Immortal Ice Empress: Path to Vengeance

Mira and Ryuu stood before each other, panting and bloodied.

"I don't know about you… but I think we should wrap this spar up," Ryuu said, and Mira nodded.

Although she could keep going if needed, she had already learned a lot from this interaction. There wasn't a need to continue.

"Alright. Then how about we end this with one last attack?" Ryuu asked.

"Mhmm," Mira nodded indifferently, but inwardly, she was smirking.

Ryuu and Mira stood about a dozen meters away from each other. Golden threads converged around the tip of his greatsword while all of Mira's Scythe Intent focused in on the blade, increasing its sharpness.

The two stared at each other for a moment before they shot out from their positions.

"RAAAAA!" Ryuu released a war cry as he thrust his greatsword at Mira.

Meanwhile, all of Mira's Martial Intent entered her arms and legs, causing them to bulge as power filled them.

The air vibrated around them, and finally, they struck!

*FWOOOOOOOSH!!*

*BAM!*

Their attacks were so powerful that dust exploded outward from their positions, causing hairline fractures to appear on the arena's floor.

The spectators held their breaths, wondering who won or not. Unlike the others, this dust couldn't block Master Izaria's view, and seeing the result, a slight smile appeared on her face, and she shook her head.

As the dust cleared, their figures were revealed.

Ryuu stood in front of Mira, the tip of his greatsword embedded into her abdomen as golden threads wrapped around her body. On the other hand, Mira's scythe had cut through a few of the threads and appeared behind his neck, the blade cutting through his flesh.

Everyone stood, rooted in place, not knowing how they should react.

"So… who won?" Everly broke the silence, but nobody could confidently say there was a winner.

"I guess it's a tie?" Nova concluded, but even she wasn't sure.

"I want to say Mira won, but with Ryuu's Sword Manifestation wrapped around her body, it's hard to say," Seraphine explained.

"No, but can't Mira get rid of these threads with her Scythe Intent?" Eden asked.

"...Hard to say," Rayna said quietly, but everyone heard her.

After a bit of discussion, they called it a tie.

Ryuu felt a cold, sharp metal digging into his neck and smiled bitterly. Still, he didn't think he had lost.

'With my Sword Threads wrapped around her body, as long as I tightened them, they would separate Mira into pieces.' Ryuu thought, confident that it was at least a tie, if not his win.

Only Mira and perhaps Izaria knew who the true winner of this spar was.

'These wounds are nothing to me,' Mira thought, trusting in her recovery ability.

Ryuu slowly retracted his Sword Threads and backed away. Mira removed her scythe from his neck, and they stared at each other.

"That was a good fight, Mira. I learned a lot from it. I was too arrogant to think that nobody could be my opponent. Thank you for teaching me a valuable lesson, and I apologize for underestimating you." Ryuu said sincerely, bowing slightly to Mira.

Mira stared at him with the same indifferent eyes and asked, ".You have little experience fighting humans, don't you?"

Ryuu awkwardly rubbed the back of his head and released a bitter smile. "You could tell?"

Mira nodded. "It's fairly obvious. Your strength is extraordinary, and you have good instincts, but your attacks are too simple. You lack foresight."

After saying that, she turned around and left the arena, leaving Ryuu deep in thought.

Afterward, Mira walked up to Dominque. She rubbed her head and said, "How was I? Amazing, right?"

Dominique repeatedly nodded her head with a bright smile and said, "You were the best, Mother! That man didn't stand a chance against you!" However, after saying that, her eyes wandered to Mira's wounds, and she couldn't help but ask, "B-But… are you okay? You look like you're injured."

Mira's expression softened. "I'm fine, child. These wounds will heal in a few minutes."

Mira flexed her muscles to show that they did not bother her, causing Dominique to look at her with newfound respect and admiration.

Suddenly, a shout came from above, "Hold on!!! What's this about you being a mother?! I thought you were gay!! Who is this child?"

Master Izaria descended in front of Mira and Dominique.

Mira's expression hardened upon hearing this. Like a mother tiger protecting her cubs, she pushed Dominique behind her, encapsulating the child with her tails.

Her black tail twitched in agitation and snaked around Mira's body, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

'If this nosy woman dares to do something fishy…'

Mira's eyes glowed, and a dark, murderous intent spilled out of them.

'I'll kill her!'

She was already on edge after hearing that the god had finally made his move, and with how the Unorthodox Faction acted after they looted a few of their Mid-Grade Spirit Stone Mines, she figured they wouldn't sit still.

Immense waves were about to make their way across the Western Continent, and Mira was doing her best to ensure she and the two people she cared about lived through it all.

'However, this woman keeps eavesdropping and prying into my life‌. Why? Why does she care so much?' The more Mira interacted with Izaria, the less she liked her.

"...Why do you care?" Mira's voice was so cold that the air around her mouth froze.

Master Izaria paused and backed off, raising her hands, "Woah! No need to be so defensive! I was just curious about your relationship with the girl," she said while glancing at Mira's black tail.

'What is with that tail?! My scalp goes numb just looking at it!' Naturally, this piqued her interest, but her instincts told her she shouldn't push her luck.

"My relationship with her is none of your business."

After saying those words, she left to back down the mountain to her residence, but while walking, her black tail never left Master Izaria's position.

Izaria coughed awkwardly and appeared next to Ryuu, who was still deep in thought.

"Well, I guess that's our cue to leave," she grabbed Ryuu's shoulder and turned to the other girls, "Thank you for hanging out with my disciple. I'm sure he's learned many valuable lessons from you all. I look forward to seeing your growth, but you should try to become stronger as soon as possible."

Nova and the others tilted their heads, not understanding why she added that last part.

Master Izaria noticed this and smiled, "Your Sect Master will probably tell you soon, but the Continent is about to enter a state of strife, chaos, and opportunity. Talents will rise, and geniuses will fall. As Ryuu's future wives, you must ensure you're the former!"

Afterward, she and Ryuu disappeared, leaving the girls dumbfounded.

"That woman… Why do I feel like she's not right in the head?" Nova commented, and the others couldn't agree more.

"While she's a little… quirky, she's still an expert at the same level as the Sect Master. If she says we're in the calm before the storm, we should take her words seriously," Everly said with a solemn expression.

The other's eyes narrowed as they realized she was right.

"I suppose we must wait until the Sect Master calls for us. I'm sure she already has a plan for us."

***

By the time Mira made it back to her residence, most of her wounds had healed.

Inside her room, Mira looked at Dominique and said, "If Maria comes back before I finish cultivating, just tell her to wait and not to disturb me. I can't have any distractions for what I'm about to do."

Dominique's face scrunched up cutely, and she gave Mira a firm nod. "I understand, Mother! I won't let anyone disturb you, even if it's that creepy woman from before!"

Mira smiled slightly and rubbed Dominique's head. "No need to go that far. If that bitc-ahem-crazy woman shows up, please alert me."

Dominique tilted her head but nodded, regardless.

After settling that, Mira closed her eyes and replayed her fight with Ryuu. Cultivating could come later. First, she has to consolidate her gains from that fight!

Thankfully, with her comprehension, it shouldn't take her long.

Going through the fight, she picked apart every move, every muscle twitch, every attack and pondered how she could improve it.

Then, she studied Ryuu's Sword Threads and figured that was the 2nd Realm of Weapon Endowment, [Manifestation]. She wondered how she could reach such a Realm with both her Martial and Scythe Intents.

While fighting with Ryuu gave her some valuable insights into the next Realm, just that alone wasn't enough to catapult her to the [Manifestation Realm]. Reluctantly, she could only stop trying.

After a few minutes, Mira finally finished digesting everything and moved on to what she was forced to put off because she was short on time.

She was finally going to start her Inner Body Cultivation!