Against Heaven's Will

"Yes. His Fate Spirit is protecting his wife at all times. She is not just any Fate Spirit but a powerful one. Your only chance to kill him is catching him off guard during the tournament while she is away. You must hope the two spawn away from each other and he leaves his Fate Spirit with his wife. You can only kill him while she doesn't protect him."

Liu Xinyu's explanation opened the Experts' eyes. 

"How powerful?" the Dragon Race member questioned. 

"Hehe, you tell me. I'm pretty sure she is the one who provides him with all the Forbidden Arts. I'm sure she belongs to the Royalty of the Fate Kingdom. Trying to take him down will cost you a lot, if not your lives," Liu Xinyu replied with a giggle. "That's why I find it funny you try so hard when I know you will all fail in the end. You can't kill him using your Avatars if she decides to go all out." 

"Damn… Miss Liu, you knew it from the very beginning and didn't tell anyone," Dragon Race member cursed as his face reddened from anger. "Are you playing with us?"

"Excuse me? Am I required to tell you everything?" Liu Xinyu asked back amused. "I was siding with him from the beginning if you already forgot. I don't really care about the Elemental Bracelet hunt. If I desired, I could ask the House of Dragon to protect him and none of you would even have the chance to approach him. You are lucky all I want right now is some entertainment." 

"Then why tell us right now?" 

Everyone became suspicious of Liu Xinyu but her reply was simple. 

"It would be too easy for him if I didn't give you a helping hand. At least now he will have some challenges. That aside, he already revealed his Fate Spirit by letting her roam freely, so it's not like you can't figure that out on your own.'

"Ugh… I regret coming here. We could wait for him to leave the Heaven Realm and then kill him. There are only a few Elemental Stones in the Heaven Realm anyway. The rest is already owned by other monsters or hidden in a few dangerous spots. He would eventually need to face them and then we would simply gang up on the one who survives. I prefer a bloody war compared to this drama." 

"Hey, hey, not everything is lost yet. Trying won't hurt you. Maybe you get lucky and kill him. Who knows. Just use the method I told you and you got a chance," Liu Xinyu suggested as she presented the reality. "You already paid so much as well try, no? Anyway, the interview starts." 

——— 

"Liu Xuefeng, congrats on the easy victory! How are you feeling?"

The lady interviewer questioned as Xuefeng finally looked at her but he didn't let go of his wives, letting them cuddle into his chest instead. Even though the interviewer seemed awkward to disturb them, he wouldn't lose his cuddle time for something so irrelevant as an interview. 

"I'm good. Please be quick. We need to prepare for the next battles," Xuefeng reminded, not wanting to answer useless questions. 

"Yes, yes! Do you plan on using the Elemental Bracelet's power to fight your opponents?" the interviewer asked hurriedly. "Everyone is curious about its uses." 

"I don't need Elemental Bracelet to kill. I have enough skill to fight with my own strength. If I used my Treasures, my opponent wouldn't even have a body left to bury and their soul would perish," Xuefeng replied casually. "As long as they didn't deserve it, I tend to avoid that." 

The interviewer's eyes widened but she didn't question his words. With just his calmness alone, all his words seemed honest and serious. 

"You are so kind as to show respect to your opponents," the interviewer nodded in approval. "What about the next two matches? Do you plan to end them as fast as the first match?"

"Only if there will be any matches at all. I doubt anyone is so insane to give up on their life and fight with me. I won't hesitate and kill them. There isn't anyone below top ten who can face me and knowing I'm the Seeded Participant, I can't fight them in the Elimination Round. The result for all other matches is obvious," Xuefeng spoke honestly, before gazing at the hundreds of participants gathered in the waiting room. 

Almost all of them avoided looking at him, creating a hilarious scene yet no one was laughing. It was boring when one party was so strong, the result was already decided before the match even started. Who would want to watch a match like that? Some were still excited for domination but the even match-ups were something everyone anticipated the most. 

"Ah… It would be a pity if we can't see you at the stage once again," the interviewer lamented. "Can you tell us something more about your secret Art that led to your victory?"

"If I told you, it wouldn't be a secret Art anymore, right?" Xuefeng replied with a shrug while Ming voiced out her concerns. 

'You did well with your intimidation. I think you did too well though. It is good for the finals as others will at least hesitate before they attack you, but it would be best if someone else decided to fight you. There are many Fate Holders in the tournament. We should at least kill some to regain your Fate Qi. We are using too much of it. You will soon empty the whole tank if we don't start replenishing it. The Time Manipulation consumes too much.'

'True…' Xuefeng admitted, realizing he might have been too much. 

"That's right… Who in the right mind would expose their secrets in front—" the interviewer continued but she was cut midway by Xuefeng. 

"But I can tell you how to counter it." 

Huh? 

The interviewer got caught off guard. 

"Look, my ability is not that overpowered. As long as your defense is higher than my offense, you should be alright as I won't break through it. Although it's powerful, it also costs a lot to execute and I'm not sure if I will waste more resources. I can use other arts and my sword skills to win my next battles," Xuefeng explained casually, causing the whole audience to burst into gossips. 

Did he just reveal his weakness…?

"Is there anything else? My wife will fight soon and I want to accompany her," Xuefeng questioned, pulling the interviewer from the speechlessness. 

"Ah! Yes, yes!" the interviewer awakened, wanting to ask something else when another Staff Member approached her and whispered something into her ear. 

"Oh!" the interviewer exclaimed and gazed at Tianshi instead. "Are you perhaps Xiao Tianshi?"

"Yes," Tianshi nodded. 

"I just received information that you will battle next in the Main arena. What are your thoughts on that?" the interviewer asked politely. 

"Every arena for me is the same. I just want to win quickly and accompany my husband," Tianshi replied politely. "I don't care who I fight. Anyone bellow top one hundred is not a threat to me." 

"Perfect! In any case, good luck in your next matches. Thank you for the talk," the interviewer bowed in gratitude, finally leaving them alone. 

Seeing them leave, Xuefeng wondered, 'That should be fine, right? I think they should have regained some hope.' 

'Yeah. Let's just hope we get to fight the Fate Holders,' Ming agreed, before suggesting, 'Unless… We kill them anyway?' 

Xuefeng raised his brows while glancing at the other participants and finally smiled, realizing what she meant. 

'Hehe, you sneaky… We can start once Tianshi finishes her battle. I want to make sure she will be safe,' Xuefeng suggested. 

'I will be. Don't worry. Number seven hundred and eight. I will be fighting her. I know her first strike. Easy to defend and counter. I will be fine babe,' Tianshi assured, hugging him for the last time, only to hear her name get called out. 

"Xiao Tianshi, please proceed to the Main Stage." 

'I hope so…'

——— 

"Village Elder, how far from here is the Water Land Capital?" 

When the excitement from the battle died down with all focusing on the snacks being placed on the table, Yiren suddenly questioned out loud. 

"Oh! Quite far, the Water Land is on the other side of the Heaven Realm after all, but the time traveled depends on how fast is your Flying Beast. If Goddess were to travel with your Spirit Eagle, you should get there within a few weeks. If Goddess had a Celestial Beast Mount, for example, I think you could limit it even to a single week. " the Village Elder explained. 

"That's too long… Are there any faster ways of traveling?" 

"If that is too long, Goddess can always use Teleportation Stations. They are expensive but I'm sure Goddess can afford them," the Village Elder suggested. "But even with them, it should still take you around two days. It's recommended not to Teleport more than three times a day. I once used the Teleportation Station to sell our goods in the Capital but I was too dizzy to even walk afterward." 

"So one can teleport multiple times if they are strong enough?" Lisa questioned in Yiren's stead, already figuring Yiren's thoughts. 

"Technically yes… But it will be playing with one's life," the Village Elder replied cautiously only to ask worriedly, "Goddess Yiren, Goddess Lisa, you don't plan to—" 

"Where is the closest Teleportation Station?"