Ma Hongjun's Horrific Death!!

Facing this ferocious killing blow,

Xue Tianyu didn't move a single step. He raised his chin slightly and watched the oncoming fire dragon, his gaze as still as a pool of dead water.

"With your defective, crossbred knockoff, you dare call yourself a phoenix?"

Behind Xue Tianyu, a brilliant ice-blue light suddenly burst into being.

With a piercing cry that soared into the clouds, the phantom of a colossal Ice Phoenix spread its wings behind him! It was bloodline suppression that came from the depths of the soul—the absolute majesty of the true ruler of the skies descending upon the mortal realm!

Under this pure phoenix pressure, the Evil Fire wings on Ma Hongjun's back began to tremble violently, beyond his control. The purplish-red flames dimmed in an instant.

"What... what kind of Martial Soul is that?!"

Ma Hongjun was horrified beyond belief. He felt as if his Martial Soul had encountered its natural enemy and was desperately trying to retreat into his body.

"Look closely."

Xue Tianyu slowly raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, and aimed his palm at the roaring Phoenix Fire Line.

"This is what true Ultimate Ice looks like."

He clenched his palm. A visible white stream of cold swept down like the Milky Way pouring from the heavens, meeting the purplish-red pillar of fire in an instant.

There was no violent explosion, no deadlocked clash between evenly matched forces. This was a one-sided crushing with no suspense whatsoever!

The moment the white current of cold touched the pillar of fire, its searing heat and raging Evil Fire were completely frozen solid in the blink of an eye!

The ice spread swiftly backward from the front of the pillar. The once-fierce, clawing fire dragon became a purplish-red ice sculpture suspended in midair in the span of a moment!

Even flames could be frozen completely!

"No... impossible..."

Ma Hongjun stared at the scene, dumbstruck, his mind blank. His strongest attack had been dispelled as casually as someone blowing out a candle.

"Break."

Xue Tianyu parted his lips.

"Crack—boom!"

The enormous pillar of fire and ice instantly filled with cracks, then burst apart with a series of crisp snaps, scattering ice shards across the sky.

The backlash surged along the Soul Power connection and slammed into Ma Hongjun's chest. He screamed, spat out a mouthful of blood, and plummeted to the ground.

"Thud!"

He crashed heavily onto the frozen flagstones and slid a long way.

Before he could struggle to his feet, a tall figure had appeared in front of him. Xue Tianyu raised his right foot and mercilessly stamped on the fiery wing Ma Hongjun had once been so proud of. A burst of freezing cold instantly surged in through the sole of his foot.

"Ahhhhh—!"

Ma Hongjun let out a shrill scream and stared in terror as a thick layer of dark-blue ice rapidly formed on his right wing, starting from where it was pinned. The ice didn't merely extinguish the flames; it froze his flesh and bones along with them, killing them stone-cold.

"Your wings are such an eyesore."

Xue Tianyu spoke indifferently and pressed down hard with his foot.

"Crack!"

With a bone-breaking crunch that set the teeth on edge, Ma Hongjun's right wing, frozen into an ice sculpture, was snapped clean off under Xue Tianyu's foot! No blood flowed from the break, only a smear of crimson ice chips.

The agony nearly knocked Ma Hongjun unconscious. He rolled wildly on the ground, while his left wing, too, reverted to an arm as his Soul Power dispersed. Ma Hongjun was now in a pitiful state. He had none of the arrogant swagger of a top student from Shrek Academy.

"Don't... don't kill me..."

Ma Hongjun was drenched in cold sweat. Ignoring the agony of his broken wing, he struggled to roll over and kneel at Xue Tianyu's feet.

His fat face twisted beyond recognition with terror. Tears and snot mixed with the ice chips on the ground and smeared across his face.

"Please... sir! I beg you!"

"I don't want to die! I really don't want to die!"

As he frantically kowtowed, he shamelessly sold out his former companions and whatever dignity he had left.

"That old bastard Zhao Wuji went looking for you on his own! It had nothing to do with me! And Tang San, too! It was all Tang San's fault! That hypocrite is always putting on an act. He was the one who offended you—go settle the score with him!"

"Dai Mubai's a coward, too. Whenever danger comes, he runs faster than anyone!"

"If you spare me, I'll be your dog from now on! You tell me who to bite, and I'll bite them! That old man Flender has a pile of gold coins. I can steal them all and offer them to you!"

Listening to this nauseating plea for mercy, the disgust in Xue Tianyu's eyes reached its limit.

These were the so-called monsters Shrek Academy took such pride in? When disaster struck, they all fled in different directions. They would even dump every bit of blame on their teachers and brothers without a second thought if it meant saving their own lives. A pack of selfish trash hiding beneath human skin.

"Be someone else's dog?"

The Frost Sword Qi gathered once more in Xue Tianyu's hand, gleaming with a deadly chill.

"You're a rabid dog reeking from head to toe. Even if you were handed to me, I'd only worry you'd stink up the courtyard."

He lowered the tip of his sword and pressed it beneath Ma Hongjun's fat chin, forcing him to raise his ugly face.

"People from Shrek are always the same: they bully the weak and fear the strong. When you were running roughshod over the streets, did you ever think of letting anyone else live? And now you're afraid?"

Xue Tianyu's smile turned grim.

"Too late."

"No! You can't—"

Ma Hongjun gave a desperate howl and tried to make one last stand. But Xue Tianyu didn't give him a chance to say another word. He turned his wrist slightly.

The Frost Sword Qi became a streak of ice-blue light and pierced straight through Ma Hongjun's chest!

"Pfft!"

The blade entered through his chest and emerged from his back. Ma Hongjun's voice cut off abruptly. His eyes remained wide open, their whites instantly veined with blood.

The extreme cold centered on the blade devoured his life force like a ravenous beast. The moment his heart was pierced, it stopped beating; it had been frozen into a block of dead ice. Dark-red frost spread rapidly, freezing his blood and crystallizing his organs.

Three short breaths later,

Ma Hongjun's struggles stopped completely. His fat body, along with the despairing, terrified, ugly expression on his face, was sealed inside a crystal-clear ice sculpture.

Xue Tianyu casually withdrew the Frost Sword Qi. With nothing to support it, the ice sculpture toppled backward.

"Crack!"

A sharp snap rang out.

The sculpture hit the hard flagstones and shattered into pieces. Ma Hongjun's body became a heap of broken ice mixed with red and white, radiating a bone-deep chill beneath the moonlight.

The Evil Fire Phoenix, one of the illustrious Shrek Seven Devils, had died like a joke in this filthy, forgotten alley.

Xue Tianyu flicked his wrist, scattering the ice chips from the blade.

His expression hadn't changed from beginning to end, as if he'd casually crushed a negligible flea.

"Taking out the trash really does put you in a good mood."

He turned around and didn't spare the remains on the ground another glance.

Ice Empress's phantom gathered beside him once more. Looking at the shattered ice scattered across the ground, she clicked her tongue twice.

"Well, this should be entertaining. First a vice dean died, and now a direct disciple. If those people from Shrek Academy see all this ice, they'll probably go completely mad, won't they?"

"Mad?"

Xue Tianyu set off, leaving the deathly silent alley behind. The night wind whipped at his white clothes.

"I hope they do."

"Only when the pride they're so proud of has been crushed beneath our feet, and every last one of their backers has been uprooted, will this game truly reach its climax."

His figure gradually vanished into the depths of Heaven Dou City's night, leaving only an unforgiving judgment to echo through the air.

"This is what happens when you provoke me."

The night wind swept up a few withered leaves and carried them down the deserted street.

Once he left Spring Breeze Alley and its pungent scent of perfume behind, the air on Heaven Dou City's main thoroughfare finally felt fresher.

Xue Tianyu walked at an unhurried pace, his white clothes cutting clean lines through the night.

Ice Empress didn't withdraw her phantom. Instead, with a flash of light, she took on physical form.

A jade-green gauzy dress hugged her exquisitely graceful figure. Its hem swayed in the wind, revealing a pair of long, slender legs as pale as polished ivory.

She was barefoot, stepping through the air, with tiny ice lotuses hovering beneath her feet.

"Little Tianyu, you got your fill of killing today, didn't you?"

Ice Empress moved lightly and darted straight to Xue Tianyu's side.

She reached out her slender, soft arm and quite naturally hooked it around his.

A refreshing fragrance instantly drifted around them, a distinctive scent that carried the aroma of snow lotuses.

Xue Tianyu glanced sideways, his gaze passing over a glimpse of pale skin beneath her delicate collarbones.

His expression remained unchanged, and he didn't pull away the arm she'd linked with hers.

"They were just a few bugs I crushed without thinking. I wouldn't call it satisfying."

Hearing this, Ice Empress covered her mouth and giggled, her chest rising and falling slightly.

She pressed almost her entire body against Xue Tianyu's. The softness of her touch came through clearly even through their clothes.

"I've always liked how you look down on everyone."

She rose slightly onto her toes and brought her beautiful face close to Xue Tianyu's ear.

Her breath was sweet as an orchid's, warm with deliberate enticement.

"But you've just been through a great battle. You're still all fired up, aren't you?"

"Want me to think of a way to cool you down?"

Her voice was achingly seductive. She drew out the last syllable, making no effort to hide her flirtation.

Xue Tianyu stopped and looked straight at Ice Empress, who was only inches away.

Their noses were almost touching, and they could clearly feel each other's breath.

"Is this how you usually cool other people down?"

Ice Empress's lovely eyes shifted. Her slender fingers traced slowly up Xue Tianyu's arm before coming to rest lightly on his chest.

"Other people don't get that privilege."

"If anyone other than you so much as looks at this body of mine, I'll gouge his eyes out."

Xue Tianyu lifted his hand and took hold of her soft, delicate chin.

The instant their skin touched, a faint electric tingle seemed to pass between them.

"Then you'd better put away those little tricks you use to test me."

He released her and continued walking.

Ice Empress didn't mind. She only smiled more brightly, took a few quick steps to catch up, and pressed close to his arm again.

The night deepened, and the lights in most of Heaven Dou City's buildings had gone out.

The courtyard where Skywater Team was staying in the city still glowed faintly.

Pushing open the courtyard's ornate carved wooden door, Xue Tianyu paused for half a second at the sight in the hall.

Beneath the warm yellow glow of the Soul Guidance Lamp,

a delicate figure was curled up on the wide, soft velvet sofa in the hall.

Shui Bing'er lay on her side, eyes closed, breathing steadily and softly.

She wore only a blue silk nightdress, thin as a cicada's wing.

Perhaps she'd turned over in her sleep; the hem of her nightdress had ridden up to the tops of her thighs, revealing two shapely, straight legs.

One of the silk straps had slipped from her shoulder, exposing a broad expanse of skin as pale as frost and snow to the cool air.

That breathtaking glimpse of spring stood out in the dim light.

The temperature had dipped at night, and she'd instinctively hugged her shoulders, her body trembling slightly.

Xue Tianyu walked over and took off his outer coat, still carrying a faint chill.

He shook it open and gently draped it over Shui Bing'er's slender frame.

Even though he moved as quietly as he could, Shui Bing'er still sensed it the moment his familiar scent settled over her.

Her long lashes fluttered twice, and she slowly opened her dewy eyes.

Her gaze was hazy with sleep at first, but the moment she recognized the handsome face before her, it turned to delight.

"Captain..."

Shui Bing'er murmured, her voice soft and sleepy.

She instinctively tried to sit up, forgetting that her clothes were in disarray.

The moment she moved, her neckline gaped open, exposing far too much.

Xue Tianyu's gaze swept calmly over the exposed skin. He made no effort to look away.

"It's late, and the night air is damp and cold. Why didn't you go sleep in bed?"

Only then did Shui Bing'er belatedly look down.

Following Xue Tianyu's gaze, she saw that most of her chest was exposed. Her fair cheeks instantly flushed like the evening clouds.

She hurriedly pulled up her strap, then quickly wrapped Xue Tianyu's coat tightly around herself.

"I... I was worried about you."

Shui Bing'er lowered her head, her voice barely louder than a mosquito's buzz.

"You went to Sunset Forest alone, and you didn't come back until the middle of the night. I couldn't sleep at all."

As she spoke, she secretly raised her eyes to study Xue Tianyu.

From so close, she keenly caught a trace of blood lingering on the hem of his clothes.

Shui Bing'er's heart clenched. She immediately stood up, not caring at all that her legs were still bare.

She hurried over and grabbed Xue Tianyu's wrist with both hands.

"Did you run into danger? Why do you smell of blood?"

Shui Bing'er's eyes instantly welled with tears. There was no hiding the worry and anxiety in her gaze.

Her soft, warm hands searched all over Xue Tianyu's arm, afraid he'd suffered a serious internal injury.

"Don't worry."

Xue Tianyu turned his hand over and clasped her fidgeting hands.

Their palms touched. Shui Bing'er's heart beat faster, and Xue Tianyu could feel her pulse racing beneath his fingertips.

"They were just a few ants in my way. The blood was theirs."

Hearing this, Shui Bing'er's worried heart finally settled.

But then she realized how intimate their position was.

Xue Tianyu was holding her hands, and they stood less than half a step apart. She could even feel the warmth coming from his chest.

She wanted to pull her hands back, but she was reluctant to lose that reassuring touch.

All she could do was blush and let Xue Tianyu keep holding them.