A Clash with Ultimate Ice and Snow

Zi Mu activated his Martial Soul Possession.

He equipped himself with Soul Tools from head to toe.

Once the referee announced the start, he immediately widened the distance and controlled the long-range Soul Tool in his hands.

Yet the moment he came into contact with the goose-feather snowflakes,

his body visibly turned into an ice sculpture.

Countless spectators drew sharp breaths at the sight.

Literal breaths of cold air.

Those seemingly harmless snowflakes had instantly frozen a Soul Elder.

Zi Mu held no small amount of prestige among the fourth-years.

His handsome appearance and exceptional skill as a Soul Engineer had earned him the affection of quite a few girls.

Aside from Xu Tinglan and Xiao Hongchen, the Sun Moon Twin Stars, he was one of the leading figures of the next tier.

Yet someone like him had been instantly defeated at the very first exchange.

Terrifying indeed.

That had only been a single snowflake!

The students all came to a sudden realization.

No wonder Xu Tinglan had faced such a formidable enemy on the field. His opponent was actually this terrifying.

As expected of one of the Sun Moon Twin Stars—he had seen it coming!

The looks they gave Xu Tinglan were filled with admiration.

The referee hurriedly declared the match over.

Xuedi stood amid the ice and snow, extending a pale finger and lightly snapping it.

The ice and snow quietly melted away.

Zi Mu's face had frozen bluish-purple, even blackening slightly.

In a daze, he collapsed onto the field.

The emergency team promptly carried him away.

Less than a few seconds had passed from the beginning of the match to its end.

And that was not because Zi Mu had held on, but because every move Xuedi made had been entirely at her whim.

Xu Tinglan pondered inwardly.

He recalled how, several months ago in the Far North, he had watched his words and actions carefully and had never once spoken ill of Snow Empress.

What had happened before him

also proved that Snow Empress would not kill indiscriminately. She knew her limits.

Since that was the case,

his heart began to stir.

A chance to fight someone with an ultimate attribute without risking his life was a rare opportunity.

Xu Tinglan put on [Mountain and Sea Heaven-Bearing], raising both his strength and defense to the level of a Soul King.

He stepped onto the arena once more.

Someone below the stage said,

"Zi Mu had no idea how strong his opponent was, yet he stupidly rushed out. What an idiot."

"Xu Tinglan knows perfectly well that his opponent is unfathomable, yet he is still willing to fight. That is the pride of our academy."

"Brother, stop flattering him. He can't hear you."

No matter what the people below said,

Xu Tinglan's attention was wholly focused on Snow Empress.

He asked aloud,

"Snow Empress, you still remember me, right?"

The girl in the white dress gave a slight nod, amusement in her eyes.

Snow Empress had recently become engrossed in street-side novels.

The protagonist was a Soul Beast who had reincarnated and cultivated anew. After arriving in the human world, it suppressed countless young geniuses, sought worthy opponents all the way to the heavens, and ultimately became a god.

It had to be said,

the human world was far more interesting than the Far North, where snow fell all day long.

Seeing the girl acknowledge it herself,

Xu Tinglan could not help but marvel at how the storyline of this world had somehow changed so drastically.

Snow Empress had even become human!

His expression turned solemn and serious.

"Please enlighten me!"

His third and fourth Soul Rings lit up in succession.

A beastly phantom coiled around the young man's side.

It was massive and imposing, its entire body covered in interwoven black scales like ink wash painting. Its back rose like a vast mountain ridge, spikes standing upright as cold glints swirled around it.

A curtain of rain fell from the sky in the blink of an eye.

Silver threads linked heaven and earth.

Under the effects of Black Tortoise Abyssal Descent and Mountain Anchor, he was immune to negative status effects.

That was where his confidence in stepping onto the stage came from.

This was the Fourth Soul Skill he had obtained by hunting the Cangbei Sea Spirit Turtle in the Unfrozen Sea north of the Far North!

It even possessed the attributes of an overbearing body.

The arena seemed divided into two worlds. One side was filled with rain and Ink Soul Power.

The other was filled with drifting goose-feather snow.

The students closest to the arena gasped in amazement and hurriedly squeezed farther back, watching the duel from a distance.

The referee had also jumped off the stage long ago.

He studied the young man and woman. The two of them seemed like humanoid Soul Beasts.

They were merely Soul Ancestors, yet both already possessed the beginnings of domains.

The man asked himself whether he would ever encounter a domain-type Soul Skill in his lifetime.

The answer was most likely no.

Ice and snow mingled with rainwater.

The rain curtain's range was heavily compressed, leaving only an area several dozen meters around the young man still covered by the domain of rain.

Xu Tinglan still felt extremely cold.

Even his blood flowed a little more slowly, though it remained within an acceptable range.

Goose-feather snowflakes burrowed into the young man's body. In the blink of an eye, there were already dozens of them, leaving the students watching in terrified suspense.

One snowflake alone had been enough to instantly defeat a Soul Elder.

There had been no room whatsoever to defend against it.

The cold current entered his body, and Xu Tinglan unconsciously shivered.

If he had not obtained the Sea Spirit Turtle's Soul Ring, he definitely would not have been able to endure this extreme cold. It was simply too cold.

Borrowing the power of the rainwater, he expelled the cold current from his body.

Snow Empress wore a white dress, her toes touching the ground.

Countless snowflakes supported her, and she floated lightly as though dancing through song.

Her movements looked slow, yet she arrived before the young man in the blink of an eye.

Her fourth Soul Ring lit up.

She thrust out a palm.

Xu Tinglan's second Soul Ring shone brightly.

Thousand Mountains Return to Ruins rooted him in place like a towering mountain. He gripped the evolved Black Tortoise Shield with both hands as a dark-gold phantom of a beast's head roared fiercely from its front.

His shield collided with the girl's seemingly weightless palm.

The two separated.

Snow Empress's eyes widened slightly, interest appearing within them.

Xu Tinglan let out a breath of relief.

Though he did not know how much force Snow Empress had used, at least he had blocked that attack.

In terms of attributes and understanding of combat techniques, his opponent surpassed him.

Only by stacking Soul Skills and relying on Soul Tool Armor could he trade a few blows with Snow Empress head-on.

Snow Empress's cool voice rang out.

"That is enough. If this continues, your defeat will be inevitable."

She was right.

Xu Tinglan understood that clearly.

Only by maintaining two enhancement states at once, then using defensive Soul Skills and Soul Tool Armor, could he barely contend with her.

The reason he had not used his First Soul Skill was the expenditure of attributes and Soul Power.

Its cost-effectiveness was far too low before Snow Empress.

How wonderful it would be if he could completely transform into a Black Tortoise. Then the gap between their attributes could narrow somewhat as well.

Losing to the girl before him

did not discourage Xu Tinglan. Instead, it made him excited.

If he were fighting a Soul Master of the same age, then even an ultimate ice Soul Master would not hold much of an attribute advantage over him.

Mountain Anchor's immunity to negative effects was still extremely reliable.

It could only be said that a Soul Beast with a Divine Beast Bloodline truly was worthy of its name. The Soul Skills it provided suited him perfectly.

Under normal circumstances, a Mysterious Underworld Turtle was not even comparable to an Evil Fire Phoenix.

But before the Ice Heaven Snow Spirit, the Evil Fire Phoenix was nothing more than a roadside chicken flapping its wings.

From this day onward,

another legend emerged among the students of Sun Moon Academy, one that stood above the Sun Moon Twin Stars: a pure and transcendent snow moon!

He had only just stepped off the stage

when Xiao Hongchen hurried over to Xu Tinglan.

"The Southern King's Heir was killed yesterday afternoon. That girl is far too terrifying. I would never dare entertain the slightest thought about her again."

"He finally came to his senses. Truly came to his senses."

Though the Southern King had grown increasingly old in recent years,

and the power in his hands had gradually slipped away, leaving him king in name only, the heir being killed in the street still exceeded countless people's expectations.