Mysterious Ice Shadow

The thrilling spar with Xiao Xun'er in the valley, though brief, had been incredibly taxing for Mo Lin. Forcing himself to unleash the full version of the Emperor Cold Heaven: Snow Dance Shining Sun domain had consumed far more Fighting Energy and yielded far more insight than any ordinary intense battle.

The short-lived domain had drained nearly half the Fighting Energy from his body. His meridians throbbed with a tearing pain, and his mind felt an unprecedented weariness.

However, fortune often follows misfortune. This extreme exhaustion, coupled with his brief touch with the laws of heaven and earth, acted like the most potent catalyst. It completely ignited and integrated the foundation he had built through days of intense battles with Instructor Ruo Lin and Xiao Xun'er, along with the results of his diligent daily cultivation.

More crucially, the instant the domain expanded, he had, like a bottomless pit, madly absorbed and compressed the immense energy from the surrounding world.

Although most of this forcibly drawn energy was used to sustain the domain, a portion of its pure essence settled down, blending seamlessly with his own Fighting Energy.

At this moment, the solid barrier separating the Dou Master and Dou Grandmaster realms had become as thin as a cicada's wing under the fierce onslaught from both within and without. The surging Fighting Energy within his body was spontaneously, uncontrollably launching wave after wave of fierce assaults towards that long-coveted critical point!

The opportunity to break through had arrived unexpectedly, precisely when his strength was mostly depleted and he most needed rest and recovery!

"This is bad! I need to find a completely quiet and safe place to go into seclusion and break through immediately!" Mo Lin inwardly exclaimed, suppressing the turbulent Blood Essence churning within him and the energy surge that was about to erupt from his body like a volcanic eruption.

Every second counted!

He didn't even have time to calm his rapid breathing. He sharply bit his tongue, using the intense pain to keep himself conscious.

Then, he unleashed his movement technique to its limit. His entire body became a blurred, indistinguishable white shadow, charging out of the valley, still in turmoil from the recent battle, at maximum speed. He raced towards a completely hidden safe house he had secretly prepared within Wutan City!

Breaking through to the Dou Grandmaster realm was a crucial watershed moment on the path of cultivation. It required the condensation of liquid Fighting Energy into crystals and the communication with more of heaven and earth's energy. Any external interference was unacceptable!

Otherwise, at best, the breakthrough would fail, all previous efforts would be wasted, and his cultivation would regress. At worst, his Fighting Energy could go out of control, backlash through his meridians, damage his cultivation foundation, and lead to endless future troubles!

At almost the same moment that Mo Lin's figure vanished like a phantom around a corner in a secluded alley in Wutan City.

In an adjacent alley, leading to the back door of the Mietel Auction House, Ya Fei, accompanied by two trusted maids, was hurrying out to handle an urgent, unexpected matter.

Today, she had shed her usual alluring qipao, opting for a practical, light purple fitted outfit. While it didn't accentuate her breathtaking curves as much as her usual attire, it still couldn't conceal her proud figure, instead adding a touch of capable crispness.

However, a trace of anxiety and solemnity, typical of someone handling official business, clouded her exquisite features.

Yet, just as she was about to emerge from the dark alley entrance—

An extremely subtle yet bone-chilling coldness, so intense it made her soul tremble, emanated without warning from the direction of the adjacent, silent alley. It swept over her senses like an invisible tide of ice!

This coldness was not the low temperature brought about by ordinary ice-attribute Fighting Energy. Instead, it was an absolute frigidity that seemed to originate from the very source of all frozen things, carrying an aura of ancientness, deathly stillness, and indifference.

Although it was fleeting, so faint it was almost imperceptible, making one think it was a hallucination brought on by excessive mental tension.

But Ya Fei, with her keen senses, felt as if her soul had been pierced by an invisible ice pick. Her delicate body stiffened abruptly, and her steps halted instantly.

"This... this aura...?!" Ya Fei's charming peach blossom eyes suddenly narrowed to the size of pinpricks, filled with extreme shock and disbelief.

This feeling... this cold, ancient sensation that evoked awe and trembling from the depths of her soul... how similar it was to the wisp of primal aura she had felt twice when she had been in close proximity to the mysterious "Mr. Ice"!

No, it could almost be said to be inherited! One was like the sea, the other like a stream; the difference in quantity was vast, but the quality—that "extremity" of freezing all things and the "majesty" of looking down upon all beings—was identical!

Her heart began to pound uncontrollably, almost breaking through her chest.

She abruptly turned her head, her sharp gaze shooting towards the empty, shadow-shrouded, deep alley next door.

Could it be... "Mr. Ice" had just appeared there?! Was he nearby?!

The thought exploded in her mind like thunder! Almost without thinking, she quickly and quietly instructed the two maids behind her, who looked puzzled, "Wait here! Do not follow without my command!"

Before her words had even finished, she had already moved. Her Fighting Energy circulated quietly, transforming into a light purple streak of light. She rushed towards the direction where the coldness lingered!

At this moment, any urgent matters were completely forgotten!

Her speed was extreme, her movement technique agile. With a few leaps, she shot into the alley like a gust of wind.

The alley was empty. Only the slightly cool evening breeze blew past the mottled walls, rustling a few withered yellow leaves with a soft shasha sound. There was no sign of anyone.

Only at the end of the alley, just as she was about to turn onto the bustling main street outside, did her peripheral vision seem to catch an extremely blurry glimpse of a figure in a plain white robe, flashing past in the endless stream of people at the street corner.

That figure... vaguely, it seemed somewhat similar to the recently renowned genius young man—Mo Lin?

Was it... him?

Ya Fei stopped abruptly, standing at the alley entrance, gazing in the direction where the figure had long since disappeared into the crowd.

Her expression shifted rapidly. Her chest heaved violently due to her hurried run and the immense shock within her.

Shock, confusion, absurdity... a complex mix of emotions surged like a tide, leaving her momentarily dazed.

That fleeting, ultimate coldness, originating from the same source as "Mr. Ice"... and Mo Lin's blurry disappearing figure... could there be some incredible connection between these two?

As soon as this bold and absurd thought emerged, Ya Fei forcefully dismissed it.

"No... impossible! Absolutely impossible!" she repeatedly shook her head inwardly, trying to dispel the unbelievable association. "No matter how talented Mo Lin is, he's just a young boy at the Dou Master realm. So young, with limited cultivation, how could he possess such a terrifying aura like the primal source of ten thousand-year-old profound ice? That is definitely the pressure that a Dou Emperor, or even a stronger existence, could possess! And the mystery, depth, and seemingly world-weary tone of that 'Mr. Ice' are not something a teenager could possibly fake or imitate!"

She rubbed her smooth forehead forcefully, attributing the momentary sensation to her own overthinking and anxiety from her recent relentless search for "Mr. Ice."

Or perhaps it was a coincidence caused by the accidental fluctuation of some extremely rare and special type of heavenly energy.

After all, connecting the unfathomably profound "Mr. Ice" with a newly emerging young Dou Master was simply too preposterous and beyond common sense.

"It must be that I want to find 'Mr. Ice' too badly, leading to some restlessness and paranoia," Ya Fei took a deep breath, forcing herself to calm down, and striving to regain her usual shrewdness and composure.

She turned and said lightly to the maids who had hurried to catch up, their faces etched with concern, "It's nothing, perhaps my senses were mistaken. Let's go, business is important, we mustn't be delayed."

Although she said this, trying to pull her thoughts back to reality, that fleeting, soul-shivering ultimate coldness, and the astonishing coincidence in time and location with Mo Lin's blurry figure, had become like a tiny yet incredibly hard wedge, silently embedded deep within her heart.

A trace of indescribable doubt had been sown, lying dormant, waiting for a suitable moment in the future to quietly sprout and break through the soil.