"She"s ruthless." The Emperor chuckled when he saw Xueyue twist her body to drive a full-force kick into a poor woman"s head. Xueyue didn"t give Wen Yaoqin time to recover before she delivered swift side-kicks, one after the other, on both sides of the latter"s body in random blows.
"Well, she"s in a household with two growing boys. I wouldn"t be surprised if one of my nephews taught her something," the Empress responded with a slight smile.
Xueyue"s opponent didn"t stand a chance. When the opponent grabbed Xueyue"s leg, halting the kicks, she maneuvered her entire body into a high kick from the chin up, forcing Wen Yaoqin"s head to whip back.
"At the least, she should be conserving her energy for the next two rounds to come," Imperial Consort Gu Feiying commented while shooting her son a pointed look. "Do you really want to marry a violent woman like that?"
"A thousand times yes," his eager face read. He was intently observing all of her calculated moves. She effortlessly kicked, blocked, blocked again, then kicked before resorting to an abrupt punch.
"What do you think of her technique, Commander?" the Emperor purposely asked Wen Jinkai when Xueyue momentarily let her guard down and was striked on the side of her body.
"Irrational." Wen Jinkai softly frowned, his brows crinkling. What was she doing? She could"ve easily blocked the kick, but allowed herself to be harmed. Was she pitying the opponent?
His eyes slightly widened when Xueyue captured her opponent"s leg, smirking a bit before she yanked the woman forward. She was close to delivering a swift punch but the drums went off, signaling the end of the fight.
The Fourth Prince"s smile widened. She had won the first round with flying colors. "Isn"t that your half-sister, Wen Yaoqin? From her lineage, I expected her to be more skilled," he said with a smirk and gave the Commander a side-eye.
"Well, Duke Wen Xuan treasures his daughters as if they were jewels. He"s more lenient on their training." Duke Li Taojun explained, his eyes lingered on Li Xueyue. She was a Li? It was no wonder she resembled his brother, but there was something strange about her. He couldn"t quite put his finger on it.
The Fourth Prince briefly glanced at the Commander"s unreadable expression. If the latter was irked by the slight provocation, he didn"t show it.
He said, "I"m sure he regrets letting her compete now. She"s made a fool out of herself, but I suppose the quality runs in the lineage."
The Emperor sipped his tea and stole a glimpse of the unwavering Commander. How will the dragon react to the attack of a tiger?
Commander Wen Jinkai leaned back in his chair beside the Crown Prince who had finally shown himself in the tournament. His travel time took longer than usual due to the Crown Princess"s pregnancy. The Commander"s seating arrangement was a position that everyone desired to obtain, yet none could touch.
"Are you not going to respond?" Crown Prince w.a.n.g Qianghao slightly grinned when his friend took a leisure sip of the tea, his rough fingers swirling the cup.
"It"s a waste of breath to respond to buzzing flies," Wen Jinkai calmly said with a blank expression.
"Pft, I suppose you"re right." w.a.n.g Qianghao genuinely laughed while resting his chin on a propped up arm.
w.a.n.g Longhe"s hand tightened on the arm rest, grounding his teeth. He wanted to retort but Consort Gu had placed a warning hand on top of his. Silence is a virtue. There was no need to respond to provocations, even if he started it first.
The second round was starting. The first round with eight fighters had concluded with four victors who would proceed to the second round. The two victors from the second round would enter the semi-final round to fight for a spot in the finalist round. The emerging victor from the semi-final round would then face Ning Huabing who was s.h.i.+pped to the finalist round when she won the lottery draw.
"Do you want to know what I overheard?" w.a.n.g Qianghao mused, leaning to the Commander. "You"ve set your heart on a woman. Is that true?"
When the Commander didn"t respond, the Crown Prince huffed. "Don"t give me the cold shoulder for asking a few questions. You"re so stingy with your replies."
Wen Jinkai turned a deaf ear to the whining Prince beside him. His eyes narrowed on Xueyue"s next opponent, Han Jieru, who happened to be his prime suspect for the arrow incident.
Unknowingly, the temperature around them became chilly. His face became deathly calm at the memory of the incident. She was nearly injured and harmed. Someone had to pay for it. He would not leave this incident go without seeking retribution.
"Oh, I know now!" w.a.n.g Qianghao excitedly grinned, his eyes s.h.i.+mmered. "It"s her, isn"t it? The one in light blue robes."
The Empress resisted the urge to dejectedly sigh at her daft son. How could he not notice the aura of death eluding from the Commander? He was obviously upset about something. She was quite sure it wasn"t the Crown Prince"s yapping, but something else.
"What an exquisite face…" w.a.n.g Qianghao"s eyes widened when he finally caught a full view of Li Xueyue.
Their distance couldn"t mask her radiant beauty. She was absolutely stunning in every right. Laidback shoulders, raised chin, she held herself with the highest regard.
"I recommend you to woo her as soon as possible. Such a mesmerizing woman is hard to come by…" He commented.
w.a.n.g Qianghao raised his hands in surrender when Wen Jinkai sent a vicious glower his way. "I was simply appreciating my future sister-in-law"s appearance. Nothing more."
w.a.n.g Qianghao tried to not inch towards his father, the Emperor. Even though he was used to Wen Jinkai"s aloof behavior, he always struggled to cope with the latter"s murderous aura. To anger the Commander was to knock on death"s door and be received by death with open arms.
"Your jokes aren"t amusing, my dear son." The Empress slowly shook her head. "Sister-in-law? That"s a peculiar t.i.tle for a child."
"Well, she"s one of the rare handful of women that stirred my beloved brother"s heart. Shouldn"t I prepare myself for the future t.i.tle?" w.a.n.g Qianghao nudged the Commander for a response.
Duke Li Taojun raised a brow at this. He turned to the Commander and asked, "Runt, you"re interested in Li Xueyue?"
Wen Jinkai tore his gaze from Li Xueyue who narrowly dodged a kick flying towards her head. He was prepared to respond, but immediately halted when Han Jieru landed a kick on Xueyue"s open-sides.
Xueyue didn"t have time to recover when Han Jieru raised her leg for a jeopardizing hammer kick that would injure not only the head but the face.
Wen Jinkai held his breath when she expertly dodged it and grabbed Han Jieru"s ankle to shove her to the ground. Just then, Han Jieru swept her leg and sent Li Xueyue straight to the ground.
Li Xueyue tried to rise but Han Jieru had harshly kicked her in the stomach.
"Xiao Jin?!" the Empress gasped when Wen Jinkai abruptly stood up from his seat. Her eyes widened in horror upon seeing the vicious expression on his face.
"You can"t," she scolded, but he ignored her.
"Where are you going?!" She frowned in disapproval when he nearly approached the staircase, only to be held back by w.a.n.g Qianghao.
"Are you going to get fresh air? I could use some too, wait up!"
Wen Jinkai shrugged off the Crown Prince"s grip, only to freeze. Li Xueyue finally stood back up, an indecipherable expression on her face. Without warning, she back-handed Han Jieru, the sound from the impact reverberated throughout the arena. Silence fell over them as everyone watched on with rapt attention.
Li Xueyue struck her hands in a chopping motion directly towards Han Jieru"s throat. It was effective and Han Jieru bent over slightly, leaving the back of her neck wide open.
Now that Han Jieru"s face was lowered, Xueyue had the perfect opportunity to kick her in the face. And she did so, without hesitation.
If Han Jieru didn"t mind kicking someone who was already down, then she should"ve been prepared for the same treatment. But she wasn"t. She instantly covered her face with her hands and that gave Li Xueyue the perfect opportunity to strike her again.
Li Xueyue was prepared to end the tournament, seeing as Han Jieru couldn"t continue to spar anymore.
All of a sudden, Han Jieru charged at Xueyue with a wobbly punch. Xueyue easily caught the fist and punched Han Jieru hard in the stomach. An eye for an eye. Instantly, Han Jieru collapsed onto the ground, unable to stand back up.
Li Xueyue maintained her dignity when she stood still, a.n.a.lyzed the fallen Han Jieru, and then respectfully bowed. She had concluded the tournament of her own volition.
Li Xueyue had the opportunity to kick Han Jieru when she was down, but she didn"t. She was above dirty fighting.
Her crude sparring skills from before should"ve ruined the high society"s opinion of her, but at the last moment, she was able to recover from it.
Quietly, the audience praised her ability to keep her emotions in check. She could"ve finished Han Jieru without remorse, but she didn"t. She understood her opponent was down. There was no need to beat down her opponent further with another soul-shattering blow.