The Blooming of the Frozen Planet

The conversation between the Muggle best friend and a fellow Swift Wind Pavilion trainee before heading to the battlefield is as follows:

"The strong fear nothing! Chang Hanshan, your gaze is quite remarkable! Truly worthy of being my peer! Tell me, as a disciple of Instructor Zhou Zhe... are you the hunter, or the prey?"

"I am the split open."

Chang Hanshan herself was clearly at peace and calm, showing no sign of nervousness.

Not a trace of fear could be detected from her.

This caused the self-proclaimed protagonist, student Jinuo, to feel, for the first time, a "rival" besides Little Red Hair, Dugu Xiu.

Zhou Zhe had no desire to meddle in the healthy competition between the three trainees.

As long as they didn't hinder each other, reaching Black Iron Three-Star in their strength evaluation within two months would suffice.

The 3 points of "Majesty" attribute they provided him was an unexpected bonus.

"The live broadcast has begun."

Zhou Zhe clapped his hands. "Let's pause our training for a moment and watch how others fight."

"This is a true life-or-death struggle."

"Watch more, learn more, think more."

"It will be very beneficial for your growth."

Although Zhou Zhe's tone was quite gentle, everyone fell silent, immediately putting down their training. They obediently formed a circle around him, focusing intently on watching the cosmic live broadcast.

From the trainees' positions, one could discern the entire food chain of the Swift Wind Pavilion.

With Zhou Zhe at the center, Zhang Miaoran was on his left, Little Red Hair Dugu Xiu and Mobile Game Guy Jinuo behind him, and the rest were arranged in order of their actual combat strength.

This time, the Cosmic Arena Combat, "Dao," played a trick.

The arena was set on a frozen planet.

Dao's voice echoed across the universe: "It once had a glorious history of 14.4 billion years, with a population that grew to 22.4 billion."

"All highly intelligent life forms on this planet could join the extraordinary sequence upon reaching adulthood."

"Later, some unfortunate events occurred."

"All life was annihilated, civilization shattered, and the world degraded."

"Now, it has become a stage for gladiators to showcase themselves."

"A friendly reminder..."

"This is a death race!"

"Therefore, there will be no main event match this round."

"All gladiators must kill their opponents within three thousand breaths."

"What will happen if you exceed the time limit?"

"You will find out then."

These words made Zhou Zhe's eyes twitch.

The so-called "unfortunate events" were something many Earthlings were well aware of.

This frozen planet was originally called Piaowol.

A little over a month ago, according to Earth time, the rulers of Piaowol Star, for reasons unknown, had a sudden whim. They gathered all the wise people on the planet and, in a mind-numbingly foolish move, initiated a brainstorming session codenamed "Deceive God."

They devised a series of seemingly flawless plans, attempting to trick "Dao" through various stratagems in the Cosmic Arena Combat, thereby seizing immense profits they couldn't possibly digest.

The ancient Chinese sages were right – greed blinds reason.

As long as the potential profit was large enough, people could be tempted to take risks.

The aftermath of the incident?

There was no aftermath.

Dao wanted to make an example, so in an instant...

All life on the entire Piaowol Star was completely wiped out.

Currently, the highest temperature on this planet is around minus fifty degrees Celsius.

Zhou Zhe swept his gaze and saw a large group of novice cosmic gladiators frozen into idiocy.

The number of participants this time was very large.

There were as many as 560 gladiators from Earth alone!

The number of selectable live broadcast angles was a staggering 734 million!

Zhou Zhe used his Black Iron Five Stars gladiator authority to directly lock the broadcast perspective onto Chang Hanshan.

At this moment, Chang Hanshan was wrapped in thick winter clothing, wearing windproof gloves, a scarf, a mask, goggles, and thermal boots.

She was protected from head to toe.

If she hadn't been holding a straight-bladed Tang Dao custom-made for her by the Swift Wind Pavilion, Zhou Zhe would hardly have recognized her.

"It's still midsummer in China right now."

Zhou Zhe's expression held a hint of amusement as the greenish-gold lightning in his clenched palm flickered. "My guess was indeed correct."

On the frozen Piaowol Star.

"Earthling! This place is practically my home turf!"

"I, a warrior of the Ice Crystal Fur People from Sweet Planet, can overcome any cold! You're dead!"

"That low-level cold weapon in your hand can only tickle me; it can't actually harm me!"

Facing Chang Hanshan, an alien about two meters tall was boasting.

Hearing the opponent's fierce words, Chang Hanshan's face, hidden by goggles, a scarf, and a mask, showed a trace of nostalgia.

"Long time no see, the first guy I killed."

Chang Hanshan suddenly smiled. "It's great that the butterfly effect didn't happen regarding the gladiator selection and venue!"

She had initially planned to chat with her opponent for a few sentences, but then she remembered the lesson Zhe Dian often taught his students: "Only cowards blabber; true warriors speak at most five sentences to their enemies." She immediately felt at ease.

So...

Kill the opponent as quickly as possible!

Return to Earth!

Eat medium-rare cheesecake, roast duck, and durian mille-crêpes, and drink some milk tea to warm up!

This damn planet, where even a breath freezes into ice, is outrageously cold!

It's not a place for humans at all!

With a flurry of thoughts, Chang Hanshan drew her straight-bladed long saber from its sheath.

It's worth mentioning that the entire saber was evenly coated with a thin layer of red oil.

This red oil emitted a strong, pungent odor, causing Chang Hanshan, even through her protective gear, to involuntarily sneeze.

"Die!"

Holding the saber, she charged!

Wind Riding Slash!

...Well, there was no wind, just the slash!

So, a direct cut it is!

Swish!

The saber light flashed.

The Ice Crystal Fur Person from Sweet Planet, as if their soul had been snatched away, stood motionless, struck in the face by the oncoming saber!

Two crystalline hairs snapped.

No blood splattered—this was only to be expected, as Chang Hanshan's current absolute strength was too weak; she hadn't even broken through its skin.

The next moment...

Something bizarre happened.

The Ice Crystal Fur Person's crystal-clear, dazzling fur turned gray in the blink of an eye.

It was as if it had been corroded by a potent poison.

Its massive body also began to shrink at a visible rate.

Two meters...

One point eight meters...

One point three meters...

Seventy centimeters...

In just a few breaths, the alien had shrunk to the size of a fingernail.

Chang Hanshan quickly stepped forward and indifferently stomped down.

Squish!

A red bloom appeared on the ground.

The Sweet Planet native was dead!

In the blink of an eye, Chang Hanshan vanished, teleported away from the frozen planet.

Time ticked by.

Sixty percent of the duels had already concluded, and the winners were teleported away in advance.

The remaining...

Approximately two hundred ninety-three million six hundred thousand Cosmic Gladiators who had not completed their duels, like flies trapped in amber, had their movements abruptly frozen.

Three thousand breaths of time, and it arrived!

Piaowol Star seemed to contract for a moment.

A moment later, it suddenly expanded!

Brilliant light bloomed freely in the cold universe!

Beautiful fireworks, in the blink of an eye, completely annihilated nearly three hundred million lives!

Not only that.

The planetary system where Piaowol Star was located was also destroyed by the shockwave, collapsing.

On Earth.

Zhou Zhe took in the scene of the Frozen Planet's destruction and slowly stood up. He patted Zhang Miaoran's shoulder, "Afterward, call Chang Hanshan and come to my office."

(The straight-bladed Tang Dao, the current inheritance of Swift Wind Pavilion, is truly handsome! Those who don't believe me can check the model pictures; it's very stylish!)

The food is here, let's eat!