King James' Conquests Chapter 26: Flames Of Gold

“Such flawless harmony between fire and wind…”

The sight drew all eyes to it, eclipsing all. Xiao Qingyue grasped her new ice ribbon and immediately gained its approval. Even stronger spirits emerged around her as ice lotuses bloomed across the arena… filling its entirety.

“Frozen Cloud Domain…”

She activated her domain again, leading to all of the ice enclosing upon the tempestuous blazing sun. James smiled and extended Zabimaru, clashing against Xia Qingyue’s new ice ribbon. It was smaller than the previous one in terms of size… but the difference in power was like heaven and earth. It wrapped itself around the fanged sword with ease.

‘You’re not going to get sealed up so easily, are you?’ James thought, keeping his smile. ‘Shall I call upon your final, ultimate form… or do you think of me as unworthy, Saru?’

“Heh…” Saru replied. “You need to rely on my power to defeat this simple girl?”

‘... My hands are more than enough.’

James let go of Zabimaru and withdrew the gauntlets of his Lion armour. Xia Qingyue tossed Zabimaru to the other side of the arena and followed up with a wave of ice spirits. James waved his hands, creating two consecutive flaming wind slashes to counter.

Using wind energy, he dashed forward and danced around her ribbon… closing the gap between them.

BANG.

He shattered a wall of ice that had been erected in place of Xia Qingyue. In an instant, hundreds of shards flew into him while an even larger coffin formed around him. James stretched out his palm and formed a flaming vortex, melting everything around him.

From the screen of fire, Xia Qingyue’s ribbon broke in and slapped James right across the face - sending him flying.

‘Did she just… slap me?’ James laughed, sending the flaming vortex her way. ‘Ever so cold.’

Xia Qingyue’s profound energy seemingly expanded as she danced across the arena, evading the flaming vortex with majestic elegance. James’ eyes widened slightly as he observed. Though, he wasn’t the only one who was transfixed by her appearance. Every young master was practically drooling.

‘The daughter of Heaven…’ James acknowledged. ‘A worthy title.’

James surged forward with pure wind energy enhancing his speed, using the remains of the flaming vortex as a distraction. He clenched his fist and was about to punch her once more when another ice mirror formed.

He engulfed his fist in flames and burned right through it.

Xia Qingyue stepped to the side, dodging his attack and countering with another chilling slap from her ice ribbon. She stepped back and attacked once more, aiming to land more blows. James’ eyes glowed with focus as he dodged each one and showed that he could dance in the skies as well.

Eventually… he caught it.

“How predictable,” James remarked, grasping the ribbon with his wind-fire-infused gauntlet. He drew it in and dragged Xia Qingyue closer.

It was then that Xia Qingyue let go of the ribbon, and it expanded out… coiling itself around James.

It was the same technique that froze him initially.

“You sure do love indirectly embracing me…” James remarked, tilting his head as his flames began to fade and the temperature grew cold. “Should I be better at taking hints?”

“...” Xia Qingyue raised an eyebrow. “All you have to do is unleash your true strength again.”

“Speaking of which… even if I do win like this, it would be rather fraudulent, wouldn’t it?” James questioned. “I said that I would face you on equal footing, yet I used my true strength to break free…”

“... That is true. In that case, do you choose to concede?”

“Not until I win.” James smiled, shaking his head.

“...?”

James’ entire body exploded with fire and wind, pushing back the ribbon that coiled itself around his body.

“Let it burn with ambitious purpose… the raging flames of my heart and will.”

James closed his eyes and engrossed himself in the flames, floating still like a sun in the sky. With wind and fire dancing ever so wildly, the ice burned and shattered the moment it came into contact with him. The flames continued to heat up, turning from purple to an almost blinding golden.

Xia Qingyue withdrew to the other side of the arena.

“... Gold flames!?” One observer shouted out loud. “Only the most profound fire-attribute practitioners could ever dream of attaining such a stage…”

“Purple flames are shocking enough for his age, but gold flames…” Ling Kun blinked, feeling his heart shake at the sheer brilliance that he was witnessing.

(Orange colour flames (lowest stage) → scarlet (middle-low-level flame → blue flame → purple flame → white flame → gold flame → ‘scorching flame’ → ‘Primordial Flame of Legends’... according to Mars. However, this was only ever mentioned in one chapter to my knowledge. These flame ‘levels’ are separate from divine flames such as Phoenix flames and Golden Crow flames.)

“Dance wildly, my wind… reign the skies with absolute freedom.”

Despite being ‘trapped’ in a domain, James' radiance melted Xia Qingyue’s ice the moment it came close and even began to expand out… melting the ice lotuses further away one after the other. The ice ribbon was practically tossed to the other side of the arena. In this stage of enlightenment, even the surrounding profound energy drew into James and empowered him further.

Xia Qingyue’s attempts to lessen the intensity of his flame were for nought.

“The radiance that brings life to the world and the wind that spreads its seeds in every direction…”

“The flame that burns everything to ash and the wind that tears it all apart…”

James opened his eyes which shimmered blue with power.

“Become one with this King.”

In the blink of an eye, she had been defeated.

The radiance grew too much to bear as most covered their eyes.

…

When Xia Qingyue opened her eyes, she was practically naked in the centre of a golden blazing vortex that pierced the sky. Though the outside unleashed a terrifying aura that burned anything that came close… the inside was peaceful. A golden-white flower had blossomed at the bottom, growing out from the rubble of the arena.

The burns she had received from their battle… had been healed. Xia Qingyue’s eyes widened in bewilderment. Did his flames… heal her?

James floated above Xia Qingyue, withdrawing his cloak and having it perfectly wrap around her body.

“It’s so difficult fighting a girl, you know.” James descended onto the ground and faced Xia Qingyue. “I have to worry about avoiding the wrong spots, or I would be tarnishing your decency before tens of thousands of people… which, to a disciple of the Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace, is no doubt of most paramount importance.”

“You could have always conceded.” Xia Qingyue countered. “Instead…”

“I was a little curious, I’d admit.” James smiled, stroking his chin. “In a sense, I’ve already seen you naked countless times. You shouldn’t be too ashamed-”

“In a sense?” Xia Qingyue questioned.

“The resemblance between you and her is almost frightening.”James bent down slightly, reaching out for the golden flower. ‘To think that the truest form of my fire… the flame of my heart… is not destruction but rather, growth and seemingly creation. How strange, I was never one to be a saint.’

‘Though… is it not the King who raises those around him higher? The man who holds their ambitions and dreams, leading his people forward…’

He held it in the palm of his hand, observing its beautiful petals.

“In the end, I’ve made my peace… thanks to you,” James admitted, stashing the flower away. “Indeed, you pushed me to my limit, and I’ve grown so much stronger because of that. That is far more valuable than being victor of a Blue Wind Ranking Tournament.”

“...”

“You should get dressed. I’m not planning on holding this vortex forever.”

Once Xia Qingyue did so, James dispersed the vortex and turned away.

“As I am a man of my word… I concede.”

The entire crowd went into an uproar as James walked away.

“...” Xia Qingyue observed the royal cloak that he had left behind. ‘How stubborn…’

Even James’ vassals were shocked.

“In the first round of the semi-finals… Blue Wind Imperial Family’s Crown Prince Cang Chao has conceded!” Ling Wugou couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Frozen Cloud Immortal Palace’s Xia Qingyue claims victory and proceeds to the finals!”

For a day, the moon would eclipse the sun.

…

“You held back against me.” Ling Yun was the first person to confront me, surprisingly enough.

I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you think that?”

“What makes me think that?” Ling Yun chuckled sarcastically, shaking his head. “Perhaps your last fight… the power of a throne… golden flames… the ability to wield both fire and wind… you toyed with me. You could’ve beaten me in an instant, yet-”

“I did not hold back against you, Ling Yun.” I smiled slightly, shaking my head. “The only thing that I held back was my profound strength… everything else was new to even me. Improvisation.”

“Your profound strength?” Ling Yun scoffed. “Then you admit to it.”

“Only because I truly thought of you as a worthy combatant,” I replied, stepping forward. “Which… you were. I did not lie when I said that you were strong.”

“... Strong?” Ling Yun laughed, punching the wall of the hallway and breaking his fist into it. “To you, I am nothing!”

“I understand perfectly.” I nodded. “For a genius like you, discovering that there is someone that far eclipses your ability is… not an easy reality to accept. Even so, I have gifts that you do not. Resources that make yours look like scraps collected off the ground.”

“If you had the opportunity that I did, you wouldn’t be all that much inferior.” I continued walking, moving past him. “If you seek to make the most of your talent… seek me out, and I will not waste it. Unless… you are content with the way things are, that is.”

I kept walking, meeting the Blue Wind Imperial Family’s group first.

“Why did you concede… you could’ve easily claimed first place.” Cang Yue questioned, raising an eyebrow. “Of course, royal father would be proud of you either way, but…”

“Sometimes, winning isn’t everything.” I smiled, shaking my head. “As I see it, winning and losing come hand in hand. You cannot know the true meaning of winning… until you lose. You cannot grow all that much without facing setbacks or failure, either.”

“I gave my word that we would face each other on equal footing… and I broke it, even if it were just for an instant. If I continued on to win, what value would my words have?”

“... So that is why.” Dongfang Xiu chuckled. “I see… your Royal Highness. You fell in love with the disciple-”

“Not at all.” I refuted.

“It seems so. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have made such a vow. I wouldn’t blame you, Your Royal Highness-”

“I’m just too proud for my own good sometimes.” I shrugged. “Nevertheless, I’ve achieved everything I wanted to in this Blue Wind Ranking Tournament… winning would’ve just been a cherry on top.”

Now, if it was Rokas… he’d definitely take the cherry.

“Ah, Your Royal Highness.” I heard a familiar voice, turning to the side. It was Ling Kun. “I couldn’t have ever foreseen that you had the power of a throne and could wield two elements simultaneously… what I had always thought was no more than a myth. In the entire Profound Sky Continent over thousands of years of recorded history, countless people have tried… yet no one could ever perfectly use two profound strengths at once.”

“You are, indeed, a heavenly genius worthy of the highest praise!”

“...” My lips curled into a smile. “You flatter me, Elder Ling Kun. I am but the Crown Prince of the Blue Wind Empire.”

“The Venerable Sword Master would be most curious about your talents… and may even make you his direct disciple. Even if he does not, I am most certain one of the mighty Sword Attendants would seek you out. They are all among the ten most powerful experts in the entire continent. Not a single nation would even have a thought of offending the Blue Wind Empire. You would have all the resources you could ever wish for to expand on your heavenly talent and truly blossom into a mighty expert without the slightest inconvenience.”

“I will consider it, Elder Ling Kun. Truly.” I nodded. ‘You offer me something I can attain on my own, regardless…’

“Alas, I wish to remain in my homeland.”

“That can easily be arranged.” Ling Kun countered. “Even if you wish to stay in the Blue Wind Empire, exceptions can be made… for you are an exceptional talent.”

“This talk of Sacred Grounds… I will certainly think about it.” I smiled, shaking my head. “However, I have more pressing duties to fulfil at this current point in time. I kindly ask that you give me some time. After all, I do have a long life ahead of me. Can I not enjoy some of it?”

“... As you wish.” Ling Kun nodded. “Seek me out when you are ready.”

‘Join you? Not quite… but I wouldn’t mind taking that Heavenly Sin Divine Sword.’