Ice River

Bai Ye and Demon Xing Tian—this was their second clash.

From the very start, both sides attacked with extreme ferocity, with no intention of holding back. Every move was a killer move, then another killer move, and another.

A surging storm of spiritual energy rose from the ice, lashing viciously against the frozen ground. Ice shards whirled through the air as thunderous explosions rang out one after another, echoing throughout the space.

Xi Qinghai watched the two fight, his fists clenched tightly. "They're evenly matched."

When he had first heard rumors that Northern Azure Spiritual Academy had produced someone capable of standing against Demon Xing Tian, his first reaction had been outright disbelief. To verify whether the news was true, he had set aside his affairs and come to Suppression Dragon City.

But now, the truth was right before their eyes. Faced with such a reality, he had no choice but to believe it.

"He's only holding his ground for now. We can do that much too."

Zhou Xuan of Nine Yin Mountain said this to him.

"That's right. It's still too early to tell anything."

Liu Ying chimed in.

But were they really not just comforting themselves?

"Heh, it seems you've all overlooked something." Xia Youran cast them a sidelong glance, coldly shattering their pitiful pride. "The person down there fighting Demon Xing Tian to a standstill is only a first-year student of Northern Azure Spiritual Academy. He's merely at the Quasi-Heaven Piercing Realm."

Quasi-Heaven Piercing Realm. Heaven Piercing Realm Middle Stage.

The gap that seemed like an uncrossable chasm to them had been erased in such an incomprehensible way.

This unbelievable reality had suddenly appeared before them.

"This person is the true monster."

Xia Youran said with a sigh.

They had to admit it. If Bai Ye possessed the same Heaven Piercing Realm Middle Stage cultivation as them, would the battle against Demon Xing Tian still look like this?

Xia Youran did not dare dwell on it.

It was not that she did not dare imagine the scene. She simply did not dare imagine how vast the gap between such a Bai Ye and themselves would become. Would they still be able to retain the confidence of geniuses like themselves?

After she spoke, all the young people present, all those worthy of being called the geniuses of the Bei Cang Continent, fell silent.

That was right. He was only at the Quasi-Heaven Piercing Realm...

Yet no matter what they thought, the battle below only grew fiercer.

The two had fought once before. During that battle, with both sides concealing their trump cards, Bai Ye had lost by a slight margin.

But after so many days had passed, Demon Xing Tian discovered, to his astonishment, that the man before him had grown noticeably stronger.

A trace of fear arose in Demon Xing Tian's heart.

He could not allow this man to keep living.

"Roar!"

Several demonic dragons descended from the sky at once, smashing directly toward Bai Ye's position.

The same bright moon. The same crystalline moonlight.

Frost God Clear Moon Reflection.

Bai Ye's strongest defensive divine art revealed its splendor once again. The demonic dragons melted away the instant they touched the moonlight, unable to advance even a single step.

A courtesy should be returned.

The moment the demonic dragons vanished, nine blazing suns burning with blue frostflames bloomed in the sky.

Nine golden divine birds sprang from the frostflames. As they passed through the barrier, the golden flames covering their bodies were dyed blue.

The next second, the nine divine birds and nine cold suns fell from the sky with an aura of destruction, like nine falling stars burning toward Demon Xing Tian.

"Heh."

Demon Xing Tian sneered.

He formed seals with both hands. Demonic energy surged forth and collided with the cold suns, stopping all nine of them dead in their tracks.

With a turn of his palm, the cold suns instantly scattered. The Golden Crows cried out in mournful wails.

Neither side had gained the upper hand.

But the moment Demon Xing Tian turned his gaze toward Bai Ye, his pupils abruptly constricted.

Bai Ye had vanished???

No. He had to still be there.

Demon Xing Tian made his judgment in an instant. Even if Bai Ye's figure had disappeared, that sharp aura was still pricking his skin.

Therefore, he was certain that Bai Ye remained where he was.

"An illusion!"

Realizing this, he retreated rapidly, intending to widen the distance.

But at that moment, a figure suddenly appeared behind him. Two fingers came together, and a killer move locked directly onto the center of his back.

If this attack landed, Demon Xing Tian would definitely be injured.

But...

"Got you."

Just one second before the fingertips touched him, Demon Xing Tian spun around at lightning speed. His right hand clenched into a fist, and he threw a punch.

Boom.

Black energy surged forth and swallowed Bai Ye's body. Demon Xing Tian stamped down, a dragon's shadow flashing beneath his feet as he charged straight into the black energy.

Whoosh.

Bai Ye burst out of the black energy. Just as he breathed a sigh of relief—

An iron hand rapidly enlarged before his eyes. By the time he realized what was happening, it had already seized him by the throat.

"Die."

Blood Intent surged in Demon Xing Tian's eyes as endless spiritual energy flowed along his arm and into the iron hand gripping Bai Ye's throat.

Demon Dragon Bone-Crushing Claw.

However, just before he activated the spiritual art, he saw Bai Ye reveal an eerie smile. Those gilded gold eyes held neither fear of death nor desperate resolve to survive. They were like stagnant water, sending a chill down one's spine.

Not good!

The next second, he spun around without hesitation. A sharp sword pierced into his shoulder, missing his chest by only the slightest margin.

It was a sharp sword condensed from seawater. It seemed to absorb his spiritual energy and physical strength, intensifying the damage it inflicted upon his body.

Luo God Hundred Rivers Vast, peerless in slaughter.

"Get lost!"

Demon Xing Tian roared in fury. How long had it been since he had suffered such a massive setback at the hands of someone from his generation?

Black spiritual energy surged along with his rage. In an instant, the water sword was dyed black and shattered where it stood.

At the same time, a massive sword condensed in his hand. He activated his spiritual art and swung it in a wide sweep, leveling several icebergs across thousands of meters. For a moment, everything around him seemed like shattered glass, rapidly cracking apart.

Crack.

Demon Xing Tian felt everything around him return to normal. At the same time, the corpse of "Bai Ye" on the other side also cracked apart and vanished.

The real Bai Ye stood not far away, silent and still.

A streak of crimson trickled from his palm and down his arm, staining Bai Ye's clothes red.

Everything had happened too quickly. By the time the spectators recovered, all they saw was this scene.

Blood flowed from Demon Xing Tian's shoulder, while Bai Ye's right hand was injured. The two stood facing each other, just as they had before the battle began.

Bai Ye stared at him. His injured right hand involuntarily curled. Right now, he truly wanted to leave Demon Xing Tian here for good.

If he used his trump card and opened the Ice Domain, he could definitely do it.

But if he truly acted now, could he still leave safely?

There were several restless people watching them from the sky.

"Don't move."

At that moment, Bing Yu spoke from within his body to warn him.

"What is it?"

Bai Ye asked inwardly without changing his expression.

"Above the clouds, there's someone else."

"What realm?"

"Supreme Realm."

"Where are they from?"

"Not from Northern Azure Spiritual Academy."

Bai Ye narrowed his eyes. He knew he could not make a move.

Northern Azure Spiritual Academy and Dragon Demon Palace had an agreement: Supreme Realm experts could not interfere in clashes between juniors.

But if he forcibly opened the Ice Domain and killed Demon Xing Tian, the inevitable result would be drawing the intervention of that Supreme Realm expert.

The Supreme Realm expert from Northern Azure Spiritual Academy was nowhere to be seen. He could not take such a risk.

After all, Demon Xing Tian was different to Dragon Demon Palace.

"You won't be leaving today."

Demon Xing Tian said those words again. The last time had been before their first battle.

Bai Ye let out a breath and abandoned his previous thought.

The time was wrong. He would spare this man's dog life for now.

"Though I really didn't want to use it, I've been preparing this move for you for many days."

Bai Ye spoke softly. A trace of confusion flashed through Demon Xing Tian's eyes.

But in the next moment, everyone present seemed to hear a peculiar sound. It was peculiar because it should not have sounded at a time like this.

Clip-clop, clip-clop.

The sound of galloping hooves.

Demon Xing Tian stared at Bai Ye, his body tensing.

Then Bai Ye vanished once more.

The same trick again?

Another illusion?

What a joke. How could he fall into the same trap twice?

But in the next instant, countless hoofbeats thundered like rolling lightning. Demon Xing Tian spun around swiftly and saw ice mist rising in the distance like dark clouds.

When he turned back, the same ice mist had appeared before him.

This was...

His eyes narrowed as demonic energy exploded from his body.

Countless warhorses neighed. One ice horse after another charged forward without the slightest fear, carrying the momentum to trample mountains and rivers into ruin.

They wanted to crush Demon Xing Tian beneath their hooves.

Illusions. They were all illusions.

"Die!"

Demonic dragons roared, but they were quickly torn to pieces beneath the hooves.

The ice horses swiftly reached Demon Xing Tian. Only then did he realize that there was nowhere left for him to retreat.

But just as the ice horses were about to trample him, every one of them vanished in an instant. The next moment, Demon Xing Tian clutched his head and dropped to his knees on the ice. His gaze was unfocused as he endured the agonizing pain in his head and looked toward Bai Ye.

But there was no longer anyone there.

A huge iron chest had vanished as well.

"Aahhh!!!"

Demon Xing Tian threw back his head and roared furiously.

At that moment, a headless corpse fell from the sky. Seeing its clothes, Demon Xing Tian recognized its identity.

Demon Dao Yuan.

"Bai Ye, I will kill you!"

What utter humiliation.

In midair, the observing crowd was utterly silent.

On a large ship in the distance, Bai Ye tossed the iron chest onto the deck, then immediately clutched his head.

The violent tearing sensation felt as though it would rip his head to pieces.

By combining cold energy with an illusion, he had created the scene of horses trampling across the ice river. He had pondered this move for a long time, intending to use it during his second fight with Demon Xing Tian.

But it had been too rushed, and the backlash was too severe.

He braced himself against the ship's rail and struggled to stand, then tossed the bloody head onto the deck as well.

He had said he would hang the mastermind's head from the city wall.

Since he had said it, he would not break his word.

Enduring the intense pain, he mobilized his spiritual energy.

His spiritual energy was nearly exhausted. If the battle had continued any longer, something might have gone wrong.

"The next time we meet, I'll cut you down."

Bai Ye spoke calmly.

Spiritual energy surged. The great ship turned around, raised its sails, and set off.

That move was Iron Horse Ice River Enters the Dream.