan.
She stomped her foot on the ground, and her boots glowed. In an instant, she vanished and reappeared behind Gu Jin.
With all her strength, she punched forward, aiming straight for Gu Jin’s back!
The crowd gasped. "So fast!"
But just before her fist could land, Gu Jin disappeared!
Nan Bei’s eyes widened. "What?! Where did she—"
Before she could finish, a chilling voice whispered behind her. "Looking for me?"
Nan Bei spun around, but it was too late. Gu Jin raised her hand, and a powerful wave of lightning exploded from her palm.
The purple bolts wrapped around Nan Bei, sending her flying backward.
She crashed onto the ground, her armor cracked, her body trembling from the shock.
"Gu Jin is too strong!"
"Even with Semi-God Grade equipment, Nan Bei couldn’t overpower her!"
Nan Bei groaned, trying to stand up, but her legs felt weak. She looked at Gu Jin with gritted teeth.
Gu Jin walked toward her slowly, her expression as lazy as ever.
"Do you still want to continue?"
Nan Bei clenched her fists, anger burning in her eyes. But deep down, she knew the truth.
Even with all her advantages, she couldn’t defeat Gu Jin.
The referee stepped forward. "The match is over. Gu Jin wins!"
The arena erupted into cheers and whispers.
"She’s a total monster!"
Nan Bei sat on the ground, her expression twisted, before she stood up and pointed at Gu Jin,
"Her undead is strange! She doesn’t have an undead element!"
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, her smirk growing wider. "Oh? And what makes you so sure?"
Nan Bei’s voice trembled with frustration.
"Undead doesn’t have skeletons! While your undead has bone! And they can use elements, too! Undeads can’t use magic!"
Her words confused the crowd.
"Skeletons? Bones? I didn’t see any. What is Nan Bei talking about?"
"Exactly! And what magic? All Undead have dark energy. From what I can see, the undead Gu Jin summoned just now used only dark energy and not any elements!"
Nan Bei’s face turned pale.
"No! I saw it! It wasn’t an undead! It was a skeleton with elemental power!"
She forgot that all the things she was saying were said to her by Gu Aihan, and Gu Jin didn’t show any of what Nan Bei had claimed.
The crowd exchanged confused glances.
"But... we only saw dark energy."
"Yeah, Nan Bei is just making excuses now."
"She lost and can’t accept it."
Gu Jin crossed her arms and sighed dramatically. "Tsk, tsk. Nan Bei, are you so desperate that you’re seeing things now?"
Nan Bei clenched her fists. "I know what I saw!"
Gu Jin smirked. "Alright then. If you’re so sure, prove it."
Nan Bei froze. "Prove it?"
Gu Jin nodded. "Yes. Show everyone that my undead isn’t real."
Nan Bei opened her mouth, but no words came out.
How could she prove it? The undead was already gone, and no one else had seen what she did.
The referee frowned. "Nan Bei, do you have any real evidence?"
Nan Bei gritted her teeth. "I... I..."
Gu Jin yawned. "If you have nothing, then stop wasting everyone’s time."
Nan Bei clenched her fists so tightly that her nails dug into her palm. She had always been proud, confident in her strength.
She trained harder than most, had powerful artifacts, and came from a well-respected family.
How could she lose? And worse, how could she be humiliated ?
Gu Jin didn’t even spare her another glance.
She had already turned her back, walking away as if the fight had been nothing more than a minor inconvenience.
That nonchalant attitude made Nan Bei’s blood boil even more.
"Wait!" Nan Bei shouted suddenly.
Gu Jin stopped, tilting her head slightly. "Oh? Still not done?"
Nan Bei took a shaky breath. "I... I demand a rematch!"
As long as Gu Jin summons her undead again, she(Nan Bei) will point it out right away.
Gasps rippled through the audience.
The referee’s eyebrows shot up.
"Nan Bei, you know the rules. A match is decided once the victor is declared. You can’t just demand a rematch because you’re unhappy with the results."
Nan Bei’s eyes darted around wildly. "But—!"
"But what?" Gu Jin interrupted smoothly, finally turning around. Her dark eyes gleamed with amusement.
"But you weren’t ready? But you underestimated me? But you thought your fancy gauntlets would be enough?"
Nan Bei opened her mouth but found no words.
Gu Jin sighed dramatically, shaking her head.
"If you’re looking for excuses, you should at least come up with better ones."
Laughter erupted from the crowd. Some students covered their mouths, trying to hide their amusement.
Others didn’t even bother. The humiliation burned through Nan Bei’s veins like fire.
"This isn’t over," she hissed, her voice shaking with rage.
Gu Jin shrugged. "It is for today." With that, she turned away once more and walked toward the exit.
Nan Bei gritted her teeth.
She wasn’t the only one humiliated today—her entire family’s reputation was at stake.
She couldn’t just accept this loss.
As Gu Jin reached the exit, a fireball was shot in her direction.
Nan Bei’s voice sounded,
"Gu Jin, you coward! If you dare fight with me again."
Gu Jin turned around with a cold look in her eyes and smiled,
"You know...you shouldn’t have done that."
Before Nan Bei could understand, a vine shot through the ground and wrapped around her waist.
Gu Jin waved her hand, and the vine tightened around Nan Bei, lifting her slightly off the ground. The crowd gasped as they watched Nan Bei struggle against the plant’s grip.
"W-What is this?!" Nan Bei shouted, trying to break free. Her gauntlets flared up with fire again, but before she could use them, more vines sprouted from the ground, wrapping around her arms and legs.
Gu Jin tilted her head, her smirk never leaving. "You attacked me after the match was over. That means I can defend myself however I want."
Nan Bei growled in frustration. "You cheated! You—"
"Enough!" The referee’s voice boomed through the arena. He stepped forward, his expression serious. "Nan Bei, you broke the rules. Attacking someone outside of a match is forbidden."
Nan Bei’s face turned red. "But—"
"No excuses," the referee said firmly. "Gu Jin was declared the winner. Your actions just now prove that you can’t accept your loss."
The crowd whispered amongst themselves.
"She really is a sore loser."
"First, she made up lies, and now this?"
Gu Jin sighed and snapped her fingers. The vines loosened and dropped Nan Bei to the ground. She landed on her knees, panting heavily.
"I won this match," Gu Jin said, crossing her arms. "And I won’t waste my time proving myself to someone who can’t even follow the rules."
The referee nodded. "Nan Bei, you will be punished for breaking the rules. You will be banned from participating in matches for the next two months."
Nan Bei’s eyes widened. "What?! You can’t—"
"I can and I just did," the referee said sternly. "You will also have to apologize to Gu Jin for attacking her."
Nan Bei looked like she wanted to scream, but she took a deep breath instead. She turned to Gu Jin, her voice low and forced. "I’m... sorry."
Gu Jin raised an eyebrow, amused. "What was that? I didn’t hear you."
Nan Bei gritted her teeth. "I said, I’m sorry."