Honor of Kings: Baili Xuance

Moonlight bathed the training grounds of Jixia Academy. Xuan Ce's chains scraped across the flagstones, sending up tiny sparks. He stared at the masked swordsman opposite him, his nostrils filled with the salty tang peculiar to the sea breeze, a scent that had no place on an inland battlefield.

"Third trial, begin!"

His chain had barely swung before it froze in midair. Fine droplets of water were flowing backward along its links. Xuan Ce flipped sharply to the side. Ice spikes now covered the spot where he had been standing. Gasps rose from the stands as the swordsman transformed into Xi Shi in the blink of an eye.

"Illusion magic? How could someone from Yunmeng Marsh..." Xuan Ce swallowed the rest of the sentence. His chain suddenly crackled with lightning. It was a move he'd figured out the night before while studying an ancient text, combining the swiftness of the wind element with the ferocity of the lightning element.

The training grounds suddenly shook violently, and black mist seeped from cracks in the earth. Xuan Ce saw Professor Ming Shiyin, seated among the judges, smile meaningfully. The elemental compass at his waist spun wildly. This wasn't a trial, he realized with a start. The sensation coming through his chains was terrifyingly real: those ice spikes were draining his life force!