Lightning Pools.

Cheng Xiu ran, her sense of balance off and her vision blurred.

The power difference between level 1 and level 10 was so wide that it took her some time to get used to. She stumbled, scraped her knees and bled.

The Qi in her healed Cheng Xiu but its potency did not compensate much for the amount of small lacerations in her body.

Cheng Xiu observed the trees around her. It seemed to have grown far more than they did when she had fought those Treemen monsters.

The land was lush, and everything shone in the golden highlights of the Arena Dome.

"That was rude," a soft voice echoed. "You should be fighting me, not running away."

Cheng Xiu looked behind her.

Violet hair danced in the wind as the Immortal Lotus dashed through the forest, chasing Cheng Xiu's unsteady steps.

"No hard feelings, senior!" Cheng Xiu said, her voice uneven. She ducked to avoid the overgrown branch of a tree. "Just getting used to the power difference of Level 10 the arena put me at!"

"Yes, that is a disadvantage," Lotus said in a sing-song way. "But you should tell me when you run off next time!"

Cheng Xiu's footing slipped at that.

She cursed. There was never going to be a next time!

The two circled back to where they started.

The other Immortals sat on a circular podium with San Zhe still hanging upside down from the pole.

"Where did the podium come from?" Lotus asked as she skidded to a stop next to Cheng Xiu.

"I bought it," The blue-haired girl said as she sipped on tea. "There was no way I was going to wait for you while standing. I have better things to do than that. Hurry up and kill the girl already. My Guild has contracted me from the Zeon Arena. We have a wild boss coming there in an hour."

"You are so cold, Frost," the green-robed man said to her. "Think about the rookie's feelings before you talk!"

"I'm not you," Frost said in a dull tone. "I don't care about the feelings of random people I meet in an online game."

"Um...excuse me," Cheng Xiu said.

Everyone looked at her.

"Can you please release Brother San? He didn't have anything to do with my mistake."

Star Phoenix laughed. He turned to San Zhe and tickled him.

San Zhe laughed, and cried.

Star Phoenix laughed and tickled him harder.

Cheng Xiu took half a step back, nervous. What the hell!

"See, little San? I told you she cared!" Star Phoenix said to the man. He turned to Cheng Xiu. "Sure thing! I'll release your handsome friend here!"

Star Phoenix cut the ropes off.

San Zhe fell.

Star Phoenix saved him from a broken neck and made him stand up steadily.

"Take it as an incentive," Yue said to Cheng Xiu, twirling a strand of her rainbow hair. "If you can fight for more than five minutes against Lotus little San here won't have to suffer as much."

"So give it your best!" the man in red said.

"Okay?" Cheng Xiu said, a sceptical look in her eyes.

Lightning crackled in the air as Lotus raised her whip. A soft smile graced her lips.

Cheng Xiu backed away. "I don't have-"

"Let's go, little Rookie!"

Lotus swung her whip towards Cheng Xiu.

Cheng Xiu removed her sword from its scabbard and reaffirmed her footing. She used the scabbard to hit the whip away.

"Nice form!" Lotus commented.

"Earth Style," Frost informed her. "The form is very similar to the True Qi method but there is a difference in it."

Lotus huffed. "Don't give me clues! The rookie is already at a disadvantage!"

Lotus swung her whip again.

Cheng Xiu side stepped it.

The Immortal frowned. She tightened her grip on the whip handle.

Electric current ran through the whip visibly.

The whip came down.

Cheng Xiu jumped back to the right, barely missing the whip. Small electric currents hit the tip of her sleeve, burning the hem.

Cheng Xiu observed her enemy as she jumped left and right on various intervals.

The Immortal leaned more towards the left when she wanted to hit her in the right and more towards the right when she planned on attacking on the left.

Cheng Xiu started to avoid the whips even better than before, her footworks became smoother, and her form became more fluid.

"This is becoming boring," Yue said with a yawn. "Lotus, is this all you have as an Immortal? I'm disappointed."

Lotus frowned at Yue's words. She couldn't do much with a lightning whip at this level and it seemed the Rookie was improving at a fast rate.

She smirked. "I wanted to see how she would fight against my attacks. Now, shall we begin?"

Lotus stood straight and started to whip near Cheng Xiu again and again and again, picking up speed with each of her lashings.

Cheng Xiu dodged.

The ground at her feet cracked, and small pools of lightning was left behind.

Cheng Xiu dodged again and again, her speed matching that of Lotus.

"How is she doing that?" the green-clad man asked Star Phoenix in a whisper. "Lotus's speed is only second to her pool of Qi. How is this rookie able to keep up with her?"

"Her cultivation must be related to Speed, Brother Long," Star Phoenix said, disdain in his voice. "Even you should know that!"

"Quiet," the indigo haired woman said. "Things are getting interesting."

"Why, WuQi?" Long asked.

"The spider is weaving her net," WuQi said.

"So soon?" Star Phoenix asked in surprise. He looked towards the front.

Cheng Xiu dodged the lightning coated whip, huffing.

She was losing a lot of her energy with all the jumping.

"The Spider Web?" San Zhe asked in fear. "Expert WuQi, that's horrible!"

WuQi blinked at him in confusion. "It's your friend's bad luck that she got Lotus as her first enemy. I hope your friend dies quickly. We all know what happens to people who survive the first attack."

San Zhe shivered. He looked at Cheng Xiu in worry.

Another pool of lightning was left behind as the whip swung back again and came down on the lean figure of Cheng Xiu.

She stepped to the side to dodge the attack.

Cheng Xiu groaned in pain.

She fell to her knees.

The boot on her left leg was burned away and the sole of her foot was blistered.

Cheng Xiu squeezed her eyes shut.

The Qi in her vain circulated faster, healing the lacerations.

The pain subsided.

Cheng Xiu narrowed her eyes and observed the place where she got hurt, to figure out what had happened. She was sure she had dodged the whip.

Her eyes fell on the pool of lightning near her feet.

Cheng Xiu stilled.

Could it be?

She looked around. There were similar lightning pools everywhere.

A cold shiver ran down her spine.

It wasn't just dodging a lightning whip she had to do. She had to make sure that she dodged it enough that the electric currents coating the whip wouldn't come near her. And now she also needed to avoid these puddles.

The whip came down on her again.

Cheng Xiu jumped to her feet and to the side.

But she wasn't quick enough.

The whip hit her arm, leaving behind a deep burned mark.

Cheng Xiu suppressed her scream of pain and returned to her fighting stance.

Lotus grinned, her violet eyes glinting with bloodlust.

She brought down the whip again.

Cheng Xiu jumped back, away from the pools on her sides and closer to the woods.

Lotus spun the whip over her head, giving it more momentum. She brought the whip down in rapid succession.

Cheng Xiu dodged backwards again and again.

Fear and frustration rose in her heart as she realised that the electric currents in the whip lashes were becoming more and more powerful, the distance she needed to jump to avoid getting burned was becoming larger and larger.

Cheng Xiu's back hit the bark of a tree.

Lotus chuckled, her violet eyes taking on an unhinged look. "Little Rookie is so impressive! But why aren't you using your skills? Could it be that all you know is how to jump around? Come on little Rookie, show me what you can do!"

The electric currents on the whip became more violent and more violet.

Cheng Xiu leaped to the side and fell on the ground.

The whip hit the tree instead, and left behind a huge dent as though it was chipped away by a samurai sword.

Lotus huffed. "How boring. Come on, Little Rookie, show me the power you possess, the skills you have! Or else I'll make your death a cruel one. And I'm not a cruel person."

Cheng Xiu rolled away as the whip came down on her again.

She wasn't fast enough, and the whip electrocuted her, leaving behind blisters and burn marks on her back.

Cheng Xiu gritted her teeth to suppress the cry the wanted to tear out of her throat but a small whimper still left her pursed lips.

Her chest heaved as she struggled to control her breathing.

What to do! What to do!

Cheng Xiu felt her eyes sting as she felt more cornered than she ever felt. She felt confused, scared, usure, and insecure.

Cheng Xiu squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think of a solution.

The whip came down on her bent over form.

"Sister Xiu!" San Zhe screamed in horror.