SSS Ranked Transmigration: Taming Beauties and The Beasts!-Chapter 217 - 1st Tail

Still, Wushuang's defenses held firm. Whenever Yaoyun's blazing strikes got too close, he met them head-on with his own flaming fists or forced her back with abrupt bursts of heat.

The courtyard was quickly suffused with scorching currents of power, each collision sending faint tremors through the ground. Onlookers shielded their eyes from the brightness of clashing flames.

Sweat began to bead on Yaoyun's forehead. She was controlling her breathing as best she could, and her own foxfire was potent, yet every exchange revealed Wushuang's physical supremacy.

His reflexes were sharper, and his raw strength allowed him to brush aside many of her attempts. She felt her muscles tighten with fatigue each time she blocked or parried. More than once, she had to leap away to avoid a direct strike that could have knocked her flat.

The fight slowed for a moment as both opponents paused, only a few paces apart, chest heaving. Yaoyun could sense her own stamina flagging.

'He's testing me, she thought. And I'm testing him.' Despite Wushuang's advantage, he hadn't fully unleashed his draconic powers yet—no wings, no partial transformation, just a steady infusion of flame.

Similarly, she had yet to unleash her tails. But her pride wrestled with her logical side: activating her bloodline now might be the only way to bridge this gap.

Looking across the courtyard, Yaoyun spotted Old Lao and Old Yao watching carefully, their eyes glinting with expectation. She also saw several Dragon clan elders, arms folded as they evaluated every movement.

She recognized that continuing this purely physical, low-level magical exchange would drain her energy while allowing Wushuang to keep the upper hand. Her foxfire alone, without enhancement, wasn't enough to subdue a scion of the Fire Dragon line.

Wushuang cracked his knuckles, sending tiny sparks skittering across the stone.

"You've lasted longer than I thought," he said. His voice rumbled with a faint challenge, and the corners of his mouth curled in satisfaction. "Most would have backed down or resorted to their bloodline by now."

Yaoyun chuckled under her breath, determined not to show weakness. "I don't give up that easily," she answered, though inside she knew she was nearing her limit if she kept holding back. Another wave of heat radiated off Wushuang, buffeting her like a sweltering wind.

Gripping her fists tight, she steadied herself for the next exchange. Her foxfire glowed at her fingertips, more intense than before. Yet deep within her core, there was another power—latent, pulsing, waiting.

She had hoped to reserve her tails for the next stage of the duel, but it seemed she had no choice. Her pride would not allow her to remain outmatched for long.

She inhaled, slowly, letting the tension settle in her limbs. Wushuang's eyes narrowed, sensing a shift in her stance. The courtyard fell silent once more, as though anticipating a turning point.

Flames still flickered in the air around them, shimmering with leftover energy. Yaoyun exhaled, and the ground beneath her feet seemed to vibrate. A swirling flicker of foxfire formed at her back with tentative, spectral, yet unmistakable in shape.

A swirl of shimmering energy coalesced around Yaoyun's lower back, and she exhaled a slow, measured breath. From that radiant swirl of foxfire, a distinct shape emerged—a spectral fox's tail, glowing with violet-blue flame.

It curled and flickered as though alive, casting dancing shadows across the courtyard floor. The onlookers stirred in excitement, sensing the surge of power that flowed through Yaoyun.

Immediately, a tangible change swept across her body. Her posture straightened, her eyes brightened, and a faint aura of foxfire crackled around her limbs. Doubling her stats with the release of her first tail meant she was now faster, stronger, and more resilient than before.

Even her presence felt different whereas she had seemed merely skilled moments ago, now she radiated a confidence that came from genuine, enhanced power.

Wushuang recognized the shift at once. The heat that coursed through his veins flickered in response, as if challenging this new threat. He observed her carefully, noting the foxfire tail that swayed behind her.

"So you've finally decided to show me a glimpse of that nine-tailed heritage," he said, voice low, the tension humming in his words. "Let's see what it can do."

Yaoyun smiled. "I hope you won't disappoint me."

Without warning, she launched forward. This time, her speed caught Wushuang off-guard. One moment she stood a dozen paces away, the next she was right in front of him, delivering a quick palm strike enveloped in foxfire.

The blow connected with a burst of shimmering flame, forcing him to block with both arms. Even so, he slid back several feet, his feet carving shallow grooves into the stone.

A murmur rippled among the onlookers. Moments earlier, Wushuang had seemed to hold the advantage, but now Yaoyun was driving him back. She pressed in, her attacks coming in swift combinations as palm strikes, low kicks, arcs of foxfire conjured between each movement. She wove her flame into elongated shapes that lashed out unpredictably, sometimes forming serpentine coils or sharp-edged ribbons of azure light.

Wushuang grunted as one of her foxfire whips snagged his forearm. The ethereal flames left a heated scorch against his skin.

Though he managed to break free by flaring his own dragonfire, he realized she had become far more formidable in the span of a single breath. Her agility in particular was daunting; any momentary lapse in his defense risked letting her slip past him.

"Amazing," one of the younger Dragon clan disciples whispered from the crowd, eyes wide. "She's changed the entire pace of the fight."

However, Wushuang was no ordinary opponent. Even if Yaoyun's first tail had doubled her power, his base strength was still formidable as he was known as one of the most talented heirs of the Fire Dragon lineage.

Sparking embers danced along his arms, and he used short bursts of flame to intercept Yaoyun's near-invisible assaults. Here and there, he mustered enough force to deflect her whips of foxfire, the clashing energies creating dazzling flashes of purple and red.

Sparks rained down on the courtyard, and the heat level soared. The stone underfoot grew dangerously hot, and a few onlookers backed away to escape the intensifying temperature.

Yaoyun and Wushuang now circled each other with lethal grace, each step measured, eyes locked in silent calculation.

Yaoyun's foxfire tail flicked once, then she lunged in with a powerful thrust of her palm. A scorching, concentrated beam of flame shot toward Wushuang's chest. He crossed his arms in front of him to block; the impact rattled him, and he felt the stone shift under his feet.

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Even so, his gaze remained steady. He recognized that if he continued in this half-measure, Yaoyun might eventually overwhelm him with her renewed stamina and sharper speed.

"He won't be able to keep up much longer," muttered one of the Fox clan elders, a note of satisfaction in his voice.