Yuki stood on the battle stage. If she wins this match, she will be able to take a break until the finals. Whether it was set up this way by Elder Li or not was a question many had, but she was already seeded to be in the finals. 

“Oh? You are the last one?” Yuki looked at the familiar sect robes and knew that this young woman in front of her was the last of the Roaring Thunder Sect disciples. 

“Why are you going to kill me like the rest?” The girl asked, gritting her teeth. She hated this girl. She hated her with a passion. She had made a full of her sect and killed so many of her sect mates. She would not let this hatred go unanswered.

“Yep!” Yuki nodded her head with a big smile. She tilted her head to the side and said: “But not too fast. Since I hate the look in your eye. You look at me like I am some kind of monster. You hate me because I killed your sect members. But what of it? If I do not kill you, should I wait for you to kill me? Isn’t this what it means to be at war? Isn’t this what it means to be enemies!?”

“You are right. It is either you or us. You will die, or we will die. That is just what it has come down to.” The girl admitted. 

“Yes. War is not fun. But you see. You have only just experienced what it is like to see your loved ones die in front of you. Your friends, your family. This is all new to you, so your hatred is much more than mine. But to me, this is nothing but another day. Because in this world, there is only one thing for me, and that is the path of blood.” Yuki smiled faintly, just thinking about blood. It seemed to be the one thing that calmed her down the most besides her Nana and Silvia. 

“Let me ask you this before you die.” Yuki suddenly changed the subject. “What is cultivation to you?”

“Huh?” The girl was confused. She looked at Yuki with a furrowed brow since she had never really thought about it before. “To grow stronger and live as long as possible.”

“I see… weak…” Yuki shook her head in disdain.

“Weak!? How is that weak!? Why is it wrong to think this way?” The girl did not understand. For all girls, it was always this way. To be strong so no one could force you into things you did not want.

“Because. One should not just seek to get stronger. One should not just seek to live as long as possible. You must want to stand at the top. You must want to step on every one below you. You must reign supreme and then push on to the next realm. Become immortal and live forever. Your weak resolve will never get you anywhere!” Yuki yelled out. “This is why you will die today because you are too weak, just like your sect master. He is single minded and throws his disciples into harm’s way without much thought. He can’t even see the path ahead of him. He has already ruined your future by forcing you to cultivate demonic qi. It’s a pity since your life is slowly seeping away even as we speak.” 

 “I am not a demonic cultivator. Do not slander me!” The girl roared. She did not wish for anyone to know! She did not know how Yuki knew. She had hidden it so well. She even gave up many years of her life to get back all her lost cultivation after she crippled it to become a demonic cultivator.

“I see…. Since you say it is this way, then I will not say more.” Yuki looked up at Elder Li and gave him a firm nod. He nodded back before raising his hand.

“You may begin.” As soon as the words fell, Yuki disappeared.

The girl was startled by the sudden start of the match and even more startled by the fact that Yuki had vanished right before her eyes. She felt the wind change to her right and quickly raised her sword. 

*Clang!*

Sparks flew as Yuki pushed her strength to its peak and sent the girl flying to the side. The girl tumbled a few feet before finally regaining her footing. She looked at Yuki in shock because Yuki was so small but had such great strength.

“You will need to use your everything if you wish to not die.” Yuki vanished again. This time, she sped up a bit more. She could easily end this match, but she wanted to push this girl into using her demonic qi so she could plaster the Roaring Thunder Sect name with the title of being a demonic sect.

The girl began to panic when she noticed that Yuki was moving much faster. She had only felt a slight change in the wind before she moved her sword and once more was sent flying. Her eyes glazed over. She did not wish to die. She did not want to lose. If she used all her strength, then she might be able to kill this girl. But could she escape? Would she still die? There was only one way to find out. She would rather risk it all and try to escape than to just sit down and die. 

*Boom!*