Chapter 14: I Absolutely Cannot Lose!

It was late at night.

Luo Ya crept to the study door, poking half her body out to peek at Xia An, who was busy making something at his desk.

“Still not asleep? Worried about tomorrow?”

“Not really…”

Luo Ya muttered softly.

“I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

Xia An stopped his work and frowned.

“What kind of talk is that?”

“If it weren’t for me, Lord Xia An wouldn’t have gotten into conflict with that Master Yi Sen…”

“I already disliked that bastard anyway. It’s a shame we didn’t fight yesterday, hmph.”

Xia An placed the Blue Crystal Pendant he was holding onto Luo Ya.

“I don’t know what you’re counting on for tomorrow, since you suddenly told me you accepted her challenge. But as your master, I must give you my support.”

“What is this?”

Luo Ya looked at the Blue Crystal Pendant that Xia An had reworked.

This was the same pendant Xia An had given her the day they first met.

“I’ve sealed a portion of my power inside it. It’s now a magical device bound to your soul. It can serve as an external Magic Power reserve to aid you.”

Luo Ya felt the cold touch of the Blue Crystal Pendant.

“This… must be very precious, right?”

It’s not too bad.

Just a permanent reduction of my total magic power by a significant margin, shortening my already limited lifespan a bit more.

Though Xia An treasured every moment spent with Luo Ya, he wouldn’t be stingy with his own life when it came to matters like this.

“Don’t worry about the cost. Just focus on preparing for tomorrow.”

Xia An paused.

“If you really can’t win, just surrender immediately. I’ve given you this magical device, but time was short and I couldn’t polish it carefully. Don’t think for a second that your opponent won’t be armed to the teeth. She started training four or five years before you, and her magic power is dozens of times greater. There’s no shame in admitting defeat.”

“I will definitely win!”

Luo Ya said seriously.

‘I have to prove myself! Prove that I’m worthy of standing by Xia An’s side!’

“Alright, I believe Luo Ya will definitely win…”

Xia An smiled, reaching out to pat Luo Ya on the head.

But his hand stopped mid-air.

Xia An’s hand was crystal clear, like pure white jade.

But the moment it touched skin, Xia An’s freezing body temperature would instantly injure Luo Ya.

Luo Ya saw his hand freeze in the air.

“Um, Lord Xia An, what’s wrong with your body temperature?”

“This is Hypothermia,” Xia An said.

“A Frost Calamity dwells inside me. It keeps my body temperature extremely low at all times. Don’t worry about it.”

“Lord Xia An, it must be very uncomfortable for you normally, right?”

Luo Ya felt a pang of sympathy.

‘Lord Xia An must have trouble sleeping because of this Hypothermia. His daily life must be very inconvenient too.’

“I’ve gotten used to it,” Xia An said gently.

“It’s just that my body has no sensation, I can’t taste food, I can’t have physical contact with people, and I can’t drink alcohol.”

‘Isn’t that really serious?!’

“I remember Mr. Ruiken said that magic can freely shape the body’s appearance. Can’t it cure Lord Xia An’s illness?”

“This isn’t an illness, Luo Ya.”

Xia An shook his head.

“It’s the necessary price for obtaining power.”

“The Frost Calamity inside me is the foundation of my magic power.”

For some reason, Luo Ya suddenly recalled her conversation with Zhī Zǐ.

[‘All gifts from fate come with a price tag attached in the dark.’]

‘Lord Xia An’s power didn’t come from nothing. This Hypothermia is the price…’

Luo Ya understood in an instant.

‘What about me?’

‘Everything I have now…’

‘…wasn’t it all paid for by Lord Xia An?’

“In the future, I’m going to become a very, very powerful Grand Magister! No—a very, very powerful Grand Sage!”

Luo Ya clenched the Blue Crystal Pendant tightly, as if taking an oath.

“Then I’ll cure Lord Xia An’s Hypothermia!”

“Good, good, good,” Xia An said in a gentle tone.

“I believe Luo Ya can definitely do it.”

Luo Ya made up her mind.

‘To cure Lord Xia An’s Hypothermia, I have to reach Grand Magister first!’

‘That’s the bare minimum. I need a lifespan equal to Lord Xia An’s before I can even think about finding a cure for him. Otherwise, with my measly hundred-year lifespan, I’d probably die before him.’

‘Lord Xia An saved my life.’

‘I’ll spend the rest of my days repaying him.’

Of course, Luo Ya also had a little secret she was too shy to say out loud.

‘If I spend the rest of my life repaying Lord Xia An, I can stay with him forever!’

Tomorrow was an opportunity to clear Lord Xia An’s name.

She would make those people know that choosing her was the most correct decision Xia An had ever made!

‘Luo Ya, Luo Ya.’

‘You’re no longer that powerless little girl who could only run away!’

‘In tomorrow’s duel…’

Luo Ya’s eyes blazed with fire.

‘…I absolutely cannot lose!’

***

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Yi Sen’s expression was extremely ugly.

There was a simple reason for it: the cost.

To prepare a mountain of magical devices for Ai Ma, Yi Sen had bled a fortune.

Yi Sen wasn’t like Xia An, who dared to burn through his own lifespan and magic power source.

So he could only spend gold coins.

“Don’t worry, Master! I’ll definitely take her down!”

Ai Ma said confidently beside him.

“Is that so? Then how come when I arrived, you were the one pinned to the ground?”

Yi Sen shot her a glance.

Ai Ma’s face instantly turned red.

“That—she caught me off guard! Despicable! Shameless! Low!”

“I don’t think things are right,” Yi Sen said, an experienced mage with sharp instincts.

“Her combat experience doesn’t seem like an apprentice’s at all.”

“Don’t hold back with those magical devices tomorrow. Use them when you need to.”

“Remember, crush her with your magic power advantage. Don’t let her get close.”

“In the Duel Arena, there’s no rule against using wide-area lethal spells.”

Ai Ma nodded.

“I definitely won’t lose! Don’t worry!”

“I have to avenge my little sister!”

Yi Sen’s expression remained gloomy.

His older sister was the wife of a respected Grand Duke.

She had asked him for help, and not only had he failed, but he had also made an enemy of Xia An.

Yi Sen was capable and talented, but he was also an incredibly stubborn man.

His past achievements had made him arrogant, believing that those inferior to him had no right to offer suggestions.

Over time, this had trapped him in a severe state of self-isolation.

Even now, Yi Sen couldn’t understand what was so special about that Luo Ya girl!

Was it that he hadn’t been friendly enough toward Xia An?

Or that his sincerity hadn’t been clear enough?

Neither!

In Yi Sen’s mind, being friendly to Xia An didn’t mean being friendly to Luo Ya.

Luo Ya wasn’t even human in his eyes.

So Xia An’s sudden change of attitude baffled him.

‘Xia An must look down on me! He wants to humiliate me!’

Yi Sen naturally assumed this.

The truth was that in Yi Sen’s heart, inferiority and arrogance had merged into a contradictory whole.

His arrogance came from achieving fame in his youth, coming from an incredibly wealthy family, and now being accomplished and successful.

His inferiority came from being stuck in place for over a hundred years.

As time passed, Yi Sen’s life experience hadn’t grown with his age because of his self-isolation.

He had only wasted time, adding empty years to his lifespan.

So now, seeing the dazzling Xia An was like seeing his former self surrounded by admirers.

There was a time when he was just like that.

But as time passed and he stagnated, those praises and flattery gradually drifted away from him.

And so Yi Sen burned with jealousy toward Xia An!

Tomorrow, he would make sure Ai Ma utterly crushed that Luo Ya girl.

Let Xia An see his power!

As expected of master and disciple, Ai Ma and Yi Sen shared nearly identical temperaments.

But Ai Ma had an additional flaw: a quick temper.

Spoiled since childhood, Ai Ma couldn’t tolerate even the slightest grievance for herself, let alone for her family.

When she learned that her little sister had to choose someone else because of Luo Ya, Ai Ma was furious beyond reason when she confronted Luo Ya.

As for what happened next, everyone knew.

The pale moon hung high, the lonely shadow of the tower fell across the land, sweeping like a clock hand over the sleeping town.

The sleepless girl was tossing and turning in her bed, rubbing her hands together eagerly, itching for a fight.

The vigor of youth and the thirst for success mingled together, finally solidifying into an unshakable belief in her own victory.

But there could only be one victor.

The winner triumphs, the loser falls.