But before it could crush me, I was already gone, Blink Step carrying me safely away from her desperate counterattack.

When I rematerialized twenty meters away, I could see the hole in her stomach clearly, blood leaking out in steady streams.

Then I watched in frustration as the wound began to close.

The ice around the puncture was somehow neutralizing the toxin, freezing it solid before it could spread through her system. More than that, she was using her ice manipulation to literally freeze the blood flow, stopping the bleeding while simultaneously repairing the damage to her internal organs.

"That was unexpected," she said, her voice strained but controlled. "The pain was... considerable. But ice preserves. It stops decay, prevents corruption, locks things in their perfect state. Your toxin is just another impurity to be frozen out."

My frown deepened. I'd been hoping to end this quickly without revealing too many of my trump cards. The more abilities I showed here, the more information my future opponents would have to work with. They'd have time to study my techniques, develop counters, prepare specific strategies.

But if I didn't defeat Ming Yue, there wouldn't be any future fights for me in this tournament.

It was time to use an energy that I rarely used in combat.

Blue sun energy erupted around me like a second skin, its silver-blue radiance cutting through the water in spiraling patterns.

The energy immediately began healing the minor cuts and bruises I'd accumulated during the fight, but more importantly, it was replacing my need for oxygen. As long as I had blue sun energy flowing through my system, I wouldn't need to breathe at all.

"Master," Azure said with obvious relief, "that's much better. Your body temperature is stabilizing, and the healing effect should keep you functional indefinitely."

Ming Yue's eyes narrowed as she studied the new energy signature. "What a peculiar power," she murmured. "I've never seen anything quite like it."

She didn't give me time to explain; not that I would have anyway. Ice began forming around her in complex geometric patterns, each structure more elaborate than the last.

"Frozen Lotus Prison!" she called out, and suddenly I was surrounded by massive ice flowers with petals sharp as sword blades. They began closing around me like the jaws of some crystalline beast.

I activated Blink Step, teleporting clear of the trap, but she was already launching her next attack.

"Winter's Breath!" A stream of super-cooled air shot from her mouth, freezing everything it touched into solid ice.

I used Verduring Step this time, dissolving into particles of green light and flowing along the spiritual connection I'd established with a patch of seaweed near the ocean floor. I reformed behind a cluster of ice formations that blocked her line of sight.

All the while, I was subtly manipulating the vegetation around us.

The aquatic kelp, the sea anemones, even some coral polyps that were technically plant-like organisms; I was connecting with all of them, weaving them into an increasingly complex pattern. To Ming Yue, it probably looked like I was just using individual plants for defense and mobility.

She had no idea I was building another formation.

"Getting tired yet?" Ming Yue called out, her cold personality showing hints of frustration. "You can't keep running away forever."

To emphasize her point, she raised both hands above her head and began channeling an enormous amount of spiritual energy. The water around us grew colder, so frigid that ice crystals began forming in the liquid itself.

The ice dragon that materialized above her was massive, easily seventy feet long. Its eyes burned with cold fire, and when it opened its mouth, I could see rows of frozen teeth that looked sharp enough to bite through steel.

"This ends now," Ming Yue declared.

The dragon dove toward me with jaws wide, moving faster than anything that size had any right to. Even with my enhanced speed, there was no way I could dodge something that massive in this confined space.

Which was why I didn't try to dodge at all.

"Qi Disruption Array, activate!"

The aquatic plants I'd been manipulating all suddenly flared with spiritual energy, revealing the formation pattern I'd woven throughout the battlefield. Lines of force connected kelp to coral to sea anemone in a complex geometric design that covered nearly the entire combat area.

The effect was devastating to Ming Yue's control over her technique.

Her qi circulation stuttered as the array interfered with her spiritual channels. The massive ice dragon, which had been held together by her focused will and spiritual energy, began to shudder and crack. Chunks of crystalline flesh broke away from its form as the binding forces that maintained its existence were disrupted.

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With a sound like a glacier calving, the dragon collapsed into a rain of ice fragments.

But I wasn't done yet.

While Ming Yue was struggling to regain control of her spiritual energy, I poured red sun energy into the formation itself.

This was something I'd never tried before - combining the transformative power of red sun energy with a plant-based formation array.

The innocent aquatic vegetation I'd been using suddenly changed.

Kelp strands grew thicker and darker, developing thorns along their length. Sea anemones expanded into monstrous versions of themselves, their tentacles writhing with hunger. Even the coral formations shifted, growing into twisted shapes that looked more demonic than natural.

The entire formation had become a living trap of predatory plant matter, and Ming Yue was right in the center of it.

Demonic kelp wrapped around her arms and legs with crushing strength. Mutated anemones latched onto her torso with tentacles that secreted paralytic toxins. The corrupted coral grew spikes that pressed against her throat and vital points.

Ming Yue fought back with everything she had. Ice armor formed and shattered repeatedly as the plants tore through her defenses.

Both personalities, the warm, gentle water cultivator and the cold, ruthless ice manipulator, seemed to be working together now, desperately trying to break free from the demonic vegetation.

But it wasn't enough.

The red sun energy had transformed the plants into something beyond her ability to freeze or shatter.

I knew that still wouldn't be sufficient to end the fight. Ming Yue was too skilled, too powerful to be defeated by restraints alone. I needed something more precise, more final.

That's when I had an idea that was either brilliant or completely insane.

I'd learned a little calligraphy during my time at the Blue Sun Academy, the art of creating effects through written characters. But what if I combined that with my plant manipulation? What if I could make the plants themselves form the necessary symbols?

I reached for my blue sun energy, channeling the azure power through my connection to the demonic kelp. Instead of trying to write a character myself, which would require me to be in close range with a dangerous cultivator, I guided the plants to arrange themselves into the kanji I had used on Ke Jun in my inner world – the kanji for 'sleep'.

The transformed seaweed twisted and coiled, their thorned lengths forming strokes and radicals with uncanny precision. As the character took shape, blue light began to emanate from the plant formation.

One tendril, glowing with concentrated azure energy, extended toward Ming Yue's forehead. The moment it made contact with her skin, I felt the technique activate.

Ming Yue's struggles became more frantic as the sleep effect took hold. I could see both personalities fighting against the induced unconsciousness – the warm, friendly Ming Yue trying to stay awake while the cold, hostile version attempted to break free through sheer willpower.

The battle between her dual natures created a feedback loop that made the technique even more effective. Each personality was fighting not just the sleep effect, but also each other, creating chaos in her spiritual energy system.

Her movements became sluggish, then uncoordinated. Her ice constructs began melting as her concentration failed. Finally, her eyes rolled back and she went limp, unconscious but breathing steadily.

The familiar sensation of spatial transportation washed over me as a portal opened at the edge of the battlefield.

The battle was over.

I released the plant bindings, letting her float peacefully in the water as I dismissed the various techniques I'd been maintaining.

A sect disciple in medical robes swam through the opening, heading toward Ming Yue's unconscious form to ensure she received proper care.

I took one last look around the Infinite Ocean Realm, now partially restored to its liquid state with chunks of ice still floating in the current. It had been a harder fight than I'd expected, and I'd been forced to reveal more of my capabilities than I'd wanted to.

But I'd won. That was what mattered.

As I walked through the portal and felt the cool air of the tournament arena on my face once again, I couldn't help but smile slightly. Two fights down, five more to go until I could claim the championship and gain access to the Elemental Chamber.

The path to the Elemental Realm was still wide open.

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