Heaven, Earth, Me

…Both were overexerting their bodies as they clashed weapons.

*BANG!*

After one clash, they stepped once backward and gathered all of their energy, reaching the climax of the encounter!

“BREAAAK!”

“DIEEE!”

*BOOOM!*

A giant explosion followed the weapon collision, and two bodies were launched backward. They tumbled through the ground, splashing blood and with serious injuries. After flying some hundred meters, they came to a stop.

Both stayed immobile on the ground for some seconds until one of them twitched. It was Tang Yuan! He put a hand on the ground and lifted himself with a painful grunt. ‘That was close… I thought I would lose. I swear I’m going to kill her! How can she fight to this level, only being in the second level?’

He walked to the side, limping, and picked up his sword. Then he walked towards Evelyn.

Tatyana was paying attention to them, ‘Come on, little girl, wake up, rise yourself and fight.’

Tang Yuan continued walking toward the still Evelyn. They were some hundred meters away, so even if he was going fast, he needed some time to reach Evelyn’s side.

He walked near, and Tang Yuan reached the still motionless Evelyn. Then, he raised his weapon. Tatyana focused, wanting to see a single twitch from Evelyn, but she saw nothing.

The sun shined on the sword edge, and he thrust downward to Evelyn’s heart!

Tatyana looked but didn’t see movement from Evelyn. She appeared and stopped the sword, then she said, “Tang Yuan wins! Go to the medical recovery team before going to the next battle.”

Tang Yuan bowed painfully and said, “Thank you, senior. May I also carry her, senior? I don’t want to waste any more of your time.”

Tatyana looked into his eyes, and he felt as if death was looking straight at him in the eye. “Trying to lie to me? Don’t go too far, child, or don’t blame me for being ruthless. Do. You. Understand?”

Tang Yuan nodded hastily and almost pissed his pants. ‘Terrifying, demons are like beautiful celestials compared to her gaze!’

Tatyana carried Evelyn to the infirmary, and when she reached, Evelyn woke up. Seeing herself in Tatyana’s arms, she asked, completely exhausted, “What… happened? Did I ugh… win?”

Tatyana looked at her and said, “You lost. You had absorbed so much of his lighting at the beginning that you couldn’t cushion the last attack correctly because your meridians and body were full. The shockwave hit your broken ribs badly and made you faint.”

Evelyn was surprised at the beginning, but then sadness and guilt crushed her. She put her forearm over her eyes and asked with a brittle voice, “W-What about the others.”

Tatyana answered calmly, “They all made it.”

Evelyn started crying, be it the physical pain she was feeling or the sadness of not making it. “I won’t be a-able to *Sob* go with Yasenia?”

Tatyana answered, “Who knows… What are you going to do, Evelyn?”

Even if she was crying, Evenly’s voice carried conviction. “Train! I will grind my bones if it is needed! I refuse to get stumped by one loss!”

Tatyana made a small smile and said, “Good. It seems I won’t have to clean your butt and wipe your tears! If a single loss stumped you, I would have been quite disappointed. There is only one thing left to do, grow stronger, Evelyn.”

Tatyana looked into her teary violet eyes and said, “In the cultivation world, the thing that gets you to the top isn’t the talent, the riches, or the opportunities you gain. The most influencing factor is a constant effort and comprehension abilities! Do not get discouraged. I already told Yasenia. Do you know what she said?”

Evelyn sniffed and looked at Tatyana with reddish eyes from crying. Tatyana smirked, “Yasenia said, ‘Tell my dear that she doesn’t have to worry! This dragoness will get her a pass even if she has to leave her skin and bones on the arena!\'”

Evelyn started crying and laughing simultaneously, “She is *Sob* always like this, hahaha. How *Sob* Did you give birth to such a perfect daughter? Didn’t the Heavenly Tribulation strike you?”

Tatyana burst into laughter and said, “The Heavenly Tribulation? What tried to attack me were the World Laws! Thankfully I’m resilient, and they didn’t get me~.”

Evelyn was so surprised that she stopped crying and hiccuped, “How did you *Hic* provoke the World Laws!? No, no, no, how *Hic* are you still alive!? Doesn’t someone always die when *Hic* the world Laws attack them!?”

Tatyana patted her back once, dispelling the hiccup, and smirked, “Well, for now, that is my secret~.”

Evelyn suddenly remembered Tatyana’s role and asked, “Wait, aren’t you the supervisor? What are you doing here? Why is my life filled with questions when I’m around you!?”

Tatyana laughed again and disappeared, leaving a confused Evelyn behind. Tatyana thought, ‘If she can shout like that, she should be okay.’

Tatyana reached her previous spot and asked Ying Yue, who acted as a referee on her behalf, “Did anything happen?”

Yang Yue said excitedly, “My empress! Little princess is so talented; I’m so proud of her. You must let us teach her! Once we teach her strategy, politics, economy, and other things, She will be an excellent ruler beside your esteemed self!”

Tatyana’s smile widened, and she said, “Right? My little treasure is the best, she….”

Tatyana started bragging about Yasenia, and Ying Yue listened excitedly.

Meanwhile, Kali sighed in relief after passing the third round. ‘I was lucky enough to be in a forest environment. When I summoned [Golden crown], the match was practically over. How are the others doing? I should try to reach the top 100 in the worst scenario of any of them losing without getting an entry jade. I selfishly entered their group… Will they like me more if I manage to get them that?’

She reached her next battlefield and looked around. “A meadow?”

There were some small hills surrounding the area and some tall bushes around. The grass was green, and she could see almost everything.

A Tigerkin beast-man stood with two big beasts beside him on the other side. One was similar to a blue tiger and the other to a white crane. Their sizes, however, were quite big. The tiger was three meters tall and eight meters long. The crane was even bigger, with 5 meters in height and 10 meters in wingspan.

Kali was surprised, ‘A beast tamer? They are quite rare; this is my first time fighting against one in my 26 years… Thankfully I’ve read about how to fight against them….’

Kali started strategizing, ‘The man is in the sixth level of the Mental Nourishing realm, one more than me. The beasts are both middle-level third-ranked beasts. To stop the [Blue Tiger], I will need between 7~12 treants depending on its strength. The problem is the [Icy Wind Crane]… I will need my archers to maintain it at bay, but I don’t know how many.’

Kali looked at the cultivator, ‘Then the cultivator. He is above my level, but beast tamers are normally weaker than normal; I could stall him by myself. The match should go in my favor if I manage to summon [Golden Crown]. I hope the crane isn’t too much trouble….’

The announcer countdown started, and Kali wrapped herself in her elemental coat, “[Mother Nature coat].”

Vines wrapped around her, and her defense, strength, and affinity with flora strengthened. Kali observed the blue aura surrounding him, ‘Water attributed. The tiger is also water attributed, and the crane is Wind and Ice attributed.’

“…Three! Two! One! BEGIN!”

The Tigerkin jumped onto the tiger, and the tiger ran forward.

Kali started with a [Root wall] and used [Poisonous spores] inside of it. The tiger saw the roots appearing and leaped toward it, claws first. At the same time, the Tigerkin slashed from the tiger’s back, and they collided with it. A big collision sound spread around, and they managed to destroy most of the wall, but it stopped their charge. Moreover, those destroyed roots released the spores covering them.

Meanwhile, Kali used [Dryad summoning] two times in a row. Twelve dryads appeared, eight archers and four casters. The Crane flew over the wall and flapped its wings, sending sharp freezing gales toward Kali.

The four casters summoned weaker root walls blocking most of its attacks. However, the crane didn’t stop flapping its wings, sending more and more gales.

Kali used [Nature’s blessing], reinforcing two of the archers. The two archers shot arrows toward the crane through the gales, making it take evasive maneuvers to dodge, and slowing its attacking speed.

Meanwhile, Kali sent the other dryads to spread around to avoid the freezing winds and attack from different angles. She then began her [Treant Summoning].

The Tigerkin and tiger continued their attacks on the first root wall while covering themselves with water. This managed to stop the spores from doing more damage.

After some more attacks, they managed to destroy her wall and advanced toward Kali. However, ten Treants had already grown on the other side of the wall. Kali left her dryads dealing with the Crane and focused on the tigerkin and [Blue Tiger]. “[Root entanglement], [Nature’s blessing].”

Roots grew from the ground and tangled the tiger’s legs. However, it only slowed down its charge since its physical strength ripped them from the ground. Two Treants got reinforced and attacked the charging tiger with their fist.

Thanks to the lost momentum due to the entangling, the two Treants managed to stop it when their fist collided with it. The Tigerkin took the chance and jumped off its back, speeding toward Kali.

Kali didn’t make the treants lose focus and sent all of them toward the [BlueTiger], ignoring the tigerkin and keeping the beast busy.

At this moment, all the archers stood in position, and their attacks shot continuously, making the crane completely busy. With the crane now more distracted because of the arrows, she could free two caster Dryads and ordered them to create another root wall in the tigerkin’s way. Then she started her [Golden Crown] summoning.

The Tigerkin felt the large fluctuations of nature and life energies, and thinking he wouldn’t be able to destroy the wall in time; he tried to climb it with his innate agility instead of going through it. Bad choice; the dryads used the roots that formed the wall and entangled his legs! He fought off the roots easily, but the fluctuations had already peaked by the time he managed to overcome the wall.

With the Crane being held back by the dryads, the tigerkin’s mistake, and the tiger fighting the Treants, Kali summoned the [Golden Crown]. A three-meter-tall female with green skin and a floral dress appeared; her body proportions were more voluptuous than before, resembling someone.

The [Golden Crown] instantly created a staff decorated with three coiling branches, and a green aura exploded outward from her, filling everything with her presence. All the summons strengthened, and the area became her domain!

Then, Kali charged with the [Golden Crown] behind her toward the Tigerkin, longsword in hand. “Let’s do this!”