Chapter 52: Wood and Fire Dual Attributes

He had figured her out completely. On the surface, she put on an act of utter indifference and disgust toward him, but in reality, she was playing hard to get, deliberately using these tactics to catch his eye.

She had succeeded, it had to be said, but she had chosen the wrong approach, and now she only managed to make him despise her all the more.

Su Yunqing, however, simply chuckled, never expecting them to be capable of such wild imagination.

"What are you laughing at? Are you happy just to see this prince? Hah! You vicious woman, don't ever dream that this prince could fancy you."

"Ever since the tournament ended, there has been zero possibility between us, so give up this pipe dream. If you don't want this prince to hate you to the bone, honestly hand over the sword and the antidote right now, or else don't ever expect this prince to acknowledge you for the rest of your life!"

"I won't even spare you a single glance!"

Naturally, he tried to threaten her by threatening not to speak to her. Sure enough, a subtle change crossed her face, and he assumed his tactic had worked.

Little did he know, Su Yunqing was simply revolted, thinking that human narcissism truly had no limits.

"Your Highness, *cough, cough*..." Su Yunqi wanted to say something else, but a fit of coughing brought a sweet, metallic taste to the back of her throat, and she ultimately failed to hold back a mouthful of blood.

"Yunqi, hold on! This prince will get the antidote for you right now!" Seeing her in such a state, Xiao Jinghuai felt as though his heart was being tightly gripped by a ruthless hand, causing him agonizing pain.

"Hand them over immediately, or this prince will have you die right here today!" Seeing that she paid his words not even the slightest regard, he was left with no choice but to threaten her.

Su Yunqing, however, laughed out loud, and then swept a cold glance toward him. "Very well, let's try it then. That happens to be precisely what I want!"

She had been dreaming of killing him; how could she possibly let go of this opportunity now?

Upon seeing this, Xiao Jinghuai lunged forward instantly, while Su Yunqi, sprawled upon the ground, filled her eyes with venomous hatred. She forced her head up, glared fiercely in Su Yunqing's direction, and summoned her bound spiritual beast. "Go! Kill her!"

With that command, the spiritual beast charged at Su Yunqing. Enduring intense agony, Su Yunqi broke into a triumphant smile.

Yet that smile did not last long, for she discovered that Su Yunqing seemed to have anticipated her move. The very moment she released her white crane, Su Yunqing had already summoned both Xiaoyun and Xiaowu.

Xiao Jinghuai, meanwhile, did not dare to unleash his Golden Sun Giant Tiger. Having been injured during the previous battle, the beast was in no condition to fight now.

Therefore, while clashing with Su Yunqing, he scoffed derisively, "Hah! Even if you've grown powerful, those two spiritual beasts of yours are nothing more than useless trash!"

"Trash? By your logic, wouldn't your own spiritual beast be even worse than trash?" Facing his ridicule, she showed no anger whatsoever, smoothly throwing his words back at him.

"What did you say? Say that again if you dare!" He was naturally provoked into a fury, as he could plainly see the undisguised disdain in her eyes, which infuriated him to the point of laughter.

As a dignified imperial prince, there would come a day when he was looked down upon by her—this was utterly intolerable bullying!

"Who knows whose tiger couldn't even defeat my cat the other day?" With that, she accelerated her movements, seizing the chance to channel her spiritual energy for an attack.

Xiao Jinghuai, who had been boasting grandly just moments before, was instantly struck dumb, for these were indisputable facts, and everything she spoke was true.

Seemingly mortified at having her shortcomings exposed, his offensive strikes grew more vicious by the turn. Yet he soon discovered a problem: no matter how much force he exerted, his opponent intercepted every blow effortlessly, without even furrowing a brow.

"Su Yunqing, are you feeling rather arrogant now? Do you think because you won that day, this prince is anything less than formidable? Hah, keep dreaming! You are no match for this prince; I simply went easy on you back then!" Believing firmly that she could not possibly defeat him, he lashed out again with a smug curve to his lips.

Little did he expect his attack to hit empty air. Moving with blistering speed, she had shifted positions the moment he struck, leaving him unable to alter his momentum mid-air, so his blow slammed harmlessly into the ground.

Lying on the ground, Su Yunqi felt her condition deteriorating by the second, yet she still lacked the antidote.

Xiao Jinghuai was still locked in fierce combat, and at the rate he was going, obtaining the antidote anytime soon was out of the question.

Furthermore, her spiritual beast had been intercepted, completely blocked from advancing or attacking Su Yunqing. To say she was unconcerned would be a complete lie.

A profound terror gripped her, for she was not yet ready to die. The thought instantly galvanized her.

Clinging to her last thread of strength, she attempted a stealthy sneak attack on Su Yunqing. Xiaowu, however, caught the movement instantly, directly unleashing a stream of fire that completely nullified the ambush.

Because she had forced herself to mobilize her spiritual energy, the poison within her body spread at an accelerated rate. Unable to bear it any longer, she coughed up another mouthful of blood. A sudden, piercing chill washed over her, while the agony in her body refused to subside.

"Your Highness, it hurts!" Left with no alternative, she called out to the battling Xiao Jinghuai, hoping to remind him to finish off Su Yunqing as quickly as possible.

To her dismay, this backfired completely. Distracted by her cry, Xiao Jinghuai lowered his guard and took a direct hit.

Naturally unwilling to let such an opening slip away, Su Yunqing drew her Green Ridge sword, channeling spiritual energy directly into the blade while her other hand was busy condensing a sphere of green wood-attribute energy.

Keeping her hand concealed behind her back, she caught him entirely off guard, binding him instantly with vines formed from wood-attribute spiritual energy. Stuck in place, he could only shout, "Release me!"

He had tried to break free, only to find the bonds tightening around him. Realizing that persisting in this manner would spell disaster, he sought to minimize any further waste of spiritual energy.

Su Yunqing had no intention of squandering this prime opportunity. Wielding the Green Ridge sword, she thrust it straight toward him. With his feet firmly bound and nowhere to dodge, he was struck squarely.

"Su Yunqing, you have dual attributes!" His expression darkened instantly. He had clearly witnessed the green spiritual energy condensed in the palm of her other hand as she launched her attack, and combined with the vines around his ankles, everything fell into place.

Precisely because of this realization, his eyes filled with disbelief.

In the past, she had been the universal laughingstock, yet now she had undergone a miraculous transformation, becoming an object of sheer envy!

Not only did she possess dual attributes, but they were the wood and fire attributes—the quintessential raw talent for alchemy. In this world, alchemists were already exceedingly rare, let alone those with genuine aptitude. The moment he discovered her innate talent in this field, his plans had shifted entirely.

"Junior Sister Yunqing, it was all a misunderstanding before. If you let this prince go right now, I promise to reserve the position of primary princess consort for you!" He spoke with an air of absolute entitlement, as if fully certain she would readily agree.

At the same time, he did not even cast a glance at Su Yunqi, who lay writhing in agony on the ground, but instead fixed an ingratiating gaze upon Su Yunqing across from him, awaiting her reply.