A Failure's hopeful Journey

Everyone started fighting and soon the referee called, "Battle Number 31." You Xi Wang patted on his sister's shoulder. He said, "Fight with your all. I believe in you. Don't hold back."

These three sentences affirmed You Zhichi's battle intent. She nodded and her eyes shined. She walked over to the main ring under a lot of gazes. Some projected lust, while some projected adoration. Some even projected doubt and disdain. You Zhichi could hear a lot of whispers.

"She looks so delicate, how can she fight with that barbarian?" a girl spoke.

A friend beside her also agreed, "Yes. That barbarian looks very cruel as well."

Similar statements were issued as You Zhichi walked to the ring. She stood opposite a man twice her size. She was calm and her heart did not ripple. The man stood bare-chested. A sarcastic smirk etched to his face. He spoke in his heavy voice, "I promise, I will break you, Little girl."

You Zhichi did not reply she glanced at the referee. The elder in the samurai armor spoke, "Begin." his word has just fallen when a blood flower bloomed on the ring.

The audience was surprised. The barbarian was surprised. 

You Zhichi's figure was still standing on the spot as before, but in her hand, an ice blue long sword gave off a terrifying glint. Just now she unleashed her sword intent. It was the intent that attacked the barbarian, leaving a shallow wound across his chest. 

The barbarian was surprised, he belonged to the war sector. They were a tribe specialized in physical strength. His body was strong enough to kill a level 4 beast with his bare hands, yet he was the first one to suffer a wound in this fight. He became angry and roared. 

The burly figure flashed, appearing before You Zhichi. A big fist as big as a melon was thrown at You Zhichi's head. The heavenly maiden has been assimilating her weapon, intent with her blood to awaken her martial spirit ever since her parent's passed away. Despite her outstanding talent, it took her more than half a year and her brother awakened it sooner than her. 

With a calm heart, she dodged the fist by ducking left. She used the hilt of her sword and with a backhand hit the barbarian in the ribs. Then quickly she walked to the side. The barbarian was strong and felt little impact. He kept attacking,, but You Zhichi kept grinding him with the hilt of her sword. She fought with this man in close combat. 

...

You Xi Wang below the stage had his hands behind his back and his eyes were closed. He could hear the exclamations in the crowd. Yet he kept his eyes closed. If the barbarian managed to hurt his sister, he might kill the barbarian thus closing his eyes and meditating was the best way for him. 

The match continued, and You Zhichi exchanged with the man on equal footing. Some bruises could be seen on her face. The man was not a complete brawn for brains, he managed to land punches on her face occasionally. The thing which creeped out the people was that all the blows were aimed at You Zhichi's face. 

...

You Zhichi retreated, avoiding a punch coming at her face. The barbarian retreated, a strong sword coming at his abdomen. He glared at You Zhichi and said, "I will break your face into an ugly mess... Bitch."

You Zhichi's temperament changed. A thin layer of ice formed on the ring floor. The gigantic man frowned. He felt a cold. Despite his strong physique, he felt a chill from the surrounding air. He wanted to end the battle before You Zhichi could attack. He rushed forward with his fists aiming at You Zhichi, but his movements slowed down with every step he took. The temperature was also getting colder with every step.

You Zhichi's eyes suddenly shone with blue light. A huge phantom appeared over her head. The whole arena was shocked. The huge phantom belonged to a woman, glowing with blue cover. She held a long sword in her hands. Armored with bracers, pauldrons, and breastplates engraved with snowflake designs. The material spirit mutates based on your elemental affinity. The experts in the imperial city reacted instantly and appeared in the sky.

Shelton hammer, Alester Book, Animo Albus, Achilles, Lady Willow, and some other elders of the council appeared in the sky. They glanced at the phantom and heaved a sigh of relief. Achilles spoke, "Only a martial spirit awakening."

He glanced down and saw You Zhichi. His eyes shone with light. He spoke again, "Such a beautiful girl. If she could marry my grandson..." his words had not yet finished when Animo Albus snorted, "Humph."

Achilles glanced at her and asked in confusion, "Did I say something wrong?"

Animo Albus replied in a cold voice, "The girl practices Maiden Heart Sutra. The spirit she has awoken is called, Warrior Maiden. She is You Xi Wang's sister and also My direct disciple. I warn you old misers, do not mess with them or My master won't hesitate to visit you."

Her cold was enough to scare these guys. Animo Albus was the head of the Array Hall. This was not a place of the council but an organization set up by The mentalist to promote array knowledge. She also threatened them with her master's name so of course, they were sacred that man was a peak expert. 

...

On the ring, You Zhichi started attacking the barbarian wildly as soon as he came with the sword range. The cold made his movements slower, and he suffered a lot of wounds. You Zhichi did not give in and kept pushing. The phantom of the spirit started merging with her. The color of You Zhichi's hair changed slowly. From black to icy blue. Her eyes also changed, from black to dark blue. 

The two colors represented water and ice. Her strength soared to a new high. The man felt pressured. He retreated. He took out a war hammer from his space ring. This weapon was a relic. 

Relics differ from spirit weapons. They are formed after an expert of Nirvana rebirth realm wills his cultivation to mold his dead body into a weapon. The strength of this weapon would be one realm higher than the practitioner. The barbarian was at the peak of the core formation realm. The weapon increased his strength. You Zhichi awoken at this moment. On her body appeared an armor just as that of the phantom.

...

The martial spirit can be awakened by two methods. One is to rapidly assimilate the weapon's intent in the blood, and the other is to perform the assimilation slowly over a longer period. The slower the assimilation, the better the control over the spirit. It is just like raising a pet the more time to spend on it, the better the bond.

...

You Zhichi saw the weapon and sensed the increase in the man's power, and she released her shackles. Her strength also stepped into the Primal Soul realm. With the martial soul, she can face this guy with one hand. She glanced at the barbarian and said, "Come."

The man rushed over to her with all his rage and swung the battle hammer. You Zhichi avoided and avoided his attacks. She did not counter back this time but kept dodging the war hammer. This hide and seek dampened the atmosphere, and some people even asked them to stop dodging and fight. 

You Zhichi turned deaf to all this and let the man attack her. He yelled, "Are you a rat? Why keep hiding?"

You Zhichi replied, "That is because my brain works fine. I want to see how long can you swing it like that."

Her taunt made the man angry and again he started swinging his hammer, this time he even included kicks in his attacks. You Zhichi found a suitable opportunity when the man lunged at her with his hammer. The heavenly maiden stepped forward instead of avoiding the lunge, and after holding the man with his shoulders, her knees delivered a barrage of bombs to his ribs.

The motive was not to hurt him physically but to make his breathing disrupted. You Zhichi succeeded in her venture and then her sword danced. Soon the man laid in the pool of his blood. You Zhichi glanced at the referee. The old man spoke loudly, "You Zhichi Wins".

The arena was silent, and then it erupted into superb applause.